There are days when I wish computers had never been invented . . . those are the days when my computer keeps crashing or freezing, the days when I can't find a particular file I need, the days when I can't remember the url of a certain website and the bookmark seems to have disappeared, the days when I'm in a hurry and everything seems to be on a go-slow. We all have those sort of days.
And then there are the other days. The days when a subject can be easily and fully researched without having to make a trip to the public library (which, frequently, didn't have the right material anyway). The days when I'm able to chat to friends around the world, courtesy of forums and chat rooms and email. And the days when I learn something amazing.
Today was one of those days. I received a tweet which said "please help me spread the word that seizure alert dogs save lives" and it gave me a link to this article. Now, I'm a doctor, and yet I knew nothing about seizure alert dogs. I read the article and retweeted the tweet. Hopefully, others will retweet it, too. And I realised that this is the marvel of the internet . . . the ability to spread information around the world. And, also, of course, the ability to campaign.
I belong to an organisation called Avaaz. It describes itself as "a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere." It has been in existence for five years, has over 16 million members, campaigns in 15 languages, and has a core team and thousands of volunteers on six continents. It is member-led, wholly member-funded and democratically accountable, and campaigns on a vast range of issues. For example, in April 2011, 500,000 Indians signed an Avaaz petition which set wheels in motion towards a new anti-corruption law in India. In November of last year, half a million members, together with more than 1,000 indigenous protesters, got Bolivian President Evo Morales to halt construction of a highway that would have sliced through the heart of the Amazon. And in January 2012, over three million members worldwide signed a petition
opposing a bill that would give the US government the right to shut down
any website.
For as much as there are anxieties about the internet contributing to the spread of child pornography and making it easier for sexual predators to find victims, the internet has also proved itself a valuable tool for good, raising awareness, bringing together people of like minds and giving them a way in which they can make their voice heard.
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Friday, 6 April 2012
Oh to have a printer now that April's here!
My printer has packed up. I can't complain - it's done valiant service. It wasn't an expensive model - an hp deskjet actually - and I must have had it at least ten years. I've ordered a new one but, what with Easter being this weekend, it won't be arriving until Tuesday. So, meanwhile, I'm without a printer. And I've had quite a lot that needs printing.
I suppose the sensible thing would have been to stick the files onto a memory stick and then load them onto my husband's computer and print from there. But it seemed easier just to email the files to him. Hmm . . .
He (for reasons best known to himself) uses rocketmail. I've tried a Yahoo mail account before now and discovered that it often took days for something to arrive, if it arrived at all. So when half an hour had passed and my emails to husband still hadn't arrived, I looked for other ways of getting them there. (As to why I didn't use a memory stick at this juncture, your guess is as good as mine . . . but I didn't.)
So at this point it turned into a major operation. I emailed the files to a hotmail account that I use occasionally. Then I shut down microsoft outlook on my computer and sent the files from the hotmail account to my own email account. Husband then logged into my email account via mail2web and - glory hallelujah - downloaded the files onto his machine. What a palaver!
Meanwhile I have a memory stick sitting on my desk, looking at me reproachfully!
I shall miss my old printer - it was so simple to use, had good print quality, was fast and would print double-sided (although this was something I didn't discover until I'd had it quite a while). I hope the new printer will be as good - although I doubt it. I read numerous reviews of a wide variety of printers and this was the one that had the fewest negative reviews. Although, come to think of it, there was one that had 100% positive reviews but it's no longer available - go figure!
I suppose the sensible thing would have been to stick the files onto a memory stick and then load them onto my husband's computer and print from there. But it seemed easier just to email the files to him. Hmm . . .
He (for reasons best known to himself) uses rocketmail. I've tried a Yahoo mail account before now and discovered that it often took days for something to arrive, if it arrived at all. So when half an hour had passed and my emails to husband still hadn't arrived, I looked for other ways of getting them there. (As to why I didn't use a memory stick at this juncture, your guess is as good as mine . . . but I didn't.)
So at this point it turned into a major operation. I emailed the files to a hotmail account that I use occasionally. Then I shut down microsoft outlook on my computer and sent the files from the hotmail account to my own email account. Husband then logged into my email account via mail2web and - glory hallelujah - downloaded the files onto his machine. What a palaver!
Meanwhile I have a memory stick sitting on my desk, looking at me reproachfully!
I shall miss my old printer - it was so simple to use, had good print quality, was fast and would print double-sided (although this was something I didn't discover until I'd had it quite a while). I hope the new printer will be as good - although I doubt it. I read numerous reviews of a wide variety of printers and this was the one that had the fewest negative reviews. Although, come to think of it, there was one that had 100% positive reviews but it's no longer available - go figure!
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Big Brother is Watching You . . . the protest begins!
