Good morning tech

McAFEE CONCERNED WITH DHS CYBERSECURITY STANDARDS: Imposing
tough government cybersecurity standards could have a detrimental impact on
private sector innovation, according to officials from the network security
firm McAfee. McAfee officials told Hillicon
Valley on Friday that
they support the cybersecurity bill recently
introduced by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
but are concerned about the Department of Homeland Security imposing stringent,
static cybersecurity requirements on private sector companies. The government
“needs to be very careful about imposing too much of a top-down standards
process” said Tom Gann, McAfee vice president of government relations,
noting standards could quickly become out of date thanks to the “cyber
arms race” between hackers and the institutions they attempt to penetrate.

SCHEDULED

…9:30. The Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation
will host a discussion on “Where Does the U.S. Really Stand in Broadband
and Why?” 1101 K St. NW.

NUMBER PUNCH

9…The number of steps needed to explain “everything you need
to know” about the Internet, according to a Guardian analysis piece.
Using bullet points to elucidate the entire online world, insights range from
technical explanations (what is cloud computing? Bullet #6: “the network
is now the computer”) to major cultural explorations (how is the Web changing
communication? Bullet#1: “the honest answer is that we simply don’t
know”).

SAID

“As the ball blasted out of the trap, the combined effect of
the blades of grass, the flying grains of sand, and the ball coming at me was
actively seductive, beyond ‘you are there.’ The picture enveloped me, as though
the images were as drawn to me as I was to them.”

-Nancy Franklin in a New Yorker piece on how 3-D enhances
the experience of watching sports, golf included.

QUESTIONED

Is it ethical to provide nursing
home residents with a pet for company — if the pet is a robotic baby seal called Paro? (WSJ)

FOR THE WATERCOOLER

INCONSISTENCY: Google appears to have two different views on
the legality of pulling data from unencrypted networks, Tech Daily Dose
reports.
On one hand is the company’s letter to lawmakers telling them it did not
break the law when it collected user data running over Wi-Fi networks. On the other
hand is the privacy policy statement attached to its own Wi-Fi network in Mountain View, Calif.
“Wireless Internet access presents challenges for protecting your
information from illegal data interception by third parties,” the policy
states, the key word being “illegal.”