Emerging media its effect on organizations

Dwight Tovas presentation from the ODNI open source conference, regarding potential uses of World of Warcraft,  available here as powerpoint:

link.

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Wired, DNI and WoW

Danger Room runs a piece on presentation made at DNI Open Source Conference regarding virtual worlds.

Can’t really comment further.

Link here

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Computer game with astonishing security flaw

This last week I did an interview with a reporter from the Baltimore Sun who was looking at some of the recent evidence that ISE have recently found rather large security flaws in both Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. Two major MMO games both published by Funcom. ISE have built quite a solid reputation in this area, and are at the forefront of this kind of examination of products, so I have little doubt that what they’ve found is as seroius as they claim.

What I do find interesting is the complete lack of information from the company on this matter. As well as the claim by ISE that they informed Funcom many, many weeks ago, and they’ve not had any communication with them.

While I can of course understand commerical reasons for not wanting to release that kind of information, I find myself wondering, more generally, if computer games companies have a “duty of care” to their customers when it is their computer code which is at fault.

It is, of course, speculation, but as a long term customer of a number of MMO companies I’m slightly preturbed to even consider the worrying notion that my computer safety might be seroiusly compromised in a number of ways, and if a seroius threat does emerge; would I be told about it? 

If this was a cuddly toy which could harm a child, surely they’d be a product recall, and the company making the toy would be expected to endevour to contact all purchasers. I find myself wondering why a company which sells a computer application, which turns out to have seroius security flaws, isn’t required to do the same.

Indeed, should the law be changed to require them to do so? Theres a thought for the day.

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