The Department of Internet?
By Brian | February 23, 2006
According to the International Telecommunication Union (via InternetWeek), in 2000, the United States ranked third in the world in number of high-speed internet subscribers per capita. In 2004, we were 16th. The 2005 numbers are about to come out, and it looks like we might fall out of the top 20.
Some of these countries have obvious advantages in this space (close proximity of people, making it easier to get broadband access to a higher percentage of the population), but we’re behind countries like Canada too. InternetWeek thinks that what’s missing is a government regulated broadband network.
Interesting. Here’s a space where market forces aren’t satisfying the public good (it’s not profitable to wire everyone for broadband, so no one does it) AND where the providers (cable & phone companies) are starting to make noises about distributing their costs to their users (the content providers).
Smells like a public utility, doesn’t it?
Government run broadband access to the internet would allow us to determine what percentage of the country was online by manipulating government spending, rather than counting on the private sector’s profit motive. On the other hand, there’s been a lot of talk lately about how the feds react to content that travels over their wires. If the feds get involved here, look for the same kind of decency/censorship debates that we’ve had in radio and television in recent years. Of course, the Internet raises a few new issues: First, content on the Internet doesn’t necessarily come from the United States, so even if access is a public utility (in this country), it would be exceedingly difficult for the government to completely regulate the providers.
Second, the Internet provides more interactive options for policing content. If you think people are in a tizzy now over the government asking search engine companies for data, imagine if they controlled the servers themselves? They may not be able to stop the production of “offensive” material, but they could more easily control the distribution of it. Now, I’m not suggesting that the U.S. government would outwardly censor Internet content (see also: China) – that wouldn’t pass muster with the public in this country. Distribution control in the U.S. more often takes the form of surcharges – charging a premium for access to adult sites (a la HBO or Cinemax on cable TV), for instance.
So the question is this: is more universal access worth giving the government a say over what gets seen and how much it costs? I say no, but then again, I live in a major metropolitan area where broadband access is readily available.
I wonder what Scalzi thinks out in Ohio…
Categories: Political Rantings, Tech Talk | 3 Comments »
It had to happen eventually…
By Brian | February 21, 2006
So, here’s the question: is this bad news of the “the OS isn’t impervious to attack as many have tried to claim?” variety, or good news of the “market share and visibility have increased enough to warrant the hackers spending time on attacking OS X” variety?
Categories: Tech Talk | Comments Off on It had to happen eventually…
The Best Reason to Own a Laptop … Ever!
By Brian | February 21, 2006
Via InternetWeek:
Internet cafe computer mice are the second most bacteria-carrying item found in public facilities, surpassing toilet doorknobs and hand straps on busses, a study showed.
Categories: Random Acts of Blogging, Tech Talk | Comments Off on The Best Reason to Own a Laptop … Ever!
New York City Subway Stories
By Brian | February 15, 2006
I had a doctor’s appointment this morning, so I commuted into the city at an odd hour. On the uptown E train (World Trade Center line) at around 11:15, was a man wearing blue jeans, a windbreaker, and a winter cap.
He was carrying with him a hacksaw, a screwdriver, and a flashlight. He didn’t have any kind of bag or case, he was just carrying them loose in his hands. I assume he was in a construction-related line of work, and was just bringing his tools to/from his job.
So, I ask again, exactly what are they checking for when they randomly inspect our bags on the subway? If an openly visible hacksaw is OK, what exactly is not OK?
Categories: New York, New York, Political Rantings | 3 Comments »
Google Achieves Microsoft-like Evil Status…
By Brian | February 14, 2006
Google’s recent Desktop Search tool provides a feature that copies the search index across networked computers, so when you search on one machine, you can see documents stored on another. Sounds reasonably harmless, right?
Turns out the copy is done by temporarily uploading encrypted versions of the files to Google’s servers and then downloading them to the other machines. Google says it deletes the files roughly every 30 days. It also says the user has complete control over which files/folders are included in the search, and that it automatically filters out password protected files and secure web pages.
But none of that matters to the EFF, who is recommending that no one use the feature.
Why? Because Google might one day turn that data over to the federal government if it is subpoenaed during that 30-day window.
Isn’t this just amazing? Forget all the extra features they put in to protect the user. Forget the vanishingly small likelihood that a particular file is residing in a Google server’s temporary cache at the precise moment a subpoena is issued, and forget the relative usefulness of the tool itself (Remember, Google doesn’t build these tools to try and step through privacy minefields – they build them to be useful to their customers). The big news story from a couple of weeks ago has put Google in the bullseye with regard to privacy issues, and all because they refused to submit data after a government request.
Imagine what they’d be saying about the company if it had complied?!?
Categories: Political Rantings, Tech Talk | 2 Comments »
How Snow Can Make You Feel Warm Inside
By Brian | February 13, 2006
The northeast got hit with about two feet of snow this weekend, so I got to take my two boys out for a romp in it this afternoon. Before we went out, Avery drew the above picture (some work in oils, some in clay, Avery works in blue highlighter and pencil. You gotta start somewhere).
For those who don’t read the ancient language of 5-year old spelling, the inscription reads (roughly) as follows:
“Fun in the snow. Signed by Avery Greenberg and Daddy Greenberg.”
If there were any justice in the world, all the snow on our property should have melted right then & there…
Categories: Family Matters | 1 Comment »
And he Wasn’t Even a Suspected Terorrist…
By Brian | February 12, 2006
Dick Cheney just shot a guy.
Seriously.
That’s got to be a violation of his civil rights, no?
Categories: Political Rantings, The World Wide Weird | 3 Comments »
Two Cool Search Tools
By Brian | February 12, 2006
Geez, it feels like every third blog entry I make these days is about search engines. Maybe that says something?
Anyway, check out these two cool sites I found:
Twingine
Type in a search string, and it shows you Google & Yahoo’s results side-by-side. Very useful if you plan on searching on both sites anyway (e.g., extensive research projects)
Google vs. Yahoo
Same idea, but this one’s more graphical. Put in your search string, and you get two rows of dots, Google’s results on top, Yahoo’s on the bottom. Lines (literally) connect the dots for where the same pages are returned. Vertical lines near the left of the graph signify agreement between the search engines about what’s most important. Severe diagonal lines signify disagreement. White dots (with no lines) signify sites that were returned in one engine, but not the other.
Categories: Tech Talk | Comments Off on Two Cool Search Tools
Video Navigation Systems
By Brian | February 12, 2006
This from Google and Volkswagen of America look really interesting.
Basically, it’s the in-car navigation system we’ve all seen, but with photographs instead of those line drawings we’re used to. So rather than driving to that hotel or restaurant’s block & then looking around, you could see the building on the screen.
The proof is, of course, always in the usage, but given the existence of Google Earth, GPS, and high wireless bandwidth, it sounds promising…
Categories: The Future is Now | Comments Off on Video Navigation Systems
Shuffling off this mortal coil…
By Brian | February 11, 2006
Looks like maybe smaller devices with less functionality aren’t the big hit Apple thought they might be. Suddenly, there’s a 1GB Nano for $149, as compared to the 1GB Shuffle for $99. So for fifty extra dollars, you get a screen that can show (very, very small) photos and, you know, let you choose what song you want to hear.
Check out the comparison chart, about halfway down the page (direct link not available).
Oh, and while I’m at it, this is only slightly less crazy: The 4GB Nano is $249. For fifty dollars more than that, you get a much larger screen and 7.5 times the memory.
Categories: Tech Talk | 2 Comments »