Aug 10, 2011 | News
So in my readings this week I came across an article that is very interesting. It is about a letter sent out by the famous group Anonymous in which they state they are going to take down facebook on November 5th 2011. The letter cites the privacy concerns and the problems involved with deleting your Facebook account. It is no surprise that Anonymous will face off against Facebook. With privacy concerns and Anonymous being Anonymous well they will fight for the right of privacy and anonymity. Facebook should be very careful because Anonymous has proven they are not to be reckoned with and with them calling their shot on November 5th, 2011. Below is the letter they wrote to Facebook warning them and informing us on the privacy issues with Facebook.
Press:
Twitter : https://twitter.com/OP_Facebook
http://piratepad.net/YCPcpwrl09
Irc.Anonops.Li #OpFaceBook
Message:
Attention citizens of the world,
We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:
Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.
Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family. http://www.physorg.com/news170614271.htmlhttp://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iph….
You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It’s unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don’t understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.
Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.
This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us
Aug 9, 2011 | News
So with the tons of lawsuits going around about copyright infringement there has been more than 200,000 people that have been sued for allegedly sharing copyrighted material online. These lawsuits added up go into the hundreds of millions of dollars. So once the lawsuits are actually filed the companies suing will over a settlement that can go anywhere from a few hundred up to a couple of thousand, dollars and that would avoid a trail and maybe even more financial penalties. The actual number that is being sued since the start of 2010 stands at a staggering 201,828. Most of all the defendants in the case are accused of sharing copyrighted files via a bittorrent and just over 1k allegedly use the eD2k network. So if you are a bittorrent user I would be careful on what you download because they are prime to take you on.
Aug 8, 2011 | News
The sue happy nature of companies has been tried and true over these last few months. Mainly Apple suing phone companies over designs and likeness of phones being too close to the iPhone design. Well Apple is about to get a taste of that type of justice as a suit has been filed for patent infringement. The court’s document on Count 1 states that “Apple sells or offers to sell within this district, computer systems, including but not limited to the MacBook Pro, that utilize the Mac OSX operating system that infringes at least claim 1 of the OSS [Operating System Solutions] Patent.”
Here is what the claim actually states:
The lawsuit specifically states that Apple’s OS X violates “at least Claim 1” of the OSS patent. The claim in question reads as follows:
“A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of: A. performing a power on self test (POST) of basic input output system (BIOS) when the system is powered on or reset is requested; B. checking whether a boot configuration information including a system booting state which was created while executing a previous normal booting process exists or not; C. storing the boot configuration information from execution of the POST operation before loading a graphic interface (GUI) program, based on the checking result; and D. loading the graphic user interface (GUI) program.”
This is just a small taste of the legal mombojumbo that is being carried in this. I don’t normally write about court cases because I find them boring for the most part but seeing Apple doing all this suing it is nice to know their hands aren’t clean either.
Aug 7, 2011 | News
So it took around 10 months but finally Netflix has reached one million users in Canada. That’s a 100,000 subscriptions per month and yet they still find a need to change the pricing structure with all of this growth. The funny part was that Netflix actually rewarded the one millionth subscriber with a lifetime subscription to the Netflix streaming service. Well with the packages being broken up next month that will be nice to have, free streaming movies for life, I’ll take it! The big things is if Netflix will see more growth or see a decline once the change over happens. Most think it will be a minor decline with the September price changes but after a few months of fall out I am sure they will grow again.
Aug 6, 2011 | News
So looking for a HP TouchPad? Well I will tell you there is a deal going on in which if you purchase a Touchpad you will save $100 off instantly. This goes for both the 16GB and 32GB versions making them $399.99 and $499.99 respectively. This seems to be happening over this weekend but there is yet another deal that I heard about from Staples. Staples seems to have a $100 coupon for just any HPTouchpad. That means you can get the 16GB or the 32GB. Although both of these deals are only good till Sunday August 7th so there is still time. With all the commercials I see for this thing it is no wonder that HP will try to push the market with a deal like this, no other touchpad that I am aware of offers any discounts on the item itself, so let’s see if there is an influx of HP Touchpads sold over this weekend.
