40Tech

Welcome to another long-weekend edition of 40Tech (Canada Day today and the 4th of July on, well… the 4th). To commemorate this joyous occasion, we present you with yet another 40Tech Random Tech Video(s)! We hope you enjoy it (them), enjoy your day, and enjoy the hell out of you long weekend. Cheers! :D

Ladies and gentlemen, it is upon us once again! You know what I mean… that one day a year when those of us who are fathers are shown the respect we so richly deserve — and are showered with gifts and free dinners. Well, gifts, anyway.

Sure, the gifts are often things like ties and aftershave and the like, but at 40Tech, we believe in the power of dreams! We believe that if we can imagine it – and most especially: if we can geek on it – that it just might become a reality some day. That may be nothing more than pie in the sky, and possibly even farcical – but we care not! This is a tech-blog dammit! And for our Father’s Day we demand (see: dream about/hope for) TECH!!!

I was up rather late last night, and I saw something on television that I had never seen before: a Google commercial. It was a little strange, really, with a theme that appeared to be all about a dad who is tracking the life of his daughter via various Google services with the intent to share them with her later. It was all very touching, but I couldn’t help feeling a little weird watching it. Since when does Google do commercials? Isn’t that Bing’s territory? Is the Microsoft marketing machine starting to get to the Mountainview folks?

Either way, the commercial did its job, because it got me to thinking: how many Google services do I actually useon a regular basis? Especially considering that I am still not convinced they aren’t the Devil.

Forget the internet. Forget a fancy new smartphone or crazy new tablet. I want a rocket. You read me right. A rocket. Apparently civilian spaceflight is all the rage these days and I want in!

The latest development in firing regular folks into space happened Friday afternoon at about 3PM Danish time, as the non-profit, OPEN SOURCE group, Copenhagen Suborbitals launched a rocket into space. There was nobody in it — this time — but there could have been, and they are now one giant leap closer to that day.

The launch wasn’t all roses. They had some engine problems in the beginning, and some parachute problems at the end — overall, though, it was a huge success. Read on for a few images and a video of the launch.

I recently read a Gizmodo article about BitCoin, a new digital currency that is peer-exchanged — and generated — and aims to “revolutionize global finance.” It’s a nice idea, really, and some stores and services have already adopted it. According to Gizmodo, you can already trade BitCoin tokens for web designers, games, guns, and even drugs — yep… drugs. This sounds like the makings of real money to me, but how far will it — or can it — go?

Well, it’s Friday, and a long weekend to boot — we even got some sunshine and warm weather up here in the Pacific Northwest, and that’s no small thing. We were starting to think that Spring had decided to stay home this year. I could go on about that, but there’s a point to my mini-ramble: Today is a day to post yet another Fluffy Cool Video!

This one’s about Virgin’s (very cool) flying advertisement/spaceship. Hit the jump to check it out!

Way back in the wilds of 2009, Evan wrote a post naming his top five tech sites for every geek. But 2009 is ancient history in the world of the web — that was way back before I even started writing for 40Tech! My kid was only barely a one year old, and Twitter was still a novelty that allowed people to talk about their lunch. Ancient times, I tell you!

This vast expanse of time and change got me to wondering: what are your top tech sites in this new — and obviously technologically superior — decade? Where do you go these days for all of your tech-related news, reviews, and tips? I’m looking for a top 10 here, ordered or not, so hit the comments, Twitter, Facebook or email, and get the word out!

Here’s my list to get us started:

Amazon recently launched its Cloud Drive service offering users 5 GB of free online storage, with very competitive plans that essentially amount to yearly subscriptions of $1/GB, going up as high as 1000 GB. When combined with the Amazon Cloud Player (US-only), which allows you stream your music files from any computer or Android device, and doesn’t count Amazon MP3 purchases against your subscription limit, the Amazon Cloud Drive seems like one hell of a deal! The Amazon servers are some of the best out there, and unlike services like Microsoft’s SkyDrive, there are no limitations as to what can be uploaded as long as you own the files and their contents, don’t violate any laws by storing them, and agree not to upload anything that could be potentially dangerous.

All very reasonable and expected, no? Be a law-abiding and conscientious citizen, use the service responsibly, and you’re golden, right? Right – unless you enjoy the possibility of your privacy being infringed upon at the whim of a large corporation.

In December of 2010, Google announced that it was planning to make “copyright work better online.” One of those steps was to remove “terms that are closely associated with piracy” from autocompletes, making it slightly more difficult for those looking for ways to find less than legit files to use their service. It seems that Google has made good on its promise, removing several search terms — and portions of search terms — from both autocomplete and Google Instant.

While some may cheer this move on Google’s part, there are several parties who are finding this censorship to be unfair.

By now, you’ve heard how the United States Department of Justice seized the domain names of several commercial websites that were accused of engaging in counterfeiting.  Among these were some file sharing sites.  If the seizure shocks your idea of fair play, you’re not alone.  How exactly did the U.S. government seize these domain names, without giving the site owners a chance to defend themselves?