Archive for 2012/07/20
DirecTV, Viacom make up: 17 channels restored
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reportsChina’s online population rockets to 538 million
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reportsAmazon Prime licenses ‘West Wing,’ other Warner Bros. shows
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionAmazon signs licensing pact with Warner and obtains such shows as “Dark Blue,” “Fringe,” Alcatraz,” and “The Whole Truth” as it battles with Netflix for streaming viewers.
The Libor Scandal In Full Perspective
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reportsThis article brings to the forefront implications that might not be obvious to those without insider experience and knowledge.
More:
http://www.infowars.com/the-libor-scandal-in-full-perspective/
The aVOID Plug-In is a quick and effective way of protesting against child labour
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, Filtering, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionAfter installing aVOID follow those simple steps to see it in action.
Go to one of the following shops:
Asos, Yoox, Amazon, Target, Macys, Zalando, Google Shopping, Frontlineshop, Otto
Search for a product from one of the following manufacturers(all marked red):
See aVOID Plug-In in action
The aVOID Plug-In is a quick and effective way of protesting against child labour. Avoiding products that are associated with the exploitation of children forces manufacturers to tighten up their control procedures. Get it now!
Watching the Olympics at work may annoy the boss, but not as much as the £1,000 fine the company could get if doesn’t have a TV licence
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reportsWatching live telly in the UK requires such a licence regardless of whether that video arrives over the internet or is broadcast. The TV tax collectors have provided a useful cut-out-and-pin-on-the-wall guide for all those pointy-haired bosses who’d prefer to avoid shelling out after the fact.
There is an exemption for battery-powered devices at work if they are owned and used by someone who holds a TV licence at their home address, so keep your laptop unplugged and you’re in the clear – legally at least, we can’t comment on how your boss will react.
More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/20/olympics_licence/
Despite the West’s failure to adequately emerge from the global economic quagmire, Google is still raking in piles of cash
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Google, Stats / reportsThe number of clicks on the web giant’s search adverts increased by about 42 per cent from the same quarter last year, which offset the 16 per cent cut in cost-per-click.
Investors fear the rise of mobile gadgets, on which advertising is cheaper, could ruin the models of the internet’s big players, but Android-making Google is not showing too much sign of it yet. The company banked revenues of $12.2bn (£7.76bn) in the quarter, up slightly from the same period in 2011, giving it a net income of $2.79bn (£1.77bn).
Those revenues included money from Motorola Mobility, the first time the acquisition has been added into Google’s results.
More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/20/google_q2_results/
Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously – By BARACK OBAMA
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionSo far, no one has managed to seriously damage or disrupt our critical infrastructure networks. But foreign governments, criminal syndicates and lone individuals are probing our financial, energy and public safety systems every day. Last year, a water plant in Texas disconnected its control system from the Internet after a hacker posted pictures of the facility’s internal controls. More recently, hackers penetrated the networks of companies that operate our natural-gas pipelines. Computer systems in critical sectors of our economy—including the nuclear and chemical industries—are being increasingly targeted.
It doesn’t take much to imagine the consequences of a successful cyber attack. In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home. Taking down vital banking systems could trigger a financial crisis. The lack of clean water or functioning hospitals could spark a public health emergency. And as we’ve seen in past blackouts, the loss of electricity can bring businesses, cities and entire regions to a standstill.
This is the future we have to avoid. That’s why my administration has made cybersecurity a priority, including proposing legislation to strengthen our nation’s digital defenses. It’s why Congress must pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation.
More:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444330904577535492693044650.html
Syria Deleted Itself from the Internet
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reportsFor 40 minutes, Syria didn’t exist on the Internet—its (currently) ruling government completely unplugged itself
http://gizmodo.com/5927527/syria-deleted-itself-from-the-internet-today
(Updated) ‘Ten shot dead’ at Batman film premiere in Denver
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reportsMore than 35 people had been injured in the incident, it is reported.
A reporter for the 9News website at the scene says a gunman opened fire at the movie cinema complex in Aurora, where three theatres had a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.
Witnesses said someone wearing a gas mask opened fire and there were also reports of a lot of smoke.
A witness told 9News that during a shooting scene in the film he heard loud bangs and a lot of smoke and initially thought they were live special effects put on by the cinema.
Projectiles came through the wall from the neighbouring theatre screening, where it appears the shooting occurred.
More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18921492
Updated:
Batman US cinema shooting: Fourteen dead in Denver
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18921492
Update 2:
Batman US cinema shooting: 12 dead in Colorado
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18921492
The Dutch Simply Do Not Want To Pay For Anything. Private Copy Levy Now Being Scrutinized Too
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reportsIn The Netherlands one is free to download digital files from an illegal source. Uploading illegally copied material is not allowed, but nobody enforces that law. Hence the introduction of a private copy levy to compensate for any damages due to downloading from an illegal source.
That means that manufacturers of CDs, DVDs, MP3 players, tablets and other devices or media that can store digital information need to pay an additional fee to authors and creators when selling or importing their products in The Netherlands.
These manufacturers are now scrutinizing the presumed damage caused by ‘illegal downloading’ and as such, the calculated additional costs deriving from the private copy levy itself. What is the true substitution rate? How many of the people who are now downloading products from an illegal source would have bought the product instead when illegal downloading would not have been possible?
Dutch language news article:
http://webwereld.nl/nieuws/111220/thuiskopie-eist-heffing-op-smartphone–tablet-en-pc.html
Judge OKs Nudity at TSA Checkpoint
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Jurisprudence, Public Policy, Stats / reports
An Oregon man was cleared of indecent exposure charges Wednesday when a local judge said his protest of Transportation Security Administration screening procedures was constitutionally protected speech under state law.
John Brennan, a 50-year-old technology consultant, was charged with the infraction after taking his clothes off at Portland International Airport in April, on a way to a business trip to San Jose.
“I was mostly motivated by the absurdity of it all. The irony that they wanna see me naked. But I don’t get to take my clothes off?” he said after being cleared.
The incident began when Brennan refused to go through the so-called “nude” scanners and instead opted for a pat-down. A TSA officer detected nitrates on his gloves after the pat down. Nitrates are used in explosives.
That, Brennan said, was the last straw. He took his clothes off and proceeded through the checkpoint. He was subsequently arrested.
More:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/tsa-checkpoint-nudity/
GPS Hijacking Catches Feds, Drone Makers Off Guard
Posted: 2012/07/20 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionSome of the drone manufacturers have their own systems to counter spoofing attacks, but others either think this is not their job, are not worried at all, or were completely taken by surprise.
More:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/07/drone-gps-spoof/
