Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The Russian version of Wikipedia is closed to make an uncensored Network


The Russian version of Wikipedia has decided to close its service for a day in protest of Information Act that promotes the Russian executive. This is a bill that would compromise the freedom of the Internet, creating a list of websites not approved by the Government, which would be no access at home.

Governments around the world are trying to create an Internet law. In an attempt to adapt to current needs, governments try to create rules governing Internet traffic. The attempt to create a legal framework around the Internet is risk that restricts the freedom of the network and that governments use these laws for their own purposes.

The danger of the adoption of Internet standards has led to protests occurring around the world, such as those experienced before the vote in the U.S. SOUP. Russia is now trying to regulate the Internet through its known as the Information Act. In this law, there is a possibility to create lists of pages that violate different rules, allowing authorities to limit the connection to them.

The possible passage of the bill, which will be voted in parliament, has led to protests raise the threat to Internet freedom. Specifically, Wikipedia, as it did with SOPA, is the most widely mobilized to protest against Russian law.

The Russian version of the popular online encyclopedia of the Network has decided to close for one day in protest. When attempting to access a message service where the Wikipedia logo is covered by a black band. From Wikipedia has explained that the Russian law that parliament wants to approve could lead to "Internet censorship in Russia", which would affect any page, including Wikipedia.

In his message, the leaders of the Russian Wikipedia manifest "against censorship, dangerous for the free knowledge and open to all mankind." This is a campaign similar to that already used in the U.S., attended by a large number of websites and companies. The U.S. initiative got not approve the law and to be seen whether the Russian Wikipedia campaign achieves the same result.

Related links:

- Russian Wikipedia (http://ru.wikipedia.org/).

Close the Russian Wikipedia to protest the Internet law


The Russian version of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia on Tuesday closed its site in one day a protest against what they said were the plans of President Vladimir Putin to create their own version of "Great Wall of China" to block Internet dissidents.

Supporters of the amendments of the law of information from Russia, who proposed the ruling party, United Russia, which will be discussed in Parliament on Wednesday, say the changes are necessary to protect children from dangerous places.

But the leaders of the protests antiPutin say the new law could close without a court order websites like Facebook and Twitter and aims to curb opposition movements, which are organized through social networks.

"These amendments may become a basis for true Internet censorship, forming a list of banned sites and IP addresses," said Wikipedia in Russia in a statement.

"The following provisions and the terms under discussion lead to the creation of the Russian equivalent of the 'Great Wall of China' in which access to the Wikipedia could close soon throughout the country."

Changes to information law would give government officials power to order the closure of websites without a court order, simply including them in a blacklist. China has some of the most effective methods to block Internet dissidents, closely controlling what can and can not be viewed.

Under the proposed changes in Russia, if the owner of a website does not remove content that is deemed inappropriate, the entire site can be blocked.

Opposition leaders and Russian citizens have used Facebook, Twitter and Russian site Vkontakte network to organize protests and distribute information antiPutin since the demonstrations began for the alleged violations in parliamentary elections last September.

"It's basically an attempt to infiltrate the last bastion of the opposition: the Internet. It is an attempt to kill the protest movement that depends on Internet. For me it is spelled 'China', which seems to be the direction we're headed" said opposition activist Natalia Pelevine.

Since Putin became president in May after four years as prime minister, Parliament has rushed to pass laws that increase penalties for protesters who exceed the line and is considering stricter rules for NGOs.

The opposition says the proposed changes in the law, and recent records in the houses of the event organizers, intended to quell the protests against Putin. The Kremlin denies it.

The EU funds research to make cities

 
The European Union will allocate EUR 365 million in 2013 to make their cities more "intelligent", linking research in energy, transportation and communications to address problems such as congestion and energy waste.
Especially in times of economic hardship, the Commission is able to take risks and encourage measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and create efficient ways to save costs in a time when smaller companies are more likely to avoid risks.
The Commission quoted figures on congestion in the cities - where more than two thirds of Europeans - it costs about 1 percent of GDP.
"We need to encourage research and innovation that can lead us to our goals of free towns of carbon dioxide, progressively destroying conventional fuel cars in city centers, opting for electric vehicles and buses to cast silent smoke "said Transport Commissioner of the EU, Siim Kallas.
The purpose is to maximize the effectiveness of research resources and concentrate on a small number of demonstration projects.
"Innovation drives the competitiveness of Europe and is the best way to address energy efficiency," said Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger.
He added that the partnership for intelligent cities and communities could help spread technology like heating and air conditioning, smart meters and zero energy buildings.
A group that includes business leaders, municipal officials and regulatory authorities will be created to help implement the project, said the Commission, and issued tenders to select programs eligible for EU subsidies.

