technology

Microsoft DMCA Notice ‘Mistakenly’ Targets BBC, Techcrunch, Wikipedia and U.S. Govt

"Over the last year Microsoft asked Google to censor nearly 5 million webpages because they allegedly link to copyright infringing content. While these automated requests are often legitimate, mistakes happen more often than one might expect. In a recent DMCA notice Microsoft asked Google to censor BBC, CNN, HuffPo, TechCrunch, Wikipedia and many more sites. In another request the software giant seeks the removal of a URL on Spotify.com. In recent months the number of DMCA takedown requests sent out by copyright holders has increased dramatically, and it’s starting to turn the Internet into a big mess." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMicrosoft DMCA Notice ‘Mistakenly’ Targets BBC, Techcrunch, Wikipedia and U.S. Govt

Free Online Education Is Illegal in Minnesota

"The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the state has decided to crack down on free education, notifying California-based startup Coursera that it is not allowed to offer its online courses to the state’s residents. Coursera, founded by Stanford computer science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng, partners with top-tier universities around the world to offer certain classes online for free to anyone who wants to take them. You know, unless they happen to be from Minnesota. State law prohibits degree-granting institutions from offering instruction in Minnesota without obtaining permission from the office and paying a registration fee." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFree Online Education Is Illegal in Minnesota

Pirate Bay and Mega: Treating the State as Damage and Routing Around It

"Most recently, it’s come out that The Pirate Bay has moved to the cloud, thus rendering itself invulnerable to website takedowns. TPB has already taken considerable countermeasures against government raids, backing its site up on several servers and concealing the location of some of them. Meanwhile Kim Dotcom of MegaUpload is rolling out Mega, a new service duplicated on a network of servers in countries all around the world, and therefore far less vulnerable to takedowns by any national government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPirate Bay and Mega: Treating the State as Damage and Routing Around It

Textbook Publisher Pearson Takes Down 1.5 Million Teacher And Student Blogs With A Single DMCA Notice

"From shuttering a legitimate ebook lending site to removing negative reviews to destroying a user's Flickr account to knocking a copyright attorney's site offline, the DMCA notice continues to be the go-to weapon for copyright defenders. Collateral damage is simply shrugged at and the notices continue to fly at an ever-increasing pace. And now because Pearson somehow feels that a 38-year-old questionnaire is worth $120, ServerBeach felt compelled to take down 1.5 million blogs over a single DMCA notice." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTextbook Publisher Pearson Takes Down 1.5 Million Teacher And Student Blogs With A Single DMCA Notice

Google threatens to drop links to French media if pay-per-link law passes

"Internet giant Google has warned it would exclude French media sites from its search results if France adopts a law forcing search engines to pay for content, in the latest confrontation with European governments. A letter sent by Google to several French ministerial offices this month said it 'cannot accept' such a move and the company 'as a consequence would be required to no longer reference French sites,' according to a copy obtained by AFP. France’s new Socialist government, which is open to helping struggling media companies, warned Google that it should not threaten democratic governments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle threatens to drop links to French media if pay-per-link law passes

French Jews to sue Twitter over anti-Semitic tweets following German neo-Nazi ban

"Twitter, a day after saying it blocked a neo-Nazi group’s account in Germany in a global first, faced a new battle Friday in France where Jewish students are taking it to court to force it to remove anti-Semitic messages. The hashtag #unbonjuif — which in English means 'a good Jew' — has been one of the top trending words on French-language tweets and is often followed by offensive comments such as: 'A good Jew can pump up your tyre with his nose.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench Jews to sue Twitter over anti-Semitic tweets following German neo-Nazi ban

13 Careers Short on Graduates

"In an economy with more than 53% jobless or underemployed recent college graduates, it’s hard to imagine that there are actually careers short on graduates. But it’s true: there are several different fields that simply can’t find enough qualified candidates to fill all of their job opportunities. Health care, skilled trades, and even finance are hurting for graduates — are you cut out for one of these careers with room to grow?" Continue reading →

Continue Reading13 Careers Short on Graduates

Watch: Helmet cam recording of jump from the edge of space

"Footage broadcast on Austrian television shows the first moments of daredevil Felix Baumgartner’s 128,000-foot descent to Earth. Baumgartner ascended to the dizzying height inside a capsule attached to an ultra-thin 55-story helium balloon. During the first moments of his jump, Baumgartner began to spin out of control due to the thin atmosphere. The space suit he was wearing was equipped with an emergency parachute that would deploy automatically if he experienced excessive G-force. Luckily, Baumgartner was able to regain control before the parachute automatically deployed and became the first man to reach supersonic speed in a free fall." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch: Helmet cam recording of jump from the edge of space

U.S. military prepares new aggressive rules to fight cyber war

"The United States faces a growing threat of a 'cyber-Pearl Harbor' and has drafted new rules for the military that would enable it to move aggressively against digital attacks, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. Although he avoided the word 'offensive' to describe operations or capabilities, Panetta’s speech clearly implied that the military would be empowered to take the initiative in the cyber realm. Officials offered no further details, but as former CIA director, Panetta reportedly helped oversee an unprecedented cyber sabotage campaign that targeted Iran’s uranium enrichment program." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. military prepares new aggressive rules to fight cyber war