technology

US Congressmen Reintroduce Online Sales Tax Bill

"A bipartisan group of 53 Democrat and Republican lawmakers have re-introduced a bill – the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 – in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax for state and local governments, even though they lack a physical presence in the state. State and local governments are said to view the taxes they cannot collect on most online sales as lost revenue. It is estimated that the 'loophole' costs state and local governments an estimated USD23bn in lost tax revenue each year, with California alone facing around USD1.9bn in uncollected sales taxes." Continue reading →

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15 Percent of Malls To Close Due to Online Shopping?

"Experts are predicting that up to 15% of US shopping malls are forecast to close over the next five years as online shopping continues to surge. The United States has over 1300 regional malls (over 450,000 square feet) and that could mean that up to 195 of them will shut down. 'I think 200 are going out of business,' said Gerry Mason, executive managing director at property group Savills. 'We’re 15-20 per cent overbuilt. There are just too many stores.'" Continue reading →

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Disconnect Cable and Satellite TV

"I purchased this Roku digital internet receiver yesterday after cancelling my satellite service and highly recommend it as an alternative to the monopolized government affiliated cable/satellite companies, especially for its news content. At no charge, I’m able to receive multiple international news channels (audio and video), including RT, that are streamed onto my television with a near perfect picture. In addition to the free internet channels, there are several channels you do have to pay for, but unlike cable/satellite, you GET what you pay for when adding channels with this product." Continue reading →

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Google challenges Apple with high-end laptop

"Google unveiled a touchscreen notebook computer on Thursday designed for high-end users, throwing down the gauntlet to Apple and its MacBooks. Google said its Chromebook Pixel computers blending tablet and laptop technology, boasting heavyweight Intel chips and screens tailored for rich graphics, were released in the United States and Britain, starting at $1,299. Google is hoping enthusiasts will forego price comparisons with competitors such as MacBooks or laptops built on Windows 8 software and focus instead on the Pixel's touchscreen feature and the massive terabyte of Google Drive online data storage included." Continue reading →

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Google Glass Orders: How You Can Get Your Hands On An Early Set Of The Futuristic Glasses

"Are you one of those people who absolutely love the idea of Google Glass -- those far-out, futuristic glasses that Google has been taunting us with for almost a year now? Well, you might be able to snatch up a pair earlier than expected. All you have to do is impress a few Google employees, and you could be one of the first 8,000 folks in America with your very own Google Glass. In order to win, all you have to do is tell Google, on either Twitter or Google+, what you would do if you had your own Google Glass hardware." Continue reading →

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What in Space Are We Doing?

"We're inclined to believe that the era of space exploration is pretty much over with. No funding. Public boredom. Too many other problems here at home. And so on. End of story. That, however, is not the case. Not at all. Yes, budgets have shrunk. And yes, the federal government is getting out of hands-on involvement with the business (though it still provides a measure of funding for research). But private enterprise (often aided by juicy government grants) is leaping into space in a big way, and some very exciting research by space scientists is going on." Continue reading →

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3-D Printed Car Is as Strong as Steel, Half the Weight, and Nearing Production

"Picture an assembly line not that isn’t made up of robotic arms spewing sparks to weld heavy steel, but a warehouse of plastic-spraying printers producing light, cheap and highly efficient automobiles. Urbee’s approach to maximum miles per gallon starts with lightweight construction – something that 3-D printing is particularly well suited for. The designers were able to focus more on the optimal automobile physics, rather than working to install a hyper efficient motor in a heavy steel-body automobile. Jim Kor is the engineering brains behind the Urbee. Between teaching classes, he heads Kor Ecologic, the firm responsible for the 3-D printed creation." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3-D Printed Car Is as Strong as Steel, Half the Weight, and Nearing Production

Gun Control Laws Increasingly Irrelevant as 3D Printed Rifle Receiver Fires Hundreds of Rounds

"On Monday, with little fanfare and less comment — primarily because none was needed — Defense Distributed unveiled a 3D-printed lower receiver for an AR-15 that stood up to hundreds of rounds of fire. Succinctly, the video on Youtube was accompanied by the statement, 'Does not fail from firing stresses. 600+ rounds.' Just as important, and the purpose of all this effort, the group made plans for the receiver available for download by all and sundry at DefCad. Defense Distributed's video and 3D printer plans are a clever and powerful blow to politicians' efforts to restrict Americans' abilities to own the means of self-defense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Control Laws Increasingly Irrelevant as 3D Printed Rifle Receiver Fires Hundreds of Rounds

Ben Swann Is Optimistic About the Internet Reformation

"There IS something going on ... and every day we are introduced to new people who realize it. Ben Swann, for instance – an anchor from Cincinnati. We had never heard of Ben Swann but he just won a Twitter 'Shorty' award for journalism – which is kind of a mainstream accomplishment. In this video, Swann provides us with a good verbalization of what we call the Internet Reformation. It's an eloquent statement and one we agree with, at least partially. We're glad he won his award and we're glad he's speaking out optimistically about freedom's progress in the US." Continue reading →

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Aaron Swartz is Dead, Now White House Adjusts Rules

"In what has to be one of the more cynical moves in recent US political history, the White House has announced (see above) that more information freely distributed is better than less information available on via subscription. This turn of events come about six weeks after the death information activist Aaron Swartz, who supposedly killed himself when faced with severe prosecution over the intent to distribute 'non-legal' publicly-funded information to the public. Swartz faced over 30 years of jail time for his 'crime,' and apparently committed suicide over his prosecution, we learn, after all, that such 'laws' are fungible and can be changed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAaron Swartz is Dead, Now White House Adjusts Rules