Myside's Spew - Blog of Spontaneous Combustible Spew

Are you ready for SOPA? - January 18th!

17 January, 2012 16:38 CST6CDT

The Stop On-line Piracy Act (SOPA) is in a full forced backlash from Internet giants such as WikipediA and our beloved BoingBoing whom are participating in the SOPA Strike, a 12 hour period in which volunteer domain owners will turn the electric off to their sites.  The SOPA Strike page link above provides several parked pages to point your domains to among information on how to contact your congressional representatives to voice your opinion.

"January 18th is going to be amazing. Sites are striking in all different ways, but they are united by this: do the biggest thing you possibly can, and drive contacts to Congress. Put this on your site or automate it by putting this JS into your header (the Javascript link is available @ http://sopastrike.com/), which will start the blackout at 8AM EST and end at 8PM EST." - http://sopastrike.com/

The SOPA Strike website contains a list of validated participants along with a list of unfiltered participants of the Internet Blackout.  I will not be participating in the blackout, however I wish to make this unfetchable downfall of our existence on the Internet - to be voted on by Congress January 24th (SOPA), and PIPA which is currently in discussion in the Senate, stop DEAD with help from those that this post may help.  Also see: Internet Blacklist for a video and in depth information in relation to SOPA and PIPA.

"On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass Internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. We need Internet companies to follow Reddit's lead and stand up for the web, as we Internet users are doing every day." - http://sopastrike.com/

Here is a small list of 3rd party templates and the official sopastrike.com web page and Javascript code available and ready to use during the protest tomorrow:

  1. Black out your website for 12 hours with this page's HTML, or by putting this Javascript into your site's theme (the Javascript link is available @ http://sopastrike.com/). Tucows is doing this and so is BoingBoing.
  2. Other people have made tools to strike. Some other ways to strike:

A year ago I was writing...

Packers Game, CSS Modifications, & Verizon Hoopla
Verizon Admits iPhone Network Hiccups
freenode New Year's Chat Room Channel Logs (#freenode-newyears) 2011

Technology  Software  Article & Comments

Internet Blacklist

14 November, 2011 11:42 CST6CDT

Stop the Internet Blacklist Legislation


The Internet Blacklist Legislation– known as PROTECT IP Act in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House - is a threatening sequel to last year's COICA Internet censorship bill.  Like its predecessor, this legislation invites Internet security risks, threatens online speech, and hampers Internet innovation. Urge your members of Congress to reject this Internet blacklist campaign in both its forms!

Big media and its allies in Congress are billing the Internet Blacklist Legislation as a new way to prevent online infringement. But innovation and free speech advocates know that this initiative is nothing more than a dangerous wish list that will compromise Internet security while doing little or nothing to encourage creative expression.

As drafted, the legislation would grant the government and private parties unprecedented power to interfere with the Internet's domain name system (DNS). The government would be able to force ISPs and search engines to redirect or dump users' attempts to reach certain websites' URLs. In response, third parties will woo average users to alternative servers that offer access to the entire Internet (not just the newly censored U.S. version), which will create new computer security vulnerabilities as the reliability and universality of the DNS evaporates.

It gets worse: Under SOPA's provisions, service providers (including hosting services) would be under new pressure to monitor and police their users’ activities.  While PROTECT-IP targeted sites “dedicated to infringing activities,” SOPA targets websites that simply don’t do enough to track and police infringement (and it is not at all clear what would be enough).  And it creates new powers to shut down folks who provide tools to help users get access to the Internet the rest of the world sees (not just the “U.S. authorized version”). 

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has placed a hold on the Senate version of the bill, taking a principled stand against a very dangerous bill. But every Senator and Representative should be opposing the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA.

Contact your members of Congress today to speak out!

In this new bill, Hollywood has expanded its censorship ambitions. No longer content to just blacklist entries in the Domain Name System, this version targets software developers and distributors as well. It allows the Attorney General (doing Hollywood or trademark holders' bidding) to go after more or less anyone who provides or offers a product or service that could be used to get around DNS blacklisting orders. This language is clearly aimed at Mozilla, which took a principled stand in refusing to assist the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to censor the domain name system, but we are also concerned that it could affect the open source community, internet innovation, and software freedom more broadly:

* Do you write or distribute VPN, proxy, privacy or anonymization software? You might have to build in a censorship mechanism — or find yourself in a legal fight with the United States Attorney General.

* Even some of the most fundamental and widely used Internet security software, such as SSH, includes built-in proxy functionality. This kind of software is installed on hundreds of millions of computers, and is an indispensable tool for systems administration professionals, but it could easily become a target for censorship orders under the new bill.

* Do you work with or distribute zone files for gTLDs? Want to keep them accurate? Too bad — Hollywood might argue that if you provide a complete (i.e., uncensored) list, you are illegally helping people bypass SOPA orders.

