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Editor’s note: Doug Gross covers consumer technology and the Web for CNN.com. Follow his updates on Twitter or add him to your Circles on Google+.

(CNN) — Let’s face it: Most of us don’t e-mail, tweet, text or post anything worthy of clandestine scrutiny.

But having concerns about NSA cybersnooping doesn’t mean we must surrender all privacy — what’s left of it — in our day-to-day online activities.

It’s easy to forget that we’re volunteering basic information about ourselves in return for free e-mail, social networking and other digital services. And let’s remember that third parties — from government agencies to cybercriminals — can get their hands on even more personal stuff if they’re actively trying.

So, whether it’s due to a vague fear of Big Brother or a more specific desire to keep your bank information out of the hands of thieves, you might be considering ways to keep your communication more secure.

“So much that’s geo-political, so much cybercrime, so many struggles of various types are being played out in terms of information security today,” said Wade Williamson, a senior security analyst at Palo Alto Networks. “It’s not just that people decided to get interested in encryption all of a sudden.”

CNNMoney: How to hide from the NSA

Specifically, encryption has come up a lot in recent days. For one, NSA whistleblower (some would say “traitor”) Edward Snowden said Monday in an online question-and-answer session that e-mail encryption is an effective way of foiling government surveillance.

“Encryption works,” he wrote. “Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on. Unfortunately, endpoint security is so terrifically weak that NSA can frequently find ways around it.”

Encryption is a method of securing your files, including e-mail, by encoding it so that the intended recipient can read it, but anyone who may intercept the message along the way cannot.

An encryption tool turns your original message (called “plaintext”) into a garbled mess (or “ciphertext”) while it’s flying from Point A to Point B. The system gives the approved recipient a decryption tool which makes the text readable once it arrives at its destination.

With all of the renewed interest in online privacy, we talked with Williamson about ways to help keep your data secure — before, during and after sending it.

Before

First things first. There are ways to make your contact with every website you visit more secure.

A “secure sockets layer” (SSL) provides a layer of security during everything from Web browsing to text messaging. Many major websites offer the option of using a secure connection all the time. Williamson and other security experts suggest doing this when given the option.

If not — sometimes it can be as easy as tweaking “http” to “https” in your browser’s address bar.

“By and large, you can just throw an ‘S’ into the URL and go to town,” Williamson said.

There are also tools like HTTPS Everywhere, a free extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers, that encrypt your connection with most major websites.

Obama: I’m no Dick Cheney

During

Most major e-mail services, like Outlook and Gmail, offer some form of encryption. Check your e-mail’s security settings for options.

But for people who are really worried about their e-mails being intercepted — and that’s always just an unsecured network and an eager hacker away — Williamson suggests buying encryption software. (Note: His company focuses on network security and does not sell encryption software to individuals).

With many of the systems, customers will get digital “certificates” for themselves called private keys. Everyone with whom they want to share encrypted messages will receive public keys.

Using such a system, only someone with one of a user’s public certificates could descramble a message’s content.

After

So, your data may be secure while it’s hurtling through cyberspace. But what if somebody breaks into your car, where you stupidly left your laptop, and makes off with it?

That’s where disk encryption comes in.

There’s some free disk encryption software floating around in the open-source community, but for most folks this, too, will cost some cash.

In effect, disk encryption scrambles everything stored to your computer, requiring a password or other approved recovery tool to decode it. So, if your computer falls into the wrong hands, all won’t be lost.

To summarize, there are lots of encryption and other security options out there. Some are quick, easy and free. Others are going to cost money for specialized software, hardware or both.

To find a level of security you’re comfortable with, start by poking around with security settings on your browser, e-mail client and favorite websites. Then consider whether you want professional help to get to the next level.

Do you have other favorite security tricks? Share them in the comments.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/HbBk-2guINo/index.html

All disc-based games can be played without ever connecting online, and the 24-hour connection requirement has been dropped, according to an update to a May post concerning questions about the new device, due to be released this fall.

Additionally, there will be no limitations to using and sharing games, Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business division, says in the post. People will be able to share, trade or resell their games in the same way they do for Xbox 360 games.

The changes indicate Microsoft is having second thoughts about some of its future plans with the Xbox One. The post read, “Update on June 19, 2013: As a result of feedback from the Xbox community, we have changed certain policies for Xbox One reflected in this blog. Some of this information is no longer accurate.”

