The Declaration Of Internet Freedom

UEFI … Is Not Anti-Virus, It is Anti-Trust

Whether you like it or not Microsoft is committing antitrust measures again to attempt to gain your usage of their OS. Yes ladies and gentlemen that is correct what I just stated. UEFI is supposedly designed to “prevent” anything that looks lika a boot virus from attacking your computer. However this is not the case. UEFI will prevent you the user from being able to make an informed and deliberate choice to use or not to use Windows on your machine. Microsoft is basically making your choice for you by locking the hardware and telling you it is for your own good.

Say No To UEFI

There you can say no to this kind of activity. Right now if you go to the Free Software Foundation’s site you can sign the petition to stop UEFI from being implemented on future hardware.Do not be lied to about what you the user can and cannot do with the hardware that you, the user own.

www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot/statement

PCBSD – Desktop That Shines, and BSD Goodness Under The Hood

PC-BSD 9.0 based on FreeBSD 9.0 is a very well developed desktop release from  iXsystems, Inc. My personal observation over each release of PCBSD is how that it has continued improvement. From the new installer to the AppCafe. Everything just works. The desktop that I chose to use on this install is Gnome 2 being that Gnome3 has not yet been ported. To tell the truth I won’t make a fuss about that, being that it is stable and does what I need it to as an interface. The other options are KDE4, XFCE, and LXDE.

The installer is very straightforward. Former Windows users who are inclined to try new things will find it to be easy to walk through and use for a decent desktop install. You are given two options at install time. One use it as a desktop and the other is to install FreeBSD and set up a server.

Overall like I said this is a well put together system. Lots of good options desktop side and under the hood.

 

Please Call Your Senator Support The Fight To Stop Internet Censorship

Website Blocking

If SOPA or Protect IP passes, the government can order internet providers to block any site for its users’ infringing posts, using the same DNS-blocking methods as China or Iran.

Risk of Jail for Ordinary Users

It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are an ordinary noncommercial user. Singing a pop song on Facebook could be a felony.

Chaos for the Internet

Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn’t be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.

http://americancensorship.org/

Raiders of The Lost Audience Part 2 …. Where is My Content ..

If you see this title you will know immediately that this is about the DRM problem. I was home watching something on Netflix the other night when suddenly and without warning the show just disappeared. Yes, that’s right, it was removed from my instant cue without so much as a how do you do from the content provider. So I called Netflix to find out what the issue was. Originally they told us it was a server issue. Well I went searching for the content, the next day, only to find that it was still gone, not a trace anywhere in their website either.

I called them again, and found out the real reason. Not server issues, not outages that cause issues. No, it was a decision made by someone in the chain that for DRM reasons decided it needed to be taken down. Now this is the deal, I paid for their service. I paid for the content. The content I paid for was removed because of DRM and the unwillingness of media companies to learn a completely new and better way of doing business that will not only get you revenue but keep your customers supplied with the content that they pay for. Like I said in the last posting, remove the DRM and put your content under a commons license that provides for free as in freely distributive over a broad range of broadcast means.

Internet Regulation by the FCC is Censorship

Network neutrality, the latest in censorship tactics by the FCC to regulate something they have no business putting their hands into. Yes it is very much censorship and do not think for one minute that this does not affect you or me in a harmful way. It is an intrusion on something that should by all means be controlled by the public. Not even the ISP’s we use should be allowed that much control. You and I the user of the internet have a responsibility to do everything in our power to let the government know that this is not what we the American people want. So if you value your freedoms please by all means get in touch with your representative and let them know that you do not want to allow government regulation to intrude into our freedom to share and distribute information through the internet.

If You Can’t Innovate … Litigate.

The idea of patenting ideas is archaic. There I said it. Patents for anything is not a viable way to innovate. Especially in this day and age of code creation and software patents run amok. Did I mention it, software patents run amok. Yep that is right this whole thing is about software patents. Microsoft, and Apple have lost their collective minds. Instead of really innovating the new craze is to be litigating. Put an idea in the minds of the masses that anything, I do mean anything that someone creates is suddenly violating a patent.

Now this is where it goes wrong, putting a patent on code means locking it down to never being able to correct errors or innovate from that code. You do that and you have just destroyed any chances of being able to help the future of the economy where software is concerned. Put a patent on it, scare off the competition with lawyers and then use the code for your own personal gain, that is the name of the game here.

