The Federal Aviation Administration is under pressure to allow more widespread use of e-readers on commercial flights — including during takeoff and landing.
Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet is displayed on Sept. 28, 2011, in New York City.
As the holiday travel season approaches, the Federal Aviation Administration is under pressure to allow more widespread use of e-readers on commercial flights.
Passengers can now use devices such as Kindles, iPads and Nooks while in flight, but not during takeoffs and landings. The FAA says it is studying the matter, but the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a U.S. senator say it's time to act.
Originally published on Wed December 19, 2012 1:03 pm
Many pregnant women and potential adoptive parents are bypassing traditional adoption agencies and connecting online. This trend raises a number of ethical concerns about the regulation of the online process and interactions between birth mothers and hopeful adopters.
Instagram was the target of a storm of outrage on Twitter and other sites after the company announced a change in its user agreement that hinted that it might use shared photos in ads.
The wildly popular photo-sharing site Instagram nearly caused a user revolt when it revamped its terms of service and privacy policy to suggest it could allow uploaded photos to be used in ads without users' permission.
The change — which was posted in dense legalese on its website Monday — sparked users to vow to stop posting their color-filtered, tilt-shifted photos to Instagram.
Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 1:54 pm
Paula Broadwell, whose affair with retired Gen. David Petraeus led to his resignation from the post of CIA director, will not face federal charges related to the alleged cyberstalking of another woman, according to a letter sent by the Justice Department to Broadwell's attorney.
Robert Muse, Broadwell's lawyer, has released the letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow that says, in part:
We end this hour with a bit of tech news about your phone and a problem that has long confounded the mobile industry. It's known as the fat finger problem.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now.
Andras Gyorfi's winning entry in The Seasteading Institute's 2009 design contest. The institute supports the idea of permanent, autonomous offshore communities, but it does not intend to construct its own seasteads.
Credit Christopher Rasch / Courtesy of The Seasteading Institute
Patri Friedman, head of The Seasteading Institute, says the beauty of his vision for seasteading is choice.
Credit Courtesy of The Seasteading Institute
A winning entry in the Seasteading Design Contest by Emerson Stepp.
Almost all of us have complaints about the government, which probably range from high taxes to too much bureaucracy. Periodically, we get to take our frustrations out at the voting booth. But no matter how unhappy you may be, you probably never thought, "I'm going get out of here and go start my own country."
A group of rich techies in Northern California is planning on starting its own nation on artificial islands in the ocean. They call themselves "seasteaders" and are sort of a mix between geeks and hippies.
