The law often has a difficult time keeping up with the pace of technology. One of the biggest challenges that lawmakers around the world have faced is trying to regulate and monitor social media. They have come up with a number of new regulations to promote censorship but most of those measures have failed. More lawmakers appear to be feeling that censoring social media is probably not a feasible approach.

Attempts to Censor Social Media

Lawmakers have proposed a number of different approaches to censor social media sites. Here are some of the laws that were created to censor social media over the last few years.

SOPA

The Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) was introduced by the United States House of Representatives in 2011 to prevent copyright infringement. The new law would have prevented marketers from doing business with any website that violated copyright laws and would have ordered Internet Service Providers to block all access to sites that violated copyright laws.

The law was proposed to help protect the financial stability of the entertainment industry. Many people understood the concerns that the law created, but said that the bill created a number of other concerns that they needed to voice. Many libraries and other institutions were worried that the law would expose them to prosecution. A number of social media communities and online information portals blocked themselves out a couple of months later to protest the new legislation.

Lawmakers came to realize that the new measure probably wouldn’t work as they originally wrote it. They haven’t abandoned the legislation, but seem to feel that complete censorship wasn’t the best approach.

Saudi Arabia Efforts to Censor Social Media

The Saudi Arabia Telecommunications Authority has proposed a new bill that would allow them to censor social media. However, Prince bin Talal has recently protested the new legislation. He said that blocking social media is a “losing war” and the government will need to find a new approach.

The prince and many other supporters have protested these proposals. They said that social media is a powerful tool for citizens to make their voices heard and the government would be unwise to implement such measures. A number of rights groups have backed bin Talal and the potential law is losing support among other lawmakers as well.

Censorship in China

Government officials in China have been working diligently to censor social media. Many experts have accused government officials of trying to use censorship as a propaganda tool. However, recent articles have found that it has been largely ineffective. Kelly McParland of the National Postrecently published this article stating that many citizens are openly using social media to mock government officials. McParland has said that many people have felt that the government’s efforts are backfiring on them.

Governments Reevaluating How they Manage Social Media

Governments are trying to understand how to regulate social media. They are still trying to find out the best way to do so. They will continue to look for new ways to do so in the future, but are starting to realize that censorship may not be an approach that can work.

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About the author:Kalen is an Internet marketer who writes tips about social media aggregation and other topics for My Life. He feels that connecting social networks together can help people use their social media more effectively.

What do you do when you want to find out about something? You probably jump on your laptop and search for it on the Internet. You might sit down and watch the news on your massive television, or you could even take your fancy mobile phone out of your pocket and call a friend. We rely on technology when we want to communicate these days. Even paperback books are becoming extinct as eBook readers slowly take over the world.

Do you remember when you were a child and you wanted to see if your friend was coming out to play? You would have to walk around to their house and knock on the door. Did you try to make a telephone out of two empty tins and a long piece of string? We’ve come a long way and it’s only going to get more exciting as we get older. If you’re wondering about some of the ways you might be communicating in the future we can take a look at some crazy ideas.

Lifelike holograms

You need to imagine that you’re sitting in your office and someone tells you it’s time to speak to a room full of people in China. It’s a bit late to jump on an airplane and fly there in person, but you don’t need to. All you need to do is wear a suit and speak like you normally would. Everyone in China will feel like you’re actually there because they will be looking at a lifelike hologram. It will be a great way to conduct business and you won’t need to go away for a few days.

Telepathy

Sooner or later we will be able to speak to someone just by thinking what we want to say. We already have prosthetic limbs that can be moved using the power of our thoughts. One day in the future we will have a chip implanted in our brain and when we think of something it will be sent to the person you’re trying to communicate with. Maybe it’s not real telepathy because we have to use technology, but it’s real enough and it will change the world.

Virtual reality

I bet you’ve been listening to stories about virtual reality since you were a small child. Will we be able to put a mask on and be transported to another world? It will happen and there will be so many things we could do with it. Our children won’t need to go to school because they could sit in their bedroom and be transported to a virtual classroom. Google are paving the way with their augmented reality glasses which should be ready very soon.

