Google praised, Microsoft scolded over censorship/China issues.

Since Google made their bold stance to pull out of China regarding censorship issues earlier this year, the internet world has been in a firestorm. More recently however we’ve actually seen more controversy and actions taken regarding the “bigger picture”. For instance, this past week GoDaddy announced that they too would be following in Google’s footsteps and abandoning any further .cn domain registrations. Also on the list of potential movers is Dell, whom stated the idea was on the table.

One company whom so far has publicly (and rather proudly) voiced that they will continue operations in China is that of Microsoft. Former CEO Bill Gates was quoted saying:

At some point you have to ask yourself, do you want to do business in that country or not…”

Microsoft PR has gone on further stating that while they [Microsoft] appreciate other companies’ stances on the censorship/China issue, Microsoft remains committed to China and obeying local laws.

It is this stance that has Microsoft in the cross-hairs of the US Government body who took to their podiums today to denounce Microsoft’s decision as foolish and short sighted while simultaneously praising Google for theirs. And for the most part, I agree with the governments stance.

For me personally, Microsoft’s viewpoint leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Their defense — that they’re merely obeying local laws — is a bullshit excuse and response. What if China supported mass genocide and the killing of red headed step children thanks to specially crafted chips implanted in every person residing in the country at birth that allowed constant 24/7 tracking? If Microsoft made such a chip for much broader users, would they continue to directly deal with China and sell them said chips simply because they were merely “obeying the law”?

Now I realize the genocide example is an extreme example that fortunately is not taking place (in China anyway). But the main point still stands. Merely pushing off all of their reasoning as “because they said so” is the worst defense Microsoft could use. In the end it leaves them looking like pro-communist anti-consumer rights supporters which isn’t exactly the image they want to portray.

So again I ask: Is this all getting overblown or is Microsoft treading a fine line?

DailyTech

AT&T’s new “3G Coverage map” really includes 2G as well. Welcome back old and deceitful AT&T…[Update]

**Update: Yes, an update on a barely 30-second old post. I just noticed that if you zoom in super close and toggle “show 3G”, the old 3G coverage spots pop back up. Still, it’s a shifty move to display the map in a zoomed out view the way the do because let’s be real, who actually zooms in that far? Most of us I’d gather make a quick glance for our general location. Rant stands…

For as much as we’ve heard recently about AT&T actually standing behind a promise (for once), one would think that they may be finally “seeing the light” in regards to being more consumer friendly. Unfortunately, it looks like they’re just out to lie to unassuming customers yet again. Case in point: AT&T apparently recently revamped their coverage maps. Before, visiting http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/ and selecting “data” would give users the default 2/2.5G network with the option to toggle 3G on and off. Now however, customers only see “national data coverage” which obviously by looking at the map, isn’t completely 3G.

Even worse, clicking on the “3G Mobile Voice/Broadband” option (which is oddly only included on the voice map page) brings up nothing but a long list of states and cities where 3G is available — not a much easier and more useful to read map like there used to be.

It doesn’t take a genius to see AT&T made these changes to give the false impression that their 3G coverage covers most of the country. We all know it doesn’t. We all know mile for mile, Verizon’s is largest. Though I will add that as PC World’s new speed tests recently confirmed, AT&T has rocketed ahead in urban areas as fastest 3G carrier. Even still, blatantly hiding the truth and flat out lying to customers isn’t too intelligent. Back to the same old AT&T ways I see.

**A quick check on the 3 other major US carriers confirms that they all still correctly display 3G coverage, allowing you to separate it from 2 and 2.5G coverage.

Android Central

Looking for mobile 3G/4G laptops? Lenovo has you covered.

AT&T and Verizon may be bickering back and forth over Big Red’s proposed 4G rollout slated for this year, but one carrier in particular would like to remind you that they already have 4G up in play now — Sprint. Perhaps you don’t want to browser the mobile web on a tiny 4″ screen though. That’s certainly understandable. For that, wireless cards for laptops save the day. There are various makes and models that even come with 3G built in so you don’t have to deal with buying separate cards. Taking it one step further, Sprint and Lenovo have some pretty sweet news: From here on out, all Lenovo laptops will have Sprint 3G/4G technology built in.

Lenovo fell of my radar long ago as they turned into a corporate workhorse almost built into obscurity. But times are a changin’ and the latest Lenovo machines aren’t actually all that bad consumer-wise. When my laptop is up for a refresh (or I simply get a second) Lenovo may just get a nod as built in 4G would be awesome.

Of course, in 6-12 months more manufacturers will probably offer the same 4G options as well (albeit for an added price), so the playing field will be a bit more level.

