Build a better mousetrap... Internet in Egypt.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-01/egypt-protests-hackers-work-to-get-demonstrators-back-online/?cid=hp:mainpromo4

This is an interesting read about 'mesh-networks'. Basically these are networks that cannot be physically blocked.


"The product they’ve been working on is a mobile router, small enough to fit into a backpack. “You could have a number of these routers in backpacks or in cars moving around the city or mounted on rooftops—and with these you could create a kind of secondary Internet, one that would not be blockable,” he says."


Not just interesting because of what is happening in Egypt, also because we hear more and more about companies and providers who talk about restricting the internet or make it multiple speed(depending on how much you can pay). It goes against everything the internet ever stood for but fear not; somebody is building a better mouse...

Apple Inc - Maximizing Profit: Anything For A Buck?

I do not use Apple products although they look very slick and nice. Never caught a blow from the ol' Apple Windmill. And I seriously doubt if I'll purchase anything by the company anytime soon.

Everybody who has been following the ICT developments over the years knows - or should know - that Steve Jobs may be a design visionary, he also rules Apple like a potentate. Stories of how he checked 150 shades of black to get 'just the right kind of black' for his computer-casing may be charmingly quirky, but they tend to cover up the less friendly and eccentric sides of Jobs(and Apple).

The other day Gizmodo got their hands on a new IPhone. Apparently it was left/lost by an Apple-employee and then sold to Gizmodo by the lucky finder.

So far so 'good'. Mister Jobs has been known to throw employees out of the building when they blundered like that but ok; it IS pretty stupid to leave a new prototype IPhone in a restaurant.


But now the home/office of the writer of the Gizmodo-article has been raided by the police, although that has been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

So what we have here is a company that wants to decide what you can see on your IPod, on your IPhone, and on your Personal(!) Computer(ITunes anyone?).

And all this while back in 1984 this same company produced one of the most famous commercials in history, in which they accused IBM of being Big Brother...  History has come around again. And it's biting Apple up it's royal fat ass.

Recently Apple announced that there would be no 'Porn-apps' for the IPhone or the IPad(although apparently the Playboy App was not a problem...). Erm.... Excuse me? Even Bill Gates never wanted to decide which content was/is suitable for you. As long as people watched it on their Windows PC.

Jobs is trying to control the content of the Internet. He will fail, but what an incredibly stupid move.

Internet censorship - Information Is Like People : It Wants To Be Free

An interesting background information article about censorship on the web by the good people of Wikileaks

In Internet history, 1994-2004 was the era of the pioneers. 2004-2007 was the era of the merchants. Now we’re entering the era of the bullies. Everywhere in the world, sites are going dark, arrests are increasing, more people are going to prison. The Web just celebrated its 20th birthday. Nobody used to take it seriously, but those days are gone.

Although Wikileaks was obviously founded as a response to online censorship, and may therefore be biased, the article does paint a pretty clear picture of Big Government Versus The Web.

In Thailand, using a proxy can land you in prison. The software gets around nonetheless, on USB keys or disks, competing these days with virtual private networks (VPN), encrypted gateways that are used, for example, by multinationals for secure online communication with their foreign branches. The solution is so simple that Edwin, in Wenzhou concludes, “If we really wanted to fight cybercensorship, all we’d have to do is invest a few million dollars in a massive VPN and distribute the links and keywords for free to Internet users. End of story.”

Full article here