Is this the end of Times?

Remember when Dad returned home from work, sat in his easy chair, snapped opened the newspaper and caught up on the day's events while Mom fixed dinner?

Those days and that generation are disappearing, which sets up a dilemma for traditional news outlets striving to survive. The Internet generation is already on the Web, getting news from several different sources: newspaper sites, TV news sites, blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

So what's a news organization to do? Some, like the New York Times, are looking to charge for online usage, but is that a business model that will work?

At least one Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor advises print-media companies to shut down their print operations now and move into the digital age.

Verizon agrees with AT&T on Internet-usage charges

In last week's Surfin' Safari, I told you about AT&T's proposal to implement metered Internet-usage charges.

This week we see that though they might be battling it out for market share on their TV spots, Verizon and AT&T are on the same page when it comes to Internet metering via online access through cell phones.

Verizon's Chief Technology Officer Anthony Melone said, "Plans offering as much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change."

We're a captive audience, and they know it?

Twitter users, trends and crime rates

A recent study by Barracuda Labs of the Twitter phenomenon shows that users are more active on Twitter; more users joined Twitter in 2009 following the 'Red Carpet' era of a massive influx of celebrities to the site; and criminals followed the users in a forceful way, causing the overall Twitter Crime Rate to spike.

Barracuda Labs monitors the Web ecosystem and tracks new trends in malware and other attacks.

"Social-networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook provide a perfect opportunity for attackers to find their victims," Barracuda Labs says, "leveraging what users assume to be a 'safe' environment."

Meanwhile, Twitter has launched a new service to protect users against phishing and other deceitful attacks by routing all links submitted to the microblogger through this new service. Twitter reports it can detect, intercept and prevent the spread of bad links across all of Twitter.

A little birdie told them, Japanese insulted

"AmericanInTokyo" posted a breaking story that Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun upbraided the White House for ignoring protocol.

Known as "Nikkei" for short, the financial newspaper is the Japanese equivalent to the Wall Street Journal. Nikkei had run a Japanese-language story critical of President Obama's White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who announced via Twitter that Obama's Asian trip had been postponed.

The translated headline read: "Obama's Asian Trip Postponement; (White House) Announcement Via Twitter Causes Waves."

Cell phone app helps illegals cross border

A software application that can be installed into a GPS-enabled cell phone can help migrants find water and landmarks as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The Transborder Immigrant Tool, developed with taxpayer dollars, even provides recorded poetry.

"I don't think it's an appropriate use of technology," U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told FoxNews.com. "If other governments did this and tried to tell people ways to sneak into the U.S., I'm sure the Department of Defense would take issue with that. But because American universities are doing it, there's not a whole lot of outcry about it."

China says censor, Google packing bags?

Google is packing it in, reporting that it has plans to close its Chinese search engine now that talks over censorship with Chicom authorities are at a stalemate.

China's Internet market is huge, with 384 million people online. Google has about 35 percent of that, compared with about 60 percent for local rival Baidu Inc.

The Chinese government told Google it is not prepared to compromise on Internet censorship to stop Google from leaving. Welcome to communism.

Internet fraud doubled in 2009

Internet fraud has always been a problem, but never more so than now. Though the number of security breaches have decreased, the information being disclosed is more than the stats would indicate. The reality is that data like Social Security numbers, medical records and credit-card information tied to an individual but exposed by hackers is estimated at 220 million records so far this year.

This compares with 35 million in 2008, the largest collection of lost data on record. And the majority of 2009's data loss stems from a single source: a credit-card-processing firm.

Journalists: Do not use social media to embarrass or disparage

Reuters has released a handbook of guidelines for its reporters that cautions them against using social networks to advance their stories. Additionally, the news service warns against opining on Facebook, Twitter, etc., lest it reveal the reporter's biases.

Bottom line: Don't tweet on the job. And if you do tweet, use caution. You could be giving away a lot more than you think.

Video chat on airliner is a no-no

You're on a flight, cruising the Internet at 36,000 feet, enjoying a cocktail while you avail yourself of the airline's Wi-Fi capability. Wi-Fi has been on planes for over a year now, and you've grown accustomed to the service.

Unexpectedly, the flight attendant tells you to quit your video chat, saying cameras are not allowed due to security measures. You could be communicating with a terrorist.

