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Humans may be wanderers by nature, but in the year 2020, with planet Earth overrun by a pandemic, most human activity has come to a shocking halt. Much of what is going on is related to battling the disease on the front lines -- either by tending to those who are stricken, or by filling basic needs so the rest of the population can shelter in place.

Can social media be saved? Can democracy be saved? ...

The open source software movement has evolved dramatically over the past two decades. Many businesses that once considered open source a threat now recognize its value. ...

Perhaps technology operates at its most profound level when we don't notice it -- when it simply becomes woven into the fabric of our daily lives. We're not amazed when we flip a light switch, after all, and in a few years it might be second nature for many of us to say "Alexa, turn on the lights." ...

Cybersecurity and privacy threats aren't confined to the tech world. They've cast their pall on the world in general. Computer viruses, malware and data leaks have become commonplace, personal privacy has become a bad joke, and cyberwar looms like a virtual mushroom cloud ...

What if your favorite blockbuster science fiction movie were true? ...

If you're a small business owner or a key member of an enterprise executive team, you want your firm to succeed. If you're a customer, you want to be treated well. Those goals are not diametrically opposed, but very often, it seems that companies and customers are at cross-purposes ...

If you're turned off by the mere thought of talking heads vying to speak the loudest or the longest in a TV "discussion" of some pressing issue of the day, read on for a refreshing dose of sanity ...

Sometimes when you tug on the thread of a small customer service failure, you unravel a big skein of much knottier problems. That happened when Shield Healthcare didn't send "Great Aunt Nelly" her shipment of medical supplies on time ...

Fledgling e-commerce company PriceWaiter aims to save customers money, time and energy by negotiating better-than-Amazon deals on top-rated products -- simply, quickly and privately ...

I just dumped US Mobile after less than four months, setting a new speed record for hitting my tolerance-for-b.s. ceiling. Based on reviews, I'd had high hopes for this relatively new mobile virtual network operator, but it turns out I chose poorly ...

Dr. Mae Jemison and I have a few things in common. We both grew up in houses that had scary basements with cobwebs, coal bins, and wringer washing machines. We both wore out our Chicago Public Library cards. We both were tormented by siblings but taught by our parents to stick up for each other, which we did. I memorized the soundtrack of West Side Story word-for-word; Jemison danced in a production of the show...

Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, is one of the most influential experts on cybersecurity and IT strategy in the United States. She is an authority on Internet security, data breaches and fraud mitigation ...

David Caulton covers the same topic, but Amazon is hardly the only big company to abuse its power. Our own Mick Brady got kicked in the butt by AT&T, the brand that keeps on giving. With Amazon increasingly handling everything its customers consume, a dispute with the compan...

This is a call for resistance that has nothing to do with politics. It's coming from someone who unwittingly walked into a virtual jail cell that was disguised as a DirecTV contract. I'll be behind bars for another 23 months, and I'm counting the days ...

After surviving well over a year as a cord-cutter, I recently returned to the cable fold -- and after less than a month, I'm having major regrets. The problem isn't with the service itself or even with the pricing. The problem is with the lies ...

I have sympathy for customer service representatives -- really, I do. I know that customers can be ignorant, demanding and ill-mannered. On the other hand, CSRs should be trained to deal with bad-tempered customers. Also, CSRs should be trained to avoid provoking pleasant and agreeable customers to the edge of meltdown -- or beyond ...

A notification that UC Berkeley this October will host the first executive program dedicated to teaching major corporations how to tap into the US$80 billion crowdfunding marketplace recently kicked off an email exchange between ECT editor Mick Brady and me about issues raised by the program.

Editor's Note: At ECT, writers and editors often banter about topics, puzzling out angles. For today's column, we decided to share that banter between columnist Chris Maxcer and managing editor Mick Brady Hey Mick!...

Mick Brady is managing editor of ECT News Network ...