Andrew Orlowski

Collected Journalism

Category: Stories

  • Breaking Google’s last taboo

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Google has traditionally charged into other business areas with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. This isn’t always a bad thing: there are plenty of cosy industries that are ripe for a shake-up, and advertising is one of the cosiest. But there’s one area that’s been strictly taboo. Google has always…

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  • Stephen Fry’s truly terrible mistake

    Stephen Fry’s truly terrible mistake

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    It’s little wonder that Stephen Fry holds such a place in the nation’s affections. He’s earned it through a string of unforgettable performances. There’s his voiceover for Direct Line’s pet insurance, his voiceover for the 2008 Argos catalogue, not to mention voiceovers for Anchor Butter, Tesco, Dairylea, Kenco, Coca Cola, Trebor Mints and UK Online…

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  • Election losers? Our clapped-out parties

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Now the politicians themselves have given up on politics, and compete on being the most competent bureaucrats. Is it any wonder, then, the voters have given up on them? Read more at The Register… Read More

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  • Bloggers, mind control and the death of newspapers (the Internet imagined in 1965)

    Bloggers, mind control and the death of newspapers (the Internet imagined in 1965)

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Calder invites us to have a giggle, but really it’s not a bad list at all, and compared with the (cough) ‘futurists’ who have come and gone since, Calder and the participants did a good job. Alvin Toffler was repackaging these ideas, particularly mass amateurisation, many years later. As are thousands of Web 2.0 consultants…

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  • Web politics: The honeymoon is over

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Parallel moves in Canada and the US may signal the end of the honeymoon for web-based political campaigning – or change it beyond recognition. Politicians are becoming increasingly familiar with sudden squalls of email filling up their inboxes, and policy makers with responses to public consultations arriving via a web intermediary. But not surprisingly many…

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  • Google Street View logs WiFi networks, MAC addresses

    Google Street View logs WiFi networks, MAC addresses

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Google’s roving Street View spycam may blur your face, but it’s got your number. The Street View service is under fire in Germany for scanning private WLAN networks, and recording users’ unique Mac (Media Access Control) addresses, as the car trundles along. Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection Peter Schaar says he’s "horrified" by the…

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