This week’s 4cast:
1. Good Guys, Bad Guys & Wi-Fi
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAFE Act last week, it sent a shudder through coffee shops, hotels, libraries, and anyone else offering open Wi-Fi access to the Internet. While the new bill doesn’t appear to require that these entities actively police their wireless users for illegal online activities, it does up the pressure for them to report any such known or suspected activity.
- House vote on illegal images sweeps in Wi-Fi, Web sites (CNET)
- SAFE Act won’t turn mom-and-pop shops into WiFi cops (Ars Technica)
- Will Libraries and Other Wi-Fi Access Point Owners Have to Report Known Child Porn under the SAFE Act? (DigitalKoans)
- The mathematics of legislation (Doc Searls Weblog)
2. It Sure is Slow Out in the Sticks
According to a recent Pew Internet study, 50% of all Americans now have broadband Internet access at home, but this number still lags far behind in rural areas. As the link between broadband penetration and economic health becomes more apparent, the FCC is coming under increasing fire for their inability to address the problem.
- Statistics: Why We Don’t Know Enough About Broadband in the U.S?; Measuring Broadband (ResourceShelf)
- Study linking broadband, job creation shows need for coherent US policy (Ars Technica)
- FCC Urged to Subsidize Broadband Access In Rural Areas (Online Media Daily)
- ISPs to rural America: Live with dial-up (Computerworld)
3. The Year in Guilty Pleasures
Google, Yahoo, and Ask have all released their 2007 reports outlining the top search trends, with interesting variations between the three engines. Social networking was huge across the board, and of course… troubled celebrities are always on our minds.
- Social Networks Lead Ask, Google, Yahoo Search Terms For 2007 (InformationWeek)
- Google Reveals Fast-Growing Search Terms for 2007 (Google)
- Yahoo! 2007 Top Trends in Search (Yahoo!)
- Our Search Top 10’s for 2007 (Ask.com)
4. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Googling For
Google got your (or your patron’s) goat? There are always more – and in some cases, better – search options out there.
- Six Techniques to Get More from the Web than Google Will Tell You (CIO)
- Six Techniques to Get More from the Web than Google Will Tell You (Phil Bradley’s Weblog)
- De-Googleize Your Search (PC World: Community Voices)
- Offering Premium Resources (Disruptive Library Technology Jester)