One airline policy manual prohibits "two-way devices" from communicating with the ground. Yet the plane has Wi-Fi! Airlines also have blocked Skype and other video chats.

Nicholas Deleon at CrunchGear quotes The Hill, "The Internet allowed extremists to contact, recruit, train and equip the suspect responsible for the attempted Flight 253 bombing on Christmas Day 'within weeks,' a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Wednesday," then asks, "What's the implication, that because someone used the Internet to plan something, something bad, we should get rid of it?"

Meanwhile, mobile boarding-pass usage is up 1,200 percent

A rapidly increasing number of people are choosing to have their airline boarding passes sent to their mobile devices, where an airport-security person can scan the barcode from your handset's display.

Trinity Mobile, one of the leading companies behind the mobile-ticketing push, reported a 1,200-percent year-over-year increase with their mobile boarding-pass offerings. In 2008, Trinity Mobile saw 50,000 users opt in to receive mobile boarding passes rather than the more traditional options. In 2009, the number shot up to 600,000.

Poll – most say no to Internet betting

More than one in three Americans think that because so many people bet illegally on sports already, it should be allowed and taxed by the government.

But on the other side, according to the Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll, two-thirds of more than 1,000 people randomly chosen across America said "no" to a law that would allow bets to be placed on the Internet. More than half opposed allowing bets on the outcome of professional or college sporting events, even though 62 percent have gambled at a casino at least once.

Fifty-four percent said legalized sports betting is a bad idea because it can promote excessive gambling and can corrupt sports.

Twittering your blood-alcohol content

I'm not sure why anyone would want to do this, unless you were drinking and curious about how fast your bloodstream reveals your blood-alcohol content. And then wanted to tell the world about it.

Technology for technology's sake? If you think twittering your blood-alcohol content is weird, check this out. And prepare to be shocked.

Fun Tweeting in pictures

Every picture tells a story. FunMobility is launching FunTweet, a web service which turns any Twitter stream into visual messages that are related to the text. Turn 140 characters into a thousand words. Picture it!

Having trouble SPRINGing ahead?

Have you lost your owner's manual for the electronic gadgets you have around the house? Forgot how to reset the timer on your DVD player?

Not to worry. A website called Retrevo offers more than 100,000 product manuals for download. Retrevo, which provides product reviews and deals on gadgets, recently launched a page on its website designed specifically for those who need to turn their clocks forward. It is daylight-saving time. Did you remember to "spring ahead"?

Google adds bike-trail maps

Bicyclists will love this! You can now plan a bike ride in hundreds of cities across the United States.

Google has added biking directions and extensive bike-trail data to Google Maps for the U.S. The feature includes efficient routes, customization capability, bike-lane usage and even how to calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills. Hop on for the ride of your life.

See how you can plan your next biking adventure.

Is there anything Google isn't into?

Retail sales in the U.S., unemployment numbers in Europe, mortality, cancer, education – these are just a few of the data sets that Google is making available to you in its new Google Public Data Explorer. The feature makes large data sets easy to explore, visualize and communicate.

"As the charts and maps animate over time, the changes in the world become easier to understand," reports Google labs. "You don't have to be a data expert to navigate between different views, make your own comparisons, and share your findings."

Are you powered up?

Here's how you can extend your computer's battery life as well as other devices. Sometimes it's just as simple as turning down the brightness on your screen. You might be surprised to learn about the hidden drains on your battery.

In the rearview mirror

44 B.C. – Et tu, Brute? The assassination of Julius Caesar

1976 – Patty Hearst convicted of armed robbery

1978 – Italian PM Aldo Moro kidnapped

2003 – U.S. launches war against Iraq

Now playing at the Princess Theater, Urbana, Ill.

Congratulations to WorldNetDaily readers Russell B. Dobbyn of Gulfport, Miss.; Rick Cothren of Allen, Texas; and Ed Mangham of Winter Park, Fla. – who correctly guessed the actor James Cagney who portrayed George M. Cohan in the 1942, three-time Oscar-winning movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" about the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer.

The quote was: "It seems it always happens. Whenever we get too high-hat and too sophisticated for flag-waving, some thug nation decides we're a pushover all ready to be blackjacked. And it isn't long before we're looking up, mighty anxiously, to be sure the flag's still waving over us."

This week's trivia quote: "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."

Name the movie, the actor and the character.

Send your answer to me at the email address below. Good luck!