There has been, as you might expect, an outcry against the UK Government's proposals to monitor our 'phone calls and emails and the websites we visit. Yesterday, the campaigning online community Avaaz started a petition addressed to the Prime Minister, deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary, in which it says:
As concerned citizens we urge you to immediately drop plans for an Internet big brother bill (Communications Capabilities Development Programme). Our democracy and civil liberties are under threat from the excessive and unnecessary internet surveillance provisions without any judicial oversight in this bill. We hope you will protect our privacy and keep your election promise to "reverse the rise of the surveillance state"
When I looked a few moments ago, over 38,500 people had signed it. Interestingly, not all of these are from the UK. People in other countries are clearly concerned that, if the UK Government gets away with this, their own Governments may start to get ideas. I have a feeling that this petition may raise many more than the 50,000 signatures that Avaaz is looking for.
As concerned citizens we urge you to immediately drop plans for an Internet big brother bill (Communications Capabilities Development Programme). Our democracy and civil liberties are under threat from the excessive and unnecessary internet surveillance provisions without any judicial oversight in this bill. We hope you will protect our privacy and keep your election promise to "reverse the rise of the surveillance state"
When I looked a few moments ago, over 38,500 people had signed it. Interestingly, not all of these are from the UK. People in other countries are clearly concerned that, if the UK Government gets away with this, their own Governments may start to get ideas. I have a feeling that this petition may raise many more than the 50,000 signatures that Avaaz is looking for.
Monday, 2 April 2012
Big Brother is Watching You . . . if the Government has anything to do with it!
There was a story today on the one o'clock news that the UK Government wants to give security officials the power to monitor telephone, email and internet use. The idea is that it will help combat terrorism. My immediate question is . . . how? Is it really likely that terrorists will allow their location or identity to be discovered online when there are easily available - and perfectly legal - ways of masking one's IP address? Is it likely that it will be possible to monitor who is calling whom when one can buy a mobile 'phone for under £15, buy £10 worth of calls, pay for it all with cash and chuck the 'phone away when one has finished with it?
Maybe I'm missing the finer points of the proposed legislation - although Heather Blake, from Reporters Without Borders, is quoted as saying "Those who commit these crimes, will find other ways. They always do." She has called on the government to release any data it has which shows that increased web monitoring will help in the fight against terrorism and has pointed out that, if the legislation goes through, countries such as Syria and Iran, will make what we do in the UK and excuse for the surveillance that they use.
Trefor Davies, a member UK's Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) board, doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it either, pointing out that more people are likely to use free proxies, many of which are infected with malware. And the icing on the cake is that the monitoring is likely to cost around £2 billion pounds to run for 10 years.
Over and above all this, though, my main concern is for people who have a legitimate reason for keeping private who it is that they are 'phoning or emailing. As a doctor and counsellor, I'm thinking particularly of those people who contact crisis helplines or specialist counselling agencies. Making that first contact is hard enough without the thought that somebody, somewhere might just happen onto the fact that you have been ringing the Samaritans or an agency that offers rape counselling.
I have a feeling that this 'brilliant idea' is going to go the way of that other 'brilliant idea' which was also going to cost the taxpayer a small fortune - the ID card. As I remember, it was proposed by the last Government as a sure way of combatting terrorism and illegal immigration, was vigorously opposed by large sections of the public . . . and was then quietly dropped. I hope I'm right.
.
Maybe I'm missing the finer points of the proposed legislation - although Heather Blake, from Reporters Without Borders, is quoted as saying "Those who commit these crimes, will find other ways. They always do." She has called on the government to release any data it has which shows that increased web monitoring will help in the fight against terrorism and has pointed out that, if the legislation goes through, countries such as Syria and Iran, will make what we do in the UK and excuse for the surveillance that they use.
Trefor Davies, a member UK's Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) board, doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it either, pointing out that more people are likely to use free proxies, many of which are infected with malware. And the icing on the cake is that the monitoring is likely to cost around £2 billion pounds to run for 10 years.
Over and above all this, though, my main concern is for people who have a legitimate reason for keeping private who it is that they are 'phoning or emailing. As a doctor and counsellor, I'm thinking particularly of those people who contact crisis helplines or specialist counselling agencies. Making that first contact is hard enough without the thought that somebody, somewhere might just happen onto the fact that you have been ringing the Samaritans or an agency that offers rape counselling.
I have a feeling that this 'brilliant idea' is going to go the way of that other 'brilliant idea' which was also going to cost the taxpayer a small fortune - the ID card. As I remember, it was proposed by the last Government as a sure way of combatting terrorism and illegal immigration, was vigorously opposed by large sections of the public . . . and was then quietly dropped. I hope I'm right.
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