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First it was pretty much just music (widely shared with file-sharing technology). Then porn, viruses, and spyware (see our "File-sharing realities for families"). Now casinos are using P2P technology in a big way. "Peer-to-peer betting, which has been increasingly popular in Europe, Asia and Australia, is one of the fastest-growing online gambling enterprises," the New York Times reports in … [Read more...] about Peer-to-peer gambling

Just as computer security experts have been suggesting that we try alternative browsers like Opera or Firefox, the people behind Firefox announced it too has a security flaw. This only affects PCs with the Windows XP operating system, ZDNet UK reports. So if you're an XP family and you heeded the experts' advice and switched browsers, you definitely need to click to this page on the Mozilla site, … [Read more...] about Firefox not the perfect solution either

"Even the most personal conversations now occur without human contact," reports college student and contributor Amy Sennett in the Washington Post. In her entertaining article about the electronic elements of dating, she tells us that, these days, instant messaging (IM) is the "communication lifeline" of young adults, and "the rules of virtual conversation and courtship are no more simple or well … [Read more...] about Teen romance, online-style

Some parents have heard of the V-Chip, but few know what it is or how to make it filter out TV programming they don't want their kids to see. ZDNet home electronics specialist Steve Kovsky calls the V-Chip - legally required in every TV over 13" manufactured since January 2000 - parents' "first line of defense." But it isn't always user-friendly (you can always read your TV's user manual), Steve … [Read more...] about Controlling kid TV-viewing

Almost two-thirds of K-12 teachers say that the availability of computers improves student performance on standardized tests, and 77% say they don't have enough computers for students in their classrooms, according to a "Teachers Talk Tech" poll unveiled at the recent National Education Computing Conference. Another interesting highlight, from a survey by NetDay, found that "teachers think their … [Read more...] about School tech tidbits