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A rushed UK surveillance law has been struck down by the High Court

Jul17
by on July 17, 2015 at 11:14 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, UK

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The High Court in the UK has ruled today that part of the country’s surveillance legislation is unlawful. The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA) was determined to be breaking the law by hindering the public’s right to a private life.  MPs David Davis and Tom Watson brought the case to the High Court, represented by Liberty Human Rights organization who revealed that the High Court found sections 1 and 2 of DRIPA unlawful on the basis that: … they fail to provide clear and precise rules to ensure data is only accessed for the purpose of preventing and detecting serious offences,…

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Reddit’s new ‘no copyrighted material’ rule could technically kill /r/pics and others

Jul17
by on July 17, 2015 at 10:50 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Most of the fevered talk about Reddit’s new content rules has focused on its half-hearted burying of offensive material. That’s meant the line forbidding the posting of copyrighted content on the service has avoided scrutiny. But, as TorrentFreak smartly points out, it could be a huge problem for Reddit and some of its most popular subreddits. Here’s the key point in the new rules: These types of content are prohibited… Anything illegal (i.e. things that are actually illegal, such as copyrighted material. Discussing illegal activities, such as drug use, is not illegal. It’s pretty cut and dried that subreddits such as /r/fullmoviesonyoutube and…

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Twitter’s tweaked homepage finally captures the spirit of tweeting

Jul17
by on July 17, 2015 at 9:50 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Twitter’s tweaked new homepage finally captures the spirit of the social network for the first time. The new page features a curated collections of tweets from across the social network and appears for users that are logged out in the United States. Those outside the US can access it manually by visiting this page, though it doesn’t stick for next time you sign out. This is Twitter’s homepage test Twitter announced a new homepage back in April that looks somewhat similar, but that version only showed categories of people on Twitter and no tweets. This new test is broken into categories with tweets embedded…

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Oculus buying ‘virtual hands’ tech is cool but we still don’t know how many people really want VR

Jul17
by on July 17, 2015 at 9:45 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Insider

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Facebook’s Oculus VR has bought Pebbles Interfaces – an Israeli company behind some impressive 3D hand-sensing technology. Pebbles Interfaces has spent five years working on a way to make human interactions with devices like the Oculus headset intuitive and an extension of human behaviour. Its advanced algorithms and hardware that tracks hand gestures using structured light will be very important when combined with Oculus’ technology in defining augmented and virtual reality. The Oculus headset is designed to give users an immersive experience, whatever it’s being used for, and being able to do that without the use of an external controller would be…

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19 tools to start your podcast from scratch

Jul17
by on July 17, 2015 at 9:43 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, podcasting, Tools

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“Slack is starting a podcast for some reason.” That was the headline of a recent Fortune.com article. Author Tom Huddleston, Jr. wondered why Slack, “a hot Silicon Valley company with a fast-growing valuation,” would “make the most of its ever-growing momentum” by launching a podcast. But to content marketers, Slack’s move isn’t surprising at all. The podcast world has recently exploded. Since 2008, the number of Americans tuning in each month has doubled—from nine percent to 17 percent in January 2015. And companies are paying attention. Many sponsor podcasts as part of their efforts to hook new customers; according to the Boston Globe, businesses will soon be…

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