Evoflux

Another Data ‘Cloud” Bust with the Closure of The Linkup

“Can you trust your data to the cloud? For users of an online storage service called The Linkup, formerly known as MediaMax, the answer turned out to be a resounding “no.” The Linkup shut down on Aug. 8 after losing access to as much as 45% of its customers’ data. “When we looked at some individual accounts, some people didn’t have any files, and some people had all their files,” The Linkup CeO Steve Iverson admits. None of the affected users will get their lost data back. Iverson called it a “worst-case scenario."”

Although this isn’t the type of story that normally gets around these parts the first sentence of the article poses a very important question. How many of you would trust your data in the hands of someone else? What about your privacy rights? Its an issue with people on both sides of the fence.

Link (via Slashdot)

Online Colleges Could Spy On Students - By Law

Thanks to a new bill in congress one small paragraph would allow distance education colleges and universities to install spy cameras into student’s homes. Of course none of our representatives are objecting to it. Think of the future when almost all education is done from home. George Orwell must be rolling over in his grave.

Tucked away in a 1,200-page bill now in Congress is a small paragraph that could lead distance-education institutions to require spy cameras in their students’ homes…

...The paragraph is actually about clamping down on cheating. It says that an institution that offers an online program must prove that an enrolled student is the same person who does the work…

...But some college officials are wary of the technologies, noting that they are run by third-party vendors that may not safeguard students’ privacy. Among the information the vendors collect are students’ fingerprints, and possibly even images from inside their homes.

“This is taking a step into a student’s private life,” said Rhonda M. Epper, co-executive director of Colorado Community Colleges Online. “I don’t know if we want to extend our presence that far."…

Link (via slashdot)