The company has been taking a public berating since it announced restrictions to used games and their requirement for an Internet connection. Consumers have been reacting with anger over the policies, but the tipping point may have been when Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s “Late Night,” pointed out that only the PlayStation 4 could freely play used games, which created more confusion.

The flogging became worse when Sony took to the stage at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show and pointedly did not include such restrictions for the new PlayStation 4. A YouTube video produced by Sony made fun of the used-game restriction by showing how people could share games on the PlayStation 4 — by just handing them to another person.

The new Xbox One used-games policy only affects disc-based games. Titles downloaded through Xbox Live cannot be shared or resold. Also, disc-based games must have the disc inside the console to play.

The changes being made also affect its proposed family sharing policy. Since Microsoft is allowing players to have the flexibility to use games offline, it will not be launching its family sharing plan, which would have allowed up to 10 family members to log in and play games from anywhere.

However, Marc Whitten, chief product officer for Xbox, told CNN the company still believes very deeply in its digital vision.

“So much of what we’ve built around our digital ecosystem still works,” Whitten said. “It’s what we building in how you can use your games. Our online vision and the Xbox One architecture really power the complete new experience in how the Cloud changes everything and we’re massively invested in this.”

He also said the flexibility the company added for physical-disc play will not change for the life of the Xbox One.

Whitten said there are no changes surrounding the addition of Kinect with the Xbox One. He said the company believes the motion sensor/controller is critical to building out the next generation experiences gamers are craving.

The Xbox One will cost about $100 more than Sony’s PlayStation 4 ($499 versus $399), but officials at the Redmond, Washington-based company believe their console will be worth the value.

“While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content,” Whitten wrote in the blog post. “We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.”

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/n6rGEixGGNM/index.html

Their addiction? “Candy Crush Saga,” an easy-to-play, hard-to-master puzzle game that’s seemingly ensnared everyone from your kids to your co-workers to your Aunt Sally. Launched last year, the game is now the most popular app on Facebook, where it has almost 32 million fans.

“Candy Crush,” as it’s usually called, also is among the most-downloaded mobile games for Android and Apple devices and has more than 15 million daily users, according to AppData, an analytics firm. The game has been such a hit for its creator, London-based game publisher King, that the company has plans to go public, according to a report Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal.

Like predecessor “Bejeweled,” to which it’s often compared, “Candy Crush” requires players to form chains of brightly colored tiles — shaped like jelly beans, lemon drops and other candy pieces — to earn points and advance. The game also borrows from mobile-game blockbuster “Angry Birds” in that players must successfully complete one level before going on to the next.

“It looks like the most childish, simple, throwaway game you could ever think of. And then you start playing it,” said Byler, a pastor to young adults in Wichita, Kansas. “It’s challenging, and a real test on your brain, because you really have to think about what your next move is going to be.”

The phone version of the game has 365 increasingly difficult levels, and it’s not unusual for daily players to be stuck on a level for several weeks at a time — a source of much frustration for many Facebook commenters.

The basic version of the game is free, although players only get five “lives,” or chances, a day without paying for more. Some obsessed players have even hacked the game to get access to unlimited play.

Enright, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, got hooked after she began playing the game three months ago with her boyfriend. Now she’s on level 213.

“I got a lot further than he did, and now he’s given up,” she said, with a trace of pride. “I’ve always liked puzzle games — ‘Tetris’ and games like that.”

Players also can share their “Candy Crush” progress with friends via Facebook — something that Byler was reluctant to do at first because he was weary of friends posting “FarmVille” updates.

“I didn’t want to be that guy,” said Byler, who limits his “Candy Crush” public postings to other players within the game itself. Byler is on level 254 and has been surprised by how hard it can be for him to put the game down.

“If I’m not careful, it can suck up a half hour or an hour real quick,” he said. “I have to put the phone down and read a book or something.”

The game’s cruelly seductive nature has even inspired a spoof trailer for a fake film, “Candy Crush: The Movie,” about people grappling with their addictions to “Candy Crush,” “Temple Run” and other mobile games.

“In the beginning, it’s fine. You can go in and out of these (game) worlds as you please,” says one character. “The thing is, the longer you stay in this world (of “Candy Crush”), the more likely you are to be imprisoned.” The clip has been viewed on YouTube more than 3.6 million times.

Casual mobile games appeal to people like Enright because unlike traditional console games, they can be played in bite-sized chunks while waiting for a bus. A game like “Candy Crush” also feeds on people’s competitive nature. Who wants to quit halfway through when there are more levels waiting to be conquered?

