the missing option...
Who built this puppy?
'defending an open Internet'
bad behavior
It's all about censorship... (2)
It's all about censorship...
apps: native, web, or both?
'an animated documentary'
'Internet art' is just that
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daily pointers
AORTAL - the anti-portal,
here's today's daily pointers:
02/04/12
Without Many Feathers «
» » 0100101110101101
» » Eclectica Magazine
(RSS)
[daily pointers archive]
Some rights reserved.
the missing option...
A Modest Proposal: Google, Take My MoneyI just wish you'd take alternative forms of payment besides my eyeballs and my personal information.
Related:
disconnect.me: Paying with our data
'defending an open Internet'
Combating Online Piracy while Protecting an Open and Innovative Internet | The White House'interplay'
The evolution of the webThe color bands in this visualization represent the interaction between web technologies and browsers, which brings to life the many powerful web apps that we use daily.
'some other purpose'
Why I'd never work for Google, Twitter, or FacebookGoogle+ isn't about sharing cat pictures, it's about serving ads. Twitter's massive network of 140-character bits of information isn't about connecting people across the globe or to view current trends in worldwide thinking, it's about serving ads. Facebook isn't about entertaining yourself with games or sharing interesting links, it's about serving ads.
running the numbers
Remembrance of Links PastMeasuring link rot with a computer program is tricky because URLs have a number of different decay products...
If you use pinboard.in...
...the following may be useful to you: Pinboard Status. I've decided to post this after attempting to review an article on the pinboard blog I had bookmarked and finding it was (still) unavailable this morning.What if?
Project KleinrockProject Kleinrock is an attempt to create an autonomous and decentralized "second layer" of the Internet, which can operate without the use of Internet Service Providers. This network can be set up using nothing more than common household wifi routers. It works by creating a web of routers, connected to each other by switching them into repeater mode...
Topical: Internet Security
The Security Skeptic – "about all matters related to Internet Security, from domain name and network security to phishing and malware"innovation vs. annoyance
Advertising is damaging the Internet experienceNow I am not saying that advertising is all bad, most of these blogs and websites depend on it to remain publishing. However as the average user learns to automatically and involuntarily tune out the distractions, advertisers keep coming up with new innovative methods of annoyance.
since 1996
First Monday – "one of the first openly accessible, peer–reviewed journals on the Internet, solely devoted to the Internet"online 'privacy manager'
SelectOutSelectOut is here to help enlighten internet users about their choices, the companies that are behind data online, and give users the options choose for themselves.
connectivity by community
National Broadband Map – "a searchable and interactive website that allows users to view broadband availability across every neighborhood in the United States"on the impermanent cloud
Link RotWhen you link, you do so trusting that the data to which you direct your readers won't just up and disappear into the virtual ether. Except that, inevitably, it will...
'a world with fewer options'
In the Grip of the Internet MonopolistsDo away with Google? Break up Facebook? We can't imagine life without them—and that's the problem
sharing your personal details
Online Tracking Company RapLeaf Profiles Users by NameRelated link: RapLeafRapLeaf knows even more about Mrs. Twombly and millions of other Americans: their real names and email addresses.
This makes RapLeaf a rare breed. Rival tracking companies also gather minute detail on individual Americans: They know a tremendous amount about what you do. But most trackers either can't or won't keep the ultimate piece of personal information—your name—in their databases. The industry often cites this layer of anonymity as a reason online tracking shouldn't be considered intrusive.
'here at home'
Stop the Internet Blacklist!
Update 9/30/10 - Related:
Victory: Internet Censorship Bill is Delayed, For Now
Say goodbye...
The Ask.com Blog: Bloglines UpdateToday, Ask.com let our users know that we will shut down Bloglines on October 1. Not an easy decision, especially considering our loyal and supportive (not to mention patient) user base, but, ultimately, the right one given business reasons simply too hard to ignore.
'a step closer'
Toward the Semantic WebIf the current Web is like a giant text file - which you can search for instances of particular words – the Semantic Web would be like a database, where every item of information is categorized, and new queries can combine categories in any imaginable way. You could, for instance, search the Web for a restaurant within a mile of a railway station in a town with a theater that offers vegetarian lasagna and at least one lamb dish. And if you wanted the restaurant’s menu, you could pull up just the menu – not page after page of review sites that happened to use the word "menu."
misleading open letter?
Jobs on Flash: Hypocrisy So Thick You Could Cut it with a Knife (in response to Apple's Thoughts on Flash)Be a phony ho!
