GoDaddy likes SOPA. They said so on their website.

GoDaddy was bought by an investment banking firm. So they're probably not coming at SOPA as a technology thing. I'm sure they see it as corporate lawyers would. And lawyers don't see what the fuss is about. They were never that into freedom anyway.

Step by step, the United States is becoming China. Not surprising since we're financially very closely tied. And the financiers want the Internet to keep us docile and quiet, and they don't want any of the crazy Arab Spring type stuff, not in the Arab world, not in China, and definitely not in the west.

It's all the same as Matt Taibbi points out today in a Rolling Stone piece about the rich and their awful PR. But why should they care. It's not as if anyone can do anything about it. We really can't. So they can boast about their money, trophy wives, jet-set lifestyle. They didn't bother to hire a PR person to make it sound pretty. There was no need.

Anyway, the GoDaddy thing has an easy resolution. One or more of their competitors can issue statements that are the mirror-image of GD's. Then the users who want to move can have a place to move to. It'll be basically symbolic, because if the US has a political firewall, whether your registrar is inside or outside the US won't matter. And it won't matter whether they do or don't like SOPA.

I already decided to start moving off GoDaddy a couple of months ago. I'm using a Canadian registrar, Hover, which is part of Tucows. I've known the guys there for a long time, and they have a great reputation. And they're Canadian. Not sure how much independence that actually gets you these days. But it's better than using GD.

The only good thing about SOPA is that it will get people into the streets. All kinds of civil disobedience will be possible once we no longer have the Internet as a distraction, or soporific.

 12/22/2011; 7:51:51 PM.   .

See the previous post about the NakedJen Film Festival.

Now for the updates.

First, NakedJen has arrived in NYC. As usual her presence has turned NYC into a festival.

Second, it's now less than three days to the beginning of the festival, and that means we have the movie listings. Pretty sure we're going to be able to see everything we want to see within walking distance of Lincoln Center. So here's the appropriate Google Movies listing page.

Jen has offered this possible lineup: "Young Adult, Mission Impossible, Extremely Loud, Tin Tin, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or even Carnage."

Obviously we couldn't see all these movies in one day. Or could we!

 12/22/2011; 10:01:06 AM.   .

Drones in the news. Lots of stories out there about the coming legal drones in America's skies. The police and Customs are already using drones to spy on drug dealers. But drones are cheap enough that regular people will afford them. Instead of putting traffic helicopters in the air, use a drone. Cheaper, lighter, quieter. Safer? I guess you can afford to lose a drone. But if one lands on your head? House?

What about the day when Google decides to upgrade their maps app to provide real-time views? That's scary because they have the money to put up a lot of drones. And we know they're interested in airplanes. They want the old blimp hangar at Moffett Field. Maybe that's where they'll put their drone factory.

But the really scary idea is when Facebook, flush with cash from their IPO, deploys a fleet of drones to all our houses!

Talk about Frictionless Sharing.

I don't know if it's happening in 2012, but the day will come when Larry/Sergey and Zuck are having Drone Wars over the skies of America. You think papparazi are bad? Just wait!

 12/22/2011; 8:36:26 AM.   .