Jean's Blog

What is Protect IP and SOPA?

Brian Rowe (http://twitter.com/#!/sarterus) is a professor and long-time contributor to nonprofits supporting IP. Currently, he is working with the National Justice Project while teaching at Seattle University School of Law and the University of Washington. Marcus Barnes-Cannon is a third-year law student at the Seattle University School of Law with a focus on intellectual property. He recently spoke at Gnomedex as part of the Seattle Interactive Conference on the matter of Protect IP and its impact on both commercial and non-commercial users. The Protect IP Act is a set of legislation that would dramatically change the way the government and copyright holders handle potentially infringing sites. If the DoJ or the copyright holder deems a site in violation, they would have the authority to go directly to various search engines, domain registrars, and social networking sites to have the site pretty much blocked from anyone being able to access it. This, of course, prior to any trial or due process that one might imagine needing to come before such a drastic action takes place. You can read the legislation for yourself here: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/ SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is a counter legislation currently being proposed in the House which takes a different (yet equally drastic) approach to combating piracy. By granting the copyright holders the ability to cut off the funding of these sites by directly contacting their advertisers and financial institutions, the RIAA or MPAA would essentially have the power to put you out of business if they deem your site in violation of copyright. You can read the Stop Online Piracy Act yourself here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3261: With either legislative proposal, the media conglomerates, RIAA, and MPAA would essentially have the power to shut businesses down without due process. Imagine having the fate of your site determined by the same legal bodies that have prosecuted children and put their families out of house and home because they installed a program like Kazaa on their parent's system without knowing the implications. If this is the type of drastic legal action they would take to a kid, imagine how quickly this same body would respond to a site that may be equally infringing, whether they know it or not. http://www.lockergnome.com/news/2011/11/12/stop-online-piracy-act-warner-bros...

IBM at 100: From typewriters to the cloud

ay IBM - and you probably still think of computers. But today, the firm that was once all about hardware, makes its living from more intangible technology. As it celebrates its centenary, International Business Machines is a business that shows how innovation has accelerated - and how fast you have to move to stay ahead. The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones reports.

Lady Gaga�s Late Show Interview with David Letterman

On the same day her album dropped, Lady Gaga appeared on the Late Show tonight to promote Born This Way and talk with David Letterman. Full of flirting and awkward conversation, Gaga and Letterman's first chat ever was one worth watching.

The Ridiculous Commercial for Justin Bieber�s New Perfume

Last week, Justin Bieber revealed plans to launch a perfume for his legion of female fans called "Someday." Now there's an official commercial for the fragrance. The ad's message? Three sprays and Bieber will suddenly appear next to you at which point he'll lick your neck and then whisk you away for a sky-high piggyback ride.

Licking His Sandals On A Subway

Breakfast Is Most Delicious at 1000fps

Filmed at 1000fps on a Phantom HD Gold camera, "Breakfast Interrupted" is a joy for eyeballs and bellies alike. Even better: the boys at Bruton Stroube Studios even put together a making of-video, for those interested in how the (slow-motion flying) sausage is made

Download Osama bin Laden�s Abbottabad Compound Counter-Strike Map

The creator of the map, Fletch says The map�s creator says it �may be used as a base for a bomb or hostage map at a later stage.� For now, it�s a general purpose multiplayer map based on the known dimensions of bin Laden�s compound in Pakistan. The game has been rated 8.33 on a scale of 10. The map has been download 22,574 times since the time it was released for download. You can be download from GameBanana here Watch the Abbottabad Map � Gameplay Source

Winged Octopus Caught On Camera

This white octopus was filmed with a high-definition underwater video camera at a depth of 6,600 feet (2,000m) 200 miles off the coast of Oregon as part of an expedition led by Professors John Delaney and Deborah Kelley of the University of Washington. The Grimpoteuthis bathynectes octopus, also nicknamed the Dumbo octopus, uses its fins to move through the water.

Drifting apart: Amazing underwater photos that show the growing gap between two tectonic plates

Swimming through an area of extreme natural beauty, this diver surveys the underwater canyons on his either side. But this British scuba diver is actually between two tectonic plates. Alex Mustard, 36, dived 80ft into the crevice between the North American and Eurasian plates near Iceland to capture these spectacular photos. Mr Mustard snapped away as he and his dive partners swam through fresh water canyons Silfra, Nes and Nikulasargja, which are up to 200ft deep. He also took photos of the Arnarnes Strytur chimney, which forms a cloudy plume as 80C water is ejected from Earth's crust and hits the cool 4C seawater. Source

World's Largest Labyrinth Game Is Played with a Bowling Ball

Plaque stolen outside Cleveland home where Superman was created, scrap thieves suspected

The Man of Steel may have fallen victim to scrap metal thieves in Cleveland. A historical marker has been stolen near the house where two high school classmates created the Superman character in 1933. The neighbourhood's development corporation tells police a hacksaw was used to remove the plaque from atop a pole two weeks ago. The Plain Dealer newspaper reports the aluminum marker may have been swiped because its coloring led the culprits to think it was bronze, a popular target of scrap thieves. The city installed the plaque eight years ago. Officials say it will be replaced. Source

History of Penguin Cover Design

In 1935, British publisher Sir Allen Lane found himself on a train platform at Exeter railway station, looking for a good book for the ride to London. Disappointed with the limited and unseemly options available, he eventually founded Penguin Books, famously declaring that �good design is no more expensive than bad.� He revolutionized the publishing industry in the 1930s with its affordable and beautifully designed paperbacks, and Penguin eventually went on to become the world�s largest publishing empire, overtaking Random House in 2009. Best known and loved for its paperback covers, the iconic publisher has become a living record of the evolution of contemporary design.

