When Uncle Sam asked Google to reveal its dirty laundry as part of an effort to revive the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), the search giant told them to stick the request where subpoenas don't shine. Good for Google. The Feds claim they're just seeking search terms -- not the identities of those who used them -- so they can demonstrate that there's an awful lot of naughty stuff out on the Web. (Who knew?) Privacy wonks warn this is another step toward using search engines to conduct fishing expeditions for Net scofflaws. Even if Google is fighting the subpoena mainly to protect its brand, more power to them. And shame on the wimps at AOL, MSN, and Yahoo who caved without much of a fight.
Uninterruptible power to the people: Cringester Marshall J. had his Dell Precision 330 fried like an egg by a lightning storm, despite using an APC Back-UPS Pro 1000 surge protector. But the real shock came a few months later when APC refused to pay out on its $75,000 guarantee. APC tested Marshall's BP 1000 after the storm and said it worked "as designed," so the damage wasn't covered under the policy. The good news? After Marshall howled like, well, someone struck by lightning, APC agreed to pay him fair market value for his PC. It also sent him three replacement units (the first two were defective). Moral of the story: Keep plugging away; eventually you may connect.
The no-spy zone: Zone Labs took exception to last week's item about its software phoning home. ZL says it doesn't spy on customers or send personally identifiable data back to its servers, and it plans to release a bug fix later this week. Strangely, the Zoners also didn't appreciate my trademark snarky-yet-juvenile wit. Join the crowd.
Invasive maneuvers, Mr. Sulu: William Shatner has sold a kidney stone to online casino GoldenPalace.com for $25,000, with the proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Not to be outdone, I understand Leonard "Spock" Nimoy plans to auction off his lifetime collection of earwax.
Got hot tips or hot wax? Send the tips to cringe@infoworld.com, and you may get a cool Cringe bag in return. But please, keep the wax.
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