Aug 5, 2011 | News, Wireless
So if you are using a jail broken iPhone on the AT&T service and you decided to tether well you are in for a big surprised. Your plan will change without your consent. I was just informed that as of Thursday August 11th 2011, if you use MyWi or any tethering on the phone or using the phone as a modem, AT&T will automatically change your unlimited plan to a 2Gb tethering plan for 45 dollars without the customers consent. This is for those who received emails or texts about the use of tethering without an AT&T tethering plan.
This has been confirmed with AT&T. So for those out there that tether and use a jailbroken phone to do so please becareful, you might lose your unlimited data plan and who really wants that?
Aug 4, 2011 | News
With all the fun and speculation going on about the iPhone release date I thought it would be nice to talk about some software for the Apple company to keep our minds off of the date the iPhone will be released. So I read some information about a new product that is just starting being tested by developers and no it’s not iCloud, although that is also available for developers. The find my Mac software is suppose to help you if anything ever happens to your Mac.
Find My Mac is very similar to Find My iPhone, only because the Mac has no GPS functionality, it seems likely the feature relies solely on nearby Wi-Fi networks to determine the computer’s location. Once it finds the lost Mac, users can send a message, remotely lock the screen, or even wipe out the entire drive. Find My Mac may launch this fall with the general release of iCloud. That is a pretty solid piece of software and I would like to know more about how it works, hopefully in the coming weeks there will be more information on it.
Aug 3, 2011 | News
So I have been keeping a close eye on what most likely will be the biggest iPhone launch in Apple’s history. As for the past blogs I have written we have seen countless findings that the iPhone could launch anywhere between August and October. I am begging Apple to make an announcement because the speculation is bothersome. I recently read an article by Charles Arthur who firmly believes that October doesn’t fit into how Apple operates. In his article he points to major reasons why the Apple iPhone most likely launch in September and not October.
? Apple’s iOS5, which will obviously power the next iPhone version, is rolling towards a September release. Look, there’s even the web beta for iCloud.
? my carrier sources tell me that the boxes in which the new iPhone hardware is encased have been transported to carriers for testing. This is an important step in the release cycle for any phone. As I pointed out the other week, the release of the Windows Phone “Mango” code to developers means that handset makers can start developing their versions, which then means that they can get the phones moving down the process towards release. But WP “Mango” phones aren’t expected until October at the earliest.
This posted in an article by Charles Arthur on his tech blog. He also points to some other products such as the iPod nano launching in September as well.
There is still no firm date on the 5 but I am hoping Apple gives us some light within this month. Officially I am ruling out August and now it is a two dog fight between September and October. May the best month win.
Aug 2, 2011 | News, Wireless
Skype had to pull it’s iPad app yesterday stating that they had prematurely released the app for the iPad. In statement released by Skype they had this to say.
?To ensure your best Skype experience, we?ve temporarily removed Skype for iPad which went live prematurely today,? the company said in a posting on its Twitter account. ?We know you?ve been eagerly awaiting Skype for iPad and apologize for the inconvenience.?
The big thing about this app is that it is going to allow audio and video calling over wi-fi and 3G networks. So they would want to get this right before they release it. No one needs a buggy video call. Although the app does seem close to release unfortunately just not yet.
Aug 1, 2011 | News
So all of these rumors about August and September on the iPhone seem to all be WRONG! Reading from a source today that seems to be in the know for Apple is stating that release of the much anticipated iPhone 5 will be in October. It seems the blackout information that I found yesterday would seem to be incorrect and that if there is a blackout the sources don’t think it would be for an iPhone launch. But the source didn’t give a solid date and just stated October as the month of choice. So now I have a third month to add to mix, maybe by next week I will find out the launch date will be post Thanksgiving. All in jest I do hope we have come to a final conclusion on when the final firm release date of the iPhone 5 will be.
