It seems like everything is an addiction these days. I like to play video games for hours at a time, so therefore I must be addicted. I have a bowl of Lucky Charms every evening when I get home from work, please someone stop me before I get out of control. At least I’m not like the internet addicts in China.

China has officially recognized internet addiction as a real disease. So what constitutes ‘internet addiction’ over someone who just really likes to update MySpace throughout the day?

The symptoms of Chinese internet addiction are: spending six hours or more per day online, increased difficulty sleeping, yearning to be online, mental or physical distress.

The problem of internet addiction has been around for sometime in China. Since 2005 there have been clinics to help people get over their addiction the world wide web.

It’s kind of sad to know that people can spend upwards of six hours a day straight online. Of course I do it for my job so I can’t say much. Of course I don’t have withdrawals, if anything I feel relief when I get home and don’t have to be ‘online’.

Source: ITWorld

Al Gore, the man is nothing if he isn’t entertaining. He’s the person that invented the internet, ran for president and lost. He went crazy for a couple of years, and then came back to win a Nobel prize.

Al Gore has been a key figure this past decade. Most notably has been his fight against the worldwide battle known as global warming global climate change (for those in the ‘know’). Inconvenient Truth was pretty humorous, and did its job to scare people into ‘caring’ about the environment. Just like George Bush using fear to rally people to fight terrorism, that same fear is being utilized to inspire the fight against global warm….climate change. But this isn’t about Gore, and his ManBearPig (South Park, Yay!) like attitude, this is about his views towards Web 2.0.

At the Web 2.0 Summit, Al Gore talks about the effects of Web 2.0 and how it can be used in the future. He believes that Web 2.0 can create a community, to set the rally cry against global climate change. He goes on to compare how Obama was able to establish his community online, and use that community to convey his message. He believes those same people can get the message out about our dying planet.

Throughout most of his speech, I was rolling my eyes but he does make a point that people should listen to. He talks about the unification of the medium of television and the internet. I, like most in the tech sector believe that the internet is the future of information gathering. Although most still watch TV for their news, the internet is making its big push. ESPN, is one place you can notice this change. I was watching Sports Center last night, and more than a few times the anchors were pulling quotes and thoughts from people that commented on their site. I know it’s a small example, but like Al Gore states, this is one exciting change I’m ready to see happen.

I mentioned Global Climate Change earlier so I feel obligated to provide information, and if you want true facts about it here are some great links. None of them are persuaded by either side of the spectrum. It’s all scientific study, because to me that’s what the global climate change community needs. Not Web 2.0 with user groups, but true non-biased facts.

Jens Bischof on Global Climate Change

Jennifer Marohasy

IPCC Argument & Counter Argument

Honda tends to be at the front end of automotive technology. Many people stand by their products, and now some of them are walking with Honda.

It creeps me out for some reason…

Undoubtedly the execs over at Google, parent company of YouTube have been keeping an eye on Hulu. The NBC Universal and News Corp venture company Hulu has been making a huge splash with the video content they’ve been releasing.

Unlike YouTube, Hulu releases content only relating to the entertainment industry. So, you can go there and watch TV shows, movies, shorter clips. Hulu has found ways to make profit off of the free service as well, and it’s through advertising.

YouTube has announced that they plan to fire back as they’re in the works for releasing full length movies. They’ve try to monetize on the short, user submitted movies but so far have been relatively unsuccessful.

So, does YouTube have a chance or is it too late? I’d like to think that if they keep thinking creatively they could still monetize off the platform they use now. If they try and install a new commercial base, I think they’ll see a drop off in viewership.

People don’t go to YouTube to watch commercial media. It’s a community where people are able to become a part of something bigger than what’s available through Hollywood, and the like. It’s a great niche site, and I’d really hate to see it lose its way.

I think if YouTube does switch platforms and focuses on a fight against Hulu we could see dire outcomes. More advertising, and less of the user content that made YouTube so great in the first place. Instead of trying to profit off what Hulu has done, why not keep trying to think of creative ways to monetize its current platform. It’s owned by Google for crying out loud, I’m sure they can think of something.

As for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Yesterday we finally received our president-elect, and he is Barack Obama. Millions undoubtedly stayed tuned into their various news stations to usher in a new era in American history. So, now that it’s happened, what can we look forward to? Well, Obama has released an official document stating his positions in the tech sector.

If you’d like to read it yourself, here is the link.

There’s quite a bit of vague political rhetoric, so I’ll try and sift through it to bring you the major points.

The major point Obama makes in his policy is his views towards Net neutrality. He specifically mentions ISP’s, and being to stop them from charging fees for certain content to be featured over other.

“Barack Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or applications of some web sites and Internet applications over others. This principle will ensure that the new competitors, especially small or non-profit speakers, have the same opportunity as incumbents to innovate on the Internet and to reach large audiences.”

The next major point that Obama makes, is to strengthen the Federal Trade Commision’s budget. According to Obama, it’s there we’ll find the means to battle cyber-criminals specifically on an international basis.

“Obama will increase the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement budget and will step up international cooperation to track down cyber-criminals so that U.S. law enforcement can better prevent and punish spam, spyware, telemarketing and phishing intrusions into the privacy of American homes and computers.”

Yet, further through even more rhetoric (you gotta love political statements) we find how Obama wants to change the defition of broadband. Specifically changing the speeds that’s currently considered ‘broadband’.

“The Federal Communications Commission today defines “broadband” as an astonishingly low 200 kbps. This distorts federal policy and hamstrings efforts to broaden broadband access. Obama will define “broadband” for purposes of national policy at speeds demanded by 21st century business and communications.”

To me the largest, and most influential piece of Obama’s tech policy is the inception of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). I think it’s here that Obama will find his largest divide among the population. According to Obama, the CTO will be in charge of overseeing the technology used within our federal government.

The divide of course will be, if people think it’s necessary for tax dollars to be spent in such a fashion.

“Obama will appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.”

After reading Obama’s tech policy, what are your thoughts?

Online banking security is an issue that many people have become severely concerned about. When we go onto our online bank accounts, we want to be safe in knowing that all of our information is being kept private.

This video of the Banking Technology Summit provides a look at larger international banks and how they’re tackling security issues.

For more information you can visit the official Banking Technology Summit site, here.