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Victory! California Passes Net Neutrality Bill California’s net neutrality bill, S.B. 822 has received a majority of votes in the Senate and is heading to the governor’s desk. In this fight, ISPs with millions of dollars to spend lost to the voice of the majority of Americans who support net neutrality. This is a victory that can be replicated. ISPs like Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast hated this bill. S.B. 822 bans blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, classic ways that companies have violated net neutrality principles. It also incorporates much of what the FCC learned and incorporated into the 2015 Open Internet Order, preventing new assaults on the free and open Internet. This includes making sure companies can’t circumvent net neutrality at the point of interconnection within the state of California. It also prevents companies from using zero rating—the practice of not counting certain apps or services against a data limit—in a discriminatory way. That is to say that,

Victory! California Passes Net Neutrality Bill California’s net neutrality bill, S.B. 822 has received a majority of votes in the Senate and is heading to the governor’s desk. In this fight, ISPs with millions of dollars to spend lost to the voice of the majority of Americans who support net neutrality. This is a victory that can be replicated. ISPs like Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast hated this bill. S.B. 822 bans blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, classic ways that companies have violated net neutrality principles. It also incorporates much of what the FCC learned and incorporated into the 2015 Open Internet Order, preventing new assaults on the free and open Internet. This includes making sure companies can’t circumvent net neutrality at the point of interconnection within the state of California. It also prevents companies from using zero rating—the practice of not counting certain apps or services against a data limit—in a discriminatory way. That is to say that,

A Click on a URL Isn’t Enough for a Search Warrant Prevalence of Link Shorteners and Other Tools Mean You Might Not Know Where You Are Going San Francisco – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked an appeals court to ensure that a click on a URL isn’t enough to get a search warrant for your house. In U.S. v. Nikolai Bosyk , law enforcement discovered a link to a file-sharing service that was suspected of being used to share child pornography. Prosecutors got a warrant to search Bosyk’s home based only on the fact that someone attempted to access the link from his home. The warrant application included no information on why or how the user encountered the link, or if he had any knowledge of what it linked to. In an amicus brief filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, EFF argues that law enforcement should gather more evidence before subjecting someone to an invasive home search. It’s not always clear what kinds of sites URLs link to, par

A Click on a URL Isn’t Enough for a Search Warrant Prevalence of Link Shorteners and Other Tools Mean You Might Not Know Where You Are Going San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked an appeals court to ensure that a click on a URL isn’t enough to get a search warrant for your house. In U.S. v. Nikolai Bosyk , law enforcement discovered a link to a file-sharing service that was suspected of being used to share child pornography. Prosecutors got a warrant to search Bosyk’s home based only on the fact that someone attempted to access the link from his home. The warrant application included no information on why or how the user encountered the link, or if he had any knowledge of what it linked to. In an amicus brief filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, EFF argues that law enforcement should gather more evidence before subjecting someone to an invasive home search. It’s not always clear what kinds of sites URLs link to, par

Nemours Children’s Hospital, a healthcare facility located in Orlando, Florida, provides care for children with all kinds of sicknesses. Families from over 70 different countries travel to the Nemours facility seeking outstanding pediatric care for their children. The hospital not only boasts top care but it also runs on world-class medical technology. Nemours’ medical technology Electricity in a hospital is essential, the hospital and patients depend on reliable electricity. Pure, continuous power provides staff, patients and parents a constant peace-of-mind that is necessary to maintain a successful recuperation environment. Therefore, it is critical that the power is reliable for equipment and medical technology to function 24/7. To meet this need, Nemours selected a team of four partners that developed a 3-tiered power system: critical power for operating theaters and essential medical devices; equipment power for AC, heat, and less critical medical equipment; and convenience p

The IT industry as a whole is facing a shortage of skilled workers and the data center segment is no exception. No quick fix is available to correct the problem, either. It’ll take creative outreach to new groups of potential workers and training; lots and lots of training. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s really no sugar-coating the situation. Joe Kava, VP of data centers for Google, summed it up nicely in a keynote address at the recent Data Center World conference, saying, “The greatest threat we’re facing is the race for talent.” Even Google has trouble staffing data centers A study last year by TEKsystems highlighted the issue, with 81% of the IT leaders surveyed saying it was difficult to find quality candidates for IT jobs. Nearly 50% of leaders with open positions didn’t expect they would fill them in the desired timeframe. There’s reason to believe the situation is even worse for companies looking to hire data center infrastructure staff for a simple reas

