Download Squad

Minnesota, powered by Microsoft, becomes first US state to move into the cloud

Sebastian Anthony — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:30:00 EST

In a first that has been deemed "historic," though by who I do not know, Minnesota has become the first US state to move its communications and collaboration suite into the cloud.

Last year, Los Angeles switched to the enterprise version of Gmail, but this is the first entire state to move into the cloud. (We should point out that LA has a larger population than Minnesota, however...) The announcement mostly reads like a press release, highlighting and extolling the benefits that await other governments that decide to make the move to the Microsoft Cloud. It's more secure, it's cheaper, it's easily upgradeable and expandable, ... and so on.

Minnesota, powered by Microsoft, becomes first US state to move into the cloud originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CitySourced makes it easy to report danger from the web or your mobile device

Jay Hathaway — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Utilities, Web services, Mobile

CitySourced is a convenient app that lets you photograph and report issues like potholes, downed trees and broken signs and lights to your city government. It's an idea whose time has come -- phoning in a report or figuring out who to email is a hassle, and the person who receives your call or email probably has to type it into a database.

CitySourced skips that step and lets you send a convenient report with photos, map and description of the problem. It makes the city's job as easy as possible, and I'd be willing to bet it raises your chances of getting your problem fixed.

You can get CitySourced on your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android device, or just file and read reports via the website. Sign-in is a breeze, and doesn't even require creating an account if you connect with Facebook. CitySourced was a finalist in last year's TechCrunch50 startup contest, and I wrote that it would have gotten my vote if I had been judging.

As for whether it works well in practice, I just filed a CitySourced report here in Seattle and I'll be sure to update this post if the report turns out to be effective. Have you filed a report on CitySourced? Did it get results?

[via Lifehacker]

CitySourced makes it easy to report danger from the web or your mobile device originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

U.S. Army leak may have also compromised the investigation into China's attacks on Google

Sebastian Anthony — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Security

Over the last few days, news has emerged that a U.S. Army intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning, was the source that recently leaked classified information to Wikileaks. But he didn't just leak 260,000 classified cables and a brutal video of an Apache helicopter mowing down civilians and journalists in Iraq -- no, he also leaked the code name and details of the government investigation into the Chinese attacks on Google and other Silicon Valley businesses.

If we're to believe the source of these claims -- wild hacker Adrian Lamo -- then it would seem that Bradley Manning has a world of pain ahead of him. I can't quite see the link between a U.S. Army intelligence agent and the investigation of China's cyber attacks, but presumably if Lamo's telling the truth about the Army leaks, he wouldn't lie about the other.

Unless he's just an attention seeker, of course -- or merely repeating the lies he has been told. I mean, Bradley Manning was only unmasked because he frickin' bragged about his exploits to Lamo in the form of email and instant messages. If you're bright enough to anonymously leak sensitive information, why would you then go and tell someone else about it? And why would you tell a hacker?! The U.S. Army is still investigating, but I wouldn't be surprised if Manning is innocent -- and that Lamo was simply being patriotic. Either that, or Manning fits the standard, stupid criminal stereotype. Everyone must know about how awesomely conniving I am!

Anyway, Lamo has spoken to both CNET and The Sacramento Bee, and it seems even hackers have scruples. Here's what he said: "I couldn't just not do anything, knowing lives were in danger. It's classified information, and when you play Russian roulette, how do you know there's not a bullet in the next chamber?"

"I am not a traitor and I wouldn't harbor a traitor."

Which reminds me, if Manning is found guilty of treachery, will he be executed?

U.S. Army leak may have also compromised the investigation into China's attacks on Google originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Web Classic: A Softer World is a web "comic" with a kick

Erez Zukerman — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Design, Fun

(This is another "Classics" post, so to those of you who wish to make snarky comments like "oh wow, ever heard of Dilbert.com?" -- relax, I know you're super-cool and that you've already known the site for ages. I'm so proud of you!)

And for the rest of the world: A Softer World is one of the best online "comics" I know. It's always the same, and always different; it's always three low-fidelity still frames, with captions in monospaced black-on-white font.

There's not much going on in each strip; it's not about the action. It's most often a single sentence, divided between the three frames for best effect.

It often gives me pause. It's sometimes ironic, but is just as often simply heartfelt and honest, in a sad, mellow sort of way. It doesn't always hit the spot for me, but when I stumble on the right strip when I'm in the right mood, the honesty and emotion it conveys is like a kick in the head.

Instead of waxing poetic about it, here are three links to strips which made me feel something:

Feel free to share others in the comments.

Web Classic: A Softer World is a web "comic" with a kick originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 14 May 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Unamerican.com is one of the best sources for snarky slogans

Erez Zukerman — Sat, 08 May 2010 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Internet

This is an "online culture" type of post. I'm just giving you a heads up here, so you don't say I'm being political. It also contains some cuss words. You've been warned.

Unamerican.com is one of the first websites that I ever thought of as "cool." I think that was back in 1999, or perhaps it was even earlier than that.

