THE DARK SIDE OF THE ELECTRONIC REVOLUTION

Privacy watchdogs have said that Google Books and eReaders are collecting a lot a user information, which could be use to target future sales.

Privacy watchdogs at the Electronic Frontier Foundation claim that electronic reader technologies such as Google Book Search, Amazon.com's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook threaten consumer privacy. Noting that e-readers collect a lot of information about their users' reading habits and locations and convey it to the companies that build or sell these technologies, the EFF has created a Buyer's Guide to E-Book Privacy to shed some light on what information existing e-readers collect and share.

Ed Bayley, an adjunct attorney for the EFF, in a blog post Dec. 21 said e-readers collect "substantial information about their users' reading habits and locations" and report back to the companies that build or sell these technologies.

The Google Book Search project is Google's broad effort to scan out-of-print books and offer them to users online for fees. The project is on hold while the search engine and the New York District Court hash out a renegotiation, and won't be finalized until 2010.

However, the current privacy policy for the service allows Google to automatically log each book and page a user of the service searched for and read and how long a reader viewed it for, as well as information about subsequent books a reader searches for. Google Web History also tracks what books users purchased.

The EFF pointed out that this practice is consistent with the way Google logs user information for its core Web search offering, including "query term ... [IP] address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser," it quoted Google's privacy policy as saying. So users who are comfortable with this practice may not have an issue with Google Book Search.

THE STORY WITH NO NAME 21

The previous part with links to earlier parts can be found HERE

And now The story with no name continues...

'They're scattering,' Arnside yelled, whooping and hollering. It wasn't like Apaches but they had turned tail and were running.

'Guess they know what's good for them,' Sawtell screamed with joy and let of a shot towards the retreating Indians. One of them threw his arms up and with a scream pitched forward into sand.

'I'm enjoying this,' Gabe yelled, holding onto his camel for grim death. He was jostled about on the beast and several times he always lost his grip but each time he managed to keep his balance.

'There's Lola.' Arnside yelled.

'We separate,' Choo How yelled. ' Sawtell and me we chase off the Indians. Don't need to kill them just make sure they run far enough away.'

'Sounds good to me,' Sawtell said and set off another shot but hit nothing. 'Just as long as I get my share of what's coming.'

'That's a certainty.' Arnside said and sped his own camel forward as the two men set off in pursuit of the fleeing Indians.



Below standing before the ship Lola felt Bourbon's grip loosen and then she was thrown to the ground, face down so that she didn't see which way Bourbon had run and when she managed to turn around she saw that he had vanished. She lay there, eyes directed at the magnificent wreck that was the ship. She was still staring when she felt an arm lifting her to her feet.

'Lola,' Arnside said and looked at her, his eyes never once leaving her face.

'The ship.' Lola said, dreamily as if her words had been uttered deep within a trance. 'There's the ship, Walt. It's real.'

Arnside nodded and only now did he look at the wreck before them. It sat there, as if it had been deposited in the desert. Its timbers were impossibly aged and most of its rigging had snapped so that planks of splintered wood, like dead fingers, reached for the sky. There was a gaping hole in the hull, looking almost like a rictus mouth, and through which could be seen the darkness within the nautical tomb.

'I say we go take us a look see.' Gabe had joined them and he stood looking at the ancient wreck.

'Shall we untie them?' Arnside asked, pointed back to Rodan and Hassen. Both men were rolling about in the sand, their hands still bound behind their backs and their feet tied together.

'Yes.' Lola said but she seemed to be answering some inner thoughts rather than Arnside's question. She walked towards the ship as if led by some ethereal force. Gabe followed just behind her and seemed to be in a somnolent state himself.

'Sorry fellas.' Arnside said and set off after them. Together the three of them entered the fractured hull of the ship.

WORLD WAR II IN FACT AND FICTION: Tobruk

THE DESERT RATS
1953 Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Richard Burton
84 minutes

The film is based on the Australian 9th Division, the Anzacs, who were charged with the defence of Tobruk under the command of General Leslie Morshead. Hoping to survive against overwhelming odds for two months, the garrison held off the best of Rommel's Afrika Korps for over eight months. The film's title is a little misleading as The Desert Rats were actually the British 7th Armoured division, whilst this Australian division were known as the Rats of Torbruk after German propaganda said they were trapped like rats by the advancing Rommel.

