Category: Commentary (page 4 of 10)

May 20, 2011

You Could Fly to Space (for 200 Grand), Then Float Home Like a Feather [video]

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 is not the time to think about heavy things, like the ridiculous amount of money that is being poured into Virgin Galactic’s Space Tourism program — or the ridiculous amount of money that it will cost (again, 200 grand) for people to take that pleasure trip to the edge of beyond. We all know there are better uses for that kind of money. If we had that kind of money, though… there’s a good chance we would take that flight anyway. Seriously.

Even if you wouldn’t, I think you’ll agree that watching Virgin’s fancy new flying advertisement in action is pretty frickin’ cool. Especially as it leaves the atmosphere — and then transforms into a soft, floaty feather-plane to survive re-entry.

Neat! – And the giant two-planes-attached-at-the-wing MotherShip ain’t too shabby either.

What do you think of Richard Branson’s new spaceship?

April 15, 2011

What Are Your Go-To Tech Sites?

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:

Lifehacker – These guys cover everything, even things I had no idea I could be interested in. Their feature posts are helpful and informative, and their short posts have lead me to some other very cool blogs.

Mashable – I’m a nut about the social web, both due to my work and my geeky curiosity and need to consume new techy info. I’m also fascinated by the way Mashable has managed to infiltrate and influence mainstream news, including local, national, and even worldwide television stories.

ReadWriteWeb – Some of the topics on this site can be a bit heady or politically charged, but the quality of the work and the range of interesting topics keep me coming back. I’ve found a lot of really great information here, some of which I’ve linked to from 40Tech.

Make Magazine – This site continuously blows me away with the stuff people cobble together. Some crazy DIY and experimental tech (and other things) here!

Twitter – Specifically, my Twitter account (@bobby_travis). This may seem like an odd choice, but I get a lot of my tech news and info from here. Some of it is from the sites in this list — but I get it from Twitter before I ever hit the site — and much of it is from other sites that are linked in the posts of those I follow and retweet or otherwise share.

40Tech – Yeah, I know, I’m biased because I write here, but this site remains one of my most frequent reads — and not due to vanity. The fact is, I was a reader, like you, before I started contributing to the site. The information I get from Evan and our commenters, not to mention guest posters, is, and always has been of the best quality.

MakeUseOf – I like MakeUseOf because of the huge amount of how-to posts, general tips, and guides that I’ve found there. It’s a great place to find everything from how to build your own PC, to how to jailbreak your iPhone, and find out how to shop better online. Something for everybody, really.

Joystiq – This is probably where I get most of my gaming info. I could have said Facebook, I suppose, because that’s where I often start before I get to the site, but that is only because I liked their page and have been interested enough that I haven’t muted them.

Web.AppStorm – In a world focused on/obsessed with cloud computing, getting all the goods on the new and fancy web apps is a necessity. WebAppStorm is one of the best places to learn all that you could ever want to know and more, and there are several other AppStorm sites attached to it. It’s not bad to look at either. Downright pretty, even!

Digitizd – Formerly known as The 2.0 Life, Digitizd is the baby and brainchild of David Pierce (Assistant Editor of PC Mag Digital Networks and 40Tech reader). The site broadcasts thoughts, tips, news, and neatness related to the digital world and living in it, and is an all around good read.

There are several other sites that I read regularly which are also tech-related, such as a multitude of other gaming sites, social media and business sites, and more, but these are the ones that I probably end up at the most.

Now it’s your turn!

Hopefully, this conversation will bring out a few gems people have never heard of, as well as a sense of what our world in general finds to be the cream of the geeky crop. And please don’t feel pressured to rank 40Tech up high on your list. We are very much aware of and comfortable with our smallish stature among the tech-site juggernauts. We still know we’re awesome — because you all keep telling us so! Thanks for that, by the way… You’re awesome too! :D

April 6, 2011

The No.1 Reason I Won’t Be Using Amazon Cloud Drive

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.

My problem with the Amazon Cloud Drive service, no matter how good it might be, all boils down to a single clause in their terms of service — which I hope that everyone who signed up for the service (or any service) read thoroughly. In section 5.2 of the Terms of Use, Amazon clearly states the following:

5.2.Our Right to Access Your Files. You give us the right to access, retain, use and disclose your account information and Your Files: to provide you with technical support and address technical issues; to investigate compliance with the terms of this Agreement, enforce the terms of this Agreement and protect the Service and its users from fraud or security threats; or as we determine is necessary to provide the Service or comply with applicable law.