It's now over a decade later, and Unamerican still seems to be going strong. The site was actually created back in 1994, which makes it one of the first e-commerce sites online (and certainly one of the first "indie" ones). In a nutshell, it's a website where you can buy snarky political stickers. The guy behind the site calls himself !!!srini!!!, although oddly enough, I could not find a direct reference to his name in the current incarnation of the site.

You will find stickers ranging from geeky stuff such as "LINUX is the shit," all the way to the simply antagonistic "laugh at assholes." Somewhere in the middle is the really cool stuff, such as "Leggo my ego" (yes, he put two g's in Lego, I don't know why. It's still funny.)

The site features hundreds of stickers, each for about $1.00. There's also a section with free PDF posters that are meant to be printed and distributed by angry hipsters.

Bottom line: I like the site. I feel it is inspiring, and !!!srini!!! remains one of the best bumper sticker copywriters I've ever seen. Even if you don't like the strong political vibe of the site, you would probably find something there that would make you chuckle or give you pause.

Unamerican.com is one of the best sources for snarky slogans originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 08 May 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Firefox & Facebook Friday Five!

Sebastian Anthony — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Mozilla, Browsers

There's slim pickings from the Mozilla camp this week. Other than the release of Lorentz (3.6.4) (out of process plugins!!), there's really nothing Firefoxy to report on. Instead, we're going to roll the Firefox column into another topic starting with the letter 'F': Facebook. Still, hang in there: I'm going to do my best to dredge up some useful and interesting bits for Firefox. There's even a funny, viral-worthy picture at the end!

1. Facebook has Google, and thus dominion of the Internet, in its sights

I'm no stock broker, but I bet Microsoft is thanking its lucky stars. It sure seems like they backed the right horse when they bought a large chunk of Facebook back in 2007 -- people scoffed at Facebook's $15 billion valuation then, but today... no one really knows how much Facebook is worth.

With some 400 million highly-active and loyal users -- 500 billion minutes are spent on Facebook every month -- Facebook looks set to overtake Google as the largest property on the Internet. I think it now becomes more a matter of what Facebook does with its dominion: you've seen the new 'global' Like system and 'interests as Pages', but now you will see monetization. There is speculation that Facebook might be worth hundreds of billions which would put it very close to Google's market valuation. I think we're about to see Google AdSense blown out of the water with Facebook's unrivalled ability to personalize advertising -- I just can't see why businesses would spend money with Google when Facebook can deliver more bang for the buck.

(Incidentally, if you want to get in on the 'universal Liking' thing, Lee just reviewed a great bookmarklet! Go grab it and feed Facebook with your browsing habits!)

Continue reading Firefox & Facebook Friday Five!

Firefox & Facebook Friday Five! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The White House releases its open source code

Sebastian Anthony — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Developer, Open Source

If you've visited WhiteHouse.gov since its change of ownership back in 2009 you'll hopefully have noticed some very cool changes. The site itself was jazzed up -- CHANGE! -- and, as best befits this 'information age', accessibility has been greatly improved for all citizens and denizens of the USA. What you may not have noticed, however, is that the entire site runs on a customized version of Drupal, the open source content management system.

Today, the White House has released four of the modules it has developed back into the open source community. The first two are to improve scalability: Context HTTP Headers improves server efficiency, while Akamai as the name suggests integrates Drupal with Akamai's global cache network. Next, and probably of less use, is GovDelivery, which replaces Drupal's SMTP back-end and integrates with the internal governmental email system. The last module (and the most useful for the world at large) is Node Embed. As the name suggests, it lets you nest Drupal nodes inside other nodes -- Slideshows within Articles, an Author bio embedded within a blog post, and so on.

The wording would suggest that they are keen to share more of their code in due course. They are probably just making sure it's all commented and documented first.

Share Share

The White House releases its open source code originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Digital Economy Bill set to pass into UK law: watch out, hapless home owners!

Sebastian Anthony — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Security

In what can only be described as a bunch of witless, whipped cronies dabbling in shit they really have no clue about, the dying United Kingdom parliament is about to pass the Digital Economy Bill into law. Ostensibly, the new law is about protecting intellectual property owners -- but ultimately, the Digital Economy Bill will simply make it easier to identify and prosecute British citizens.

The problems begin with the wording of the law: it's too loose. It has been written and argued by those that can't tell a bit from a byte. The new bill is so bloated and convoluted that it's almost impossible to judge where its caveats, clauses and consequences will lead us. Instead of chasing the pirates themselves, this law persecutes the householder -- the person that pays for the Internet connection must control what goes on. The best example is an open WiFi network: if someone logs into your open WiFi hub and downloads something illegal, you are the guilty one. Goodbye, wireless hotspots!

It's utterly crazy that Members of the UK Parliament should be discussing a law that they really have no clue about. As Tom Watson, Labour MP and the only out-spoken opposer of the new law, says: "The amendment seeks to address the legitimate concerns of rights-holders but would have unintended consequences which far outweigh any benefits it could bring [...] There are myriad legal, technical and practical issues to reconcile before this can be considered a proportionate and necessary public policy option. In some cases, these may never be reconciled. These issues have not even been considered in this case."

