To join, or not to join the Matrix: Tennessee officials are considering joining Matrix, the federally funded crime and terrorism database that links six states but has drawn privacy objections.
“Matrix gives law enforcement agencies a speedier ability to process information,” said Scott Duke of the state Office of Homeland Security. “It enables you to do a lot of the leg work that you would have had to do manually.”
Former Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Larry Wallace, who retired in November, was interested in joining Matrix, state officials said. Now the decision whether to join will be made after Wallace’s replacement is named, which is expected to happen by July 1.
Matrix combines records submitted by its member states with billions of files owned by Seisint Inc. Law enforcement officials describe it as a search engine that steers them swiftly through public information about suspects that they otherwise would have to get from disparate sources.
But privacy activists and some state officials say Matrix gives law enforcement unprecedented power to see data on people with no criminal histories. Opponents also say it might perform some of the proactive analysis that led to an outcry over the Pentagon’s plans for a national terrorism data program.
Digital pet returning with more tricks: Japan’s popular digital pet from the 1990s is coming back. And this time Tamagotchi will be able to date, fall in love and even have babies.
Launched in 1996 but discontinued in 1998, Tamagotchi was an egg-shaped, pocket-sized gadget with a cartoon pet that appeared on a screen. Owners reared it by punching buttons that would feed the creature, play games with it or groom it. In time, the pet “grew” from an infant into a virtual adulthood, and better players could make it live longer.
The new, souped-up Tamagotchi Plus goes on sale in Japan on March 20 for 1,980 yen ($19), and will be introduced overseas this summer.
It will be able to communicate with other digital pets through infrared signals, and owners can have them compete in eating contests or give flowers and other presents. Tamagotchi Plus is programmed to cultivate intimacy, moving from friendship to love to marriage. In some cases, a child pops up on the displays.
Microsoft offers way to erase hidden data in document: The ability to see who has worked on a document – and what changes and suggestions each person has made – is great for companies where many people collaborate on projects. But that level of detail can backfire on a company if the file gets circulated outside corporate walls, revealing internal squabbles and embarrassing editing catches.
Microsoft Corp. previously offered relatively cumbersome instructions for erasing changes and comments made in its Office suite, which includes Word and Excel.
Now, the software giant is offering a simple way to make sure a company doesn’t inadvertently air its dirty laundry once a document is ready to be released. A free new download available on the Microsoft Web site lets users more easily erase such “hidden” data.
China cracking down on span: China has a new message for computer users: Spam isn’t just annoying, it might well be subversive.
The government has launched a fight against junk e-mail, fearful that the spam amassing in citizens’ inboxes may contain pornography, anticommunist sentiments or other objectionable material.
Chinese statistics show that 70 million pieces of spam went to the nation’s e-mail users every day last year, “including many which were pornographic or reactionary, or promoted gambling or spread computer viruses,” the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the China Police Daily.
By “reactionary,” authorities typically mean expression that is anti-government and therefore illegal. Pornography, even soft-core, is outlawed in China, as is most gambling.
The Washington Post wants to know you a little better: To promote targeted advertising, The Washington Post will soon require all users of its news Web site to register and provide information about their jobs.
Previously, the site only asked for a user’s zip code, age and gender. Now, it is asking visitors to register with an e-mail address and password as well as provide their job titles, the industry they work in, the size of their company and their primary work responsibilities.
The registration process, which also lets readers subscribe to the site’s e-mail newsletters, is being phased in over the next month or so, starting with a few section fronts this week.
A main goal is to target ads at decision-makers in various industries.
Telephone giant launches high-speed Internet service: In a sign competition is heating up among residential broadband providers, telephone giant SBC Communications Inc. launched a high-speed Internet package that offers speeds comparable to cable modems at a similar price.
The company launched a new plan that offers download speeds up to 3 megabits per second for $44.99 per month.
Several major cable companies, including Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc., are boosting their maximum downstream speeds to 3 megabits per second. Cable companies, which hold nearly two-thirds of the home broadband market, typically charge their television subscribers $40 to $50 for Internet service.
Unlike the cable companies, SBC has multiple service tiers available. Its least expensive plan, which promises download speeds between 384 kilobits per second and 1.5 megabits per second, now costs $29.95 per month, up from $26.95.
Customers who subscribe to SBC’s long distance, local and Cingular wireless service are still offered the $26.95-per-month promotion.
Associated Press
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