Richard Burton plays Captain McRoberts, a British soldier put in charge of the Australian unit which immediately brings him into conflict with several of the men under his command. James Mason, who had played Rommel in the 1951 movie, The Desert Fox reprises the role here though his performance is really several cameos.

The film was made in black and white in order that actual footage from the real battles could be depicted and this adds considerably to the documentary feel of the picture. The fact that the scenes with the Germans and Italians are in their native tongue, without subtitles also heightens the sense that we are watching real events. There are some stunning shots - the bit where the beleaguered commandos advance across the harsh desert landscape with flashes in the horizon is eerie in the extreme. And the film cranks up the tension. All in all it's an excellent film that depicts both the horror of war and the incredible acts of individual heroism that sheer terror can inspire.


COMMANDO: ANZACS AT WAR
THE BEST 12 ANZAC STORIES
Carlton Books

This book collects together the twelve best Anzac stories from the long running comic book's history. The stories were selected by the then Commando editor, George Low who also provides an introduction.
The twelve stories collected here take place in all the theatres of war, most are World War II based but there is one story involving an ANZAC soldier set during the Veitnam war and another set in the immediate post-war period.

The book is a great collection of the best in British comic book storytelling.




And in reality: Tobruk

The siege of Tobruk was no different to the sieges of ancient castles and forts in that the major issue was supply. A besieging army need do nothing strenuous in the way of attacking if they know the people within the walls only have enough water for a few days. It was lucky for the Allies that supplies could reach Tobruk by sea, with the strategically vital island of Malta sending support to help the ships get through.

TIMELINE

JAN 21-22 1941 - Australians assault and take Tobruk. 27,000 Italians surrender
Feb 12 1941- Rommel arrives in tripoli
Nov 18th 1941 - Beginning of Operation Crusader
Nov 20th 1941- Heavy fighting around Rezegh. Tobruk garrison begins breakout
Nov 28th - 30 1941- German armour attempts to break up Allied Link-up. Casualties are heavy on both sides.
Dec 8th 1941 -Rommel abandons the fight with only 40 tanks left. Tobruk relieved.

Below is the front page from the Daily Telegraph (click for a fill size readable version) Sat Nov 29 1941.

LET IT SNOW

Much of the UK has had a good fall of snow - it makes for traffic chaos but it's all rather scenic.









And it certainly looks like Christmas.















These snaps were all taken today - the snow fell yesterday and for much of the day the roads were cut off with the snow but now that the roads have been cleared one can better appreciate the stunning landscapes.

FRENCH PRESIDENT HITS OUT AT GOOGLE AND AMERICA

US Search Engine Google has been attacked by the miniature President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, due to its plans to put much of the classic literature from the entire world in a digital format. Sarkozy has said that he doesn’t want the French part of classic literature put up online to aid the profits of an American company. FULL STORY

"We won’t let ourselves be stripped of our heritage for the benefit of a big company, no matter how friendly, big or American it is,” said Sarkozy.

EDGE: TEN TOMBSTONES TO TEXAS

Edge: Ten Tombstones to Texas
George G. Gilman
NEL
Original price 40p
This edition published 1976

This was book 18 in the long running adult western series. It was also until now, one of the few I had never read. As soon as I saw it on Ebay I snapped it up and read it in a few hours earlier this evening. As with all the Edge's it offers a quick, enjoyable, blackly humorous thrill of a read. The ability to be both comic and maintain a sense of urgency and excitement is something that is common to the entire series. And before you dismiss them as run of the mill formulic westerns, consider first the inventiveness of the often off-beat plots. Sure there's a formula here that mostly forms the backbone for most of the books but they always seem, to some extent, totally fresh. It matters now how many times Edge uses his cut-throat razor to dispense justice but of how he does it and the quality of the wise crack or pun that follows.

