Bruce Sterling's Blog, page 693

A Sky Full of Robots

*Or, what's up in February 2010.

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002327/

Katherine versus Google

*The arphid biz must be too weak and feeble for her now.

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Hi, all:

As a privacy advocate for these past ten years, I am so excited that

Startpage has officially launched its Proxy service. That means now you

can visit virtually any site on the net in total anonymity, from the

convenient, private Startpage search engine.

Watch my video to see how it works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv3SCb...

WorldNetDaily, the hugely ...

China China China hack India India India

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/chellaney6

(…)

Cyberspace must be treated, along with outer space, international waters, and international airspace, as property held in common for the good of all. And, like ocean piracy and airplane hijacking, cyber-crime cannot be allowed to go unpunished if we are to safeguard our common assets and collective interests.

Naming China among a handful of countries that have stepped up Internet censorship, Clinton warned that "a new information...

Petra Cortright is an Internet artist born in 1986 in Santa Barbara, California.

http://petracortright.com/hello.html

Cyberwar and Cyberpeace Treaties

*There's nobody else but the "united nations" that can attempt to prevent or stop a global cyberwar, but the problem is that "uniting nations" doesn't begin to address the scope of the problem. Nobody getting hammered by cyberwar on the Net ever sees even any visible trace of a "nation." When a no-kidding "nation" is coming to crush your Internet, they blow up your power plants and your switching stations with big iron bombs.

*Heads of state can sign peace treaties, but crooks and spooks...

Beloved South American Leftists leave power

*It turned out these lefties were great democrats who brought stability and prosperity to their long-suffering peoples, instead of being bloodthirsty commies bent on the destruction of private property.

*Who would have guessed?

*The part I don't get is why the Chileans immediately stomped Senora Bachelet's political party if they loved her so much.

*The other part I don't get is how Brazil somehow avoided becoming a superpower until some labor-union guy got elected. For a colossus like that...

Real News, Compelling Stories, Always Positive

*I don't wanna come across like the big downer cyberpunk curmudgeon here, but "Happy News" here sure doesn't look remotely "happy" to me. "Happy News" seems to be a very strange, even surreal mix of celebrity trivia, sentimental pet anecdotes and massive bone-grinding catastrophe.

"Our Credo. We believe virtue, goodwill and heroism are hot news. That's why we bring you up-to-the-minute news, geared to lift spirits and inspire lives. Add in a diverse team of Citizen Journalists reporting...

The Cabinet of Bad Taste at the Museum of Things

*Can't believe I missed this one earlier.

*Wow… just… wow.

http://www.core77.com/gallery/photos_search.asp?context_id=1&album_id=113

*You may have thumbed through all these and wondered what is wrong with them. Because they all seem fine to you. Sturdy, cheap… You are an engineer, sir.

*Okay, maybe you're a programmer.

Bollywood stars ring the opening bell at NASDAQ

*Those weren't just *any* Bollywood stars, either. Man, that was Shah Rukh and Kajol banging capitalism into action there.

*In similar news, two Grammys for veteran Bolly soundtracker A. R. Rahman.

http://www.bollycurry.com/news/hot-n-happening/12663-golden-boy-rahman-makes-india-proud-with-double-grammys.htm

Parallellepipeda: fabbing in the museum

*Oh to have lived to see the day. Futurity-now, baby.

"What happens when art and science meet? That's the point of departure of the Parallellepipeda project at the new M museum in Leuven, Belgium. The exhibition also contains a 3D scanning booth from Eyetronics, some pieces of the the .MGX collection and creations from i.materialise. Visitors can see first hand the incredible possibilities of 3D printing technologies. January 28 until February 11, Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm. For further d...