Buy Comments for your Blog or Facebook Page. Start the Conversation. Amazing! And ridiculous.'relaxation and liberalization'
Canon to begin acquisition of the ".canon" Top-Level Domain name [Surfstation]bravo for saying it
Advertising is devastating to my well-being[dotcoma]I run my own website(s) at a loss specifically because I'd rather pay out of my own pocket than force people to look at ads. Admittedly my sites are so small that it's not much money. But there you have it. If I had to generate revenue to keep my sites going, I would find a way other than advertising to do it. Or I'd shut them down.
on 'Google and its partners'
- Google Click Fraud Inflates Conversion Rates and Tricks Advertisers into Overpaying (January 12, 2010)
- Google Still Charging Advertisers for Conversion-Inflation Traffic from WhenU Spyware (January 5, 2010 - Updated, January 7, 2010)
- How Google and Its Partners Inflate Measured Conversion Rates and Inflate Advertisers' Costs (May 13, 2009)
which comes first
Excessive internet use is linked to depressionOur research indicates that excessive internet use is associated with depression, but what we don't know is which comes first - are depressed people drawn to the internet or does the internet cause depression?
Is your data safe? (2)
- Official Google Blog: A new approach to China
Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google.
- Official Google Enterprise Blog: Keeping your data safe
This attack may understandably raise some questions, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share some additional information and assure you that Google is introducing additional security measures to help ensure the safety of your data.
- Google's half-truths and a plea for perspective
Coordinated enough to get at GMail’s internal data store, if only the one with e-mail headers. If that doesn’t scare you, it should. What Google does with their .cn site is relatively minor news.
banking/e-commerce at risk
Creating a rogue CA certificateThis successful proof of concept shows that the certificate validation performed by browsers can be subverted and malicious attackers might be able to monitor or tamper with data sent to secure websites. Banking and e-commerce sites are particularly at risk because of the high value of the information secured with HTTPS on those sites. With a rogue CA certificate, attackers would be able to execute practically undetectable phishing attacks against such sites.
WTF?
Opinion Mart pop-ups are annoying many on the web and it appears that BBC's news site has just started to impose these pop-ups on its users (at least, here in the U.S.). Shame on you BBC!net neutrality, privacy & security
Center for Democracy & Technology | Keeping the Internet Open, Innovative and Free'free and open Web'
World Wide Web FoundationAdvance the Web. Empower People.
We envision a Web that empowers all people, including billions excluded today, by providing new opportunities for creativity, collaboration, teaching, learning, enterprise and a better life. To reach this goal, the Web Foundation will put the power of the Web into the hands of people around the world through effective, high-impact programs.
Is your data safe?
Facebook and MySpace security: backdoor wide open, millions of accounts exploitableFacebook and MySpace fixed this quickly after being notified...
big stats, dumb headline
One billion a day turn to YouTubeYouTube now gets over a billion hits a day, according to a new video blog post by the founder of the website.
Impressive stats, but a billion hits is not the same as a billion visitors, silly!
'cyberpsychology'
The Psychology of CyberspaceThis hypertext book explores the psychological aspects of environments created by computers and online networks. It presents an evolving conceptual framework for understanding how people react to and behave within cyberspace: what I call "the psychology of cyberspace" - or simply "cyberpsychology."
– John Suler, Ph.D.
'silent crowds'
Twitter hype punctured by studyMicro-blogging service Twitter remains the preserve of a few, despite the hype surrounding it, according to research.
Just 10% of Twitter users generate more than 90% of the content, a Harvard study of 300,000 users found.
'impersonal and irrelevant'
Zach Klein: "I liked the Internet better when it was nebulous, and now I’m depressed that it shaping up to be a social pyramid."'stretching the law'
Net firms start storing user dataDetails of user e-mails, website visits and net phone calls will be stored by internet service providers (ISPs) from Monday under an EU directive...
He's got a point...
BeatingAddiction - fight social network addiction through social networking? Come on now dammit!!!!'your own data on your own website'
Why you should have a Web Site (and other Web 3.0 issues)[Preoccupations]Web 2.0 is damaging to the Web by dividing it into topical sub-webs...
'informative and interesting'
History of the Internet – "an animated documentary explaining the inventions from time-sharing to filesharing, from Arpanet to Internet"government 'filtering' (2)
Net firms rebuff filtering planAustralian government plans to filter net use have been rebuffed by local internet service providers (ISPs).
Related: No Clean Feed - Stop Internet Censorship in Australia
you tell me...
