Big Brother

A new Russian ATM will make customers pay for lying: A voice-measured polygraph to be installed in the electronic tellers of Russia's state-run Sberbank can tell if patrons are talking truth or hogwash in applying for a credit card or loan -- an anti-fraud weapon with roots in the old Soviet Union.

When the 24 Hour Fitness chain announced it was scanning the fingerprints of members for entry into its gyms, the move was hailed as a step forward in preventing fraud and criticized as a step backward into Big Brother territory. But no matter how you feel about the tech-enhanced measures that...

So you pop over to Google to find a flight to Albuquerque or an aquarium for your kid, and suddenly you're being hit with come-ons from luxury companies inducing you to forget the recession that's raging and drop some of your hard-earned bucks on their baubles.What's going on here? The search giant...

The next time you head to the DMV to renew your driver's license you may end up getting more than you bargained for if Homeland Security has anything to say about it. Uncle Sam is still pushing for an Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) which would come complete with an RFID chip embedded in it. The...

Imagine answering a knock on the door, only to find three burly health officers standing there with clipboards. The first officer says; The department has received a tip that you have been frying chicken for human consumption. The second officer says; That practice is a violation of the...

I consider myself a moderately effective text messager. While my training as an editor and former English teacher means that I have a hard time using alpha-numerical shortcuts like "gr8!" or "U no what I mean," I can still express myself fairly effectively and quickly. That having been said, I must...

Each month, you shell out real, green dollars for unlimited web access. And one day, you log on, only to see a big blank screen, courtesy of your provider. Why? You used the web too much with that unlimited account. It happens all the time. One Comcast customer was dumped for using too much web...

A few years ago, I saw a movie in which a guy was strapped into a booth and shown a few commercials. eye-tracking tools recorded where his gaze wandered during the film and, afterward, a female scientist showed him the results. He was embarrassed when the scientist showed him how often his eyes...