Monday, March 19, 2012


Fortunately, Google, Amazon, Facebook, et al collect their data legally, right?
Cn: Police look into firm’s database of private info
March 18, 2012 by Dissent
We may have a new “largest breach ever” if a report out of Shanghai is confirmed. Xu Chi reports:
Shanghai police are investigating a local company that reportedly illegally collected private information of more than 150 million residents that they sell to clients for cold calling and other product promotions.
Shanghai-based Roadway D&B Co caught police and public attention after a video clip filmed by undercover reporters was broadcast nationwide in a news program on Thursday, China’s Consumer Rights Day.
Shanghai police said yesterday that they raided the company’s headquarters on Beijing Road E. after watching the broadcast. [Probable cause is anything they say it is? Bob]
Three senior executives with the company are now under police control.
Officers also confiscated four of the company’s servers for evidence.
The company, which has eight branch offices across the country, was found by undercover reporters to be holding the private information of more than 150 million residents in China, according to the program broadcast by China Central Television.
The information includes name, gender, age, address, phone number, job, monthly income and even the kind of car the person owns.
Read more on ShanghaiDaily.com.
Now why do I think we’d find the same thing in the U.S.?
[From the article:
They said they gathered the information by exchanging data with other cold call companies.
They also purchased private information from real estate agents and insurance companies.
"Sometimes we get information from the banks," another employee said on the show.


I doubt we'll be luck enough to start a dialog between parents and children.
Verdict in Ravi webcam spying trial becomes ‘a cautionary tale’
March 18, 2012 by Dissent
The New Jersey Star-Ledger, which has been all over the Dharun Ravi case, has a follow-up today on how this case and conviction will be a “game changer:”
“It’s a cautionary tale,” said Jenny Carroll, a professor of criminal law at Seton Hall Law School. “Behavior that used to be considered the norm, or acceptable, has become criminal.” [Behavior that used to be limited to two or three giggling teenagers looking through a keyhole is now available in high-def video to the world in perpetuity... Bob]
The verdict warns us to respect people’s space and their differences, she says, not just because it’s the right thing but because it’s criminal if we don’t.
“This will be the end of the ‘boys will be boys’ defense,” Carroll said. “That’s what makes this verdict more or different than other verdicts. Every mother who is packing the kid up for college will say ‘You put that webcam away. You may think it’s funny, a prank, but you don’t use it because I’m not going to come and bail you out of jail.’ ”
Read more on NJ.com
Somehow, I doubt this case will be a game-changer as most people who might engage in bias intimidation will likely not recognize themselves as engaging in such behavior. Some will even correctly argue that some of their conduct or speech is protected speech under the First Amendment. And of course, not all states have laws like New Jersey’s.
I had mixed reactions to the verdict. I think the jurors did a diligent job considering the array of charges before them, especially since they were essentially asked to draw inferences about the intent underlying some of Ravi’s behavior. Would Ravi have used the web cam or stream it if his roommate had brought a girl to the room? Maybe, maybe not. But even if you think that he wouldn’t have done it under those conditions, does that mean he was trying to harass his roommate? Not necessarily. Should he have known that his roommate would feel intimidated by such actions? That’s a difficult one. Did Ravi appreciate that an action that might lead to fear of exposure/embarrassment is intimidation under New Jersey’s law? Should that matter? Suppose he said, “Yes, I knew with reasonable certainty that my roommate would be embarrassed by my invasion of his privacy.” Is embarrassing someone justification for criminal charges?
Calling this a “hate crime” when there was no evidence of any “hate” – a strong emotion – is misleading. Even calling this a bias intimidation crime is a stretch, I think. And there is a real risk that over-sensitivity to insensitive clod-like speech is leading to what is really protected speech being criminalized as “bullying” or “harassment.”
So what could or should the take-home message have been? I would have preferred that it be that we value our privacy and if you invade it, be prepared for criminal charges – regardless of your intention or your awareness of how the individual might feel.
What Dharun Ravi did was despicable. And even if he had no bias against gays, the privacy invasion itself was despicable. What a shame that the focus of the case didn’t stop with that, as we might have had a clearer take-home message for youth.


