‘One Laptop per Child’ to Switch from Linux to Windows?

As posted to our Ubuntu users Meetup forum, by Jay:

One Laptop Per Child may eventually switch from GNU/Linux to Windows

http://truthhappens.redhatmagazine.com/2008/04/23/sigh/

It seems like locking kids minds into proprietary frames still remains a priority for the educators.

So here is…  My email correspondence with OLPC just now…

____

To: press@racepointgroup.com

Is it true that OLPC will be switching from a Linux OS to a Windows OS?

If so, you guys are pathetic, and I need to know so I can withdrawal all my support for the OLPC project as soon as possible.

Bruce Wagner

____

From: press@racepointgroup.com

This is not true.  OLPC will support both Linux and Windows.  Governments have been asking for both.

____

To: press@racepointgroup.com

That is NOT ok.

See http://linux.meetup.com/392/messages/boards/thread/4635205

And http://truthhappens.redhatmagazine.com/2008/04/23/sigh/

It it self-defeating to go down a proprietary closed corporate path like Windows.   It is also self-defeating to split your resources in half between two separate development paths.   Windows has no future in a program such as OLPC.  Your role is EDUCATION, not backing down to special interests and corporate greed.

Don’t cave in to anyone.   Stick to FREEDOM — open source free software, not corporate interests — if you hope or expect to get any support from the global community.

Bruce Wagner

____

(also posted in the Ubuntu Forums, here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=818407 )

~

Free yourself from the closed proprietary ‘Big Brother’ of Microsoft, Apple, etc. Choose Open Source Free Software.

Are you using Ubuntu Linux on your home computer yet?  Do you use Google?  Did you know that the Google search engine you use every day operates 100% on Linux?  Check out  Windows vs Ubuntu’s Best Applications and  getgnulinux.org and  ubuntu.com and  wubi-installer.org and  Google: Open Source Free Software

~

What’s so dangerous about the Cult of  Scientology?  And why You should Care.  Click here to find out.

~

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__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
bruce@brucewagner.com

Free Yourself from the Proprietary Corporate Greed of ‘Big Brother’: Microsoft, Apple, etc.

Always choose the superior Open Source Free Software.

Now, there is an equivalent or superior Free Open Source version of all the best software that exists.

Do you use Ubuntu Linux on your PC and laptop yet?

Google does.  Did you know that Google’s search engines are all running 100% on Linux?  Not Windows.  Not Mac.  Only Linux.  Does Google know something you don’t know?

You can even install Ubuntu Linux on a Windows computer without changing a thing — all for free.  It takes about 2.5 minutes, and is as easy as three clicks, using Wubi — the Windows Ubuntu Installer.  Try it here!

Check out each of these links carefully:

A. http://tinyurl.com/552×66 |  B. http://tinyurl.com/67hjz5 |  C. http://getgnulinux.org |  D. http://ubuntu.com |  E. http://wubi-installer.org |  F. http://ubuntuforums.org

(Add the above lines to your email program’s signature too; Help us spread the word!)

______________________

~

Free yourself from the closed proprietary ‘Big Brother’ of Microsoft, Apple, etc. Choose Open Source Free Software.

Are you using Ubuntu Linux on your home computer yet?  Do you use Google?  Did you know that the Google search engine you use every day operates 100% on Linux?  Check out  Windows vs Ubuntu’s Best Applications and  getgnulinux.org and  ubuntu.com and  wubi-installer.org and  Google: Open Source Free Software

~

What’s so dangerous about the Cult of  Scientology?  And why You should Care.  Click here to find out.

~

Also, be sure to check out…

• Top Stories — the most popular items as of today, top of the sidebar
• Bruce’s Stream of Thought — thoughts I haven’t even blogged about yet
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Watch our shows…

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__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
bruce@brucewagner.com

Yet Another Reason to NOT buy Vista

…as if we needed one.

Microsoft’s Media Center Does Not Record Television Shows from NBC

Microsoft has come out with an astounding admission, courtesy of Greg Sandoval at CNet News:

“Microsoft included technologies in Windows, based on rules set forth by the (Federal Communications Commission),” a Microsoft spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail to CNET News.com. “As part of these regulations, Windows Media Center fully adheres to the flags used by broadcasters and content owners to determine how their content is distributed and consumed.”

(full story)

~

Free yourself from the closed proprietary ‘Big Brother’ of Microsoft, Apple, etc. Choose Open Source Free Software.

Are you using Ubuntu Linux on your home computer yet?  Do you use Google?  Did you know that the Google search engine you use every day operates 100% on Linux?  Check out  Windows vs Ubuntu’s Best Applications and  getgnulinux.org and  ubuntu.com and  wubi-installer.org and  Google: Open Source Free Software

~

Also, be sure to check out…

• Top Stories — the most popular items as of today, top of the sidebar
• Bruce’s Stream of Thought — thoughts I haven’t even blogged about yet
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Watch our shows…

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And don’t forget to…

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__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
bruce@brucewagner.com

Ubuntu Linux is More Than Twice as Fast as Windows XP — Latest Performance Benchmarks

Ubuntu is 2.3 times Faster than Windows XP, acording to the latest performance benchmarks.

~

Free yourself from the closed proprietary ‘Big Brother’ of Microsoft, Apple, etc. Choose  Open Source Free Software.

