The Swedish Pirate Party (Piratpartiet), a political party whose main platforms include copyright and patent reform, have recently taken their efforts one step further and have launched an ISP (internet service provider). Dubbed “Pirate ISP,” the service seeks to offer anonymity to its users and to provide financial assistance to Piratpartiet.

Born out of the controversy surrounding the BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay, Pirate ISP was deemed necessary to ensure that competition flourished in the Swedish ISP market and that users who wished to file-share would be protected against the efforts of the Swedish anti-piracy lobby group, Svenska Antipiratbyrån. The piracy topic has been a hot-button issue in Sweden over the past several years, stemming from the popularity of The Pirate Bay as a source for copyrighted material. Because of the growth of the website, the United States government, along with trade associations the MPAA and the RIAA, have pressured Sweden and their ISPs to take action against file-sharing. This resulted  in the 2006 raid of the website’s Stockholm location by Swedish police, which put the site offline for three days.

The issue of file-sharing is not just a heated matter for Sweden, however. Various countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia (among others) have adopted their own political parties in order to attempt reform of copyright and patent law. According to the Swedish Pirate Party’s website, “The Pirate Party wants to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens’ rights to privacy are respected. With this agenda, and only this, we are making a bid for representation in the European and Swedish parliaments.”

So it seems this isn’t just about being able to get free stuff on the internet, but about policy reform and privacy. Many would argue that copyright has been perverted over the years, through abuse from large corporations. In addition, the market for internet service providers has become a near-monopoly in most countries and freedom of choice has been severely limited not only by lack of infrastructure, but also lobbying efforts on the parts of major telecom companies who posses a stranglehold on the market in many cities.

Personally, I would welcome this kind of change to our system in the United States if for nothing more than open debate of the issues, something we as a country are severely lacking.

It is the end of your second semester and first year of your private university. You have this pile of $1000 worth of textbooks sitting in your basement, untouched, unscathed. What do you do?

You learned from first semester that you CAN actually get $.25 back for a book. (Yes this ACTUALLY happened to ME). At this point, something has got to give, so  you explore your options. Then, BING! Amazon.com becomes your new best friend.

Here is how it works: you create a selller profile by first establishing  a seller name. Here are some suggestions (of course you have to chose a unique name that is not already is use!):

• Wildcat Booksellers
• Textbook Trader
• ABC Textbooks
• Reliable Reads
• TextRex

Next, you decide what you want to sell, which in this case is textbooks. You then search for the textbook by ISBN number or Title to see if it is already listed in Amazon’s catolog. If and when you find your book, you select it and then enter the condition, condition notes and price of your book. Here are few tips when completing the aforementioned:

• Be honest about the the condition. Even if the book was only used by you twice, and you barely shuffled the pages, is it still a USED book but would qualify as Like New.
• If there is writing inside, state that in the condition notes. Buyers look for as much specific details as possible.
• For pricing, be realistic. Are you looking to make back the origional cost of your textbooks or just make some cash back quick? In order to sell your items fast…I would open up a separate window and run an independent search on your book. If it is a used book, find  the lowest price of that book used and price yours just below it. This means if the lowest listed price is $94.00, you can charge $93.00-$93.99 because it will be still be under $94.00 and users will likely look at this one first.
  • Just another persoanal note, I listed my textbooks this summer and within two days I had 2 sold using the above strategies including pricing.

Before you seal the deal, make sure you read and agree to the terms and conditions about Amazon’s comissions and shipping credits. Also, do not forget to privide proper account information for payment.

Overall, Amazon offers a secure and popular place to sell items, new or used. Thus far, I have no complaints as a buyer or as a seller!

Keep in mind that textbooks are not the only thing that Amazon sells! Check this out for more information: http://www.amazonservices.com/content/sell-on-amazon.htm?ld=AZSOAMakeMAmznServ#showTab

Apple’s new iMac represents the best forward-thinking in the desktop computer market. The sleek, all-in-one unit could easily be mistaken for just a monitor, but the entire computer – monitor, cpu, disk drive, and ports – is built in.

