In the early days of the web (ca. 1996-1999), one big concern new users had regarded filtering web content.  Parents were worried about their kids seeing inappropriate content, etc.  The Internet was new territory for them, and they approached it cautiously.  In general, their concerns were well founded – “adult” and gambling sites abounded, and it wasn’t unusual to get spam that included graphic images right in the message.

Fast forward to today.  The web is ubiquitous – many families have wireless broadband networks in their house, and multiple devices accessing the internet.  It has become a utility of sorts – always there.

However, the concern over content filtering seems to have dissipated.  Today’s parents are so used to the internet, that they don’t seem to think twice about filtering content for their children.  Maybe because we are adept at navigating the the web, and “block out” links or sites that will take us to the wrong spot, we assume our children won’t get to any sites they shouldn’t be seeing (by accident or purposely).  As a parent of young children, I see their friends using iPads, iPhones, etc. without a whole lot of supervision.  But I hear little (no) talk of filtering or even the need to filter it (at least from the parents, anyway).

Well, I went looking for a solution, and settled on this one:

www.opendns.com

This is actually a free solution (though I pay $20 / year for the advanced options) and works through your router.  So all the computers on your network can be protected using this solution.  (Note: smartphones that use WIFI networks will not be filtered.)  It essentially re-routes your DNS lookups to opendns servers, which can determine if the site violates any preset rules.

Technically, this isn’t foolproof, but it’s a great step forward in filtering the junk out of your home.  If you think you need filtering for your house, give it a whirl.

This week the big story was Facebook filing for an IPO.  $10 Billion is the estimate of what they will raise in new cash.  The filing unmasks some of the realities of today’s internet.

Well, this guy summarizes it pretty well:

“Two years from now, Facebook should be competing with Google to see who can best use your own data to help marketers target ads to you, no matter where those ads appear.” (Forrester analyst Nate Elliott)

So this is where the internet is finally headed – everything will be monetized – every page view, every “app”, game, etc. will be geared toward to collecting data and using it to sell to you.  I’m not against capitalism – quite the contrary.  But I wonder if there will be a tipping point – where subscription based services (ad free!) will start to gain traction, as people decide that spending a few $$ is worth it to keep their data private.  Of course, it’s hard to break from the idea that all internet content should be “free”, even when we see it’s not really free at all.

The other day the FBI took down megaupload.com for copyright violations, etc. (meaning piracy).  Here’s a link to the story if you missed it:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399105,00.asp

But here’s another part of the story – millions of “legitimate” users lost access to any files they had stored there.  This type of “file storage” site is part of “the cloud” we’ve been hearing so much about.  It’s about moving your files and applications to network based storage, so you can retrieve them from anywhere.  When megaupload was closed, all access to the site was immediately terminated.  So if you had any files there, too bad.

This highlights one of the dangers of storing files and/or applications in “the cloud” – namely that your files are held by some company, somewhere.  They are subject to legal action, hackers, financial troubles, and internal negligence.  In short, you just can’t be sure who’s holding and protecting your files.

Also, keep in mind what the “Terms of Service” of the service say.  Do they own the files you upload?  What can they do with them?  It used to be that “content was king” – but these days “data is king” – websites like google are all too eager to give you free services, free email, etc.  What they get in return is your data – which they can scan, data-mine, etc. for value.

Anyway, be wary of the cloud!

Yep, I finally broke down and bought the relatively new Amazon Fire tablet.  People are increasingly browsing the web using mobile devices, so it was time to get one myself.

A few observations – despite what some people claim, typing is rather slow.  I find the keys a little small for my fingers, so I have to be careful.  If you are a touch typer, you’ll be slow.

It’s hard to click links or form elements on a website – I know you can zoom in, but in a normal view it can be extremely challenging to press in the right spot for the link.  I find myself longing for a stylus for better precision.

Otherwise, I like it.  Amazon has it synchronizing pretty well with their site, so you can get your content easily to the tablet.  I’m not into the apps yet, but for reading and light browsing, it’s a nice piece of hardware.

I’ve added a new page on the site:

http://www.robertswebforge.com/payment_gateway_comparisons.php

which attempts to make it easier to figure out which payment provider to sign up with.  You need a provider to accept credit cards, and a gateway for online payments.  (Most offer both merchant and gateway accounts if you need them).

The fees charged vary, so I’m attempting to provide you a clear idea what you’ll be losing…err, paying each month from your sales.  It’s not 100% accurate, but should point you in the right direction.

I intend to add more providers to this list and update it as time allows – there  are a lot to choose from, but I will stick to the bigger ones that I trust.  I work with a lot of e-commerce sites, using various payment gateways, so I’ve heard the good, bad, and ugly about the process.

Hope this helps you in getting your e-commerce costs down!