The British MPs must understand that policing the Internet is not a matter of passing draconian, police-state laws. That would be like damming the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, short of living in a totalitarian state, there has yet to be a successful example of curtailing undesirable behaviour on the Internet -- so why bother? Not only does this law attack the wrong cause -- how about providing legal movie downloads, studios? -- but this law will squander valuable police resources. Even worse, a lot of the burden created by the Digital Economy Bill will be shouldered by ISPs themselves! Ugh.

When will politicians realize that humans are not, by default, bad people? We're not born into piracy; there just isn't any other way to quickly, easily and cheaply obtain what we want.

Digital Economy Bill set to pass into UK law: watch out, hapless home owners! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

ImmorTall is a haunting, disturbing, Flash "game"

Erez Zukerman — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Games

Here's a Flash "game" which I'm not going to tag as a time-waster. Not because it's work-related, but because if this is what you do "for fun", your life is not a fun place. Just saying.

ImmorTall casts you as a vaguely anime-eqsue blobby-looking massive alien. There's a haunting (and deeply irritating) soundtrack, consisting mainly of discordant guitar chords plucked really slowly.

Your job in the "game" is to protect a bunch of villagers (Vietnamese-looking, but can be of any nationality really) from an attacking army. You can apparently take any number of hits from incoming airplanes, tanks and infantry, so you use your body as a shield to protect the civilians. As the game progresses you go over the same scenery again and again, but the attacks become more frequent. Then, you die.

I mean, seriously. I don't think there's a way to win this thing. It's not really a game. What it is, though, is a political statement against war and its futility. At least that's what I think. Otherwise there's really no point to it at all. Still, it did make me feel something (other than irritation at the soundtrack).

ImmorTall is a haunting, disturbing, Flash "game" originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Welcome to Google, Kansas. No, it's not a new office... it's a town

Sebastian Anthony — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Google

As the last few vestiges of sanity left the rocky outcrops of Mayor Bill Bunten's brain, he decreed: "Let our fair city (formerly known as Topeka) henceforth be known by the mad moniker GOOGLE, KANSAS!!"

Just kidding; he didn't say that exactly (probably). But Topeka is going to be called Google, for the entire month of March. Why? you ask -- or cry, or wail -- well, it's obvious if you think about it: Google's Fiber for Communities. We covered it last month, but never did we expect to see whole damn cities courting corporate masters. I mean, we all know that deals are made behind closed doors, but... 'Welcome to Google, Kansas'... really?

I am now eagerly awaiting Microsoft, Mass., in some run-down district that can't afford word processing software in its schools -- or perhaps Photoshop, replacing Podunk in Michigan... it's only a matter of time. Damn sell-outs.

[via NY Times]

Welcome to Google, Kansas. No, it's not a new office... it's a town originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

China vs. Google: Did a Google employee provide inside help?

Sebastian Anthony — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:02:00 EST

It's no surprise that the last few days has seen a huge amount of information bubble to the surface regarding China's recent cyber attacks on the infrastructure of more than 30 Silicon Valley companies. Much of it is coming from the security and anti-virus companies -- now that the attack has been identified and halted, the world in general and the victims in particular want to know how it occurred. The latest news, however, comes from Google itself: China might have had inside help from Google employees.

The leaked info of a possible inside job came to the Reuters news agency from sources 'familiar with the situation.' Google, when asked, refused to comment on 'rumor and speculation.' But if Reuters is confident enough to run the story, and if major news outlets are picking it up, there is more than likely a grain of truth to it.

These insiders -- these traitors -- are reportedly employees at Google's China offices. If that is actually the case, you can begin to imagine the extortion or coercion that might've been inflicted by the Chinese government to obtain the 'pass codes,' or whatever was necessary to break into Google HQ.

Google is scheduled to commence talks with the Chinese government in the next few days. We'll be sure to report what happens.

China vs. Google: Did a Google employee provide inside help? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The White House supports Google against China

Sebastian Anthony — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:12:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Google

It's the story that keeps getting crazier and crazier! First Google -- a corporation! -- sticks a finger up at an entire country (the largest in the world), then it comes to light that China has been operating a vast malware-distributing espionage botnet -- and now the White House publicly comes out in favor of Google!

That the American government is stepping in can only mean that the ramifications of Google's maneuvering are potentially catastrophic. Friendship and agreements between the Western world and China have always been tentative and capitalism-driven at best, but for the White House to actually get behind Google and ask China for an explanation -- to potentially drive a wedge between the two most powerful countries in the world over a search engine -- well, we're going to be in for a wild ride.

This might just be preliminary strikes of the cyber war that Western nations and superpowers have been gearing up for in the last few years.

The White House supports Google against China originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Be a member of Parliament for the week in a new UK video game

Sebastian Anthony — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Games

Just to clarify, a member of the UK Parliament is equivalent to a representative in the US House of Representatives. This is a game then about being a politician -- for a week! In MP For A Week you are tasked with all of the usual tasks of an active politician, ranging from interesting to menial.

