Hi-Sci-Fi

by Irma Arkus

Announced yesterday was a disturbing court finding: the US D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an earlier FCC ruling against Comcast for interfering with the BitTorrent traffic, better known as bandwith throttling. Essentially, the court’s ruling dismisses FCC’s power to regulate the Internet outright, similarly to how US Environmental Protection Agency was hampered from enacting any regulations against corporate polluters in California.

But better question yet is what this means for Internet users, particularly in terms of the ongoing battle for established Net Neutrality?

While EFF wisely points out that Comcast has already succumbed to pressure of its user base, who demanded that Net Neutrality principles be adopted and enacted by the ISP, the remainder of providers may take advantage of this ruling in order to continue with expansion of deep packet inspection and bandwidth throttling.

But as Fred von Lohmann points out, FCC is currently not the regulatory body and it should not necessarily be one either, when considering its history of easily succumbing to public pressure and conservative hysteria. Nipplegate scandal for one, caused the FCC to demand millions of dollars in punitive damage for the Superbowl scandal, and television content has undergone changes in “decency” standards.

Should we expect FCC to also demand the impossible moral clauses for Internet content then?

The ruling is the one hand worrisome, as it allows Canadian authorities and regulatory commission, the CRTC, as well as our federal conservative politicians to suggest that across the border, net neutrality principles have not been adopted, opening Canadian consumers to yet another barrage of potential legalities and regulations that would make Internet content less accessible, and more expensive.

On the other hand, the gatekeepers, electronic rights lawyers, activists and networking specialists all agree that it is time for US to gain a foothold in the Web 2.0 world by having a more politically neutral body to regulate Internet traffic. Unfortunately for us, that usually means that it will also be invaded by corporate instead of civil interests. [EFF]

Warner Bros Entertainment UK is recruiting tech-savvy students to help the company with their anti-piracy efforts. During the 12 month internship the students will have to maintain accounts at private BitTorrent sites, develop link-scanning bots, make trap purchases and perform various other anti-piracy tasks.

More at TorrentFreak

Google China (http://www.google.cn) is now redirecting to Google Hong Kong (http://www.google.com.hk). This allows mainland China internet users access to uncensored Google services. Go to http://www.google.com/prc/report.html#hl=en for a list of which services are currently accessible.

Google is maintaining a sales and R&D presence on the mainland.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-approach-to-china-update.html

Mininova’s traffic has reportedly plummeted. Now that the largest tracker succumbed to legal pressures and adapted to distributing only legal content, the number of daily downloads represent only 4% of previous traffic.

Over the course of the past week, many have returned to the beloved site, looking for thelatest entertainment releases, but the daily search numbers went from over 10m to 370,000.

But where are these visitors going now that Mininova is no longer providing torrents to films and television programs? As in the case of SuprNova shutdown, there is always someone (Mininova) to pick up from where the site left off, so here are the top ten alternate torrent sites, as per TorrentFreak ratings:

1 TorrentZap
2 Vertor
3 ExtraTorrent
4 KickassTorrents
5 BTjunkie
6 Monova
7 isoHunt
8 yourBitTorrent
9 The Pirate Bay
10 ShareReactor

This image was uploaded with the post Torrent Sites Shutting Down: Mininova First, SceneTorrent Second.

Mininova.org had to shut down its operations this weekend, and go through a major revamp of their business model. Currently, Mininova features only registered content, HiSciFi being one of those content providers.

But now, another torrent site has bit the dust. Scenetorrent.org has shut down, even though it is technically a private tracker. It’s 20,000 members have been left dangling without an explanation.

by Irma Arkus

Today’s big news (do we even have news any more?) is that Hulu announced cash for content in 2010.

This remarkably stupid idea of exchanging content that is virtually delivered for free through advertisements, as suddenly something that can be flogged for money, is an outcome of a failing industry attempting to not only bounce back, but make a lot of extra cash while doing it.

It is understandable that there is an exchange of money somewhere, but isn’t the Internet a better, savvier and more targeted delivery of content than any TV network available? Thus far, networks have been charging advertisers for making viewers available to see their product placements. But now, the TV productions are attempting to sell actual content rather than advertisements…and that, my friends, is INSANE.

