Christine Peterson, a long-time futurist who co-founded the nanotech advocacy group the Foresight Institute in 1986 and coined the term “Open Source software” among other things writes: I am currently cited on the home page of the Ethical Source Movement, home of the Ethical Source Definition: “In the twenty years since Christine Peterson first coined the term ‘open source’, our community…
Tag: protests
AI could help work out how many people are in large crowds
How many people really attend gatherings or protests, such as the recent Brexit march. Artificial intelligence may be able to figure it out Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2220546-ai-could-help-work-out-how-many-people-are-in-large-crowds/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Blizzard Suspended Three College ‘Hearthstone’ Players For Pro-Hong Kong Protests
An anonymous reader quotes the Verge: Blizzard has suspended three college Hearthstone players for six months after they held up a sign that read “Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz” while participating in an official competition stream. The ban, which was first reported by VICE Games, comes just over a week after Blizzard suspended a professional Hearthstone player, Ng “Blitzchung” Wai Chung…
Lebanon Withdraws Plan To Charge a Fee on WhatsApp Calls as the Country Faces Its Biggest Protests
Demonstrators and police clashed in Lebanon this week as thousands of people rallied against the government’s handling of an economic crisis, in one of the biggest protests the country has seen in years. From a report: The government-backed down from plans, announced hours earlier, to tax voice calls made through the Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging software as people vented their anger at…
Extinction Rebellion protests should be embraced, not banned
The move to haul protesters off London’s streets reflects a scientifically and economically illiterate political and media elite in denial about the climate Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2219934-extinction-rebellion-protests-should-be-embraced-not-banned/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Today’s ‘Day Against DRM’ Protests Locks On Educational Materials
This year’s “International Day Against DRM” is highlighting user-disrespecting restrictions on educational materials. An anonymous reader quotes the Free Software Foundation’s Defective By Design site: The “Netflix of textbooks” model practiced by Pearson and similar publishers is a Trojan horse for education: requiring a constant Internet connection for “authentication” purposes, severely limiting the number of pages a student can read at…
China’s Global Reach: Surveillance and Censorship Beyond the Great Firewall
An anonymous reader shares a report: Those outside the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are accustomed to thinking of the Internet censorship practices of the Chinese state as primarily domestic, enacted through the so-called “Great Firewall” — a system of surveillance and blocking technology that prevents Chinese citizens from viewing websites outside the country. The Chinese government’s justification for that firewall…
Apple Has No Backbone
Apple, a company that loves to talk about its values, has this week demonstrated that when it comes to China — one of its biggest markets and where most of its iPhones and other products are assembled taking full benefit of low-cost labors — even the Steve Jobs-founded company lacks a backbone. The company has bowed down to Chinese pressure and…
Overwatch Mei Is Becoming a Hong Kong Protest Symbol
Following Blizzard’s decision to suspend a Hearthstone player for expressing support of protests in Hong Kong during an official tournament broadcast, some gamers are working to turn Overwatch hero Mei into a symbol of the Hong Kong resistance. Polygon reports: A post yesterday on the r/HongKong subreddit suggested people turn Mei, a Chinese Overwatch hero, into a “pro-democracy symbol” to get…
UK scientists join the Extinction Rebellion climate change protests
New Scientist spoke to members of Extinction Rebellion who are scientists to find out why they are taking to the streets of London to protest climate change inaction Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2219008-uk-scientists-join-the-extinction-rebellion-climate-change-protests/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…