At the start, though it's not very clear, you need to pick a constituency, a political party (leading or opposition) and a difficulty setting. Once you've done that, click 'start' and off you go! Like most modern games, your smartphone acts as your game menu. In any given day you can attend a debate, answer correspondence from your constituency or even instigate a committee inquiry into culture or the environment! If you need help (because let's face it, we're not all destined to be politicians), there's a handy guide that'll give you some tips.

It's a cute game and, I hope, fairly representative of the job itself. If you're interested in becoming a politician yourself, or if you're merely curious about what politicians get up to, give the game a go! It's in Flash, so you can jump right in (and if you're American, enjoy the quaint London accents...)

Be a member of Parliament for the week in a new UK video game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

2009 data breach hall of shame

John Burke — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:02:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Security

We'll throw this in the "Whoops" category.

ComputerWorld took some time to outline some of the best (or worst?) data security breaches of 2009. While the actual events might not have been too funny to the people involved, the blunders the technology world has dealt with are pretty comical now that they're safely resolved.

Some of the highlights include the TSA getting a little too "open", releasing a 93-page manual outlining their airport security screening procedure. Everything from how to use the equipment, handling dignitaries and automatic screening of individuals from certain countries was available for everyone who caught it to download.

Another personal favorite of mine is the leak of a document containing detailed military information on hundreds of civilian nuclear sites and juicy bits about the U.S. nuclear weapons program.

Check out the ComputerWorld article for a complete list of techno-blunders and let's hope for a much more secure 2010!

2009 data breach hall of shame originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Did the FTC just mention something about blogging?

Grant Robertson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:40:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, News, Blogging, Microblogging

So that we're not the only single blog in the known universe and beyond who misses the chance to comment on the FTC's boneheaded guidelines requiring bloggers, celebs, reviewers and others -- basically anyone who you might read online -- to disclose any "material relationship" with companies they review.

I tend to look at everything in terms of Pros and Cons. Here's the list I came up with.

The bad

The FTC has passed an over-reaching regulation which is unenforceable at best, and is a violation of free speech at worst.

The good

The FTC has passed an over-reaching regulation which is unenforceable at best, and is a violation of free speech at worst.

There are about a million better things the FTC could be doing with its time. Even if you wanted to narrow the to-do list to just Internet related issues, the list is still enormous. How about click-fraud? Noni Juice? Teeth Whiteners? Loose 200 pounds in 37 seconds? And all those hot single girls who are looking for a man like you -- and happen to be conspicuously located in teh same city as what geo-location returns for the IP of your upstream router?

There's a significant amount of misunderstanding of how Internet publishing works in this regulation, but this is the moment where I find the clue train leaves the station with absolutely no-one aboard. AdAge reports that Richard Cleland, assistant director- division of advertising practices at the FTC interprets the regulation to include, "posts on review sites such as Yelp or online stores such as Amazon."

Does that mean when I drop a review on Urban Spoon of my favorite eatery -- who happen to throw me a freebie every once in a while for being a loyal customer -- the FTC will sick it's blogger enforcement team on me? When they figure out exactly how to enforce this, call me.

Until then I'll be driving the Windows 7 box graphics wrapped Porsche Cayman that Microsoft sent me. *

* Kidding. But Ballmer, if you're interested, drop me an email and I'll send you my address

For what it's worth, take the jump to read my quick diatribe on Weblogs, Inc gimmies policy -- which is likely the strictest in existence among blog networks.

Continue reading Did the FTC just mention something about blogging?

Did the FTC just mention something about blogging? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

With two weeks to go, the 5 best places to follow presidential polls

Jay Hathaway — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Features, News, Lists

If you haven't been following the U.S. presidential election, now is a good time to start. With two weeks to go, pundits everywhere are wondering whether Barack Obama's lead over John McCain will hold up. Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above, there are plenty of sites you can bookmark to keep up with the latest polling data. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Electoral-Vote.com

Electoral-Vote.com follows the current state polls and uses them to calculate the overall result of the election. It might not be the prettiest site design out there, but it updates regularly and makes it easy to see the states at a glance. You can also put in your own state-by-state prediction and let it calculate the result for you.

Continue reading With two weeks to go, the 5 best places to follow presidential polls

With two weeks to go, the 5 best places to follow presidential polls originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Political Streams: Microsoft Live Labs web site tracks political dialog

Brad Linder — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft, Web

Micorosft has launched a new web site that tracks popular political news stories and blog posts. Political Streams works a bit like a news aggregation service like Techmeme. But the layout is unique.

Items are listed either in the News or Blogs category based on the source. Scrolling over those colorful bars brings up the number of blogs or news sites writing about the main item. There's also information about related people and places. And if you click a headline you'll be taken to a sub-page with an excerpt from the article and links to related sources.

Each item also has a graph that shows how much "attention" a person or place has received in the last month. Political Streams draws its information from the links between blog post and news articles and from information found in Freebase, a community-driven information database.

It's not clear whether Political Streams uses a white list of selected blogs and news sites or if the headlines are drawn from Microsoft Live Search results. While I wouldn't recommend using Political Streams as your primary source of news just yet, the web service does offer a glimpse at some of the hot political topics in the US right now.

