April 2011
6 posts
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Are You Following A Bot? →
awaitinginput:
“One day last February, a Twitter user in California named Billy received a tweet from @JamesMTitus, identified in his profile as a “24 year old dude” from Christchurch, New Zealand, who had the avatar of a tabby cat. “If you could bring one character to life from your favorite book, who would it be?,” @JamesMTitus asked. Billy tweeted back, “Jesus,” to which @JamesMTitus replied:...
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CRAIN'S NY: U.S. Attorney and FBI shut down... →
“The companies arranged for the money taken in from U.S.-based gamblers to be disguised as payments to hundreds of non-existent online merchants claiming to sell items like jewelry and golf balls…”
The article describes how “dummy corporations and websites” were part of the scheme. It also cites an executive of Wynn Resorts who calls for regulation of Internet...
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"Twitter Cracks Down on Third-Party Clients" →
“The issue, says Sarver, is consistency. Twitter users need to be able to experience the service in a uniform manner.”
One developer’s take on Twitter’s new roadmap:
“…I am so happy I cut the cord with Twitter long before they got to this point. I’m pretty far along in doing a new user interface for microblogging, one without many of Twitter’s...
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Lawyers: You’re Being Played By Twitter →
awaitinginput:
“The true shining example of a social media service exploiting gamification to its fullest is Twitter. While there is no formal leader board or badges or achievement system (though Klout sprung up to meet that need); it doesn’t take new users long to become keenly aware of their number of “Followers,” @replies, “Re-Tweets,” and Lists (“engagement statistics”). By having its users...
RSS Feed URL for Facebook Page →
March 2011
29 posts
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SimpleXML and PHP Error Handling - Tumblr RSS... →
Epson Scan Cannot Start - Remove Conflicting... →
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"Despite Tsunami and Quake Devastation, Japan... →
“Survival of Japan’s Internet, says Cowie, is most likely due to the ‘dense web of domestic and international connectivity’ built by Japanese engineers ‘that is among the richest and most diverse on earth.’”
Topical quote:
“Eventually, I believe, current attempts to understand the mind by analogy with man-made computers that can perform superbly some...
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"Google launches People Finder in Response to... →
“Google used a similar service following the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand and following last year’s quakes in Haiti and Chile.”
Use WordPress Conditional Tags in "Naked" Template... →
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"House Goes Nuts Over Net Neutrality" →
“By a party-line vote of 15 to 8 they passed a “resolution of disapproval” that would strip the FCC of its ability to protect Internet users — freeing up companies like Verizon and Comcast to block our right to speak freely and share information on the Internet.”
This issue is just as important as worker’s rights, health care and the economy. You’ll...
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Google, Copyright and Privacy Laws in Europe
“Google Confronting Spain’s ‘Right To Be Forgotten’”:
“The Spanish Data Protection Authority has ruled that freedom-of-expression rules in Spain, which cover newspapers and other publishers, don’t apply to search engines. However in earlier decisions the privacy regulator has labeled Google a “publisher” and held that libel laws that apply to newspapers equally...
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"Internet 'Kill Switch' Could Cause Chaos" →
“Governments should look to protect citizens and not just government assets, the authors recommend.”
Turns out, there’s a name for people who think like me: “dystopian pessimist”. Go figure.
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"In Search Of The Internet Kill Switch" →
“The bill met with outcry from privacy and internet groups but was popular with the public.”
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"Feds Eyeing Online Forums to Correct... →
“[Toronto-based company called Social Media Group] alerts the government to questionable online comments and then employees in Foreign Affairs or the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, who have recently been trained in online posting, point the authors to information the government considers more accurate.”
From the first video:
“Billboards can’t reach me in my...
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"Google Issues Malware-Flushing Security Update,... →
“If you’ve got one of the problem apps and haven’t removed it yet, it’s going to automatically be done for you. Sometimes, having Big Brother always watching isn’t such a bad thing.”
With regard to malware, phone apps are the new email. Should have used a browser instead.
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"NASA Scientist Finds Evidence of Alien Life" →
“Hoover discovered the fossils by breaking apart the CI1 meteorite, and analyzing the exposed rock with a scanning-electron microscope and a field emission electron-scanning microscope, which allowed him to detect any fossil remains.”
For the moment:
[last lines] Vincent: [voiceover] For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess I’m suddenly having a hard...
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"New cyberattacks hit South Korea" →
Ahnlab, which first reported the attacks, says they bear a resemblance to the 2009 DDoS attacks that hit South Korean government Web sites inf July 2009.
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"WordPress Suffering Its Largest DDoS Attack... →
“[WordPress suspects] it may have been politically motivated against one of [their] non-English blogs but [is] still investigating and [has] no definitive evidence yet.”
Update: WordPress.com DDoS Attacks Primarily From China, Possibly Politically Motivated
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"Behaviorgraphics: Discovering the 'Me' in Social... →
“[We] are faceless consumers brought only to life through avatars, bios and a history of our online activities and connections.”
It’s like astrology for social media junkies.
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"Biology Nobelist: Natural Selection Will Destroy... →
“We have evolved traits that will lead to humanity’s extinction, says Christian de Duve – so we must learn to overcome them.”
I’d like to thank the Academy, and Charles Darwin…
February 2011
38 posts
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"FBI Pushes for Surveillance Backdoors in Web 2.0... →
“The FBI’s further push for expanded powers to wiretap online communications in real time comes against the backdrop of revolutions in the Middle East that relied heavily on social media communication tools and as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for worldwide internet freedom.”
#FB ay, ay, ay…
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"Cyberwar Issues Likely to Be Addressed Only After... →
“Stuxnet, a superworm that spread in part via infected USB sticks and targeted a nuclear enrichment plant in Iran, is believed to have been created by the United States.”
See also: “Why There Is No Global Antivirus Software Conspiracy” (2005)
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"Peers Or Not? Comcast And Level 3 Slug It Out At... →
“Where in cyberspace is the dispute between Comcast and Level 3 located? On the Internet backbone, or at the last mile?”
Neither. The problem stems from their respective boardrooms. A solution would be having more options when it comes to choosing an ISP.
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"Internet TV Service ivi Chief Vows to Appeal... →
A commenter wrote:
“[Why] are they’re [sic] even commercials on cable/sat tv broadcasting?? We’re already paying for the content. If we had continued to make our over the air broadcasting system better quality and more robust instead of letting cable companies provide everything, we wouldn’t have this problem.”
Adding tinfoil to the antenna helps somewhat.
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"Shoddy Web Experiences Driving Users from the... →
“Despite the increased adoption of smartphones and activity on the mobile Web, however, nearly half of the American respondents (44 percent) said they don’t use their Internet-enabled phones to go online at all.”
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"What Happens After Yahoo Acquires You" →
“‘The Yahoo model is to think of their sites as media properties with audiences, and bolder ideas like one social network encompassing them all was never a priority, [a former engineer] said.”
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95% of people on my facebook won't read this, but...
foreverstargazer:
Post it on your tumblr and on facebook, the world needs to sit up and take notice before it’s too late.
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"Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted" →
“It was the people…going into the streets and confronting the authorities that made the revolutions happen, not those safely messaging from their computers and mobile phones.”
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"FBI to Announce New Net-wiretapping Push" →
“Congress should investigate exactly how the FBI has used its existing interception capabilities…”
Upload OGV Video File to Posterous →