Stories about Technology from May, 2013
Oz Cyber Security Czar Ignorant of Tor
IT website Delimiter reports what would seem inconceivable to most people with an interest in Internet security: a senior Australian public servant responsible for cyber security policy has confessed to not being familiar with the Tor encryption service.
Cheat.org: What's Wrong with Russia's Online Petitions?
The Russian government-sponsored initiative to increase public participation in policy making through a petition process, was met with suspicion even before its launch in April. Now, almost two months later, opposition bloggers are crying foul, claiming that the process has already been corrupted.
Trinidad Startup Weekend
Left & Right: “It was so clear, at that moment, that I had joined a community in a way that can only be described as becoming part of a family.”
Hackers in Arab Cities: Slow Internet and Girl Power in Algeria
Meet those Internet geeks in the Middle East & North Africa. Global Voices re-posts excerpts of the blog "Hackers in Arab Cities'' by Sabine Blanc & Ophelia Noor. In this article they depict the state of Internet in Algeria with two young geeks from the 'Ecole Supérieure d'Informatique d'Alger' (Computer Graduate School of Algier).
Indonesia: Gamelan DJ Musical App
Developed by Yogyakarta-based Kowplink Studio, the Gamelan DJ mobile application “mix and mash tight beats, harmonies and melodies of saron.” In addition, “by touching beats pad mix with acapella & making lead with saron gamelan.” The app is listed one of the best start-ups in Indonesia. Gamelan is Indonesian musical...
South Koreans Petition to Throw out Active X
Over 6,200 South Koreans have joined a online petition calling [ko] on the government to stop employing Active X control. A long-term monopoly of Active X and digital certificate-based authentication system have been accused for meddling with the user's privacy setting and making the entire nation vulnerable to hacking attacks.
Russian Non-Profit “Mercy Island” Helps Stray Animals
In an April 2013 interview with Evgeny Voropai of Social Technologies Greenhouse, Tatiana Nikitina, president of the charity group Mercy Island, discussed why public organizations are interested in social media and what challenges they face in their everyday work.
A President for the Internet?
According to [es]a recent poll [es] by Taringa! in Latin America, around 10 % of Internet users say it is not necessary to have a president for the internet, 8% nominated themselves for the job and Megaupload creator Kim Dotcom got third place. Meanwhile 82% say that learning to do...
Second Segment of Fiber Optic Cable Connects to Cuba
U.S. company Renesys announced on its blog that in the last week they have observed "a second connection" of the fiber optic cable ALBA 1 between Cuba and Jamaica.
Trinidad & Tobago: Invented E-mails or Political Demise?
Monday's sitting of Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament saw the Opposition Leader quoting from several e-mails, which, he alleged, implicate key government ministers, including the Prime Minister, in attempting to cover up her administration's actions surrounding the Section 34 controversy. Netizens have been debating whether the e-mails are even real and what it could mean politically if they are...or are not.
How Big Is Alexey Navalny's Army?
As Navalny's show-trial for lumber embezzlement continues, such questions are perhaps more important than ever. Here are some data-points which could be used to make a rough approximation:
Video: Mapping North Korea
Several months earlier, Google debuted its new crowd-sourced map of one of the most reclusive countries in the world, North Korea. Martyn Williams shared a video on his Youtube channel where Google Maps’ vice president talks about mapping North Korea.
How Social Commerce Tightens China's Grip on the Internet
A deal between e-commerce firm Alibaba Group and Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblogging service, has been heralded as a jump-start to the era of social commerce in China. But it could also enable the authoritarian state to tighten its grip on the Internet.
Indian Army is now on Facebook
Prasant Naidu at Lighthouse Insights reports that after a successful start on Twitter, the Indian Army has recently joined Facebook. This is a welcome move as last year the Indian Army had issued orders asking all personnel — both officers and other ranks — to stop using social networking sites...
TEDxSão Tomé: More speakers confirmed
Another two speakers [pt] have been confirmed for the event TEDxSão Tomé, in the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, in 20 June. Mark Richard Shuttleworth [en], a South African founder of the company Canonical Ltd, which develops free software like Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu and Guilherme Alves...
Tinker, Tailor, Compass, Wig: Russia's Amusing American Spy Scandal
Fogle's alleged letter (written in awkward if grammatically correct Russian) looked like "Nigerian spam run through Google translate".
Saudi Mobile Company Seeks Privacy Advocate's Help to Spy on Clients
Saudi Arabia's second largest telecommunication company, Mobily, has reached for a privacy advocate's help to surveil encrypted communication applications. The advocate went public with the request, publishing email exchanges online, and causing an outcry on social media, where Saudi netizens calls for laws to protect people's privacy and punish those spying on the people.
Online Journalism In Nepal To Be Regulated
Online journalism and news portals are gaining popularity in Nepal as evident in Surath Giri's list of 20 online newspapers. However, according to reports, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Nepal has recently formed a five-member committee to register, regulate and manage online news.
WeiboSuite: New Tool to Analyze Sina Weibo
WeiboSuite is a new toolbox for journalists and netizens. Created by data journalists from the University of Hong Kong, WeiboSuite provides English translations of censored materials on Weibo and tools to translate textual images.
