Why net neutrality is important. Really important.

Right now, you’re reading this bit of opinion on the web. Maybe you’re at home, maybe you’re at school. It’s possible you’re looking at it on an iProduct or a Blackberry. Maybe you have one of those fancy Galaxy tablets or a new color Nook. Point is, this post is accessible. To you. Right where you stand, sit, lie, kneel, swim, what have you.

This is possible because we have an open internet. My information is accessible to you (and anyone else to cares to take a gander) because, this entire infrastructure exists as a tool for information exchange. Me to you. You to me. Us to everyone. Everyone to us. Individuals, businesses, activists, friends, family... Everyone.

This recent ruling with the FCC doesn’t change that. Not for organic internet connections. Not yet, anyway. It does, however, give wireless carrier the ability to monitor our usage (and, yes, I do realise usage is monitored through many, many different methods on the web, already) and decide when and where they’d like to charge extra fees. Maybe it’ll be a couple cents here and there for a per MB usage fee for social networking sites. Maybe it’ll be a flat fee for video service.

I’m not suggesting that everything in the world should just be accessible, without cost. But the profit gained from those charges would be going to the telecommunications carrier. In short, our wide open access to information has just become another moneymaking scheme for the corporate big shots.

And it’s not just about the Almighty Dollar. When rules begin to shift, when the access of information becomes limited, the individual loses their voice.

The future of your internet, our internet, relies on keeping information alive and accessible.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/12/carriers-net-neutrality-tiers

http://mashable.com/2010/12/21/fcc-passes-net-neutrality/

http://theosdf.org/

Tech Support. I think.

Three free cool iPhone apps that may make the holidays a little easier to manage.

Remember the Milk

It’s a hectic time of year.

Maybe you’re preparing the house for parties or family from out of town. Maybe you’re trying to schedule time for gift shopping between work and themed pageants and school productions. Maybe you’re just so busy you’re not even sure what you need to do.

Remember the Milk is a task management app that allows users to develop task lists, view tasks based on current location, sync and add new tasks via Gmail and Twitter (may be synced with Outlook, Blackberry, and other platforms with a pro-account), and send tasks to others, in the event they need a gentle reminder.

Instagram

There are a handful of very cool photo apps that allow users to enhance their pictures with filters. I’m a big fan of Hipstamatic and the ability to mix and match film, filters, flashes, and lenses, however, it can prove to be a little slow when I just want to snap a photo. Plus, some of the combos are so thick with effects, the images are difficult to see.

Instagram offers a similar end result and applies the filter process after a photo has been taken. This allows users to take a snapshot then decide which effect looks best, without wasting valuable time beforehand. But the element that takes this app a step above the rest (aside from it’s $0.00 price tag) is it’s integration into multiple social networking platforms.

It’s ultimately designed as a photo-sharing application, which is ideal for sending holiday photos to friends and family.

Tango

Gift cards. They’re handy and they’re an easy gift item. But what happens when you use one, then another, then can’t remember just how much you spent or how much was on the card? Tango has taken this into account and created an app that keeps track of all this information for you into an easily manageable interface.

On top of a brilliant organization concept, the Tango website also offers the option of a gift card that’s useable at a variety of different stores (Starbucks, Amazon, Target) as well as providing charitable options for unused gift card balances.