The Verdict: Greed, Greed, and More Greed.

The rumors that have spread are indeed true.  The landmark criminal case against the founders of The Pirate Bay, a widely utilized file sharing platform, has resulted in a guilty verdict. The founders, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi, and Carl Lundstrom, have all been sentenced to a year in prison.  To accompany that verdict, they have been ordered to pay $3.6 million in “damages” to companies who claim they have been “hurt” by their enabling actions.  Among those who demanded payment were Warner Brothers, Columbia, Twentieth Century Fox, Sony BMG and EMI.  This case makes  their unending customs of greed all the more clear.  While they claim they have been “damaged” by the continued actions of The Pirate Bay and similar organizations,  the only demand they had was that of a payment of $3.6 million dollars.  The only thing they wanted of this case was money.  They took no action to resolve the “issues” they claim exist.  The founders were not jailed upon demand of these companies.  No, they were sentenced to  jail for breaking Swedish law. Even at that,  The Pirate Bay will continue to operate normally.  

$3.6 million dollars and the jailing of the founders of a company has not and will not do anything to resolve the continued piracy problems that this entire trial was based upon.  These selfish and greedy companies must heed the demands and needs of the people.   America and the modern world cannot stand by and allow companies to make millions and billions of dollars a year while the rest suffers to get by week to week.  Companies cannot continue their ways and expect consumers to obtain their products legally when they are continually over priced and give nothing back to communities.  They also cannot continue to claim they are taking measures to solve piracy problems when all they do is demand more money and take no action to terminate those organizations that condone it.  We, the people, cannot continue to support these hypocritical companies that prosper and take the easy route to “solving problems” while the rest of us suffer and work hard to solve our own.  

Piracy problems are not an issue at the end of platforms such as The Pirate Bay.  They are an issue at the ends of the companies that stand by and watch as their products are pirated and take no sustainable action against those that pirate them.  If companies wish to solve piracy problems they must clean up their acts to do so.  Rather than suing those whom they claim are culprits they need to implement more sufficient methods to preventing their products from being exploited in the first place.  They must also work to clean up the image that currently exists in the eyes of the consumer.  They cannot continue in their ways of greed and expect consumers to be accepting.  They must restructure their marketing to equally benefit consumers as well as themselves.  

The result of this trial must begin a new era of sustainable and  moral resolution.  Each and every person, company, and organization must heed the call to unite as one to solve problems that clearly exist.  One side cannot continue to stand by and watch as the other continues in its ways of greed and hypocrisy.  Similarly, the other cannot continue to stand by and watch as their products are pirated and claim that they are working to solve the problem while raking in millions of dollars in the process.  

The choice is ours to make: continued hostility that produces no victory or collaborative resolution and prosperity for all.

Earth Hour 2009

Global Warming has become a heated and devastating issue to those that inhabit this earth and it is up to us to reverse this problem. In 2007, more than two million businesses and households turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - sending a powerful global message that it is possible to take action against climate change. Just one year later, Earth Hour had spread to more than 50 million people in 35 countries across 18 timezones. The campaign has transformed from a single event to a global movement and in 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach one billion people in more than 1000 cities worldwide.

We, the citizens of the world, must join arms to impact an issue that can and must be resolved. This is a wonderful chance to become involved in an event that takes a step closer to resolving the world’s biggest crisis. By taking part in this movement and simply switching off non-essential lighting for an hour, a substantial difference can be made. Billions inhabit this earth in hundreds of countries, countless cities, and billions of homes. Even so, there is only one Earth. The mere flick of a switch can put climate change in the dark. 

 

Launch!

I am extremely excited to announce the official launch of my website! Though I am launching it, I do not intend to say that it is totally completed. In fact, I openly admit that it is no where near completion! But please take a look and keep checking back for updates.

Here come the posts!!

It has  come to my attention that I have not blogged in a very long time!  With the recent election and other other events taking place I have much to write about and much to update on.  Much is happening in my internet based life! I am moving forward with my website, which is currently still in design. I am also getting a nice Twitter following!  My biggest decision of recent days was to begin lifecasting, which I plan to have up and running by the time my website is completed. It took some time to decide whether or not to do so, and now it will take some time to get that rolling.  Expect many posts to follow! Tomorrow is my birthday and I will have a new post up by Sunday!

Decisions, Decisions. Mac or PC?

We’ve all seen the Apple commercials.  They are a constant reminder of the problems of Windows Vista and the near perfection of Mac OS X.  Every once and awhile I will find my self wondering whether,  when the time comes, I should switch to Mac or buy a nice new Dell for college.  The only way that I can make this decision is to compare the two in-depth.  So,  I thought,  why not put it in a blog for others to use?

