The Savvy Caveat

Free worldwide calling

2005-05-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

OK, with free PC to PC calling, worldwide with Yahoo Messenger
and cellphones what will happen to MaBell? Who exactly cares?
Canada NewsWire Group: "Yahoo! Messenger Announces Free, High-Quality Worldwide Calling"

tunebite index

2005-05-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

Remove DRM with Tunebite.
tunebite index

Hong Kong scouts gain IP proficiency badge | The Register

2005-05-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

Boy Scouts of IP! Protect Intellectual Property

Do it for the kids!

Helping old ladies cross the road so the MPAA can sue them.
Hong Kong scouts gain IP proficiency badge | The Register: "There's a free Register t-shirt available to anyone who
attends enough training sessions with their children to earn a badge
and show it to us. In addition, we'll award a shirt to anyone who can
design the best Register 'Biting the Pigopolists' badge. Send your entries here. �"

FAQ: How Real ID will affect you | CNET News.com

2005-05-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

Absolutely horrible news as we AGAIN restrict our freedom to "protect it."

FAQ: How Real ID will affect you | CNET News.com

Ghostzilla - the invisible browser

2005-05-06T10:12:00.000-05:00

hehe. Stealthed browsing.... ;-)

Ghostzilla - the invisible browser: "What is Ghostzilla? Take a look at the
screenshots and you
may understand. It's a Web browser like Firefox, but it
shows up and disappears instantly, discreetly,
blended with your work application.
(Read how.)

"

Apple - Mac OS X - Bonjour

2005-05-06T08:35:00.000-05:00

Apple - Mac OS X - Bonjour: "Bonjour lets you create an instant network of computers and smart devices just by getting them connected to each other."

For mac:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bonjour/

And for PC now too:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/bonjourforwindows_readme.html

Dutch plans for iPod tax could kill MP3 industry | The Register

2005-04-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

This is a horrible thing. But what if it could be used for good?

What if the cost of music players did jump to 700 dollars and the "music industry" would sell these to you and you could load them with as much music you want from whatever they have license to?

Howabout putting the cost of the music in the device that plays it, not the files (media) themselves?

Dutch plans for iPod tax could kill MP3 industry | The Register: "Or the Dutch could just become a nation without iPods. I wonder how happy that would make them?"

Fuel cell pulls hydrogen out of bacteria | CNET News.com

2005-04-26T09:17:00.000-05:00

Back To The Future's "Mr. Trash" comes closer to reality

Fuel cell pulls hydrogen out of bacteria | CNET News.com: "Researchers at Penn State University and Ion Power
have developed a process for fuel cells that can harvest the hydrogen
produced when bacteria consume organic matter. The process can yield
four times more hydrogen than the ordinary fermentation process."

Visiting the Pirate's Lair - Where to buy fake DVDs in Shanghai? Try a fake restaurant. By Henry Blodget

2005-04-25T14:15:00.000-05:00

A very good point.

Visiting the Pirate's Lair - Where to buy fake DVDs in Shanghai? Try a fake restaurant. By Henry Blodget: "On tables in the center were piles of loose DVDs. I picked up Shark Tale, an authentic-looking box emblazoned with an odd blurb from the Chicago Tribune: "Dated … and only intermittently funny." Shark Tale was a movie I would not have paid to see and would not have bought for full-price. At $1, however, why not? This, of course, reveals one of the two fallacies in the media industry's assertion that file-sharing and DVD piracy are the same as 'stealing': Some of the supposed damages from 'lost sales' would never have been sales in the first place. The other fallacy is that the 'theft' of digital property is the same as the theft of physical property—which it isn't. When someone steals a physical product—a car, say, or a DVD from the shelves of Blockbuster—the owner has lost more than a potential sale; he or she has lost inventory. When someone buys a copy of a digital product, however, for which the owner of the copyright has paid nothing, the owner has lost only a potential sale. This doesn't make file-sharing or DVD piracy OK—there must be some way for producers and packagers to get paid—but it does explain, in part, why millions of people who would never shoplift are so eager to collect pirated DVDs."