Microsoft hopes to sell several million in its first year Surface

 

The CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, has said that the company expects that its first 'tablet', Surface, able to sell "several millions" of units in its first year. Ballmer is confident in the capabilities of the device, but has not specified the exact sales forecast consider attainable.
Surface is one of the major bets on Microsoft for this year. This is Microsoft's entry into the market of 'tablets' as a manufacturer and its potential can make the future of the sector and partly by the company. Microsoft Surface is expected to consolidate a device that stimulates the adoption of Windows 8 by other manufacturers and that this battle to the current ruler, the iPad.
At the moment we do not know the price of the device or its exact release date, which could be in October with Windows 8, but each presentation makes clear that Microsoft is one of their star products. The latest to confirm it has been the CEO of Redmond, Steve Ballmer, who has dared to make an estimate of sales that could get Surface in its first year.
Without going to specify an exact number, Steve Ballmer has said that Microsoft hopes to sell "several million" Surface in its first year, as quoted by ZDNet. This is a forecast that, without being at all clear, to see the optimism that permeates Microsoft to release.
Ballmer did not want to give accurate forecasts, in part not to condition the release of the terminal. But he noted that sales of Surface shall be computed on the total expected Windows terminals sold in the next year, which will reach 375 million. Thus, it is clear that Microsoft is confident that both get Windows 8 as Surface boost PC sales and increasing the presence of Windows in the field devices 'tablet'.

RIM's shareholders re-elected to its board


The shareholders of RIM, the maker of the BlackBerry, have re-elected to the board of the company for its annual meeting, the first led by new CEO Thorsten Heins, who faces an uphill battle to relocate to the company's track.

Heins commented Tuesday that the strategic review of RIM is focused on recovering the firm with a revamped product portfolio with its axis placed on the strengths of the company.

At the same time, the executive has acknowledged that the firm will suffer a decline in average selling prices and a drop in service revenue this year as it tries to sell the BlackBerry 7, which have struggled to compete with iPhones Apple and mobile operating system Android.

The shareholders meeting is an opportunity for investors to make the new management tough questions after a year in which the shares fell almost 80 per cent and the share of the firm in the smartphones market collapsed .

Just last week, Heins, that RIM has promised to make an "efficient machine" announced a delay in the launch of the new generation of BlackBerry 10 until early next year. With this model, the Canadian firm hopes to reverse the decline in market share.

The new head of marketing for the firm, Frank Boulben, has tried to take drama to this delay, saying Monday that the delay will give vendors more time to meet the renewed devices before they reach stores.

RIM suffered its first operating loss in eight years and said it would cut 5,000 jobs, nearly a third of its workforce, it struggles to compete with technology giants the likes of Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft.

Casio renews its Exilim camera line



Yesterday, Casio announced it will add new models to its Exilim camera line, which will include: EX-N1-N10 EX and EX-N20. All three have powerful camera of 16.1 megapixel sensor and feature a 5x optical zoom. All three models offer advanced features when taking a photograph, as is the case for the Premium Auto function, which analyzes the scene to choose the best configuration for your photo and Make Up function, used to make beautiful shots of faces.
The EX-N1 offers several different colors like blue, black and pink, while the EX-N10 is available in pink, gold and black and the EX-N20 in brown, blue and red.

 

Android phones will LibreOffice

 
LibreOffice, for those who do not know, is the largest competitor that has the Office of Microsoft today, and is present in the operating systems of computers world's most popular, which are Windows, Linux and Mac. seems that also the suite now also LibreOffice will have a version for the Android mobile operating system.
As you can see in the picture below, the app is doing well under way, but is just taking its first steps, so surely the first version to be released in a couple of months, but hopefully with less delay, especially if improving the interface with touch screens, which apparently is what is giving more problems to the development team.

 

Motorola Defy Pro, a mobile high strength with a QWERTY keyboard and touch screen


 

You should make quite a while since the last time I saw a mobile phone from Motorola with QWERTY keyboard. But that's not all you have the new Motorola Defy Pro, as this small addition to the above type of keyboard, also has a touch screen that is protected by Gorilla Glass and glass is resistant to land and water.
Regarding the specifications, this is a mid-range mobile as it has only a 2.7-inch screen, 5 megapixel camera, use the Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread and has WiFi and Bluetooth.
To our knowledge, the Motorola Defy Pro will be arriving in Brazil on 15 July, but do not know what the price, but still consider that there will be high.