[via CNET]

Political Streams: Microsoft Live Labs web site tracks political dialog originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Keep up with election coverage via podcast - Download Pod

Lisa Hoover — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasting, Podcasts

If you're as busy as rest of us, you may not have time to catch all the latest presidential election details on the evening news. Fortunately, you can still keep up by listening to a few really excellent podcasts while you're commuting or working out. [Note: All links open in iTunes.]

Listen to selected speeches from the Democratic National Convention in a podcast series put together by the DNC. It's got all the usual suspects like Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but you can also catch speeches given by Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and some of the governors in attendance.

The Republican National Convention will also have speeches available as the event gets underway today in Minnesota.

For a general overview of what's happening with the election, have a listen to National Public Radio's "It's All Politics," a weekly podcast covering news and events in the presidential race. If it's political punditry you're after, choose from Bill Maher, Dan Carlin, Bill Moyers, and others.

Download Pod is an occasional series about our favorite podcasts. If you have suggestions for podcasts you think we should check out, let us know in the comments or via our tips page.

Keep up with election coverage via podcast - Download Pod originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

PA governor is about as tech literate as John McCain

Brad Linder — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, E-mail

John McCain has gotten a lot of flack recently for his lack of tech savvy. McCain doesn't use email, the web, or a computer. But it turns out he's not the only high ranking politician who prefers a fax machine to email. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has a cellphone and recently learned to send text messages - but has never sent an email.

The article raises an interesting point - does the guy at the top really need to be CCed on every single email his underlings send around? Some of Rendell's staffers say the answer is not only no, but that this frees the governor up to think about other things. He can make the decisions when it's time to do so, but he doesn't have to get bogged down in all the back and forth emails sent while hammering out the details.

On the other hand, Rendell has probably been responsible for the destruction of a small forest during his time in office, since every single document he needs to read has to be printed out in advance.

What do you think? Is it OK for politicians to be technologically illiterate, or would you like your elected officials to at least know how to look themselves up on Wikipedia even if they still prefer to write out their speeches by hand?

PA governor is about as tech literate as John McCain originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ameritocracy: fact-checking for the masses

Jay Hathaway — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: News, Social Software

Have you ever heard a public figure make a claim that seems a bit preposterous? In the year of a U.S. presidential election, more people are going to be scrutinizing candidates -- and political bloggers -- and wondering if what they're saying is true, exaggerated, or just completely made up. That's where Ameritocracy comes in. You can add a quote, and Ameritocracy users will rate its accuracy and its relevance.

We think this is great fun, because it takes a step toward realizing our fantasy of siccing Slashdot commenters on all of our nation's politicians. Sure, the accuracy ratings might be questionable, but they should continue to improve as the site gains additional users. Ameritocracy is full of diverse issues and opinions, so if you can't get worked up over the election, maybe you have an opinion on propositions like, "The mobile phone may be the most potent tool ever invented for the elimination of poverty."

Ameritocracy: fact-checking for the masses originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Prepare for Super Tuesday by watching YouTube videos

Brad Linder — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Video, Web services, Google, web 2.0

Look, we don't know where you live. But statistically speaking, there's a pretty good chance that if you're in the US, your state is holding a primary election tomorrow. And if you still haven't decided who you're going to vote for, what better way to research the candidates than by watching YouTube videos?

Yeah, we're not entirely convinced either. But Google has slapped together a Super Tuesday map with a bunch of videos posted by candidates, news organizations, and concerned citizen/YouTubers. In theory, this should be an excellent way to find out what other voters in your area are talking about. Want to know if a candidate is addressing the concerns expressed by residents of your state? Just check the map and see what people are saying.

In practice, there really just aren't that many videos available at the moment. Anyone can upload their own videos, but time is kind of running out to have an impact on tomorrow's primaries. But we're guessing Google will create a similar map for the general election. And if the idea catches on, YouTube's You Choose site could become a valuable resource for researching information about the candidates, or at least gauging popular opinion.

Prepare for Super Tuesday by watching YouTube videos originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Politweets: Politics + Twitter = Fun

Romeo Wahed — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Social Software, web 2.0

It's not as if politics and Twitter are new to each other, but it probably hasn't ever looked this nice. Politweets keeps pulse on where the buzz is in politics, specifically this year's election and the candidates involved.

As tweets flit back and forth among the people of Twitter, Politweets scoops out the tweets that contain the name of candidates and throws them up: to the left for Democrats, to the right for Republicans. It then tallies the scores and stacks the candidates down the middle in order of who's talked about the most. Obviously, it doesn't value the tweets in regards to whether it speaks of a candidate in a good or bad light - only if the name comes up at all.

Politweets is another nice example of what is possible with Twitter - and certainly more interesting than Foamee. Now if there was only a way to track custom terms on Twitter and have them ranked for you...

