california

CNET Road Trip 2012: Geeking out on the West Coast

For the last seven years, I've had the chance to explore much of the United States (and Europe) as part of my annual CNET Road Trip project.

In the U.S., these trips have taken me through the Northeast, the Rocky Mountain region, the Southeast, the Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest, and in each of those regions I've gone in search of stories, photos, and videos about some of the best geek-oriented destinations I can find.

Yet, despite those many long journeys along America's roadways, I've never explored CNET's own backdoor -- California. So this … Read more

The Golden Gate Bridge, a wonder of the world for 75 years

SAN FRANCISCO--It's one of the wonders of the world, and one of the most photographed things on the planet. And this Sunday, the Golden Gate Bridge turns 75.

While New York may have dozens of world-famous landmarks, and Paris is, well, Paris, San Francisco -- a great city in its own right -- may be best known for its outstanding red bridge, a masterpiece of workmanship that connects the city to its northern neighbor, Marin County.

In the late 1800s, the only way to cross the Golden Gate was by ferry, and those who ran the local vessels were … Read more

Solar eclipse blazes a 'ring of fire' this weekend

People lucky enough to be in Southeast Asia and the western U.S. this weekend will have the chance to view the first annular solar eclipse of its kind since 1994, according to NASA. Rather than a complete blocking out of the sun, as seen in a total eclipse, a "ring of fire" will radiate from behind the moon as it passes in front of the fiery globe.

The transformation will begin on Sunday as the moon makes its voyage across the sun; at one point, as much as 94 percent of the sun will be covered, according … Read more

Progress for Calif. bill to stop employers' social-media snooping

In step with efforts by national lawmakers to ban employers from demanding workers' Facebook passwords, California today made a major move toward passing its own version of such legislation.

AB 1844 passed the state assembly unanimously by a 73-0 vote and now heads to the state senate. The bill, first introduced to the California State Assembly in February, would prohibit employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to provide their username and password for Facebook, Twitter, or other social-media accounts. Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-San Jose), who authored the bill, calls AB 1844 a "preemptive measure" that will offer guidelines to the accessibility of private information behind what she calls the "social media wall." … Read more

Organ donors multiply with Facebook's new timeline feature

Facebook decided to use its multi-million-member network to make it easier for people to become organ donors and it seems that so far, it's working.

Since Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg made the announcement early today that users can add if they are organ donors to their timelines, the Donate Life California registry has had an 800 percent increase in its organ donor registrations.

"As of 12:30pm today, the Donate Life California registry has increased its online donor sign ups by nearly 800 percent from yesterday thanks to this mornings announcement of the partnership … Read more

George Lucas loses NIMBY clash over giant digital arts complex

George Lucas lost a bruising battle with neighbors in a bucolic Northern California valley Tuesday over the "Star Wars" impresario's plans for a giant technology production complex.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Lucas failed to win approval for his new 263,701-square-foot project last week, and rather than wait for more studies, as neighbors in the Lucas Valley area of San Rafael--about 30 minutes north of San Francisco--had wanted, the filmmaker decided yesterday to scrap his plans altogether.

Lucas needs to open a new complex by next year, and grew tired of waiting for approvals to … Read more

Where should CNET Road Trip go in California?

Summer is just two months off, but over here at Geek Gestalt, with bright sunshine outside (and windows to keep the chilly wind out) it already feels like it's just around the corner.

That's also in large part because I've started the planning for Road Trip 2012, my seventh-annual journey to highlight some of the best destinations around for technology, military, architecture, science, nature, and so on.

For five of the past six years, the project has taken me all around the roads of the United States, giving me the opportunity to visit the Pacific Northwest, the … Read more

Misplaced data leave 800,000 Californians exposed

Electronic files containing the names, Social Security numbers, and other private data about 800,000 California adults and children were there one minute. And the next, they were gone.

Four computer storage devices containing data from California's Department of Child Services were lost during transport between Boulder, Colo., and Sacramento, Calif., earlier this month, the Associated Press reported earlier today. The data was brought to an offsite location to test the department's ability to cope with a disaster and included a test of whether the data could be managed remotely.

The test itself was apparently successful, with IBM … Read more

Why Facebook's IPO may be worth $2.45 billion to California

Everyone knows Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will net billions in his company's initial public offering, but who knew California might just do the same?

The state's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) yesterday released a report on its expected income over the next several years and found that the state could net $2.45 billion in new tax revenue, thanks to Facebook's IPO.

California anticipates securing $500 million in tax revenue from Facebook during its 2011-2012 fiscal year, and then seeing that figure jump to $1.5 billion during its next fiscal year. Between its 2013-2014 … Read more

California AG Kamala Harris on app privacy deal (podcast)

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced a mobile app privacy agreement today with Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard, and Research In Motion.

The agreement with the companies whose platforms and app stores collectively dominate the mobile app universe, is designed to bring the mobile app industry into compliance with California's existing law that requires companies that collect personal information to have a published privacy policy.

The announcement comes in the wake of several reports of companies uploading user data, sometimes without informing the user or getting permission.

Last week the Federal Trade Commission released a report titled "Mobile … Read more