Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Aaaaannnd I'm Back....maybe

I just noticed today that Blogger now has Google+ integration. I am actually surprised it took this long.


This post is basically just to test that and see how it all works. I'd actually like it to be possible to post to my blog from G+ since the interface is so much nicer and it would be easier to share stuff.  I used to post to facebook from this blog but good ol' facebook killed that to force bloggers to use their own in-house blogging/notes feature.  I think that was the beginning of my real dislike of facebook. I want integration!

I still read blogs occasionally (primarily through Google Reader for Android on my phone and now nexus7) but the number of regularly updated blogs is diminishing. I switched to Twitter for a while which is great for following interesting people and getting news fast. But although hashtags are cool tweets of links are boring to look at so when Google+ came out I jumped on that even though there wasn't much on it. Now there are some huge communities being built and I have met some very interesting people.  The stream is beautiful (especially on my new nexus7) and it is so much easier to use than facebook.

I still have a facebook account because some people only use that for contacting them. I guess it has it's place. I heard a neat quote 'Facebook is for people you like and Google+ is for people like you' and I guess that is why I will need both for a while I'm sure. And now that Flipboard for Android is out, I can now read twitter (and google reader) from a much nicer interface.

So where does that leave this blog? I don't know yet but if it gets more integrated with G+ you might see more action here.

More action like this:
Yes this is an actual product that exists. Why?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Why is ACTA Bad?

ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A new intellectual property enforcement treaty being negotiated by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland, and Japan, with Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada recently announcing that they will join in as well.

Why should you care about ACTA? Initial reports indicate that the treaty will have a very broad scope and will involve new tools targeting “Internet distribution and information technology.”


Even if your country is not listed above you should care because this will spread worldwide after it passes and even if your country doesn't sign it will indirectly affect you.

1) ACTA isn't the European SOPA. Its nearly Global, and will apply to every country that signs the treaty.

2) ACTA is far more aggressive. ACTA will not simply affect websites and have them blocked out of the internet - it's measures go as far as to surveillance of anything you share through private channels.

3) ACTA doesn't have a campaign against it that is as widespread and organized as SOPA. This is DANGEROUS, as there is less time between now and the final signing of ACTA.

4) ACTA has effects on healthcare, trade and even tourism.

The biggest problem right now is that your ISP's (Internet Service Providers) can report you for anything that "could" be copyright infringement and they will monitor you constantly.

- ISPS will now watch what you download, and tattle on you if you download a music track/ any data / rapidshares / torrents etc.
- ISPS will tattle on you, when you do anything which goes against "Governments policy".
- ISPS will be able to document and store EVERYTHING you do online. nothing will ever be private again

What this all means for you is no privacy whatsoever

Say NO to ACTA. It is essential to spread awareness and get the word out on ACTA.