Author: Rebecca Greenfield

Will Google's Request to Publish Secret Court Orders Do Anything?

Reuters

Google has filed a motion to end the gag order on the secret FISA court requests that it gets from the government as a part of the National Security Agencies surveillance, which could work considering how recent efforts to reveal the secrets of the secret court have gone.

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 2, 2011

The BlackBerry PlayBook Is Killing RIM

It's becoming clear that the BlackBerry Playbook is significantly hurting an already ailing Research in Motion, after the company announced Friday morning that it will take a $485 million charge as a result of poor tablet sales.

Comments | 1,455 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 1, 2011

Napster's Seven Lives Are Finished

Instead of mourning Napster's last day on this Internet planet, we thought we'd point out Napster's many deaths. 

Comments | 2,624 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 1, 2011

Silicon Valley's Incubator Glut Is Real

Though Silicon Valley continues to point to its big portfolios and the industry's high valuations, a look at how incubator start-ups are doing shows what's really happening in the tech world. 

Comments | 2,967 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 1, 2011

Some Limitations of Using Google to Find Racist Voters

As a recent study claiming to measure how many votes Obama lost in 2008 because of racism demonstrates why it's problematic to rely on Google search results as a metric for racist voting patterns.

Comments | 2,341 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 1, 2011

Apple Vaguely Apologizes for Siri's Abortion 'Glitch'

After the Internet freaked out over Siri's apparent pro-life bias, Apple has responded, but not apologized or fixed, the personal assistant's abortion "glitch."

Comments | 33,557 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 30, 2011

Amazon Has a Very Good Reason to Now Support an Internet Sales Tax

Now that the legislation favors Amazon, in a total turnaround from earlier this year, today Amazon came out and said it "strongly supports" the Internet sales tax. 

Comments | 2,530 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 30, 2011

Keeping Data Off U.S. Servers Won't Prevent the Government from Snooping

If the U.S. wants to get a hold of foreign data in any cloud -- American or not -- it has legal ways of getting it. 

Comments | 479 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 30, 2011

Now's the Time for Spotify to Impress All Its Freeloaders

Just in time for those six months of free unlimited streaming subscriptions to expire, Spotify has a big announcement this afternoon. 

Comments | 2,671 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 30, 2011

Yahoo Attracts Some Low, Unsurprising Bids

Yahoo's not worth as much as it had hoped, receiving bids for a minority stake between $16 and $18 per share, far short of its high $20 expectations

Comments | 345 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 29, 2011

The Very Minor Benefits of Xbox TV

Microsoft's Xbox 360 Live, which customers can now sign up for, offers more than any other box in the lame streaming TV industry, but if you're looking to cut pricey cable out of your life and totally rely on the Internet for TV, these aren't the gadgets for you. 

Comments | 2,381 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 29, 2011

Siri Has a Funny Way of Not Knowing Things

When asked where to go for an abortion, Siri has been directing iPhoners to far-away, pro-life clinics. Does that make Apple's robot stupid, ill-informed or biased?

Comments | 35,221 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 29, 2011

Yahoo Enters a New Phase of Sale Negotiations

Months after announcing its sale and the ensuing speculation over buyers, Yahoo will reportedly sit down today and talk about  the possibility of selling a minority stake in its company to one of various bidders. 

Comments | 1,157 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 28, 2011

Spatwatch

Chick-Fil-A's Assault on Kale

The Players: Chick-Fil-A, the Southern based fried-chicken fast-food chain, which employs the tagline "Eat Mor Chiken" (sic) to sell its greasy deliciousness; Eat More Kale, an eco-friendly T-shirt business that promotes sustainable food screen-printing its very similar sounding slogan "Eat More Kale" on t-shirts. 

Comments | 3,737 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 28, 2011

Morning Joe Doesn't Get Why Its New Promotion Is Sexist

On Monday, MSNBC's Morning Joe premiered a new promotion that has ladies in media crying sexism and Joe Scarborough scratching his head. 

Comments | 12,732 Views

By Adam Clark Estes and Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 28, 2011

The Best Siri Hacks So Far

Dissatisfied with Siri's already impressive personal assistant skills, hackers have taken her to the next level, manipulating her technology to do more than just send text messages.

Comments | 35,407 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 28, 2011

Strong Black Friday Sales Aren't a Good Sign for the Economy

Amid a lagging economy and high unemployment Black Friday sales were up 6.6 percent from last year, which many are taking as a good sign for today's Cyber Monday mayhem and the rest of the shopping seasons, but those numbers are less optimistic than they sound.

Comments | 2,467 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 23, 2011

Facebook's Increasingly Lenient Police Officer Guidelines

As Facebook has worked more with the police over the years, its official officer guidelines have changed.

Comments | 2,913 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 23, 2011

Martha Stewart Pepper Sprays a Turkey

Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.

Comments | 4,612 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 23, 2011

Yes, There Is a Space Thanksgiving

Thanks to technology and science, Thanksgiving has gotten better for astronauts. 

Comments | 1,437 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 23, 2011

Britney Spears Is the Best Thing to Happen to Google+

This morning, Google+ got some major celebrity cachet with Britney Spears surpassing Google CEO Larry Page as the most followed person on the network.

Comments | 2,718 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 23, 2011

Some Obvious Reasons Groupon's IPO Bubble Is Bursting

On Tuesday, Groupon's stock fell 19 percent, hovering just above its original $20-a-share price of the company's recent $805 million IPO, starting the morning at $20.03; today the daily deal site's stock is down further to around $17 per share. 

Comments | 8,778 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 23, 2011

The End of Caller ID

If a number's not in our address book, attached to a very familiar name, there's no reason to pick it up -- it's probably something evil.