* Want to write a client-side DNSSEC resolver that uses multiple servers until it finds a valid signed entry? Again, you could be in a fight with the U.S. Attorney General.

Contact your members of Congress today to speak out!

PROTECT IP (S. 968)/SOPA (HR. 3261) creates the first system for Internet censorship - this bill has sweeping provisions that give the government and corporations leeway and legal cover for taking down sites "by accident," mistakenly, or for NOT doing "enough" to protect the interests of Hollywood. These bills that are moving very quickly through Congress and can pass before Christmas aim to give the US government and corporations the ability to block sites over infringing links posted by their users and give ISPs the release to take any means to block peoples' sites, including slowing down your connection. That's right, some say this bill is a workaround to net neutrality and is bigger than net neutrality.

This is the worst piece of Internet legislation in history - the lawmakers who have been sponsoring (Leahy, Lamar Smith, Conyers) this bill need to be shamed by the Internet community for wasting taxpayer dollars on a bill that would break the very fabric of the Internet, create an Internet blacklist, kill jobs and great startup companies, huge blogs, and social networks.

Everyone, the entire Internet community needs to stand together if we don't want to see this bill actually become law. Internet and democracy groups are planning an Internet-wide day of protest called American Censorship Day on Wednesday, November 16th for the day Congress holds a hearing on these bills to create the first American Internet censorship system. Every single person with a website can join and needs to.

Source [boingboing]

Contact your members of Congress today to speak out!

A year ago I was writing...

Global Sufficiency Network: The Power of Enough - Week 1

Technology  Bullshit  Article & Comments

Sprint Total Equipment Protection (TEP)

09 November, 2011 04:52 CST6CDT

Sprint offers new customers a phone insurance policy from the 3rd party company, asurion.  During an open enrollment a couple of months ago I was able to buy an insurance policy well into my 1st year of my 2nd 2 year contract.  TEP costs $8.00 per month and covers all claims including water damage, lost, theft, and even a scratch on the cell phone screen.  iPhone users do not have the luxury of insuring their phone through asurion (TEP) and must use Apple's equipment protection plan.

Customers are eligible for enrollment within 30 days of activation or upgrade of device.

Two days ago I killed my phone - the LCD screen cracked in multiple places and I had severe exterior damage.  I had thought I would never file a claim for damages, though the insurance had been a calming addition to my cellular service package and sure enough within two months, I had a life line.

Filing a claim is very easy.  You may head to http://protection.sprint.com/ to access the on-line claim form that will redirect you to asurion's website, or as I did, you may call asurion directly.  I believe you may also call Sprint to file your claim for damages, however I would not suggest this - it is not their job, honestly (3rd party)

Filing my Total Equipment Protection (TEP) claim took less than ten minutes.  I called asurion and was prompted to enter only very basic account information with no long computer dial prompts or extension to run around.  After these couple of simple questions are answered, you are quickly connected with an agent and are then asked to better describe the damaged item(s) you wish to claim.

Within 5 minutes on the phone with the agent, the claim was approved.  I suggest that you not do a run around with the facts of any claim; a run around with any insurance company leads into trouble - TEP is truly worth the monthly fee, as even a scratch on the screen qualifies you for hardware repair or compensation.

Total Equipment Protection has got you covered for just about any situation that may derail your day. Whether your phone is broken, beaten, lost, or stolen, we quickly re-connect you with all the people and places that matter to you.

Total Equipment Protection covers you for the following:

  • Loss
  • Theft
  • Physical or liquid damage
  • Mechanical and electrical failure due to defect or normal wear and tear

The deductible for my phone was $100 for a replacement.  I called around 8 PM CST6CDT and the phone was activated by my request and shipped overnight using FedEx.  The deductible is either $50.00 or $100.00 depending on the model of your phone.  You have the option of billing your Sprint account or use a credit card to satisfy the required replacement deductible costs.  Batteries, cables, nor any accessories are not sent with your replacement unless these peripherals are included as damaged items, lost, or stolen.  You will receive a new, yet bulk stock phone replacement.  I believe you are able to file a claim up to 12 times per year

The bulk phone boxes are labeled by the insurance company that handles TEP.  I do not believe Sprint handles any part of the claim - with the possible exception of the optional pre-activation of the device, however that in which could very well be accomplished by asurion themselves.

A postage paid package will arrive with the next day replacement (if the phone cannot be serviced) in order to ship the non-repairable damaged item back within 10 days of the claim.  In my case, if the phone is not shipped back within the 10 days of filling the insurance claim, I am responsible to pay up to $500 which would automatically be billed to my Sprint account.

