If you’ve heard the furore over the MegaUpload website being taken down, but haven’t heard of the beast, then quite simply it was a place where you could drop files, and allow people to download them from your account.

According to the FBI, this allowed users to openly share illegal copyrighted material, and completely closed the site, confiscated it’s URLs, and arrested it’s owners.

This had the effect of all users of the site losing all of the data they had stored there ~ legitimate or not.

Personally I think this is a dangerous step, and is already producing a range of responses from other Digital Locker websites.

Filesonic has removed all access to be able to share files, whilst uploaded.to has completely blocked all access from the USA, annexing all it’s users ~ this is the bit I’m worried about.

This also prompted the biggest hack attack in history from the notorious hacker group Anonymous to be directed against the USAs’ Department of Justice and other sites.

If the USA continues this course of action, the very nature of the Internet is threatened, as they try to set themselves up as the Internet Police. Do we really want an Internet governed by people who themselves have a strange moral compass?

For instance (although not related to this topic exactly) how can it be morally correct to complain loudly over the showing of a female nipple at the Superbowl XXXVIII (the infamous ‘Wardrobe Malfunction by Janet Jackson), whilst having the globes largest legal Pornography industry?

Back on topic…

The blocking of the USA is the interesting part ~ the very nature of the Internet, and it’s greatest strength, is the ability to share things, and this is the very crux of the problems with MegaUpload; What should be available to share, and who should be responsible for checking. Blocking the USA has set a dangerous precedent in breaking that fundamental strength.

Also if I publish an article (such as this one) in the UK which contravenes some law in the USA, can I be held responsible in that country? Should I be forced to remove the offending post? Should I be arrested and taken to an American jail?

Apparently the FBI think so.

You must bear in mind that MegaUpload was a Hong Kong based company, and it’s top guy is German (Kim Dotcom ~ formally Schmitz, read the article, he’s a colourful character!), living  in New Zealand. Spot the complete lack of USA in those countries.

Add to this the recent Internet protests over the proposed new laws in America ~ the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) ~ and you’ve got a perfect storm brewing.

Maybe the USA should simply be disconnected from the Internet if it has such a problem with it!
Just imagine Apple, Mircosoft and Intel all offline, permanently!
A boy can dream 

The next biggest site to offer these services ~ Rapidshare ~ has yet to do something (at time of writing), but is being watched keenly by those in the know, their response will be seen as another precedent…

I’m going to watch these event with a keen interest as they are shaping the Internet for the future.
This is a dark time online…

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  Computer games are not risk free. The AVAST Virus Lab has identified over 60 individual sites during the last 30 days that contained game or arcade in their URL address.
- Avast Security Software

Avast reports that they are seeing more and more reports of software infiltration and malware, coming from websites aimed at children. Specifically gaming sites such as cutearcade.com (who apparently refused to comment)

In the industry this has been noticed time and time again…

I really can’t say it often enough – Your children can kill your computers!

In my usual daily work I constantly battle with this stuff. Probably, on average, I get at least once a week I get a call from someone who starts with the immortal words “I let Johnny/Jenny play on the computer, now I cannot (delete as appropriate) get on the Internet/access my emails/access my files/do anything without adverts popping up/close this application; the list goes on…

The most often this happens is just after Christmas; less so after other major holiday periods too.

Sigh…

Have a read here: Hackers spread malware via children’s gaming websites
And here’s the Avast press release: Online game sites can be cute, pink, and infected

It’s a simple thing to correct though…

Don’t let your kids anywhere
near your business computers!

I hope that was obvious enough…

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So the annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is upon us again

For those not in the know, it’s a huge celebration of all those shiny toys designed specifically to engender yearning in your inner geek ~ drooling is optional…

This year has shown some interesting bits of techno goodness, with a waterproof covering for smartphones (finally!), a funky thermostat that learns your schedules and preferences and saves you some money (and looks waaaay cool  ) and some really sexy (?) looking laptops from Intel.

And for the budding Über geeks out there, there’s an interesting little design for a workstation ~ Have a look at this Emperor 1510 Workstation

For those of you with a more healthy mindset (psychos), there’s the Basis Health Band, to monitor just how much torture you can bear and not die, and some new in the ear style headphones for bopping while you drop.

Finally, a bit of a no brainer this one – how about using social media technology to map the locations of speed traps ~ then whack this info on a in-car device. Genius!

Oh, I also discovered a little known fact. Which country would you think provides the vast majority of processors that smart phones are created on? China? USA?? How about dear old Britain!
Arm Holdings provide most of the smartphone industry with it’s processors

Nice

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Well, it’s been an ‘interesting’ year here at Rochester & Associates Ltd, hopefully yours was better than ours 

Here’s to 2012 being a great year for business and personal prosperity in all you undertake.

This year we’ll be providing the same exceptional levels of service you have come to expect, and undertaking to make the business side of things even better as we fully indulge in the internal business practices we have developed.

We are hopefully going to be bringing a few new products to the fore in the early part of the year as we’ve expanded our capabilities – more to come later… 

Lets all work together to help all our businesses grow throughout the next 12 months and enjoy the fruits of our labours!

Have a fabulous 2012, from all the team here Rochester & Associates Ltd 

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#Rant# No Apology for this one…

Picture the scene…

Visitors on the way, dashing round the house in full ‘panic cleaning’ mode, when an ungodly sound emerges from the living room where my co-skivvy was vacuuming.

What follows is an exercise in the more colourful use of the English language and a very pretty coloured cloud of smoke floating over the now to be known as ex-vacuum.

-1 vacuum in the Rochester household

Visitors enjoy a fun filled time and, despite the initial worries causing the cleaning frenzy, don’t seem to be too perturbed to be sitting in a quagmire morass of filth (this is what I assume my GF sees when looking at a room not immediately available for surgery due to the less than surgical level of cleanliness).

1 cup of tea later and I’m on the web – I’m a wolf searching out the prey of pre Christmas deals for the replacement of the aforementioned ex-vacuum. Seeking out those little known sites where the mythical ‘Bargain Beast’ resides.

Littlewoods – best deal – who’d have believed that!

Ordered – paid – time for the patience of the saints to manifest… ETA 12th December…

Nope

HDNL or as they are now known ‘Yodel’ seem to think that the company of my vacuum is a pleasure to savour. It’s obviously a vacuum of some social standing as they choose to delight in it’s presence for a full 7 days before reluctantly relinquishing the pleasure and dropping it to my home.

Meantime I’m corresponding with Littlewoods – via a system that seems to have an inherent delay longer than that encountered by NASA when speaking to the International Space Station ~ every time I send a reply it takes 2 days to receive a reply!

Now I get to endure the cleansing of the knee-deep banks of dust that have built up in the interim.

So, to recap, this is the delivery procedure from Littlewoods via Yodel

• Order
• Pay
• Wait the 3 days Littlewoods say the deliver will take (track the package online)
• Expect the delivery to be enacted within a day or so of the ‘arrived at depot’ report
• 2 days later spend about 45 minutes trying to converse with a bored employee of the couriers attempting to discover the location and likely ETA
• Send an email to Littlewoods complaining that this is not good enough – Google ‘Worst UK Courier” and experience a sad sinking feeling when multiple results come up with HDNL and/or Yodel
• 2 days later, receive an email asking for account confirmation details for ‘security porpoises’ (spelling intentional!) – reply as soon as possible
• 2 days later receive the stock “sometimes these things happen’ email – reply as soon as possible
• Finally get an update on the tracking system saying the package is on the drivers van
• Receive a package nearly 9 days after ordering it

Sigh…

 

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