Theresa Christy of Otis Elevator: Making Elevators Go | Creating – WSJ.com

A really interesting article on elevators/lifts. I would have assumed the personal space issue would have been reversed, ie that more would be required in Asia.

Another problem: How many people fit in an elevator? In Asia, more people will board a car than in Europe or New York, Ms. Christy says; Westerners prefer more personal space. When she programs an elevator system she uses different weights for the average person by region. The average American is 22 pounds heavier than the average Chinese.

via Theresa Christy of Otis Elevator: Making Elevators Go | Creating – WSJ.com.

Concept refrigerator with no door won’t let you forget what’s inside | Digital Trends

Are you the kind of person who throws a box of leftovers in the fridge, only to forget it was ever there? One design student figured the solution to this would be if you could keep sight of what’s in your fridge whenever you walk by… so what’s a better way to do that than to eliminate the door as a whole? Wait, huh?

via Concept refrigerator with no door won’t let you forget what’s inside | Digital Trends.

Data cops seek ‘urgent clarification’ on new Facebook advertiser plans • The Register

Is anyone really surprised that FB are trying to leverage the profile data they have?

The company – which plunged onto Nasdaq in May this year – is doing everything it can to shake as much ad revenue out of the site as possible by unsurprisingly proposing to open its users’ data even more. Some have suggested that this means Facebook will build unified profiles of its users akin to, say, those of Google+.

For example, now that photo-sharing site Instagram is part of the Facebook family, one of the proposals is for the company to share data across its growing estate.

via Data cops seek ‘urgent clarification’ on new Facebook advertiser plans • The Register.

Banned by the Bible | 76 things banned in Leviticus

I may have to have children just so I can sacrifice them to Molek (18:21)

Sex seems to be a big no no in the rules stakes, 14 out of 76.

25.   Having sex with your mother (18:7)

26.   Having sex with your father’s wife (18:8)

27.   Having sex with your sister (18:9)

28.   Having sex with your granddaughter (18:10)

29.   Having sex with your half-sister (18:11)

30.   Having sex with your biological aunt (18:12-13)

31.   Having sex with your uncle’s wife (18:14)

32.   Having sex with your daughter-in-law (18:15)

33.   Having sex with your sister-in-law (18:16)

34.   Having sex with a woman and also having sex with her daughter or granddaughter (bad news for Alan Clark) (18:17)

36.   Having sex with a woman during her period (18:19)

37.   Having sex with your neighbour’s wife (18:20)

39. Having sex with a man “as one does with a woman” (18:22)

40. Having sex with an animal (18:23)

via Banned by the Bible | 76 things banned in Leviticus.

You’re not anonymous. I know your name, email, and company.

Another example of why just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Privacy advocates are already looking to strangle the ad industry. This just adds fuel to the fire. Users don’t even know they need to opt-out of this kind of tracking which leads to media stories and then people blocking all tracking technologies even the benign ones which fund the web.

For example, if [a visitor] went to XYZ.com and filled out a web form and then [the visitor] later visited 42floors.com, [42Floors] would be able to identify [the visitor] by name/email as well as company details even though [the visitor] never filled out a web form on [42Floors.com].

via You’re not anonymous. I know your name, email, and company..

Sitecom adds Do Not Track to its routers | bit-tech.net

Networking specialist Sitecom has announced an extension of the security software running on its top-end router models, adding support for the Do Not Track flag to all client devices.

Introduced in the latest version of desktop browsers, and slowly making its way to mobile devices, Do Not Track is a flag which tells sites that the user does not wish to be tracked between visits. Privacy fans claim its an important step in improving the state of the web, while advertisers have decried the technology by claiming it will limit the availability and diversity of Internet content and services for consumers.

via Sitecom adds Do Not Track to its routers | bit-tech.net.

Use of Tracking Cookies on the Rise as Advertisers Seek More Data From Web Surfers | Digital – Advertising Age

Nothing new here – The number of cookies dropped by websites is growing.

The number of third-party cookies — little pieces of software set on users’ machines to track web users for ad targeting or site analytics purposes — rose from 1,887 on the home pages of the most-popular 100 websites in May to 2,324 in October, according to research from the University of California at Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. That’s a 23% leap.

via Use of Tracking Cookies on the Rise as Advertisers Seek More Data From Web Surfers | Digital – Advertising Age.

Messages chatroom window won’t go away: Apple Support Communities

I’ve had an annoying chatroom that opened every time I started messages despite not using it in months. I unchecked the autojoin option in the chat window and closed it, checked the autojoin and closed it but it always came back. It turns out that the autojoin checkbox in the chat window doesn’t seem to b econnected to anything and you have to do it via an obscure menu.

File > Go to Chat Room > Deselect “auto join” in the chat room list window.

via chatroom window won’t go away: Apple Support Communities.

Data cops: Facebook privacy plans must be ‘modified’ • The Register

Facebook remains tied to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement that “prohibits the company from changing privacy settings without the affirmative consent of users or misrepresenting the privacy or security of users’ personal information”.

Indeed, as of November 2011, Facebook agreed to bi-annual privacy audits for two decades as part of its deal with the FTC. At the time the US watchdog said Facebook must be clear about changes to its website, including providing a “prominent notice” to users.

The social network was told it should obtain “express consent” before a user’s information is shared beyond any privacy settings already established by an individual connected to Facebook.

Arguably then, Facebook is failing to honour at least part of its agreement with the FTC: the website did inform all of its users of the plans in an email outlining the proposed tweaks. But it may have fallen down on the requirement to seek “express consent” for sharing data beyond the limits set in place by users. That said, the stateside regulator is yet to publicly express any disquiet about the company’s incoming privacy policy overhaul.

In contrast, here in Europe, the office of Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner confirmed late last week that it was seeking “urgent clarification” from Facebook – whose European headquarters are in Dublin – about the changes.

via Data cops: Facebook privacy plans must be ‘modified’ • The Register.