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beautiful movement

Nightvision

Monday: Taiyo Yamamoto

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  *my thoughts after creating this video and being involved on a project dealing with this subject*

Funny how the view of our every day life is so limited. We, the average person, wake up, stretch, get up and most likely walk to the bathroom. We drink our coffees and or eat our breakfasts and maybe while we’re at it, we go online. We check our favorite websites, get our news and socialize all in bit time. For the average user, there is “us” and them. Them is someone like, let us say Uncle Henry. Uncle Henry thinks the internet is a waste of time and refuses to go on the grid. Uncle Henrys are the ones that alway call “us” up for some type of technological help, something like as easy as downloading photo'e from a camera. Uncle Henrys perhaps also believe that we haven’t landed on the moon, although they know we have a Space Station. 

What we don’t realize is that we are somewhat like Uncle Henrys in that we are ignorant about how there are internet users who have difficulties accessing information due to disabilities. We don’t think about how the blind, deaf, amputees and others navigate the web. The internet is not created equal for people with disabilities. They have to deal with too much clutter on web sites that limit their use and learning. We think we are aware and in touch through the easiness of technology however we are so much like Uncle Henrys regarding the web and people with disabilities.

                                                                *comments on video*

    Mindful Design

With the creation of the Web, doors were opened for people and their world was widen. However some users have difficulties accessing the full range of information the web has to offer because of poor Web design. When Web designers create sites they have the “average person” in mind and don’t consider users with disabilities. The Americans Disability Act of 1990/ 2010 amendments require that U.S. programs and services be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The ADA accessibility requirements apply to Internet resources. “Section 504 requires any entity receiving federal financial assistance to ensure program accessibility, while Section 508 guarantees access to electronic and information technology procured by Federal agencies.”

The internet is now mainstream and many companies are becoming an internet based only businesses which brings into concern the law and how these businesses affect people with disabilities. In National Association of the Deaf vs. Netflix, Netflix was sued for failure to provide closed captions for their video streaming. Netflix argued that its site is not a “place of public accommodation,” however the Federal District Court in Massachusetts responded that the ADA does apply to a web-site only businesses. Subsequently, though in Cullen vs Netflix The U.S. District Court in California ruled in favor of Netflix. They found that an “actual physical place” was a requirment and that a video streaming website was not subject to the ADA  because it holds no physical space.

The law becomes a bit blurry when dealing with either The Federal Courts and U.S District courts however in cases dealing with Web accessibilities courts will look at cases arguing S504 and the ADA. Websites are under legal obligation to provide equal access to information held in their sites. however, a commercial business can successfully argue that changing their sites would cause an “undue burden” for them, meaning costly. If web masters took disabled users into consideration when first creating their sites they would save a lot of money and time.

Too much clutter such as extra links, non-contrasting  background color, and inconsistent layouts make it difficult for disabled users. Costs for making web sites accessible vary and companies usually have to be sued for making the change. There are companies such as Google, Ebay and Twitter that are accessible, as well as companies in the financial sector. However sub-sites on mobile devices such as Facebook are easier to navigate than say Facebook on a computer  because they are not as cluttered.

As much as there are issues with the internet and disabled users, the internet has provided them with a wealth of information geared towards their personal needs and at faster speed. 

mindful designing (by Monk M)

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this is so funny! well if you know about Stephen Hawking...

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News, brought to you by people and not big corporations.

Anonymous plans to start their own website dedicated to bringing news to the people by the people. I think I would definitely be open to watching the news that Anonymous reports since big corporation news is either diluted or one sided. By going to the link you'll be able to support Anonymous's endeavor.

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Was the CISPA blackout protest a success for Anonymous? The answer is it was neither a failure or success. Depending on where you get your news, between 400-900 websites participated in the blackout but not very big sites. a sub division of Reddit did blackout but not the site itself. There has been plenty of advertising by sites to stop CISPA but is that really enough when it comes to our privacy? Perhaps the Boston Marathon bombing diverted attention for most, one can only speculate. However what we need to keep in mind is that the moment we let the government take an inch of privacy will be the first move that begins the domino effect of privacy loss.

"But privacy concerns may not be enough to stop the bill. CISPA supporters spent 140 times more money on lobbying for the bill that its opponents, according to the Sunlight Foundation. Big-name companies that openly support CISPA include AT&T, Intel, IBM, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon, and other tech giants are  quietly on board, including Google and Facebook, which released a statement arguing that "if the government learns of an intrusion or other attack, the more it can share about that attack with private companies (and the faster it can share the information), the better the protection for users and our systems." Facebook also claims that if shares data with the government, it will safeguard user information." (http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/04/anonymous-organizes-blackout-over-cispa-tech-companies-dont-care)

***On a side note Anonymous is thinking of starting their own website where they will post news.  

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going black for Anonymous blackout protest! 