In Penguin by Design: A Cover Story 1935-2005, graphic designer Phil Baines charts the development of Penguin�s iconic legacy, from the evolution of the Penguin logo itself to the seminal introduction of Romek Marber�s simple cover grid in 1962, which reined in a new era of cover design.

How to wipe personal data from your smartphone

Android phones A factory data reset can be done by going to Menu > Settings > Privacy > Factory data reset. Conversely, you can also dial *2767*3855# which will cause the phone to power off and then power back on in a factory reset. There is some inconsistency with how certain Android phones react to the dial reset, so it may not completely wipe some phones. Also keep in mind that rooted Android smartphones may react unpredictably to a factory data reset. iPhones The reset command is in the Settings menu under the General category. It's also possible to perform a factory data reset by connecting the phone to a computer and using iTunes. In the source list, click on the iPhone, then click on the Summary tab and choose Restore. You will have the option to restore to a backup copy of your data or "Set up as a new phone." Choose to set it up as a new phone and all personal data will be wiped. BlackBerry phones Go to Options > Security Options > General Settings > Menu > Wipe Handheld. Windows Phone 7 Go to Settings > About > Reset Phone. There are also methods to perform a hard reset using just physical buttons (volume and camera buttons, for instance), but they vary based on manufacturer and model, so you'll need to look up the method for your specific device.

A Streetcar Traveling Down Market Street, San Francisco, In 1905

Content encoding error on vbulletin

If you are receiving content encoding error and have disabled the gzip and reviving db errors, try emptying out the session tables (not drop, but empty). Things would get back to normal

Woman goes ballistic in office over towing company bill

Reporter Abigayle Sloan thought it was another typical day reporting the news when she walked into Weeks Towing & Auto Repair, near Grand Rapids, on Monday afternoon. She was there to cover the aftermath of the pileup on North US-131 from the weekend. "I thought I was going there to cover a story about the big pileup, turns out I became part of it." Sloan said. Police say Tiffany Nealous, 34, her young son, and boyfriend walked into Week's to pay a towing bill. Nealous got upset after an employee rang up her total, the argument escalated. After punching, kicking, and scratching Carl Jones, a shop employee, Nealous eventually called 911 herself, she smashed the phone before dispatcher's could respond.

What is �Internet�?

This video from 1994 blows my mind. It�s amazing how far we�ve come in just 17 years.

Soundworks Collection: Walt Disney Imagineers

The vision and showmanship of Walt Disney has touched more corners of the world and hearts through his many films and theme parks. Since opening his first park "Disneyland" on July 17, 1955, Walt and his team of dream makers known as "Imagineers" have created many theme parks around the world. The SoundWorks Collection pulls back the curtain on the talented Imagineers who are responsible for the sounds and music of the Walt Disney theme park properties. In our exclusive video profile we explore the history and role of the audio team as they share their stories and creative challenges. We also take a visit through the original John James "Jimmy" MacDonald sound effects collection, which explores some of the classic Disney sound effects. "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world." - Walt Disney For more exclusive videos check out SoundWorksCollection.com

MacBook Air hanging from a helium balloon

The MacBook Air is light, but it ain�t that light! You can�t see it, but this clever store display uses a thin wire to hold the balloon (and the MacBook Air) in place.

The Sound of Music gets a horror makeover

Haters of musical theater would say this Julie Andrews classic is a horror as is, but some clever editing and a new soundtrack will leave even devoted fans wondering exactly what side the Von Trapp family was rooting for after all.

The Sound of Music gets a horror makeover

Natalie Portman�s 2011 Golden Globes laugh (looped)

Looped video of Natalie Portman doing an awkward giggle at the 2011 Golden Globes

Hillary Clinton has mishap boarding plane

The US Secretary of State was boarding a plane to head to Oman when she tripped over a step and ended up on the floor. Mrs Clinton was visiting Yemen, with the declared aim of helping the country cope with a growing al-Qaeda threat through political, social and economic reforms, was unhurt and was quickly helped to her feet to continue her journey.

Confessions of a Disney World castmember

In this hilarious monologue, Adande Swoozie recounts his years as a part-time castmember at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, and the gustatory perks thereof

How do I set up a free @facebook.com email address?

To set up a free @facebook.com address, go to your Messages view and click the "Claim your Facebook email" link. Your email address will match your public username, for example: Profile: facebook.com/username Email: username@facebook.com If you don�t have a username yet, you can choose one when you create your email address. Once you set up your email address, people can email you using any traditional email system (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail), and the emails will be delivered to your Facebook Messages. When you send messages to external email addresses, the emails will be formatted to look like Facebook messages, including your name, your profile picture and your message