In times of Internet censorship and governmental interference with citizen Web use, the need for private browsing has never been more apparent or more crucial to political processes. Perhaps in response to its woes in China, Google has reaffirmed its support of online anonymity for political purposes in a recent blog post on Tor, a project it’s been supporting extensively ..Read More

Earlier this week, we noted that some UK Lords were looking to make the Digital Economy Bill even worse by adding a provision that would allow a judge to block all access to a website if that site was accused of facilitating copyright infringement. After widespread outcry against the proposal in the UK, the Lords changed the proposal, but came ..Read More

With the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan scheduled for unveiling in less than two weeks, Capitol Hill folk are already wondering how much Congressional opposition to its many proposals the agency can expect. In fact, the National Journal reports that the top Republican lawyer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee says that some lawmakers may launch bills ..Read More

Firefox/Chrome: Sure it’s nice and all that we get Gmail for free, but those ads to the right of open messages aren’t really all that helpful. Free browser add-on Rapportive replaces Gmail ads with contact info about the sender. Beyond installing it, there’s nothing to using Rapportive. You have to give it access to a minimum of information to ..Read More

A Denver design group is hosting a mock funeral for Internet Explorer 6 , the 8-year-old web browser that somehow is still installed on some consumers’ computers despite the fact that everyone and their mother is ceasing support. The invitation invites mourners to gather with “fellow IE6 mourners and loved ones” decked out in funeral attire – there’s even ..Read More

Last month, we wrote about Esquire’s incredibly moving profile of Roger Ebert as part of our discussion of a segment of that article concerning Disney taking down the video of the tribute show for Gene Siskel that Ebert did right after his longtime sparring partner passed away. If you liked the Esquire piece, you should also check out Will Leitch’s ..Read More

Peer into the future with grad student Julia Yu Tsao’s “Curious Displays,” depicting swarms of smart blocks that can show video and nag you every which way. Using a remote control, you order a swarm to behave as you want. That would be in an ideal world, of course. Ponder the possibilities shown in the video above, and then ..Read More

The Federal Communications Commission will seek to bring Internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second by 2020 to community institutions such as schools and government buildings, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said on Thursday. Genachowski said the blueprint will set “dramatic, bold” goals to bring faster Internet speeds to American homes, including 100 megabits per second (Mbps) for 100 million ..Read More

The humble Wi-Fi router must have the most thankless job in gadget land, tirelessly delivering wireless Internet to you with nary an accolade. Asus aims to change that with the RT-N56U, the thinnest, prettiest router we’ve ever seen. Look at that shiny goodness! And hey, it can handle 300,000 concurrent sessions, standing at the ready for you and hundreds ..Read More

Windows/Linux: Sleeping your computer is a useful way to save energy, but free utility SonarPM takes power management an awesome step further: It puts your computer to sleep automatically when you walk away from your desk—using sonar . Almost any computer with speakers and a microphone can take advantage of this software, so most laptops are good to go. ..Read More