Scroogle has been having issues of late, apparently related to DDoS attacks. A couple of days ago, the domain stopped resolving at all, apparently as a result of the site owner having had enough. Congrats, to whoever was DDoS'ing Scroogle, you've fucked things up for the rest of us. Congrats to Google as well, who looks more like a monopoly by the day. Hope you're all happy! The article referenced above makes some suggestions for scroogle alternatives: Alternative Private Search Options: DuckDuckGo ixquick.com Ask Eraser Google Encrypted Search The last two, being operated by search engines, are, so far as I'm concerned, not to be trusted. The ...
Archive for February, 2012
Farewell Scroogle
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012No Clear Sides
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012I've read several articles the last couple of days that show how there is no black-and-white to the copyright issues that the entertainment would-be-monopoly (along with the politicians they bribe) is forcing. Obviously, piracy is an issue - I wouldn't disagree with that at all. In terms of importance, the piracy involving the entertainment world is a minor issue - but what happens here may set many different precedents in the future for other areas. It's disappointing that the various judicial systems throughout the world refuse to hear or decide on any cases involving the disruptive technologies of the last ...
DO Mess with credit!
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012Just seeing the article to this post was enough to irritate: Don’t mess with credit: Why the future of payments is already in your pocket. I read one article from this blog before (and even linked to it in a posting of mine) and thought I would return to that site later. It turns out the level of writer there is hardly consistent. The author of the post I quoted that time had some real life experience in the area he wrote about. The writer of the above-linked article clearly has no experience in the subject he writes on, other then ...
What RIAA Won’t Tell You
Thursday, February 9th, 2012LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law. - The Devil's Dictionary This is a deconstruction of a NY Times op-ed written by a shill for RIAA... THE digital tsunami that swept over the Capitol last month, forcing Congress to set aside legislation to combat the online piracy of American music, movies, books and other creative works, raised questions about how the democratic process functions in the digital age. No, the question that's really raised is will there be democracy in the digital age? Or will it be a new form of feudalism that's based on intellectual property and culture, instead of land. Policy ...
Reid Sneaks SOPA Back Into Senate With New Name
Thursday, February 9th, 2012As I've carped a couple of times before about the pundits and other know-it-alls claiming the battle against censorship is over and won: it's not over!
Public Knowledge Writes to Congress
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012A group of 70 organizations, consisting of both non-profits and for-profit companies, sent a letter to Congress explaining why Congress should stop working on SOPA& PIPA. (YES, they are still going at it, despite many internet prognosticators claiming, with the wisdom of crowds, that this particular battle is over!) Congress cannot simply accept industry estimates regarding economic and job implications of infringement given the Government Accountability Office’s clear finding in 2010 that previous statistics and quantitative studies on the subject have been unreliable... Finally, any future debates concerning intellectual property law in regards to the Internet must avoid taking a narrow, single-industry ...
Democracy in Action!
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012As mentioned here, there was a petition to investigate Chris Dodd for bribery. Well, the White House has spoken: Thank you for signing this petition. We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on Whitehouse.gov. However, consistent with the We the People Terms of Participation and our responses to similar petitions in the past, the White House declines to comment on this petition because it requests a specific law enforcement action. Or to put in another way, you can only petition the government if you've agreed to the Terms of Participation and don't violate them - and requesting that the ...