“I really enjoy it. It helps pass the time,” Enright said. “I’m going to just keep going until they run out of levels.”

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/rpZOZRnicFQ/index.html

All disc-based games can be played without ever connecting online, and the 24-hour connection requirement has been dropped, according to an update to a May post concerning questions about the new device, due to be released this fall.

Additionally, there will be no limitations to using and sharing games, Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business division, says in the post. People will be able to share, trade or resell their games in the same way they do for Xbox 360 games.

The changes indicate Microsoft is having second thoughts about some of its future plans with the Xbox One. The post read, “Update on June 19, 2013: As a result of feedback from the Xbox community, we have changed certain policies for Xbox One reflected in this blog. Some of this information is no longer accurate.”

The company has been taking a public berating since it announced restrictions to used games and their requirement for an Internet connection. Consumers have been reacting with anger over the policies, but the tipping point may have been when Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s “Late Night,” pointed out that only the PlayStation 4 could freely play used games, which created more confusion.

The flogging became worse when Sony took to the stage at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show and pointedly did not include such restrictions for the new PlayStation 4. A YouTube video produced by Sony made fun of the used-game restriction by showing how people could share games on the PlayStation 4 — by just handing them to another person.

The new Xbox One used-games policy only affects disc-based games. Titles downloaded through Xbox Live cannot be shared or resold. Also, disc-based games must have the disc inside the console to play.

The changes being made also affect its proposed family sharing policy. Since Microsoft is allowing players to have the flexibility to use games offline, it will not be launching its family sharing plan, which would have allowed up to 10 family members to log in and play games from anywhere.

However, Marc Whitten, chief product officer for Xbox, told CNN the company still believes very deeply in its digital vision.

“So much of what we’ve built around our digital ecosystem still works,” Whitten said. “It’s what we building in how you can use your games. Our online vision and the Xbox One architecture really power the complete new experience in how the Cloud changes everything and we’re massively invested in this.”

He also said the flexibility the company added for physical-disc play will not change for the life of the Xbox One.

Whitten said there are no changes surrounding the addition of Kinect with the Xbox One. He said the company believes the motion sensor/controller is critical to building out the next generation experiences gamers are craving.

The Xbox One will cost about $100 more than Sony’s PlayStation 4 ($499 versus $399), but officials at the Redmond, Washington-based company believe their console will be worth the value.

“While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content,” Whitten wrote in the blog post. “We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.”

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/n6rGEixGGNM/index.html

Ever since news reports suggested that major tech firms — including Apple, Google, Facebook and Yahoo — provide the National Security Agency (NSA) with unfettered or “direct” access to their servers, the companies have been waging an aggressive campaign to demonstrate that they’re not government stooges.

Now, several of the top Silicon Valley firms are engaged in a game of one-upmanship to show that they are the most transparent Internet company on the block.

The initial reports about “direct access,” as part of a classified U.S. intelligence system called Prism, have turned out to be wrong. But the Prism reports have highlighted long-standing privacy fears about how the largest U.S. tech companies handle their vast troves of user data. The Internet giants have come under scrutiny following reports that the NSA uses Prism to examine data — including e-mails, videos and online chats — that it collects via requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), one of the controversial laws at the heart of the current NSA-snooping furor.

MORE: Google: We’re no NSA stooge, and we’ll prove it if the feds let us

Although Silicon Valley has roots in the U.S. military — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was central to the development of the Internet — today’s big tech companies are keen to demonstrate their independence from the government and often display a libertarian streak.

Many engineers in Silicon Valley are sympathetic to “hacker” culture. Above all, Silicon Valley tech titans are wary of losing the trust of consumers, which could endanger their businesses. These companies are no doubt well aware of the numerous more secure alternatives to their services, some of which enable users to roam the Internet anonymously.

Google kicked off the transparency battle last week when it asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller for permission to publish “aggregate numbers of national-security requests, including FISA disclosures — in terms of both the number we receive and their scope.”

That request was noteworthy because it was the first time Google had even acknowledged that it receives national-security FISA requests. Facebook and Microsoft quickly followed suit with similar requests. A Department of Justice spokesperson told TIME that the agency is in the process of reviewing the request.

Then, over the weekend, Facebook, which unlike Google has never published a transparency report, reached an agreement with the government allowing it to disclose data on U.S. information requests. Facebook said that for the six months ending Dec. 31, 2012, it received between 9,000 and 10,000 data requests, including criminal and national-security-related requests, covering between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts.

