01.15.14
Posted in News Roundup, Ubuntu at 11:16 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: News from the past couple of weeks, touching on the different parts or projects at Canonical
Server
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At November’s OpenStack Summit in Hong Kong, members of the OpenStack Foundation made clear that many IT departments are either already experimenting with the open cloud computing platform, or will do so this year. The foundation’s OpenStack Survey involved 387 OpenStack cloud deployments across 56 countries, and determined that OpenStack is very high on the list of technologies to work with at enterprises in 2014.
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Ubuntu Server 14.04 is set to include Nginx Web server as standard, along with the old favorite Apache
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The next version of Ubuntu Server is expected to include Nginx in the main archive, meaning it will “sit alongside Apache in 14.04 with full security updates over the life of the release,” Canonical employee Jorge Castro wrote today.
Financials
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The financial result for the Ubuntu maker is out. The company posted a loss of $21.3 million in fiscal year 2013, a straight fall of $10.2 million from the loss posted in fiscal year 2012, which was $11.1 million. The revenue earned in 2013 however, was $65.7 million, up from $56.8 million reported a year earlier.
Desktop/Tablets/Other
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A few days before the announcement for the end of life of Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail), Canonical has released the last major update of its soon to be unsupported Ubuntu operating system, fixing no more than nine vulnerabilities discovered by various developers in the upstream kernel packages.
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The UK government now says that Ubuntu 12.04 is the safest operating system available, way ahead of Windows 8 and Mac OS X.
The Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) is the UK National Technical Authority for information assurance and they’ve done a series of tests to find out what is the most secure operating system available for the governmental apparatus.
The security assessment made by CESG included the following categories: VPN, Disk Encryption, Authentication, Secure Boot, Platform Integrity and Application Sandboxing, Application Whitelisting, Malicious Code Detection and Prevention, Security Policy Enforcement, External Interface Protection, Device Update Policy, Event Collection for Enterprise Analysis, and Incident Response.
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Tech Republic has five reasons why an Ubuntu tablet could do quite well in 2014.
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You won’t see an Ubuntu Edge at CES this week. Ubuntu’s parent company, Canonical, raised $12.8-million on Indiegogo to develop and build this Ubuntu Linux/Android-powered Ubuntu Edge combination smartphone and PC, but it still fell far short of its $32 million goal. So what?
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In an interview with PCpro that it was revealed by Mark Shuttleworth that Canonical is now leading the race for full convergence across all devices and architectures. There is also a possibility of shifting over from bi-annual releases to semi-rolling releases as mobile users are accustomed to updates being released ‘whenever’ they’re ready by the maintainers.
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Canonical has confirmed that the next point release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) will be available on February 6.
The company has postponed by two weeks the release of the fourth maintenance build, but now the release date has been confirmed and set in stone.
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Ubuntu is the “Marmite” operating system within the Linux community. You either love it or hate it.
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Adam Conrad has announced earlier today, January 7, that the Ubuntu 13.04 Linux operating system, also known as Raring Ringtail among its fans, will reach end of life (EOL) on Monday, January 27, 2014, as Canonical will no longer provide security/critical fixes and software updates for it.
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Torrent search would be added to Ubuntu’s Dash, a central tool that lets users search files and applications on their desktop as well as online sources like Amazon or Wikipedia. The search tool prototype uses the Pirate Bay as a data source. It may be modified to filter out pirated content, but users can change the filters to suit their desires. It’s also possible that a future version could use a different data source.
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2013 was a phenomenal year for Ubuntu. It is difficult to believe that it was just a year ago today that we announced Ubuntu for phones. Since then we have built and released the first version of Ubuntu for phones complete with core apps, delivered Mir in production on the phone, built a vastly simplified and more powerful new app delivery platform complete with full security sand-boxing, created a powerful smart scopes service to bring the power of native search and online content to devices, delivered a new SDK with support for QML, HTML5, and Scopes, built an entirely new developer.ubuntu.com, created extensive CI and testing infrastructure to ensure quality as we evolve our platform, shipped two desktop releases, extended the charm store, delivered Juju Gui, spun up multiple clouds with Juju, and much more.
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Back in June, we were ready to announce the immediate availability for download of a new Linux distribution, called Unity-for-Arch, which used Ubuntu’s Unity user interface on a basic Arch Linux Live CD.
