New Hippo Techie: Keep passwords to yourself (PLUS insta-update!)

Some things are off limits during a job interview. You can’t be asked your age, your religion, your marital or family status, or anything about your health. Even if something seems relevant to the job at hand, a question has to be asked in a very narrow and specific way to be considered legal.

Or they could just ask for your Facebook password and read it all from your profile.

Read the full column at The Hippo.

UPDATE: After this column was submitted for publication, the US House voted down what many news sources are calling legislation that would make it illegal for employers to ask for your social media passwords. In fact, the amendment to a communications law would have simply clarified that the Federal Communications Commission still had the power to make such a rule:

SEC. 5. PROTECTING THE PASSWORDS OF ONLINE USERS.

Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall be construed to limit or restrict the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to adopt a rule or to amend an existing rule to protect online privacy, including requirements in such rule that prohibit licensees or regulated entities from mandating that job applicants or employees disclose confidential passwords to social networking web sites.

New Hippo Techie: The price of gadgets, part 2

You may have heard about the radio show This American Life dedicating an entire show to retracting and clarifying the details of an earlier show about Apple and its Chinese assembler, Foxconn. It’s important and right that they diligently corrected themselves, but it’s also vital to note that it was only the personal narrative aired that was fictional, not the underlying situation.

When The New York Times did its own investigation, also in January, it told stories of a dust explosion that killed and injured workers on an iPad production line; “toxic chemical exposures” that left employees permanently sick; violations of Apple’s policies that had people working more than 70 hours per week; and riots and suicides in overcrowded factory dormitories.

None of these facts are in dispute. Daisey incorporated them into his monologue, but presented the incidents as if he met the people involved. In most cases, he did not.

Read the full column at The Hippo.

New Hippo Techie: Disposal o’ the green

Spring is a very good time to think about electronics recycling, what with Earth Day at the end of April and everyone cleaning out their garages. In years past, organizations have scheduled electronics collection days to coincide with Earth Day, though that’s getting more rare — but for a good reason. It’s actually becoming easier to dispose of your old electronics responsibly.

Read the full column at The Hippo.

I TOLD you it was terrible

A few months back, I wrote I wrote a scathing review of the Wireless Air 60 gaming system for the Hippo. It’s one of those plug-and-play consoles, where all the games are stored in memory and you just hook it up to your television with RCA cables.

Yeah, it looks like a Kinect. Big coincidence, I’m sure. It certainly doesn’t act like a Kinect, though. From the review:

See, you don’t make natural motions to roll your bowling ball or swing your bat. You hover your hands on controls overlaying the action on the screen. I had to wiggle my fingers to get the controls to activate (unless they accidentally activated from some motion I didn’t remember making). On-screen instructions are sparse, and the included manual, having been translated at least four times, is of only limited use.

When I purchased (and subsequently returned) my Wireless Air 60, it was on sale for $20 from its normal $40. Today I walked into CVS and saw this:

On one level, I hope my review didn’t tank a product into the shameful end of the clearance bin. It’s unlikely that I have anywhere near that much influence.

Then again, at $4.99, it’s still not worth it.