Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

15 Jan 2012 10:05

tags

Tech: SOPA fight leaning towards opponents, as Rupert Murdoch’s feed suggests

  • So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery.
  • Rupert Murdoch • Posting on Twitter yesterday afternoon about the Obama administration’s stance on SOPA, which discouraged the bill in its current form. CNET’s Greg Sandoval says that Murdoch’s reaction is a strong sign that the entertainment industry is starting to lose the battle, with a key provision of PIPA and SOPA — which involved the DNS system — getting removed from both acts. Murdoch, meanwhile, was quick to rip Google for what he perceived as their strong influence on the White House statement: “Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying,” he said on Twitter. On the plus side, at least Rupe isn’t making gambling jokes that could be misinterpreted. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jan 2012 00:52

tags

Tech: Reddit, Wikipedia want the Internet to imagine a life with SOPA

  • downtime To demonstrate what Internet life might be like with SOPA/PIPA in the mix, Reddit will be shut down on Jan. 18. Instead, users can watch a livestream of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting on DNS and search engine blocking, where the site’s co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, will offer remarks to Congress.
  • backup Wikipedia co-founder, Jimmy Wales, has expressed his support of Reddit’s move, and may even work with the site, potentially creating a similar shutdown of Wikipedia. With big websites explicitly showing users what a life with SOPA/PIPA is like, could public outrage crop up? And will Google or Facebook join in? source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Dec 2011 13:17

tags

Tech: D’Addario founder speaks out against perceived support of SOPA

  • In the last few days, we have seen countless comments on various forms of social media and received many email messages, both pro and con on this issue. While the D’Addario family is committed to protecting its trademarks and family name, that commitment does not take priority over our respect for the U.S. Constitution and our right to free speech under the First Amendment.
  • D’Addario & Company, Inc. founder Jim D’Addario • Discussing his company’s perceived support of SOPA, as a result of having been placed on an alleged list of supporters of the act. D’Addario (which makes great guitar strings that sound really good with Cm7 chords) has dealt with numerous counterfeiting issues in the past (“7 out of 10 sets of D’Addario strings sold in Chinese music stores are fakes!”), and when his company signed onto a list asking for further help in fighting against counterfeiting, his company did not assume the result would be SOPA. We spotted his letter because he cited our defense of the companies on a list distributed by the Chamber of Commerce, but we think  — again — it’s worth pointing out that when D’Addario and other companies signed onto the list, they were asking for something far different than SOPA. Protest with care. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2011 20:35

tags

Tech: Would Obama veto SOPA? An online debate builds among techies

  • claim AllThingsD’s Arik Hesseldahl claimed in an article Monday that Obama would be likely to veto the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act because the president “likes the internet” and that a decision in favor of SOPA would strongly go against the president’s longstanding net neutrality policy.
  • rebuttal However, TechDirt blogger Mike Masnick, who knows a thing or two about online copyright issues, says that Obama would likely sign it due to his need for election-year money from Hollywood — unless the bill becomes toxic to the touch, which Masnick says hasn’t happened yet. So, who’s right?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Dec 2011 20:12

tags

Tech: GoDaddy’s calling departing major customers, begging them to stay

  • I think that the backlash against their support was a lot more swift and severe than they’d anticipated. Their initially glib ‘lol, whatever’ response was replaced by ‘oh god, please stop punching us in the quarterly financial report!’ real fast.
  • Mashable chief architect Chris Heald • Discussing how he received a call from GoDaddy regarding his decision to move 50+ domains to a different service in a boycott of their now-reversed stance on SOPA. Apparently he wasn’t alone. So the real question, then, is whether it’s too late for GoDaddy to get all those customers back. Based on the fact that Heald isn’t budging, and the fact that they called two days before Christmas, signs aren’t looking good for the company. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2011 23:20

tags

Tech: GoDaddy faces all-out boycott over stated SOPA support

  • Why they support SOPA GoDaddy has been one of the more vocal supporters of SOPA, as a statement they submitted to the House of Representatives makes clear: “As much as some would like to paint a bleak picture, this debate is not about Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley. This debate is about preserving, protecting, and creating American jobs and protecting American consumers from the dangers that they face on-line.”
  • Prone to controversy GoDaddy doesn’t exactly have the most pristine reputation among tech companies (what with its scantily-clad commercials and elephant-hunting CEO), but it hasn’t hurt their service in the past. Why? Quick — name another company that sells domains off the top of your head. Most people probably can’t. That’s what might hurt this boycott amongst mainstream users.
  • An uphill battle? GoDaddy users face a very similar situation to PayPal or Craigslist or Internet Explorer— no matter how controversial, user-unfriendly, or outdated the service may get, the market leader is seated pretty firmly due to years of market recognition and popularity, and it’ll take a lot to shake them. GoDaddy’s offered annoyed users a good reason to move elsewhere, however. But how many will there be? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2011 11:18

tags

Politics: Three ways Web sites and users have been protesting SOPA

  • People upset with the Stop Online Piracy Act have a small reason to cheer this morning. The anti-piracy bill, which many Internet users feel could have a chilling effect on the Web, got tabled until early next year, giving a brief respite and an opportunity for alternative bills (such as Rep. Darrell Issa’s OPEN act) to gain footing. Being a creative bunch, many users have taken to design tricks, boycotts, even music to protest what they feel is a dangerous bill. Here are just a few examples of SOPA protests online:
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Dec 2011 21:07

tags

Tech: SOPA could be pushed aside for more-sane bipartisan alternative

  • current SOPA and PROTECT-IP, the bills getting pushed in the House and Senate respectively, have faced heavy criticism over their heavy-handed approaches to stopping piracy — effectively giving rightsholders the ability to shut down a site at will and preventing sites from receiving ad revenue. Cue the internet freaking out en masse over a poor implementation.
  • alternative With popular support for the bill on the skids, legislators are now pushing a low-key alternative which would focus on international sites “primarily” and “willfully” involved in piracy. The International Trade Commission, not the Attorney General, the would handle these claims — a better, more logical fit, as they already handle physical counterfeiting claims. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
top tags