U.S. Supreme Court’s GPS Decision Avoids Real Issues
This Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in U.S. v. Jones, both addressing and evading key concepts of privacy in relation to the Fourth Amendment and the ways in which emerging technology affects such privacy. The Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures “in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,” is […]
Poles Protest ACTA, Polishing A Sense of Resistance
Between Wikipedia’s and Reddit’s blackouts on January 18 along with Google and other websites posting statements against SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act), the legislation that would destroy the internet as we know it has been a popular topic. Millions of Americans protested these acts last week, which led to both […]
Does Time Warner Plan to Kill The Nielsens?
For those who are not terminally stuck in an archaic system, the Nielsen Company pride themselves on being an “online audience and consumer-generated media measurement” company. The term may seem familiar to you because here in the United States they are how companies rate television viewership also known as Nielsen ratings. This is done by […]
The Pirate Bay Goes 3D (No Glasses Required)
The Pirate Bay announced yesterday they’re adding a new content category called “Physibles”, enabling the swapping of data used by 3D printers to create physical objects. Three-dimensional printing is quickly coming down in price, with such products as the MakerBot Replicator available for $1,749.00. The Pirate Bay operators view this trend as a fundamental leap […]
FileSonic Freezes File Sharing
In the wake of law enforcement’s shutdown of file sharing site Megaupload, the competing service FileSonic decides to shut off public file sharing completely. Users can only download their own files at this time. Additionally, their rewards program was discontinued hours before the file sharing was disabled, leaving many users wondering if they’ll be compensated […]
SnApp Judgments: Cubicle Golf
Every night at 12:15 AM Pacific, Amazon gives away a free paid app through their Amazon app store. As I am usually awake at 12:15 AM Pacific, why not let you know if today’s app is useful, or just more clutter in your app drawer? Today’s free app is Cubicle Golf by Plow Digital, Plow Games which usually […]
Anonymous Attacks Government And Other Authorities As Revenge For Megaupload’s Shutdown
The hacker collective known as Anonymous claims “the largest attack ever” on ten government and music industry websites yesterday, in retaliation for the U.S. Justice Department’s shutdown of Megaupload. A second wave of attacks continue today, with Anonymous claiming responsibility for taking down MGM Studio’s online store and the New Zealand police’s website. Reportedly, the […]
iBooks 2: Revelation For (Many) College Students
College text books are way too expensive. Apple hopes to stop this long-lasting trend with the release of the recently-announced iBooks 2 for iOS (and more specifically the iPad), a cheaper and more interactive solution to the age-old paper solution. Before this, shelling out $300 a semester on books was considered a cheap semester, with […]
If A Tree Falls In The Forest, It Makes Beautiful Music
You’ve probably been to a forest or maybe a natural history museum and seen the rings on a tree stump, one ring for every year. You’ve seen them, felt them, and possibly even smelled them. Well, now you can hear them too. Using a modified turntable, a computer, and some other basic supplies, German artist/engineer […]
Justice Department Unplugs MegaUpload
The U.S. Justice Department shut down commercial file hosting service Megaupload today, accusing them of copyright infringement in excess of one billion dollars. Founder of Megaupload, Kim Schmitz (known as “Kim Dot Com”), was taken into custody along with co-founder and CTO Mathias Ortmann, chief marketing officer Finn Batato, and programmer Bram van der Kolk. […]