- Namecoin, a Bitcoin based DNS alternative
Any number of de-centralized naming schemes have been suggested and coded up starting with some of the earliest DNS takedowns in the past year or so. Namecoin (h/t @BiellaColeman) extends Bitcoin to support registration, collision, renewal and distribution of name-address pairs. Using the distributed digital currency system, with a completely separate blockchain, builds in a cost for registration, either in burned CPU cycles or using an exchange model to buy namecoins which can be expended to register names. There is even a way to bridge the .bit names into traditional DNS. I am curious how well it will scale but otherwise the project is intriguing. - How to disable Facebook’s facial recognition feature
EFF has produced a short (4:28) video both explaining how the feature works and how to disable it. Worth noting is that the system doesn’t automatically tag users in photos, rather it works similar to other, textually based tagging systems. The facial recognition code is used to suggests tags when photos are uploaded much like the way common blogs may suggest popular tags based on the contents of some post. Of course autotagging text doesn’t carry the same broader privacy risks as even the mildest take on facial recognition. - US Supreme Court unanimously rules incumbent telcos must share contended network connections at cost
Slashdot linked to a short report on Bloomberg about a very encouraging ruling in the fight to bolster and expand competition in the incredibly shrinking space of telecommunications. As near as I can tell this will not help directly with last mile access which has been a hotly contended market with worsening terms for consumers but is still a step towards keeping competition alive. At issue is access to interconnects the opening of which will make some competitive offerings more feasible as it will avoid what I call the 2nd network effect. Timothy B. Lee at Ars Technica has a little bit more explanation. - Simulated carbon allotropes denser than diamonds could be next superconductors, io9
- Parallels between copyright and the history of Western religion, Falkvinge on Infopolicy h/t @sdp on identi.ca
- Miami cops intimidate, smash camera of citizen journalists who recorded firefight, Miami Herald via BoingBoing
- AT&T lobbying threatens community based internet access in Wisconsin, Community Broadband News via BoingBoing
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