This is where we the user and advocates of Open Source come in. In order to combat this sort of thing we must and I mean must never stop writing good code and sharing ideas not only among each other but with those we can help with those ideas. Never believe for one minute that corporations like Apple and Microsoft have a monopoly on invention or innovation. They do not, and we do not have to buy any of the FUD that they spread about it either.

 Please sign the petition to abolish software patents. http://wh.gov/bbn

The Raiders of the Lost Audience …

I have noticed frequently in media a problem. It is not the lack of content, no we have plenty thank you. It is another type of media problem. It is DRM and corporate FUD surrounding it.

If you are, like me, a Linux/BSD user, then you may have seen it as well. You go to a website to get some content to watch and or listen to and get the ever persistent, ‘Go to iTunes to get this ________’. Personally I do not need nor do I want iTunes. I use gpodder for all my content needs.

My whole point is the fact that because of DRM things like certain TV shows and Movies have but one point of access. Ladies and Gentleman this is the era of the Internet. By now getting Movies, Music, Educational content should be a mouse click away. For most people this is not a problem but truth is, corporations that produce content have lost a great number of viewers and listeners in the name of “anti-piracy”.

Here is the deal, if you want better inflow of customers stop locking down your content and don’t just point people to the useless and ever-growing monster that is iTunes. Get with the times and get a clue. We are out here, “The Lost Audience”, people who watch movies, read books and listen to good music, and we would gladly pay you for services that reach our demographic too. Drop DRM and go with Creative Commons. Stop using a broken archaic method of delivery and listen to your potential audience, when you do there will be a payoff for everyone.

If You Must Install Anything … Please Start With Common Sense

I have heard many a parent, pastor, talk show host complaining about the evil on the internet. Then I have heard the same people talk of installing tons and tons of software to block the evil from their homes and or family members in general. I have to tell you this. If you must install anything install some common sense people. Yes there are people using the web for all the wrong reasons, But you need not have to spend hundreds of dollars hand over fist to protect yourself from these things. Just use plain old common sense.

Do not, (emphasis) DO NOT, let your kids rule the roost when it comes to internet access. If anything put the machine and or machines in the living room and watch where the kids go. You the parent needs to be using your parental authority and not depending on easily breakable and expensive software to see what your  kids are doing on the web. You set the parameters and restrictions and passwords. It is YOUR house! You pay the bills you set the rules of conduct, parent.

Wives and Husbands and the evil web

Now for you married folks out there on the inter webs. Why are you going through the pain of wondering what your spouse is up to on the web. Do you wonder where your spouse is in your car? Do you put bugs and tracking devices on your spouse’s clothes and personal belongings to see what they have been up to all day. No you don’t. Why then I ask do you rely  on software to keep track of him or her on the web. Use the same accountability with the web that you would use with him or her going to the office or grocery store. You married with trust in mind and accountability promised at the altar, so use that tool for crying out loud.

All that said to say this, the same rules apply to being on the web that apply to being anywhere else in the world common sense and accountability so use them and enjoy your time on the web pain free.

The Absolution App Confessional in a box or Church Sanctioned Spyware

As I was driving into work on Friday I was listening to a podcast. The presenters stated that there is a new app for the iPhone. It is called the Absolution App or Confessional App. I thought “interesting an app that takes you through Catholic penance”. Well the story goes on, as I work in television it means I watch the news on a daily basis and here comes a news bite on that very same app. The thing of concern to note is I heard nothing about the security or privacy protection offered by it other than a single password. In the news bite I didn’t hear the normal outcry of “Big Brother is watching and this could very well invade your privacy”.

Honestly I don’t care if The Pope did sanction it, the thing is a point of concern because of how easily it could be turned around by someone wanting to take your personal information and use it as a tool to their advantage and use this app to do it.    My outlook on this is one based on security as a whole. Someone is always looking for an angle or a loophole in which to prey on an unsuspecting user who may not be aware that they are being data mined by a cracker who is just malicious enough to post that sensitive information for all the world to see, so that they could cash in on this supposedly secure info you are sharing with your  network connected iPhone.

So in saying that and informing you the public about this concern, you now get to decide, is it safe or is it Church Sanctified Spyware.