“We’re pleased that as a result of our discussions, we can now include in a transparency report all U.S. national-security-related requests (including FISA as well as National Security Letters) — which until now no company has been permitted to do,” Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot said in a not-so-subtle dig at the company’s rivals.

Shortly thereafter, Microsoft released similar data, indicating that the company received between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and national-security requests affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 consumer accounts.

“This only impacts a tiny fraction of Microsoft’s global customer base,” John Frank, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, said in a blog post. “Transparency alone may not be enough to restore public confidence, but it’s a great place to start.”

On Monday, Apple joined the party and announced that from Dec. 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, it received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data related to between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices, including both criminal investigations and national-security “matters.” Apple said it was releasing the data “in the interest of transparency.”

Yahoo followed late Monday, saying it received “between 12,000 and 13,000 requests, inclusive of criminal, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and other requests.”

MORE: Here’s why Google is buying Waze, a red-hot mobile traffic app, for $1 billion

Here’s the problem. According to the agreement Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo reached with the government, the companies were only permitted to release aggregate numbers of total U.S. data requests. Crucially, they were not permitted to separately break out the number of FISA requests.

For this reason, we don’t know if they received 50 FISA requests, 500 or 5,000. As a result, the disclosures, while laudable, skirt around the central issue of the NSA-snooping controversy, which is the nature and extent of the companies’ participation in secret U.S. national-security investigations.

“We believe the companies should be allowed to break out specific numbers for FISA requests,” said Amie Stepanovich, director of the Domestic Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based public-interest organization. “These numbers would provide nationwide transparency. We also believe that individual users targeted under FISA should receive notice that they were subject to surveillance, even after the fact, so they have the chance to contest the surveillance in court.”

For Google, which earlier this year was the first Internet company to disclose requests made for National Security Letters (NSLs) — a separate type of query than FISA requests — the arrangement struck by Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo was not satisfactory.

“We have always believed that it’s important to differentiate between different types of government requests,” Google said in a statement. “We already publish criminal requests separately from National Security Letters. Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users. Our request to the government is clear: to be able to publish aggregate numbers of national-security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately.”

MORE: Viewpoint: Obama’s ‘patent troll’ reform: Why everyone should care

Twitter, which was not named in the NSA leak as a participant in the Prism program, quickly threw its support behind Google.

“We agree with Google,” Benjamin Lee, Twitter’s legal director, said in a Twitter message. “It’s important to be able to publish numbers of national-security requests — including FISA disclosures — separately.”

Thus, the contours of the transparency battle were drawn. On one side: Facebook, Microsoft and Apple. On the other, Google and Twitter.

For their part, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo said they would continue to urge the government to allow them to be more specific about national-security requests, including FISA requests. Facebook said it would continue “to push for even more transparency, so that our users around the world can understand how infrequently we are asked to provide user data on national-security grounds.” Microsoft said: “What we are permitted to publish continues to fall short of what is needed to help the community understand and debate these issues.”

But only Google has thus far resisted striking a deal with the government on the disclosure of data requests. On Monday, a Google spokesperson told TIME that the company had no update on its negotiations with the government concerning breaking out FISA requests.

copy 2012 TIME, Inc. TIME is a registered trademark of Time Inc. Used with permission.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/b5p05hRr_zA/index.html

Editor’s note: Doug Gross covers consumer technology and the Web for CNN.com. Follow his updates on Twitter or add him to your Circles on Google+.

(CNN) — Let’s face it: Most of us don’t e-mail, tweet, text or post anything worthy of clandestine scrutiny.

But having concerns about NSA cybersnooping doesn’t mean we must surrender all privacy — what’s left of it — in our day-to-day online activities.

It’s easy to forget that we’re volunteering basic information about ourselves in return for free e-mail, social networking and other digital services. And let’s remember that third parties — from government agencies to cybercriminals — can get their hands on even more personal stuff if they’re actively trying.

So, whether it’s due to a vague fear of Big Brother or a more specific desire to keep your bank information out of the hands of thieves, you might be considering ways to keep your communication more secure.

“So much that’s geo-political, so much cybercrime, so many struggles of various types are being played out in terms of information security today,” said Wade Williamson, a senior security analyst at Palo Alto Networks. “It’s not just that people decided to get interested in encryption all of a sudden.”

CNNMoney: How to hide from the NSA

Specifically, encryption has come up a lot in recent days. For one, NSA whistleblower (some would say “traitor”) Edward Snowden said Monday in an online question-and-answer session that e-mail encryption is an effective way of foiling government surveillance.