[via Mashable]

Politweets: Politics + Twitter = Fun originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Current drops the "TV"; ready to re-launch

Ted Wallingford — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video, Social Software

What do you get when you mix user-submitted video, the news judgement of NPR, and user-community of seemingly all single, unmarried, childless democrats? Well, in a word: Current.tv. This cable channel wasn't so much news as reality video, and it was created to compete for mind share with XBox and YouTube, not with CNN and Fox News. Developed by Al Gore, the TV network was ridiculed early on for airing user-submitted video, but the idea turned out to be a profitable one, if only to a painfully tiny TV audience. Airing a ton of essentially unknown, royalty-free content has a way of doing exactly those things--lowering costs and viewership at the same time.

The problem Current ran into was that people who watch cable don't generally get too excited about user-submitted video (unless it's reruns of AFV). That's the domain of YouTube, and the young, liberal audience targeted by Current probably spends more time online than they do parked on the couch. Gore's development specialists noticed this shortcoming quickly and redeveloped Current.tv into Current.com, which launches October 16.

The new site doesn't prop up the Current TV network as much as the old one does, though that's not the biggest change: Current is now a sort of Digg-for-social-media, with an obvious emphasis on video and video commentary threads, a la YouTube or Vlip. The new Current has wisely hidden the raw number of up or down Digg-style votes a particular item receives, instead opting to show percentages and hide the actual trends.

If Al Gore wants to transform the typically-cynical, MySpacing, twenty-something demographic into a group that actually cares about politics and social issues, the new Current might be the ticket. But enabling discourse through what is basically indy film-making? The notion of mixing art and issues is great for entertainment, but will it service Al Gore's mission? It will be interesting to see if Current sits in the happy median.

Current drops the "TV"; ready to re-launch originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

YouTube copyright conundrum

Ted Wallingford — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Blogging, web 2.0

A fellow running for office in Rockingham, North Carolina recently discovered the dark side of YouTube content-producer rights. Essentially--there are none. The guy made a political advertisement, which, due to its Star Wars parody content, was a natural fit for posting on YouTube. Some time later, Viacom used the clip in a program that aired on VH1. Feeling more than a little slighted, the guy posted the clip as it appeared in the show back on YouTube, only to have it yanked due to a copyright claim by Viacom.

All of this begs the question--who is the copyright holder for the content in question? Is it Christopher Knight (the creator of the clip, pictured), YouTube, who apparently optioned the clip to Viacom for their Web Junk 2.0 show, or Viacom itself, which, two steps removed from the creator of the clip, aired it on VH1 and then asked YouTube to remove it after it was reposted?

It all stinks. Sadly, as we've seen before, YouTube "pwnz u" when you post video content on their site. It makes us feel more than a little sympathy for the creators of Chad Vader, who, if they could shift the center of their fanverse to their own web site from where it now resides at YouTube, might be raking in a fair amount of AdWords dough. Content sells content, after all.

So what do you think? Is YouTube's end-user agreement fair?

YouTube copyright conundrum originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Online dating bill gets dumped

Grant Robertson — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, News, Web services, Social Software

Anytime you attach the word "Internet" to something, politicians are ready to jump in and try to save us from ourselves. Take "Internet Dating" for example. Since time immemorial, we as a species have gathered in social places, imbibed adult beverages and looked to hook-up with what flips our romantic switch. In the modern age, we go to bars and clubs, even to speed dating events and, last I remember, no one stands at the door running background checks to make sure we were felony free before letting us mingle.

In Illinois though, State Rep. John Bradley is convinced that people meeting and hooking up through online dating websites should undergo background checks or be warned in rather strong language that no background checks have been performed. The same bill, introduced by Bradley last year, passed the Illinois House of Representatives but, died a crash-and-burn death in the State Senate.

Fortunately for the millions of people living in Illinois -- who are perfectly capable of making their own decisions -- the rest of the state Representatives display a little more common sense this time around, and have soundly defeated the bill. Common Sense; 1, Illinois Politicians; 0

Online dating bill gets dumped originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Politics 2.0 - the big one is here

Dolores Parker — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Video, Features, Web services, Social Software

In politics, candidates have to contend with big money, big labor, big special interest groups, big corporate, big media, and now, they have the mother lode of all bigs to exploit contend with - netroots. Netroots is derived from grassroots + internet to describe a new brand of political activism organized through blogs and other online media, including wikis and social network services. With over 100+ million American internet users, netroots is the ultimate big for politicians, where size of votes really does matter.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, some 15% of all American adults say the internet was the place where they got most of their campaign news during the 2006 mid-term election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002.

Continue reading Politics 2.0 - the big one is here

Politics 2.0 - the big one is here originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google announces free communication applications in Africa

Chris Gilmer — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:25:00 EST

Filed under: Business, Web services, Google

Google has announced a partnership with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure, and the Kenya Education Network that will result in the use of Google Apps in Rwanda's educational institutions and government ministries, as well as in Kenya's universities. Both of these African countries will now have access to free communication tools that include email, shared calendars, instant messaging and word processing under
their institutions current domain names.

