Magazzino

April 22nd, 2010

Update: Friday morning Facebook changed its privacy
settings layout, making it a bit more challenging to opt out completely.
As before, unchecking the “Allow” box is not sufficient because you
need to block each Instant Personalization website to fully opt out.
However, the previous path (via “Learn More”) to the necessary Block
Application buttons was removed, with Facebook suggesting instead you
first go to the sites (at which point your information is disclosed),
and then click “‘No Thanks’ on the blue Facebook notification on the top
of partner sites.” To fully opt out, you need to:
(more…)

Electronic Frontier Foundation Timeline on Facebook

April 28th, 2010
Facebook’s Eroding Privacy Policy: A Timeline
Commentary by Kurt Opsahl

Since its incorporation just over five years ago,
Facebook has undergone a remarkable
transformation. When it started, it was a private
space for communication with a group of your
choice. Soon, it transformed into a platform
where much of your information is public by
default. Today, it has become a platform where
you have no choice but to make certain
information public, and this public information
may be shared by Facebook with its partner websites and used to target ads.
(more…)

Data.gov

Welcome to Data.gov
The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data. Visit today with us, but come back often. With your help, Data.gov will continue to grow and change in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

How to use Data.gov
Data.gov includes searchable data catalogs providing access to data in three ways: through the “raw” data catalog, the tool catalog and the geodata catalog. Please note that by accessing datasets or tools offered on Data.gov, you agree to the Data Policy, which you should read before accessing any dataset or tool. If there are additional datasets that you would like to see included on this site, please suggest more datasets here. For more information on how to use Data.gov, view our tutorial.

An ambitious website that will open up government data to the public will launch in beta, or pilot, form in December.

Reams of anonymous data about schools, crime and health could all be included.

Data.gov.uk has been developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the web, and Professor Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton.

It is designed to be similar to the Obama administration’s data.gov project, run by Vivek Kundra.

Mr Kundra is Chief Information Officer in the US. The American site, while not yet comprehensive, is already up and running, with improvements fuelled by user feedback.

An ambitious website that will open up government data to the public will launch in beta, or pilot, form in December.

Reams of anonymous data about schools, crime and health could all be included.

Data.gov.uk has been developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the web, and Professor Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton.

It is designed to be similar to the Obama administration’s data.gov project, run by Vivek Kundra.

Mr Kundra is Chief Information Officer in the US. The American site, while not yet comprehensive, is already up and running, with improvements fuelled by user feedback.

The lightweight, touch-screen device went on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Que e-reader is based on Cambridge University research and has taken over 10 years to develop, with more than $200m of investment.

However the device, which has wireless and 3G connectivity, will not immediately be available in Britain.

“British users may be disappointed that this British company is yet to announce plans to bring this product to the UK,” said the BBC’s technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

Flexible technology

The gadget has a black and white screen and is aimed at “mobile professionals”, according to the company. It is currently a lot more expensive than its rival the Kindle.

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle; no annual contracts, no monthly fees, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.

Paper-Like Display: Reads like real paper without glare, even in bright sunlight

Carry Your Library: Holds up to 1,500 books

Longer Battery Life: Now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of 4 days

Built-In PDF Reader: Your Kindle can now display PDF documents natively. Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go.

Read-to-Me: With the experimental Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable

Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy

Large Selection: Over 390,000 books, including 101 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For non-U.S. customers, content availability and pricing will vary. Check your country.

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise. When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items. U.S. customers will be charged a fee of $1.99 for international downloads.

See full details below

Theoretically, all you need is a computer, laptop or netbook with an internet connection and web browser. Simply logon and you’re sitting at your virtual desk. No more operating systems, updates or backups.

The Web OS system I’m using is called G.Ho.St at www.g.ho.st.com. It’s free and is working very well. Other Web OS I’ve heard about but have not used are www.glideos.com and www.icloud.com.

What worked great for us was the Folder Sync Service. We told the Web OS to sync a virtual folder with the client’s case folder on our office computer. The end result was that any work or changes I made during trial or late at night from home would be instantly updated on the office system, and visa versa. Motions, jury instructions and verdict forms were all easily modified and updated using this service.

Another cool aspect of the Web OS is that it’s performance doesn’t depend much on the speed of your computer. Aging laptops and older desktop work stations should work just fine. The quality and speed of your internet connection will affect performance but since most of us are already using DSL, cable or 3G wireless, this is not really a factor.

Professor Markram said he would send a hologram to talk at TED in 10 years

A detailed, functional artificial human brain can be built within the next 10 years, a leading scientist has claimed.

Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain Project, has already built elements of a rat brain.

He told the TED global conference in Oxford that a synthetic human brain would be of particular use finding treatments for mental illnesses.

Around two billion people are thought to suffer some kind of brain impairment, he said.

“It is not impossible to build a human brain and we can do it in 10 years,” he said.

“And if we do succeed, we will send a hologram to TED to talk.”

‘Shared fabric’

The Blue Brain project was launched in 2005 and aims to reverse engineer the mammalian brain from laboratory data.

In particular, his team has focused on the neocortical column - repetitive units of the mammalian brain known as the neocortex.

The team are trying to reverse engineer the brain

“It’s a new brain,” he explained. “The mammals needed it because they had to cope with parenthood, social interactions complex cognitive functions.

“It was so successful an evolution from mouse to man it expanded about a thousand fold in terms of the numbers of units to produce this almost frightening organ.”

And that evolution continues, he said. “It is evolving at an enormous speed.”

http://squeaksource.com/@IHOHvalrOueYqVB5/LblHw1Ln
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I have been working on an adaptation of the 3D painter from The Croquet Project. Here is how it works. Start out with a picture from your desktop and drag and drop it onto the Wonderland 3D camera window. You can modify the picture (filling transparent regions or cutting out portions) in the sketch editor: