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SCI/TECH ARCHIVES -- APRIL 2010
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APRIL 26, 2010 -- MAY 2, 2010 PRIVACY WATCHDOGS TO GOOGLE: "DON'T BE EVIL"
I recently used Google street view and instantly recognized two old neighbors sitting on the front porch having a beer. No attempt had been made to bLur the faces. I used Google street view to catch a glimpse of my ex spouses new car; she is not as poor as she claims. Using the magnifying tool on Google street view it is very simple to garner details from peoples' homes. Google street view is not available in Germany or Switzerland, because of privacy concerns. Although I applaud Google's stand against the Chinese government , I do deplore its obvious disregard for peoples' privacy. What is even worse Google has wrapped themselves in a corporate culture that is far less impenetrable than any secret government department.The worst part of all of this, is that none of our government departments are doing anything. I guess we should all write letters, but what's the point Google sees them before they are typed... Read the article GLOBE AND MAIL/Privacy commissioner leads global group slamming Google . <> Yes, we all sign all kinds of acknowledgement logging in to all kind of websites, but who really read the disclaimers? Even if we do it doesn't mean we interpret them correctly; otherwise, lawyers will run out of job!We trust that these internet giants are honourable and do what they are suppose to do-no more no less, and there is check-and-balance. Apparently I am only dreaming.
Read the article GLOBE AND MAIL/Privacy commissioner leads global group slamming Google
APRIL 19, 2010 -- APRIL 25, 2010 iCensor? -- APPLE BANS POLITICAL CARTOONIST MARK FIORE'S APP
Pass-through apps are certainly not immune - I had a version of my tech-news aggregator app rejected because they didn't like one of the headlines that one of the news sources was running the day they reviewed the app. Never mind that the site is accessible via Safari. I also had the regular news version rejected once because the Washington Post has a search bar on their site, and that means the app could be used to find porn. Again, never mind that Safari is much simpler for that purpose. Read the article THE REGISTER/Apple bans Pulitzer prize political cartoons from iPhone <> Big Brother will not come from our government, but from our corporations. Read the article THE REGISTER/Apple bans Pulitzer prize political cartoons from iPhone
<> Jobs needs to watch ‘Citizen Kane’ a few times. Mark my words, all Apple is now doing is drawing a bullseye on their back for all the malware stuff from MS.
He is no longer a crazy one, a rebel anymore. Period. Read the article MIKE CANE'S IPAD TEST/The latest outrageous Apple book rejection <> I can't see how this is a free speech issue. A question of good vs. bad business, sure, but not free speech. Apple isn't trying to prevent the guy from doing his work--they just won't sell it. He's still free to create and disseminate his work, be it in publications for other companies, software on other platforms, or drawn on cocktail napkins. We may not like Apple's decision, but it's not anymore illegal than it is for the local newsstand to decline to carry scholarly and trade paperbacks. It would be cool, but they're not required to sell everything that's published just because they carry some things that are published, be it for good business reasons, bad business reasons, or just plain snottiness. Read the article BOINGBOING/ Apple blocks Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist from iStore for "ridiculing public figures" <> It was inevitable. We should have expected that, with sole control of media available to iP* devices, AAPL would begin harsh censorship of not only software function, but also ideas. What's next - Catcher in the Rye as an iBook on the iPad? Village Voice? James Joyce's Ulysses? Pictures of the nude Venus de Milo? One should be very wary of buying hardware whose media sourcing is subject to unpredictable social standards and "moral" censoring. Read the article BOINGBOING/ Apple blocks Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist from iStore for "ridiculing public figures" <> iPhone app gets rejected for questionable reasons ... creators mention to media ... media reports stories about iPhone app rejection ... Apple changes its mind, allows app into App Store ... developers continue creating iPhone apps ... then another interesting iPhone app gets rejected for questionable reasons ... repeat ad nauseum. How many times have we heard this story before? There should be a blog template created for these stories because it's the same story repeated. Why do developers continue to waste their time and effort creating apps for Apple's platforms? It's either a fart app or it gets rejected until you get enough news coverage to make Apple backtrack. Not a great process to get into an app store. I wonder how many millions of dollars have been lost in developer time because of Apple's nonsensical app review process and its ridiculous rejections. Read the article MACWORLD/Pulitizer cartoonist invited to resubmit rejected iPhone app
Wow... Read the article GLOBE AND MAIL/U.S. Congress will archive every tweet from 2006 on <> “I’m no Ph.D. but it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data” It boggles MY mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves if we took some time to self-reflect occasionally. Not only to self reflect and recognize our actions, but to recognize that our actions affect more people than just ourselves (eg Does my child learn that being angry is okay when I scream at him for not eating his dinner?). I suppose that’s what you get when you don’t care about anyone but yourself. As for the Twitter archive… it’s a neat idea, but I think it’s more useful as a “what does the hive-mind think about Y, which is happening right now” tool. If we archive it, then we might learn things in hindsight, which is better late than never. Read the article WIRED NEWS/Library of Congress archives twitter history <> Uhmmmm, is it me or does this look more like a satiric article from "The Onion" rather than a legitimate news report? <> Kind of creepy in a way, but then also kind of awesome Read the article CNN/Google and Library of Congress allow access to tweets APRIL 12, 2010 -- APRIL 18, 2010 2012: DR.DOOMSDAY'S BUNKER TO DIE FOR
OK--just a little rambling ridicule because I can't resist and it makes me feel superior. Read the article NPR/A futuristic bunker meant to survive the future <> The fact of the matter is, sure, its pretty cool, but the most a bunker will do is prolong the inevitable. If a meteor hits the earth, big enough to impact the entire planet, all life on the surface is going to die. A plume of ash will envelope the surface for months or years (depending on the size of the meteor). The ash will block any sunlight hitting the earth, killing all plants. Obviously plants are the first step in the food chain, and it will just work its way to the herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. So lets just say the system keeps you alive for a year (food supply last ~1 year, supposedly). Once you get back on the surface, there's going to be nothing to eat. No food = starvation. I don't know about you, but I'd rather die quick by an awesome flaming ball of meteor igniting the surface of the earth, than slowly due to starvation. Read the article POPULAR SCIENCE/Apocalypse-fearing folk can seek shelter in futuristic $10 million bunker
SHOULD ANONYMOUS ONLINE COMMENTS BE BANNED?