Comments | 1,723 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 22, 2011

Stop Putting Words on Girls Clothing

Lately, clothing stores haven't had enough sense to discern the line between popular slogan and inappropriate saying, so we're suggesting they call the whole thing off.

Comments | 3,584 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 22, 2011

The Long Quest for a Conservative Daily Show

The latest conservative Daily Show wannabe, B.S. of A from Glenn Beck, follows a lengthy list of failure in the right's attempt to mint a Jon Stewart of their own.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 22, 2011

Wall Street Will Never Be the Same Again

The financial jobs market isn't doing well and no one expects it to make a comeback anytime soon, if ever. 

Comments | 1,803 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 22, 2011

We Hear Pepper Spray Tastes 'Delicious'

If Fox News's Megyn Kelly actually has to eat pepper spray for her off-comment on last night's O'Reilly Factor, we hear it apparently tastes good. 

Comments | 5,050 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 22, 2011

Facebook Brings Us Closer Together and Further Apart

Using algorithms, Facebook debunked the "six-degrees of separation" theory, determining that we are now a mere 4.74 degrees away from another human anywhere on the planet. 

Comments | 6,552 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 21, 2011

Jimmy Wales Makes It Easy to Make Fun of Wikipedia Ads

Each year Jimmy Wales stares us into donating to Wikipedia; this year it's even easier than ever to make fun of the Wikipedia founder.

Comments | 4,680 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 21, 2011

Nook Tablet Reviews: Better Device, Worse Content

Just in time to take advantage of the Kindle Fire let down, Barnes and Noble's similar idea, the Nook Tablet, has hit reviewer's hands.

Comments | 10,001 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 18, 2011

Netflix: A Cautionary Tale for Spotify

Spotify just lost about 200 record labels, which is bad for a service that's only as valuable as the music it provides.

Comments | 5,308 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 18, 2011

Conservatives Control the Political E-mail Rumor Mill

There are two things that political conspiracy e-mail forwards have in common: Conservatives and senior citizens.

Comments | 2,069 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 18, 2011

Troubling Signs of the White House Shooter's Mental Instability

There were clues that something was up with Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, the man who has been accused of attempted assassination, in the months leading up to his White House shooting spree last Friday night. 

Comments | 1,653 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 18, 2011

It Costs Amazon Less to Make a Kindle Fire Than Previously Thought

With each Kindle Fire sale Amazon loses money, but not that much. 

Comments | 2,863 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 18, 2011

Media Diet

Jenny Slate: What I Read

The recurring actor on HBO's Bored to Death and Saturday Night Live alumnus explains how she gets her news.

Comments | 6,850 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 17, 2011

Amazon Can Bait Rumormongers Just as Well as Apple

Amazon is giving Apple a run for its money on the rumor mill with budding speculation over the possibility of a Kindle Phone.

Comments | 1,668 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 17, 2011

The Celebrity Tech Startup Bubble

Today 19-year-old Disney star Selena Gomez joins the ever-rising clan of celebrity tech investors.

Comments | 624 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 17, 2011

Can Netflix Afford a Comeback?

Netflix may have reached a financial roadblock in its plan to win back respect and subscribers.

Comments | 4,488 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 17, 2011

Jersey Shore's 'The Situation' Doesn't Want Abercrombie Hogging All the Attention

The Jerseys Shore's Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is making the most out of a contrived Abercombie & Fitch diss.

Comments | 579 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 17, 2011

The Smartphonification of Stuff

Replacing everything we used to carry around with us, smartphones are making purses obsolete. 

Comments | 2,414 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

Google Music's Surprise: It's Free

Years late to the music party, Google makes up for it by offering its Music Service for free -- mostly. 

Comments | 4,311 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

Herman Cain's 'Cuban' Crisis

Just days after Cain stumbled enunciating a position on Libya, the presidential candidate has been caught referring to the language Cubans speak as 'Cuban.'

Comments | 2,931 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

Bachus Denies Profiting from Inside Information

After being accused of particularly sneaky insider trading practices, Rep. Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is denying he did anything wrong.

Comments | 1,429 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

TSA Declares Banned-in-Europe Airport X-Rays 'Completely Safe'

The TSA is so sure airport body scanners are safe -- the kind that Europe just banned because of "cancer risks -- are safe, that it'scancelling plans for a health and safety study.

Comments | 3,765 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

Secret Service Arrests White House Shooting Suspect

The Secret Service has arrested Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, a suspect for this morning's White House shooting, at a hotel near Indiana, Penslyvania.

Comments | 778 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

The Village Voice Fights for the Right to City Superlatives

In ridiculous sounding lawsuits of the day: Village Voice Media is suing Time Out New York for using the phrase "Best of NYC" on the cover of its November 3 issue.

Comments | 172 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 16, 2011

Google Music Will Actually Have Music

Cutting it close, Google signed a deal with major music labels just one day before the official Google Music launch event this afternoon.

Comments | 971 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 15, 2011

Facebook Has a New Feature That Can Help Liars

Finally, Facebook has made it easier for us to lie about our lives.

Comments | 4,199 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 15, 2011

Finally, a New 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On'

After 12 million plus YouTube views, a book deal, and an impending TV show, Jenny Slate and her fiance Dean Fleischer-Camp have given the Internet another 4 minute and 12 second dose of adorable with a Marcel the Shell with Shoes on follow-up.

Comments | 3,621 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 14, 2011

'Community' Fans Are Very Worried Right Now

NBC hasn't even canceled NBC's Community and the show's loyal fans are freaking out on Twitter. 

Comments | 3,511 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Nov 14, 2011

Get Ready for Recession 2012?

In depressing economic news of the day: The U.S. will more likely than not experience another recession in early 2012. 

Comments | 862 Views

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