Link List: Programs which record streaming audio

2005-04-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

This is conglomeration from engadget's post which users responded to:

They recommend these programs:
http://ripcast.com/
http://www.bitcartel.com/radiolover/
http://www.wmrecorder.com/rm_recorder.php
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_capture_tools/streambox_vcr_suite.cfm
http://www.replay-radio.com/
http://www.mp3-mac.com/AppsDload/iNet.html
http://www.bitcartel.com/irecordmusic/
http://www.highcriteria.com/
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
http://www.quinnware.com/

Bluetooth -- USATODAY.com - Making sense of life without wires

2005-04-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

A great description of bluetooth for the common man.

USATODAY.com - Making sense of life without wires: "I'm guessing that Danish King Harald Blatand said little or nothing
about wireless networking during his reign in the 10th century. And
that he probably didn't imagine his name would be associated with a
21st century wireless technology."

How-To Hacks finalist: Controlling your home with your PSP - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

2005-04-21T09:53:00.001-05:00

Uhm, I want to control my home with my PSP!

How-To Hacks finalist: Controlling your home with your PSP - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

Verizon customer service ranked highest

2005-04-20T09:17:00.000-05:00

Man, that's the truth....

But T-mobile sucks and get rated really high. I hate T-mobile.

I love Verizon. And, yes, they're customer service is pretty good.

Welcome to RCRNews.com: "Verizon Wireless achieved an 'A' ranking in caller satisfaction and a 'B' ranking in call completion, just edging out previous quarter winner T-Mobile USA Inc.'s pair of 'B' rankings in both categories. Verizon Wireless' scores were the same as the previous ranking, while T-Mobile USA saw its caller satisfaction ranking fall from 'A' in the previous quarter to 'B' during the most recent report."

Congress legalizes ClearPlay - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

2005-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Anyone know exactly how bad this is?

Congress legalizes ClearPlay - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

Peerflix: No DVD Rentals! Trade Your DVDs

2005-04-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

Awesome.

Peerflix: No DVD Rentals! Trade Your DVDs

Stop downloading because it "morally" wrong

2005-04-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

Once again, IPAC hits it on the head with p2p and copyright debate.

The RIAA and the MPAA can no longer say it's illegal to file share so they've been forced to re-state the reasons people should not download and share movies. It's MORALLY wrong.

IPac - Blog: "I find that approach utterly fascinating, more than a little infuriating, and outright hilarious -- all at once. The Recording Industry must be hellbent on getting into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most hypocritical, disingenuous, cynical, and intellectually dishonest arguments in the history of mankind."

Intel to release WiMax chip | CNET News.com

2005-04-18T13:03:00.000-05:00

Great news for the acceptance fo WiMax.

Hello my dream.

Intel to release WiMax chip | CNET News.com: "The world's largest chipmaker sees in WiMax
a potential profit source that it hopes will become as popular as its
shorter-range cousin, Wi-Fi. Intel also believes it will stimulate
computer sales in emerging markets where high-speed Internet access is
unavailable or prohibitively expensive."

California gives up on trying to regulate and tax VoIP - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

2005-04-18T13:02:00.000-05:00

There is logic and reason in the world yet.

California gives up on trying to regulate and tax VoIP - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

War Living

2005-04-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

Hehe. It's articles like this that make me feel not smart at all, but not as big of a geek as I think I am.

;-)

PBS | I, Cringely . April 14, 2005 - A Cup of Bandwidth: "What I haven't tested, and might, is how the array would work in other
modes, supporting WDS mesh networking, for example, or acting as a sort
of super-repeater. Using channels 1, 6 and 11, my total possible
throughput was amazing. Since the Sveasoft firmware supports it, I
might have been tempted to use the Japanese WiFi channel 14 to get four
frequencies that don't step on each other at all. But in the U.S. at
least, doing that would have been illegal."

Toshiba putting 4GB, 0.85-inch mini hard drive into mass production - Engadget - www.engadget.com /

2005-04-15T14:06:00.000-05:00

Now that's getting small!
Check out the size of this 4gb HD!