"I hold it against people when I see that they don't have a gmail address. Does that make me shallow?"government 'filtering'
No Clean Feed - Stop Internet Censorship in Australia[Everything on the Internet is true]
'distinct mental condition'
Psychiatrist Dr. Jerald Block tells Wikinews about addiction to the Internet'a happy ending'
Domainr – "helps you explore the entire domain name space beyond the ubiquitous..." [happy notes*]'rethinking of books'
Yale Books UnboundIt's a way of sharing books and the ideas within them, as well as facilitating some of our works in progress.
how it works
A Day In The Life Of A Small Time Technology Blogger – "Rejoice! You've hit the small time!"'shiny plastic bandwagon'
Stop! Reflection time.If I see one more blog post about "Web 2.0," I’m going to headbutt a sidewalk.
'did not inform customers'
Call to prosecute BT for ad trialRelated previous posts:
snooping and profiling
'fears over the future of the internet'
'violating California law'
Consumer and Privacy Groups Urge Google to Post a Link to Its Privacy Policy from Its Home Page [BBC News]misdirected comments
GumbabyThe Gumbaby Project is an attempt to gather together a directory of comments posted on blogs (and guestbooks, and other inappropriate places) by people apparently led astray by search engines. Certain threads on some sites seem to attract confusion over and over again. People arrive at a blog, mistake the author for a celebrity, an expert, or an authority, and they begin talking as if that's who was listening.
snooping and profiling
The Phorm 'Webwise' SystemRelated post: 'fears over the future of the internet'
issue is 'privacy' not 'piracy'
Policing internet 'not ISP's job'The head of one of Britain's biggest internet providers has criticised the music industry for demanding that he act against pirates.
Related: ISPs could face piracy sanctions
no privacy here, thank you
Security Lapse Exposes Facebook PhotosBeware of links to other news sites with heavy and/or intrusive advertising.
'fears over the future of the internet'
Web creator rejects net tracking Related:Phorm 'illegal' says policy group
Phorm needs 'better protection'
'forcibly censored' by Swiss bank
Whistle-blower site taken offlineNote: The site is still available here.
a sorry state
StylizedWeb.com:"Everybody’s doing it" is just the right sentence for Google AdSense. Everywhere you look, sites are crowded with AdSense and why shouldn't they if it's easy way to make money.
'some minor bugs' but 'internetty'
The Whole Internet – "a map of the entire Internet"[Ireneo's Memory]
'judgmental nitpickers'
Can You Say Nazi? – "A How To Guide to getting Accepted in the Exclusive World of Web Elitists"'can detect rampant stupidity'
StupidFilter – "Because the internet needs prophylactics for memetically transmitted diseases." (go random) [Ireneo's Memory]'modern self-portraits'
Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism...Social networking websites may make relationships more reliable, but whether those relationships can be humanly satisfying remains to be seen.[Justin Blanton]
on the 'mini marketing machine'
Go from hellNo damn advertising at all. I don’t care how warm and fuzzy Google is, I don’t want to be tracked like an animal and "targeted" with anything, least of all guesswork about what I want, no matter how educated that guesswork is.
new interactive annoyance format
Google AdWords Introduces Google Gadget Ads, a New Interactive Ad Format'unacceptable intrusion'
German spyware plans trigger row – "German government plans to spy on terror suspects by deploying malicious e-mails have drawn sharp criticism."how secure?
Bloggers battered by viral stormGoogle's Blogger site is being used by malicious hackers who are posting fake entries to some blogs.
The fake entries contain weblinks that lead to booby-trapped downloads that could infect a Windows PC.
company denies security breach
Monster attack steals user dataUS job website Monster.com has suffered an online attack with the personal data of hundreds of thousands of users stolen...
dealing with 'inbox overflow'
"Sentenc.es is a personal policy that all email responses regardless of recipient or subject will be a pre-determined number sentences or less. It’s that simple." (thanks Vasta)
new policy meaningful?
In This Edition of Privacy Theater, Google's Cookie Monster > Six Tips to Protect Your Online Search PrivacyEvil Google? Looks like a duck.
New YouTube Interface for Embedded VideosOn the con side, you’re also opening up your website to changes which you never specifically approved (other than all the general legal approvals you give a site by agreeing to their Terms of Service). If one day you decide that all the interface changes, or ads YouTube rolls out, are becoming too distracting for your visitors, the burden of replacing all embedded code and finding another host (if you kept your video files in the first place!) lies on you.
a place to put a page
page of text . com – "create a new page of text to edit by yourself or with others"'open to attack'
Users warned on Windows cursors – "Animated cursors could prove risky for Windows users, Microsoft has warned...."'mixed views'
Brazil rainforest internet plan – "A move to provide free internet access to native Indian tribes to help protect the Amazon rainforest from illegal logging has been announced in Brazil..."killing the music...