3-D display computers

It’s not going to be long until we won’t need to sit in front of a flat screen when we browse the Internet. Computer displays will eventually become three-dimensional and we can pick and choose things with our hands instead of having to control a mouse. If they’re going to become available for computers you can guarantee it won’t be long until they are also available for smartphones. It’s going to be one exciting future.

Speech to speech translation

When you are in a completely different country it’s hard to get around because of the language barrier. Can you imagine walking into a restaurant and being able to order anything you want? You might not have to wait much longer because you will eventually be able to understand other languages without speaking them. You just need to wear a gadget that listens to what someone is telling you and it will translate the words into your own language.

Are you ready for the future?

I’m sure you will agree that the future is going to be special. Is there any special futuristic technology you would like to see? What is your favorite one we’ve talked about today?

Author of this post, Alan Wilkins; works for Georgia telecom. Communication technology, is his subject of interest and has researched about the same for many years. He likes to blog about various technological issues and has come up with a gem in the form of this article.

When selecting an internet service provider, the usual main consideration is geography: which companies provide service in your area and which ones do not. Fortunately, the increasing role of technology not just in using the internet but in accessing it has allowed many providers to break free of the chains that once limited where they could operate. If you are seeking an internet service that doesn’t fit a cookie-cutter mould, then there are several options from which to choose. We have outlined four features for residential internet service that are cost-effective, technologically adept and flexible when it comes to what you expect in your home-based connection.

No Contracts

We all remember the days when signing up for a new internet connection meant committing to a 1 or 2-year contract in order to get a fair price on the service. Thankfully, costs associated with initiating and maintaining internet infrastructure have been in consistent free-fall, and you can now procure a solid internet connection for a very reasonable price. With it no longer being cost-prohibitive, we are actually seeing select companies beginning to offer service without contracts, with the main premise being that their level of service should be the reason for customer retention – not some scary contract.

Integrated Ad Blocking

Oh, the frustration of dealing with pop-ups and those intrusive web-based advertisements. It seems as if more and more people have abandoned traditional media in favour of internet-based solutions, the number and frequency of advertisements on the internet has only increased. This in turn has led to a counter-attack in the form of browser add-ons and software suites that block or minimise the occurrence of these ads. But what if your internet automatically did that for you? Several ISPs have been experimenting with ISP-based ad block programs, making sure the advertisements never appear in your browser in the first place.

Hotspots & Wireless Access

Just a few years ago, carrying the internet around in your pocket meant having a mobile phone that could just barely be used for browsing: most people used it for the simplest of tasks. Today, however, you can have access to full-fledged internet service thanks to the use of a wireless hotspot. With both prepaid and post-paid services available, the only strings attached these days are how often you need to charge your hotspot. Best of all, competition among providers has lowered the price of wireless internet access near to that of traditional internet, making it a great choice for those who live outside of high-speed areas or need a dedicated connection wherever they find themselves.

Web Hosting

With the concept of web-based businesses and blogs becoming more and more prevalent, an increasing amount of internet services now offer multiple forms of web hosting – whether that be unlimited email addresses, a set amount of web space or rapid transfer support (RTP). In past years, providing for these solutions would have been difficult, but the development of high speed networks and cloud-based computing these days has facilitated the ability for just about any internet service to offer these perks – but beware: not every internet service has made this great leap forward.

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This post was submitted by guest blogger Jake Moore. He works with Connexus, fast growing internet service providers based in Australia. When he is not working with networking equipment, Jake likes playing golf and cricket.

Computers, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles and other electronic device all make use of one tool. The cable is the staple of electronics and plays different roles that help shape and keep them connected. For most electronic devices you will need more than one cable in order for your electronics to perform in top form. This can become a costly expense especially for more hi-tech electronics. With the 30AWG HDMI High Speed Cable with Ethernet you get a universal cable that can support all your electronic needs without buying a lot of extra cables.