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The popular Linux distribution Ubuntu will enable TRIM support for SSDs by default in its upcoming Ubuntu 14.04 Long Term Support (LTS) release. For those unfamiliar with what TRIM is, it is a command the OS instructs to the drive to wipe invalid flash blocks when they are no longer needed.
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Mobile
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Ubuntu Phones should be released in 2014, according to Canonical community manager Jono Bacon.
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Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth is no stranger to exploring rarefied territory. The man has, after all, been to space.
His interest in new frontiers means Ubuntu, the Linux distro he created, is also poised to make a great leap – to go where no Linux has gone before.
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He may have stepped back from the CEO role at Canonical, but Mark Shuttleworth is still very much the public face of Ubuntu.
He suffered a setback earlier this year when the crowdfunded Ubuntu Edge project – in which he invested a lot of personal capital, if not actual money – failed to get anywhere near its ambitious investment target. However, he tells us the project wasn’t a total failure, and may even be aped by the best-known smartphone maker of them all.
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Just before the holiday season sets in, Canonical has a surprise gift for all Ubuntu mobile fans. A new Ubuntu Touch image has been released and this is claimed to be the most stable release so far. Along with that, this release boasts a new way to dual boot with Android. This is a giant new step and will be specially welcome by enthusiasts who would like to experiment Ubuntu on their phones, leaving existing Android system untouched.
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Ubuntu for Android seems still far away but in the meantime Canonical is working on dual boot capability, allowing users to either boot into Ubuntu or Android.
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Canonical, creators of Ubuntu and more specifically Ubuntu Touch, have some potentially upsetting news. While in the process of developing Ubuntu Touch, the team has decided to narrow down hardware support to better focus on the operating system itself. They have officially dropped support for the Nexus 7 2012, Nexus 10, and Galaxy Nexus.
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Wi-Fi and Security
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My colleague, Silviu Stahie, wrote an interesting article earlier today, regarding the “ability” of the Ubuntu Linux operating system to store Wi-Fi passwords in plain text, “thanks” to the default design of the NetworkManager application, initially developed by Red Hat.
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Ubuntu operating systems are storing the Wi-Fi profiles, including the clear text passwords, outside the home folder, making them a lot more accessible.
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Posted in News Roundup at 11:02 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Android and Steam, CyanogenMod Gallery, BlackBerry potential, developer interest, and growing interest from Intel
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If you are looking to stream your Steam games directly to any Android device, this one goes out to you. A new app called Limelight brings the PC game streaming functionality of the Nvidia Shield to any Android device of your choice.
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Huawei is set to enter the console wars with its own Android-based mini-console. The Chinese company unveiled the “Tron” this week at the Consumer Electronics Show and it could hit the market in May for a mere $120 or less.
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BlackBerry is placing its last hopes on Android, though not in the way you think. Instead of incorporating Android into its smartphones, the company’s forthcoming 10.2.1 update to its BlackBerry operating system will support native Android apps.
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Intel has been making code contributions to the 64-bit version of Android 4.4 code-named KitKat. Intel has completed the kernel work, which will ensure the OS is compatible with smartphones, said an Intel spokeswoman at the International CES expo in Las Vegas.
But 64-bit Android could reach tablets first. Intel said 64-bit Android tablets powered by its Atom processor code-named Bay Trail will become available in the first half of this year. The tablets are expected to sell for as low as $150.
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Owners of the international version of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 should expect Android 4.4.2 KitKat to flavor their phablets before too long.
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Posted in News Roundup at 10:57 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Recent news of interest, showing how Android is gaining on desktops, not just phones and tablets
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In late December, rumors were going around to the effect that PCs running both Android and Windows would debut at the Consumer Electronics Show, as I covered in a post. Actually, OStatic covered the basic concept of Android being married with other platforms at the very beginning of last year, in a post called “Should Microsoft Embrace Both Android and Firefox OS?”
