Mossberg

Ken Auletta writes about Walt Mossberg in the New Yorker: clipped from www.newyorker.com Eric Schmidt suggests that, while the Internet may yield enormous amounts of information, it is easy to drown in it. So consumers, Schmidt says, “go to brands they trust.” He adds, “Walt is a brand.”

Directory of Attention

This week’s WSJ column (subscription only, I’m afraid) is about attention: If you feel the Internet has both blessed you with an abundance of information and cursed you by drowning you in it, I have one word which might help make sense of it all: attention. (And, if you give me enough of your attention, … Read more

Helping the World, Ripple by Ripple

God, I love simple ideas. This is great one (tip of hat to Lifehack) because it’s already working. By doing your search through Melbourne-based ripple, and looking at an ad, you direct the cents your eyeballs earn to charity. A few hours after launch the difference is already being felt: In our first 48 hours … Read more

The Distraction of Phones

Why are we so intrigued by our phones, but not our computers? I now realise why we buy new cellphones. If we didn’t, there would be nothing to do during those times we find ourselves without external distractions, such as taking public transport, sitting in cafes waiting for friends to turn up (or even, if … Read more

That Sucking Sound? Your Credit Card Data

Good piece by my WSJ colleage Joe Pereira on the TJX debacle, the biggest known theft of credit-card numbers. It all came down to lax Wi-Fi security on the part of the retail chain’s stores. A good read: clipped from online.wsj.com The $17.4-billion retailer’s wireless network had less security than many people have on their … Read more