· May, 2013

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...

31 May 2013

Cheat.org: What's Wrong with Russia's Online Petitions?

RuNet Echo

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.

30 May 2013

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.”

27 May 2013

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 &...

27 May 2013

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...

26 May 2013

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.

23 May 2013

How Big Is Alexey Navalny's Army?

RuNet Echo

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:

22 May 2013

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...

22 May 2013

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.

22 May 2013

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...

20 May 2013

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.

15 May 2013

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...

15 May 2013

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...

14 May 2013