BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Snooping

Still concerned about some faceless government bureaucrat peeking at your e-mails and other online communications? Well, you've got a new champion: Microsoft. The computing giant has announced a set of new privacy features, in a post that specifically calls out "government snooping" as the reason. Responding to news reports that the National Security Agency may be monitoring more online activity than was previously believed, Microsoft attorney and executive vice president Brad Smith wrote that the company is rolling out three new features: expanded encryption across Microsoft services, reinforced legal protections for customer data, and enhanced transparency designed to show customers that Microsoft products don't have "back doors" that make government surveillance easier. And that is a good thing because snooping is seriously not cool. But what is cool is the possibility of tourist trips to the Moon within the next thirty years - just imagine the delight at unwrapping your Christmas present in 2043 and discovering you've been gifted a trip around the Moon. It may seem a little far-fetched right now but it could become a reality if space companies like Virgin Galactic realize their aspirations over the next 30 years or so. Richard Branson and his children are due to fly in his company's spaceship on its first commercial flight currently slated for next year. But speaking to CNN outside a space conference in the UK last week, the company's CEO George Whitesides said their ambitions extended beyond sub-orbital flights for those first customers.