Toshiba putting 4GB, 0.85-inch mini hard drive into mass production - Engadget - www.engadget.com /: "Toshiba putting 4GB, 0.85-inch mini hard drive into mass production"

Grimwell Online ::

2005-04-13T09:41:00.000-05:00

Advertising in games.

Free ad-enabled MMORPGs... the future of gaming and advertisement?

Talk about your target market/catered advertising/demographic profiling/direct content piping.

ETC
ETC
ETC

Grimwell Online ::

Magnetic heat exchanger will cool down your CPU

2005-04-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the future of cooling.

Quiet. No power. Me likey.

Magnetic heat exchanger will cool down your CPU

US keeps on sueing, China keeps on rising

2005-04-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

The mire of US Legislation from the entertainment industry futily attempting to quell piracy but underminig technological innovation and creating a lawyer-watch dog, intellectual property police state will only expedite China's (as well as India and Brazil's) inevitable climb to world dominance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4400373.stm

If banks, venture capitalists and company directors are worried about being sued for marketing a cool toy that can be used in unanticipated but illegal ways then they will play safe.

The inventiveness that created the TiVo hard drive recorder, the MP3 player, and the dual-layer DVD writer will go into developing expensive games for locked-down consoles, new forms of keyword advertising for search engines and better ways around spam filters, or other equally useless activities.

Pro-technologies argue the case will impact innovation

In 10 years' time this may not matter much because China, India and Brazil will be leading the next wave of technological innovation, based around open source development and their own manufacturing capacity.

Wow. Optical Camouflage. You gotta see these videos!

2005-03-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

Nice.

This is hilarious. This is sad. This is ingenious. This is the future.

2005-02-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

Wow. Pizza Hut. You are evil. You are innovative.

I cringe at what this means for the obesity of America's youth.

I cheer at the pure capitalistic innovation and freedom of choice.

Make Skype calls using your regular phone

2005-02-08T10:47:00.000-05:00

Like the title says. Actiontec's Internet Phone Wizard let yous you make VoIP calls over Skype using your landline.

Make Skype calls using your regular phone - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Xdrive Launches New Music Service That Transforms Cell Phones Into 'Virtual iPods'

2005-02-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

I love it when what I think of needs to happens with technology, but think will be like years away, happens the next week!

Client-side storage is worthless if the server-side transmission can support the bandwidth needed for quality delivery of media.

Period.

Convergence + SlickUserInterface = Success

Xdrive Launches New Music Service That Transforms Cell Phones Into 'Virtual iPods'

Electronic Furniture

2005-02-08T10:39:00.000-05:00

I WANT A TRON TABLECLOTH TOO!!!!
Electronic Furniture: "ELECTRONIC
FURNITURE FOR THE CURIOUS HOME"

Games (AKA the potential for profit) push technology

2005-02-08T10:17:00.000-05:00

OMG. Check out the officieal hardware specs for the Playstation 3.

PlayStation 3 chip has split personality | Tech News on ZDNet:

http://www.optware.co.jp/english/what_050203.html

2005-02-08T09:52:00.000-05:00

While Western companies argue over what 300GB standard disc we're going to uses HDVD or Blu-ray.

Meanwhile, a group of 6 eastern companies have gotten together to form the HVD alliance which supports the introduction of a holographics storage standard capable of storing 1 TERABYTE!~!!@!@#ONEEONEOeno on one disc over 3 dimension.

So, let's just drop this whole Blu-ray/vs. HDVD and move onto the future, because I don't want all that kiddie stuff recieving industry and hardware acceptance where the only way I can use 1 TERABYTE!!@ONEO of storage is to move to Japan.

Thanks. Good luck and good game.

http://www.optware.co.jp/english/what_050203.html

Next time you're in France, play Tetris on a skyscraper

2005-02-08T09:39:00.000-05:00

Oh, and kick Jacque Chirac in the nuts for me too, will ya?

No seriously, this project in France called "Blinkenlights" allows you to place arcade games on the national library at night, using your cellphone. How freakin' cool is that!?

