Trying out Google’s Quest View mode.
Once again, Google proves they are the master of April Fools cyberprankery. In one online tweak for 2012 (1 of at least 3 - I also spotted a weather changer and The YouTube Collection on DVD), they give you an option to see Google Maps in low-res 8-bit mode (aka old-school Nintendo console view).
—-Don Rose
(via tumblangeles)
by Don Rose
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Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. In the case of the disease called Internet piracy, the so-called cure being proposed in Congress is to pass one of two bills: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) or PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act). Certainly we need to find a way to stop or slow down piracy of all kinds, but unfortunately, according to experts I have heard or read, these two bills are just too broad and would effectively alter the way the Internet currently works in order to “solve” the piracy problem. Many leading Internet figures and websites have come out against these pieces of legislation.
To use an analogy, imagine if Congress passed a bill that forced all phone carriers to block calls to any phone number suspected of dealing in pirated goods. If you replace phone carrier with websites… you get the idea. Or, to use an analogy offered by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, if the invention of the automobile eventually leads to crooks using them to rob banks, the solution is not to ban cars but rather to attack the bank-robbing problem directly.
The White House has indicated that it has major problems with these bills, and the current buzz is that the Obama administration will work to block these bills from passing. However, other bad bills may be back in the near future, so we all need to stay vigilant.
To be clear, we (and most of those fighting against SOPA and PIPA) are dead set against piracy, but don’t like the idea of breaking the free and open Internet - and hurting innocent websites - in the process of combating piracy. A better solution can and must be found.
It is now January 18 on the East Coast, and already some major sites have either gone dark or changed their appearance to indicate their opposition to SOPA and PIPA. It has been widely reported that Wikipedia’s English language site is completely down, but we did find one English page that is still active - probably because it discusses SOPA and PIPA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more
Google’s famed daily doodle features a big black patch over its name.
Boing Boing shows an error message on a black background.
If you find other altered websites, please let us know in the comments.
And if you feel so inclined, contact your Congressmen and tell them how you feel. Wikipedia’s darkened main page has some information to help you do so.
Commentary by Don Rose
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Yes, it is true. I tried it, after this phenomenon was discussed on the TWiT.tv netcast “This Week in Google”.
Search for the word “search” at Google.com, and you expect Google to be number 1, right? Or at least in the top 3? Nope. Instead, you get their main competitor, Microsoft’s BING, at or near the top! And several other search sites under Bing.
What about Bing.com, you ask. You might expect their “search” search to give Bing at or near the top, right? Well, you’d be wrong! So let me summarize:
On Google, search for “search” gets Bing in the top 3 results, no Google.
On Bing, search for “search” gets Google in the top 3 results, no Bing.
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Why, you ask? Well, in Google’s case, it may make sense, since they are the subject of ongoing anti-trust investigation (because they so dominate search), and it helps them when they can point to this “search” phenomenon and say, “See? We don’t even direct people to Google for the word we are most known for! Don’t break us up! Google is good!”
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But in Microsoft’s case, their tiny portion of the search space means they are not in any trouble with Uncle Sam at all (in contrast to the Operating System domain, where their Windows product makes them the Wizard of OS), so why not bring you Bing on Bing?
It may be because Microsoft is just doing what they are often accused of Excel-ing at: copying the best ideas of other companies. In this case, Google. If Google doesn’t promote themselves, by God, we won’t either. Or perhaps it is more nefarious - could Bing be copying Google’s algorithm? I am not saying this… but then again, it is not outside the realm of possibility. This issue was indeed raised by Google some months ago, and they even claimed to have proof.
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Of course, there is actually a third (somewhat remote) possibility here. Perhaps…. just maybe…. Google and Bing are, like, in love! Think about it… but not too long.
“Steve Jobs was so angered by Android and HTC that he reportedly told then Google bossman Eric Schmidt that no amount of money could make the ‘grand theft’ right.” —-ArsTechnica.com
Hold onto your hats, hackers and historians… hotly hyped Steve Jobs biography, sure to be a mega-seller, comes out Monday October 24; author Walter Isaacson appears on 60 Minutes tomorrow (Sunday) to promote the new book. —Don Rose
(Source: addtoany.com)
