CIA Comments on Zero Dark Thirty
CIA Comments on Zero Dark Thirty
Deborah Pearlstein of the law blog Opinio Juris shared the statement of Michael Morell, the Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, on the film Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for and capture of Osama Bin Laden. Its interesting that he would feel compelled to comment at all, especially in a press release.
At least one Ars Technica reader agrees: Rdio > Spotify
At least one Ars Technica reader agrees: Rdio > Spotify
Ars Technica reader jamieskella, contributing to Chris Foresman’s reader recommendation round-up for all those newly-gifted iPads out there:
How and why is Spotify still being recommended when Rdio (free) boasts 18 million songs and is available in so many regions globally? The supremely intuitive app experience leaves Spotify in the dust, the social features add to the already first-rate discovery options, while the method of cataloguing your favourite music is far superior.
Yup, it still pains me that so many people got hooked on Spotify via Facebook and never learned of Rdio’s obvious superiority.
Learning by Shipping
Former Windows executive Steven Sinofsky, explaining the name of his new blog:
The title comes from something impressed upon me early in my career, which is that learning as an engineer comes from the process of starting, then finishing, and iterating on products–getting products to market and putting the broad feedback loop to work.
Funny, that’s why I picked this website’s name. Great minds… Although I would have called it “Learn by Shipping.” That -ing after “learn” is bugging me.
Still bugging me.
An interview with Mailbox founder Gentry Underwood
An interview with Mailbox founder Gentry Underwood
Abdel Ibrahim, interviewing Mailbox founder Gentry Underwood at The Tech Block:
Any plans for an Android app?
Definitely. Startups focus or die, so we picked one device (iPhone) and one platform (Gmail) to start, but we’ve designed our infrastructure from the beginning to support scaling to other devices and platforms as quickly and easily as possible once we feel Mailbox is “working” on the first set.
Good news, because it’s beautifully-designed and functionality looks to be top of mind from the screenshots I’ve seen.
Government can still warrantlessly read older emails
Government can still warrantlessly read older emails
This is unfortunate. There are processes in place that are designed to ensure the preservation of various constitutional rights. The warrant process is one of the most important, and for many people email is far more ubiquitous than other forms of correspondence and property that do require a warrant for seizure in most situations.
Netflix via Amazon
This is interesting: Netflix delivers its streaming option via one of Amazon’s cloud storage and content distribution networks. I try to avoid summarizing other peoples’ work, but the other interesting bit here is that Amazon’s in-house streaming video service saw no interruption.
If I was a paranoid conspiracy theorist, I’d throw around phrases like “net neutrality concerns” right about now. Is Amazon prioritizing their own content over the content of competitors whose content they’re contracted to deliver?
Rdio now sends you a notification when artists in your collection release new music
Rdio now sends you a notification when artists in your collection release new music
People who prefer Spotify to Rdio either don’t know Rdio exists (Rdio’s problem) or are totally crazy (their problem).
What makes Rdio the better service:
- New release notifications for the music you love
- UI and UX don’t suck
- Web client is solid
- Album-focused approach instead of playlist-focused approach
- Remote control Rdio on one device from another
Nilay Patel on what we agree to when we use cloud services
Nilay Patel on what we agree to when we use cloud services
Nilay Patel at The Verge reads some Terms of Service and drops some knowledge bombs. It’s definitely a must-read if you’re a Google, Dropbox, iCloud, or Skydrive user. So, if you’re on the internet at all, basically.
Tor: An Anonymous, And Controversial, Way to Web-Surf
Tor: An Anonymous, And Controversial, Way to Web-Surf
Tor gets a headline at WSJ.com.
Federal Trade Commission to data brokers: Show us your data
Federal Trade Commission to data brokers: Show us your data
Jessica Guynn of the LA Times:
The FTC wants to know what the brokers do with the information. It also wants to know if the data brokers let consumers review and correct their personal information or opt out from having their personal information sold.
I can guess that they sell it as “background check” data to both reputable and shady services of that kind, and almost certainly none of them allow correction or opt-out.
It’s one thing to consent to tracking efforts by Amazon, Google, and Facebook, whose labyrinthine Terms of Service are at least publicly-available. It’s another thing to be tracked without consent, without even agreeing to a TOS we didn’t really read, by companies who profit by selling that information to still other companies.
We need legislation on this, as in most other areas of consumer privacy, and especially on the internet, mandating opt-in only participation in data collection like this.
Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News splitting into separate paywall sites
Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News splitting into separate paywall sites
Gawker’s Hamilton Nolan’s theory of the paywall suggests a local paper of high caliber can survive erecting a paywall.
Maybe he is right, but can two local papers survive?
It will be good to see the Inquirer and the Daily News broken out into their own websites, if only for the fact that they have very different voices. But, as Philly.com is currently an amalgam of the two, with its own original content as well, I’m curious to see what it will look like after the websites split.
Washington Post reports "a person familiar with the plans" says Washington Post considering paywall
For Netflix and the S.E.C., a Facebook Share Should Be Public Enough
For Netflix and the S.E.C., a Facebook Share Should Be Public Enough
It’s true, but not really because lots of people can follow Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on Facebook, but because many reporters actually do. This was not going to go unreported.
Drones in our backyards
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Jennifer Lynch explains how EFF got data on active drones over US soil. I’m not prone to slippery slope arguments, but with the volume of cyberattacks directed at the US each year, it’s not ridiculous to suggest that our drones may be vulnerable to hijacking.
Tim Cook tells Brian Williams TV is "an area of intense interest"
Tim Cook tells Brian Williams TV is “an area of intense interest”
Ronnie Polidoro, writing at NBC:
“When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years,” Cook told Williams. “It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”
This is the only interesting bit of the article. I’m not sure why he would tease it in an interview like this one, that will ostensibly reach a large viewership of non-geeks, unless they were close to their TV solution.
As an aside, “assembling” some iMacs in the US is not the same as “making” them here, and it’s a distinction I suspect will be lost on many.
Sign Language Researchers Broaden Science Lexicon
Sign Language Researchers Broaden Science Lexicon
This is wonderful stuff: with a shortage of STEM talent these days, it’s imperative to involve all those who are interested, and this project serves to reduce the barrier to entry for deaf students.
(Via Evening Edition)
The World Conference on International Communications
The World Conference on International Communications
This is important, and Richard Dunlop-Walters’s The Brief has a great, ongoing summary of the issue and the news coming out of the World Conference on International Communications. It may seem dry at first, but this stuff could have far-reaching effects on privacy and internet governance, so it’s worth at least a quick glance.
John's Tumblr: We can do better than lecture videos
John’s Tumblr: We can do better than lecture videos
What I meant to say about this article about online education: MOOCs are a breakthrough in distribution of educational content, but not really a breakthrough in the way that we learn. What this article points out is that there are more important developments in the way we teach and learn…
Mr. Lilly makes some great points. There is a great opportunity here for colleges to partner with coworking organizations to integrate local “MOOC clubs” into the surrounding community.