“Encryption works,” he wrote. “Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on. Unfortunately, endpoint security is so terrifically weak that NSA can frequently find ways around it.”

Encryption is a method of securing your files, including e-mail, by encoding it so that the intended recipient can read it, but anyone who may intercept the message along the way cannot.

An encryption tool turns your original message (called “plaintext”) into a garbled mess (or “ciphertext”) while it’s flying from Point A to Point B. The system gives the approved recipient a decryption tool which makes the text readable once it arrives at its destination.

With all of the renewed interest in online privacy, we talked with Williamson about ways to help keep your data secure — before, during and after sending it.

Before

First things first. There are ways to make your contact with every website you visit more secure.

A “secure sockets layer” (SSL) provides a layer of security during everything from Web browsing to text messaging. Many major websites offer the option of using a secure connection all the time. Williamson and other security experts suggest doing this when given the option.

If not — sometimes it can be as easy as tweaking “http” to “https” in your browser’s address bar.

“By and large, you can just throw an ‘S’ into the URL and go to town,” Williamson said.

There are also tools like HTTPS Everywhere, a free extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers, that encrypt your connection with most major websites.

Obama: I’m no Dick Cheney

During

Most major e-mail services, like Outlook and Gmail, offer some form of encryption. Check your e-mail’s security settings for options.

But for people who are really worried about their e-mails being intercepted — and that’s always just an unsecured network and an eager hacker away — Williamson suggests buying encryption software. (Note: His company focuses on network security and does not sell encryption software to individuals).

With many of the systems, customers will get digital “certificates” for themselves called private keys. Everyone with whom they want to share encrypted messages will receive public keys.

Using such a system, only someone with one of a user’s public certificates could descramble a message’s content.

After

So, your data may be secure while it’s hurtling through cyberspace. But what if somebody breaks into your car, where you stupidly left your laptop, and makes off with it?

That’s where disk encryption comes in.

There’s some free disk encryption software floating around in the open-source community, but for most folks this, too, will cost some cash.

In effect, disk encryption scrambles everything stored to your computer, requiring a password or other approved recovery tool to decode it. So, if your computer falls into the wrong hands, all won’t be lost.

To summarize, there are lots of encryption and other security options out there. Some are quick, easy and free. Others are going to cost money for specialized software, hardware or both.

To find a level of security you’re comfortable with, start by poking around with security settings on your browser, e-mail client and favorite websites. Then consider whether you want professional help to get to the next level.

Do you have other favorite security tricks? Share them in the comments.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/HbBk-2guINo/index.html

Ever since news reports suggested that major tech firms — including Apple, Google, Facebook and Yahoo — provide the National Security Agency (NSA) with unfettered or “direct” access to their servers, the companies have been waging an aggressive campaign to demonstrate that they’re not government stooges.

Now, several of the top Silicon Valley firms are engaged in a game of one-upmanship to show that they are the most transparent Internet company on the block.

The initial reports about “direct access,” as part of a classified U.S. intelligence system called Prism, have turned out to be wrong. But the Prism reports have highlighted long-standing privacy fears about how the largest U.S. tech companies handle their vast troves of user data. The Internet giants have come under scrutiny following reports that the NSA uses Prism to examine data — including e-mails, videos and online chats — that it collects via requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), one of the controversial laws at the heart of the current NSA-snooping furor.

MORE: Google: We’re no NSA stooge, and we’ll prove it if the feds let us

Although Silicon Valley has roots in the U.S. military — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was central to the development of the Internet — today’s big tech companies are keen to demonstrate their independence from the government and often display a libertarian streak.

Many engineers in Silicon Valley are sympathetic to “hacker” culture. Above all, Silicon Valley tech titans are wary of losing the trust of consumers, which could endanger their businesses. These companies are no doubt well aware of the numerous more secure alternatives to their services, some of which enable users to roam the Internet anonymously.

Google kicked off the transparency battle last week when it asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller for permission to publish “aggregate numbers of national-security requests, including FISA disclosures — in terms of both the number we receive and their scope.”

That request was noteworthy because it was the first time Google had even acknowledged that it receives national-security FISA requests. Facebook and Microsoft quickly followed suit with similar requests. A Department of Justice spokesperson told TIME that the agency is in the process of reviewing the request.

