BEOC Library

Filesonic Kills File-Sharing Service After MegaUpload Arrests

beoclibrary — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:18:03 +0000

Filesonic, one of the Internet’s leading cyberlocker services, has taken some drastic measures following the Megaupload shutdown and arrests last week. In addition to discontinuing its affiliates rewards program and not yet paying accrued money to members, the site has disabled all sharing functionality, leaving users only with access to their own files.

According to a shock announcement by the site, all file-sharing functionality has now been disabled, leaving current users only with access to files that they have personally uploaded. Many hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of links all around the web have now been rendered useless, at least temporarily.

While there has been no official explanation from the site as to why these actions were taken, all eyes are turned towards events of the last week – the closure of Megaupload and the arrest of its founder and management team. The events of the last week have turned the cyberlocker world upside down and there is quite literally panic among users and site operators.

(source via TorrentFreak)

Will the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) bill kill the Internet?

beoclibrary — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:52:28 +0000

Listen to Google, Facebook, PayPal and other Web companies, and you’ll hear that an online Armageddon is near: Bills now pending in Congress to thwart online piracy would violate free speech, destroy the technological underpinnings of the Web and hinder the user-generated innovation like the next YouTube or Twitter.

Listen to Walt Disney, the NFL, Eli Lilly and a slew of entertainment and manufacturing companies, and you’ll hear that the Internet is a lawless Wild West: Congress is only trying to be the sheriff and save American jobs, make sure writers and artists are paid and protect the public from fake Viagra and Coach bags peddled online.

So who is right?

The truth, as is often the case in heated battles on Capitol Hill between deep-pocketed constituencies that eye each other suspiciously, comes down somewhere in the middle.

Here are the central claims in regards to SOPA:

Congress would let the U.S. censor the Internet.
Congress would thwart innovation on the Internet.
Congress will break the Internet’s architecture.

(read more about this bill at Politico)

Spring 2012 Schedule

beoclibrary — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:28:23 +0000

The schedule for Allied Health and Math Workshops in the Library for Spring 2012 is up.
Click here for full details.

How Social Media is Ruining Our Minds

beoclibrary — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:59:27 +0000

Social media use across the globe has exploded. As more and more people flock to social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus, it’s becoming clear that social media is having a profound effect on not only our lives but also on our brains. Scientists are looking at how social media impacts cognitive functions and development, like multitasking skills, our ability (or inability) to focus and how our brains are getting rewired, to name a few. All of these areas appear to be drastically affected by social media participation.

According to a fascinating infographic entitled “How Social Media is Ruining Our Minds,” over the course of the last ten years the average attention span has dropped from 12 minutes to a staggeringly short 5 seconds. As a person deeply ensconced in this connected age my experience shows this to be true. These days, we give a YouTube video just a few seconds to determine if it’s worth it. So what else does social media and technology affect within our minds?

You can view the infographic titled “How Social Media is Ruining Our Minds” by AssistedLivingToday here.

(sources via AssistedLivingToday & Social Times)

Apple Retail Store at Grand Central

beoclibrary — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:10:53 +0000

Early Friday morning, a line of about 40 people had already formed ahead of the grand opening of the store at 10 a.m. The entranceway to the store features a large, glowing Apple logo on the east balcony. Stairs to the store are above the entrance to tracks 100 through 117 and the dining concourse. The 23,000-square-foot store will be one of Apple’s largest retail locations in the world. It sits in a prime location in Grand Central Terminal, though which an estimated 700,000 people pass every day. The Grand Central Apple Store is staffed by 315 employees and features Apple’s largest Personal Setup area in the world. It also features two Genius Bars.

(source via AppleInsider)
(main page for the Apple’s Grand Central Store here)

Details on Microsoft’s “Windows Store”

beoclibrary — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:46:46 +0000

Microsoft just revealed when we can expect the Windows Store for Windows 8, and how much you can expect apps to cost. Starting in late February, developers can submit apps starting at $1.49 and charge as much as $999. We’re not sure why Microsoft chose to set the bar above the 99-cent mental barrier, but there’s some great news for developers when it comes to revenue share — like other app stores, Microsoft will take 30 percent of the proceeds at first, but reduce its cut to 20 percent after your app does $25,000 in sales. More reason to have a blockbuster program, we guess! There’s also a 70-30 split for in-app transactions, but only if you use Microsoft’s billing system — the eBay app, for instance, uses PayPal and doesn’t pay Microsoft a thing.

The store will start with free apps, and if you’d like to submit one yourself, a developer account will cost $49. The store will also be the sole source for Metro-style apps, though of course developers and enterprises will be able to side-load as needed. Besides the all-important financial details, Microsoft also spent some time detailing some neat features of the Windows Store that set it apart from the pack, like the ability to test a trial version of an app, then pay for and install the full upgraded version from within (without losing your save games!), as well as a single line of code you can add to a webpage to have Internet Explorer 10 (and thus Windows 8 ) recognize that the site has a companion app available for download.

(source via The Verge)