There are two main packages of the Google Apps that are being provided free of charge. With 20,000 users in Rwanda, The National University of Rwanda, the Kigali Institute for Education and the Kigali Institute for Science and Technology will have Google Apps Education Edition. The countries government ministries using Google Apps Standard Edition. 50,000 students at the University of Nairobi will be the first ones offered the Google Apps for Education in Kenya, with 150,000 additional students signing on at a later date.

Google has just issued a press release stating that this initiative will be helping Google to further organize the world's information, and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google's philanthropic Freudian slip is showing, don'tcha think? Gates can run around throwing money at the worlds problems all he wants, but I bet this secures Google a permanent spot in the hearts of many a socially conscious geek.

Google announces free communication applications in Africa originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Second Life - GOP up to their dirty tricks

Dolores Parker — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Developer, Internet, News, Linux, Blogging, Web services, Open Source, Social Software

Interestingly, dirty campaign tactics are now de rigeur for virtual communites as in real life. The blogosphere is all a twitter about a recent defilement of John Edwards 08 headquarters in Second Life. It seems a group of Republican marauders vandalized the Edwards' campaign headquarters and even went so low as to put the candidate in blackface. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. When will those Republicans ever learn? This is going to ensure huge media exposure for the Edwards campaign for this week and maybe into next and might even replace poor Anna Nicole.

[via digg]

Second Life - GOP up to their dirty tricks originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Open Congress - Keep tabs on your congress critter

Dolores Parker — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Features, Blogging, Open Source, Social Software

If you are hankering to become a policy wonk and find yourself glued to C-SPAN and all things political, you might be interested in OpenCongress.org, a website with all the tools to launch you into political wonkdom. The site is devoted to bringing transparency to government and features a one stop shop for information on bills, related news articles and blog coverage. It is a free, open source, non-profit, non-partisan project managed jointly by the Sunlight Foundation and the Participatory Politics Foundation.

At the site you have access to Thomas, the website of the Library of Congress, bills, members of Congress, political punditry, votes, and campaign contribution information. And like all bona fide Web 2.0 sites, you can see what issues the majority of readers are most interested in, what bills are the most viewed, what bills are the most reported in news and blogs, etc., all with digg-like ranking buttons. The idea here is to focus public scrutiny on what people care about most and keep everything out in the light.

I went to one of my Member of Congress' site and viewed his votes, an analysis of his votes showed where the majority of his campaign contributions came from (real estate, insurance and finance) and the latest coverage on him from news and blogs. Best of all, there are live feeds to which you can subscribe and get yourself updated when your Member of Congress does anything new. There's even a button to contact your representative so when they do something naughty or nice, you can always be sure to stay in touch.

Open Congress - Keep tabs on your congress critter originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Why programs are hard to understand

Grant Robertson — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Developer, Games, News

When politics and computing mix, the results aren't usually pretty. Politicians have fundamental misunderstandings about computing, the internet and how computers and people interact; a fault which often causes them to enact useless or even harmful legislation. Senator Sam Brownback is pushing a bill that would force the people who rate video games to play the full game in order to render a rating. Ed Felten of Freedom to Tinker explains why this shows a complete misunderstanding of games, and computer science.

He writes, "Nonexperts are often surprised to learn that programs can do things the programmers didn't expect. These surprises can be vexing; but they're also the main reason computer science is fun." Felten gives an example of a simple Python script which even source code inspection wouldn't explain. It's only three lines, games run into millions of lines of code.

import sys, sha
h = sha.new(sha.new(sys.argv[1]).digest()[:9]).digest()
if h.startswith("abcdef"): print h[6:9]

Can you predict every possible outcome from these three lines of code? Would it ever print anything kids shouldn't see, like, for example, a four letter word?

Why programs are hard to understand originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google Earth's Election Tools

Jordan Running — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:56:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Google

Who says software and politics don't mix? Google has released an update to Google Earth that adds a "2006 US Election Guide" layer to the cross-platform mapping app. The new layer includes two sub-layers: a "US Election Guide," which adds useful voting information like links to voter registration info for each state, and "US Congressional Districts," which, in case you hadn't guessed, outlines the United States' 436 congressional districts and gives information on the candidates. The Earth-Election mashup was created by two members of the Google Earth team during their "twenty percent time," and Google Earth and Maps director John Hanke says, "Our hope is that young people using Google Earth will make better, informed choices." As always, Google Earth is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Google Earth's Election Tools originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TSA debuts new website

Jay Savage — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:50:00 EST

Filed under: Design, Internet, Time-Wasters

I just got back from some much needed R & R, and since I left before the most recent ~~Homeland Security PR campaign~~ terror scare, I spent a lot of time on the TSA website the last few days of my vacation trying to figure out the ever-changing array of prohibited items. It wasn't much help. It seemed like they were updating the regs hourly, but the website only every couple of days, and then in English taken from a Chinese takeout menu. "These items are permitted, but to physical inspection" was a particular favorite that seems to have stuck. It's okay, though, TSA love you long time.

