The Pirate Sky

One of the technical things we always optimize is where to put our front machines. They are the ones that re-direct your traffic to a secret location. We have now decided to try to build something extraordinary.

With the development of GPS controlled drones, far-reaching cheap radio equipment and tiny new computers like the Raspberry Pi, we're going to experiment with sending out some small drones that will float some kilometers up in the air. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war.

We're just starting so we haven't figured everything out yet. But we can't limit ourselves to hosting things just on land anymore. These Low Orbit Server Stations (LOSS) are just the first attempt. With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we're building, that's more than enough.

Posted Y-day 20:34 by MrSpock

This is a purdy cool idea imho.  Albeit a little (seemingly) far-fetched.  I'm no expert, but... Ignoring the engineering and monetary hurdles they would still need to find a country that would allow them to carry out this experiment.  I'm thinking they should do this in a former Soviet Bloc country, possibly even Russia.  That way if the US actually did take down the servers they would be forced to do it over Russia.  A massive shit storm would ensue...  I'm just a mere dreamer though.  I doubt that would ever happen.  Still, I can dream. 

Anyway, it would be fucking brilliant if they pulled this off though.  I hope they succeed, because if they do it could possibly serve as a precedent for other torrent and P2P providers to launch their servers into low orbit as well.  If that happens it would in effect take the "war on piracy" to a (literal) new level, the ground to the sky.  Similar to how WWI started a new era of warfare by introducing the use of aircraft in war and took warfare to the skies for the first time, this could potentially do the same for the war on piracy.  I say, bring it on.

Shoulda read the fine print

I recently made a post about how I wanted to create my own website.  In that post I vowed not to rush out and find a host and register a domain name ... well, I went against my words, yet again.

I went out and found a host, on a whim.  I did less than 10 minutes of research and found a host that was rated highly (on a website that ranks web hosts.)  The price was 4.45 per month and included unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth.  It seemed like a good deal, so I signed up.  Turns out there were all kinds of fees that they didn't advertise.  For instance, if you sign up for the advertised plan of 4.45 a month, they make you pay every 48 months.  That comes out to $213.60, but they make you pay for the 48 months upon registering, meaning that you have to pay $213.60 up front in order to register your domain name.

My host of choice is/was Just Host.  Their site:

http://www.justhost.com/

I failed to read the terms of service (guess I should have taken them seriously when they asked if "I have read and agree to the terms and conditions of use.)  But I'm reading them now.  Their terms of service:
http://www.justhost.com/terms

So, for the people out there who are looking for a web host, and Just Host is a possibility, I will break down their terms of service for you (no thank yous are necessary.)
Note:  This isn't meant to be a Just Host bash.  I've only been registered for 1 day.  I haven't gotten to experience their service, reliability, and quality yet.  It might turn out that they're a decent host, but only time will tell.

Side Note:
One positive thing I learned today:  READ THE FINE PRINT.
For now on, I will always read the fine print for anything I'm signing up for.  It's long and boring, I know, but it's information that they purposely make as unreadable as possible.  That should tell you something.  They are banking on the fact that most people are too lazy to read the fine print.  So, don't be a fool, don't give them what they want, and READ THE FINE PRINT.  Apathy is the cancer of democracy.  You wouldn't want to be cancer, would you?

The following is my breakdown of Just Host's terms of service.  I will summarize each section of their ToS, in the order they are listed on the site.


Section 1:  The Services We Provide
This section is completely pointless and just states that they will host in exchange for fees.  DURRR
Section 2:  Permission to Host Your Content
This section says two important things:  they will keep a copy of all the content you upload to their system and once you upload that content, they have permission to do whatever they want with content.  Also, they won't make backup copies of your data.
Section 3:  Personal Information
Your personal information is transferred via Secure Socket layer technology, which is apparently the industry standard for encrypting sensitive info.  They will not sell your info to a 3rd party, unless another company purchases Just Host.  They will try to keep your info hidden from 3rd parties.  Also, you consent to be have representatives call you and they will email you about their products and services.
Section 4:  Backups
They will attempt to make backups nightly, but they are only available for a short period of time and can possibly fail.  Thus, you should perform your own backups or pay more money for their daily backup service.  They won't backup anything over 40MB.
Section 5:  Acceptable Use/Illegal Activity
They will not provide service to people who post bad things on their websites.  This includes all the standard things.
Section 6:  Content
Pretty much same as above.  Also, Just Host is harmless if any claims are made on one of their customer's web sites.
Section 7:  Examples of unacceptable material on all Shared servers include:
This is a really long list of things they consider unacceptable.
Section 8:  Examples of unacceptable material on Dedicated servers include:
Same as above, except 5 times longer.
Section 9:  Zero Tolerance Spam Policy
Self explanatory.
Section 10:  Unlimited Bandwidth, Disk Usage, Email and FTP accounts and other Unlimited Resources
Any activity that results in excessive that is inconsistent with "normal" usage patterns is strictly prohibited.  They have the right to delete, suspend, or discontinue the accounts of users who they deem are using too much disk space and bandwidth.  So basically, you have unlimited bandwidth and disk usage, so long as they consider your usage to fall within their arbitrary limits.
Section 11:  Resource Usage
Users may not use system resources for longer than 90 seconds, and there are apparently numerous things that could cause that to happen.  They will discontinue service with anyone who uses more than 10% of the CPU and memory of the service.
Section 12:  INODES
The use of 50,000 or more inodes on a shared account may result in suspension.  I don't even know what an inode is, but according to them, every file on your account uses up 1 inode, which basically means that creating a large website would be impossible.
Section 13:  When the Services Will be Available
Services will be available whenever possible, but sometimes they are down.
Section 14:  Guarantee
They offer an any time money back guarantee, except for set up fees and domain registration fees.  All refunds are subject to a $20 domain registration fee.  All domain upgrades and additional services that are registered are non-refundable.

