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If you have some videos in the .MKV format you're itching to play on your PlayStation3, check out this simple tutorial for converting them using mkv2vob.

We've talked about how to rip DVDs for your PlayStation3 before. BitBurners.com takes on the digital-to-digital route, explaining how to covert both .MKV and .TS (ripped DVD video files) into a PlayStation3-compatible format. Along with the basic software how-to, you'll learn how to transfer them to your PlayStation3. If you're interested in going a little further with your PS3 than simply converting files to play on it, make sure to check out how to install Ubuntu Linux on your Playstation.

The most interesting thing about the second annual data mining report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence—an abbreviated public version of which was released last week—may be what isn’t in it. The current report, surveying research underway at ODNI’s Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) division, focuses almost exclusively on a video analysis project. Several other programs alluded to in last year’s report—including two that appear to be descendants of the defunct Total Information Awareness program—have ended their research phases. But does that mean they’re mothballed, or just out of beta?

These days everybody in Washington seems to be jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. The latest jumpers are four House committees, according to Tech Daily Dose.

The committees, like a growing number of individual members' offices, plan to use Twitter as a new tool to reach their audience and ensure transparency between the government and the public.

“I believe government works best when it is transparent and information is accessible to all….” [said a committee chair].

I'm all in favor of public officials using technology to communicate with us. But Twitter is a tool for outreach, not transparency.

Search Cloudlet is a free FireFox extension that displays a useful cloudlet containing keywords of interest.

Designed originally for search sites like google, Search Cloudlet has extended its support on to twitter now!

When you visit your twitter profile page with the Search Cloudlet extension switched on, you would see a cloud of all your twitter keywords.

You have the option to view only @reply tags as well as turn off the tag cloud in case you do not wish to see them at any point in time.

Quickie

• Free FireFox extension for displaying a keyword cloud
• Works not only for twitter but for other search engines like google too

TweeTake is a twitter back up tool. Enter your twitter username and password and specify what you would want to be backed up.

You can choose to back up your followers, friends, favorites, your own tweets and direct messages!

The best part about this app is that unlike the twitter back up utility TweetBackUp TweeTake provides you with your twitter data in a csv format for download! So this app is not only useful for back up but can also be used to download all your twitter contacts and other data for any purpose you like!

Quickie

• Twitter back up utility to back up your twitter data
• Option to back up followers, friends, favorites, your own tweets and direct messages
• Download the back up as a csv file

Over the weekend, there was a USA Today article giving prime coverage to those who advocated for an E-Verify requirement as part of the economic stimulus package signed into law a couple weeks ago. E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) employment verification program, would require all employers to verify the work eligibility of new hires through error-ridden government databases. The article was particularly troubling because it incorrectly cited the systemic problems associated with using the E-Verify. Very late in the article, it says:

The business groups and immigrant advocacy groups argue that the E-Verify database is riddled with errors that could result in millions of workers being wrongly identified as not authorized for work. They say requiring its use before hiring would impose a cost burden on employers and open them to lawsuits.

We found this really misleading, because the business and immigrant advocacy groups like the ACLU are not alone in arguing E-Verify will result in delays due to the errors in Americans’ files. You know who else agrees with us? The federal government.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union will urge a federal appeals court on Wednesday to uphold the right of taxpayers to challenge public funding of a Baptist childcare agency that proselytizes youngsters in its care and discriminates against gay employees who do not share its belief that homosexuality is sinful.

“This is a vitally important lawsuit for all Americans,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United Executive Director. “It will determine whether taxpayers can be forced to subsidize religious indoctrination and religious discrimination. The civil rights and civil liberties of every American are very much at stake.”

In celebration of Sunshine Week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today launched a sophisticated search tool that allows the public to closely examine thousands of pages of documents the organization has pried loose from secretive government agencies. The documents relate to a wide range of cutting-edge technology issues and government policies that affect civil liberties and personal privacy.

EFF’s document collection — obtained through requests and litigation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) — casts light on several controversial government initiatives, including the FBI’s Investigative Data Warehouse and DCS 3000 surveillance program, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Automated Targeting System and ADVISE data-mining project. The documents also provide details on Justice Department collection of communications routing data, Pentagon monitoring of soldiers’ blogs, mismatches in the Terrorist Screening Center’s watchlist, and FBI misuse of its national security letter subpoena authority.

Twitterator is a twitter app that allows you to follow multiple twitter users at one go. However, a downside is that you need to provide the user list that you want to follow!

The twitter follow list can be located at  a url or you can manually type in all the names of twitter users you wish to follow.

Quickie

• Bulk follow twitter users

Twitterator Says

The purpose of this little script is to allow a Twitter user to “follow” a bunch of other Twitter users in one fell swoop—a Twitter friend list generator if you will.

President Barack Obama came into office in January promising a new era of openness.

But now, like Bush before him, Obama is playing the national security card to hide details of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated across the globe.

The White House this week declared (.pdf) the text of the proposed treaty a "properly classified" national security secret, in rejecting a Freedom of Information Act request by Knowledge Ecology International.

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