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15 Jan 2011 22:02

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World: New Tunisia leader’s first act: Opening up the Interwebs

As a follow-up to our last Tunisia post, it’s good to note that new leader Fouad Mebazaa has unblocked the Interwebs in the country. Good news for everyone who likes freedom. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jan 2011 21:06

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World: Tunisians: Ousted leader Ben Ali just as bad as “Big Brother”

  • I saw the RCD and the government and saw that it’s exactly like this book, with the big pictures of Ben Ali everywhere and people listening in to phone calls and informing on each other. Joining them is like selling your soul to the devil.
  • Former Tunisian citizen Ahmad Chebil • Explaining his experience with Zine el Abidine Ben Ali’s government, which wanted him to become a “citizen watcher” – essentially, someone who would spy on others and inform the government. But he never went for it – wanna know why? Well, he read a french translation of “1984” and could see the evil behind the basic idea. Also worth noting: This Ars Technica article explaining how the country ratcheted up its Internet censorship efforts in recent weeks – and how the Internet fought back. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2009 11:25

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Tech: Amazon’s long Orwellian nightmare is finally over

  • There was a settlement in the “1984” lawsuit. Amazon, which deleted a bunch of George Orwell’s books off users’ Kindles, did not admit guilt in the $150,000 settlement (which largely goes to the lawyers and literacy charities; no word on what the plaintiffs got), but they did agree not to delete content off of users’ Kindles without their consent. Which is what everyone wanted in the first place. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Sep 2009 00:58

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Biz, Tech: Amazon finally rights its Orwellian wrongs on Kindle users

  • You can have your books back. Or, if you want, $30. Back in July, a big to-do broke over Amazon’s ironic handling of the books “1984” and “Animal Farm,” two George Orwell books that tackled the very issues Amazon created when they took them away from readers. Realizing that they done #(^@!* up, the sent an e-mail to affected users offering to fix the problem. Which just goes to show you: You can’t take back stuff you already sold, idiots. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

01 Aug 2009 14:21

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Biz, Tech: Irony continues to ensue with Amazon’s “1984” Kindle removal

  • In an attempt to avoid a lawsuit over rights, Amazon decided to delete already-purchased copies of George Orwell’s most famous novels – “1984” and “Animal Farm.” source
  • People loudly complained, saying that it was unfair to consumers and that the deletions set a pretty sad-slash-hilarious example, considering the books’ context. source
  • A ticked-off high school student sued Amazon, saying that he had his notes on the book for school ruined because of Amazon’s, well, Orwellian way of handling things. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jul 2009 12:33

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Tech: Amazon deletes Kindle books, adds irony in the process

  • Amazon says this is a ‘rarity,’ but even once is too many times for bull$*(% like this to happen. … And of course the fact that this happened to 1984, of all books, makes this even more surreal.
  • Gizmodo writer Adam Frucci • Regarding Amazon’s latest struggle with the Kindle – the fact that they deleted copies of George Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm” remotely. While it appears to be a rights issue more than anything else (i.e. the publisher didn’t have those rights), the truth of the matter is, Amazon deleted books in the very style that makes them look like Big Brother, which should concern Kindle owners. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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