Are you using Ubuntu Linux on your home computer yet?  Do you use Google?  Did you know that the Google search engine you use every day operates 100% on Linux?  There’s no Windows or Mac running the Google company or any of its services.  Check out  Windows vs Ubuntu’s Best Applications and  getgnulinux.org and  ubuntu.com and  wubi-installer.org and  Google: Open Source Free Software

~

Also, be sure to check out…

• Top Stories — the most popular items as of today, top of the sidebar
• Bruce’s Stream of Thought — thoughts I haven’t even blogged about yet
• Other Topic Categories
• Bruce’s Hot Lists
• Related Items on this Topic
• Return to Home Page

Watch our shows…

• The Bruce Wagner Show™
• Bruce and Ed Live from New York™
• El Show de Edward Gel™ – en Espanol

And don’t forget to…

• Subscribe to Bruce’s Journal via Email
• Subscribe to The Bruce Wagner Show™ via Email
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• Subscribe to El Show de Edward Gel™ via Email – en Espanol
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• Follow Bruce on Twitter

__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
bruce@brucewagner.com

Companies we Boycott and Why

Sometimes — against huge multi-national global corporations, and governments, and world banker elites — you may feel powerless. But… We’re NOT powerless. Use you hard earned dollars, as well as your vote, to make the world a better place for us all.

Here it is! The current list of companies’ products and services that… We Boycott !

Click each company’s name to learn more about the reasons why we boycott that company…

Print out the long list of brand names for some of these enormous conglomerates and take that list every time you go to the grocery store.

~

do NOT use…	instead try…
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Comcast – censoring the internet for political reasons	any other ISP or cable television provider
.do NOT use…	instead try…
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Exxon — ExxonEssoMobil — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	public transportation — subway, commuter rail, bus
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
Paypal — (owned by eBay, Skype) Can PayPal hold my money with no explanation? The answer is YES. Can PayPal freeze my account for no reason? The answer is YES. Can PayPal take money out of my account without my knowledge? The answer is YES. And they do it OFTEN!	Moneybookers – far better, far easier to set up, and much much cheaper than PayPal. And they don’t censor what items you buy or sell. And they don’t steal your money. And they don’t extort exorbitant fees for doing absolutely nothing. Low transaction fees (as low as 1%, capped at EUR 0.50).
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Kraft Foods — Altria Group (Philip Morris, Kraft Foods, Nabisco) (see complete list of brands to boycott: Philip Morris brands, and Kraft Foods brands, and Nabisco brands) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more unprocessed natural foods
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Microsoft — Big Brother’s Computer Company has always used anti-competitive practices, intentional security vulnerabilities, and creating a product that spys on it’s owner, collects all sorts of personal data, and reports it all back to Big Brother.	Ubuntu …or… Free Open Source Software
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Coca-Cola / Coke / Diet Coke — Coca-Cola Company (see complete list of Coke brands to boycott) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more water
McDonald’s — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	Energy Kitchen
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Amazon	any other book retailer …or… The PB Top 100 Books
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do NOT use….	instead try…
.
Mobil — ExxonEssoMobil — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	public transportation — subway, commuter rail, bus
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
eBay — (owns Paypal, Skype) – Can PayPal hold my money with no explanation? The answer is YES. Can PayPal freeze my account for no reason? The answer is YES. Can PayPal take money out of my account without my knowledge? The answer is YES. And they do it OFTEN!	Craigslist which is FREE, and Other Auction Sites
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Pepsi — PepsiCo Inc (see complete list of Pepsi brands to boycott) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more water
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Gmail – Listed as THE worst offender of Privacy Rights,, Google, who owns Gmail, is also accused of working directly with evil communist dictatorships to aid them in their computer technology development. (see videos about this)	Evolution is a free open-source program equivalent to, and compatible with, Microsoft Outlook — but free and open source. It is available for Windows, and is pre-installed by default in Ubuntu. Use Evolution, in conjunction with an email provider (like GoDaddy), instead of using Gmail. That way Google cannot collect personal information about you. Never log in to any Google or Yahoo or MSN web site or account. If you do, they can collect and store all sorts of personal information about you.
.
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Google, Yahoo, and MSN – internet censorship to promote communist dictatorships (see videos about this)	Among the worst offenders of Privacy Rights, these three search engines are now accused of working directly with evil communist dictatorships to aid them in their computer technology development.Scroogle is what is known as a “scraper”. It actually uses Google to perform internet searches for you, but it acts as the middle-man in order to maintain your total anonynimity — so that Google cannot collect personal information about you.Never log in to any Google or Yahoo or MSN web site or account. If you do, they can collect and store all sorts of personal information about you.
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
.
.
.
do NOT use…
Nabisco — Altria Group (Philip Morris, Kraft Foods, Nabisco) (see complete list of brands to boycott: Philip Morris brands, and Kraft Foods brands, and Nabisco brands) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more unprocessed natural foods
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Boycott War	If you want to don’t want corporations or governments to use your money to finance war then don’t let them.You can choose to boycott countries or companies who profit from conflict, conquest, and suffering. If you do so, you certainly won’t be alone. Boycotts against the war are a fast-growing global movement.Learn about boycotting the war profiteers.
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Gatorade — PepsiCo Inc (see complete list of Pepsi brands to boycott) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more water
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Fanta — Coca-Cola Company — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more water
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Texaco — ChevronTexaco — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	public transportation — subway, commuter rail, bus
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Marlboro — Altria Group (Philip Morris, Kraft Foods, Nabisco) (see complete list of brands to boycott: Philip Morris brands, and Kraft Foods brands, and Nabisco brands) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more unprocessed natural foods
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Trend Micro — using patent infringement lawsuits to attack the free open source software movement	Ubuntu
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do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Esso — ExxonEssoMobil — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	public transportation — subway, commuter rail, bus
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Phillip Morris — Altria Group (Philip Morris, Kraft Foods, Nabisco) (see complete list of brands to boycott: Philip Morris brands, and Kraft Foods brands, and Nabisco brands) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Chevron — ChevronTexaco — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	public transportation — subway, commuter rail, bus
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Sprite — Coca-Cola Company (see complete list of Coke brands to boycott) — promoting Iraq war, blamed for 600,000 deaths	more water
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
.
Skype — (owned by eBay, Paypal) – Can PayPal hold my money with no explanation? The answer is YES. Can PayPal freeze my account for no reason? The answer is YES. Can PayPal take money out of my account without my knowledge? The answer is YES. And they do it OFTEN!	Ekiga (in conjunction with a free real telephone number from IPKall )(click images to see a larger view)
.
do NOT use…	instead try…
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Sony (see also) – the world’s second-biggest record label has been caught in an abusive and likely illegal copy-restriction practice – making CDs that leave computers vulnerable to security breaches	Top 100 Movies, TV, Music, Audiobooks, Books, and Other Cool Stuff
.
.
More Companies to Boycott and Why

~

If you have any ideas for items that should be included on my list of Companies we Boycott, or comments about any on this list, please email me. Thanks.

.
TOP 6 Bush Donors .1. Altria (ex-Philip Morris, Kraft Food) 2. Exxon-Mobil (Esso) 3. Chevron-Texaco 4. PepsiCo 5. Coca Cola 6. McDonalds. Oct. 04; Source: opensecrets.org

~

What’s so dangerous about the Cult of  Scientology?  And why You should Care.  Click here to find out.

~

Free yourself from the closed proprietary ‘Big Brother’ corporate greed of Microsoft, Apple, etc. Choose  Open Source Free Software.

Are you using Ubuntu Linux on your home computer yet?  Do you use Google?  Did you know that the Google search engine you use every day operates 100% on Linux?  There’s no Windows or Mac running the Google company or any of its services.  Check out  Windows vs Ubuntu’s Best Applications and  getgnulinux.org and  ubuntu.com and  wubi-installer.org and  Google: Open Source Free Software

~

Also, be sure to check out…

• Top Stories — the most popular items as of today, top of the sidebar
• Bruce’s Stream of Thought — thoughts I haven’t even blogged about yet
• Other Topic Categories
• Bruce’s Hot Lists
• Related Items on this Topic
• Return to Home Page

Watch our shows…

• The Bruce Wagner Show™
• Bruce and Ed Live from New York™
• El Show de Edward Gel™ – en Espanol

And don’t forget to…

• Follow Bruce on Twitter
• Subscribe to Bruce’s Journal via Email
• Subscribe to The Bruce Wagner Show™ via Email
• Subscribe to Bruce and Ed Live from New York™ via Email
• Subscribe to El Show de Edward Gel™ via Email – en Espanol
• Subscribe to Bruce’s Stream of Thought – Twitter Microblog via Email

__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
bruce@brucewagner.com

Bruce’s Favorite Things

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS — currently being edited

Here it is! The ever-evolving list of products, services, and stuff… that Bruce just loves — Bruce’s Favorite Things

Each one is brilliant in its own way. Check them out. You’ll be so glad you did…

(please be patient… as this list is currently being edited)