Was it something evil they were plotting? Or did Dr Evil (the RIAA) do all the talking?
"It looks as if the Australian Government *really* doesn't want the public to know what's going on in its closed doors talks with ISPs and the content industry. The Attorney-General's Department has applied the black marker to almost all of the information contained in documents about the meetings released under Freedom of Information laws. The reason? It wouldn't be in the 'public interest' to release the information. Strange how the public seems to have a high degree of interest in finding out what's being talked about."


I'm always interested (and often amused) by Internet tax plans...
"Downloading music, movies, e-books and Apps could soon cost Connecticut residents more as lawmakers consider a tax on digital downloads. The bill, proposed by the General Assembly's Finance, Review and Bonding Committee, would have consumers pay the 6.35% sales tax on any electronic transfer. Supporters say the bill would level the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers in the state who are already required to charge Connecticut sales tax to consumers who purchase these products in their stores. About 25 states around the country have already begun taxing digital downloads."


Sometimes hard to tell when these guys are joking, but it raises some interesting “Radio Free Wherever” issues. How would you shut something down that was flying outside the 12 mile limit or passing through your airspace at 30,000 feet, or in Orbit? Remember those Pirate radio stations on abandoned oil platforms off the English coast?
… The Pirate Bay today unveiled their new mission. They’re working on ‘hosting’ parts of their site in GPS-controlled drones, instead of old-fashioned data centers.
“Everyone knows WHAT TPB is. Now they’re going to have to think about WHERE TPB is,” The Pirate Bay team told TorrentFreak. We were further informed that the first drone will probably fly above international waters.


Data Mining / Data Analysis
The Value and Benefits of Text Mining
… This sea of data, predicted to increase at a rate of 40% p.a., has significant potential economic and societal value. Techniques such as text and data mining and analytics are required to exploit this potential.
Direct link to Report (PDF; 6.8 MB)


Would this actually convince anyone? (Well, it can't hurt)


I'm sure MY geeks don't need this...
Linux For The Real World
The recent Linux Foundation report about the Linux jobs market highlighted a need for experienced professionals, but the traditional Linux training and certification programs don’t always impart the kind of skills actually required by employers. In an attempt to bridge this gap, veteran Linux trainer and Linux Journal associate editor Shawn Powers has teamed up with CBT Nuggets to develop a series of Linux training videos entitled “Linux for the Real World.” According to the description, this course “goes beyond the hypotheticals to walk viewers through real-world situations.”


Peanuts. Education Apps must use a lot of digital communications. Business opportunities here? (Might be fun to let my students loose on the idea)
How education apps have become a priority for AT&T
Developers with education app ideas will find a sympathetic ear at AT&T.
The company plans to spur the development of apps that will help improve the state of education, and is planning an education-centric "hackathon" contest in June to find the smartest apps. The idea is to bring the Internet, video, social media, and the concept of "gamification" to the learning process.
… The company said today it plans to invest $250 million over the next five years to improving education. Part of that money will go to its AT&T Foundry, which will look into tapping new ways to teach students.


Add to your business card? Email signature? T-shirt?
QRcode.cx is a website for creating your own QR code that has nearly anything you want. You can put contact information, a URL, a message and almost anything else your heart desires. You can also change the color of your QR code to an abundance of colors.
… You can save your code as a PNG or EPS file once you are finished. They also offer an embed code to display the result on a website or blog.
Similar tools: QRHacker anf Unitag.


Because free is good.
Also read related articles:


Because my students can't read it when I project it on the wall...
  • Increase font size in Firefox address bar.
  • Also increase the font size in the auto-complete dropdown menu.
  • Simple toggle on and off option.


Another potential tool to help my students create their own textbook... (Possible I've mentioned this one before)
Class Connect is a great free resource that allows teachers and students to build and share lessons. These lessons can include video content, Google Docs, and more. This is a great tool to organize and store the materials and also to share and collaborate with other teachers and colleagues. The site is free, well-organized, and does a great job or allowing teachers to share the best of their lessons with other passionate educators.

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