Wikipedia Blackout Protests SOPA
I'm down already, and will remain down for the duration of the emergency. I'm a little fish with only a few thousand monthly users. It's little enough but it's what I can do and I'm not giving this one whit less than all I've got.
What these people propose is to strip all citizens of their rights to freedom of speech and due process of law to protect the profitability of a 90 year old mouse cartoon. I am a huge fan of freedom of speech and if a simple citizen were to stand up and argue for that I would argue with him but I would defend his right to say his piece. And then I'll make fun of him for acting the fool.
For a representative of the people to propose or support a law to deprive the People of their inalienable rights to freely speak or have due process of law is a different thing. It's Serious Business. You don't get to take that back. There is no compromise position to be had here, no middle course. That is a failure of citizenship, a neglect of your civic duty - an admission that you _just don't understand_ that some things are not negotiable. These rights are the very rights our nation was founded to preserve. We went to war with England for just this. Once you've supported legislation to deprive the rights of citizens to freely speak or have due process of law you're a threat to the Republic and need to be removed from office as swiftly as the democratic process will allow. You just don't get a do-over on this one.
Cory's right. This is just evil
Read the article .BOING BOING/Boing Boing will go dark on Jan 18 to fight SOPA & PIPA
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Like most blogs that strive to pass on ANY amount of information while relaying the sources, mine would be crippled by SOPA, even if I moved it off the Google servers. And if it were blacklisted in the US, all those good friends I started writing it for wouldn't be able to read it.
I mean, just yesterday, I wrote about how I was born into a country with no free speech, and how incredibly grateful I was that it was restored while I was still a child. Thank you, I don't want another Iron Curtain.
Read the article .BOING BOING/Boing Boing will go dark on Jan 18 to fight SOPA & PIPA
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Cory, I understand the depth of feelings you have on this issue, but punishing your visitors is not the way to achieve legislative success. The White House has taken a stand against these bills, and more and more in Congress are realizing the downstream consequences. Congress is working on the bills, and it's highly unlikely that *really* bad legislation will make it through both Houses and the White House.
I for one do not plan to punish my vistors, and I'll think long and hard about any web site that chooses to punish their visitors. I just recently got a kudo from Reddit for being there six years. I'm not all that active there, and I personally don't see that I have anything to lose by deleting my account. If they indeed "go dark", I'll probably delete my account when they come back up.
I think you should re-consider, but I'll understand if you do "go dark."
Read the article .BOING BOING/Boing Boing will go dark on Jan 18 to fight SOPA & PIPA
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Respectfully, I don't see it at all as 'punishing' one's visitors. I would like to think that visitors of a site (especially a free blog like BB) have a bit more of a relationship with their hosts. To describe their decision to dedicate the site to an issue like SOPA, for a mere 12 hours, as 'punishment' makes it sound like average visitors are children who expect nothing but free candy in the most immediate way at all times.
I, for one, have been reading Boing Boing for several years now and I certainly don't mind them taking a few hours out of their 'regular programming' to make a point about something they feel is important.
I have been away from my computer, and BB, for at least 12 hours at a time... I don't feel it's too much to ask of their readers to stand by and share a thought about something they feel strongly about for a short time. Then it's right back to free candy!!
Read the article .BOING BOING/Boing Boing will go dark on Jan 18 to fight SOPA & PIPA
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Web sites such as yours consistently make it seem that the only entities hurt by internet theft are large corporations. This is not true. I am a small independent publisher making ends meet with a meager income from a book I wrote. I notify sites of copyright infringement per the DCMA, it takes days to remove the link and, if it's removed at all, more links pop up within days. Internet theft takes food off my table and presents from under my tree. Internet theft hurts people, not just corporations, and it stifles creativity. Why spend years writing a book when it can be stolen and distributed in minutes? Why rent studio time to produce a song when you know you will never make that money back because people are stealing your hard work because sites such as yours make it easy to do while throwing up their electronic hands and screaming, "it's not my fault! I just host the thieves!"
Read the article .BOING BOING/Boing Boing will go dark on Jan 18 to fight SOPA & PIPA
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Dear Wikipedia,
We know we've had our differences in the past. Your community is often less than inclusive and your articles--to be perfectly blunt--aren't always as neutral as you would have us believe. Your definitions of relevant sources is, honestly, too narrow and your reactions towards infractions can often be too severe (or not severe enough).
We know you have your own beefs with us, too. We rather like the fact that all your content costs only the mild hindrance that your fundraising banners cause to our browser real-estate, and we know you really, really, really would like some money from us. We know our love of anonymity, pranks, and non-stop bickerings can cause you headaches and legal troubles.
But now that you've jumped on our bandwagon of anti-SOPA/PIPA support, let's let bygones be bygones. We always knew that our cause was your cause, but to see you throw your support so wholly behind us when so many of our other previous darlings have lost their way? It practically brings tears to our monocled eyes! We our ever so thankful for your show of support, maybe even enough to steer some funds into those donation banners (or maybe not quite that grateful).