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"You can fool some people sometimes, But you can't fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light, We gonna stand up for our rights!"

Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up Live In Dortmund, Germany (by MentalKarmacoma)

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WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

wanting to be born

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We hear it from Hilary Clinton’s own voice, the Internet is for all people, a place of freedom. Some may say they have nothing to hide, what’s the big deal? The big deal is all the little things we let the government have, such as knowing what we like, sites we visit, etc… add up to a whole lot of surveillance and whole lot of privacy loss. The makers of the constitution believed in personal privacy from any governing bodies that is why we have it written down in the amendments. Make yourself matter and share the knowledge and take action against CISPA

Anonymous: CISPA Internet Blackout April 22nd | #CISPABlackout

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all this censorship talk, privacy violation and standing up to "the man" talk makes me want to listen to this oldie by P.E

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Alexis Ohanian cofounder of Reddit talks about CISPA

Alexis Ohanian calls Google to talk CISPA (by fightforthefutu)

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  Once you get past the not so good song and beat, you can really get into the message. Some may not like Kim Dotcom, former hacker and founder of Megaupload and Mega, but he's right when it comes to coming together and fighting in censorship. Today as a matter of fact CISPA, Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, was passed. CISPA will allow the US government and Companies, such as internet companies, such as Facebook, Google, Tumblr etc... to share their users traffic. They say it’s to keep track of any potential cyber threat but really it’s a violation of our privacy. It’s just like what China is doing to its citizens. Let’s hope the president veto’s 

afterthought~ after hearing the song a few times, it's become somewhat catchy or I'm tired ;)

Kim Dotcom - Mr President (by MrKimDotcom)

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The once banned megaupload song. megaupload was a file hosting company. Megaupload was shut down on January 19, 2012 by US department of Justice due to copyrights violations. However, the case might have issues going to court because the proper paper work was not issued by the US when it took action against Megaupload and its founder KimDotcom. Megaupload has now been reopened as Mega. as far as the controversy over the song, you can find a link with details on this youtube link.

P.S the difference between Megaupload and Bittorrent, which "Steal This Movie 1" speaks about is that Kim dotcom makes money from hosting files while Bittorrent does not make money file sharing.

P.S P.S I'm sure Kim paid Kanye and all those big artists, big money for this video and song.

Kim Dotcom - Megaupload Song (by MrKimDotcom)

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too beautiful, but also sad it must be like prison for the Orca, ugh, great that just bummed me out..lol I'm complicated, or not, like that.. ;)

20120703 Port of Nagoya Aquarium 3 (by BONGURI)

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Former CNN journalist, Rebecca Mackinnon, and blogger talks about "taking back the internet" (also the title of her book) from governments and also companies that censor online information. She makes a difficult topic understandable and leaves the viewer with thought provoking questions.

Former CNN journalist, Rebecca Mackinnon, and blogger talks about “taking back the internet” (also the title of her book) from governments and also companies that censor online information. She begins with a 1984 Apple advertising featuring the new Mac. In the advertisement Apple showcases George Orwell’s 1984 novel and the narrator states that “1984 wont be like 1984.” MacKinnon then shares the obvious irony, that Apple has become a technology company that actually practices censorship. With the launch of the Iphone in China, apple blocked the Dalai Lama’s app. Political cartoonist, Mark Fiore’s app was also blocked until he won the Pulitzer Prize. These are just two examples of a huge technology company’s, Apple, use of censorship.

There was a time, pre-internet sovereignty over physical freedom was controlled by nation states. Now it’s become private sovereignty, controlled by software companies that either challenge the nation states or extend that nation states power. Private companies applying their own censorship standards are actually more rigid and narrow than the governments.

“If you want to liberate a country, give them the internet,” Wael Ghonim, Egyptian internet activist proclaimed during the Egyptian prodemocracy uprising. He is right but at the same time the internet can be used to seclude people.There’s the “Great Firewall of China” as well as the Chinese government rewarding companies that practice self discipline, i.e policing. There’s privacy leaks in Russia as well as censorship in Tunisia and North Korea. What comes into question is deciding what to censor. We are faced with security vs protection, civil liberties and free speech. However the most important question that MacKinnion ask’s is, “How will the internet evolve into a citizen centric government, to serve it’s citizens, not it’s citizens servicing the government.”

We want technology to improve our lives to not enslave us. We need defend citizen rights more than concern about companies. We need to have a basic set of rules regarding the internet and privacy and laws. We need to look at innovation, software design, investor behavior, and so forth. Change doesn’t come with one quick act but rather with sustained, prolonged activisim states Rebecca MacKinnion.

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Great Firewall Of China (HUNGRY BEAST) (by abchungrybeast)

Cute video describing the Great Fire Wall of China..grass mud horse censorship!! oops I shouldn't use such language.. :D ;)

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Two students wanted to know what happens when you wring out a water-soaked washcloth in zero gravity. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield was happy to oblige.