Then, over the weekend, Facebook, which unlike Google has never published a transparency report, reached an agreement with the government allowing it to disclose data on U.S. information requests. Facebook said that for the six months ending Dec. 31, 2012, it received between 9,000 and 10,000 data requests, including criminal and national-security-related requests, covering between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts.

“We’re pleased that as a result of our discussions, we can now include in a transparency report all U.S. national-security-related requests (including FISA as well as National Security Letters) — which until now no company has been permitted to do,” Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot said in a not-so-subtle dig at the company’s rivals.

Shortly thereafter, Microsoft released similar data, indicating that the company received between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and national-security requests affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 consumer accounts.

“This only impacts a tiny fraction of Microsoft’s global customer base,” John Frank, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, said in a blog post. “Transparency alone may not be enough to restore public confidence, but it’s a great place to start.”

On Monday, Apple joined the party and announced that from Dec. 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, it received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data related to between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices, including both criminal investigations and national-security “matters.” Apple said it was releasing the data “in the interest of transparency.”

Yahoo followed late Monday, saying it received “between 12,000 and 13,000 requests, inclusive of criminal, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and other requests.”

MORE: Here’s why Google is buying Waze, a red-hot mobile traffic app, for $1 billion

Here’s the problem. According to the agreement Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo reached with the government, the companies were only permitted to release aggregate numbers of total U.S. data requests. Crucially, they were not permitted to separately break out the number of FISA requests.

For this reason, we don’t know if they received 50 FISA requests, 500 or 5,000. As a result, the disclosures, while laudable, skirt around the central issue of the NSA-snooping controversy, which is the nature and extent of the companies’ participation in secret U.S. national-security investigations.

“We believe the companies should be allowed to break out specific numbers for FISA requests,” said Amie Stepanovich, director of the Domestic Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based public-interest organization. “These numbers would provide nationwide transparency. We also believe that individual users targeted under FISA should receive notice that they were subject to surveillance, even after the fact, so they have the chance to contest the surveillance in court.”

For Google, which earlier this year was the first Internet company to disclose requests made for National Security Letters (NSLs) — a separate type of query than FISA requests — the arrangement struck by Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo was not satisfactory.

“We have always believed that it’s important to differentiate between different types of government requests,” Google said in a statement. “We already publish criminal requests separately from National Security Letters. Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users. Our request to the government is clear: to be able to publish aggregate numbers of national-security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately.”

MORE: Viewpoint: Obama’s ‘patent troll’ reform: Why everyone should care

Twitter, which was not named in the NSA leak as a participant in the Prism program, quickly threw its support behind Google.

“We agree with Google,” Benjamin Lee, Twitter’s legal director, said in a Twitter message. “It’s important to be able to publish numbers of national-security requests — including FISA disclosures — separately.”

Thus, the contours of the transparency battle were drawn. On one side: Facebook, Microsoft and Apple. On the other, Google and Twitter.

For their part, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo said they would continue to urge the government to allow them to be more specific about national-security requests, including FISA requests. Facebook said it would continue “to push for even more transparency, so that our users around the world can understand how infrequently we are asked to provide user data on national-security grounds.” Microsoft said: “What we are permitted to publish continues to fall short of what is needed to help the community understand and debate these issues.”

But only Google has thus far resisted striking a deal with the government on the disclosure of data requests. On Monday, a Google spokesperson told TIME that the company had no update on its negotiations with the government concerning breaking out FISA requests.

copy 2012 TIME, Inc. TIME is a registered trademark of Time Inc. Used with permission.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/b5p05hRr_zA/index.html

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Kohler’s Numi toilet has a motion-activated seat and lid, deodorizing charcoal filter, multi-option bidet wand and air dryer, illuminated panels and foot warmer. And for the music lovers – built-in speakers play tunes via a (remote) docking station.

This sleek device by Netatmo takes air quality, humidity, and carbon dioxide readings, indoor/outdoor temperature, and even noise pollution. It also sends notifications in real time via your iOS, or Android smartphone, or tablet.

Designed by NASA scientists, the Airocide purifies toxins in the air that can worsen symptoms of asthma or allergies. Instead of filters, the device uses nanotechnology to oxidize pathogens at a molecular level via two catalytic reaction chambers. It’s a bonus that Airocide looks like a piece of modern art, complete with discreet touch controls.

Mowing the lawn no longer requires killer triceps. The robot Husqvarna Automower does all the work for you, much like a Roomba for your grass. Plus, in the right light conditions, its solar panel can maintain a battery charge for lawns of up to 6,890 square feet.