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The DA223 HQL is the newest Android all-in-one computer announced at the just-concluded 2014 edition of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The Transformer Book Duet TD 300 is one of the major product announcements from ASUS at the ongoing International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Perhaps more significantly, three touch-enabled, Android-only AiOs debuted at CES 2014 this past week from major vendors:
Acer TA272 HUL — Thanks to its Nvidia Tegra 4 processor, this $1,100, 27-inch AiO is one of the highest resolution Android devices around, with 2560 x 1440 pixels (WQHD). It runs only Android 4.2, but Windows 8 users can plug in to use it as a touchscreen monitor.
HP Slate21 Pro — The $335 Slate21 Pro AiO runs Android 4.3 on a Tegra 4, and features a 21.5-inch HD IPS touchscreen. It’s aimed at the enterprise, with features like Kingsoft Office Suite, Citrix Receiver, and its Security Enhancements for Android.
Lenovo N308– Yet another Tegra 4 based AiO, the N308 is designed for both enterprise and consumer users. The 19.5-inch Android 4.2.2 computer offers an HD+ touchscreen and a 500GB hard drive. You can detach the screen and use it for three hours as a huge Android tablet.
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Posted in GNU/Linux at 10:52 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Some Linux-related coverage from CES
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It’s January 14th, and yet another CES has passed by. The week of excitement, thrills, surprises and grand announcements has left us with quite a mouthful to sift through. It is a daunting task for mere mortals like us, but every once in a while, we here at Muktware like to attempt the unthinkable, just for the benefit of our readers. To simplify this task, I’m going to separate the devices into categories, and then highlight the top devices of each category. The task I am about to embark upon may kill me due to its severe nature, but if I die, at least we’ll all know that I died while doing what I loved. Let’s being; shall we?
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From 3D printers to drones, phones, tablets, TVs and even crockpots, Linux is running almost everything on display on the CES show floor. One of my favorite picks is Makerbot. These Linux-based 3D printers are creating everything from mechanical hands to clothing to dinosaur skulls. Originally introduced at SXSW with the founders hanging out in bars around Austin making shot glasses with their printers, this company was white hot this week at CES. It introduced three new printers, a digital store that is being referred to as the iTunes of 3D printing and a variety of new apps. All built on Linux.
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If you look behind the scenes of the many gadgets shown at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week you can spot Linux and open-source software almost everywhere. Here are Rudolf Streif’s top marvels from the show.
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Posted in GNU/Linux, News Roundup at 10:49 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Recent news headlines (with excepts) that show the growth of GNU/Linux in the market
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Whether it is a tech-savvy hero saving us from terrorist attacks by hacking into computer networks; or a skinny, bespectacled software programmer punching the night away on the keyboard, coding up the next big social network… well, chance are you will be shown arcane lines of code scrolling on the computer screen. Lot of cryptic commands, symbols and jargon that makes no sense to anyone but the protagonist. Luckily, for us mere mortals, such melodrama usually ends with big flashing text that say stuff like “Access Granted” or “Nuclear Launch Aborted” or “Virus Contained” or “Kejriwal for PM”.
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I was scanning the news the other day, and someone on Hacker News mentioned that half the items above the fold on StreetEYE were about Bitcoin. And I said to myself, I haven’t seen the neckbeards this excited since the early days of Linux.
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Linux has been a part of the enterprise back end for a long time and is becoming more prevalent in the office-side of businesses, from small businesses to major enterprises. So, what are the best Linux applications for IT managers and business owners to use in the enterprise? These five apps will expand the business’s IT infrastructure and functionality while reducing the overall cost of maintaining an efficient, reliable business.
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LINUX has bloomed over the last few years into a modern, stable, secure and user-friendly operating system that can go head-to-head with any of its commercial counterparts, but you wouldn’t know it from a visit to a typical PC retailer in the Philippines.
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Another interesting fact is that now I can buy laptops with Linux preinstalled here. Well, they only do Ubuntu, but it’s refreshing… The world is changing.
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I did miss the terminal console and many other Linux features while in Windows 8.1. It was a quick trip to Windows land and back, but I am glad I am back.
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4. Linux pros.
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I winked at Nick. We crawled out from behind the desk and he sat at the computer to turn it on. His dad stood right beside him, making sure “Lumpis” wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity. Taking a cue from Nick, I had grabbed a ZorinOS machine that was ready to go. With a bit of cosmetic magic and the renaming of a few shortcuts, anybody would be hard pressed to tell it was Linux…at first glance anyway.