The first thing that caught my attention when I went to set up the new iMac was that there was one cable, the power cord, connected to the computer. That’s it. The keyboard is wireless. The mouse is wireless. The printer, the internet connection, everything is freestanding with no wires connecting back to the computer itself.

We went with the 21.5 inch screen, even though the 27 inch is just $200 more (put into perspective, that $200 is about a 13% difference in total price while the extra 5 ½ inches is more than 25% increase in screen size). The larger model, gorgeous as it is, won’t fit on a standard desk with a hutch. Unless you’re doing some serious video or photography work, or maybe spending way too much time online gaming, the 27 inch seems like overkill.

With the iMac, we’ve finally broken the terabyte barrier. There is a 500 gigabyte version, but with the current rate of memory growth in the computer market, it pays to buy the bigger memory now. It will pay off in the long run as the computer won’t become obsolete as quickly.

The iMac features a 4 gigabyte memory, a 3 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and amazing 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. I don’t know what ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256 MB means exactly, but it sure looks good on that 21.5 inch screen.

Of course, iMac comes preloaded with Mac OSX and Mac standards like Rock Band, Safari, and iTunes. It also includes a built-in webcam. There’s no software to install and minimal setup required to get your iMac up and running.

Best of all, it just works.

You probably saw when Google had Pac-Man on their homepage in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the game. Okay, so you saw it; did you play it too? I thankfully did not get too invested in the game and probably played for about 10 seconds before my boss rounded the corner, but some people played for hours. Do you know how much time was “wasted” due to this game last week?

Five million hours– that’s right, five million. This, of course, is an estimate from companies that use a time-tracking software. This software, used at companies such as Rescue Time (a software firm), observes where workers go online and for how long. Apparently, the average Google search is 11 seconds long and most people conduct about 22 searches a day. However, when Google put Pac-Man up, that average length went to 36 seconds! Doing some extrapolating and assuming that there are about 500+ million users who use Google on a daily basis, then that is about 5 million hours of “Google’ing”! Putting that into more of a perspective for you, 5 million hours is about 550 years! Translating this into a money value, this 5 million hours of work equates to $100 million if you use a $20/hour salary!

Marcin Wichary and Ryan Germick are the Googlers who are responsible for this Pac-Man Doodle. It is the first interactive Doodle ever created by Google, and it probably won’t be the last. It was also pretty close to the original version of Pac-Man; this made it even better! To play you had to click the “Insert Coin” button that is usually the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. You then controlled Pac-Man by using the arrow keys. You could even swipe using your iPhone or Android! To make things even better, the Doodle makers inserted some fun things in the game. One was that you could tap the “insert Coin” button a few times and then Ms. Pac-Man would show up for some two-player fun. Also, if you managed to get to level 256, you would be greeted by the infamous killscreen. Fun huh?

To play the Doodle Pac-Man, click here!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s official.  It has been known that Apple wouldn’t be including Flash on the iPad for a little while, but now we have a better knowledge of why…

In my opinion, the whole mess is a rather complicated ‘he said, she said” mess.  Is either company truly correct?  NO!  Both companies are doing the classic “blame someone else and cover my %@$!”  So, here is what I have collected on the situation.

Adobe’s Flash isn’t on the iPad because, Steve Jobs apparently told employees that Flash would soon be made obsolete by HTML5, and that it’s too buggy, obviating the need for it in the iPad.  He, at another point, stated that Flash is “buggy”.

In retaliation, Adobe released some information to Cult of Mac, the same site to whom Apple also releases a lot of their info.  “It’s pretty clear if you connect the dots: the issue is about revenue,” says Adrian Ludwig, an Adobe group product manager for Flash, during an interview with Cult of Mac.  He said that Flash isn’t buggy, crash-prone (another of Steve Jobs complaints), and doesn’t strain battery life.  There is no technical reason for Flash not to be on the iPad or iPhone, says Ludwig.  “We’ve been seeing great performance on similar devices,” he said. “The hardware is very capable.”

Now…if Flash was on the iPad, you could go on sites like Hulu for TV and game sites for games instead of buying them from iTunes, thus reducing Apple’s sales (on each of which, Apple makes a 30% profit).