These days you’re more likely to forget your house keys than your smartphone, so combine the two with CalypsoKey. It lives inside an iPhone case which, when you tap it to its corresponding access point, activates near-field communication technology and a dual-band RFID antenna – unlocking the door.

With this Oras Eterna smart shower, a green light indicates you beat the recommended two-minute splash and a red light shows you’ve showered beyond your share. A touch interface switches flow from showerhead to spout wash, and precise temperature adjustments ensure you won’t scald or freeze.

Place the weather-resistant Sun Table in direct sunlight for four hours to reach a full charge. Then move it anywhere you need power – its inverter will juice your laptops, cellphones, lights, etc.

Buy the kit or create your own – it’s all open-source. The Digital Habit(s) mirror slides to dock your iPhone or iPod and play musics. Switch tracks or adjust volume by waving your hand by the motion sensors.

This chic Zeta fireplace looks like something you would bring to work. Encased in leather and molded from a titanium interior, the fireplace is portable, so you can enjoy its looks and warmth in every room.

Simply fill the Winbot with cleaning solution, attach to a window and press power. The little gadget will determine the size of glass and map a cleaning path. It cleans your windows in three stages: spray, squeegee and wipe, all while you cool your heels nearby.

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© 2013 MASHABLE.com. All rights reserved.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/vQe9Ykmlj-0/index.html

Read more: Using potatoes for inflight wi-fi test

Read more: Google unveils touchscreen laptop

The superpressure balloon envelopes, made from sheets of polyethylene plastic, stand nearly 40 feet tall when fully inflated. They are designed to maintain a constant volume and be longer-lasting than weather balloons.

The balloons are equipped with antennas with specialized radio frequency technology, Google says, and each one can provide connectivity to a ground area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) in diameter at speeds comparable to 3G service.

They also carry instruments to monitor weather conditions and allow them to be tracked by GPS, powered by solar panels that will store excess energy for nighttime operation. Each has a parachute in case they need to be brought down.

It will be very difficult to see the balloons with the naked eye, except during launch, Google says.

In any case, it may be a while before would-be Internet users elsewhere start connecting via balloon.

According to the Project Loon website, the technology is still being tested to see if it’s viable and what problems would have to be overcome to make it more widely available.

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It’s a pirate’s life in the fourth installment in this wildly popular franchise. Set in the 18th-century West Indies, players step back into the boots of Edward Kenway and set sail for adventure, interacting with famous pirates like Blackbeard as they contend with warring British and Spanish ships and other privateers.

The folks behind “Halo” and “Call of Duty” have teamed up for this shooter from Activision. In it, players take on the roles of guardian of the last city on Earth, defending it from evil aliens in a story that spans the solar system.

“Ryse: Son of Rome” is a brutal third-person combat game from Cryotek, the makers of the “Crysis” series. Players are tasked with combing one-on-one combat with a bit of strategy, commanding troops on battlefield tactics.

Ubisoft’s “The Crew” offers the entire United States as a racetrack for players, including missions in fully realized cities like New York, Las Vegas and New York. It also lets gearheads fully customize their vehicles to the specs they want.

“Titanfall,” from the original founders of Infinity Ward, offers two very different types of shooter action: as a pilot who can take to the ground and fight with traditional weapons or that same pilot after jumping into a 24-foot mechanized robot that brings a whole new level of firepower to the battlefield.

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Editor’s note: John Gaudiosi is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gamerhub.tv video syndication network. He’s covered video games for hundreds of outlets over the past 20 years and specializes in the convergence of Hollywood and games.

Los Angeles (CNN) — The annual Electronics Entertainment Expo, which wrapped up here Thursday, is all about next-generation gaming.

More than 45,000 game industry professionals got their first look at Microsoft’s Xbox One, which will retail for $500 starting in November, and Sony’s PlayStation 4, which will sell for $400 this fall. But for players, the real focus at the show was on the next generation of games, especially the slew of exclusives lined up for each device.

What’s at stake is a piece of the global video-game market, which Newzoo video game analyst Peter Warman expects to reach $70.4 billion this year and grow to $86.1 billion by 2016. Warman forecasts that the number of gamers worldwide will reach 1.2 billion this year.

The latest crop of games features an upgrade in graphic fidelity that brings athletes like Miami Heat star LeBron James to life in 2K Sports “NBA 2K14″ in photorealistic detail. Watching an “EA Sports UFC” match on Xbox One or PS4 is like seeing a live mixed martial arts pay-per-view, thanks to new technology.

