My god, it's Full of Macs!

Best web service ever. I just used it to destroy my useless twitter account and am about to unleash it on a myspace account.  They’re getting lots of hits, so if it’s busy when you try, just come back, it’s well worth it, the feeling is LIBERATING.

Even if you don’t intend to free yourself of that useless account on the social networking site you never use, you should still check out the site and the amazing video of their script demolishing a twitter account.  I don’t know why I enjoy this so much, but I do… I’m one of those people who loves to use technology, but hates being used by technology.  I’d like an outbound only cell phone, for example…

After your account is killed, you get a link to a nice little memorial page including your last words.  Here’s my twitter memorial.

Note: as they recommend, before using just log into your profile and change the password to something you’d never use, that way you’re not giving them one of your ‘real’ passwords.

Tags: Collaboration, Environment, Free Software, Privacy, security, Surveillance, Users Rights

After some significant changes to the Apple product line, Greenpeace now rates Apple as the company making the least toxic tech around.

Tags: Apple, Environment

We’re all familiar with the time zone map in the Mac OS X system preferences.  But did you ever notice that it changes to reflect the seasons?  The Apple Core pointed this out, so I did some tests by manually changing the date.  OK, so Apple’s not providing the image – but they could have used an iconized version of the earth, instead, they chose one that reflects seasonal changes…That’s attention to detail!

Here’s January:

And July:

Tags: Apple, Environment, Mac OS X

Try GlimmerBlocker, it’s free software, open source and it’s a filter, not a hack, so it’s a clean way to block ads.  You can use the technology that is often used to censor the internet to censor the corporations before they fill your web browsing experience with ads.  Love the irony.

Tags: Collaboration, Mac OS X, Privacy, security, Surveillance, Trust, Users Rights

Excellent news (old, but I just discovered it today) – BOINC, the program that allows you to donate your computer’s idle time to large computing projects, has been updated and works with OS X 10.6.

So, go to BOINC today and download it.

And sign up to participate in SETI@home – it’s easy  and you can ‘compete’ with me and other less pacifist participants.

I’ve previously written about file sharing protocols, but I wanted to post more explicitly about my views here.  First, some context.  I am a visual artist, a scholar and a technology specialist.  In these fields, I produce an enormous amount of content – writing, sculpture, photography, documentation and technical practices.  As such, I understand the impulse of the creative person to ‘protect’ their content.  However, that impulse is self destructive.  So, yes, I’m coming out as a pirate today.

As a member of the anti-copyright movement.  I believe that all information should be free.  I reject the idea of intellectual property.  If you can show me where I, as the ‘author,’ end and the other ‘authors’ begin, I might re-consider.

There are a host of  well written arguments against proprietary information so I won’t invent, see the summaries and resources here, here and here.

frustrated user

many impotent mouse clicks

- please try restarting

Really, who needs Windows?  If you want a second OS on your Mac, add Ubuntu.  If you haven’t looked at it in a while, you’ll be surprised at how nice it is.

Here’s how:

1. On your Intel Mac, go to the utilities folder and open “Boot Camp Assistant.”
2. Partition your drive, as if you were going to install windows, but choose “Quit and Install Later” when it’s done.
3. Download the newest version of Ubuntu and burn it to a CD.
4. Once the CD is ready, restart your Mac and hold down the option key.
5. When it re-starts, you’ll see your Hard Drive and the Ubuntu CD, choose to boot with the CD.
6. Your Mac will boot into Ubuntu, then double-click “Install Ubunutu…” to install.
7. That’s it, the new Ubuntu installer is so smart it even sees that OS X is installed on your Mac and auto-selects the right options.

Once you have Ubuntu installed – you can do all those amazing Linux things, like install Compiz Fusion and set up your workspace like these screenshots (click to enlarge):

New York has canceled the electronics recycling programs they were holding and has decided to allow people to include toxic electronics in trash destined for land fills.  This is a bad decision for many reasons.  Remember when the city cancelled all recycling for a while?  Well, it’s taken years for New Yorkers to even realize that it’s started back up again, and some still don’t know.

“Until July 1, 2010, NYC residents can discard unwanted or broken electronics (computers, monitors, TVs, cell phones) in the trash”  -DSNY

If you want to recycle a computer, turns out Apple will help.  For every new Apple computer purchase, you can get free recycling.  Or for $30 you can purchase a pre-paid shipping label from Apple to send in your old computer.

Recycle even if you’re not buying a new Mac.

If you haven’t opted in to the free program by purchasing a new Mac, or if you live in Canada, you can still participate in the Apple Recycling Program. Just purchase a prepaid shipping label from the Electronic Recycling Program or call 888-638-2761. The $30 (U.S.) fee covers all costs associated with shipping used products to the Apple recycling vendor. We’ll even provide packaging materials if you need them.  Read more…

Even better, Apple offers FREE recycling of ANY mobile phone or iPod:

The Apple Recycling Program offers free and environmentally friendly disposal of your iPod and any manufacturer’s mobile phone.  Read more…

Tags: Apple, Environment

Gregory Donovan has posted a great critique of Rupert Murdoch’s World Media Summit speech.  Here’s Murdoch, as quoted in Donovan’s post, on “stealing” content:

“The Philistine phase of the digital age is almost over. The aggregators and the plagiarists will soon have to pay a price for the co-opting of our content. But if we do not take advantage of the current movement toward paid-for content, it will be the content creators, the people in this hall, who will pay the ultimate price and the content kleptomaniacs will triumph.”

And part of Donovan’s critique:

“Like Gates’ before him, Murdoch willfully ignores the unwaged labor that he so handsomely profits from. Murdoch sees News Corp, AP, BBC, Xinhua, and the like, as the only rightful (and thus recognized) producers of content – just as Gates sees Microsoft’s hired programmers as the only rightful producers of his software. But what about the millions of MySpace users who freely produce untold volumes of content that News Corp then monetizes for a hefty profit?  What about all the blogs that News Corps’ journalists read and take information from without so much as a citation, never mind compensation. What about all the people that freely participate in beta-testing Microsoft’s software and the millions of software “users” who report problems and freely contribute their time and energy to improving Microsoft’s content? If it’s obvious that “there should be a price paid for quality content” — which I’m willing to support — then how much will News Corp be paying for all the free quality content it uses, and how will it compensate all the unwaged labor it uses?”

Continue reading…

Tags: capitalism, Environment, security, Trust, Users Rights