“Apple has eliminated any way to get content on the device that they don’t own,” said Ludwig. “Apple is keeping the device closed to protect their revenue streams.  We’re not the only one, Flash is what people are focused on but it’s not just Flash that’s not working. They’ve blocked a whole lot more than that… It’s a universal restriction.  We’re trying to raise the issue.  We’re talking about long-term damage to the development environment. We’re just the poster child for this.”

So, is Flash buggy, or does it just reduce Apple’s 30% profit?

On a recent trip, I learned a new way to turn a frown upside down.  How many times have you arrived at a hotel or friend’s home and not been able to get Internet?  Many cell phones can help with this.

It never fails, you go somewhere new and need your computer for work and are stuck like Chuck.  Most hotels now have Wi-Fi, but not all are free.  Some charge upward of $10 a day for connections.  This is insane.  A quick trick for these hotels before I move on.  Most of the time, the lobbies offer free Wi-Fi.  Go down there and log in and then go back to your room, and you still should be connected.  It is the same router, just a different port.  Usually, you have to re-do this each day.  Still better than $10 per day.

So, this trick doesn’t work, or your friend’s house is a dead zone.  Your cell phone might become your best friend.  There is a way to use your phone as a modem, and it is called tethering.  All the major carriers now offer this feature.  First, do some research into your particular phone and see if it is capable.  Blackberries and Droids have this capability.  But, double-check.

Find the application in the apps store and load this program.  Use the cord that connects your phone to the USB port on your computer.  Run the program and giddy-up, you’re surfing.

Not all phones are able to do this for free.  Sometimes you need to contact  your carrier and get the software from them.  Sometimes, they charge an extra fee.  The only way it would be free is if you have unlimited Internet on your phone.

One word of caution is to ensure your Internet is “unlimited.”  Some carriers advertise unlimited Internet but with fine print.  There is often plenty enough space for most cell phones, but are you ready to go from a few hundred MB’s a month to a few GB’s?  If your carrier has a fine print limit, you will be charged for every KB over, and this could be expensive.

All through your life, you will be plagued with unwanted intruders in you room (e.g. younger siblings) or need to be two places at once.  So, I have compiled some of the coolest spy type gadgets in this articles.

1. Laser Trip Wire This gadget is, in my opinion, a basic.  It is like those seen in the movies and on Claymore Mines in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. When someone walks through it, they set off an alarm loud enough to wake any sleeper.  Best of all, it is less than $30 in the U.S.
2. USB Tank Missile Launcher This would be fun for office wars and such.  It is a small tank with four foam missiles.  The tank is controlled from a computer via a USB attachment.  The missiles fire twelve feet, and the USB attachment has a range of twenty-five feet.  This device will bring nerd wars to a new level.
3. Rovio What if I told you that you could have your very only military recon robot?  Well, that’s what Rovio is.  According to the manufacturer, Rovio is a “the groundbreaking new Wi-Fi enabled mobile webcam that lets you view and interact with its environment through streaming video and audio, wherever you are!”  Use your PC, your iPhone, or your PS3 to control Rovio.  The robot even comes with a charging dock!
4. EyeClops Night Vision 2.0 Binoculars One of the other current military devices that would be cool to have is night vision.  Now you can buy these, too.  EyeClops Night Vision 2.0 Binoculars are the coolest civilian night vision devices.  With them you can see up to fifty feet in complete darkness.  They fit over your head and are just fun.  Imagine something like midnight airsoft sessions with them!
5. Assorted Spying Devices Now, these actually scare me a little.  You can buy spy cam pens, glasses, lighters, key fobs, and more.  Although this is cool, it is a little scary to think anyone could be watching me at anytime without me knowing.  Oh well, the government can do that anyway.

Well, that is my compilation of spy gadgets for civilians.  Have fun using some of them!

In my last article, I predicted wireless peripherals would be taking over the electronic world.  Lexmark created a printer to make me look like a true genius.  It is the Z2420 WiFi printer.

I was getting film developed at Wal Mart and saw this printer sitting on the shelf.  I have been looking for a good printer to work into my wireless network because my other printer is too old to do the job.  This one caught my eye because of the WiFi capabilities and the $50 price tag.  This was not a tough decision.