Yours sincerely,
The Internet
P.S. We apologize in advance for all future page defacing we will continue to commit. We just can't help ourselves. But it's out of love, honest!
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Wikipedia to join reddit in SOPA blackout Wednesday
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The Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas.
Look, I'm all for protections for IP but this wouldn't solve the problem. Instead, it invites lawsuits, confusion, and bizarre unilateral new rules for the Internet.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Wikipedia to Go Dark Over Antipiracy Bill
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Did anyone take the time to read the SOPA in its entirety?
SOPA attaches civil and/or criminal liability to the following actions:
1) Discussing copyright infringement whether directly or tangentially. Includes academic journals, white papers, corporate memos, casual online discussions between friends, online discussion forums, etc.
2) Writing and distributing source code of software that may be used for copyright infringement.
3) Writing a manual on how to infringe on copyrights.
4) Conducting online or physical classes on how to infringe on copyrights or that may lead to the infringement of copyrights. Includes academic classes, professional classes, online classes by academic institutions, and classes conducted by hackers/pirates.
5) Showing someone how to infringe on copyrights. Includes academic journals, white papers, comments by hackers, newspaper articles, etc.
6) Posting links to websites that shows someone how to infringe on copyrights
7) Posting links to source codes of software that may be used for copyright infringement
8) Posting links to downloadable files of software that may be used for copyright infringement
9) Reverse engineering software and hardware that are intended to prevent copyright infringement
10) Building or installing hardware that are designed to infringe on copyrights, even if hardware is not distributed or sold to anyone. This includes modchips to Wii, Xbox, Playstation, etc. Also includes hardware hacks or modifications to your car's electronics systems.
The list simply goes on and on. ANYTHING that can or may be used to DIRECTLY infringe on copyrights or CONTRIBUTING in any way or form to copyright infringement (whether through online speech, source code of programs, posting of links, or even casual online discussion) WILL be subject to civil and/or criminal liability under the SOPA.
This is NOT an exaggeration. This is the way the SOPA is designed today. Don't believe me or want to argue my points? READ the SOPA.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Wikipedia to Go Dark Over Antipiracy Bill
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The point here is onus and order of suit operations.
Currently, you cannot sue a middleman for putting through information that a primary dealer stole from someone else.
Those middlemen make you sign agreements before you can use their sites which requires you (the poster or dealer) to certify and own your actions.
Since the industry is having trouble making money by suing the end user (snall pockets, many suits), they want the right to sue the middleman (single suit, large pockets).
Are they right, no. Would they win those suits against the middlemen, no. So, they don't want to even have to go to court to assert their rights. They want to be able to call their local friendly politician and get them to take the site down with no jurisprudence.
That is about as anti-freedom as you can get.
Politicians in the senate and house are licking their lips for this free for all smorgasbord of bribes and "contributions" to get them to take down nasty sites who can't be beaten in a lawsuit.
The fact that Wiki is a not-for-profit, makes these folks go nuts, because wiki is asserting that the information on their site is "general knowledge" and therefore free from intellectual property infringement.
In the end, not being able to effectively sue or defend yourself in court is usually a problem for the little guy (me and you) not for a big corporation (so they are pissed).
How about a deal, we get a law that bans BMA (binding mandatory arbitration) and in return we create a class suit for corporations against large groups of offenders in piracy that meet certain requirements (so as not to be a catch all for anyone they want to sue).
Thoughts?
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Wikipedia to Go Dark Over Antipiracy Bill
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This comment has been removed by federal authorities for having unknown links to allegedly blacklisted material.
Read the article NPR/In Protest Of Anti-Piracy Bill, Wikipedia To Go Dark
The creepiest thing about this entire thing is when you consider how many US "Entertainment" companies own the major ISPs. Think Time/Warner (Roadrunner cable in the Southwest/Texas), Comcast (Comcast in the West, Charter and others in Central/Eastern states). Their having any kind of precedent to "thumb through" the content that you and I view, access or send across the net they would be given a green light to act like more than monopolies and become downright modern day Stasi, acting as an extention of the Federal Government by proxy on behalf of any of their "holdings" and/or "partners". THAT is creepy. And some out there believes that giving John Boehner and the GOP the chance to "do what's right" on behalf of intellectual property rights? Yeah, you can guess who they are and just how downright creepy they want to be. I fully support Wikipedia on this one. Jimmy Wales wouldn't be doing this if there was just a "possibility" that it could be used for major creepiness.
Read the article NPR/In Protest Of Anti-Piracy Bill, Wikipedia To Go Dark
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I disagree with Wikipedia on this one.
Music and films ARE products! They're not necessarily tangible products like tools or home appliances, but they are products that serve a purpose - to entertain the end user.
If you have a physical product that is patented, but someone else steals your idea, remakes the product, and sells it somewhere else, you would not be psyched. Well, that's exactly what happens with music and films. Those products have copyright protection. And people put in the time, energy, and know-how to make the product. So why shouldn't they make sure someone else isn't stealing it to make their own profit?