Whether eight dollars a month and a $50 to $100 deductible is worth the investment for your phone is of course a case by case personal decision.  In my particular situation TEP saved myself hundreds of dollars and what could have been an extremely frustrating and disconnected situation.  I am quite impressed.

edited 2011-11-25

The phone that I received states "Re-manufactured" inside the battery case.  I now know that most replacement phone models are re-manufactured directly by asurion with some exceptions of availability.  Admittedly, they do a very good job on the refurbishment of these devices.  I have only read of two cases since submitting this insurance claim of persons receiving a phone in non-perfect condition.

A year ago I was writing...

Silvernail Apartments: Broadband Internet - Not Interested in an Open Internet (all about the money)
Winter Aromatherapy
Gay Teens: It Does Get Better

Day to Day  Technology  Article & Comments

Baby Interaction with Computers - 1 Year Old Observations

21 September, 2011 11:48 CST6CDT

Taking observation to a 1 year old male child interacting with a computer - its keyboard and monitor, I noted some interesting interactions that I will attempt to depict that may be a viable progressive design mechanisms for modern computer hardware.

The child was sitting on a lap positioned at the same median height that an adult would be, waist to a lower vertical position of the keyboard.  Because of his shoulder width, he naturally used both hands to interact with the keyboard keys not having to adjust any length between his arms or forward his shoulders.  From my experience with keyboards, I often have to tighten my arms and shoulders inwards to position my fingers on the QWERTY keyboard layout adding stress to the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and chest.  I have been pondering how a split keyboard, not necessarily a curved origami design, might help with with a more natural typing posture and possibly increase productivity.

An interesting note with the keyboard interaction: when pressing two keys separately with both hands, each hand separated by the QWERTY keyboard dividend, the child would look at the monitor for feedback.  However when pressing just one key, or two keys on just one side of the divided QWERTY keyboard, there was no interaction with the screen.

Smartphones and touchscreens for computers can be a wonderful tool for many interactive applications.  When the child wanted to interact with the screen, he would be moved to a position in reach of the display.  Interestingly, he made the decision, or of naturally, would not physically touch the screen display but instead tried to find a response by movement of the arms and hands.  Wow, that XBox 360 Kinect looks tempting now.

These were not intentional observations.  These observations just happened to be interestingly noticed and forwardly mentionable.  To end the description of the observation, once again, like many parents or parties have noticed, the child navigated to features and pages of Firefox and the desktop that I had not used nor known existed.  All in good fun, cheers!

A year ago I was writing...

Great Squirrel Covenant of the Seventh Sacred Acorn
Oil, Carrots, & Cucumbers

Day to Day  Technology  Article & Comments

MR COFFEE CG Series (CGX9) 5 Cup Coffee Maker Reviewed

06 May, 2011 05:07 CST6CDT

The Mr. Coffee CG Series coffee makers includes a 5 cup glass or stainless steel pot unit.  My previous CG series coffee maker was glass.  This coffee maker worked beautifully for 5 years brewing tasty and robust coffee.  Most retail coffee makers on the market last only a couple of months unless you shop appropriately and are willing to invest a good chunk of cash.  Since I had such good luck with the glass MR. COFFEE CG series brewer, I decided to replace it with the same model, though this time I went with the stainless steel pot instead of the glass pot version in this series.

COFFEEMAKER FEATURES AND BENEFITS

  • Brewing Capacity - 5 cups
  • Brew Basket with Removable Filter Basket - Lifts out for fast and easy cleaning and filling.
  • Pause`n Serve - Allows you up to 30 seconds to pour a cup of coffee while the coffeemaker is still brewing.  Carefully remove the decanter and the Pause`n Serve feature will be automatically activated, temporarily stopping the flow of coffee into the decanter.
  • Dual Water Windows - Show amount of water in the reservoir for accurate filling.
  • Non-Stick Warming Plate - Allows you to keep your coffee hot after brewing.  The non-stick attribute prevents the decanter from sticking to the surface of the warming plate.
  • Cord Storage - Safely stores excess cord to keep your counter top neat.
  • On/Off Indicator Light - Lets you know when your coffeemaker is "on."
  • Additional Programming Control Features:
    • - Clock - Serves as a handy kitchen clock and allows you to set the Delay Brew feature.
    • - Delay Brew - Allows you to preset when you would like the coffeemaker to automatically brew your coffee, up to 24 hours in advance.
    • - One-Hour Auto Shut-Off - Keeps your coffee warm for 1 hour after you brew, then automatically turns off.

My 5-cup glass version of the CG series coffee maker from Mr. Coffee lasted over 5 years until I put extreme pressure on the handle attached to the glass.  I had put this amount of pressure, and more on the glass in the past, however its time had come and it was a no brain decision to which I would replace this unit with - the same unit with a stainless steal pot instead of glass, the CGX9.

I was able to find the Mr. Coffee CGX9 5-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black with Stainless Steel Carafe for $27.76 on amazon.com.

Day to Day  Technology  Article & Comments

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