As I was unpacking the box, I knew right away this would be a great bang for the buck.  It is a sleek little guy that has quality written all over it.  The person packing this took great care to tape down everything to prevent shipping damages.  I was ready to buy another!

Then I began the install process.  The CD walked me through every little step.  If you have zero computer knowledge, you should be fine hooking this up on your own.  Just make sure you have the password to your wireless network handy.

In fact, the only issue I had when setting it up was the network would not accept my password.  Finally, I got it to take my administrator password.  I have read that some people needed to reset their wireless router because they forgot the password.  Do not do this, unless you know what you are doing.  It can be a pain to get everything just right again.

Once the printer was up and running, it prints great quality documents.  The print speed is 25 PPM black and white and 18 PPM color.  Printing a one page Word document took no time at all, and the print was fantastic.  I printed a flyer with pictures, on it and the quality was good.  The pictures may be better on picture paper but nothing to brag about.

All in all, I would recommend this for anyone.  Those with laptops or netbooks especially will love the ease this product offers.

With the dawn of a new decade during the information age, there is much hope for great things to come.  I am going to ramble on as to where I see the trends going.  I am not a techno-geek, but as an investor I am always on the hunt.

First, the world of computers.  Everything these days has a hard drive.  Video cameras, digital cameras, MP3 players and even gaming systems.  All of this data costs a lot of money to replace, and many pictures are priceless to the parent of a newborn or the newlywed couple.  The trend is going to drive toward home servers to back-up all this data for the savvy and off site back-ups for the average Joe.  Those with the knowledge and marketing skills could make a killing.

Next, the touchscreen.  This type of technology is in cell phones and supermarkets.  People of all ages love it, and it is much easier to figure out than 20-button controllers.  Begin to look for this in television remote controls.  Now that we are using one remote to control a TV, sound system, DVR, etc., there is an increasing need to simplify the process.  Touchscreen remotes are currently very pricy, but once makers come to their senses everyone will need one.

Back to computers.  With the home server or off-site server coming to age, there is going to be much less of a need for the DVR and sound systems mentioned above.  We can do everything through a computer, and TVs are basically hopped-up computer monitors.  Having a centrally based data center will allow for the elimination of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

The last will be the completion of a current movement…wireless.  Wireless mice and keyboards finally are getting to a good point where they are reliable.  Bluetooth is proving its worth in the headphone and earpiece world.  Soon enough, all speakers will be wireless, and freedom from wires will be granted except for the pesky power cords.

All of these are not far-fetched ideas, and the trends are moving that way.  Get ready to live more easily.

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of buzz about eBooks.  However, unlike many other fleeting obsessions, eBooks really are entering the mainstream.  They are not just a trend anymore, electronic books are here to stay.  There are industries forming around them as we speak.

As an author, they are an attractive item because it is extremely expensive to publish and market traditional hardbound books.  There are inventory issues and the problem of what to do with unsold copies.  These issues are not present in the eBook format.  Thanks to technology, the future for these is so bright, they might have to wear shades.

The major issue from day one of the eBook is the annoyance of having to sit at the computer to read a book and the strain of the monitor on the eyes of the reader.  No one wants to read an entire book while sitting in some office chair.  Thanks to eBook readers like the Kindle and Sony, they have gained major steam with the everyday reader.  These eReaders are portable and are easy on the eyes.   They almost appear exactly like the page of a book.

eReaders are great for those who like to read multiple books at a time because many of them can store hundreds and even thousands of books.  There is no need to carry large books around anymore.  In fact, the Kindle allows you to buy books from Amazon right where you are.  Even my iPhone has an application for reading eBooks.  There are more readers popping up quite frequently.

Another advantage in addition to carrying your whole collection with you is the ability to have some privacy.  I hate reading a book and having someone come up to me and talk about why they liked it or even why I shouldn’t read it.  Besides, I look smarter when people don’t suspect I am reading Calvin and Hobbes.

Lastly, eBooks are much cheaper than the real thing.  I just bought an electronic college book for a $100 discount.  Whether you’re an author saving cost or a literary enthusiast eBooks are here to stay.