The reason why radio and television became as popular as they did in the first place was because the content was free. That, and the fact that some of it was quite informative.

These days, Television as we know it is practically drowning in obscurity. While digitizing of traditional signals has created extra spaces on bandwidth, the entry to these spaces is still relatively pricey.

But it is only a matter of time until these signals become nest for more reality shows, dead end comedies and nostalgia reruns. I am personally awaiting the “bringing back the 1920s” channel. And I sincerely hope it is clustered between foot fetish channel and more pr0n.

BBC for example is planning to engage in independent content distribution over its already available players. However, currently the content from BBC is strictly reserved as based on country lines. It has however awakened to the fact that many people outside UK are following faithfully some of their more popular programs. Dunno if you have been paying attention, but the sudden influx of British actors as protagonists of most of top 5 network shows, is not an accident, but rather an outcome of global audience paying more than lip service to some unique UK productions.

The outrageous part though, is how much BBC intends to charge for their content. According to a Telegraph article: “executive say that global audiences would be prepared to pay $10 for an episode of hit programmes like Torchwood.”

Do ignore the spelling / grammar errors in this article, but pay attention to this remarkably eccentric statement - they are willing to charge us up to $10 per episode of something as low budget as Torchwood.

While Hulu and BBC are counting money that they haven’t made yet, one should wonder whether this particular model is applicable to current economic recession, when everyone is cutting down on all extras, especially the entertainment costs. However, I do not wish to discount this model either. Apple for example, is doing wonderfully with its iTunes, so people are obviously prepared to pay a minimal fee for watching an episode of a show. But then those numbers, yes, iTunes numbers, still fail to live up to downloads of torrented or online streamed episodes of these same shows. The discrepancy between the two is so large that many critics are demanding that they be taken into account when calculating ratings.

My point is, either you have ads, and we get it for free. Or you make us pay for it, and we own it, play it endlessly and watch it ad-free.

How do you like to watch your TV? [Telegraph

This image was uploaded with the post MPAA Has a Hard Time Proving Copyright VIolations in Court.

by Irma Arkus

According to CNET, MPAA is facing a court decision in San Francisco where the judge isn’t buying the position of copyright violations by filesharers of IsoHunt.

IsoHunt, one of largest torrent search engines operating in Richmond, British Columbia, has been targeted by lawsuits. Now that the Pirate Bay Four trial has concluded in favour of the plaintiffs, primarily composed of lobby groups including MPAA, the move on the part of associations was to take down as many torrent sites available.

But the San Francisco case isn’t moving favorably, as the judge presiding over the case stated that MPAA lawyers have not presented direct evidence of copyright infringement by IsoHunt users.

Currently, it is established that what users do with content after visiting IsoHunt is unknown and undetermined, and that the visiting of site or torrent download does not necessarily translate into a copyright violation.

This certainly does not directly tie IsoHunt to the very act of copyright violation. However, during the Pirate Bay Four trial, a much different strategy was implemented, one based on “copyright infringement assistance” after which it was ruled that the torrent site is “assisting” users to infringe upon copyrights.

Isohunt attorney Ira Rothken seeks a jury trial based on a novel approach, the merits of the torrent search site: “I believe there has not been a single case in U.S. law where there has been a decision on the merits of a Torrent search engine.” [CNET

This image was uploaded with the post Germany: Internet Censorship.

by Irma Arkus

The latest news on increasing Internet censorship come from Germany, where parliament voted to proceed with censorship of unwanted, undesired pornographic websites, in order to protect the children.

Similar actions have been taken in Australia, Canada, US, and a few other countries.

Australia’s recent feud with WikiLeaks, in which WikiLeaks disclosed the list of the censored sites to be absolutely unrelated to child pornography, but rather to be of political and ideological nature.

Few years ago, Cory Doctorow joined us on our show, and brilliantly pointed out that legislations brought forward, such as ones used to censor content in order to “protect the children,” have been often used to solidify the government power base. Noone will, in their right minds, look or post child pornography using simple, well known key-words, making most legislations meaningless as a form of protection, doing essentially nothing more than opening doors to potential abuses of the laws by authorities.