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I received an email from a student working on a case study, looking for reasons why a University should put Linux on its desktop PCs.
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Posted in GNU/Linux at 10:40 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Ivee Sleek, PiPad, Nest, WeMo (home automation), Android-based Moverio, cars, smartwatches, TVs, WRT, and Vizio
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Ivee has begun shipping a $200, Linux-based “Ivee Sleek” home automation hub, offering voice control of WiFi-enabled devices and a Siri-like voice assistant.
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Artila Electronics announced a tiny control computer running Linux on ARM9, and featuring mini-PCIe sockets for options including WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, and GPS.
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Meet the Raspberry Pi tablet, named PiPad by its owner and creator Michael Castor.
The tablet was built by maker-enthusiast Castor as a Maker Faire project. He used a 12V, 10-inch touchscreen with a 5V HDMI to LVDS adapter, since the Raspberry Pi runs off 5V. He also managed to squeeze in a 10,000mAh battery that gives a good six hours of use.
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In the previous three posts about exploring my Raspberry Pi, the operating system has always been Linux; first looking at Raspbian, the Debian GNU/Linux spin for the Pi, then Arch Linux ARM and Pidora, and then Raspbmc and OpenELEC, two Linux-based XBMC Media Center versions.
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“HOLY cripes, Google just broke into my home”, was a typical reaction on Twitter to news on January 13th that the internet giant had splashed out $3.2 billion of its cash pile on Nest, a startup that makes smart thermostats and smoke-alarm systems for houses and apartments. The deal is striking not just because it represents a massive pay day for a hardware company that is only a few years old. It is also a landmark deal that signals the coming of age of the internet of things, or “Thingternet”—a world in which everything from household gadgets to cars, clothes and pets are connected wirelessly to the web.
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Google’s pending $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest Labs brings it a hot selling, Linux-based smart thermostat — and a launchpad for the Internet of Things.
Google’s stock price rose 1 percent the day after it announced it planned to acquire Nest Labs for $3.2 billion. The acquisition topped off a CES show in Las Vegas that was awash in similar, low-cost, smartphone-accessible home automation devices. Like most of these products, including Belkin’s WeMo and Ivee’s new Ivee Sleek, Nest Lab’s Learning Thermostat and runs on embedded Linux. The Nest Protect Smoke + CO Alarm lists the open source FreeBSD, NetBSD, and FreeRTOS. (See farther below for more details on the products.)
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Belkin is expanding its line of WeMo home automation products with smart LED bulbs, an automated crockpot, and a Maker kit for WeMo-izing your own devices.
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Epson demonstrated Android-based Moverio BT-200 eyewear featuring a stereoscopic 3D VR display, a camera for augmented reality applications, and head tracking.
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A little before Christmas, I wrote about some of the important markets where Linux was starting to make its mark, notably gaming and the Internet of things. One sector where Linux has been active for a while is that of cars. As these become more and more infused with digital elements – be it in-car entertainment or control systems – so the need for an operating system that ties it all together becomes more urgent. As for elsewhere, Linux is the perfect choice: low-cost, flexible, secure, robust etc.
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Harman announced a Linux-based IVI platform featuring an HTML5 development environment, a type 1 hypervisor, and integration with driver assist functions.
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None of the high profile smartwatch launches expected in 2014 appeared at CES this year, but as we await rumored wristwear from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others, there were plenty of interesting smartwatches on display. Most follow the path of the Pebble watch, typically with minimalist operating systems running on microcontrollers, monochrome displays, and a focus on Bluetooth tethering. Here, we instead examine two relative newcomers that offer substantial smartphone-like Android capabilities: the Neptune Pine and the Omate TrueSmart Smartwatch 2.0.
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It was inevitable: Roku, which shipped its 5 millionth streaming media player last year, is now having its Linux-based STB technology embedded directly within Smart TVs.
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Linksys is resurrecting the hackable Linksys WRT54G router in a new WRT1900AC model, with dual-band 802.11ac, a dual core CPU, and open source Linux code.
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Following a recent trend in network attached storage (NAS), Amahi, the open source home server software based on Linux, has added remote network access using its new mobile app for iOS and a forthcoming Android app.
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Vizio’s new touchscreen Portable Smart Audio players stream audio and video directly from the Web, from USB drives, and from mobile devices via Bluetooth.