 

First let’s let at some accomplishments:

 

Microsoft:  Introduced the world-renowned Microsoft Office Suite

                   Dominates its industry with the Windows operating system

                   Highly successful in software production

 

Apple:         Produced the popular ipod; out sells any other mp3 player

                    Produced the OS X Operating System

                    Originally produced its own hardware

                    Exclusively builds its own systems

 

Now to the reviews:

 

 

Subject A:  Windows Vista

When booting up a Vista based PC for the first time,  it is lightning fast. However,  within little time of use the performance deteriorates.  The operating system is a serious memory guzzler. Even worse, its security features are annoying,  and to an certain extent, nagging.  Vista’s User Account Control is so ‘secure’ that it asks you  for permission to do pretty much anything.  Due this factor,  I’ve had it disabled.  This makes me less confident in Vista’s built in security.  Vista’s default theme,  as nice as it may look,  uses up so much memory (RAM) that it isn’t even worth having. It is a major negative to be forced to sacrifice an enjoyable feature because it slows the system.  Even with the recent release of Service Pack 1,  there was not a major performance improvement.  Is there much good in the stability of Vista?  I think not.   

Vista comes with many more features than its predecessor,  XP,  did.  The first major upgrade is Internet Explorer 7.  However,  it is much less stable and a whole lot slower than many other alternatives that are out there.   Vista comes with a nice new interface named Aero and includes window translucency (“glass”), transitions and a 3D view of windows (“Flip 3D”); all features that OS X has had for some time. Another feature that comes built in is Windows Sidebar.  It is very similar to OS X’s dock and allows users to add ‘gadgets’ for many uses and can place them on the desktop. Sidebar, on the downside,  seems to be yet another memory guzzler.  The good in Vista is the upgrade of many of Microsoft’s applications.  Internet Explorer,  Windows Media Player, Notepad,  Mail,  Paint, and Movie Maker have all been upgraded.  Some new features,  including ‘Snipping Tool’, which allows the creation of screen captures, Photo Gallery, and a variety of new games have been added.

Many older devices (such as printers, scanners, etc.) are not compatible with the new operating system. 

Overall:  Poor performance equals a major negative. (-) Some features already exist within Mac OS X. (-) Major incompatibilities (-) Upgraded features and software; nice new design. (+) 

 

Subject B: Mac OS X Leopard

On the same configuration  (equal memory,  processor speed, etc.), the performance and stability of OS X Leopard leaves Vista in the dust.  Vista even performs better when run on its rival. While Vista takes 35-40 seconds to boot in some cases,  Leopard only takes 28-29 seconds to boot. OS X is good with multi tasking, while Vista is very poor in this case.  

The biggest improvement of OS X is the addition of more than 300 features.  This includes boot camp, which allows users to run Windows on Mac.  This is a major plus for Windows users that have the money and desire to use a Mac at the same time.  The system is very well designed and is a great improvement and includes a redesigned, 3D, dock.  

Just as Vista includes a built in web browser,  Apple includes its own. Safari, as it is titled,  is much faster than Internet Explorer and is,  at current ratings,  the fastest web browser in the world.  It can also be installed on the Windows Operating System.  Leopard’s application, Spaces,  allows users to have and switch between multiple desktops.  This adds to the operating system’s multitasking capabilities.  

It has been quite a difficulty for me to discover many negative traits of the OS.

Overall: Great design (+)  Fast web browser (+)  Great for multitasking (+)  300+ New Features (+) Windows able (+)

 

From what I’ve found,  my decision would easily sway towards a Mac.  However,  it is possible to sit here and list many more positive and negative features of the two.  I do not expect this to be all of the reviewable pieces,  but it is a collection of many major items.

The most hilarious video ever

This is probably the most hilarious video I’ve ever seen. EVER! Check it out.  Don’t be discouraged by the beginning – the best part is the middle.

Tragedy at Carousel Center

While spending the night with my family at Carousel Center, a mall complex in Syracuse,   the night took a tragic turn.  In the atrium of the mall a 21 year old man jumped from the 6th floor balcony in attempted suicide. Unresponsive at the scene,  he was taken to a local hospital and was later pronounced dead.  

There are several sad things that concern this story.  The first is simple. There were plenty of places where this man could have gotten help. There are people that give their entire lives to help those with illnesses like he had.  The fact that help would have resulted in totally different choices and one less death to depression and suicide is an absolute tragedy.  

Another horrible thing that involves this story is how little people actually know about his illness – Depression. When the story hit a local website, there were people commenting and calling this man selfish. This man was not selfish – not at all.  Only ignorance can lead to this kind of comment. The fact is, depression corrupts the way a person thinks.  This man did not have the ability to make the right decision. He was not in the state of mind to know the difference from right to wrong.  Chances are he did not realize the world around him – the fact that there were shoppers and children all around him.  He simply did not have the ability to think for others or even for himself and for all we know, he might have decided then and there that he wanted to end his life.  This man was not selfish.  He was under the control of Depression. 