Cables are the Lifeline for your Electronics

This High Speed Cable will allow you to connect your electronics together easily. This cable is the only one that can transfer uncompressed high definition audio/visual data in higher resolutions than 1440! What this means is whenever you download or upload videos or pictures you will maintain the highest quality resolution available. You only have one cable to use you will never have to worry about tangles or losing a particular cable because you will have all that need with the HDMI high speed cable. The connector for this cable is very small which makes it perfect for wall use.

Cat5 Cables Optimize

All of your electronic devices will be greatly optimized by these cat5 cables high resolution capabilities. For most high definition television up streaming and down streaming data means buying two cords to perform both tasks. With the HDMI high speed cable you can perform both tasks using one cable, saving you both time and money. With this high resolution cable your television’s audio and visual clarity will rival that of a movie theatre projector. This means movie nights at your home will be amazingly vivid. This cable is perfect for those Power Point presentations using a 3-D projector. Now your business presentations will be more professional looking with amazing clarity.

The cable comes with Ethernet and it is compatible with other devices with its HDMI ports. This means you will never need to buy extra cables to have access to the best features available. With its high resolution feature this cable has more color spaces available which gives you a fuller range of colors making all of the scenes in your favorite movie pop! This cable literally does everything from providing top quality resolution to connecting your electronics easily. Just remember with this cheap cable HDMI cable you will never have to buy another cable again.

M.J.B. is a technological blogger.  He feels others can benefit from this information about cat5 cables.

When Americans talk about the ‘digital divide’ they mean the separation of those with online access from those without it. In Hong Kong, the ‘digital divide’ could describe the difference between peak internet access speeds there and in the rest of the world. Hong Kong’s peak data rate (54.1 Mbps) clocks in nearly twice the average peak speed of the US (29.4 Mbps) and nearly four times the peak global average (15.9Mbps). 

Incredible Speed

Each quarter, global content delivery network Akamai analyzes its own traffic and publishes comparative statistics for 180 countries and regions. In the latest report covering 3Q 2012, Hong Kong’s average peak data rate is followed by South Korea (48.8 Mbps), Japan (42.2 Mbps), Latvia (37.5 Mbps) and Rumania (37.4 Mbps).

Akamai’s statistics for average data rates show the same top three countries, although with different ranks. South Korea’s 14.7 Mbps compares to Japan’s 10.5 and Hong Kong’s 9.0. Latvia and Switzerland tie for fourth at 8.7 each. The US trails in ninth at 7.2Mbps.

Country Size

Some disparity is attributable to the size differences between the countries. Vast stretches of rural America still lack broadband access, while over half the South Koreans live in and around metropolitan Seoul (not surprisingly, the US state with the fastest access is Delaware). Another factor is government policy. South Korea’s Information Infrastructure program committed the country to offering 1 Gbps access rates to 84% of the population by 2012. South Koreans pay significantly less for their Internet connections, as well. High speed broadband access, defined by Akamai as >10Mbps, is available to 52% of South Koreans compared to 18% of the US. High speed broadband costs South Koreans less than half the standard broadband access rates available on average in the US. There is little competition among US Internet service providers (ISPs), who lack an incentive to cut prices or invest in service upgrades because they don’t fear the customer churn found in more competitive markets. As long as this situation exists (and absent some intervention from the government), US customers will continue to face poorer service and higher prices than in some Asian and European countries.

The US performs equally poorly in mobile connectivity. The fastest mobile carriers in Q3 2012 for average peak data rates were in Russia (39.2 Mbps), Austria (27.2 Mbps), and Ukraine (19.0 Mbps). The fastest US carrier, by comparison, offered an average peak rate of 9.8 Mbps. The US picture is slightly better for average connectivity overall. Two US carriers placed in the top 25.

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Jason Kane is an avid tech blogger and online gamer. Jason writes articles on fiber-optic equipment such as optical transceivers and GLT-C modules.