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Posted in Intellectual Monopoly at 7:36 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: It is becoming clear that amendment of laws (for the better) is now treated like “terrorism” (or worse, based on espionage-driven surveillance of regulators in the EU) and those who claim to be enforcing copyright law are actually breaking the law
BRITISH ISPs seem eager to censor those who suggest copyright reforms (Web sites blocked for delivering news which those in power don’t agree with). One site that blocked British ISPs that used DPI has just shared an interesting post titled “Opposing Copyright” [1] and other sites with an alternative message write about the travesty of Public Domain being lost to the copyright cartel/monopoly [2,3]. If only more people had access to such views… instead we have the copyright moguls/Hollywood structuring our schools' curriculum to indoctrinate children regarding copyrights.
“The US special forces target Dotcom like he is a terrorist, raiding his mother’s house in Germany (at gunpoint) and illegally raiding his own house in New Zealand.”There are talks about copyright reforms right now. It’s happening in the US [4], central Europe [5] (Web site blocked by some British ISPs, so see original in [6]), and in the UK (article from November) [7]. It should be noted that Google deserves some credit for helping copyright reform [8,9] (in self interest) and promoting Fair Use [10], unlike Rupert Murdoch’s Fox [11] (news site blocked by British ISPs). There are many misconceptions [12,13,14] (last news site blocked by British ISPs) and it leads to out-of-control attitude towards sharing sites (which can also be misused by users).
Take Kim Dotcom for example. The US special forces target Dotcom like he is a terrorist [15], raiding his mother’s house in Germany (at gunpoint [16]) and illegally raiding his own house in New Zealand [17]. The only criminals here are those who sent out dozens of people with rifles to his house, which had many kids in it and a father who is innocent (but an easy target for Hollywood).
Now take the Pirate Bay’s founders, who are treated worse than mass murderers from the same bunch of countries (Scandinavia) [18,19] (the latter news site is blocked by British ISPs). What does that say about the priorities of these states? It’s all corrupt. They blame people rather than blame bad laws which make sharing illegal if anonymous users — not administrators — may upload some infringing material.
“It sure seems like those who claim to be enforcing the law are the real criminals and instead of adopting reasonable legislation they are going after the messengers and the activists, making an example out of scapegoats.”The zealous pursuit has led more people to proudly state “I am a Pirate” [20] (British Pirate Party, which has just added numerous people to its ranks). In Britain, the BBC proves that business models are the real problem [21] and the City Of London Police proves that it itself — not some so-called ‘pirates’ — is the criminal [22] (this news site is blocked by British ISPs). The City Of London Police is taking down sites on behalf of businesses, without even a trial. This is illegal. It’s overreach.
Last but not least, “Viewing Pirated Streams is Not Illegal, German Govt Says,” [23] but you might not know it because this news site is blocked by British ISPs.
So much for protecting the law, eh? It sure seems like those who claim to be enforcing the law are the real criminals and instead of adopting reasonable legislation they are going after the messengers and the activists, making an example out of scapegoats. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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This brilliant criticism of monopoly is spoiled only by the false assertion that it’s a necessary evil, but clearly it isn’t, it’s merely a misguided convenience with no actual benefit to anyone except the monopolist, and even then only a marginal benefit at best.
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As they do every year, unfortunately, the good folks at the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke have put together a depressing list of what should have entered the public domain yesterday. As you hopefully know, until 1978, the maximum amount of time that work in the US could be covered by copyright was 56 years (you initially received a 28 year copyright term, which could be renewed for another 28 years). That means, back in 1957, everyone who created the works in that list knew absolutely, and without a doubt that their works would be given back to the public to share, to perform, to build on and more… on January 1, 2014 at the very latest. And they all still created their works, making clear that the incentive of a 56 year monopoly was absolutely more than enough incentive to create.
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Copyright used to be a pretty specialized area of law, one that didn’t seem to affect the lives of most people. But with the proliferation of digital technologies and the Internet, a funny thing happened: copyright policy became speech policy, and it started to show up in all sorts of unexpected and unwelcome places.
