Solar Maximum is Coming – 2 Sites to Find Aurora Info
Last Updated on Thursday, 16 February 2012 05:07 Written by Alan Friday, 17 February 2012 07:00
Many of you in the tech world are probably also science fans, and especially interested in astronomy. 2012 marks the start of the solar maximum, which means increasing activity of sun spots and solar flares. What all of that means is an increase in Aurora activity. In times of high solar activity, like what we are entering, it brings not only more aurora, but it means they are frequently visible further south than what is normal. We tend to think of the Aurora as something generally visible in only the polar regions, but when we reach solar maximum they can become visible in places like Texas, Florida, and many other locals that aren’t used to such light shows.
While we usually focus on technology here, we do love some good astronomy, and this is a great time for it. If you are interested in getting to see the aurora in your own backyard then there are a couple of web sites that you should keep an eye on.
The first is the NOAA Auroral Activity web site. Here you can view maps of the northern and southern hemispheres that are updated daily to reflect current activity. You will see the predicted auroral activity laid out in good detail so you’ll know exactly what to expect, if anything, in your area.
The second is SpaceWeather.com which lays out, in detail, what exactly is going on with the current solar activity. Again, you can see maps showing the likelihood of aurora activity in your area.
The Irony of SEO and the Death of Osama bin Laden
Last Updated on Monday, 2 May 2011 05:19 Written by Alan Monday, 2 May 2011 05:19
As I perused my usual news feeds in Google Reader today I noticed an overwhelming trend – Osama bin Laden. You may think that’s not unusual given it’s pretty much the only thing in the news today. Maybe, but my RSS feed is filled with tech sites, hundreds of them. Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. There’s not a tech angle of any kind to the news of a Navy SEAL team coming out of nowhere and storming bin Laden’s compound. Sure, there were probably some high-tech gadgets being used, but we haven’t yet heard about those, and many of them we will likely NEVER hear about.
So why were tech sites everywhere writing article about this news? Simple – SEO. Sure, they all worked hard to disguise their stories with some technology of some sort – like a Google Earth photo of the compound. But, the bottom line is that web sites live by getting page views and big news stories generate those eyeballs. Even major sites like Yahoo got in on the game by writing a blog post about the top bin Laden searches they were seeing and what they mean.
The biggest irony of all is that by writing this I am falling into the same trap as the sites I am talking about. Of course, this site needs readers to survive as well so I guess I just brought this little irony full-circle 
Free Movies Theatre
Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 October 2010 09:09 Written by Alan Thursday, 21 October 2010 08:00
Today I came across an interesting web site. I debated writing about it here. I don’t advocate piracy. But, the site is so blatant it intrigued me so I checked it out (no, I didn’t actually download any content so put down the phone before the MPAA even answers).
The site is FreeMoviesTheatre and it’s basically a collection of links to download or stream movies for free. Many of the movies are still in theaters.
By writing about this, of course, I am probably giving free publicity, but in these days of DDOS attacks against anti-piracy sites and The Pirate Bay continuing to operate, even after a year of court losses, these things just fascinate me. There is obviously no way this site is the least bit legal. And if a representative would like to contact me and give their side I will be happy to listen and publish the interview.
But here it is – running on a normal dot-com domain. It even has a link to DMCA information and contact info for take-down notices.
It seems, on the surface, to be legit. In fact it seems SO legit that I would be suspicious it’s a honey-pot set by the MPAA or a similar organization.
I don’t recommend downloading or streaming any content from here. And I certainly think that signing up for a free account would be a really bad idea. But in the interest of fairness and entertainment I decided it was worth at least covering. And, as I said earlier, I welcome a response from a site representative and will promise equal time. Barring that, this is just an interesting, and probably short-lived, web oddity.
