HIST 390-001 The Digital Past Fall 2013

Big news today: a ten-year-old lawsuit about Google Book Search has been resolved in Google's favor -- basically, the law has ruled that it was okay for Google to scan in-copyright books because it had no plans to publish the whole version of those in-copyright books online in http://books.google.com. Compare this to what we've heard about celebrity photographs and Pinterest. Here's a quotation from the story: "When Google started work on its book search engine a decade ago, the company realized that getting the approval of copyright holders would be a logistical nightmare. Not only would major publishers likely demand high fees for permission to scan their books, but for many older works, it would be difficult to even figure out who the appropriate copyright holder was. So Google took a gamble, scanning library books without seeking copyright holders' permission and relying on copyright's fair use doctrine as a justification."

Sorry if this double-posts, I had to switch windows. So this is less "internet" and more "tech innovation", but it was so cool I just had to share it. This company has developed a piece of hardware (shaped exactly like a credit card), that can actually be swiped in credit card machines, that holds all of your personal credit, debit, and gift card information. You switch between cards using a button on the device, you add them to the card via a phone app and an attached card swiper, and as it's linked to your phone, it'll alert you if you get too far away from the card (in the case of leaving it on a table and walking away, or forgetting your wallet on the way out of the house, for example).

An article that goes more in-depth of the presentation I gave on Yelp CEO/Co-Founder Jeremy Stoppelman and how Yelp has the power of online reviews affects businesses.

Example of Skype facing possible criminal charges for its surveillance and involvement with the NSA.

Whoa! Thanks for posting, Lizzie. And Claire, too!

Interesting updated article about skype spying!

This opinion piece discusses a secret trade treaty called the Trans Pacific Partnership and whether it is a form of extreme censorship. According to this piece, the treaty has been compared to the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Fascinating article on grassroots alternatives to paying a company like Verizon for Internet access. If enough of these community-built networks come into being and link to each other, we'll have a brand-new Internet!

A couple of people wanted to do research on Aaron Swartz, who was arrested under the Computer Fraud Act for unauthorized use of MIT's network to download "all of JSTOR," presumably for rerelease onto the open web. Here's an article about a forthcoming documentary on him.

Here's the discussion page about that misleading Wikipedia article about DuckDuckGo, if you're interested.

Interesting fact from this news article about the effect of the Internet on the postal service: "Spokeswoman Sue Brennan said that letter mail volume is declining "so extremely," yet package volume is "increasing in double-digit percentages.""

Check this out guys. Both are good for presenting, and this video helps tell the difference between the two.

Someone recently presented on the YouTube founders and mentioned Google's new integration of Google+. This article discusses the backlash by users Google is receiving about the new comment interface on YouTube.

People in 1994 discussing what the Internet is

(A little outdated, 2012) This is an interesting article about possible international telecommunication regulations; and how countries have been preparing for The World Conference on International Telecommunications for months "behind closed doors". Although the idea seems easy enough, I do not believe that all the involved nations could reach a single standard when it comes to rights of speech and censorship. Even more so, if a treaty was made how would this effect the laws and citizens of the individual countries who already have laws in place?

Rather is a new service that helps you block key words you would rather not see on your facebook newsfeed. It is just an extension in the Google Chrome browser.

The Virus was carried to the ISS on a USB stick drive.

I thought it was really interesting that Skype has become so incorporated in the business world. And that blunders, that may be funny or annoying during a normal Skype call (like never making eye contact with the camera), could be more costly when communicating with business intentions.

This is where I found the interesting info-graphic on blogging.