[CCC News] Assorted News 41 - Maps, Pirates, Paranoia? :)

Sat Feb 18 17:11:59 AEDT 2012

*In this edition:
**
*A bunch of stuff to make up for the delay since last newsletter :)
*
**Assorted News:
*    The Piracy Wars - My take on it all.
     NBN Connections in Armidale now available with Exetel
     Hiding from Google? Duck Duck Go!

*Handy Tips:
*Tell me where you are - How to share your exact location with Google Maps.
     Sell things Slowly - at QuickSales.
     DropSync
*
Entertainment?:
*    The Energy Problem: A new short documentary reviewing our old 
friends, Peak Oil and Exponential Growth.
*
Shop:
*WiFi Galaxy Tab for sale.
     Cheapo Tablets
     New and Secondhand Phones.
     Dell Dual Core laptop, 1G RAM, high def LCD $180, or $210 with new 
battery
     Wanted: Old working mobiles.

*General Rambings
*ExeBoss Gone :(
     New Invoices work well!
     Partner recovered :)

*
*
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*The Piracy Wars - My Take on it all.

*
/Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only. I make 
no guarantee that any of these services mentioned are in fact safe to 
use./ ///I//don't condone outright piracy, but have few qualms about 
downloading a show if it was just on TV recently and my PVR failed to 
record it./ /I am also very pleased about the Optus TV Now outcome. 
Piracy for Profit is wrong. No two ways about it./ --
*
*You've probably recently heard of various 'piracy-busting' ideas such 
as SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA. From my limited understanding of them, they're 
no-evidence-needed heavy handed ways of killing off entire sites if one 
copyrighted piece of information is reproduced there without permission.

Recently, a shady company called MegaUpload was shut down - and fair 
enough too since the people running it were clearly profiteering from 
copyright infringement. He made several million dollars 
<http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=716642&vId=3049542>.

Generally speaking, Piracy largely exists because there is a demand for 
movies, music, games, etc that is not always conveniently or affordably 
met by supply. Content producers have a tendency to only make their 
content available in certain countries / regions. People would often be 
willing to pay for the same content if it could be found legally and for 
a reasonable price. In some cases it also exists because of "DVD Region 
Restrictions" that try to prevent you playing a US DVD (for example) in 
an Australian player; or more recently because people get irritated when 
they put a DVD or Blu-Ray in and are forced to watch unskippable ads and 
FBI warnings. Delayed releases in certain countries relative to others 
also tends to drive it.

As an example of where a company is doing things right, look at Steam 
<http://store.steampowered.com/>. They allow you to buy many computer 
games over the Internet. It generally doesn't matter where in the world 
you are. Other companies doing it half-right are Amazon and iTunes. I 
say only half-right for two reasons. Both Amazon and iTunes still have 
regional restrictions; meaning you often can't buy a book or movie 
because you live in Australia instead of the US for example. iTunes also 
gets another strike for being overly restrictive about what you can read 
iBooks on. (You can only read them on an iPad or iPhone 
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2427314?start=0&tstart=0> - you 
can't read them on your computer! Compare that to Amazon's Kindle 
program that you can use on iPhone, Android, iPad, Laptops, Desktops, 
NetBooks, other phones..) /Please don't buy iBooks./

/*Why Piracy can't be stopped.

*/Some of you have heard of "torrents". These were invented many years 
ago around the time when Napster was killed. They are one of the most 
popular methods of obtaining music and movies without paying for them. 
There were two problems with torrents however.

     1 - They required a central site listing all the torrents, for 
example The Pirate Bay <http://www.thepiratebay.se/>.
     2 - They are public - others can potentially see what your 
broadband connection is downloading <http://www.youhavedownloaded.com/>.

The problem with having a central site of course is that it can 
sometimes be taken down - as happened with Napster. The problem with 
others seeing what you're downloading is more to do with litigation of 
course - something that rarely happens in Australia yet, but those days 
might end soon.
*
/Workarounds?

/*Naturally, people always find ways around perceived problems. For 
example, to avoid the 'central site' problem, a program called Tribler 
<http://dl.tribler.org/download.html> was invented. Rather than 
searching a central site for whatever it is you want to download, it 
asks the other computers nearby if they have it. Doing this reliably is 
a technical challenge of course, but it seems to be working.