Such is the case of Australia vs. WikiLeaks, a well known whistle-blower site, which, upon releasing the aformentioned list, experienced nothing less than legal prosecution by Australian defence, and is technically, one of the sites on the noted list.

The “need to protect children” won in German parliament, following the recent trends of turning ISPs into Internet police authorities, with legislating ISPs to display warning on select sites detected to contain child pornography.

The most intriguing part of the event was the response by German citizens. According to the Inquirer “the bill drew strong protests from German Internet users including hackers, digital freedom activists, bloggers and social notworkers. It triggered an online petition signed by more than 130,000 individuals, 80,000 more than the number required for the petition to be heard on the floor of the German parliament.”

The German law is certainly not as draconian as similar legislations introduced by other nations, due to the fact that the law is meant to expire in three years. [The Inquirer]

This image was uploaded with the post David Simon: Downfall of Media, and True Value of Journalism.

by Irma Arkus

Today I’ve been forwarded a link to the National Press Club Luncheon video of David Simon. While this gathering was (and probably still is) made up of overly wealthy and powerful media members, their numbers and their super-powers have been dwindling.

Interesting bit about the Simon’s lecture is what he identifies as underlying causes of media’s current crisis. He pins it at two things: greed and Wall Street. According to Simon, the money that should have been invested in generating quality content, talent development, and strategizing their actual Internet presence, ended being thrown at mergers, as the industry was seeking to increase their profit margins and pad their pockets.

According to David Simon, better known for his work as writer of award winning dramas “The Wire” and “Generation Kill,” the content currently available MUST start making profit.

But the media, newspapers and television combined, is reeling from the after effects of a flawed business model and profit pursuits. There is no longer a question of whether money needs to be made, but rather who will be making the profits.

Are we going to watch an entire industry fall, in order to give rise to new media, or are we to support the few dying dinosaurs clutching at straws?

I am currently enduring the fact that as an active member of media, I currently cannot find a paid job. I am doing the HiSciFi show, and write an occasional blog entry, for free. It would be great to get paid while doing things I love. But that does not seem to be the case. And this is not necessarily due to the fact that economy is reeling. The truth is that prior to this economic depression, the news nooses have been tightening, lay-offs and cost cutting was a regular thing in the halls of TV networks, newspaper and magazine boardrooms. It’s been getting harder to make money for the last 10 years in this industry, period.

David Simon is not oblivious to this. In fact, he points to the rise of mediocrity such as USA Today, and the narrowing number of reporters who were told to do “more with less.”

“You get to do less with less. Not more with less,” explains Simon.

At the same time, Simon is somewhat oblivious to the rising content of bloggerdom. He firmly believes in authority of “journalistic integrity” even though we’ve witnessed not only a) journalists turning to blogging, but b) the fact that journalism has reached a whole new low.

Anyways, Simon does shed some light on how the industry insiders feel about their former and current glory. And his insights are valuable. What I would like to see are some concrete solutions to current media woes.

Namely, his enthusiastic suggestion of charging for Internet content sounds like a relatively outdated idea, especially when considering how sophisticated Internet advertising can and could be.

That aside, it is worth glancing at Simon’s speech. Find video HERE.

This image was uploaded with the post Atheist Geeks .

This image was uploaded with the post Atheist Geeks .

Atheists of Silicon Valley offer an array of articles, research and critical examinations of religious texts and beliefs.

The comprehensive site is mainly, but definitely not solely focused on Christianity: there is a section on Islam, and “other,” so it does leave room for desire.

However, it offers the arguments from a science based perspective, which can provide for hours of entertainment. Check out the godless geeks.

This image was uploaded with the post Japan Food Much Smaller.

Mmmm. The best find of the day is Tokyo Damage Report on Japanese food: its size and packaging. One of my favorites is the miniature Kirin beer cans.

Check it here.

This image was uploaded with the post Greg Bear: Answering Some Questions, Finally.

