Recent Technology Articles

Amnesty shows how ‘clicktivism’ can work too

by Robert Sharp     May 27, 2011 at 2:21 pm

Some good news: Eynulla Fatullayev has been released in Azerbaijan. I reported last month on the demonstrations I have attended on his behalf.

An immediate tweet discussion of the news caught my eye. From @dontgetfooled

Wow. So “clicktivism” can work after all?

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The information architecture behind False Economy and the cuts data

by Clifford Singer     April 12, 2011 at 4:27 pm

As part of a project to make available to programmer data on the government’s cuts – called APIs Against the Cuts – Sunny asked me write on the information architecture behind the False Economy website.

False Economy was built using the ExpressionEngine CMS – which has also been used by 38 Degrees, the Obama campaign and A List Apart among others. It’s built with PHP and uses a MySQL database.

False Economy crowd-sources information about:
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The government wants to control what you see online

by Guest     April 1, 2011 at 9:02 am

contribution by Peter Bradwell

Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, this week confirmed that he is discussing a voluntary website blocking scheme with Internet Service Providers and copyright lobbyists.

There are plenty of reasons why so many people think this is a bad idea and why it won’t work.
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Ten web tools beyond Twitter and Facebook activists should consider

by Guest     January 23, 2011 at 10:20 am

contribution by Sean Gittins

Though social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs are the foundations upon which much online activism is anchored, the evolving demands of campaigns require activists to develop and expand upon this base.

And there are many such tools to help you, even if they appear daunting at first. Here are some websites and explanations on what they can offer activists to gather information.
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How could UKuncut deal with attempts at sabotage?

by Guest     January 22, 2011 at 2:28 pm

contribution by Tim Hardy

PR companies are bringing in “big guns” to protect their clients from UK Uncut and as part of their strategy they plan to use “threat detection” software.

This is an interesting development. By tweeting we are always visible and we make our networks of influence visible. Our meetings are in public, coordinated by hashtags that let people find us.
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Pornblocking – why it would have killed me

by Guest     December 21, 2010 at 11:00 am

contribution by Charlie Owen

The Conservative MP Claire Perry, representing the good constituency of Devizes, Wiltshire, recently suggested the introduction of a Great Porn Filter. Minister Ed Vaizey now says he is seriously considering a voluntary version.

This stalwart piece of software would patrol the borders of our great nation, letting in only the most virtuous, the most pure, the most clean of web traffic.

With the filter in place Britain might rid itself of the terrible addicition to pornography that has brought it to its knees (so to speak) and which has led to all the problems that we now face: student debt, benefit cuts and snow over our noble runways.
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Vodafone: the sequel

by Paul Cotterill     November 21, 2010 at 9:43 am

Being old, I’m not a great one for the latest techie news, but this story did interest me.

It seems that mobile network providers, including our friends at Vodafone, are very upset at the news that Apple have come up with its own integrated SIM card which will allow it to bypass the range of providers in Europe…
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#RoyalWedding, #RoyalWedding

by Robert Sharp     November 16, 2010 at 12:27 pm

The commentary on Twitter is a fantasic cross-section of Britishness. Add your own two-line couplets, crowdsourced or composed, in the comments.

#RoyalWedding, #RoyalWedding
Look how quick the news is spreading

I’m really pleased for Kate and Will
But will the tax payers foot the bill?
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Vaz blames ‘racist shooting’ on video game

by Unity     November 9, 2010 at 1:15 pm

In a story you may not have picked up on over the weekend, Police in the Swedish city of Malmo have confirmed that an as yet unnamed 38 year old man has been arrested in connection with a series of gun attacks on people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Prior to the arrest, local police had suspected that more than a dozen unsolved shootings over the last year, in which one person died and eight more were wounded, may have been the work of lone gunman. The man arrested at the weekend has now been charged with one count of murder and seven attempted murders.

Make of that story what you will, but what has piqued my interest here is not the story itself but an Early Day Motion (EDM 907) put down a couple of weeks ago by Labour MP, Keith Vaz, in relation to these shootings.
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Nuclear power is more unpopular than we’re led to believe

by Guest     July 5, 2010 at 9:00 am

contribution by Leo

New polling sheds some light both on where the public stand in terms of different power options, and on the impact of arguments that make nuclear seem more attractive.

The polls are useful for understanding public attitudes towards nuclear power in two ways: they indicate how people regard nuclear at the moment, and they also help show the impact of arguments for nuclear power.

At a basic level, nuclear power is currently pretty much the least popular form of power generation in the UK.
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