Giving a corporation and its designated appointees the right to access, keep, use, and share both my account information and my personal and business files is something that I’m simply not comfortable with. I understand the concept of limited access to files for the purposes of technical support, and I even get holding them on the order of a court of law or government body, but the use of the phrase “as we determine is necessary to provide the Service” is playing a bit too fast and loose for me. I have no idea what they might determine is necessary — it’s completely arbitrary. I am reasonably certain that, if there were victims of some sort of foul play resulting from that phrase, a court of law would be able to find in favour of those victims, but who wants to be a victim, even potentially? Don’t we have enough problems with digital privacy already?

The Amazon Cloud Drive is promising, but for a service that is fending off criticisms from the music industry by touting itself as a personal hard drive, they certainly don’t provide the end-user with anything even close to resembling the right to privacy that is inherent in a true personal hard drive. I hope that users read and thoroughly understand the fine print before they decide to upload their lives to this service!

What do you think of the Amazon Cloud Drive and its terms of use?

January 27, 2011

Google Turns On the Torrent Censor

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. 40Tech has taken an anti-piracy stance on more than one occasion, but we are also not fans of censorship. Companies like RapidShare, Megaupload, and BitTorrent are most definitely used by those participating in shady file-sharing, but they are also used for legitimate, and often useful, purposes, yet these sites can no longer be found via Google’s autocomplete or Instant features. Is it fair that they be given selective treatment when, as a representative of RapidShare states: “A search engine’s results should reflect the users’ interests and not Google’s or anybody else’s?”

The selection of banned terms seems to be arbitrary, as not all well-known torrent sites are affected — you can still find The Pirate Bay, for instance. Anything using the search term “torr,” however, has been removed, along with several other terms and bits of terms. This is unfortunate for anyone doing some quick research on the torr symbol (a non-SI unit of pressure), or the high-IQ society Torr.org, or Torr the thin film and nanotechnology company, or anyone with the last name of Torr — which shows that Google’s approach is somewhat less than perfect.

Image from TorrentFreak

At this point, only autocomplete and Instant are affected. You can still find whatever you might be looking for when you press enter — but good luck if you are looking for something legitimate that incorporates one of Google’s banned terms and are hoping for some suggested results.

What do you think of Google’s approach here? Is it a good thing — or is it yet another form of relatively pointless censorship? Will making torrents a little bit harder to search for on Google actually have any impact on piracy at all? Let us know in the comments.

Google Starts To Censor Torrent-Related Search Queries [ReadWriteWeb]

December 21, 2010

How the U.S. Government Was Able to Seize BitTorrent Domains Without Due Process

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?

Ars Technica has a fascinating article detailing the seizures. In short, the government filed an affidavit to support the seizure request. In that affidavit, the government trotted out data and statistics it had received from those in the movie and music business. As Ars Technica reported,

[Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Andrew] Aeynolds doesn’t attempt to hide his obvious reliance on the content industries; his affidavit is littered with comments like, “according to the MPAA…” and “based on my participation in the investigation and my discussion with MPAA representatives…” In the end, ICE got its way; a US Magistrate Judge signed off on the seizure order, and the domain names rapgodfathers.com, torrent-finder.com, rmx4u.com, dajaz1.com, and onsmash.com were seized and redirected to an ICE warning image.

Even more disturbing, the seizures do not appear to be part of any criminal case. If they were, then perhaps an argument could be made that the seizures were similar to a seizure of physical property as part of a criminal investigation. As Ars Techicna noted, though,

the case was closed after the order was executed. In searching the federal courts, we can find no evidence that these five sites are actually being prosecuted. The domains were simply seized, and while it did happen with a court order, the sites were not given any chance to respond and none appears to be forthcoming.

Wow. Don’t confuse my feelings on theft of an author’s work. It stinks. If we want content creators to keep producing content, we need to find a way to make sure that they get paid. Freeloaders are only shooting themselves in the foot in the long run.

But is this really how we want our government to go about doing business? Should our government be able to seize a domain name, without giving a site owner a chance to defend himself?

Shame on you, freeloaders. But even more so, shame on our government officials. You’ve stained the reputation of the United States, and conveyed to the world, rightly or wrongly, that our leaders whore themselves out to an industry willing to pay enough money.

Now that I’ve effectively insulted those on both sides of the argument, let me know in the comments if I’m missing the boat here. Where do you fall in this debate?

Undue process: how Uncle Sam seized BitTorrent domain names [Ars Technica]

Category: Commentary (page 4 of 10)

You Could Fly to Space (for 200 Grand), Then Float Home Like a Feather [video]

What Are Your Go-To Tech Sites?

How the U.S. Government Was Able to Seize BitTorrent Domains Without Due Process

Search the site

Subscribe to Blog via Email

RSS Feeds