Sorry internet, you didn't invent the funny cat video

You've probably seen this by now, but just in case you haven't I've posted it here. Apparently funny cat videos pre-dated the internet by at least 75 years and youtube by roughly 111 years. This video was filmed by Thomas Edison's Black Maria movie Studio (yeah, he had one). Apparently Edison was a feline pugilist enthusiast (try saying that five times fast).



Does anyone else feel better knowing that Edison also screwed around at work?
(Sources: The Atlantic and just about all of my co-workers)

SOPA and PIPA: the new terms of service

I started drafting a piece that would look at SOPA and PIPA and this whole wave of internet regulation that seems to be sweeping the halls of congress. But two things kept tripping me up. First off, there are already reporters and sites doing a far better job than a simple part-time blogger could do(I recommend The Verge and Nilay Patel for some of the best analysis). And secondly, that the news was coming so quickly in the past week that before I could get a solid thought down, something else had happened. But I still have to say my piece on this. In writing this piece it became a fruitless task to try and “out think” a lot of very good writers who have tackled this from every angle. But I think something that few people are really focusing on, at least for now, is that SOPA is merely one small piece of a grander attempt, both by the US government and corporations to corral the the internet into a more manageable form.

Dropping the SOPA

If you were one of the awesome people who checked out the most recent podcast, we had a brief discussion of SOPA. Since this is something of a pressing issue to internet denizens such as myself, I wanted to point you to the single best site for SOPA information: SopaOpera.org.

Now, its not just SOPA- which is currently working its way through the house. There is also the PROTECT-IP bill in the Senate. My quick breakdown on the podcast doesn't really do justice to how significant these bills are to the direction of the "open internet" as we know it.  And it is far from a fair fight. The most depressing figure so far is that the corporate backers of the bill far outnumber their opponents. The companies and other organizations in favor of the bill are contributing four times what the opposition has been able to generate.

While those aren't very good odds, I remain optimistic. Regardless of the success or failure of these bills, we (people on the internet) tend to do what we want and, fortunately, there are far more of us than there are of them. As computer scientist and all around smart guy John Gilmore once said, "The internet interprets censorship as damage, and routes around it."

Third Rock Radio Review

Recently NASA launched Third Rock Radio in an attempt to engage with the public. Third Rock Radio is essentially an internet radio station that plays alternative and indie rock. I decided to give it a shot and listen for an hour. I was liking it off the bat with a track by My Morning Jacket. I was mildly dismayed a few songs later when 311 came on. But, in general good music like Florence and the Machine, Jimmy Eat World, Mumford and Sons, and various bands you've never heard of keep the station fresh. After several songs NASA throws in a 1-2 minute news brief about some space science-related item.

Pros: 

• Plays good music (if you like alternative and indie rock). 
• The news items are actually pretty interesting and usually about things you wouldn't hear about otherwise. 
• It's free.
• No ads.

Cons:

• No option to skip songs, or pause.
• Limited to one genre of music.
• I actually think they should give you more science updates. Otherwise it's not much different than a Pandora with less features and no ads.

In summary, it's kind of cool and I'll give it some plays here and there to see what it gives me, but I can't see it replacing my usual listening preferences for the time being. Anyone else out there used this yet? We'd love to hear your opinion.

Bing to Defeat Google with Claymation

In an apparent attempt to capture the youth of the interneting world, Microsoft has been licensed the use of the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer characters to promote it's search engine, Bing. Looking to steal market share from Google, Microsoft told the rights holders that "the Bing commercials would add an endearing chapter to the reindeer’s story." Because as we all know, Rudolph saved Christmas by lighting the way to Santa's home office, where Santa ordered and shipped all the presents with guaranteed delivery by the 25th. Pretty tough job you got there, Nick...

(Source: Washington Post)

Bandwidth, We Don't Need No Stinking Bandwidth

I know I said I was going to go with a Halloween theme for posts leading up to the holiday, but this one is only tangentially so. A recent study looked at internet traffic and bandwidth usage. Apparently Netflix accounts for approximately 1/3 of internet bandwidth usage. That's a lot of movie streaming . Some would say it's scary. See, there's the Halloween link. Anyway, it remains to be seen if Netflix can keep up these numbers with the frightening rate at which subscribers bailed on the company following it's price increase and its aborted plan to split the DVD by mail and streaming options into different services.