Now they seem to have redesigned the site, which was badly in need of an overhaul. Unfortunately, there aren't many changes, and they seem to have given the job to FBI programmers. They certainly haven't made the site more useful to travelers, or anyone else for that matter. It features the same contradictory information--beverages are not permitted except when they are. Unless you're a diabetic who needs juice; then juice is permitted except when it isn't--now in a new, less user-friendly layout. Every single page is now one huge iframe centered in a useless striped gray background, guaranteeing that you will have to scroll not once but twice to access any useful information. Assuming you even notice the information you want has scrolled off the bottom of the iframe. And, of course, the navbar is in the iframe, so it scrolls off the top any time you scroll down the page. Add to that some of the usual Firefox and Safari rendering errors, and you can have the full airport checkpoint experience without ever leaving your keyboard.

There are some improvements, though. We now have a new slogan--"TSA...Vigilant, Effective, Efficient"--some nice pics of mountains to remind us the TSA is "strong" and "formidable," a puppy gallery, and a nice graphic of the layered security model that implies the most important site for security is the airplane cabin. That's right folks. All that fancy new screening is wonderful, but when it comes right down to it, in-flight security is up to the overworked, under-trained flight crew, that woman next to you with the screaming toddler, and "YOU--THE PASSENGER."

[via 27B/6]

TSA debuts new website originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google launches U.S. Government Search

Jordan Running — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Google

Let's face it: Government web site are, as a rule, a pain to navigate. In an effort to remedy that, Google has launched usgov.google.com, a specialized search engine for searching U.S. government web sites. The new site is modeled after Google Personalized Home, and indeed has most of the same features, but with an emphasis on widgets that help you keep track of government updates. For more details, check out the Washington Post's article on the new service.

Google launches U.S. Government Search originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Jun 2006 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

U.S. commission seeks Lenovo probe

Jordan Running — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Security, Hardware, IBM

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, or USCC, is calling for an investigation into Lenovo, the Chinese company which bought IBM's PC arm last year, before the State Department closes a $13 million deal to buy 15,000 Lenovo PCs. The USCC wants to be assured that the Chinese computers, which are built in Mexico and North Carolina with components manufactured in Taiwan, are not equipped with bugging devices that could be used to spy on the U.S. government. Lenovo exec Jeff Carlisle says the prope is unwarranted, but says Lenovo has "nothing to hide" and the company will cooperate fully.

[Via Engadget]

U.S. commission seeks Lenovo probe originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006

Jordan Running — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 12:40:00 EST

Filed under: Internet

So Verizon and every other mega-ISP think Google and other content providers are getting a free ride and should be paying on both ends and Comcast might be throttling Vonage to death, none of seems like a trend that's good for consumers, much less the future of the Internet. Luckily I'm not alone: U.S. senator from Oregon Ron Wyden has introduced the Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006, which the press is describing as the "net neutrality bill." From Russell Shaw's post on his ZDNet blog, the bill's key points are:

Preventing interfering with, blocking, degrading, altering, modifying or changing traffic on the Internet;
Prohibiting creation of a priority lane where content providers can buy quicker access to customers, while those who don't pay the fee are left in the slow lane;
Allowing consumers to choose which devices they use to connect to the Internet while they are on the Internet;
Ensuring that consumers have non-discriminatory access and service;
Having a transparent system whereby consumers, Internet content, and applications companies have access to the rates, terms, and conditions for Internet service.

Senator Wyden seems like a very clueful guy who knows what kind of slippery slope Verizon and its ilk are about to create. He says, "I am not going to allow a network operator to say a person who buys online for J.Crew can stay on hold for five minutes, and where they make the Banana Republic customer wait 30 minutes." He intends to make his net neutrality bill part of a large telecom package that'll be making its way through the senate this year. Whether net neutrality will be able to overcome telecom's deep-pocketed lobbyists, however, is another question entirely. Head over to Shaw's blog for more quotes from Wyden and the full text of the bill.

The Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 03 Mar 2006 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Top 10 Web Moments of 2005

Jordan Running — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Features

In December 1990 there was a single web site on the Internet, and by the end of 1991 that figured had jumped to ten. Today there are millions of sites and billions of pages, and the web is a universe unto itself. It's impossible for any one person to keep track of even one percent of the interesting stuff happening on the web, but still we try until our favorites folders are overflowing, our social bookmark sites crash, and our inboxes choke on forwarded links. Occasionally, though, all of that collective interest organizes itself into something more orderly and, for a moment, it seems like everyone on the web is thinking about the same thing. Below are ten moments from the past year that the people who make the web found coolest, most interesting, funniest, and most throught-provoking.

10. Numa Numa Dance

What do you get when you combine a Romanian chart-topper, an American teenager, and a webcam? The Numa Numa Dance. New Jersey 19-year-old Gary Brolsma found Internet fame when he not only lip-synched, but did a slick choreographed routine-albeit without leaving his chair-to "Dragostea Din Tei," a dance track by Romanian pop trio O-Zone.

Though Brolsma ultimately shunned his fame, his performance is among the most-linked, forwarded, and immitated videos of the the year, even earning him a profile in the New York Times.

Continue reading Top 10 Web Moments of 2005

Top 10 Web Moments of 2005 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 Dec 2005 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments