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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Programming Note: Off to Manila...

Metro Manila

So I'm off to Manila on business for a while -- back on February 19th, so the blog might be slightly dormant until then (maybe a post or two -- who knows).

In any event, thanks for the interest, patience, and following.

Cheers,

- ferg

Monday, February 7, 2011

U.S. Seeks Veto Powers Over New Domain Names

Declan McCullagh writes on C|Net News:

The Obama administration is quietly seeking the power for it and other governments to veto future top-level domain names, a move that raises questions about free expression, national sovereignty, and the role of states in shaping the future of the Internet.

At stake is who will have authority over the next wave of suffixes to supplement the venerable .com, .org, and .net. At least 115 proposals are expected this year, including .car, .health, .nyc, .movie, and .web, and the application process could be finalized at a meeting in San Francisco next month.

Some are likely to prove contentious among more conservative nations. Two different groups--the dotGAY Initiative and the .GAY Alliance--already have announced they will apply for the right to operate the .gay domain; additional controversial proposals may surface in the next few months. And nobody has forgotten the furor over .xxx, which has been in limbo for seven years after receiving an emphatic thumbs-down from the Bush administration.

When asked whether it supports or opposes the creation of .gay and .xxx, an official at the U.S. Commerce Department replied that "it is premature for us to comment on those domain names." The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit based in Marina del Rey, Calif., that has a contract with the U.S. government to manage Internet addresses, is overseeing the process of adding new domain suffixes.

More here.

Friday, February 4, 2011

NASDAQ OMX Reportedly Hacked

Larry Dignan writes on the ZDNet "Between The Lines" Blog:

Nasdaq OMX, which owns the stock exchange that lists numerous tech giants ranging from Intel to Microsoft to Cisco, has reportedly been hacked, but it’s unclear to what extent.

According to the Wall Street Journal, hackers have “repeatedly” hacked Nasdaq OMX computers. Nasdaq OMX runs the Nasdaq market. It’s early in a Federal investigation, but the Journal notes the following:

The Nasdaq trading platform wasn’t compromised.
Motives are unclear, but financial gain, theft and potential terrorism are all possibilities.
The Feds consider hacking Nasdaq OMX the equivalent of messing with utilities or other key infrastructure.
Hackers didn’t do anything nefarious, but just poked around.

More here.

An old piece...

Was sifting through my inbox for some mail, when I chanced upon this short film review I had written for a contest last year somewhere around the Independence Day. Just realized that I hadn't shared it on this space. So here goes...

Fettered Freedom

A nation that is free of foreign rule yet chained by internal ogres - a whole people who no longer serve an imperial power but are slaves to circumstances of poverty, destitution and illiteracy – a freedom that is fettered – the 1-minute movie, Independence, by Neeraj Ghaywan is about the economically and politically liberated India that continues to bleed…

Through the character of a girl trying to make money by selling Indian flags, Neeraj walks us through the paradoxes that our country is torn between. The clichéd gap between the haves and have-nots is a stark reality that many of us try to forget in order to keep our conscience clear.

Though the imagery in the movie is hard hitting, and therefore, deeply unsettling and disturbing, the free entrepreneurial spirit of the girl whose eyes twinkle with hope and steps bounce with the urge to dance forward make me cross my fingers in faith that hers will be a more optimistic flight in life.

And, thus, Neeraj leaves his audience with conflicting emotions of despairing reality and desperate prayers for change.

A powerful and moving one-minute saga, Independence is not a one time must-watch. It is a must keep for a lifetime – a must-watch every time you curse your fate because your long list of wishes could not be fulfilled, every time you think you do not have enough, every time you are blinded by the neon lights of cushioned living, every time you are lost in the maze of money and the rat race, every time your soul feels smug with the camouflaging cob webs you have weaved around your self, every time the calendar reads 15th August and you plan your “holiday”.