Google has been sued today by Harvard Law School student Eva S. Hibnick, who has started a class-action lawsuit against the search giant “on behalf of Gmail users,” claiming that the new Buzz social networking service is a breach of user privacy.

Buzz is a voluntary add on to Gmail, but all users are automatically enrolled and have to opt-out if they don’t want to use it.

“The social networking industry is going too far,” Hibnick added, saying she was disgusted that upon opening Gmail, she was already being “followed” by people on her contact list that Google had chosen for her.

Law School student Benjamin R. Osborn, who is aiding Hibnick, doesn’t say whether he believes Google intentionally breached privacy. “I don’t know what Google’s motive is in all of this,” Osborn says, via the Harvard Crimson newspaper . “I think they were just trying to jump-start their social network.” However, “[Buzz] has already violated people’s privacy. Damages have been incurred. And we want Google to change its conduct in the future.”

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written by NewsFeeder \\ tags: google

We’ve all got at least one vacuum cleaner lying around the house (gathering dust, in some cases), but hopefully no-one will be inspired by BBC presenter Jem Stansfield who scales buildings using sucking force from the machines.

I don’t want to be receiving any photos of your bruises after you fall flat on your face 2ft up the side of your garage, but this is how Stansfield cobbled together his “Spiderman gloves,” which he’s used to climb up to 120ft previously.

An earlier feat, climbing the side of the BBC building:

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written by NewsFeeder \\ tags: BBC, stick to wall, vacuum cleaner

There’s a new power couple in town-Fatman’s Wi-Tube and FatDock. The Wi-Tube valve amplifier can stream music wirelessly from a docked iPod or by the multitude of outputs the FatDock also offers.

If you happen to invite a non-Apple-eating friend over for a long night in listening to Roxette’s back catalog, you can connect a media player or other source by the 3.5mm input, alternatively most iPod and iPhone models will do the trick. It not only charges any ‘pod that’s stuck in it, but can also sync up to a Mac or PC by USB.

The Wi-Tube amp has two RCA inputs and one 3.5mm jack, and the FatDock can output wirelessly, or by RCA, USB, Video or S-Video-controllable with the bundled remote control.

On sale in April for our UK friends for £399, it’ll retail for $599 in the States when it hits stores late April/early May. [Fatman]

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written by NewsFeeder \\ tags: audio, iPhone, iPod