Back in November of 2007 the Internet Archive, a local tech non-profit responsible for, among other things, the Wayback Machine - was slapped with a spooky National Security Letter by the FBI requesting personal data of one of the Archive's users. Rather than just fork over the information, founder Brewster Kahle decided to fight it.The letter included a gag order disallowing Kahle to discuss the issue with anyone but his attorneys, who were also gagged. Luckily, Kahle's attorneys include not only members of the ACLU but of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a SF group who have waded into the murky and relatively new field of free speech and the Web.
The FBI's request was ominous for a glut a reasons, the least of which is that the Archive is legally recognized as a library by the state of California. As a press release from the ACLU and EFF states "the lawsuit is the first known challenge to an NSL served on a library since Congress amended the national security letter provision in 2006 to limit the FBI's power to demand records from libraries."
Yesterday the FBI withdrew the letter and agreed to unseal the case. Here's Kahle's statement on the Archive Web site, and here's the WAPO article.
Full Disclosure: Yours truly used to work at the Archive and my unbiased opinion is that they kick ass.--Andy Wright
Flickr -- the photo sharing site to end all photo sharing sites -- just launched its new, and so far smooth-like-butta video feature. In characteristically low-key fashion, a charmingly DIY puppet show (see above) heralded the beginning. See you at the video pool!
But not everybody is so happy about the video addition.
Every week it seems the scientific community proposes new ways to combat MRSA and their offerings are getting increasingly outlandish. Two such suggestions were proffered to the attendees of this week's national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Researchers at Arizona State University have studied over 20 different kinds of clay and come to the conclusion that certain types contain minerals that target several hard to treat infections, including MRSA. Meanwhile, researchers in Louisiana claim that proteins in alligator blood may be helpful in combating serious infections. Apparently alligators have amazing immune systems. The research team says that "gator-blood creams show particular promise as topical ointments." Given the choice between clay minerals and "gator-blood creams", I think the choice is obvious. Gator-blood cream all the way.(pic from National Geographic/Anne Keiser)-Andy Wright
Two popular technology bloggers, Russell Shaw and Marc Orchant, have died of heart attacks in the last few months and a third, Om Malik, survived one in December. This has lead the New York Times to ask, is blogging killing us? The answer: maybe. The article dispels any doubt you may have that there is any scientific basis for their inquiry with this sentence, "To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic." Phew! Then they get down to the gory details: "…bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet." The practice of paying bloggers for clicks has put a premium on blogging a story first, thus demphasizng the importance of eating, sleeping and exercising. There are "surely several thousand and maybe even tens of thousands" of people who get paid to blog, and it’s safe to say many of those people live in the Bay Area and at least five of them are at Ritual right now. Brian Lam, who edits Gawker blog Gizmodo, is based out of SF and admits that his bloggers pass out at the keyboard, while he pulls all-nighters and equates his job with "getting punched in the face." And here you thought it was all pink bunny slippers and typing in bed.(pic from BBC)-Andy Wright
In our headlong rush to not be outdone by the Japanese when it comes to making every aspect of life searchable, available online and preferably accessible by cell phone, San Francisco has begun equipping restaurants and tourist attractions with barcodes. A report on NPR this morning assures us that, although the technology isn’t yet readily available, soon people will have the option of snapping a picture of the code with their phones which will then redirect them to information about the spot. My question is, how long will it take our tech savvy and mischievous population to figure out a way to mod the barcodes, replacing them with new ones or disabling them?(pic from flyingpurplemonkeys' flickr)-Andy Wright
Our neighbors in Sunnyvale, Yahoo!, launched a new site for women on Monday called Shine. Whenever something is made over "for women" it usually means "we’ve dumbed this down for you, and made it pink." Hence, we have tiny pink hammers, video games about shopping, and cars with more cup holders and less mileage. Shine, meet status quo. A quick trip to the site confirms my worst fears. The homepage is a delightful shade of ovary pink.(click 'more'.)
Oh yeah. Wiii just got a whole lot sexier creepier: Behold WiiSex. It's a Wii-compatible doll with sensor-rigged orifices (yes there are three) equipped with "glowing lights and vibrations" that create scenarios the developers -- three soon-to-be-billionaire Stanford alumni -- promise are "so lifelike, you will swear it's the real thing. And who's to say it's not!"
