As we have written before the war for the Internet will be and already has been, a long one. Governments and vested corporate interests (at least some corporate interests) see the massive flow of information the internet enables as a threat. These interests will continue to hammer away until they find a way to fundamentally [...]
Amazing: Orangutans using iPads to Communicate
I have always been facinated with orangutans. They are incredible creatures which exibit deep intelligence. If you ever get a chance to observe one in person it’s pretty amazing. It seems that their intelligence may in fact be even deeper than we thought. Across the country zoos are introducing iPads to the apes with amazing [...]
New ISP offers access to geo-blocked sites like Netflix (In New Zealand)
The the island nations seem to be a bit ahead of the curve these days. Iceland is reinventing banking and from the looks of it doing pretty well. Now this from New Zealand. Block the websites all you want, the Kiwis are going to get around it (easily.) From NBR.co.nz A new internet service provider, [...]
Aquaculture and Global Security.
Today’s Stock and Land examines the roll of aquaculture in the face of rising populations and political and environmental change. “One of the most urgent needs of the 21st century will be to re-design the system for sustainable food production. The modern food system is utterly dependent on oil, and food in fact accounts for [...]
Play Nice on Facebook or They Just Might Shut You Down
This from TechCrunch.com confirms what I’ve been hearing from others: “Now, Facebook makes no apologies for working to create a safe and clean environment on its corner of the web by shutting down abusive or harassing behavior, content such as pornography, or generally spamming of the system. This particular method policing “inappropriate” comments may be [...]
Service providers move to guarantee access
Posted by Senior Director, Juliette Terzieff: Google has joined Twitter as the latest major Internet player to limit content as needed on a country-by-country basis as a means to answer varied restrictions that could prevent the provision of services. Twitter announced earlier this year it would be censoring tweets by country—meaning that if a tweet [...]
How to Instruct 3000 College Students at the Same Time (Well)
This story comes from Hokie country, the hills of Blacksburg, home to Virginia Tech. In case you’ve missed it, higher education is in the midst of a revolution. From the Khan Academy to technology leaders such as the professor featured in the attached piece college is changing fast. One has to wonder how the immense [...]
Will Automated Cars Save the Future?
Given the amount of time I see people talking on cell phones (and God help us texting) while driving this probably makes total sense in a busier and busier world if for no other reason than safety. Still, I do love driving my little Mazda at high rates of speed, with a manual clutch, and [...]
Internet Freedom Is Under Direct Assault
Google co-founder Sergey Brin says that governments are forcing the “genie back in the bottle” to some extent. China Saudi Arabia, Russia, and sadly even the United States are seeing unprecidented efforts to limit the communication of citizens. And that what this is all about-communication. Governments fear the ability of ordinary citizens to actually affect [...]
