Where is the next Egypt? Could we set up a “Revolution Prediction Index” based on the amount of “fiddling” with Internet services?
Is Algeria Deleting Facebook Accounts?
"Algeria is reported to be shutting down ISPs and deleting Facebook accounts in an effort to prevent anti-government protests from escalating as they did in Egypt. Is it likely that they are deleting FB accounts? Unless Facebook is cooperating, this would either require hacking FB to obtain administrator privileges or cracking the password of each account they wish to delete."
Ultimately, the government will decide that its citizens need circuses as much as they need bread.
Can Cable Block the Google TV Revolution?
Behind the scenes at the Federal Communications Commission, a quiet war is being waged over the future of television. It isn’t getting as many headlines as net neutrality or the Comcast/NBCU merger, but the debate is nearly as important. It’s about how far Google, Sony, and their allies can take their Google TV system.
In their bid to get the FCC to help Google TV and similar devices, “Sony/Google are asking the Commission to ignore copyright, patent, trademark, contract privity, licensing, and other legal rights and limitations that have been thoroughly documented,” the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) warned last Wednesday.
What is NCTA talking about? The trade association is trying to set limits on how easy it will be for devices like Google TV to access pay TV content and reassemble it into something that will reconfigure both television and the internet.
That’s at the heart of the FCC’s proposal for an AllVid system, which Google very loudly supports. AllVid doesn’t exist yet, but the idea is to mandate an industry-wide gadget that you could plug into your broadband router and connect to your cable TV provider, then watch online video and pay channels through a variety of AllVid-friendly devices. Not surprisingly, Google and Sony love this idea, because it could transform the Google TV from just a neat product into a revolution.
Big cable hates the proposal, because that revolution could leave multi-video program distributors (MVPDs), if not in the dust, at least working in a far more competitive video environment. But the AllVid proposal faces real technical challenges that have yet to be worked out.
At present, Google TV is a suite of devices that integrate streaming IP video services like YouTube with various kinds of third-party content, all searchable on a Google TV screen. You can get in on this by buying the Google TV standalone HDTV set, or by hooking your extant screen to a Logitech Revue or Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player.
As our own Chris Foresman notes, the gear is expensive and kind of clunky, but you can also use your phone as a remote control, and voice command functionality is on the way.
The biggest challenge for Google TV has been finding pay content partners. The DISH network is accessible via the device. And Google has clinched content deals with HBO, CNBC, Turner Broadcasting and the National Basketball Association.
(Related) Clearly, Google wants to offer services (translation: place ads) on any digital signal it can identify.
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=20733
Is Google 2-Factor Authentication for Gmail just a cell number grab?
February 12, 2011 by Dissent
Alexander Hanff writes:
Earlier this week Google announced they would be introducing 2-Factor authentication to their Gmail service. This means users will be given the option of providing Google with their Cell or Landline telephone numbers which Google will then use to send you a 1 time authentication code to log in to your gmail account.
All in all it doesn’t sound so bad and Google have been widely praised for deploying the technology – but everyone seems to be missing the elephant in the room – WHY THE HELL would anyone ever trust Google with their phone numbers? I know I don’t and as such the new system is of absolutely no use to me.
However, as if on cue, Google have now forced me into a corner with this “optional” new technology. I have a couple of old gmail accounts which are rarely used but I check them frequently to see if someone if trying to get in touch. Just yesterday I logged into one of these accounts just fine, today however, I cannot.
Google have decided the account has been flagged for “unusual activity” and now REQUIRE me to provide them with a phone number to send me an authentication code. Now I don’t believe for one minute that there has been any “unusual activity” but Google provide me with no other option to bypass this issue – my only option is to provide them with either my cell or landline, which to me is no option at all because I trust Google with my phone numbers about as far as I could throw all the money in Eric Schmidt’s bank accounts.
Read more on Privacy International.
I've been holding out because what I have is “good enough.” But I suspect future innovation will be in these devices, so I'm watching them closely.
10 Reasons To Buy A Tablet (And 5 Reasons Not To)
You’ve held out for months, waiting and watching the market for some sign of a tablet that you think you’d like. But maybe you’re asking the wrong question. Instead of “Which tablet should I buy?” maybe you should be asking why you need a tablet in the first place?
We’ve written out a brief guide to deciding whether you need a tablet at all.
[PRO:
1. Tablets make great e-readers.
2. Tablets are portable productivity stations.
3. Tablets are better than older laptops.
4. Tablets are great for meetings.
5. Tablets are great for sharing photos and 1-on-1 presentations.
6. Tablets are great for movies and music.
7. Tablets are cheaper than a new laptop.
8. Tablets don’t crash.
9. Tablets are good for travel.
10. Tablets are just cool.
[CON:
1. Are tablets as portable as the phone you already have?
2. Where are the games?
3. How much work can you do on one of these things?
4. “You can browse the Web with a tablet while watching TV on your couch!
5. Something better will come along in a few months.
I'm sorry to say, I think this service might find a market...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20031646-71.html
Valentine, don't sweat online dating: outsource
… at this time of year, those of you who work too hard--or merely drink too much--might be feeling lonely, lost and fearing that you will never again experience the joys of asking someone's name in the morning.
I therefore give you Virtual Dating Assistants. This is a company that does all the online dating for you. Well, most of it.
Virtual Dating Assistants makes heady promises on its Web site. For example: "We do it. You date. Online dating, simplified."
Please allow me to show you just what "simplified" feels like. For the lowest price of $360 a month, VIDA will scour between one and three online dating sites--yes, like Match.com--and do all sorts of things that make you look better than you really are.
They will write your profile. They will choose your photos. They will digitally retouch them. Yes, really. They will correspond with all potential candidates. They will, indeed, create their own jokes.
For students taking the UNIX class...
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-live-usb-creator-easily-boot-linux-flash-drive/
Linux Live USB Creator: Easily Boot Linux From Your Flash Drive
Trying out Linux should be easy; with the help of Linux Live USB Creator it is. Quickly get any Linux distribution to boot from your USB key, complete with a persistent mode for keeping applications and documents in place. You can even install a portable version of Virtualbox to your USB key so you can run Linux comfortably from within Windows.
… Feel free to download Linux Live USB right now, and keep reading for an overview of the program.
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