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Copyright and the Internet have been struggling to get along for many years and some feel we are now due a comprehensive update of the former in order for it to work more harmoniously with the latter. In deciding how to progress the EU Commission has opened a public consultation which allows all citizens – even those in the U.S. – a rare opportunity to change the path of copyright law. But with just three weeks left, time is ticking away.
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These are beguiling but bad arguments. People dislike legal risks, so avoid them. We also know plenty of people get caught up in disputes, even resulting in Youtube takedowns, when parodies are accused of copyright infringement. Such actions are an infringement of free expression, yet do no real harm to copyright owners. Many countries, including copyright hardliners like France and the US, have legal protection for parodies.
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Google has launched a simple way to filter Google images by reuse rights.
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After almost a decade of litigation, on 14 November the Southern District Court of New York has ruled on the class action Authors Guild v Google. Judge Chin, who had rejected in March 2011 the agreement proposing to settle the case, found that the activities carried out in the context of the Google Books project do not infringe copyright. In a nutshell, the ruling affirms that reproducing in-copyright works to make them searchable on the Internet is a fair use under US law.
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A lawsuit against a man who ran websites which linked to episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy has ended in the most expensive way possible. The judgment, which awards Fox $10.5 million in statutory and punitive damages, is the highest amount ever awarded by the Federal Court in Toronto, Canada. Speaking with TorrentFreak, the target of the lawsuit says that he is now going through a bankruptcy and Fox are chasing “as hard as they possibly can” for the money.
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I’ll admit that, other than knowing his name and that he was a Hollywood actor in some big budget films, I didn’t know very much at all about Shia LaBeouf. However, apparently he’s been facing some “controversy” over a few different examples of plagiarism in his work, with the “biggest” being plagiarizing a cartoon by Daniel Clowes called Justin M. Damiano with the short film HowardCantour.com. Others also pointed out that, in a comic book created by LaBeouf, he apparently plagiarized a bunch of others, including Kurt Vonnegut and Charles Bukowski (if you’re going to plagiarize, plagiarize from the best, apparently).
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New research published by Tulane University Law Professor Glynn Lunney shows that online piracy is linked to the creation of more hit music. The increase in output can be attributed to existing artists, who make up for a decline in new hits from newcomers. This counter-intuitive finding suggests that file-sharing advances the core purpose of copyright, and that it should be permitted under copyright law.
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Kim Dotcom has seen an internet piracy case tighten around him, and now even the family of the controversial mogul is feeling the heat.
Reports this weekend said that authorities raided the New Zealand mansion of the Megaupload founder and also targeted this mother’s house in Germany, searching for a car Kim bought for her.
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In October 2013, VICE News was invited to visit the infamous tech mogul and creator of Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, at his palatial property in New Zealand. Even though Kim is under house arrest—since he’s at the center of history’s largest copyright case—he’s still able to visit a recording studio in Auckland. So check out this brand new documentary we made at Kim’s mega-mansion and in the studio where our host, Tim Pool, got to lay down some backup vocals for Kim’s upcoming EDM album while talking about online surveillance, file-sharing, and Kim’s controversial case.
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ONE OF THE FOUNDERS of The Pirate Bay, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, has had his prison sentence extended until 5 February, despite widespread popular support for his release.
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My name is Sephy Hallow, and as of December 2013, I became the first ever Deputy Leader of PPUK. As a 25-year-old graduate with a degree in Literature from York, I’m one of the youngest people to be in a position of political leadership in the country, and at times, I ask myself why I’ve been afforded this opportunity. What makes my voice any different from the sound bites of our mainstream politicians? What do I have to say that is any more valid, any better? And why do I deserve to be given a podium to speak from?
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Unavailability of content is one of the key drivers for online piracy so it’s of great interest that the BBC has made a pioneering move with one of its current hottest properties. In an attempt to reign in what some describe as rampant infringement, the UK national broadcaster has struck a deal to broadcast Sherlock Holmes on a Chinese streaming platform just hours after its UK debut.
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Last fall, we noted that the City of London Police, who had just set up a special “intellectual property crime unit” which appeared to be taking orders directly from Hollywood, had issued bizarre orders to registrars, based on no court order or ruling, that they hand over domain names to the police, point them to a splash page that advertised Hollywood-approved businesses, and block the transfer of those domains to anyone else. A bunch of registrars actually did this, despite the lack of a court order or ruling of any kind. Just because the City of London Police said so. The only registrar who apparently resisted was EasyDNS, who pointed out that there’s such a thing called due process. Furthermore, EasyDNS pointed out that the registrars who complied with the order almost certainly violated ICANN policies for registrars, which has a very specific set of conditions under which a registrar can freeze a whois record, none of which include “because some Hollywood-controlled police force says so.”
