Category Archives: Computers & Internet

3 Good Reasons to persist in using Google ncr = no country redirect

Image from: marketing-partners.com

Since some weeks ago, I used:

for my web search and I was able to open the main Google Homepage without to be redirected to any local Goole site.

What I usually obtained was:

1 – less “personalized” search results: the algorithm will be not “contaminated” by my local IP and I will able to find information “cleaned” by local trends;

2 – the possibility to use the “same” Google even when I am abroad;

3 – the security that my searches were always up-to-date respect the global actual trends. For my experience when I search some particular topics as “marketing” I obtain, in the first Google page, fresh news only using Google in its NCR version. If I try to use my local Google homepage I have to spend more time setting the Google’s “advanced search” or trying to understand what information are “really” fresh new.

Image from: mods2015.com

I found the right solution when I visited ycombinator.com and I found the post created by newman314 that submitted a link that combined NCR and SSL protocol (for a little bit of more privacy).

https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=test&qscrl=1&n…

https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=test&qscrl=1&ncr=1

Where the word “test” is what I am looking for.

Then I also found a faster solution by dragop:

http://www.google.com/?gfe_rd=cr&gws_rd=cr

and, in the same webpage, a shorter version from 3dfan:

http://www.google.com/?gws_rd=cr

On my side I prefer to use this other URL that gives me the same results through an SSL connection:

https://encrypted.google.com

To be sure that the results were really the same and not simply related with the English language and influenced by the IP, I tested this URL comparing them from what I obtained from the above mentioned:

http://www.google.com/?gws_rd=cr

I discovered that what I “received” using encrypted.google.com are really the same links and they are not just the standard local results in the English language.

I know that cookies will not allow me to have real “septic” results but this is the first step to a less passive use of Google search because I would like to be a more active user and not just a passive customer pampered by Google.

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What Do Star Wars and Recent Data Breaches Teach Us About Cyber Ethics?

Could Privacy Law Limitations kill the Internet Dream?

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Is Privacy a fundamental human right? Your personal answer to this question is the starting point to think about the current Internet legislation and to evaluate if the recent legal restrictions on civil rights could represent the “end of the Internet Dream.” A clear and motivated opinion about this issue is a strategic keypoint for all those people who, as me, operate everyday in one of the many Internet branches as consultants, lawyers, programmers, marketing experts, investors or, more often, as common users.

Dan Gillmor, via BACKCHANNEL, has recently underlined that a liberal legislation should not restrict end to end encryption, because it represents the best safeguards for tomorrow’s freedom. A standard use of fragile encryption, imposed by Law, will not only interfere with privacy, but will also heavily tamper with Internet global security.

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On the other hand, Dan Patterson, via TECHREPUBLIC, has reported two different conversations with UN reporters who affirmed that strong encryption allows privacy and privacy is the corner stone of truth, especially for reporters, because it helps to “validate the veracity of information.”

Consequently, to preserve our privacy in our daily living it would be useful to:

Use Privilege VPN or HTTPS connections when you surf Internet;
Use Encrypted Storage for your data, especially if you cannot avoid using cloud-based services;
Watch the Legislator: contact the MP/Politician who represents you and express your point of view, each time a restrictive Law proposal is under discussion.

As Citizens, the real challenge we have for the next months is represented by the influence we will be able to exercise on new Laws that should find a legal equilibrium between anti-terrorism surveillance and the need of protecting citizen’s personal information allowing the use of VPN/HTTPS connections and Encrypted Storage.

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Who’s off the Internet — and why

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Digital currency is poised to reinvent how startups are funded, led by Chroma Fund

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Memory is dirt cheap at a time when it should be expensive

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What about the low-cost Tablet Market?

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Newcomers are not always the happiest guy…. This because not often there is not much room left by the first-comers that usually had the “good idea” and consequently became the market leaders.

But sometimes things go differently. This is the case of low-cost tablet market where a big number of semi-unknown producers from Asia have been able to create good products at a very affordable price.

If you google “tablet” and visit some specialised, B2C, websites you can find some interesting products. Obviously I’m not talking about the top of the production and you will not find any top level tablet but you could be interested to some of them if you consider their prices.

The middle level market wasn’t considered interesting by big players till now. But the potential increase of demand in this segment has changed the scenario.

Tablets are very common devices and today many of us could be interested to have a second or third device to avoid the matter of carrying our expensive, branded tablet everywhere. Personally I am not planning to buy a second “branded” tablet to increase my comfort when in remote places but I could really consider to buy a second, not the top, device if it is really cheap. I am sure it will be a little be slower and less performant than the one I use every day but what does it matter if its price will be just a fraction of my main tablet?

For above marketing reasons Amazon is planning to sell a low-cost 50 USD tablet before the end of the year.

On one end the attended success of this marketing strategy could be read as another way to chain its customers to the brand. On the other end low-cost tablets represent a real remunerative economic niche that worths a good slice of the market (and consequently a lot of money).

Moreover the tablet market starts to be “mature” and this niche could be one of the last ones before the decline. Moreover Ubuntu is coming…

In fact Ubuntu is actively working on a new generation of tablets that will run a native version of Linux. The tablet devices we are using today have enough power to smoothly run some of the main common Linux OS and overcome the main problems that were registered when some “primitive” Linux tablets were launched some years ago.

For this reason Linux enthusiasts like me hope in something new… and useful in the near future. Cross your fingers!

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References:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-to-release-50-tablet-as-it-struggles-to-sell-pricier-devices-1441653902