item	description
Costco	Costco refuses to mark up any item more than 14%, in contrast to supermarkets and department stores, which often carry markups of 25% and 50%, respectively. They also tend to carry more higher-end quality items.
Craigslist
Ubuntu	The awesome free replacement for Windows and Mac — far superior to both in every way. Ubuntu is the most popular version of Linux by far. All software is free, and there’s no such thing as a virus or spyware on Ubuntu because it’s a secure operating system– unlike Windows and Mac.
The Secret	The Secret reveals the most powerful law in the universe. The knowledge of this law has run like a golden thread through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages and saviors in the world’s history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women.watch now or download free
Torrentz	With close to a million unique visitors a day, Torrentz.com is by far the most popular BitTorrent meta search engine. Its unique way of indexing torrents from other popular BitTorrent sites makes it the personal favorite of many BitTorrent fans, and one of the most valuable BitTorrent resources on the Internet.
Free (as in freedom and as in free beer) Software	The Essential List of Best-of-Breed Free Software. Whether you’re running Windows, Vista, Mac, or Ubuntu Linux — this list is the best software in each category — and most importantly, it’s all free!(Of course, if you’re running Ubuntu, you’re already head and shoulders above the rest of the uninformed masses!)
Firefox
Duracell AA Charger
iPhone (only 50% sold on it — only for it’s touch & scroll user interface and web browsing)
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Downey Wrinkle Releaser
Must See Movies
x
x
x
MicroCenter	Simply the best computer store in the world, in my opinion.
xx
GnuCash
Enchanted
The Secret Audiobook unabridged
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
The Guys at Pirate Bay	These guys are heroes! These four men in Sweden not only run the world’s larger bittorrent tracker site — The Pirate Bay — but they stand for a fairness and sanity, internet freedom and privacy rights, in the internet age. And not only that… They have BIG s… Big enough, in fact, to stand up to the most powerful… governments, big rich corporate interests, and all of their lawyers, police, etc… to stand for, and defend, what is fair and right.These pages are the coolest: This one for The Top 100 Movies, and The Top 100 TV Series, and The Top 100 Music, and The Top 100 Audiobooks, and The Top 100 Books and Other.(If you don’t already have a bittorrent program installed, go to uTorrent and download that little free program, and you’ll have everything you need to access all the downloads you want — for free — if you have a Windows computer. If you have a Mac, get Transmission. Of course, if you have Ubuntu, you don’t need anything. You already know that bittorrent is a built-in feature of Ubuntu. Transmission is also the client of choice on Ubuntu.)
Gimp
1-800-NOW-PRAY	Nothing more powerful! Silent Unity is available to pray with you over the telephone, free and anonymously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — prayer that is affirmative, based on positive prayers and affirmations that have universal, interfaith appeal — prayer support whenever you want it. Call 1-800-NOW-PRAY (669-7729)
Transmission
Best Audiobooks
HopStop
SkyAuction (for cruises and vacations)
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
BitTorrent
Ekiga (with an IPKall number)
Evolution
Transmission
OpenOffice
Pidgin
1-800-GOOG-411
Oprah	My She-ro!
SkyBus
Priceline (for hotels and car rental only)
The Magic “Answer to Every Question” Machine	I know… You THINK you know all about this one. But it might surprise you to learn that, NO, you DON’T! That’s because they don’t understand the basics of how it works.People use Google to search the internet every day. However, most people have no idea of the POWER it offers… and how they can REALLY benefit from it. That’s because they don’t understand the basics of how Google works.The most important thing you must really understand is this:Google ranks everything in the entire world — by how important and relevant it is as of this very moment TODAYThe second thing they don’t realize is:Google can be used to quickly answer ALMOST ANY QUESTION instantly — with the best answer available in the worldHere’s how to use it properly:Every day, many questions pop in to your mind. Questions like:”Should I buy a 720p, a 1080i, or a 1080p HD TV set? What’s the difference anyway? And what’s the price difference?”Everyone under-utilizes Google. Every time you wonder about something… like…”I wonder if they ever came out with The Secret in Spanish yet?” Google: the secret en espanol” Google often. Google every question you find yourself asking… Google knows the answer. Google knows everything.
Hushmail	Hushmail provides private, secure free email accounts. Email is encrypted, scanned for viruses and filtered for spam, automatically.My Husmail address is brucewagner@hush.com
Google Alerts
Wikipedia
Grand Central the new way to use your phones
Perricone Prescription
BayIMG	free unlimited and uncensored image hosting
Del.icio.us
Google Trends
Feedburner
.
StumbleUpon
Google Product Search
Kiva loans that change lives
Deals of America
Giordano’s Pizza of Chicago (also order online for worldwide delivery)
Tagoo.ru	From Russia with Love — what more can I say?Just click and be prepared for music to your ears…
An Inconvenient Truth
George Foreman Grill
Boleo Hold Your Water	wear your water bottle hands-free on your belt loop — stay healthy, drink more water
WordPress.com	For blogging… Nothing is simpler and better. Period. (And a Google PageRank of 9 doesn’t hurt either.Oh, and it’s free.
HopStop
Deluge
GnuCash
Gimp
Windows and Ubuntu’s Best Software
Plug in America	Plug In America advocates the use of plug-in cars, trucks and SUVs powered by cleaner, cheaper, domestic electricity to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment.
new york city things
Fresh Direct
Who Killed the Electric Car
Sushi at Lobster Place at Chelsea Market (also order online for worldwide delivery)
What the Bleep do We Know
Delivery.com
Fat Witch brownies
Room Service Thai Restaurant
Billy’s Bakery
Zeitgeist
Fleet Week NYC
The New York International Gift Fair
TorrentFreedom	TorrentFreedom offers 100% anonymous and unrestricted internet access and BitTorrent — the way it should be.
LifeHacker
Engadget
Electronic Frontier Foundation	EFF is the leading civil liberties group defending your rights in the digital world. From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense.
Uggs

If you have any ideas for items that should be included on my list of Favorite Things, or comments about any item on this list, please email me. Thanks.

~

If you liked this one, check out Today’s Top Stories — the most popular stories here. They’re listed in the right-hand column, just below the Subscribe buttons.

Also be sure to see… Other Topic Categories and Bruce’s Hot List…

Or you can also… continue reading… Related Items on this Topic

__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
http://brucewagner.com/blog
bruce@brucewagner.com
646-275-2195

How To Not Get Sued for File Sharing

The recent article, How To Not Get Sued for File Sharing from the Electronic Freedom Foundation, makes me think…

First, I highly recommend you read it. Follow the link above and study it. Meanwhile…

Remember the old days…. when your friend wanted to borrow that book on your bookshelf. And you loaned it to her. And you didn’t go to jail for it? And neither did she. Even if she forgot to ever return it to you…?

In most countries, file sharing is legal.

It’s the USA that allows these corporations to get away with imposing their profit-driven scare tactic campaigns against the public.

They lie. They propagandize. They coerce. They exaggerate. They manipulate. They bribe all the politicians they need. They terrorize the public. All to protect their precious profits. link

And somewhere I read that your chances of getting prosecuted for file sharing in America are LESS than getting struck by lightening — twice.

Pssssssst…… But don’t tell anybody.

But DO tell everybody to boycott Comcast for censoring and altering the internet data of their customers. For more info, Google: comcast censoring

See Also: How to Download Everything you Want for Free

More on this:

TorrentFreak

The best place on the Internet for the latest in torrenting news.

The Pirate Bay

Here’s a kickass torrent tracker that’s not afraid to wear their flag with pride.

I Wouldn’t Steal

Home of an excellent video to counter the harsh and even obscene anti-piracy shorts you see in theaters and commercial DVD movies.

Steal This Film

Steal this film.

~

If you liked this one, check out Today’s Top Stories — the most popular stories here. They’re listed in the right-hand column, just below the Subscribe buttons.

Also be sure to see… Other Topic Categories and Bruce’s Hot List…

Or you can also… continue reading… Related Items on this Topic

__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
http://brucewagner.com/blog
bruce@brucewagner.com
646-275-2195

Why you should Always Post your Customer Comment Card on your Blog

This is a Perfect Illustration of my point…

In my recent item, called “Why I’ll never use Fandango again!“, there is a new response, as of yesterday…

This last comment illustrates, and proves, exactly what I was explaining in my article above…

The company itself responded…

as the second reply, in fact.

Every company “monitors the web”…

They Google their own company names… to see what is being said about them.