Section 15:  Joining Just Host
Auto-renewal is enabled upon signing up.  If you want to cancel auto-renewal on your hosting plan, you must do so at least 14 days prior to your renewal date.  If you don't pay your bills within 30 days, all of your accounts will be suspended, but if you are able to pay your bills in full within an additional 30 days, all of your data will be accessible again.  If fail to pay within those 30 days, Just Host has the right to delete all of your data.
Section 16:  Reseller Accounts
Disk space and bandwidth allowed for reseller accounts must comply to the amount specified by your hosting plan.  Only platinum reseller accounts (the most expensive) have "unlimited" bandwidth and disk space.  And apparently they really don't like "enom" so don't have a domain account with enom through Just Host.
Section 17:  These Terms of Service May Change
The terms of service may change.  If so, you will accept the changes without question and comply with them.
Section 18:  DMCA Copyright Infringement Information
They will suspend or delete accounts that commit copyright infringement.  Pretty self explanatory.
Section 19:  Indemnification
If you get sued, then you're on your own.  You will be responsible for all legal fees and Just Host will not help you out.
Section 20:  Disclaimer of Warranties
Starts off by saying that from this point on, each section will retain its "legalese" style.  Meaning that it will be worded in a way that most people won't be able to understand.  That means it must be important!  I'm going to interpret it as best as I can, but it be in your best interest to read it for yourself.  This section states:  Just Host disclaims all warranties.  Just Host is not obligated to meet your requirements.  Just Host is not obligated to make its services timely or secure or to fix any defects.  Just Host makes no obligations about any of the services it provides.
Section 21:  Limitation of Liability
Starts by explicitly stating "if something goes wrong, Just Host cannot be held liable for it."

The remaining sections apply only to affiliates of Just Host, so I'm going to even bother reading them.

Here are some user reviews of Just Host:
http://webhostinggeeks.com/user-reviews/index2.php?item_id=29

Well that's it.  That's all I'm gonna write.  No more.  I can't even believe I wrote as much as I did, and on such a boring topic too.  Is this really what my life has become?  I'm pathetic.

What is piracy?

There's been more talk in the news about piracy lately and I've been doing some research on it, so I thought it'd be appropriate to make a post about it.  I'm hoping this will inform the uninformed

Let's get one thing straight:  piracy is NOT the same as stealing.  If piracy were the same thing as stealing, they would call it stealing and not have to make up a new word for it.
So all of those anti-piracy ads that claim piracy is the same as stealing are wrong.  
What is the difference between piracy and stealing, you might ask yourself.
Here's a handy little guide that should clear it up for you:

Theft is the act of taking an item or items without the permission of the owner.  When you steal an item you are taking the one and only item for yourself.

This is where piracy differs from theft.

When you pirate a file, you are taking a COPY of the original file, but the original file is still in the owner's possession.  Nothing is lost.  

Let me give you another example:  stealing a car = theft.  Making an exact replica of a car and stealing the replica, while leaving the original in the owner's possession = piracy.

Now let's bring a business aspect into the equation:

Let's pretend you are the owner of a hat store.  It takes money and time to put the hat together (money to buy the materials needed and time to put it together,) but you will sell the hat for a higher price than it took to put the hat together and therefore make a profit.  Simply put:  it takes money to make money.  The money you use to buy the materials needed for the hat is called the 'investment.'  You are hoping that the hat will sell so that you make back the money you spent, plus extra money in profits. 

If someone steals the hat, you will have lost all the money and time that went into making the hat.  This is why stealing is wrong.

However, if a person has the magical ability to create a replica of the hat and he does so, he will get a free hat, the exact same as the hat you made, BUT since he is not taking the original hat that you made, you do not lose any of the money/time that went into making the hat.

What you DO lose, however, is POTENTIAL money.  Every person who comes along and creates a replica of the hat is a potential customer.  They have the potential to spend their money to buy your hat, but since they have the ability to create an exact replica of the hat for free, they will obviously go with that option, rather than paying the money for yours.

WHETHER YOU FIND THAT MORALLY ACCEPTABLE OR UNACCEPTABLE IS UP TO YOU.

This is why the RIAA and other anti-piracy firms are up in arms.  They want to stop piracy because they believe piracy is driving away potential money.

They believe piracy is morally wrong, and they're entitled to their viewpoint, however, the Draconian methods they are using to enforce their viewpoint SHOULD BE MET WITH PROTESTS AND HOSTILITY. 

Case and point.  <-- That is why we need to unite against these juggernauts and bring them to their knees.

Also, Kid Rock is a moron who needs to read this blog post.   

And lastly, I encourage everyone to read this:  http://notch.tumblr.com/post/1121596044/how-piracy-works
he manages to say everything I said in this post, but in a much more eloquent and lucid way.  He also touches on something I briefly mentioned in other post about piracy, which is that businesses need to change their business models to incorporate piracy, because piracy is not going anywhere, any time soon. 

Acrobatic Robots

Robotic heart

Long story short:   A boy needed a heart transplant, but he was ineligible.  The doctor one-upped nature and gave him a robotic one instead.  Nature loses.

Dr Amodeo used a 90 gram fully-robotic heart that took 10 hours to fit inside the boy’s left ventricle. It is a permanent solution offering as much as 25 years of life and is powered by a battery worn as a belt and connected to behind his left ear.

This one step closer towards a totally artificial human.  A human that was born natural but over time became more and more artificial by implants and the like.  If this is what we can do now, just think of what we'll be able to do in 50 years.  Are we really getting to the point where we'll be able to live for hundreds of years with the aid of technology?

What do you think?

Full article:  http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/boy-of-15-fitted-with-robotic-heart-2010104/