Emily Banks

When participants of a recent study were asked to share sensitive information on two different online surveys -- one designed to look unprofessional and the other backed by a major university -- the participants were more likely to share private information on the unprofessional-looking site.[ATTACH]16892[/ATTACH]Researchers from Carnegie Mellon released yesterday …

[ATTACH=right]16062[/ATTACH]In case using a credit card or cash wasn't convenient enough, soon you'll be able to buy a Frappuccino using your phone at any Starbucks store. The coffee company announced this week it will be expanding its mobile payment program, which so far has only been available at select locations …

The study of interactions in online game recently proved an 80-year-old psychological theory, confirming the idea that "a friend of my enemy, is my enemy." The theory is known as Structural Balance theory, which means "individuals tend to avoid stress-causing relationships when they develop a society resulting in more stable …

Lawmakers in Washington asked tech companies Tuesday whether they need to create legislation that would protect people's private information online. The Senate Commerce Committee took up the issue, asking representatives from Apple, AT&T, Facebook and Google if an online privacy bill is necessary. Those companies have all dealt with recent …

[ATTACH=right]16393[/ATTACH]Vonage, the voice over broadband service provider, [URL="http://pr.vonage.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=496277"]announced today[/URL] the release of its new mobile app that provides free calls from mobile phones to other Facebook users with the same application. The new app, called Vonage Talk Free, marks the beginning of the company's attempt to reach a broader, and …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]16639[/ATTACH]Connect with old classmates, chat with friends...now book flights on Facebook. Delta Airlines added an application to its [URL="http://www.facebook.com/#!/delta?v=wall"]Facebook page[/URL] today that allows customers to search for flights, book them and share them with friends without navigating away from the Facebook page. For the first time, it seems an airline …

[ATTACH=right]16757[/ATTACH]Facebook [URL="http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=418175202130"]announced last night[/URL] its own location-based "check-in" app -- this being the social-networking site's response to similar applications like FourSquare, Gowalla and Brightkite. The new app, called [URL="http://www.facebook.com/places/"]Places[/URL], is available on the iPhone, with the latest version of the Facebook app, and through touch.facebook.com on mobile devices that support …

A number of the nation's biggest media sites were hit with a lawsuit last week, claiming that they are violating federal eavesdropping and hacking laws by using "zombie cookies." [ATTACH=right]16245[/ATTACH]The technology, created by Quantcast, allows sites to use Adobe's Flash player to reproduce tracking files, even after a user has …

Microsoft has revealed a new, more comprehensive street view system, dubbed Street Slide, set to compete with Google's Street View and Bing Maps' Streetside.[ATTACH]16203[/ATTACH]According to [URL="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/kopf/street_slide/index.html"]Microsoft[/URL], the Google and Bing systems only allow users to view city streets via an immersive 360-degree panorama or "bubble." And users can travel down …

Google [URL="http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/make-and-receive-calls-in-gmail.html"]announced[/URL] today that Gmail users can now make free calls from a computer to a phone. The service will be free for calls in North America until at least the end of the year. [ATTACH=right]16893[/ATTACH] Until now users could call other Gmail users' computers for free, but now the …

As if Google Earth wasn't cool and useful enough -- like helping find a new apartment in a faraway city or taking a little tour of a foreign place -- Google's latest version of the program just upped the ante.[ATTACH]16279[/ATTACH]Now you can view live weather patterns of rain and snow. …

What might be the most convincing way to get people to look at your Web site? Tell people they could get $10,000. Or, in the case of two Brooklyn artists, produce a series of videos, post them online and tell people the videos hold clues to the location of a …

Sure, looking for news stories with a search engine can tell you about the past, but a new application might act more like a very comprehensive crystal ball. A search engine prototype created by Yahoo's Barcelona lab lets users look into the future -- sort of.[ATTACH]16945[/ATTACH]The [URL="http://fbmya01.barcelonamedia.org:8080/future/"]application[/URL] was revealed this …

Who needs plastic in the 21st century? [ATTACH=right]16789[/ATTACH] Two major U.S. banks have confirmed that they will later this year be launching joint test programs with Visa to let customers make in-store purchases with their smart phones. [URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67I59S20100819"]Reuters[/URL] reported Thursday night that both Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp will …

