Weekend America Voices
John Moe
Recent Stories
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What happens to your Facebook data now?
By now you may have heard that your Facebook data may have been taken by third party application developers and moved over to ad companies. The Wall Street Journal reported that of the top 10 apps on Facebook, all 10 were engaged in this practice. Some of them were even capturing info about your friends and then selling it. So what happens now?
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Mind Blowing Monday: Copiers that spy on people, people who spy on people
It doesn't always get the attention that, say, smartphone technology does, but surveillance technology is making big leaps. And raising big issues. Today, another one of our Mind Blowing Mondays with Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder and co-director of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. He tells us about new surveillance software.
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Are political polls accurate in the age of cell phones?
As Election Day approaches, there are many polls predicting -- with varying degrees of accuracy -- the outcome of the elections. Many of those polls are conducted by automated calling of land line phones. But given how many people use cell phones instead of land lines, can we trust what the polls say?
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School district pays up after using webcam to watch student at home
A Pennsylvania school district will pay $610,000 to settle a case involving webcam spying. The conflict began when webcam-equipped laptops were loaned out to students. Then, one student was accused of doing drugs in his bedroom. Why? Because of photos taken secretively on the webcam. We talk webcams, computers, and individual rights.
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FCC to take on cell phone bill shock
Maybe this has happened to you: You get a bill with some crazy huge extra charge that you weren't expecting. Suddenly you owe hundreds of dollars more than you thought and you can barely even understand why. This week, the FCC is meeting to talk about cell phone bill shock. All this plus Justin Bieber (kind of).
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U.S. Marines go green in Afghanistan
The war in Afghanistan has cost a lot of lives and money. In an effort to save both, Company I of the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines is conducting an experiment using renewable energy technology like solar panels and LED lights, and training Marines to operate it. The idea is to cut back on the the risk and expense of transporting fossil fuels across Afghanistan.
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Google and Apple want your TV
Big tech companies are not satisfied to just be on your computer or phone. They want to go where you really spend time -- on your TV. We take a look at the emerging Google TV technology as well as the recently released Apple TV. We also give you an update on new Facebook features and talk about how people are cheating their way through an English hedge maze.
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Mere mortals can't defeat Zeus
More than 100 people in the U.S., England, and other countries have been arrested for stealing money online using a bit of malicious computer code called Zeus. But those arrests will not stop more of these attacks from happening. We learn what Zeus is, how it works, and how easy it is to purchase online.
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Steven Johnson's 'Where Good Ideas Come From'
Here's a thought: What if all that time you waste on social networking websites isn't a waste of time at all? What if tweeting your tweets on Twitter and facebooking with your fake friends on Facebook is actually a path toward finding the next big idea, the next breakthrough A-ha(!) moment of your life? We talk to author Steven Johnson. His new book Where Good Ideas Come From argues that we may be more likely to have our breakthrough on social networks than sitting alone at a desk.
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Technology cases coming before the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is opening its new session. On the docket: several cases that touch on technology. We talk with legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen about cases involving video games, privacy, and whether AT&T counts as a person in our conversation. Also in this show, the Senate wants commercials to be quieter. What might that sound like?
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Scientists at work on rewiring human brains
Scientists in the Midwest are researching ways to rewire the brains of people who've suffered traumatic brain injuries. We speak with Pedram Mohseni and Randolph J. Nudo about their work, which has recently been given a $1.44 million grant by the Defense Department.
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Bold Senate anti-piracy bill garners support, complaints
A new bill may change what you're able to see on the web. The bill is aimed at going after material online, like pirated movies, that violates copyright laws. It has bipartisan support in the Senate, but advocates of a freer, less regulated Internet say it takes too broad an approach to law enforcement. We explore the bill and get an update on it.
