Rants & Raves
SOPA and PIPA On Hold After Internet Protests
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Anti SOPA and PIPA Banner
If you were paying attention this week, you probably have noticed that on Wednesday, January 18th, few Websites, Wikipedia, Reddit, Google and Microsoft have gone blackout trying to stop the infamous controversial SOPA and PIPA Acts. The blackout has worked and both acts placed on hold indefinitely.
As reported by Reuters, Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee saying his panel would delay action on similar legislation until there is wider agreement on the issue:
“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”
“The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.”
Its nice to see how effective was the Internet protest.
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How to Access Wikipedia During the SOPA and PIPA Blackout
1Join the Strike against SOPA and PIPA Banner
Today, Wikipedia, along with others like Mozilla and Google, is joining the virtual strike against Internet censorship to raise awareness of US Congress legislation that could fundamentally alter the Internet we know.
This harmful legislation, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate, will be voted on as early as January 24th in the Senate.
Wikipedia has blacked out their web site in protest. But what if you were in need for that urgently? There are several methods to use and access Wikipedia during the SOPA blackout:
- Use Mac OS X’s built-in Dictionary app
- Disabling Javascript
For Safari:
- Open Safari Preferences/options
- Click on “Advanced” and check the box next to “Show Develop menu in menu bar”
- Pull down the “Develop” menu and select “Disable Javascript”
- Load Wikipedia and browse as usual
For Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome’s Preferences/options
- Click on “Under the Hood” and then “Content Settings”
- Find Javascript then click “Manage Exceptions”
- Type “en.wikipedia.org” into the box and pull down the contextual menu, selecting “Block”
- Load Wikipedia as usual
Why should you join the fight against SOPA to stop internet censorship? What makes this legislation so bad? Here is the catch:
- Communication platforms – from YouTube to Facebook to Amazon – could be shut down if a single rights holder alleges a violation.
- It would make the Web less stable and less secure.
- Social networking sites, like Twitter or Facebook, could be forced to track and control user behavior, stunting innovation and undermining free expression.
- Your Internet provider could be required to inspect all of your traffic and browsing.
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Apple to Announce “GarageBand For eBooks” During Educational Event This Thursday
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Apple Education Event
Apple has managed an upcoming event on this Thursday, January 19th. In which the giant company will reveal its latest plans in digital textbooks through the iBookstore. Some speculated Apple will make the digital books publishing more attractive to authors — think “GarageBand for eBooks.”
Apple is said to be working with major publishers since June. McGraw-Hill is one of them. According to The Wall Street Journal:
McGraw-Hill Cos., Pearson and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are among the education-publishing companies most likely affected by an Apple textbook announcement. The companies have experimented with interactive approaches, such as allowing students to take quizzes as they read and hear audio for foreign-language study, but many digital textbooks have looked a lot like their physical counterparts.
McGraw-Hill has been working with Apple on its announcement since June, a person familiar with the matter said. It wasn’t known whether Pearson and Houghton Mifflin also would participate.
According to Ars Technica’s, Apple will unveil “GarageBand for eBooks” on January 19th.
At the same time, however, authoring standards-compliant e-books (despite some promises to the contrary) is not as simple as running a Word document of a manuscript through a filter. The current state of software tools continues to frustrate authors and publishers alike, with several authors telling Ars that they wish Apple or some other vendor would make a simple app that makes the process as easy as creating a song in GarageBand.
Our sources say Apple will announce such a tool on Thursday.
Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted to revolutionize textbooks and make them digital and interactive. We are about to see that vision come true.
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