No company wants bad publicity.

Especially if they have heard people complaining about them on the web before…

The point is… If you have a complaint about a company, and you’ve been unable to get total resolution to your problem… Or, even if they have resolved it, but you have concerns that their bad practices were intentional… Or, at least, “systematic”…

In other words, if you are worried that thousands or millions of other people are going to get the shaft too…

Post your comments about that company in your blog.

Thousands of people will read them. People do google searches for company names and product names before they buy…

But, even more powerful, the companies themselves google search for their own company & product names… And THEY will read what you write. And that could change their entire policy…

And THAT can change the world…

One Word of Caution

Make certain that what you say is factual. Lying is not legal… when it is defamation. It could be slander or libel.

If you’re not absolutely certain about something — like the company’s intentions (how could you be certain of that?!) — make it into a question rather than a statement. For example, “Does this company have this system in place to INTENTIONALLY cheat every customer? You tell me.”

Be fair. No one appreciates the arguments of a complainer. If you bought something with a non-refundable policy, and you were CLEARLY informed that it was non-refundable before you bought it… And, now, you’ve simply changed your mind… Let it go! It was YOUR mistake, no one else’s.

You, equipped with your computer keyboard and the internet, have more personal power as a Consumer Advocate than you ever realized!

Be sure to also post the GOOD things too… by the way…

We wanna hear about how FABULOUS some place was too…

For example, our waiter last night at Becco on 46th Street, in New York City’s Theater District, was one of the best waiters we’ve ever seen! He’s so attentive and considerate and full of smiles, and even conversation — with seemingly a hundred diners at once… An amazing talent, this guy has… He’s a true pro at the art of customer service. His name is Geronimo. Ask for him.

Learning a Language and Attending Harvard, all for Free, while Commuting to work on a Bicycle

This is Unifying the Planet

…fast!

That’s right.

All any human being needs is… an iPod (or a cheap iPod knock-off from China, or any other cheap MP3 player, or a computer) and an occasional internet connection.

A 16-year-old boy could be riding a bicycle in Bangladesh… and…

a middle-aged construction laborer could be sitting in the back of a Baht bus in Bangkok… at the same time, while…

…taking a course at Harvard,

…learning Spanish or Czech or German or French, or

…watching the world’s best video and audio tutorials, movies, and documentaries

All for free.

Don’t shoot me…

I’m just tellin it like it is…

This technology IS ALREADY changing the education of the masses on this planet.

I said above, that any person could be doing these things…

However, the truth is… THEY ALREADY ARE!

Right now — at this very moment — a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Kolkata, India…

and a grandmother in Yangon, Myanmar…

are getting an education by listening to, and watching, downloaded media… for free.

~

listening to the course lectures of the best USA university professors for free while riding on a typical 20-cent Baht Bus in Pattaya, Thailand

~

Do YOU even know how to use uTorrent? (See brucewagner.com/free )

You install the free program, then you go to a site like mininova.org or thepiratebay.org

All for free, from all over the globe — not hundreds of millions — but BILLIONS — of human beings, are downloading anything they want — educational CDs, DVDs, movies, books — you name it…

Then, they are watching and/or listening to ALL of the best video and audio material ever created…. for free…. while they are walking, waiting, working, relaxing, commuting, etc… on their iPod, or MP3 player, or cellphone or PDA… or now, even on their iPhone…

Agree with it or not…. The world IS changing at lightning speed, as a result.

To give you an idea of what’s out there….

Here are some of the Pimsleur Language Courses available for free, which you can download via bittorrent…

See http://www.mininova.org/search/pimsleur/seeds

Here are some of the The Teaching Company (TTC) University Courses available for free, which you can download via bittorrent…

See http://www.mininova.org/search/TTC/seeds

Here are some of the videos and audiobooks related the the worldwide phenomenon called, The Secret – The Law of Attraction available for free, which you can download via bittorrent…

http://www.mininova.org/search/the+secret+law+of+attraction/seeds

http://www.mininova.org/search/the+secret+audiobook/seeds

and en Espanol,

http://www.mininova.org/search/el+secreto+ley+atraccion/seeds

Make no mistake about it…

In some countries it is illegal to download copyrighted material.

We certainly recommend that you abide by the law always.

And…

These programs are usually copyright protected, and may cost anywhere from $200 for one language course, to thousands of dollars for one single university course…

But…

The Masses — literally billions of people — are downloading them for free… from all over the planet… 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

BitTorrent + iPod = Universal Global Education

Whether you choose to join them or not… You should be aware of how this IS changing the world you live in.

~

Continue reading… Related Items on this Topic …Or see… Other Topic Categories

__________________
Bruce Wagner
http://brucewagner.com
http://brucewagner.com/blog
bruce@brucewagner.com
646-275-2195

Future of Internet Radio in Immediate Danger

Ed and I are absolutely in LOVE with our favorite music radio station…

We don’t know what we’d do without it. We listen to it all day long, and all night… until we can’t stand it any more and just need silence!

It’s a music radio station on … Live365.com (specifically, the station there called Gay Dance Radio)…

It is an internet radio station… And the guy who works so hard every day to program it, who calls himself, “DJSkwerl”… out of Kansas City, MO… does a PHENOMENAL job!

But the important thing is…

Then comes this news…

“The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger. Royalty rates for webcasters have been drastically increased by a recent ruling and are due to go into effect on July 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!). Webcasters across the country participated in a national Day of Silence this week to increase awareness about this looming threat and gather support for the SaveNetRadio collation and our campaign to preserve music diversity on-line. The Internet Radio Equality Act is currently being considered by both the House and the Senate. This bill will set royalty rates for Internet radio equal to the royalty rate paid by satellite radio, and has gained over 120 cosponsors in the House.