I hope this trend gains some steam. I do not know of any newspaper, of any size, in the United States that will print a letter without identifying the writer. Most will call or email the writer to verify the writer's identity. Why should online comments be held to a different (lower) standard? Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/News sites rethink anonymous online comments <> To start with, I'm not sure it would make any difference if one was forced to post under one's own name. I do, and I've been banned from three boards, so I must have remained fairly offensive anyway. Obviously, I thought all my views were perfectly legitimate and appropriately expressed, but equally obviously, others differed. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/News sites rethink anonymous online comments
APRIL 5, 2010 -- APRIL 11, 2010 TAKING SIDES ON NET NEUTRALITY
"Free and equal access to information (the internet) needs to be recognized as a universal human right." Rights don't work like that. Use of the internet is a benefit. It can't exist in a vacuum, and you don't have the right to another's labor (the infrastructure, etc.) when they don't want to give it to you. If rights matter for anything, anyway. Obviously, we limit rights, for good or for bad, sometimes, for public good. But even if the government provided internet for everyone it's still not even up to being a public good, it's a public benefit. This is a good ruling, because the last thing this country needs is the FCC going all extra-Constitutional on us. They need to follow the law. The FCC isn't exactly trustworthy. No government entity should be treated like it is. It's a good ruling in the way that even someone who's obviously guilty still has a trial and a defense attorney. You don't give the government that kind of leeway without making damn sure they are doing it according to the law of the land. Read the article BOINGBOING/FCC loses big in court's Comcast ruling over net neutrality <> Access to information is as vital to democracy as access to water and electricity are vital to basic survival. We have reached a point where the largest point of access to the free exchange of information and ideas in the world is the Internet. Additionally, a significant portion of the national and global economy is dependent upon open and free internet. When I say Free Internet, I do not mean for no compensation as you seem to imply, but rather in the sense that data is not discriminated against. Just as you compensate your local utility company for access to water / electricity / etc, and they cannot regulate what you do with it, you pay for access to your ISP, and they should not regulate what kind of packets you get access to. Imagine that your friendly local electricity company also produced a wide array of electronics. Should they be allowed to block you from being able to use electricity for electronics made by other manufacturers? Or perhaps charge you additional fees to be able to use these competing devices? Doing this is possibly illegal (Sherman Antitrust Act, wiki it.) and unethical when there are few to no alternatives. In truth, the FCC was attempting to regulate ISP's in order to prevent them from regulating consumers. This is Anti-Regulation regulation. Democracy is dependent on the free exchange of ideas, and the free market is based on competition. Allowing ISP's free reign to content filter / block is bad for both. Read the article BOINGBOING/FCC loses big in court's Comcast ruling over net neutrality DOES IPAD LIVE UP TO THE HYPE?