Stealing someone else's work and selling it for profit is NOT a form of free speech.
Read the article NPR/In Protest Of Anti-Piracy Bill, Wikipedia To Go Dark
CENTER STAGE AT CES 2012
Microsoft CES Keynote host Ryan Seacrest checks out Steve Ballmer's Windows Phone at CES 2012. Image: Courtesy of Microsoft
Seems like a greatest hits keynote to me, recycling alot of old marketing taglines from the past with Bing, WP7, Windows 8 and I bet I am missing a few more of them too. But overall there is nothing worse than giving a keynote when you have nothing to say and MS has shown that tonight. Along with more contradictory behavior from MS, if they want their products to be seen as magical and classy, then they shouldn't resort to gimmicks like Ryan Seacrest, autotuned highlights, and the tweet choir.
MS re-relaunched Windows Mobile/Phone again. Unfortunately they are still pushing the same ideals that haven't been working and the Nokia phones while better than the entire lineup of Windows Phones, weren't that exciting. It didn't make me regret getting a Galaxy Nexus last month.
With Windows 8 I am surprised MS is sticking to the no compromises line when it is not true. I feel it is a bit misleading and will end up turning more people off. With Windows 8 being a big change from previous versions of windows, so you will have to compromise and learn to love it or hate it.
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/2012 CES Microsoft keynote liveblog
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Sweden Recognizes Church of Kopimisim -- A Religion of Copying and Pasting
CHURCH OF KOPIMISM/Image courtesy of Death and Taxes
"And the Lord said "Let there be data!" and the data did flow unceasingly unto the Holy Internet and to the faithful across the World Wide Web." You shall know the TRUTH (the computer) and the TRUTH will set your mind free.
Freedom of the MIND is neither political nor economic. Count me in. Or rather, paste me in.Copy that!Clever, you cut and pasted the last line of the article and changed a letter.ABBA, Volvo, and now this...gotta love those Swedes!And he said "Let there be CTRL+V"If you think you've created something truthful, it would be unethical to refuse to share it or demand payment for it, especially if its duplication doesn't diminish the original.
Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Copying and file sharing recognized as a religion in Sweden
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All the big religions survived due to piracy. Monks didn't get approval of the copyright holders or their heirs to make copies of the various holy books. Without piracy, all of them would have been lost.
For that matter, all the classics survived due to piracy as well. Not only did people copy Euclid's Elements without permission but Euclid himself compiled it from earlier works.
The free exchange of information is the very basis of advancing civilization.
Without it, we would be a stone age monarchy but of course, that's the goal for some groups.
Read the article TORRENT FREAK/File-Sharing Recognized as Official Religion in Sweden
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However, as usual, the church, once established when it found it's monopoly on interpretating scripture threatened was the first organization to come out in massive condemnation of the printing press.
The core root of copyright is information control. It's never worked in practice but any vested interest keeps trying.
The scary part is that a paradigm was briefly established where people started taking it for granted that person A should be prohibited from copying information and give to person B. And this nonsense is what we're fighting.
Read the article TORRENT FREAK/File-Sharing Recognized as Official Religion in Sweden
READ MORE TOP COMMENTS: November - December 2011
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The phone and the consumer pc will be converging as phone hardware gets powerful enough to support desktop operating systems as well as the slimmed down mobile operating systems. The majority of consumer desktops/laptops will be replaced with docking stations that will allow a user to purchase one piece of hardware for their phone/pc/laptop (the atrix phone was on to something, but lacks the desktop os). Although they haven't mentioned the potential, it really sounds like Microsoft's Windows 8 is aimed directly at such a device. If the market heads this way, Apple and Google could be playing catch up.
Read the article WIRED/With CES Sendoff, Microsoft Insists It’s Still Cool
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Why "go out with a bang" from a conference that you're not going to be supporting anymore? Most trade shows aren't worth going to anymore and I'm betting that the only reason Microsoft bothered to show up this year was because the probably pre-paid their reservation last year or the year before. Why debut their latest innovations in a forum where they're competing with countless other companies, and risk being overshadowed by one (or many) of their products? By hosting their own events and product roll-outs they don't have to worry about pressure to show "something big" at these shows, even if it's not ready, and face scrutiny if they run into issues that delay its release.
Read the article WIRED/With CES Sendoff, Microsoft Insists It’s Still Cool
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I own a desktop and a laptop, but I also disagree that desktops aren't dying yet, cause it's easier to swap and upgrade components with a desktop than a laptop.. And I completely agree with ghost on the problem of overheating, since laptops tend to have it's components tightly squeezed together to make it 'thinner' and it's also doubly hard and more expensive to find upgrades for laptops making it too much of a hassle than a desktop.
Laptops are only great for presentations or when you're traveling because of it's portability. But most work involving computers allows people to stay on stable environments making the easily upgradeable desktops more viable.
Read the article POPSCi/ What, Exactly, Is an Ultrabook?