Internet radio needs your help to survive. We need you to pressure your representatives in Congress to take action. Please take a moment to call your Congressional representatives in the House and Senate to ask them to co-sponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act. Making your voice heard will go a long way to helping preserve the Internet radio industry. Time is running short, so please call your representatives today.”

– from SaveNetRadio.org

PLEASE…

Take Action Right Now — in this critical window of time

— Call your Senators and Representative

~

UPDATE: You might want to listen to these hearings… They are very enlightening… Just play them (in parts, 1 through 17) while you’re doing your other web browsing or work…

Here’s the link to the first part…

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

part 6

part 7

part 8

part 9

part 10

part 11

part 12

part 13

part 14

part 15

part 16

part 17

~

Bruce Wagner
Click here to watch: The Bruce Wagner Show

~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

BayIMG has been DOWN since Yesterday

What’s up with BayIMG?

For those who don’t know about it yet, BayIMG is the new free — censorship-free — image hosting service just launched 3 days ago by the folks over at Pirate Bay…

It is awesome, and amazing…

No registration, no sign up, no login, no need even for any fancy url to remove pictures later.

It’s pure simplicity is a thing of beauty.

Unfortunately…

As far as I can tell, the site seems to have been DOWN since yesterday…

They must be having tremendous growing pains. I can only imagine how popular this thing is going to be — totally off the hook!

Last time I looked at their stats listed at the bottom of the page… they had already had something like 4.8 million pictures viewed… in only the first couple of days since it’s launch…

UPDATE (24 June, 12:49pm et): I wrote to Pirate Bay about the site being down…  And here’s the friendly reply I just received:

Hey Bruce,

Thanks for the nice words

Actually, we didn’t decide to release the site really, it leaked out so
we weren’t finished with everything before people started using it.
We’re also running on hardware that we’re the only ones who got – we’re
beta testing the hardware for a company and we found some problems with
it and they’re trying to fix them – so it’s actually not only our fault
that it’s down

Anyhow, we’re trying to get the site back up to full speed and next week
I think we’ll be flying nicely again

// Peter

~

Bruce Wagner
Click here to watch: The Bruce Wagner Show

~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

Keep Internet Radio Free!

Your ONE phone call… could make all the difference.

Or, better yet, open a blank page in Word, type in the above lines…  Then paste in one of your two Senators’ name and address above it (which you can get from the link below)…  Print it.  Then pase in the name & address of your Other Senator… and print it.

You now have two quick letters.  Mail them!   They really DO count these things… and they DO make a difference.

Let your voice be heard RIGHT NOW!

Click here to find the name and phone number of your Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State

~

Bruce Wagner
Click here to watch: The Bruce Wagner Show

~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

Hidden Spyware in Free Site Stat Counters

A Shocking Betrayal of Trust

Whenever any site asks you to include some bit of code into your own web page or blog or whatever — which is becoming more and more common — there CAN be risks.

BE WARNED:

You need to have a lot of trust in that site, or company, who is providing you that code… because it is, in fact, a computer program that will run every single time your web page loads.

Think about it…

Here’s what happened when one such company went astray…

~

As I just said over on Bent Corner (the blog that exposed the details & whole story):

Use StatCounter. They are the best.

INTEGRITY rules!

LET THIS BE A LESSON

Those companies who give in to the temptation to scam the public with hidden spyware and malware, WILL BE EXPOSED quickly…

And those companies will die a quick and painful death.

How many people are going to be recommending — what’s it called? — Site Meter?

It’s history. And no one will ever remember it even existed.

~

GeekNewsCentral confirms the reports here: Betrayal of Trust

Here is the article about all this on the StatCounter’s own blog.

~

Bruce Wagner
Click here to watch:  The Bruce Wagner Show
~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

Is Microsoft Guilty if Ransom Note is in Word?

A great editorial from Sunbelt Software…

Should Technology Makers Be Responsible for How You Use Their Products?

It’s becoming increasingly popular to extend legal responsibility for illegal behavior way beyond the person who actually commits the crime. Bartenders are sued or even charged criminally if a person who buys alcohol from them drives drunk. Gun owners are blamed if criminals steal their weapons and commit murder or robbery. Parents are fined if their teenage children skip school, even if the parent has delivered the child to the schoolhouse door. Vehicle owners get tickets if their cars run red lights – even if they weren’t driving.

Hard to Find 800 Numbers

You keep these companies in business, yet they hide from you.

They’d probably prefer it… if you would just slide an envelope of cash under their door once a week… and then go away!

Here are the Top 5 offenders…

Amazon.com

800-201-7575 877-251-0696 866-348-2492 206-266-2992

Cust. service Seller support Rebate status Local or int’l

24/7 “ ” ( Press 0 to bypass menu) “

Ebay.com

888-749-3229 800-322-9266

Cust. service “

6:30a-5:30p M-F (Pacific)

PayPal.com

888-215-5506 888-221-1161

Cust. service “

6a-12midnight (Central) 7 days/wk

Yahoo.com

866-562-7219 408-349-3300 866-562-7228 866-800-8092

Customer service Corporate hq Billing Small business cust. services

8a-5p M-F (Pacific)

Microsoft.com

800-426-9400800-936-5700

Sales Tech support: Personal support:

6a-6p M-F (Pacific) Option 2 5a-9p M-F 6a-3p Sat/Sun

For the complete list, check out this site…

~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

Skype to Announce Disruptive Pricing Strategy

Luxembourg, December 19th, 2006 — Skype is to announce a new pricing structure for SkypeOut worldwide. Further details will be available from January 18th, 2007.

The new pricing strategy will provide over 136 million registered Skype users with more exciting and cost-effective ways of keeping in touch with their friends and family across the world.