And this book is a case in point - one particular pun is so corny it's actually brilliant in the context of the story. In one scene after killing a man with the surname of Bean, Edge is asked what's happening. Edge points out that, 'it's like Santa Clause on Christmas Eve'. And then when pushed on his meaning he points out that, 'he's Bean and now he's gone.' There's another one later on that I'm not going to spoil - suffice to say it involves a little head.

The storyline here sees Edge once again drifting into trouble - this time he comes across two women who are travelling with a massive bull tethered to their wagon. Edge only wants to share their fire and perhaps a little coffee when a bunch of men ride into camp. The men, led by Vic Evans bring an argument with them concerning the two women and the prize bull. A little gunplay follows and the only fatality at this point is Edge's horse which pisses the half breed off somewhat. However Edge is overpowered and his guns taken - he is told he will be able to collect his weapons from the sheriff in the next town. Once the men leave, taking the bull with them, Edge rides with the two women and hears the story of how Muriel's late husband Barnaby, a no good gambling critter, bred the bull which is worth, believe it or not, fifty thousand dollars. Vic Evans claims the bull belongs to him since he won it off Barnaby in a card game but, as Murial points out, the cards were loaded and so after her no good husband was killed she and her companion, Matilda stole the bull back and were taking it to a rancher in Texas who is willing to pay the fifty big ones for the rare breed. Later when Edge comes up against the first of the men, the aforementioned Bean, and kills him in a gunfight it turns out the women are carrying ten tombstones in their wagon, all marked with the words - DEAD FROM MURDERING BARNABY TREE.

Edge, now involved up to his neck, agrees to aid the women in riding down the men and recovering the bull for a third share in when the bull is sold to the rancher - soon there will be ten tombstones on the way to Texas. Not for nothing were the Edge books the best selling of the British western boom of the 70's/80's. On times they are extremely violent but this is always countered by the black humour which, whilst often corny, is never forced. They are not meant to be serious westerns but they are some way off being parodies. And the character of Edge does develop as the series goes on - for instance several of the books in the series are prequels set during the Civil War when Edge was still known as Joshua Hedges and these give a history to the character that make him seem real and allow the reader some sympathy for the cold hearted bastard he becomes in the regular series books. The books also have a unity which hold them all together as a overall story.

TEN TOMBSTONES THEN, is another cracking read in this, my favourite all time western series. The cover on this book looks to be done by a different artist than most of the other book. The artist is not credited anywhere in the book so I can't be sure but the image of Edge looks more fuller in the face then was usual. Anyone know who drew this image and was it the same artist throughout the series?

AVATAR - THAT OPENING WEEKEND

Spending £300 million to make a motion picture given the state of the world at the moment may seem obscene and perhaps, in many ways it is, but early reports of James Cameron's Avatar is that it will change the face of cinema. So maybe the mega bucks were well spent.

However given its massive cost there is much debate over how successful its opening weekend stateside actually was.

This from WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REVIEW - The much anticipated and debated (amongst film nerds at least) Avatar debuted this weekend with $73 million. That's the second-biggest December opening in history, behind the $77 million debut of Will Smith's I Am Legend. In Avatar's defense, I Am Legend was an hour shorter, had a great tag-line that doubled as an easy-to-understand plot synopsis ("The last man on earth is not alone."), and had the added buzz of the debuting trailers for The Dark Knight. While Warner Bros. held its non-IMAX Dark Knight trailer off the internet until Sunday night, Paramount did Fox no similar favors, releasing its Iron Man 2 teaser online two days before Avatar's opening day. It's also worth noting that Avatar actually opened on fewer screens than many of the top December openings. On the other hand, Avatar debuted in countless 3D and mini-IMAX screens, which increased the general ticket prices to more than overcome the running-time and screen-count disadvantage. But Avatar did break one very notable record. It is the biggest debut in history for a completely unaffiliated original movie. By that, I mean it was not a sequel, not a franchise adaptation, not a literary adaptation, and not a star-vehicle. It's also racked up $159 million overseas, for a global total of $232 million.