Even the undead look better, as the zombies in Capcom’s Xbox One exclusive “Dead Rising 3,” an open world horror game, would scare the “walkers” of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

The new consoles feature the processing power to create larger, more immersive open worlds for gamers to explore, as evidenced in Ubisoft’s online open world role-playing game “Tom Clancy’s The Division.” The latest game in the Tom Clancy universe, which has sold more than 76 million games worldwide, is set in New York after a lethal virus has unleashed chaos.

But among a host of fresh-looking titles, there were several that stood out at E3 2013.

“Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” (Ubisoft, October 29, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One): Ubisoft is betting that gamers will love living a pirate’s life this fall with this open world virtual Caribbean. Set in the turbulent 18th-century West Indies, the game lets players step into the boots of Edward Kenway and set sail for adventure across a huge map with more than 50 islands and locations to explore.

Gamers will interact with famous pirates like Blackbeard and Charles Vane as they contend with warring British and Spanish ships and armies and other privateers. Seamless gameplay allows the player to traverse the rooftops of a bustling Havana and then jump into the ocean to climb aboard the ship Jackdaw and escape. This bestselling franchise continues to innovate with new gameplay and a constantly changing window into history — one that’s fun to play through again and again.

“Destiny” (Activision/Bungie, 2014; Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3): Bungie knows a thing or two about shooters, having built “Halo” into a global franchise for Microsoft. Now, the developer has partnered with “Call of Duty” publisher Activision to add multiplayer and a persistent world to the alien-fighting action.

Players take on the roles of Guardians of the last city on Earth in a story that spans the solar system. The shooting action is trademark Bungie, but where this game stands out is the seamless blending of cooperative gameplay into bigger public events like taking out a giant alien boss with other players who are also exploring the world. There are community spaces for players to prepare for their next missions and connect with friends, as well as competitive multiplayer (although Bungie is keeping mum on details). The developer has mapped out a franchise worth of adventures for this new world, and the first reveal looks promising.

“Ryse: Son of Rome” (Microsoft/Crytek, Xbox One): Players take control of Gen. Marius Titus in this brutal third-person action game that blends elements from popular movies like “Gladiator” and TV series like “Rome” and “Spartacus.” In addition to featuring sword and sandal hack-and-slash gameplay, the player will have to order troops to do things like fire catapults at enemies and remain in formation with shields up to avoid an onslaught of arrows. Ancient Rome has never looked more beautiful, not that the game’s pace will give players much time to take in the scenery.

Developer Crytek, creator of the “Crysis” franchise, is making the most of Xbox One with this interactive take on history. The first gameplay demo at E3 showcased a pick-up-and-play experience that blended swordplay and shield defense through an active battlefield. The amount of activity around your army is staggering and a glimpse into what next generation offers.

“The Crew” (Ubisoft/Ivory Tower, Xbox One, PlayStation 4): Though there was a lot of traffic in the racing genre, from Electronic Arts’ “Need for Speed Rivals” to Sony’s “Driveclub,” one game stood out from the crowd. Ubisoft’s “The Crew” introduces the entire United States as a cooperative playing ground for up to four players to join up and take on missions in fully realized cities like New York, Las Vegas and New York. The heart of this experience is a gearhead’s dream, which allows players to customize licensed vehicles to the smallest details. Depending on whether the mission is across Miami beaches or the Las Vegas desert, players can fine-tune their vehicles before leaving the garage. Driving games (and sports titles) are among the best ways to showcase new technology, and “The Crew” delivers.

“Titanfall” (Electronic Arts/Respawn, 2014, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC): The original founders of Infinity Ward are offering a very different first-person shooter experience with “Titanfall.” The game features pilots who can fight on the ground with traditional weapons (and a cool jetpack) or jump into 24-foot-tall Titans, mechanized robots that introduce a lot of firepower to the battlefield. The dynamic and advantage of these two very different fighting styles — agile pilots and hulking Mechs — introduces something fresh to the crowded shooter genre.

The action, which in an E3 demo focused on protecting a hovering spacecraft, is fast and furious. It’s seamless jumping from on-foot action to the hulking Titans as the battle erupts around you. The game’s multiplayer features Hollywood-style action sequences as centerpieces of this conflict between warring factions (the Interstellar Manufacturing Corp. and the Militia) in a distant frontier.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/jXBCzx5ZE_E/index.html