After Patent Office Rejection, It is Time For Google To Abandon Its Attempt to Patent Use of Public Domain Algorithm At EFF, we often criticize software patents that claim small variations on known techniques. These include a patent on updating software over the Internet , a patent on out-of-office email , and a patent on storing data in a database . Now, Google is trying to patent the use of a known data compression algorithm – called asymmetric numeral systems (ANS) – for video compression. In one sense, this patent application is fairly typical. The system seems designed to encourage tech giants to flood the Patent Office with applications for every little thing they do. Google’s application stands out, however, because the real inventor of ANS did everything he could to dedicate his work to the public domain. Jarek Duda developed ANS from 2006-2013. When he published his work, he wanted it to be available to the public free of restrictions. So he was disappointed to learn th

After Patent Office Rejection, It is Time For Google To Abandon Its Attempt to Patent Use of Public Domain Algorithm At EFF, we often criticize software patents that claim small variations on known techniques. These include a patent on updating software over the Internet , a patent on out-of-office email , and a patent on storing data in a database . Now, Google is trying to patent the use of a known data compression algorithm - called asymmetric numeral systems (ANS) – for video compression. In one sense, this patent application is fairly typical. The system seems designed to encourage tech giants to flood the Patent Office with applications for every little thing they do. Google’s application stands out, however, because the real inventor of ANS did everything he could to dedicate his work to the public domain. Jarek Duda developed ANS from 2006-2013. When he published his work, he wanted it to be available to the public free of restrictions. So he was disappointed to learn th

You Did It: California Net Neutrality Passes State Assembly After a long and hard-fought battle , one where you made your voices heard , California’s Assembly passed S.B. 822, the net neutrality bill. But we’re not quite done yet. In a vote of 58-17, S.B. 822 passed the Assembly. Now it needs to pass the Senate again. ISPs have tried hard to gut and kill this bill , pouring money and robocalls into California . There was a moment where that campaign looked like it might have been successful, but you spoke out and got strong net neutrality protections restored. But that hiccup means that, although a version of the bill already passed in the California Senate, it’s now different enough from that initial version to have to be re-voted on. We’re in the home stretch here. California could pass a gold standard net neutrality bill, providing a template for states going forward. California can prove that ISP money can’t defeat real people’s voices. So, one more time, contact your Calif

You Did It: California Net Neutrality Passes State Assembly After a long and hard-fought battle , one where you made your voices heard , California’s Assembly passed S.B. 822, the net neutrality bill. But we’re not quite done yet. In a vote of 58-17, S.B. 822 passed the Assembly. Now it needs to pass the Senate again. ISPs have tried hard to gut and kill this bill , pouring money and robocalls into California . There was a moment where that campaign looked like it might have been successful, but you spoke out and got strong net neutrality protections restored. But that hiccup means that, although a version of the bill already passed in the California Senate, it’s now different enough from that initial version to have to be re-voted on. We’re in the home stretch here. California could pass a gold standard net neutrality bill, providing a template for states going forward. California can prove that ISP money can’t defeat real people’s voices. So, one more time, contact your Calif

Optimizing guest comfort and control with a connected hotel The Evolution Lisboa Hotel, a new hotel located in Lisbon, Portugal is not only a new facility but one that runs on a world-class hotel system and modern technology. The connected hotel attracts many customers who are fortunate to experience the finest comforts with great convenience. You might wonder what that entails – get this: Guests can control their rooms through their smartphone or tablet by simply downloading an app. This control includes room settings such as lighting, curtains, temperature, and more. But it’s not only the guests that have this sort of ability, hotel managers and staff can do the same from the front desk or even remotely allowing them to monitor and control the entire building. Managers can even access live reports and set controls based on occupancy. Rooms and areas of the hotel that are unoccupied can be partially disconnected to save energy. “We are able, in real time and anywhere in the world,

EFF To Maine, Massachusetts Courts: Rule Requiring Warrants to Access Cell Phone Location Data Applies to Real-Time Searches Cases Among First Since Landmark Supreme Court Decision in Carpenter Portland, Maine—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU are urging the state’s highest courts in Massachusetts and Maine to rule that law enforcement agents need a warrant to access real-time location information from cell phones, a clear application of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from June. EFF, in partnership with ACLU chapters in Massachusetts and Maine, is asking the state courts to recognize, as the Supreme Court did in U.S. v Carpenter , that people have a constitutional right to expect privacy in their physical movements, which can be revealed in minute detail by the cell phones they carry. Cell phone use is ubiquitous in our society. People have their phones with them all the time, and the location information produced by the phone can reveal our every m