Earlier this week, Skype announced its new calling plan for the North American market. This plan offers registered Skype users a paid for annual subscription service to make 12 months of unlimited SkypeOut calls to any phones within the U.S. and Canada. Skype has offered a number of paid for services since July 2004 including SkypeIn, SkypeOut and Skype Voicemail.

Skype’s new pricing structure includes a connection fee of 0 – 0.039 € per call (exclusive of VAT) effective from 13.00 CET, January 18th, 2007.

~

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Miami Beach Resort Fees CAN be Disputed!

I just posted this on the BiddingForTravel.com forum — where users share information about how much Priceline hotel rooms and rental cars are currently going for…

~~~

About a so-called “Mandatory Resort Fee” when I never even selected that I wanted a “Resort” – only a 4star Hotel…

We have stayed at several Priceline Miami Beach “Resorts”, and have SUCCESSFULLY had the hotel’s General Manager REMOVE the so-called “mandatory resort fees” EVERY TIME!

It is a major hassle… to point out their flawed scam… And cause a slight “scene” at the front desk… until they get the General Manager to show up… But we have had 100% success in getting them to remove it from our bill.

The most recent was yesterday, at the “Miami Beach Resort & Spa”. This hotel participates in the notorious “Miami Beach Resort Fee Rip-off Scam”. They add an additional amount, PER NIGHT, to your room bill without your permission. If asked about it, they say, “It is a mandatory additional charge.” If pressed, they will admit that it is not a tax or government fee – it is simply “a policy” to charge you more. They will also present you with a BOGUS “Priceline Agreement Page” and tell you that you agreed to this extra charge on Priceline’s agreement. However, this so-called Priceline Agreement Page details the full name and address of the hotel – which Priceline (OBVIOUSLY) does not give you until AFTER you paid.

OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A CONSUMER FRAUD SCAM WHICH PRICELINE IS TOTALLY AIDING AND ABEDDING – in the sense that Priceline (1) Is hiding the “mandatory extra charges” language deep within the fine print to mislead and defraud the public, (2) They are allowing the charging of this “Resort Fee” even when YOU DID NOT SELECT A “RESORT” – only a 4-star hotel, (3) Priceline refuses to do anything, on your behalf, about the scam charges.

The only hope in getting the charges removed, unfortunately is: Demanding to talk to the General Manager of the hotel UPON CHECK-IN…. And explaining to him that this is not a charge you ever agreed to. He will show you the BOGUS Agreement you supposedly agreed to… And you will point out to him that it is fake. Priceline does not GIVE you the name of the hotel until AFTER you have paid – so how could the hotel’s name be printed on the page?

Before long, they will likely get a new, improved, version of the bogus Agreement… to tell you this is what you “signed”… one without the name of their hotel printed right in the middle of the page… proving it is false…

In the meantime, keep demanding the General Manager, and DEMAND that this consumer fraud be stopped.

I believe I read in the newspaper that there is a class-action suit being prepared against these “resorts” and Priceline.

This so-called Resort also has no working whirlpool.

~~~

After having said all that… We still recommend using Priceline for Hotels. We routinely get hotels for 20-45% of the best rates we can get for the same room any other way. We also recommend Priceline for rental cars. We have been able to get nice rental cars for $13-20 per day. We would not recommend Priceline for airline travel because if you cannot select the times of the flights, you can really get your plans ruined. Besides, you can get excellent fares using SideStep.com and Expedia.com

~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

Paid-for Blog Posts & Ad Blogs are Illegal Fraud

From Yahoo News, comes… Ads Masked as Bloggers New Online Marketing Ploy and Bloggers Must Disclose Sponsored Posts and…

Just for the record…Even though I often write about products and services that I love… or don’t love…

No Posts on THIS blog… Bruce’s Journal… will ever be Paid-for.

I think it is deceptive and fraudulent to accept payment for posting a blog item… Advertising should always be clearly marked as, “ADVERTISEMENT”. This blog will never contain paid advertising.

And, also for the record…

Ed’s blog…. El Diario de Edward… will also never contain any paid-for posts.

Fake “independent” blogs by companies or secretly manipulated by advertisers break US law by misleading consumers, according to federal regulators.

The FTC warned this month that “such connection must be fully disclosed” and that its staff “will determine on a case by case basis whether to recommend law enforcement actions to the commission.”

In my opinion, this new policy of PayPerPost to require their paid bloggers to disclose the fact that they are paid, sponsored, posts… I believe is bogus! Why? Because PayPerPost allows the blogger to state in a “general policy” section of the blog… in some hidden, tucked-away, no-one-has-ever-seen-it, page… of their blog… that they accept “paid posts”. That still allows bloggers to hide the fact that their blog contains “paid-for” posts… which is still a deception, and illegal consumer fraud, if you ask me…

83% of Videos Downloaded from Illegal P2P Sites

Five out of six videos downloaded from the Internet come from illegal peer-to-peer web sites, an ominous sign for an entertainment industry spending big on video download technology.

See full article from today’s New York Post.

To see how everyone is doing it, check out How to Download Everything You Want for Free.

~

Click here to return to the home page of Bruce’s Journal »

Why do we Put Up with Customer ABUSE?

Why why why why why…..

Could SOMEONE please tell me why…..

In this, the 21st Century….

In the richest nation the world has ever seen…. 

Why do we put up with “cable companies” who schedule a “window of time” for you to take half the day off work…

Only to receive a phone call half way through the appointment time…  “We’re terribly sorry, but the technician showed up at your home and there was no one home.  We’d be happy to reschedule your installation for 10 days from now.”

Meanwhile…  You were home the entire time and no one rang your doorbell.

