Posts filed under “Tech”

Facebook engineers did not build a better version of Google

This effort from some engineers at Facebook, Twitter and MySpace has gotten some attention lately. This article from Business Insider gives a quick intro for the unfamiliar:

Earlier this month, Google launched an optional feature called “Search plus your world.” It integrates personalized content from social networks into Google search results.

Only, search plus your world doesn’t include any content from Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace – the biggest social networks out there.

It does, however, include lots of content from Google’s social network, Google Plus.

Some engineers at Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace think this is unfair to users – and to demonstrate why, they’ve created a modified version of Google, which you can access on a site called Focusontheuser.org.

– “Facebook Engineers Built A Way Better Version Of Google“

Except that’s completely misleading. They didn’t build a better version of Google. They built a Javascript bookmarklet that takes Google’s own SERPs and modifies them to swap in somewhat different (and hopefully more relevant) results than Google serves by default.

That may be a semantic difference, but it’s an important distinction. They didn’t create a brand new search engine, they created a way to take Google’s own inconsistent search behavior and combine them into a better end result, assuming that you the user choose to drag their bookmarklet into place and then remember to use it once you’ve already done a Google search.

Maybe no one is actually confused by this difference, but it seems irresponsible for news sites to be reporting it this way.

A Letter to my Representatives

Regarding SOPA/PIPA:

Don’t vote for or against this bill because of your political views. Vote against this bill because, with all due respect, and for lack of a better phrase, it’s none of your business.

Your duty, as a representative to the people, is to give voice to your people, not lobbyists and interest groups. Represent me, your constituent. Represent your other constituents. Vote against the restriction of liberty, because that is the very essence of your elected position.

– @sawaboof: “A Letter to My Representatives“

*slow clap*

slow clap

What if SOPA applied to the physical world?

Imagine if a SOPA-like bill was passed for the physical world rather than the web.

Let’s say someone sends an illegal item (drugs, weapons-grade uranium, kittens) through UPS. You’re not supposed to, but it probably happens all the time.

Someone discovers this tragic misdeed and files a complaint. Or, potentially, someone makes a mistake and thinks you shipped something illegally. They file the complaint anyway.

The government confiscates all the UPS vehicles, seizes the distribution centers and blocks all traffic to the buildings. After all that’s settled, the CEO is sent a letter announcing that someone filed a complaint, their business has been destroyed, and there’s nothing they can do about it.

That’s what SOPA will do to the internet.

Edit: Chris (@cammerman) makes an important point:

It’s true that the scale is monumentally different, but I think the analogy can still hold up, especially when you consider @baekdal’s original question.

GoDaddy withdrawing SOPA support isn’t enough

GoDaddy has now withdrawn their support of SOPA, or rather clarified it:

Company CEO Warren Adelman said that legislation to fight piracy is important, but that “we can clearly do better… Getting it right is worth the wait.”

This of course is after thousands of customers started transferring their business away from GoDaddy, including monsters like the Cheezburger Network. (I haven’t used GoDaddy in several years, so fortunately I have nothing to transfer.)

Withdrawing support is not enough.

It sounds as though many people are content with GoDaddy’s announcement that they no longer support SOPA. But that’s not enough. They – especially they, as a company that depends on the Internet for business – need to actively oppose SOPA, not just casually “not support it”.

I say, boycotting companies until they withdraw support isn’t enough. We need to boycott them until they put their resources to work opposing this bill that would effectively cripple the Internet.

No matter what they say, GoDaddy hasn’t reversed their position until they do so in front of Congress and publicly withdraw their letter of support from the judiciary committee hearings.

– bgentry on HackerNews

There are already companies who have come out publicly against SOPA. A list of companies that currently support SOPA is also available, and it’s sad to see how many there are.

Keep up the boycotts, keep letting companies know that supporting this bill is unacceptable. Consumers have the power, we just don’t fully realize it yet.

In search of a media center PC

I’m looking into building or buying a small PC intended to run Boxee and be the core of my entertainment center. I’d love to get a proper Boxee Box but really need something that can play physical discs. There are too many DVDs and Blu-rays in my collection to dismiss, and I make good use of my Netflix subscription (both shipped and streaming).

Aki (@gesa) pointed out this machine on NewEgg but alas, it has no HDMI or even component video ports. That makes it somewhat useless for a media center.

The machine I’m looking for must have:

  • At least one HDMI port
  • A Blu-ray drive (or an internal bay to add one)
  • At least two USB ports
  • The ability to handle HD video playback seamlessly without freaking out
  • An ethernet port (though this is kind of like asking to make sure your car has a steering wheel)

I’d like it to have a remote control port if possible. I’m not sure how the remote control functionality works if you’re building your own Boxee. There’s no need for this machine to have a TV tuner; I canceled my cable TV service last year and don’t care enough even to connect the basic coax cable.

It also needs to be:

  • Slim, unobtrusive
  • Absolutely quiet – the fan/heatsink can’t sound like a jet taking off
  • Preferably black to match the other electronics it’ll be joining
  • Under $400 total cost

I don’t particularly want to build a PC from scratch. I’m okay with adding or swapping a couple components but that’s about the extent of my hardware knowledge. Some people have suggested buying an XBox360 or PlayStation 3, but a video game console that happens to play media isn’t really what I’m looking for.

Really I just want a Boxee with a Blu-ray drive, but that doesn’t seem to be happening ever. If I could find a decent standalone Blu-ray player that would also connect to Netflix, Pandora, and an external hard drive to reliably play my ripped media (.avi, .mkv, maybe even .iso images), that would be amazing.

So, internet, can you help me?