The absolute worst things about this story are the choices those surrounding him made.  If you were to fall or jump from a 6th floor balcony while surrounded by hundreds of people,  would you want people taking pictures of you?  Would you want your face and battered body posted all over the internet?  If not, then why would you do the same to someone else?  Those that did so had about the same amount of judgement as the man himself.  Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they do things like this. 

To conclude this post,  my heart goes out to the family and friends of Michael.  Depression is a terrible illness.  I can say this from personal experience.  I have seen what it can do to a person and what it can do to their loved ones.  The unfortunate set of circumstances is that, in this case,  help was not being received. I hope that this event will, in its tragedy,  be an eye opener for those who have little knowledge about depression.

OpenDNS

I’m sure anyone who has experienced an internet slowdown or blackout could vouch for the annoyance and exhaustion that comes attached.  Today I discovered a service that not only speeds up an internet connection (through state of the art methods, might I say), but also ensures security, safety, and reliability.  It is even more reliable than an internet service provider is.  OpenDNS is making the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable for millions of people around the world.

The first question that most likely comes to a person’s mind is, “How does this work?” An even better question would be, “How is this even possible?” The very first step to even answering these questions is to explain the terms.

If you don’t happen to take any interest in computers then you most likely don’t know what the term DNS means or stands for. DNS stands for Domain Name Service.  In other words,  it is what works behind the scenes when you type a URL into a web browser and press go.  It matches that URL to the host,  just as an address identifies the destination of a piece of mail.

Essentially, OpenDNS enhances this ‘postal service’.  Unlike your service provider (whether it be Road Runner,  Earthlink,  Verizon,  or any other), no matter where you are in the world it will connect you to their closest server.  There are six stations in the United States and Europe and they are located in Palo Alto, Cali., Seattle, Wa., Chicago, Ill., Washington, D.C., New York, NY,  and London, England.  That almost anyone who lives in the United States or Europe can make good use of the service.

Not only do you get a better internet connection, but you are also supplied with parental controls, statistics about your connection,  and best of all, it’s free. Well what are you waiting for? Click below to get started!

WiFi @ The Fair

Many people from across the U.S. know that The Great New York State Fair begins in just a couple weeks.  Giving that I am a technology lover and a Justin.tv broadcaster I found my self wondering whether or not there is WiFi on the fair grounds.  Browsing the State Fair website turned up no results about internet access whatsoever.  However, a trusty Google search brought me to the Syracuse based PEC Inc. (Progressive Expert Consulting Inc.) website. There is indeed internet in every major building and  throughout the grounds and it was entirely built by the corporation.  Even more surprising, their WiFi is ten times faster than cable broadband and 55 times faster than DSL.  In other words, the connection is most likely much faster than your connection at home.  The only downside of the WiFi is that it carries a ten-dollar-per-day cost but for people like me, I am willing to pay the fee to be have access to this method of broadcasting from the fair.

I am still in the planning stages of broadcasting from the fair.  However, what I do know is that I will be broadcasting to my channel at Justin.tv or Ustream.tv.  Please keep following my blog or follow me on Twitter for the latest updates.

The worlds biggest shortest solution

The past few years have marked record change.  More than ever, people are realizing the problems and issues that effect the world and its inhabitants each and every day. At least one problem can relate to every single thing on earth, whether living or not.  All it takes is a quick look around to realize something wrong in the world. Genocide is taking place in Darfur.  Today in Africa, upwards of 25,000 children will die from starvation or preventable, treatable diseases. Even at home in America, the land of dreams, millions are suffering.  These problems are in serious need of a solution.  The first step to solving a problem is realizing that it exists.  Many have completed that step.  Here’s the problem:  many don’t see that it takes more than realization to solve problems.  Solutions require action.  That is why today, I am taking action.  That is why today, many others are taking action. Together, we can solve these problems.

Solution:  The 1 Second Film.

Together, thousands are creating the biggest shortest film. Together, thousands are creating the biggest shortest solution. The 1 Second Film is probably the most creative solution yet.  I am proud to be one of 9,632 producers of this project.  We come from over 50 countries and have, so far, raised nearly 300,000 dollars, over 192,000 euros, 300,000 plus Francs, and over 150,000 Pounds.  We come from all races, nationalities and religions. Despite our differences, we have come together as a single community to raise money for a greater good.

Today I ask you, if you haven’t already, to join us in this solution.  I ask that you click here, sign up, and donate as little as a few minutes of your time.  You don’t even have to give money!  Simply spreading the word is a great help to the project.  One more person makes a big difference.  Together, we can and are making change.  At its end, all money raised by this project will be donated to The World Organization for Women’s Rights.