Obviously, some out-sourced third-party contract cable installer bum has been lying to his dispatcher about where he is right now…   And, you get to pay the price…   And the cable company doesn’t care…

So you call the cable company, livid, and proceed to tell them what jerks they are…  

And you end up with a new appointment — 10 days from now.

On that fateful day, 10 days later, the guy who shows up to install your “high speed internet connection”.

Unfortunately, he seems to have barely heard of Windows before…  and obviously does not know the first thing about what he is doing.

He seems to be trained in only two things:

1. How to plug the pretty little blue box into the wall, and
2. How to pull 1,000 lame lie excuses out of his hat — for why the internet is not working on your computer.

He begins with,

“Do you have a firewall?”

“No.”

“Yes, I think your firewall is blocking the internet.”

“I don’t have any firewall running.”

“Well, I’m not sure which ISP you’re running, but…”  (as he is trying to open a web page in my browser)

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’re running Internet Exploreror Firefox, but…” (as he is still using my browser…)

This guy is obviously an idiot.

Well, I’m sure he’s a very lovely guy….   He’s just totally unqualified to be screwing in lightbulbs for a living.

“The internet is working now.”  (as it takes a good 5 minutes to load a simple web page) 

“I think your computer just needs some more umphh….  Ya know…  Like a bigger hard drive.”

“But how fast a web page loads has nothing to do with the size of the hard drive.”

“Well, it’s definitely your computer…  Cause the little green lights are on on the modem…  So it’s definitely working ok.  Yea, it’s your computer…”  (a brand new laptop, by the way, which works fine everywhere else).

So…….

What do you do?

First, you tell this guy to get out of your house.

Second, you call the “cable company” and complain…

And, if you’re really really lucky…   Maybe you’ll end up with an appointment — for 10 days from now. 

There is no one to complain to. 

Lilly Tomlin’s famous line, “We don’t care because we don’t have to.  We’re the phone company.”   …still applies today.

But today, it applies to the broadband ISP companies.

So yesteryear’s rape-the-consumer-AT&T….    has been replaced with today’s …   broadband cable & DSL ISP companies…  Time-Warner, Verizon, SBC, Bellsouth, etc…

And yesteryear’s rape-the-consumer-big-brother-is-watching-you-and-controlling-your-every-move-world-domination-IBM….    has been replaced with today’s…  Microsoft.

Progress?

RSS is… FAR from “Really Simple”

What type of RSS Feed would you like today?

 

Do you understand what all of these are for?

Originally, as the story goes…  RSS stood for “Really Simple Syndication”…

However, if it was ever simple…    RSS is far from simple today…

Each of our shows have their own podcast… and each podcast has its own RSS feed…

Each of our Brightcove players, themselves, also have their own RSS feeds…

Our blog has two RSS Feeds — one for entries, and one for comments…

Every one of our del.icio.us “tags” even has its own RSS feed…

And every page of our Flickr photos has its own RSS feed…

In fact, almost every web page you visit these days has an RSS Feed…

On their main page, Diggnation lists a grand total of 18 (yes, I said eighteen) types of RSS Feeds for a single show!

Each RRS Feed has a cryptic little title like, “Xvid Large“….  Or “Theora Small“….

Hmmm. 

I guess I need to do some amount of research — like I’m writing my thesis — on “Theora” and “Xvid”…  so I don’t seem stupid to anyone…  Heaven Forbid!

Then, there’s the issue of what do you READ the Feed with…

What in the world do you DO with all these RSS Feeds? 

Generic MP3 player software wants an RSS feed…  in order to subscribe to a podcast…

iTunes requires a different, unique, special URL link to subscribe to one…  (because iTunes already knows the correct RSS feed for each podcast that’s registered with iTunes…)

I can program RRS Feed URLs into my Gmail account…  so that I get the latest updates displayed at the top of my email Inbox..

I can run a software program that is an RSS Reader…    Or I can use a web-based RSS Reader website…

I can even add RSS Feeds to my “Personalized” Google or Yahoo Start Page…

There are Rich Media RSS Readers…   And Textual RSS Readers…   And MP3 RSS Readers…

It seems like RSS Feeds, and RSS Readers, are everywhere…

It’s all so confusing!

What happens if I enter my blog’s RSS Feed into my iTunes?   Or my podcast’s RSS Feed into my Gmail RSS Reader?  Or my Brightcove Internet Television Player’s RSS Feed into my RSS Reader software…?

Do I really have to have a different RSS Feed for each different type and format of content?

If so, how do I know which type of RSS Feed is going to be compatible with which type of RSS Reader/Player?

How on Earth is the average Mom supposed to figure all this out!?!?

Really Simple?

Perhaps RSS Feeds should have a new labelling sytem…  One which tells the subscriber what media formats are associated with that Feed.  For example, RSS-A, RSS-B, RSS-C, etc, etc…

Then there’s that little XML icon/button…  The one the look just like the old RSS icon/butoon…

What’s THAT all about?

And that’s not all….

There’s “Atom” and “BitTorrent” and on and on and on…

Where does it all lead……..!?!?!?!?!?

Want to keep the internet free? Do your part!

Greedy corporate interests are lobbying Congress to try to allow them (internet infrastructure companies) to force content providers (webmasters) to pay them extra “protection fees”.   Anyone who refuses to pay these “protection fees” will have access to their web sites purposely slowed down   ….as compared to those who do agree to pay these “protection fees”.

This comes down to one thing — plain and simple — It is extortion.

Please take a stand to protect Network Neutrality.   Let your elected representatives know that you insist on fairness, and are opposed to corporate extortion.    Email all your friends and ask them to do the same.   And take a moment to sign this electronic petition. 

Also, join the Electronic Frontier Foundation in their work to defend freedom in the digital world.