The iPad. A one and half pound instant-on internet access device that easily fits in my side shoulder bag seems very desirable. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Looking at the IPad from two angles <> OK, I guess I still don't understand why people are so smitten by the look and feel of the thing that they will accept it missing important features like USB and a camera, and they will accept a burdensome pricing structure for data transfer over AT&T when other devices have way more functionality and other cell phone providers are offering way more data for way less money. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Looking at the IPad from two angles <> Most computer makers have failed to live up to the promises made over 30 years ago to education. Bulky os’s, expensive apps, confounding error messages….add any other frustrations you’ve experienced. When I first saw and used an Apple iPod touch I was starting to get a glimmer of what was possible to do with a very simple interface. I’d noticed that the primary use of lab computers by students was internet research and word processing. Some, in specialized graphics and cad classes were using more of the computer but still were basically confining themselves to 2 or 3 apps. Then I saw the iPad announcement and it all fit together. At the HS I work at we are starting a small pilot classroom using 20 iPads to explore the potential of a 21st century classroom. This will be a teacher led project to accurately test the educational value of of the iPad, SAS and cloud storage of classwork. Our tech team will provide any support advice requested but the idea is that this classroom should require very little hands on tech support to be labeled successful. A promise kept… Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/DIGITS/Beautiful, But is it a game changer? <> Well here's my take. Do we really need to intake MORE media than we already do? The average American sees over 3000 ads a day, and is bombarded with MEDIA. When I leave work the last thing I want is another device to push more of it in my face. I flip on my Roku, and watch a movie. Read a book, or use my Kindle. The reason why I like the kindle is because its just a book :) I don't have to worry about background notifications, to disrupt what i'm doing... I really do not see this device replacing anything in my life... I'm not going to be writing a term paper on it, and not going to watch movies on it (I do have a tv, and when I'm working i can't watch movies :) And I still have to have a computer to use it, you have to hook it up to itunes on a computer in order to update it, etc. Read the article PC MAGAZINE/What the Ipad reviews tell us, and what they don't <> For me the issue isn't what these devices simplify for the end-user that's a problem, it's what they prevent a developer from doing independently. I can't make an application for the iPad without Apple sanctioning it. I reckon there's a danger of a wedge developing between producers and consumers of digital content, in much the same way that physical production and consumption have become separated by the industrial revolution. The iPad embodies Apple's model for making money from digital content - maybe one of the only truly successful examples so far. Because of Apple's success, I think this model is likely to be copied - and this style of locked-down device is likely to become more ubiquitous. These un-hackable devices reduce us to either consumers or limited-producers, dependent on the will of large corps; I think that's a bad thing. Read the article BOINGBOING/Apple's iPad is a Touch of Genius
MARCH 29, 2010 -- APRIL 4, 2010 LARGE HADRON COLLIDER BEGINS THE GREAT ADVENTURE
What is the practical aspect? Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/ Large Hadron collider finally smashing properly <> A nice, basic description here: Read the article ARS TECHNICA/ How huge particle detectors actually detect tiny particles DOOR OF PERCEPTION: AN ANCIENT PORTAL TO THE AFTERLIFE
Death to the ancient Egyptians was a cherished start of a journey to the afterlife. The door represented spiritual access to the realm of the dead. It's a significant find and the fact that Romans used it without totally defacing it shows even they had a bit of respect for that aspect of the Egyptian's beliefs. Read the article YAHOO NEWS/Ancient doorway to afterlife discovered in Egypt <> Interesting how a stone door has sparked religious debate. Funny too how there are those who seem to believe the original doorway of the door is something leading 'to great spiritual' power. If that is the case, why didn't it help the Egyptian rulers? We are digging up their 'bones', remember? And we are digging up the remnants of their 'past' civilizations. Sometimes the simplest explanations are the most true. The evidence supersedes speculation.
Read the article YAHOO NEWS/Ancient doorway to afterlife discovered in Egypt
SPAM, SPAM, SPAM -- 50% OF INTERNET USERS STILL OPEN RISKY E-MAILS
I get more spam than anybody I know. In the thousands of messages a day. Lots caught by procmail, lots by my filters, the rest by my own eyes (I didn't send myself a message about Viagra!). Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Idiot users still intentionally opening, clicking on spam <> I can understand why older people don't fall for this stuff. We're not in any way wiser but we've lived long enough to be bitter and hateful to the point where we believe nothing anyone tells us. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Idiot users still intentionally opening, clicking on spam RICHARD BRANSON'S GALACTIC DREAM TAKES ITS FIRST FLIGHT
Richard, I remember my mother & father buying me my first book. It was a Ladybird book, and I made a big fuss about having the exact one, even though at the time, at age of five, they said it was too advanced for me to read. It was entitled "Exploring Space" and had on it's cover an illustrative cutaway section of an early Gemini capsule complete with Astronaut. I soon read the book cover to cover. That was back in 1967. The last page showed an old man & his grandson in a spacecraft, and through the porthole window the Earth. I have a dream. I've held onto it for such a long time, and it's kept me going through thick and some very thin times. You, and people like you are making it possible for people like me to someday, very soon live that dream. God bless you all. Read the article VIRGIN GALACTIC NEWS/VSS Enterprise's first "captive carry''flight <> NASA encouraged this. They were the ones that sponsored the original competitions that led the way to this development. NASA is aware that their government funding is on a very short time-table. Without private industries willing to do some research and make some breakthroughs, NASA would likely be out of business within the next decade. With private industry getting into the mix, costs come down, technology advances faster and the money from the general public who uses these means of travel/adventure funds future projects. Read the article CNN NEWS/ Branson spacecraft completes test flight
I was at a aerospace medicine conference a few years ago and some of these guys spoke. It’s fascinating. And one of the speakers made the point: In the early USA, the government made the first pioneering effort–e.g. the Pacific Northwest–but then turned further exploration and development up to private industry. Space, on the other hand, has been approached differently. The government did the first exploration, and then it KEPT ON GOING. It’s good that now the government is backing off a little and private industry is starting to make some noise in this arena. We need PRIVATE space exploration to make it work on a continuous basis. Read the article WIRED NEWS/Spaceship 2 makes first (captive) flight
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