This image was uploaded with the post Greg Bear: Answering Some Questions, Finally.

This image was uploaded with the post Greg Bear: Answering Some Questions, Finally.

by Irma Arkus

Ahhh, the joys of Internets…is that we get to ask the great ones, like author Greg Bear, some questions.

There are but a handful of authors that I can call my favorites, and Greg Bear is in the top three, as far as I am concerned. Now, reddit has managed to get Mr. Bear (he he he) to answer some questions by fans.

So, check the reddit blog here, and ask away.

Meanwhile, if you are unfamiliar with Greg Bear’s masterpieces, I suggest you get crackin’ the books. Start with something lighter, such as “Darwin’s Radio” and continue that with sequel, “Darwin’s Children.” And then turn to some instant classics, like “Blood Music,” “Slant,” and “Dead Lines.”

This image was uploaded with the post Watch This: Little Red Riding Hood.

by Irma Arkus

Watch the Little Red Riding Hood.

by Irma Arkus

Scientific American warns against medical offices using p-2-p software, due to the fact that sometimes, sharing files also means a certain percent of medical records ending up online.

For example, SciAm quotes researchers finding some “20,000 hospital patients from the computer of a collection agency working for the hospital. Another search turned up a 1,718-page report with nearly 9,000 patient names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, insurers, group numbers and identification numbers.” The astounding amount of personal documents and patient information that seems to be shared with the world, is thought to be a growing problem, one that may increase as Obama administration prepares to upgrade the administrative systems and have the patient information exchanged online.

This however, is a problem that will not disapppear. For one, cutting down on administrative costs by the health care industry in US is a priority, as the US-based health care industry is not only the most expensive in the world, but the most inefficient as well.

The fear of placing the documentation online, really pales in comparison to concern of further disrepair to an “industry” that currently not only tends to lose patient information, but endangers people’s health. [Scientific American]

by Irma Arkus

Net Neutrality hearings, open to public responses, are to close on Feb 23rd. That’s this upcoming Monday, so if you haven’t done it yet, I highly encourage you to do so!

Check out SaveOurNet.ca and NetNeutrality.ca to find out how to submit your responses to CRTC, or learn more about the issue. Oh, and I almost forgot - it’s free! And it even may save you money later.

This image was uploaded with the post Speedy on Joss Whedon.

by Irma Arkus

The amazing Joss Whedon has finally released a glimpse of his long awaited Dollhouse.

The news of the pilot, finally shown to executives and critics at a conference, featured more than a few funnies.

The long-awaited Dollhouse has been plagued by delays, reshoots, rewrites and grumbling from financiers.

Our favorite Tahmoh Penikett has seemingly landed a great role, only to be in midst of a whilwind disaster.

That, and the lack of Joss Whedon in a midst of a vampire-revival with teens, just seemed impossible to bear for the fans, myself included.

Now, we are assured that Dollhouse will premier in February of 2009.

Moreover, Whedon is considering to make a sequel to his webisodial, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

Double yeey!

Hey guys it’s me Tarek from the show. Like many people of the internet age I like weird YouTube videos, so here’s a random stir-fry of weird and fun vids that I’ve been exposed to recently. Long live the new flesh.

Check out the sweet special effects and awesome acting in this one.

I heard this is from the director of Ricky-O, so this like just a regular day at the pet store in the director’s head. This is a Kung-Fu fight between a cat and dog with an awesome fatality at the end.

The absurd killer lampshade and blood spewing cats scene from Hausu:

This demonstrates why Captain Kirk is the manliest Starfleet captain - this shows his technique for seducing aliens and making them love him forever.

Vintage Hong Kong cinema with a predecessor to the Chain Chomp.

Muscle March - an awesome game for Wii that just recently started getting distributed in North America. Clearly this started with a grand vision - a vision involving lots of muscles smashing through walls and through space-time itself.

This is funny for about a minute, but it’s a cute joke nonetheless.

That’s it for now. Sorry if they’re old, but they’re new to someone.

This image was uploaded with the post US Socialism…At Last!!! - FCC Considering National Wireless Internet.