Category: starred

Court: button is "equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s yard."

via Ars Technica
Facebook “Like” button just as protected as written speech, court rules

Parkite Rich Giles just wanted to help homeowner associations save money on road repair. Instead, he created a machine that does what he had→
via Business Opportunities Weblog
Inventor Is Repairing The Road To Success

Here’s something completely awesome on a day that needs more awesome. Tim Pietrusky recreated the famous opening crawl of Star Wars from 1977 using HTML, CSS and JavaScript because he couldn’t find a web version of it. Even better, the code is all up on Codepen.io and Pietrusky detailed his process on his website for all to see. Watch the opening sequence here (just click on the text). [Tim Pietrusky via BoingBoing]

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via Gizmodo
Awesome Guy Re-Created the Star Wars Opening Crawl with HTML and CSS

In this tutorial I am going to show you how to build a jQuery accordion menu from scratch. Most of the time it is possible to create very functional website navigations with just CSS, but this time we are going to need a little jQuery magic to accomplish the accordion functionality. For this tutorial I am going to assume that you have some experience with HTML and CSS. I will go over all the code, but the main focus of this tutorial we be on jQuery stuff. You may download the demo files at the end of the article. Demo […]
via Perishable Press
jQuery Accordion Menu Tutorial

Back in the 1930s the infographic scene was already humming with crazy products like the Histomap and its 4,000 years of visualized history. But the roots of infographics go back even further. This intense visual recollection of the Civil War dates back to the 1800s.

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via Gizmodo
This 100-Year-Old Infographic Maps the Entire Civil War

Dilbert readers – Please visit Dilbert.com to read this feature. Due to changes with our feeds, we are now making this RSS feed a link to Dilbert.com.
via Dilbert Daily Strip
Comic for September 15, 2013

A Romanian boy plays with his toy plane while Jurgis Kairys, a Lithuanian aerobatic pilot and aeronautical engineer, performs a freestyle aerobatic maneuver with his modified Sukhoi SU 31, at the Bucharest International Air Show 2013, at Baneasa airport, in Bucharest, Romania, on July 27. (Robert Ghement/European Pressphoto Agency)

via The Big Picture
Air shows 2013

There was plenty of discussion about how Apple’s new fingerprint ID biometric system on the new iPhones might help the NSA build a giant database of fingerprints, but others quickly pointed out how unlikely that was. Some have even argued that it could lead to greater privacy protection (though, others are reasonably concerned since you can’t "change" your fingerprint if someone figures out a way to hack it — and fingerprint readers have been hacked many times in the past).

However, there are additional concerns, such as how relying on fingerprint scans over passwords might remove your ability to use the 5th Amendment to protect your private data. As we’ve discussed a few times, while not all courts agree, some have ruled that you can’t be forced to give up your passwords to unencrypt your data, because it could be seen as a 5th Amendment violation of self-incrimination. However, with a fingerprint, the issue is slightly different than with a password. As the EFF’s Marcia Hoffman explains:

The privilege against self-incrimination is an important check on the government’s ability to collect evidence directly from a witness. The Supreme Court has made it clear that the Fifth Amendment broadly applies not only during a criminal prosecution, but also to any other proceeding “civil or criminal, formal or informal,” where answers might tend to incriminate us. It’s a constitutional guarantee deeply rooted in English law dating back to the 1600s, when it was used to protect people from being tortured by inquisitors to force them to divulge information that could be used against them.

For the privilege to apply, however, the government must try to compel a person to make a “testimonial” statement that would tend to incriminate him or her. When a person has a valid privilege against self-incrimination, nobody — not even a judge — can force the witness to give that information to the government.

But a communication is “testimonial” only when it reveals the contents of your mind. We can’t invoke the privilege against self-incrimination to prevent the government from collecting biometrics like fingerprints, DNA samples, or voice exemplars. Why? Because the courts have decided that this evidence doesn’t reveal anything you know. It’s not testimonial.

It does seem odd that a simple switch from a password to a fingerprint could have constitutional implications, but welcome to the world where the law and the technology don’t always match up perfectly together.

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via Techdirt.
Apple’s Fingerprint ID And How It May Take Away Your 5th Amendment Right To Protect Your Data

Windows: Portable applications are handy for running applications from a USB stick or using an app without messing with your Windows installation. For the remainder, Zero Install can run software without installing it.

The app features a sort of makeshift app store for a number of included applications. From a single menu, you can download from a host of popular apps like Audacity and Notepad++, and Zero Install will keep them up to date. You can also set up Zero Install to sync installations between computers so no matter which machine you’re on, it’s always up to date.

Run Windows Programs Without Having to Install Them | Make Tech Easier

via Lifehacker
Zero Install Downloads, Updates, and Runs Apps Without Installing