Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category

Linux Boxee users get Hulu relief

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

The Linux version of Boxee’s eponymously-named multimedia platform has finally been updated to include several new features introduced into the OS X and Windows versions over the past few months. Key additions include an “App Box” and restored support for Hulu.

Linux Boxee users may be able to upgrade to the new version of Boxee, version 0.9.11.5777M (April 26, 2009 build), by launching the Update Manager tool (Menu > System > Administration > Update Manager) on their Ubuntu systems. If that doesn’t do the trick, you can open up the Synaptic package manager (Menu > System > Administration > Synaptic), search for boxee using the “Quick Search” function, and then reinstall it by right-clicking on the program’s name and marking it for reinstallation.
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Posted in Internet, Software | 1 Comment »

‘Bad’ BitTorrent and Warez Sites Raided By Police

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Just recently the police in Hungary conducted raids on various torrent and warez sites, but few will have sympathy for those arrested. The site operators charged users for access via premium SMS, many of them unsuspecting kids. The police seized an impressive amount of equipment and also took some impressive photographs.

In 2007 the US planned to put a federal prosecutor in Budapest, Hungary, to “assist in the coordination of the enforcement of intellectual property laws”. Almost immediately action was taken against some BitTorrent and warez sites operating in the country.

In 2008 it was recommended in an International Intellectual Property Alliance report that Hungary should remain on a piracy ‘watch list’ for that year. The reasons were wide and varied, but included were problems related to widespread ‘pay to leech’ torrent sites, and pay for access warez sites. “It is difficult to energize police and customs officials to investigate Internet cases because Hungarian court decisions are not a deterrent,” said the report.
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Posted in Internet, Society | 2 Comments »

Zoho bests Google in mobile app suite?

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Google wants to own the future of mobile software, including office suite software, but Zoho launched a new capability to run its very solid, browser-based mobile apps on all major platforms, not just iPhone and Windows Mobile.

The SoHo suite supports iPhone and iPod Touch, Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian.

The suite includes Zoho Mail, Calendar, Writer, Sheet, Show and Creator. The company also offers a wide range of other apps on the Web that are not supported in the mobile version.

Here’s the press release.
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Posted in Internet, Software | No Comments »

60% of Twitter Users Quit Within the First Month

Monday, May 4th, 2009

We’re hearing some pretty amazing statistics about Twitter (Twitter reviews) these days: growth from February 2008 to February 2009 was reportedly 1382%, with the incline increasing yet further in recent months.
But like many social networks, it seems many people lose steam with the service. Stat tracking firm Nielsen reports today that a full 60% of users who sign up fail to return the following month. And in the 12 months “pre-Oprah”, retention rates were even lower: only 30% returned the next month. That’s good news, to some degree: retention rates have increased over time.

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Posted in Internet | 1 Comment »

RIAA’s Hostile Takeover of the Internet

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Until recently, the recording industry were committing publicity suicide by routinely issuing legal threats to file sharers. Now, they seem to have changed the routine, going for fewer, but bigger targets. The goal is clear: if you own the Internet, you don’t have to worry about pirates — or anyone else.

Earlier this month, four Pirate Bay visionaries were given harsh fines and jail sentences. Their only crime: creating the largest, free, uncensored, versatile file sharing platform on the Internet. Soon after, Taiwan passed 3-strikes legislation for copyright violations. The recording industry is no longer targeting pirates - they are actually trying to hijack the very fabric of the Internet.

The apparent strategy:

1. Outlaw file sharing
2. Outlaw personal encryption and anonymization services
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Posted in Internet | No Comments »

Why Obama’s Flickr Photos Aren’t in the Public Domain

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

The White House is making unprecedented use of consumer web technologies but those technologies aren’t always well suited to fit the government’s needs. They aren’t always well suited to fit anyone’s needs - but maybe if Obama leans on them a little bit things will change.

Today the White House launched an official collection of photos depicting Obama’s first 100 days in office on Flickr. The Creative Commons Foundation asks why these photos are licensed as Creative Commons Attribution (meaning you have to credit the source) instead of being in the Public Domain free for use in any context, as data created by the Federal Government usually is.
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Posted in Internet | No Comments »

Hackers Target Pirate Bay Prosecution Law Firm

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

the-pirate-bay3-v-206203-1Today brings more news of hacking at the hands of Pirate Bay fans endeavoring to show support and solidarity. Is anyone surprised?
While last week brought news of DDoS attacks on the main website of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, ifpi.org, which rendered the site sluggish and slow for most of Monday, there was no mention of similar attacks directed at lawyers representing the music, movie and game industries. It seemed the lawyers on the prosecuting side of the Pirate Bay case had made it away unscathed, but not so.

According to TorrentFreak, this past weekend brought similar troubles for Monique Wadsted, a lawyer who represented several major movie studios and called for a “very significant” prison sentence for the defendants during the Pirate Bay Trial. The movie industry lawyer’s site, MAQS, was targeted and yesterday the site displayed a notice informing visitors it was under attack.

“Our website is currently under attack and we have therefore decided to shut it down until the attack ceases. For further information call Monique Wadsted.”

While it was never specified that these attacks were launched by Pirate Bay fans, it’s not exactly a huge leap to make and we’re curious to hear what you guys think. It’s safe to say the majority of you disagree with the verdict reached in court, but do you think it’s out of line for people to be taking matters into their own hands in an attempt to get back at the opposition? The four men found guilty (along with their lawyers) have said they will appeal the verdict and remain adamant that the war is far from over, so are these vigilantes jumping the gun a bit? Or are you of the opinion that TPB fans should be causing the judge, jury and lawyers involved (as well as music, movie and game industries) as many headaches as possible? Leave your thoughts below.

Posted in Internet, Society | No Comments »