Stories by Paul McNamara

We need a better definition of paperless

A literal reading of this survey question leads inevitably to a pair of correct answers: absolutely yes and absolutely not.

Trashing the boss online still a bad idea, but ...

Three congressional aides recently lost their jobs in part because they are worthless layabouts who drink on the job, but also because they are but the latest to forget that Twitter lives on the Internet and tweets - especially those badmouthing your boss -- are visible to one and all.

Don't expect Woz to bid on this Apple contract

News last week that Sotheby's will auction off "The Contract That Founded Apple" - a partnership signed April 1, 1976 by the late Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne -- no doubt caught the eye of techie collectors and even sparked speculation that Apple might buy the document.

Half of adults believe social media sites hurt youth?

If the results of a recent telephone survey are to be taken at face value - a reasonably big if, in my opinion - roughly half of American adults believe that Facebook, Twitter and their ilk are harmful to the social development of today's young people.

Anonymity vs. real names on social networks

Let's cut to the chase: This one is really about whether Facebook and the new kid on the block, Google+, should get to throw their considerable weight around by requiring that users post to their social-networking sites using real names.

Patent trolls vs. innovation

When Google, Apple, Microsoft and the like bash each other about the corporate head and shoulders with their ever-expanding patent portfolios, no one worries that the legal-department combat will kill the companies' respective research and development operations.

Fun with naming Wi-Fi nets

According to a media report out of San Antonio, the man recently accused of planning to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in Washington, D.C., was not the sharpest tool in the box. However, if neighbor accounts are to be taken at face value, the same could be said of the FBI agents tasked with foiling his alleged plot.

3 small items from the week we lost a giant

Seemingly endless coverage of his passing last week offered the public an opportunity to learn everything it could ever want to know about Steve Jobs, including what would appear to be his favorite photograph ... of himself.

Rogue game server admins tell all

Back in January, Scandinavian gamers hijacked a New Hampshire medical center's server to host "Call of Duty: Black Ops" sessions. When asked about that incident, Stephen Heaslip of the gamer site Blues News said hackers are not the most likely individuals to commandeer corporate servers for illicit gaming: Such appropriations are more often the work of IT administrators. When asked if he could put us in touch with some of these rogue game server admins, Heaslip posted a call to his readership - and four volunteers stepped forward.

Google apologizes for Gmail bug that shook 150,000 users

Google says it is "very sorry" for a Gmail software bug that reset some 150,000 accounts and left their owners contemplating the prospect of having lost years worth of data. The outage affected only a fraction of one per cent of Gmail users, but its severity was particularly noteworthy.

Sun's Scott McNealy: 'Thanks for a great 28 years'

Sun founder Scott McNealy yesterday holstered the snark and poured his heart out in a farewell letter to company employees and stakeholders.

Did Apple's iPad debut put a choke-hold on the Internet?

If our experience here and the chatter on Twitter is any indication, then the answer is that it sure looks as though the Internet gagged on an iPad.

Facebook blocks 'Web 2.0 Suicide Machine'

Operators of Web site dedicated to those who seek social-media death with dignity say that Facebook is taking a more Hippocratic approach to the idea of killing one's online identities with a few keystrokes. They say the social-networking giant has killed off their access to Facebook.

Why is Wikipedia such a men's club?

You say you don't trust Wikipedia? Well, you can blame your lack of confidence on men, at least for the most part.

Raytheon snaps up Internet pioneer BBN Technologies

Having gained fame in the late '60s by building as a Defense Department network that would become the Internet, BBN Technologies today is being acquired by one of the nation's leading defense contractors.