Vandalism

OpenStreetMap organizers said computers using a Google Internet address have been tainting its cooperative mapping project.

"Preliminary results show users from Google IP [Internet Protocol] address ranges in India deleting, moving, and abusing OSM data including subtle edits like reversing one-way streets," according to a blog post yesterday from OpenStreetMap founder Steve Coast, OSM sysadmin Grant Slater, and OSM Foundation board member Mikel Maron.

An analysis of data reveals that the activities were from the "same source" as a problem that came to light last week involving improper use of data from a Kenyan online business … Read more

In the latest twist in the Airbnb saga, the San Francisco woman whose apartment was ransacked and robbed by a guest says the travel marketplace should have had protection measures in place from the very beginning, and her life continues to be an "utter hell."

Airbnb matches people looking for a place to stay with others renting out their own homes or apartments. The victim had said the company did little when she reported the damage to her apartment.

Responding to CEO Brian Chesky's apology over the incident and announcement of revamped policies to protect hosts, the … Read more

Travel marketplace Airbnb is making changes to its policies following a recent incident in which a member's apartment was ransacked by a guest.

The company plays matchmaker to people looking for a place to stay on vacation and those renting out their own homes or apartments. Airbnb has grown in popularity, but a recent vandalism and theft highlighted the pitfalls of using such a service.

A woman known only as "EJ" rented out her San Francisco apartment to a guest through Airbnb in June. After her guest left, EJ discovered that her home had been vandalized and … Read more

A few days ago, one Airbnb member's horror story of her home being ransacked went viral. Now she has spoken out again--and things aren't any better.

In case you're not familiar with the account, basically, a woman named "EJ" in San Francisco rented out her apartment while she was on vacation. When she returned, she found her home trashed and vandalized, with some of her most personal belongings as well as several documents related to her identity stolen.

Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky responded publicly, albeit briefly at first, saying that they would pledge their … Read more

It's hard to get teenagers to go away.

Some thought that a little economic crisis might at least get them to be quiet for a while and stand in line for a job at McDonald's.

Yet as far as the town of Hastings in Minnesota is concerned, perhaps only technology can rid it of teen pests.

According to the Associated Press, Hastings suffers from teenagers who enjoy vandalizing Cari Park, an out-of-the way place that has no lighting.

So, ululating in the dark for a solution, the town has hit on the idea of using SonicScreen Technology, courtesy … Read more

I am thinking of writing a book about all the faux pas people have committed on Facebook.

Here's another to add to my already large collection of stories for the book, provisionally entitled: "Face It, I'm a Half-wit."

According to the U.K.'s Portsmouth News, a 16-year-old with a clearly refined sense of humor decided to block all the water passages in a restroom at a public library.

Using all of the ingenuity at his disposal, he shoved toilet paper down the sinkholes and then turned on all the taps.

Being socially conscious, he did … Read more

The launch of Google Street View in Germany seems to be causing civil unrest. Which has now reportedly mutated into uncivil unrest.

Should your mind still be blurred by the conundrum of the apparently naked man on Street View in Mannheim, Germany, you might not be aware that almost 3 percent of Germans requested that their buildings be made fuzzy beyond recognition on Google's photographic street record.

Now, Search Engine Land has brought my attention to an apparent protest about the blurrings.

It seems that a group of passionate, if stunningly misguided, individuals has gone around the Bergerhausen district … Read more

The fiber cut that crippled phone and broadband service and knocked out 911 emergency services in Silicon Valley on Thursday has been fixed, according to a Twitter post from AT&T.

"CA Outage Update: Repairs to vandalized San Jose cables were completed overnight. Services are operating normally this morning. "

Sprint's public relations spokeswoman Crystal Davis "tweeted" at about 7 a.m. PDT that the "Fiber cut issue affecting Sprint's wireless service in San Jose/Santa Cruz has been completely resolved as of appx 2:40am EDT."

Service was slowly coming back … Read more

Vandalism is a primal urge for some, and even little things like tearing up junk mail can unleash the inner vandal in all of us. Vidavee wants you to run with that feeling, with its new service Vidavee Graffiti. Essentially, Vidavee Graffiti lets you drop in a number of Flash animations that run on top of hosted Flash videos (like YouTube). The entire interface runs in your Web browser, so there's nothing to download and no rendering is required. The point is to have fun, and likely at the video's expense.

There are 21 preset animations at your … Read more