[ATTACH=right]16680[/ATTACH][URL="www.hulu.com"]Hulu[/URL] might be worth as much as $2 billion, the [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/technology/16hulu.html?partner=rss&emc=rss"]New York Times[/URL] reported today, alongside news that the site for streaming videos and TV shows might soon go public. The Times reported that the 3-year-old company has been in talks recently to begin a public stock offering potentially later …

[ATTACH=right]16448[/ATTACH]In the fight to be the No. 1 smart phone, Google's Android stands to surpass the iPhone's top seat in two years, according to [URL="http://www.isuppli.com/Mobile-and-Wireless-Communications/News/Pages/Googles-Android-to-Outstrip-Apples-iOS-by-2012-iSuppli-Forecasts.aspx"]market researcher iSuppli Corp[/URL]. "Google and Apple are engaged in a fierce battle for control of the wireless market, which represents the most lucrative growth opportunity …

[ATTACH=right]16573[/ATTACH]Just as it seemed one Google Street View debacle in a foreign country came to a resolution today, another was just beginning thousands of miles away. The problems first began for Google in Germany in May, when the company's Street View vehicles collected private data that was sent across unencrypted …

The big mystery of what exactly Verizon and Google were talking about behind closed doors was solved this afternoon when about 1:45 p.m. ET, the two telecom companies issued a joint policy proposal, announcing a compromise on net neutrality. Their [URL="http://www.scribd.com/doc/35599242/Verizon-Google-Legislative-Framework-Proposal"]suggestions[/URL] are legislative framework for policymakers, they said. "Google and …

[ATTACH=right]16127[/ATTACH]Would Twitter be nearly as popular if users had to pay for it? Not likely. In fact in a recent [URL="http://www.digitalcenter.org/"]survey conducted by the USC Annenberg School's Center for the Digital Future [/URL]found that nearly half of all Americans use Twitter and they wouldn't be willing to pay for it …

In a new development to [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story302325.html"]news earlier today[/URL] that Verizon and Google were nearing an agreement that might end net neutrality, both companies have now released statements to the contrary. In Google's case, the statement came as a [URL="http://twitter.com/googlepubpolicy/statuses/20393606477"]Tweet[/URL] around mid-day Thursday. "@NYTimes is wrong. We've not had any convos …

Rumors surfaced today saying Verizon and Google are reportedly close to making a deal that could end net neutrality. The [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100805/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_google_verizon"]Associated Press[/URL] reported that the two companies, which have been in talks for close to a year, may reach an agreement in the coming days. If such an agreement were …

Textbooks are among the top expenses for college students. Today Barnes and Noble launched its app to eliminate at least some of the production costs for textbooks. The company released NOOKstudy, a Web-based e-Textbook application that can bring students a 50 percent savings, according to an announcement today. [ATTACH]16370[/ATTACH]“We’re thrilled …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]16277[/ATTACH]First came the smart phone. Next comes the smart camera phone. Thanks to [URL="http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/camera-2.0/"]researchers at Stanford University[/URL], your smart phone's camera might eventually have a plethora of its own apps that are more advanced than even the iPhone's limited inventory of camera apps. "Camera manufacturers used to ignore phones because …

[ATTACH=right]16012[/ATTACH]It's official -- or so it seems. HP will be, after much speculation to the contrary, moving forward with a Windows 7-based tablet. An HP rep told TechNewsWorld that the company has begun "customer evaluation" of a Windows 7 tablet, after the Internet began buzzing with rumors that a tablet …

Maybe you're among the few who have seen the changes already; Google Images is getting a facelift this week. Google announced Tuesday that the familiar landing page for an image search will be changing and the site will offer more sophisticated technology for the 10 billion images it has indexed. …

Maybe Prince was on to something when he recently [URL="http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/07/05/prince-world-exclusive-interview-peter-willis-goes-inside-the-star-s-secret-world-115875-22382552/"]proclaimed the Internet is dead[/URL]. Steve Rubel, in an [URL="http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144867"]Advertising Age article this week[/URL], suggests we prepare for "the end of the web as we know it." "It's hard to believe but soon, if not already the web is going to …

A handful of folks in Brooklyn may have found a way to put the idea of virtual communities and social networks to use in a practical way. Think Foursquare combined with the utility of commuting, as one organizer put it. Roadify is described as "the first comprehensive 'social transportation' company, …