Royalties threaten internet radioIn a decision which the internet radio stations say was influenced by the record labels, it has ruled that royalties should rise from .08 cents per track to .19 cents by 2010.
tech predictions
Fragrant future beckons for webWithin a decade the net will be able to deliver smells as fast as it does data, predicts a report.
The forecast came in a wide-ranging survey produced by the South Korean government to find out what consumers will want from future technologies.
good to know...
Debit card versus credit card – "Your federal debit card legal rights are weaker than your credit card rights."simple advice worth repeating...
Security Response Weblog:To protect yourself against these threats, do not trust unsolicited files or documents about “interesting” topics. Do not open attachments unless they are expected and come from a known and trusted source.
security warning - don't click!
Beware you morbid types...It hasn't been long since reports surfaced that videos of Saddam Hussein’s execution are available for download on the Internet. It’s no surprise that enterprising malware creators have latched on to this latest news in an attempt to spread their wares...
online thoughts...
On Inconsiderate Commenting – "Unfortunately, not all change is good, and as we become 'more connected,' in many ways we're becoming less connected."restoring the 'promise'
Web censorship 'bypass' unveiled – "A tool has been created capable of circumventing government censorship of the web, according to researchers."promotional press release...
Culver City, California Implements Pornography and Copyright Filtering Technology on Their Public Wireless Network [EFF]intellectual property issues
Fair Use Network – "information & resources for free expression"[EFF: Mini Links]
'tool of repression'
The Internet and Freedom of Expression: A New Frontier for Human Rights? (.pdf) [context]'ever-escalating cyber war'
Web attacks end anti-spam effort – "A series of web attacks by spammers have forced a security firm to end an initiative to curb junk mail..."says he's 'being persecuted'
US 'spyware maker' fined profitsA man accused of infecting PCs with spyware has been fined $4m.
The US Federal Trade Commission has ordered Sanford Wallace to hand over the money he made by putting the unwanted software on computers.
internet facts (?)
The Institute of Internet History – "Abridged History of the Internet"Ironically, in our research we have found that one of the topics about which information on the Internet is often found to be misleading or inaccurate is the history of the Internet itself. Students and researchers are therefore advised to be vigilant and always check purported facts with multiple, reputable sources.
'invasive surveillance'
EFF: Breaking News"The evidence that we are filing supports our claim that AT&T is diverting Internet traffic into the hands of the NSA wholesale, in violation of federal wiretapping laws and the Fourth Amendment," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "More than just threatening individuals' privacy, AT&T's apparent choice to give the government secret, direct access to millions of ordinary Americans' Internet communications is a threat to the Constitution itself. We are asking the Court to put a stop to it now."
gone phishing...
European phishing gangs targetedMicrosoft is launching legal action against 100 phishing gangs based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
By the end of March, 53 cases will have begun said Microsoft, with all 100 filed by the end of June.
'information operations'
US plans to 'fight the net' revealedWhen it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone.
It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system.
"Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system," it reads.
The slogan "fight the net" appears several times throughout the roadmap.
new exploit...
New exploit blows by fully patched Windows XP systems[tech.memeorandum]
Related:
Microsoft Security Advisory (912840)
[Scobleizer < Simon Willison's Blogmarks]
Security warning: WMF exploit
Sites exploit Windows image flaw
online buyers beware...
Abusive Bait and Switch Camera Store[tech.memeorandum]
Related (12/1): An Apology Letter...
an idea...
Jorn Barger:when you buy a product
shouldn't there be an rss feed you can subscribe to
that serves as a mini users group for that product
with faqs and updates and tips and gripes
ideally independent from the manufacturer?
reform proposals...
US rejects changes to net control – "The US has rejected calls by European Union (EU) officials to give control of the net over to a more representative United Nations (UN) body."big linklist
The Faces in Front of the Monitors – "Pictures of people who have made a mark in any of the following: programmable computer systems, computer networks, the Internet or the security involved with those systems." (plus some homepage/weblog links)advice for bloggers
Reporters Without Borders: Create your own blog, remain anonymous and get round censorship! – Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissdents [BBC]undermining 'consumer behavior'
Company Bypasses Cookie-Deleting ConsumersRelated:
PIE and the bitter taste of tracking
re: broadcast flag
BBC News: Courts question anti-piracy ruleThe US broadcast regulator has been told by appeal judges it has "crossed the line" with an anti-piracy tag which stops programmes being copied...