Link Smorgasbord, May 2014

Help EFF Test Privacy Badger, Our New Tool to Stop Creepy Online Tracking
A new tool to help block tracking from third party sites, in testing so they're looking for people to use it and look for issues.

My Experiment Opting Out of Big Data Made Me Look Like a Criminal
On how absurd the efforts and limitations that someone must take are simply to avoid data harvesting..
It was no joke that taken together, the things I had to do to evade marketing detection looked suspiciously like illicit activities. All I was trying to do was to fight for the right for a transaction to be just a transaction, not an excuse for a thousand little trackers to follow me around. But avoiding the big data dragnet meant that I not only looked like a rude family member or an inconsiderate friend, I also looked like a bad citizen.

The myth that users will “vote with their feet” is simply wrong if opting out comes at such a high price. With social, financial and even potentially legal repercussions involved, the barriers for exit are high. This leaves users and consumers with no real choice nor voice to express our concerns.
Beyond net neutrality: The new battle for the future of the internet
I strongly recommend reading this.

Comic Book +
A fantastic archive of freely accessible comics.  Woo!

Comcast is destroying the principle that makes a competitive internet possible
On the history of telcoms and ISPs leading into today, and looking forward.

'Alien' artist H.R. Giger dies at 74
Not exactly library or book related, but I love Giger's work, and it definitely is a iconic part of science fiction.

Huge coalition led by Amazon, Microsoft, and others take a stand against FCC on net neutrality
In the long run I can't say I feel they always have our best interests on hand, but sometimes our interests and their interests actually run parallel for a bit.  The outcome on net neutrality affects them drastically.

Level 3 calls out Comcast, TWC and others for ‘deliberately harming’ their own broadband service
The title says most of it, the rest is how ISPs rely on each other to make the internet work.

Save Our Stacks
On the shrinking stacks in libraries,  particularly academic, as room is made way for offices and technology.

Amazon Delaying Shipment on Select Hachette Titles
Amazon's playing hardball with a publisher, and the publisher is pushing back.  This isn't the first time that a company has pushed back at Amazon, but Amazon can be very heavy handed, so there has been limited success on this front.  Hachette has something Amazon cannot duplicate through a third party brand, and Hachette publishes some big titles.
See more:
Amazon vs. Hachette Update: Booksellers Respond
Amazon Removes Pre-Order Capability On Many Forthcoming Hachette Titles
Amazon is Destoying my Favorite Things

Hollywood Is Still On The Wrong Side Of Net Neutrality
Interesting read

Who Has Your Back? Protecting Your Data from Government Requests
EFF's report for 2014.

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