Source code of EveryBlock.com

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Overview

In an effort to make the code useful to as many people as possible, we’ve split it into several packages:

  • The main package (probably the thing you’re looking for) is the publishing system, known as ebpub.
  • Second, the packages ebdata and ebgeo contain Python modules for processing data and making maps.
  • Third, the packages ebinternal and everyblock round out the code that powers EveryBlock.com. They’re internal tools and are likely not of general use, but we’re including them to be complete.
  • Finally, ebblog and ebwiki are our blog and wiki software, respectively. Because, dammit, the world needs another Django-powered blogging tool.

via ebcode – Source code of EveryBlock.com – Google Project Hosting.

This might make for an interesting read through.

China’s radical new space drive

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It may not sound very much, less than three ounces, but in space a little thrust goes a long way. Boeing’s advanced XIPS thruster, which fires out Xenon ions at high speed, generates less than a quarter as much thrust from twice as much power. It’s used to maintain satellites in position, or move them to a slightly different orbit. Crucially, Xips weights about twenty kilos, more than an equivalent EmDrive, and the propellant for prolonged operation can weigh much more.

via EmDrive: China’s radical new space drive (Wired UK).

Start-Up Tawkon Rides Radiation Scare To Build Phone Coverage Maps

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It also gives other data. According to the findings, Latin Americans tended to answer their calls significantly quicker than the rest of the world. In Panama, the average time the phone is left ringing before an answer is 6.42 seconds, while in Libya it’s almost double that – 11.16 seconds.

via Start-Up Tawkon Rides Radiation Scare To Build Phone Coverage Maps.

Data is the new currency.

For superfast 4G LTE Advanced smartphone and tablet connections, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile plan new network tests, and rollouts use chipsets from Qualcomm and others

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Current phones generally use only one antenna taking one stream of data at a time. LTE Advanced devices will also need more energy storage to do the necessary onboard computation. Without new breakthroughs in batteries or reductions in power consumption by other means (see “Efficiency Breakthrough Promises Smartphones that use Half the Power”), phones will simply get larger.

via For superfast 4G LTE Advanced smartphone and tablet connections, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile plan new network tests, and rollouts use chipsets from Qualcomm and others | MIT Technology Review.

Will ubiquitous mobile data bring down its cost for low bandwidth users?  We shall see.

Microsoft Surface Pro packs punch, steep price

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The stylus seems to have been built with designers in mind, making it ideal for creating illustrations. Using the free apps “Fresh Paint” or “SketchBook Express,” which are found in the Microsoft Store, users can quickly get to drawing using the stylus.

via Review: Microsoft Surface Pro packs punch, steep price [Video] – latimes.com.

Interesting.  I remember the stylus on those Palm Pilots used to work well for what they did.  Maybe Microsoft was on to something bringing the stylus back.  I suppose you could develop an app on a non-stylus tablet that still accepts the precise touch of a stylus and do things.

Copyright this

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With a proper tax system, publishers like the L.A. Times or scientific journals may maintain a copyright for only a year or so before letting the content revert to public domain and letting Google and everyone else utilize the material for its small, but socially significant, remaining value.

via Copyright this – latimes.com.

I like this.  It could probably work with patents as well.

Site plagiarizes blog posts, then files DMCA takedown on originals

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A dizzying story that involves falsified medical research, plagiarism, and legal threats came to light via a DMCA takedown notice today. Retraction Watch, a site that followed (among many other issues) the implosion of a Duke cancer researcher’s career, found all of its articles on the topic pulled by WordPress, its host. The reason? A small site based in India apparently copied all of the posts, claimed them as their own, and then filed a DMCA takedown notice to get the originals pulled from their source. As of now, the originals are still missing as their actual owners seek to have them restored.

via Site plagiarizes blog posts, then files DMCA takedown on originals | Ars Technica.

What could possibly go wrong with SOPA?  🙂

Sony Rootkit Redux: Canadian Business Groups Lobby For Right To Install Spyware on Your Computer

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This provision would effectively legalize spyware in Canada on behalf of these industry groups. The potential scope of coverage is breathtaking: a software program secretly installed by an entertainment software company designed to detect or investigate alleged copyright infringement would be covered by this exception.

via Michael Geist – Sony Rootkit Redux: Canadian Business Groups Lobby For Right To Install Spyware on Your Computer.

Hopefully something like this never sees the light of day in the US and if it does, it helps raise awareness of copyright abuse.  The Sony rootkit was a pretty nasty piece of malware that was rather difficult to remove properly.  Bad things will happen to the unsuspecting and the more novice computer user should the ability of anyone to install spyware at the root level become legal.  If I recall correctly, the Sony rootkit installed before the user accepted the End User License Agreement.  Thus, even if you read the EULA and decided not to install or have anything to do with Sony, Sony already parked itself on your computer.

Google Images New Layout How This Impacts Photographers And Webmasters

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This updated functionality completely removes the source website from the display, encouraging the user to download the image directly from the search results. To add fuel to the fire, a prominent button “Show original image” (read as “Download now”) is also being displayed alongside the enhanced preview. The percentage of visits to the website that actually has the rights to display and offer the subject images drops at a staggering rate as people are able to and, in fact, are implicitly encouraged to begin downloading the image directly from Google Images rather than visiting the subject site.

via Google Images New Layout How This Impacts Photographers And Webmasters – Stock Photography Blog.

I still don’t see how simply downloading an image which mean possibly seeing once and then into the bit bucket really matters.  The photo is not being used in a commercial manner except for perhaps by google.  There has to be some kind of compromise that doesn’t impact usability.