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Posted in Action, Europe at 6:44 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Business controls the filters in the West
Summary: How Western censorship proved itself to be all about protecting the villains while blocking justice
WHEN society is run by businesses (which is true in the West), then censorship by businesses is natural; it’s only to be expected.
Here in the UK we now officially have Internet censorship, just like in China, Iran, Russia etc. Our government would be too hypocritical to criticise those nations over censorship. One leading British civil rights groups asks rhetorically [1], “what could possibly go wrong?”
Here is what goes wrong.
Recently we saw a news site getting censored by the British Web filters [2]. Why? Probably because it delivers an alternative message that puts in jeopardy the copyright monopoly/cartel.
“UK ISPs Need To Be Sued Way Out Into Atlantic,” said the founder of the original Pirate Party after this incident [3]. We are gradually getting rather petty and becoming no better than Russia, which “Orders Pirate Party to Drop ‘Pirate’ From Its Name” (according to the censored news site) [4]. Notice what they do here; it is clear that when language is policed we are basically losing our ability to express ourselves. The censored news site also says that “Record Label Asks Google to Censor Artists’ Twitter Accounts” [5] (censorship for the copyright monopoly/cartel), helping to shed light on he sheer abuse of those companies and proving the value/importance of such news sites.
“In other words, the filters are now being turned from tools of law enforcement into tools of protecting criminals and banning those who report crime.”There are some other new examples of censorship (by intimidatiob) for business reasons, courtesy of Digital Ocean [6] and SeaWorld [7,8].
Isn’t it funny that those who engage in misconduct or unethical behaviour get to use censorship in their favour? In other words, the filters are now being turned from tools of law enforcement into tools of protecting criminals and banning those who report crime. That’s what government- and corporations-controlled filters are bound to achieve. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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ISPs exist to provide us with unfettered access to the Internet, not the version they or their technology partners feels is appropriate for us. Their ‘parental controls’ do not achieve their stated aim of “protecting children” and are already causing collateral damage by blocking totally innocent sites such as the one you are reading now. It’s hard not to get angry when you realize your website’s accessibility is becoming disabled by default.
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A long-running battle between the Pirate Party of Russia and the Russian Government has concluded with disappointment for the Pirates. In an announcement yesterday that finally brings an end to a number of appeals, the Ministry of Justice declared that since piracy – sea piracy – is a crime under Russian law, no political party may have that word as part of its name. As a result the Pirate Party can never become officially recognized unless it calls itself something else.
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Spinnin’ Records, one of the largest independent dance music labels, has been sending several unusual takedown requests to Google. The record label asked the search engine to take down the Twitter pages of several of its own top artists, including Afrojack, as well as its own account. Google, thus far, has refused to help out with this blatant attempt at self-censorship.
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This is a story about how the VPS provider Digital Ocean required me to either delete a blog post or make it anonymous by removing any reference to the person I was writing about. If I refused to do it, Digital Ocean said they would terminate my account. The person I wrote about (Googler Travis Collins) in the blog post happened to be a friend of a Digital Ocean executive, but Digital Ocean said the only reason the blog post needed to be removed was due to a terms of service violation. Here’s the blog post in its original form. I describe below how this whole incident came to pass and provide screenshots of Digital Ocean’s communications. Digital Ocean promotes itself as a great place to setup a blog, and they provide instructions to make it easy for you, but you might want to learn how Digital Ocean applies its terms of service before investing a lot of time in writing blog posts.
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Well folks, I suppose it was bound to happen. I wrote a dozen pieces for Forbes.com and enjoyed it very much. But the 13th–an article critical of SeaWorld (a 2.5 billion dollar company partially owned by the Blackstone Group) and praiseworthy of ‘Blackfish” (made on a small budget)–rattled some corporate cages.
After I posted, editorial management demanded changes that I could not, in good conscience, make. So the article got pulled (after 77,000 hits in one day) and I left my position.
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