Is built in Sprint 3G/4G enough to sway you towards Lenovo now? Their newew laptops actually look pretty sweet and the spec’s aren’t too lacking either…

MobileTechNews

Incompetent US border patrol causing Crysis 2 hiccups as lead writer Peter Watts faces 2 years? [Update]

I’m just now working my way through Crysis: Warhead and let me tell you, it’s amazing. After seeing the screenshots of Crysis 2, I’m waiting on the edge of my seat literally. So it can be understood that when I say I’m upset and worried of Crysis 2′s future and story plot when it’s lead writer is facing 2 years in US Federal prison. No, Peter Watts didn’t get busted dealing, murdering, raping, or stealing. According to the stand up word of the US border patrol, Peter apparently went ape shit and attacked them. That was back in December. But now, a Michigan court found Peter guilty of assaulting US border patrol earning him that 2-year sentence highlighted above. It’s stupid really. He merely questioned why he was being searched at the border. For foreigners outside the country: merely questioning law enforcement is reason for a beating, peppery spraying, arrest, etc. So be forewarned, the US is not a friendly place.

I must say that yes, I believe the word of a video game developer more-so than the word of the US border patrol “untouchables” who claim that various illegal acts were committed by Peter. Police brutality in this day and age is unfortunately a common occurrence.

With all of that said, Peter again, was found guilty and now faces sentencing on April 26th. I can only hope that judge has a tad more common sense than the ones Peter has had to deal with so far.

So what does it mean for Crysis 2? I’m sure there’s more than one person working on the storyline. And, since this has been going on since December, I’m sure Peter has been working overtime drafting the storyline fully knowing things could end badly for him.

Whatever happens, I wish the best for Peter. Says a lot for the US’s image doesn’t it — the trigger happy, “shoot first ask questions later” country…

**Update: Thanks to “LKB” below for pointing out the actual “assault” charge was dropped for lack of evidence. Unfortunately, the reason Peter is still facing a 2-year jail sentence is because of “failing to obey a command fast enough”. What a crock of shit, huh?

For continuing updates from Peter himself, check out his site, Rifters.com.

1 Up

Reassuring: Pwn2Own claims iPhone, OS X’s Safari, IE 8, and Firefox all in one day…

Safe you think, safe we’re not. Leave it to the exceptionally daft minds at Pwn2own for revealing just how vulnerable we really are when navigating the online world. A rouge link here, a hidden background download there — it’s pretty treacherous. The point of Pwn2own is not to steal however, but instead inform and help browser devs to better code their products. Rewards help too. And let me tell ya, legally hacking and compromising various browsers can be quite the side business. So far this year four people have won $10,000 for cracking various browsers. The winners and their victims:

• Safari (Mac) — Charlie Miller

• IE8 — Peter Vreugdenhil

• Firefox — “Nils”

• iPhone (un-jailbroken) — Ralf Philipp Weinmann (via proxy compliments of Vincenzo Iozzo

Oddly enough, Chrome is absent from today’s fallen victims, though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time if it hasn’t fallen already.

All of the men above are $10k richer today after their hard work. What’s interesting to note is that while here at the event it took minutes — and in some cases, seconds — these hackers spend weeks on their exploits. I’m sure a fair share of these guys have day jobs. Just think what a team of hackers who eat and breathe this stuff are capable of…?

Enough filling your heads with horror stories. So I have to ask: Do you still feel as safe surfin’ the web now?

Cnet

And the train continues adding cars — GoDaddy announces it too is pulling out of China.

Free speech activists, March is your month. From Google, to possibly Dell, and now GoDaddy, American tech companies seem to be starting a small snowball effect in regards to pushing back against China’s draconian censorship policies. The latest in the anti-China crusade is GoDaddy whom announced today that they will be ceasing operations inside the land of the Great Firewall due to increasingly stringent domain registration policies, in particular new policies requiring pictures of each individual.

From an outsider’s point of view, a self picture being required to simply register a website is excessive. Not to mention, there’s all kinds of privacy issues at stake with your picture tied to all the other information already required to set up shop on the wild web.

Being one that vehemently opposes any type of censorship or government monitoring (I know, good luck avoiding tha these days), I applaud Google and GoDaddy (and if Dell so chooses to exit, them as well) for not doing what is common, popular, or simply thinking about the almighty dollar. Will they lose a large customer base? Yes. Will they sleep better at night? Possibly.

I’m all for supporting anyone or any company whom opposes the Chinese government and censorship overall. Think it’s worth the media attention it’s getting or is this all being overblown? Where do you stand?

AlleyInsider

Dell packin’ up and leaving China too?

Security, censorship, and internet rights are all the rage right now aren’t they? Fresh off of the previous post on the ACTA leak and older news of Google and China, fresh information is surfacing that has Dell doing as Google — pulling out of China. With Dell’s rumored exile, that would be two major companies to stand up and speak out against China’s overly aggressive tactics when it comes to the digital world. The plan for Dell is to supposedly hop on over to India where they already have another plant.

Critics are already coming out and labeling the move as more of a pricing tactic (land, taxes, etc.) than a “don’t be evil” Google-fied move. That tactic is plausible no doubt. But threatening to pull a $25 billion dollar business out of China simply to get cheaper land rates in either country seems mighty risky don’t you think? Especially considering how publicized it is going to be.

Guess we’ll have to sit back and watch. What do you think of Dell’s new found conscious?

DailyTech