Another workaround is to "move to another country." There are many VPN 
services 
<http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/?> 
out that will do this.

VPNs will generally move your Internet connection to another country. 
Mullvad <http://mullvad.net/en/> for example will pop you up somewhere 
in Sweden - which will be amusing since suddenly Google 
<http://www.google.se/> will be Swedish 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Sweden#>. Since the 
connection between you and the VPN provider is usually a secure one, 
it's somewhat more difficult for anyone to see what you're sharing - 
largely solving the 'public' problem number 2 from above.

VPNs are also commonly used by people in countries where censorship is a 
problem, and are a common tool for businesses who want to link two 
remote offices together; so they aren't inherently used for nefarious 
purposes.

/*Conclusion:*/

So, in conclusion, if content providers refuse to make their content 
available worldwide at a fair price; people will pirate it instead - 
provided the effort required is not too steep. Some artists have already 
figured this out, and have decided to forego the middlemen and market 
directly to the public <https://buy.louisck.net/> - sometimes quite 
profitably 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/louis-ck-500000-profit-live-at-beacon-theatre-special_n_1152506.html>! 

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*NBN connections now available in Armidale with Exetel.

*Some parts of Armidale now have NBN availability via Myself and Exetel. 
Click Here and enter you street name 
<http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-fibre-tas-sq.php> to see if it's 
available there. Pricing starts at $35 a month 
<http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-fibre-pricing-mainland.php>. 
Disclaimer: I earn 7.5% ongoing commission if you sign up with me.

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*Paranoid? How to Hide from Google.

*I'm not really worried about what Google knows about me - otherwise I 
wouldn't be using Gmail. However, I understand that some people would 
rather Google didn't know what they were searching for. You can somewhat 
reduce this by using an alternative search site that doesn't track what 
you search for. A popular example is Duck Duck Go <http://duckduckgo.com/>!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Tell me where you are - How to share your exact location with Google Maps.*

Do you live in a place that's 'turn left after the overtaking lane, 
follow road three kilometers, turn right over grid, left fork? Do you 
have to spend ages telling someone how to find you? Do you end up faxing 
them a mudmap? Well, those days might nearly be over!

Here's how to share your exact location to someone via email, so they 
can see your exact location on their mobile phone GPS. If you're clever 
you can even work out how to put it in your email signature!

Note: Unfortunately, using Google Maps is sometimes buggy and it gets 
stuck at "Loading..."

Note also - if you have an Android phone, skip to Option 3 and take your 
phone outside - it's easier!

1 - Go to http://maps.google.com.au/

2 - Type in your address, or an address nearby.

/*Option 1 - Send an approximate match:*/

This option send them an unannotated map.

3 - Arrange the map so your location is centered on the map

4 - click the "Link button"

5 - Right-click the Address, choose Copy.

6 - In your email, right click and choose "Paste"

7 - Send the email :)

The recipient will get the same map in the same position; you'll need to 
let them know to go to the centre of the map.

/*Option 2 - Send an Exact Match. (Educational only - not working at 
time of writing.)

*/3 - Sign in if not already signed in.

4 - Type in your address, or an address nearby so you can drag the map 
to the right place.

5 - Click More -->> Move Marker.

6 - Drag the marker to the exact spot you want it.

7 - Click on More --> Send

8 - Enter the details, and click Send. (Try sending to yourself.)

Note - at time of writing, only one out of twelve attempts to send the 
email actually went. You can use the 'Google Plus' "Share" link instead. 
This will work with Android devices, but I don't know about iPhones.

*/Option 3 - Send where you are right now./

*If you have an Android phone or tablet with GPS, you can use the app " 
Here I am 2 
<https://market.android.com/details?id=com.codesector.hereiam&hl=en>" to 
create an exact link and send it by email 
<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:-30.32691%2C151.62459>or SMS.**There 
is probably something similar for iPhone.*

*
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*Sell Things Slowly, at QuickSales!

