In Obama’s tech policy statement, he mentions making government more transparent. It looks like he’s started the transparency in a way. His first weekly address has been posted on YouTube, and has received over 700,000 hits.

There’s nothing all that grand or special in the address. Just that we need to move forward together on the economy, and create more jobs.

It’s the action of posting the video on YouTube that is the real buzz. It’s a relief to see a leader have a grasp on technology, or atleast have people on his staff who are. I’m guessing the next step for the Obama site is to host their own videos. Because it kind of shows favor by just releasing Obama’s address on YouTube. There are other video hosting sites out there..

Here’s Obama’s video address for those interested:

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You’ve got to love speculative stories, and conspiracy theories about a president who technically isn’t a president yet. The conspiracy theories I mentioned in the second link aren’t from the article itself but the responses to it.

The story is that Obama or whoever is in change of his website has made drastic cuts to the agenda section of his transition website. What was once a page with varying policies about what Obama wants to get done in office, is now a vague statement. The news itself isn’t what I question, but the reactions to it. From what you hear from Obama detractors and supporters, you’d figured he was the devil, or a saint. Of course it shouldn’t be a surprise considering how the election went.

What really concerns me is the scrutiny that Obama is going to face during his term. He isn’t in charge of anything yet, and there’s already people out to get him. I haven’t lived through a whole lot of presidential terms, but I never saw anything along the likes of this with President Bush. Sure he was put under a microscope, but it was during his presidency, not directly before it. With a growing media, and information flying at the speed of light this might be Obama’s first big challenge. Forget the economy, Iraq, and energy. He’s going to need to make sure he’s one step ahead of the people reporting him. Which of course is a daunting, maybe impossible task.

I reported about Obama’s tech policy a few days ago. In the policy he mentions about making the government more accessible to the people. Creating a website with direct access to goings-ons of the government, which looking at how the news is flying around about him might not be a bad idea. When I first read it, I didn’t buy much into it because it just seemed like how most politicians talk about transparent government only with a Web 2.0 twist. After keeping an eye on the media this past week, that lofty goal might actually work to his favor.

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Online banking security is an issue that many people have become severely concerned about. When we go onto our online bank accounts, we want to be safe in knowing that all of our information is being kept private.

This video of the Banking Technology Summit provides a look at larger international banks and how they’re tackling security issues.

For more information you can visit the official Banking Technology Summit site, here.

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With all sorts of hackers, malware out there, banking online can be a risky adventure. Who know’s who’s monitoring bank sites when we get on to check our balances, pay bills, and withdraw funds. Luckily, IBM is looking to make the process somewhat safer.

The device is shaped like a USB stick. It provides a secure channel between your PC, and the bank’s server. Instead of connecting through your PC, which may or may not have viruses, and spyware.

IBM’s device has its own integrated display, so everything you conduct is directly used through the USB stick.

The device is still in development stages, but IBM has mentioned that they will begin bank trials very soon.

Credit: (CNET)

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