Category: Soapbox

Soapbox style rants

Corporations, hardware, Internet, Politics, Soapbox, technology, Wi-Fi

May i borrow a cup of wifi?

| be3n

The internet went out again.  it seems that time warner is made of sugar or wicked witches.  They melt in the rain.  last time we traced the run from pole to modem, but it seems that water continues to find a way in.  Luckily i set a little something up with the neighbors.  It had to be put in place after the last time when i ran off my iphone using tethering.  Believe me, edge at home is ONLY for desperate people.  A time warner serviceman made it out this morning to fix it.  Knowledgeable workmen AND speedy service, this is a side of time warner i’ve never seen before.  I’d still like to see less of these glitches and of course the 8Mbit we’re paying for!  Even more then that, i’d like to see a real solution.

Real Solution

What i’d like to see, is a solution to the fundamental internet problem once and for all.  What problem?  The lack of free and available internet to ANYONE throughout public spaces (and even private ones).  That is a stimulus with a real and tangible benefit.  Our wireless communications carriers have failed us.  We gave them the very air and they repay us with early termination fees and dropped calls.

The powers that be could bring the internet in through the power lines.  You can get incredible bandwidth though existing infrastructure and utility poles make great places for hanging access points.  Heck, i wouldn’t even mind if they snooped (you know they spy already).  In fact people would probably line up to be snooped on free wifi all over town! once we have a nation wide public wifi network and everything plugged into the wall was also connected to that network, things will really start to get interesting.  Imagine a world where our gadgets conspire to improve out daily life?  What if you never had to set an alarm clock?  Simply plugging it into the wall gets it online and sets the time.  Imagine a world where wireless communications doesn’t require faustian contracts with providers full of marketing and empty promises.  What if a txt didn’t cost 20¢?  What if you could make a call or send a message from your pocket for free?  What if this actually happened?  These simple ideas will extend the functionality and integrate our devices and networks in ways we cannot even comprehend.  I honestly believe that combined with IPv6 and other great implementations, these foundations of technology that will pave the way to the future we’ve seen in science fiction.

Corporations, Links, Soapbox

Microsoft Takes Down Whistleblower Site!

| be3n

In a move that shows that some corporations are more powerful then governments, Microsoft had Cryptome  shut down.  Well, we all get to see there Global Criminal Compliance Handbook after all.   With shenanigans like that, it’s probably getting more press then EVER!

read story here:  http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/02/microsoft-cryptome/

Network Solutions are you just doing favors for microsoft?   i’m glad they don’t have any of my domains.

Soapbox, technology, Web

Google, what are you searching for?

| be3n

After watching their superbowl ad, i started searching for something i was very interested in.  Me.  I’ve had an internet presence since before altavista.digital.com.  I’m not hard to find, so i don’t imagine many people googling for me, but i was curious to what i would find.

Google Search for be3n

it made me wonder, what does google really know?  They’ve been indexing the internet all day every day for who know’s how long. . . just this week, you’ve visited my website 2400 times (that’s right, more robots then people read this).  When i googled myself, i found my twitter profile on top (not entirely surprised), followed by my be3n.com site “under construction” for years.  standard.  after that, what did i find?  Number three on google?  Any of my countless profiles on countless websites?  Any of my blog posts from here?  nah?  that’s too easy.  google hands you a 3 year old comment i left on a photograph from panoramio.

That comment is listed before any of my more active profiles.  It eventually lists my wikipedia user page and my last.fm profile, but that’s later.  somethingdotsomething.com barely makes the 2nd page.  Only after posts of leetspeak, Even though it is the most frequently updated site i’m involved with.  does google prefer consistency to freshness?  let me know what you think.

art, Corporations, Links, Recreation, Soapbox, Travel

Even Burning Man has fine print!

| be3n
Did you know that the Burning Man Organization owns the copyright to all pictures taken on the playa?  they do.  Did you read the fine print when you bought your ticket?
Why would BMO—the organizer of an “an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance”—undermine speech and creativity like this? BMO claims that the terms in the Burning Man ticket agreement are necessary to protect Black Rock City’s unique culture and the privacy of its participants. Furthermore, BMO points out that the limitations are rarely enforced and they only claim copyright if the photos are used in a way BMO doesn’t authorize. By claiming copyright in all photographs taken at the event, BMO can use the streamlined “notice and takedown” process enshrined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to quickly remove unapproved photos from the Internet.
read more from eff here:
Politics, Science, Soapbox

Space Contractors Not War (Defense) Contractors

| be3n

i like that NASA is going to contract out manned space travel to private contractors. Applied Composites, I’m looking in your direction. I’ll admit that NASA can land a probe anywhere they want, but the shuttle was a bad idea even 20 years ago. Who thought it was a good idea to haul a huge gas tank *almost* into space, just to send it hurtling back to earth. It’s not like we can use that for a space station or moon base.

Links, Politics, Soapbox, technology, Web

A Tinkerer’s Sunset

| be3n

This article describes an upbringing with computers that in addition to being quite similar to my own almost certainly will ring true with many readers.  It talks of apple’s beginnings.  In those days in order to make anything your own you had to tinker.  Many computers at the start shipped not only with a basic interpreter in place of an operating system, but with schematics as well.  Unfortunately for some, times have changed.  If modern apple continues on the path they have clearly laid it means an end to the tinkerers lifestyle.

When DVD Jon was arrested after breaking the CSS encryption algorithm, he was charged with “unauthorized computer trespassing.” That led his lawyers to ask the obvious question, “On whose computer did he trespass?” The prosecutor’s answer: “his own.”

Apple is trying to do the same with their touch devices.  iPhone, iPod Touch, and the new iPad require serious hacking before any tinkering can be done.  If apple has their way, they will have jailbreaking void more then just your warranty and your service contract.  You’ve come a long way from your hacker roots Apple.  Your design is amazing, but PLEASE remember your pledge with OS X to be “Open for Business.”  From what i have seen, apple is no more open then they are required to be by all the licences they themselves are using.

Read the entire article here:  http://diveintomark.org/archives/2010/01/29/tinkerers-sunset