*You've all heard of eBay. eBay's good, but if you want to sell 
something that's hard to sell, it can be a pain as you end up repeatedly 
paying listing fees.

Quicksales <http://www.quicksales.com.au/> doesn't have a listing fee, 
so you can take obscure items 
<http://www.quicksales.com.au/buy/auction.aspx?itemid=13122220> that you 
know someone will want, and list them there pretty much indefinitely 
without cost. You do of course pay a fee at sale.

Unfortunately they only have about 10% of the traffic of eBay, but it's 
better than nothing!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
DropSync*

Got an Android device and want to sync some documents between it and 
your computer without having to plug anything in? DropSync 
<https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ttxapps.dropsync&hl=en> works 
with Dropbox <http://db.tt/5TRbMLQ> to synchronise one or more folders 
between your computer and your device. One common use is to sync your 
phone photos automatically to your computer. Of course, be aware that if 
you're syncing large files, this might count as internet usage on your 
device.

*//*
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*The Energy Problem

*There seems to be significant evidence that our lives will change 
somewhat when we run out of oil, or when we overpopulate the planet, or 
when people decide a trillion dollars is too much debt. I don't have the 
answers to these larger problems - the general consensus of which 
appears to be 'get ready to live off the land again.' A new documentary 
called "There is No Tomorrow (2012) 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOMWzjrRiBg>" has been created that 
presents most of this stuff fairly concisely.

If you prefer a non-animated docco covering exponential growth, this 
one's not bad either 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?playnext=1&index=0&feature=PlayList&v=F-QA2rkpBSY&list=PL6A1FD147A45EF50D>.

Note: I haven't done any research on the validity of either of these 
shows - you can read debates here 
<http://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/comments/pqmm5/theres_no_tomorrow_3452/> 
and here 
<http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/7hx1s/the_most_important_video_youll_ever_see/>.

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*Shop

*I currently have the following items available for sale:
1 * Lightly Used Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" 
<http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab/SPH-P100ZKASPR> WiFi only, $300
1 * Lightly Used Uniden "deaf and /or blind person 
<http://www.crazysales.com.au/uniden-phone-sse25.html>" cordless phone, $45
5 pairs of Telstra Bluetooth Cordless phones, $120 a pair (or can do 
single $80, Triple $150)
4 * Huawei Ideos X1 Android Moblile Phones $85 each
Dell Dual Core laptop 
<http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2994>, 1G RAM, high 
def LCD $180, or $210 with new battery

I have also recently purchased one of these 7" tablets 
<http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270875221166&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:AU:1123> 
for a customer, and was relatively impressed with the value for money: 
($150)

I also purchased a $40 Dash Cam 
<http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/IR-Car-Vehicle-Dash-Cam-Camera-Rotable-270-Monitor-/160586461675?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2563b2f1eb>, 
and have been pleased with the results. (It's a camera that you put on 
your windscreen, and it records whenever the car is moving, etc.)

*Wanted: *Any old working Bluetooth-capable Mobile Phones for recycling 
or re-homing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*ExeBoss Gone :(

*The manager of Exetel, John Linton 
<https://johnl.blogs.exetel.com.au/>, died about a couple of weeks ago. 
His son, James, seems to be keen on carrying on the show :)

*New Invoices Working Well.

*The "Account Balance" feature I recently added to my invoices has been 
working well, discovering a few payment issues from both myself and some 
customers.

*Partner Recovered :)

*Last newsletter, I mentioned that my parter had been unwell. She is 
back to normal now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that's it for another Newsletter! Hope your 2012's going well for 
you so far!

Cheers, Mike.

*Old Editions
*You can find old editions of this newsletter on  the CCC Blog. 
http://auzzie.net/cccblog/

You can also subscribe or unsubscribe at 
http://auzzie.net/mailman/listinfo/ccc-news_auzzie.net
*
*
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael Kean
*Proprietor, Cool Country Consulting.*
Trading Hours: 10am to 8pm weekdays.
http://coolhelp.com.au/
Tel: 02 6775 0239 Fax: 02 8212 9582 Mob: 0427 644 825
Chat contacts: WLM: michael at auzzie.net Skype: cccons

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