OneWebDay

Global Web Celebrations Under Way. BBC News. September 22, 2006.
Today is the first OneWebDay, founded by Susan Crawford, during which people around the world will celebrate the ways in which the Web has changed their lives. Participants will include Craig Newmark and Tim Berners-Lee. [OneWebDay]

Challenge of Social Networking Sites

Google is Not the Net. Andrew Richard Albanese. Library Journal. September 15, 2006.
While Google may be the most popular search engine, it takes a back seat to social networking sites such as MySpace. They may present unrealized opportunities for libraries.

Web 2.0 Aimed at Consumers

Web 2.0 Entering Corporate World Slowly. Martin LaMonica. CNET News.com. September 20, 2006.
Web 2.0 technology is largely aimed at consumers and is found within businesses only on a small scale.

Baidu's Story

The Rise of Baidu (That's Chinese for Google). David Barboza. CNET News.com. September 17, 2006.
Baidu, the top search engine in China, was founded by software engineer Robin Li in 1999. This article describes some of his innovations such as link analysis and a method of letting advertisers bid for ad space and then shows how they are helping his site outperform Google and Yahoo in its home territory.

Privacy Concerns in Social Networks

A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States. Susan B. Barnes. First Monday. September 2006.
Adults are concerned about the collection of personal information by the government. Studies have shown, however, that teens have unrealistic of expectations of privacy when they participate in commercial online communities such as MySpace and Facebook. They freely provide information about themselves that can be mined by marketers, schools, future employers and criminals. This article examines privacy issues involved in social networks as well as some of the solutions that have been proposed.

MySpace and YouTube Violating Copyright?

Morris: YouTube, MySpace Abuse Copyright. Alex Veiga. AP (via Yahoo! News). September 15, 2006.
The CEO of Universal Music, Doug Morris, believes that YouTube and MySpace are violating the company's copyright by permiting users to post their music and music videos. Universal's response will be revealed soon.

MySpace Up Close

Decoding MySpace. Michelle Andrews. USNews.com. September 10, 2006.
Written for parents, this in-depth article describe kids’ activities on the popular social networking site. While the risk of predators has been widely publicized, teens' social development and future careers may be jeopardized as well if they are not careful.

Hard Drive at 50

The Hard Drive Turns 50. Melissa J. Perenson. PC World. September 13, 2006.
In 1956 a team of researchers at IBM’s San Jose laboratory developed a random–access storage medium which would replace tape as a more efficient means of accessing data in computers. Today the hard drive is found everywhere from PCs to MP3 players. This article, written on the hard drive's 50th anniversary, looks at its development and prospects for the future.

Research Support in War with Terrorists

Libraries in the War on Terrorism. Brad Robison and Greta E. Marlatt. Online. September/October 2006.
The authors profile two institutions which have been created to provide research support in the war with terrorists, the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism and Center for Homeland Defense and Security. New databases are also discussed.

Terrorist Cells as Social Networks

Big Brother 101. Noah Shachtman. Popular Science. August 2006.
Although its usefulness has yet to be publicly demonstrated, data mining techniques may be used to help uncover terror networks.

Internet Radio Becoming Portable

Internet Radio Reaches a Crescendo. Reuters (via ZDNet News). September 10, 2006.
With the availability of Internet radio receivers, Roku and other companies see a growing audience for their broadcasts. [How Internet Radio Works]

Video Downloads at Amazon

Amazon.com Launches Digital Download Service. Alexandria Sage. Reuters (via Yahoo! News). September 7, 2006.
Amazon has unveiled a new service offering downloadable movies and television programs. They can be viewed on computers but not burned to discs.

Google News Archive Search

Google Opens up 200 Years of News. BBC News. September 6, 2006.
Google has made available through its news archive search engine news as old as the mid 1700s.
The database can be accessed from the Google News page and search results include articles from numerous sources including the New York Times, Time and ProQuest. The advanced search page allows limiting of article searches by date range, language, source, and price ranges from "no price" to over $50.00. While there is no list of publications indexed and limiting by source allows the restricting of search results to only one publication at a time, search results come with accompanying lists of date ranges and "suggested" sources. A timeline view can be selected to display search results in chronological order, but this feature cannot be used with the source and price limiters.

Most Net Users not Inclined to Watch Long Videos

Poll: Online Viewers Shun Lengthy Videos. Anick Jesdanun. Associated Press (via Yahoo! News). September 5, 2006.
In spite of the plans of Hollywood Studios and television networks to make programs available online, a new poll reveals that most viewers just prefer to watch short news clips on their computers.