Content scrapers: where is the original content? Which one is the ripoff?

UCH that we see on the Internet these days are mirrors, although we are rarely aware of it. Several crooks make good money out of it. Some search engines are crippled by the fact that they have no knowledge as to which sites are known ‘mirror culprits’ and which ones can be trusted. Consequently, search engines like Yahoo tend to return many references to content scrapers, which is a deterrent.

As I go about looking at some SERP‘s I suddenly come across a commercial site — a Wikipedia mirror — that had been registered since January 2005. Its description in Google (judge for yourselves):

Wikimirror.com – Free encyclopedia search a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z _ · Google Web Encyclopedia.
 

WTF? Is the Creative Commons Licence an invitation to massive, huge-scale ripoffs? A community of WikiPedians around the world is voluntarily spending time in vain? To get somebody else rich(er)? I have had a look around the site in question. It appears like a complete mirror, which I must stress cannot be edited, unlike its much superior source. I recently discussed the issue of people mirroring the CIA Factbook, which is public content, in a relevant newsgroup. When will this end? And why has Google not banned Wikimirror.com yet? Does the domain name not say something? Helloooooo…?

I spoke to Chris Pirillo about Blogspot spam yesterday. After our discussion he posted an item that makes a nice little read. That item is titled Google: Kill Blogspot Already!!!, which is a venturous and strong title to be used by somebody as prominent as Chris.

Also while on the subject, have a look at Networkmirror.com [rel='nofollow']. In its defence, this one-among-many Slashdot mirrors does not archive content and it serves a defensible purpose — that of mirroring sites before they go down due to the Slashdot Effect. Then mirrors sites at least get exposure while they cannot cope with the demand.

UPDATE: 1-script argues that I may have been a little hasty in posting this item. The site states:

Content Credit

Wikimirror financially supports the Wikimedia Foundation. Displaying this page does not burden Wikipedia hardware resources. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Contact: info [AT] wikimirror [DOT] com

As a side note, I still think that Wikipedia contributers (me included) ought to be aware of these facts (or the existence of this mirror), which may imply that their contributions become commercial and thus money-making.

Windows XP in AJAX

F Windows is ever to be used, it should be standards-compliant and perhaps, just perhaps, CSS-based. Have a look at the link. It’s worthwhile, I promise you. Try clicking the “Start” button, then navigating through the menus.

That site is an invaluable resource by all means. 5 years down the line when dual-boot no longer is a necessity to most, we will still be able to recall the days when a different operating system prevailed in this world. Since it’s Web-based, no bytes will be consumed on local storage either.

Area 51 – used to be kept secret

T was rather interesting to discover that high-resolution aerial footage of Area 51 had been made available via Google Maps (and its sibling toy — Google Earth). You can review a little ‘photographic summary’ from those who have had a prolonged tour from up above. Do so if you do not wish to explore yourself.

In other news, related items were flagged to for me last night: “Google Satellite Photos Worry India Leader”

The governments of South Korea and Thailand and lawmakers in the Netherlands have expressed similar concerns.

South Korean newspapers said Google Earth provides images of the presidential Blue House and military bases in the country, which remains technically at war with communist North Korea. The North’s main nuclear facility at Yongbyon is among sites in that country displayed on the service.

UPDATE: I am noticing a similar CNN story, which has just been cited by Slashdot.

“Google takes governmental concerns about Google Earth and Google Maps very seriously. Google welcomes dialogue with governments, and we will be happy to talk to Indian authorities about any concerns they may have,” Frost said in an e-mail statement Saturday.

HERE appears to be some exciting development over at the Google Page Rank Comparison Tool. Earlier today I noticed the addition of several new features, which allow users to evaluate and compare different sites returned for a Google query.

If you are highly competitive when it comes to domination of popular Google searches (frequently the case in eCommerce), have a quick go and use the tool. Enter the SERP (search engine results page) that you aim for and see details of your competing URL‘s, even side-by-side view. For each URL, you can now see:

• PageRank of target page
• PageRank of domain’s front page
• Number of IBL‘s, also known as BackLinks
• Ditto for domain’s front page
• Google Saturation (total # of pages indexed)
• MSN Rank

The script is doing a lot of ‘leg work’, making it a valuable tool to run in the background (tab or separate window). It can take up to 2 minutes to complete a most comprehensive query which investigates the top 50 (maximum) entries for a given SERP.

Related items: PageRank Prediction and SEO Tools

The number of sites with PageRank 10 is tiny when compared to the number of sites with PageRank 0. Conversely, traffic is largely centralised in sites with a high PR (more details)

The command-line is the front line

OT many Linux hosts permit SSH access to one’s own Webspace. There are concerns that the extra freedom and flexibility of the *NIX shell might lead to servers going down. If servers are shared, the problem is somewhat magnified and the threat is just not worth it.

There are, however, workarounds if you use cPanel as I revealed hack. I have also recently been told about PHP Console by its author. That shell can be installed on your Webspace and allow you to do what you otherwise could not.

It is neither the time nor the place to post promotional links, but I am very satisfied with my host that helped me combat the recent zombie attack on 2 of my sites. The attacks have now ended fully and I removed all my defences, namely filtering through re-directions. If you experienced some locational oddities recently, this must have been the cause.

Several networks have covered this story including CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) — Evidently “Star Trek” actor James “Scotty” Doohan took the catchphrase “beam me up” very seriously — his cremated remains will be launched into space in accord with his last wishes.

Related item: Internet Teleport

The post is addressed to readers who are not using a PDA yet. I would like to briefly describe the advantages of life management that is assisted by pocket-sized computing.

The acquisition of a first PDA, may it be a Palm, a Pocket PC or a Zaurus (there are many more), involves transformation of long-standing habits. It is an evolving process — an adaptation if you like — of what you have become accustomed to since childhood. Tasks are being managed and flagged by a machines rather than the brain. Then again, many of us use notes to manage and organise our lives, so the transition may be primarily a ‘digitisation’ of existing information management.

The key idea of using a PDA properly is this: program your tasks as you see fit, then obey in accordance with reminders from the PDA. It is as if the PDA commands its user what to do and when, relying on and benefiting from cyclic events and ensuring that nothing is ever forgotten or becomes a mental burden. The mind is left available to think and expand its horizons rather than record information. Let us face it, machines do a better job at registering without ever ‘forgetting’. It has been their very basic nature, since the early days of computers.

All your knowledge (and far more) in less than 1 gram

I can think of many advantages of using a PDA when compared with paper-based ‘life organisation’:

• Automatic archival
• Easy search
• Easier re-use of data
• Natural hierarchical abilities (not linear lists)
• Less clutter (e.g. no crossed-out items)
• Cyclic behaviour simplified, e.g. annual birthday notifications
• Vocal reminders/alarms
• Simple backups and duplication to prevent data loss
• Collaborative exchange of data, e.g. Wi-Fi, synchronisation, IR port

I could think of a few more, but these should be enough to convince you why the popular Hipster PDA (famous paper-based equivalent) can never be matched. It better fits technology paranoids.