Uhh, well, I'll go ahead and say it's not. I mean, I've dated some stiff white chicks in my time, but -- nevermind. In a nod to reality idealism, I suppose, the goal of each challenge is simultaneous climax. Surprise, surprise: WiiSex is not licensed by Nintendo, or "not yet," as the developers say. But Beta-testing is currently in progress and first edition copies are slated for delivery in early June. Some lucky high schoolers are in for a very enjoyable summer indeed.UPDATE: Or they would be, if the WiiSex was real, but alas, it is April Fool's Day. (via Thrillist)
San Francisco non-profit tech do-gooders, the Internet Archive, are now providing free Internet services to public housing projects. According to a press release issued by the Archive on Thursday, Valencia Gardens Housing, with 240 units, will be the first building connected at 100 megabits per second. In case megabits means nothing to you, that’s fast. Really fast. Phone companies offer service that connects at around six megabits per second.
The Internet Archive is able to achieve this high speed by connecting the San Francisco municipal fiber optic network, which runs through the public housing developments, to an Archive switching center, which connects to the Internet.
Over the next eight to ten months, the Archive hopes to wire over 2,500 units.-Andy Wright
Male birth control is no longer limited to vasectomies and condoms, according to an article in the Washington Post. Dudes can now go on a version of the pill that couples progestin, which is found in female birth control pills, and testosterone. An international consortium of physicians have declared the efficacy of the male pill on par with getting a vasectomy. The Male Contraception Information Project (MCIP), which is - surprise!- based out of sex positive SF, says that the argument that men "aren’t willing to participate is clearly out of date." So if the pill exists and men want to take it, when will it be available? Three years. Or never. Until pharmaceutical companies see proof that male birth control pills have the potential to rake in the big bucks, they have no incentive to produce them. No worries, though, guys. Hop over to the MCIP Web site where you can read about methods that utilize electrical shocks and rubber bands!-Andy Wright
Comcast has been in hot water recently with fans of BitTorrent, the popular file sharing site. Ever since it was revealed that the Internet provider disrupts BitTorrent downloads in the interests of freeing up bandwidth, subscribers who like their free files have been fuming. But the fight may have been resolved. According to an article on TorrentFreak today, Comcast will team up with BitTorrent:
It now seems that Comcast saw the light, and wants to invest in more Internet gateway capacity after all. BitTorrent Inc. announced today that it will work together with the ISP to optimize their software, so that it puts less stress on the network.
There’s no such luck for "heavy users" of bandwidth, though. Comcast will still decide when you’ve had enough and limit your usage accordingly. -Andy Wright
A spare tire has already been shown to contribute to an unhealthy heart, but now scientists think it may also contribute to dementia in old age. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal says that a new study has found that people with excessive belly fat have a 3.6 times higher risk of dementia. Rachel Whitmer, a scientist at the research division of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, tossed out the vague and somewhat ominous declaration that "there is something very potent about collecting fat in your belly" while a leading Alzheimer researcher warned "it is possible the link between belly fat and dementia is better explained by some other factor". So basically, this is just another study that may or may not prove that your beer gut is going to buy you a one way ticket to the grave. Science: always trying to convince you that something, somehow, is going to kill you.-Andy Wright
An article posted today on CDNN (Cyber Diver News Network) seems to have been produced for the sole purpose of disgusting and enthralling salacious 14-year-olds everywhere. It’s got giant squids, huge penises, and death by sex. From a report written by Spanish scientists, possibly while giggling:
"Although mating has never been observed in giant squid, it is thought that what happens is that the male injects his sperm packages into the female's arms. The process is likely to be a fairly violent affair as the female is probably not that keen on being injected. This is a problem for the amorous male as females are normally a third bigger than they are."
Ouch. Let this be a lesson about the power of Craigslist, and the evil ways that power can be harnessed in the wrong hands. This reads like one of those teary-eyed country ballads:
An Oregon man lost almost all of his belongings, including his horse and his lawnmower, after a bogus ad appeared on Craigslist saying that everything in his house was up for grabs. Robert Salisbury was on his way home when he started passing cars loaded down with his belongings. When he tried to stop the unwitting looters still rummaging around in his barn, they showed him a printout of the ad, claiming it as proof positive that he was wrong:
"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."
Oh Craigslist. You never fail to entertain. (via Boing Boing)
Back in November of 2007 the Internet Archive, a local tech non-profit responsible for, among other things, the Wayback Machine - was slapped with a spooky National Security Letter by the FBI requesting personal data of one of the Archive's users. Rather than just fork over the information, founder Brewster Kahle decided to fight it.The letter included a gag order disallowing Kahle to discuss the issue with anyone but his attorneys, who were also gagged. Luckily, Kahle's attorneys include not only members of the ACLU but of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a SF group who have waded into the murky and relatively new field of free speech and the Web.