EFF To Maine, Massachusetts Courts: Rule Requiring Warrants to Access Cell Phone Location Data Applies to Real-Time Searches Cases Among First Since Landmark Supreme Court Decision in Carpenter Portland, Maine—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU are urging the state’s highest courts in Massachusetts and Maine to rule that law enforcement agents need a warrant to access real-time location information from cell phones, a clear application of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from June. EFF, in partnership with ACLU chapters in Massachusetts and Maine, is asking the state courts to recognize, as the Supreme Court did in U.S. v Carpenter , that people have a constitutional right to expect privacy in their physical movements, which can be revealed in minute detail by the cell phones they carry. Cell phone use is ubiquitous in our society. People have their phones with them all the time, and the location information produced by the phone can reveal our every m

How to Roll a Strong Password with 20-Sided Dice and Fandom-Inspired Wordlists Here’s the not-so-secret recipe for strong passphrases: a random element like dice, a long list of words, and math. And as long as you have the first two, the third takes care of itself. All together, this adds up to diceware , a simple but powerful method to create a passphrase that even the most sophisticated computer could take at least thousands of years to guess.  In short, diceware involves rolling a series of dice to get a number, and then matching that number to a corresponding word on a wordlist. You then repeat the process a few times to create a passphrase consisting of multiple words.  In 2016, EFF debuted a series of wordlists that can be used with five six-sided dice to generate strong passphrases . This year, we’re upping our game. At Dragon Con 2018 in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, EFF will be testing new wordlists optimized for three 20-sided dice. Since Dragon Con is largely a

Do you use classical design or design thinking in your everyday work? Organizations have traditionally used both but rapid changes in technology are challenging these methodologies. How do you keep up? Computational design is the answer. What sets Computational Design apart is its ability to design for scale, real-time and on-demand.  Setting parameters with computer logic to test multiple designs, 3D modeling and visualization, testing and evolving designs all with the automation and processing power of the cloud. Computational design extends consulting engineers intuition and experience, setting them up for the next 10-15 years of innovative, insightful and personalized design.   The post Game-Changing Technologies: Changes in Computational Design appeared first on Schneider Electric Blog . Visit Toronto Wiring from Schneider Electric Blog Visit Toronto Wiring

How to Roll a Strong Password with 20-Sided Dice and Fandom-Inspired Wordlists Here’s the not-so-secret recipe for strong passphrases: a random element like dice, a long list of words, and math. And as long as you have the first two, the third takes care of itself. All together, this adds up to diceware , a simple but powerful method to create a passphrase that even the most sophisticated computer could take at least thousands of years to guess.  In short, diceware involves rolling a series of dice to get a number, and then matching that number to a corresponding word on a wordlist. You then repeat the process a few times to create a passphrase consisting of multiple words.  In 2016, EFF debuted a series of wordlists that can be used with five six-sided dice to generate strong passphrases . This year, we’re upping our game. At Dragon Con 2018 in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, EFF will be testing new wordlists optimized for three 20-sided dice. Since Dragon Con is largely a

Stupid Patent of the Month: A Newspaper on a Screen One of the oldest challenges in journalism is deciding what goes on the front page. How big should the headline be? What articles merit front-page placement? When addressing these questions, publishers deal with a physical limit in the size of the page. Digital publishing faces a similar constraint: the storage capacity of the user’s device. You can only put as much content on the device as will fit. If that sounds like a fundamental to you, and unpatentable, idea, we agree. Unfortunately, the Patent Office does not. They recently decided to issue our latest Stupid Patent of the Month: U.S. No. 10,042,822 , titled “Device, Method, and System for Displaying Pages of a Digital Edition by Efficient Download of Assets.” The ’822 patent adds nothing remotely inventive or technological to the basic idea of providing a portion of a periodical— i.e. , a newspaper—based on the amount of space available. The patent owner, Nuglif , makes an

Stupid Patent of the Month: A Newspaper on a Screen One of the oldest challenges in journalism is deciding what goes on the front page. How big should the headline be? What articles merit front-page placement? When addressing these questions, publishers deal with a physical limit in the size of the page. Digital publishing faces a similar constraint: the storage capacity of the user’s device. You can only put as much content on the device as will fit. If that sounds like a fundamental to you, and unpatentable, idea, we agree. Unfortunately, the Patent Office does not. They recently decided to issue our latest Stupid Patent of the Month: U.S. No. 10,042,822 , titled “Device, Method, and System for Displaying Pages of a Digital Edition by Efficient Download of Assets.” The ’822 patent adds nothing remotely inventive or technological to the basic idea of providing a portion of a periodical— i.e. , a newspaper—based on the amount of space available. The patent owner, Nuglif , makes an