I'm gonna go just so I can beat the high score and put in my intials for all those beret-lovers to scoff at. ;-)

Project Blinkenlights: Arcade Games: "Tetris ist one of the most popular computer games of the last 20 years. Since its invention in 1985 it has found its way on almost
any computer system and game console in one form or the other. With Arcade you can play Tetris with your mobile phone - on a playground 3370 m2 in size."

Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society

2005-01-21T13:20:00.000-05:00

This is TRULY what we need right now for the Islamic world.

Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society: "

"

Batteries can't hack it.

2005-01-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

So we need an alternate form of mobile energy.

Japan's heading that way. They hope to have fuel cells for their cell phones by 2007.

GL, Mr Roboto!

ceatec japan 2004: mobile fuel cells in 2007 | mobile blog | pukupi

Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard

2005-01-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

Freaking cool, but prolly doesn't work too well. At least people say you can't press more than 1 key at a time.
Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard: ""

This just in: The further away a radiation emitting device is from your brain, the better. Scientific community stunned at report.

2005-01-20T14:36:00.000-05:00

Thank you Captain *ehem* I mean Doctor Obvious.

("I didn't spend 4 years and obvious school just to be called Captain, thank you very much.")

BBC NEWS | Health | Hands-free kits 'cut radiation': "Radiation emissions absorbed by the head from using mobile phones are cut by using hands-free kits, a study says."

HOW-TO: Use your CDMA cellphone as a USB modem

2005-01-20T14:31:00.000-05:00

Uhm, wow.

So basically this is the best how-to I've seen in a while, ever.

You can use your cell phone to keep you connected to the internet on your laptop wherever you have reception. And all it charges you for is the minutes used.

So, uhm. wow.

I hope some of you's kids can use this. Guess it'll hold us over until WiMax.
HOW-TO: Use your CDMA cellphone as a USB modem - Engadget - www.engadget.com

LOL Quote

2005-01-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

I gotta kick out of thi this quote from a Slashdotter's profile

"Give a man a fish, he owes you one fish.

Teach a man to fish, you give up your monopoly on fisheries."

Church of Virus - "Havin' Church with the Borg"

2005-01-20T09:04:00.001-05:00

Finally, a place of faith and schweet BBS for the technophile who doesn't believe in God because it means he can't look at pr0n and really gets off on overclocking his calculator and putting Slackware Linux on his Apple Newton.

Three letters:
O
M
G

Please come now, Jesus Christ. ;-) I think the rolls are done.

BTW, "neo-cybernetic" WTF!?

Church of Virus

2005-01-20T09:04:00.000-05:00

OMG SkiFree!!

Whatta blast from the past!!

The Most Officialest SkiFree Home Page

iPod Shuffle = the new Radio

2005-01-19T13:51:00.000-05:00

Barry makes a great point on IPAC about how the iPod shuffle is attempting to recreate the experience you USED TO get when you listened to the radio.

Enjoy...
IPac - Blog

The Right to Read - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)

2005-01-19T13:29:00.000-05:00

A fantastic article/story.

A must read for navigating the future.

The Right to Read - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)

Oops! I outlawed the Internet!

2005-01-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

Awesome....

good game, California...

Pass this one and see what happens.

California Senator Wants to Throw Ed Felten in Jail

see also techdirt's stuff on this BS

The ballot, not the bullet, will see off Iraq's religious terrorists

2005-01-19T13:14:00.000-05:00

A great article on the upcomming election in Iraq.

No politics discussed. Merely fact and logic.

Very nice.

The ballot, not the bullet, will see off Iraq's religious terrorists: "It would also dishearten the pragmatic opponents of democracy, of whom
there are many, who, while assuming Islamic clothing, really fear that
democracy will expose them for what they are: unreformed supporters of
the old regime, in which a Sunni minority exercised power over the Shia
majority."

Covad to Conduct Trials of Next-Generation DSLAM Technology Supporting New Competitive Choices for Local and Long Distance Service

2005-01-17T10:29:00.000-05:00

VOIP over POTS without any extra equipment and can it with the "if the power goes out" argument.

It's all done server side.

read on.....

Covad to Conduct Trials of Next-Generation DSLAM Technology Supporting New Competitive Choices for Local and Long Distance Service

Curiously strong music....

2005-01-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

Build your own MP3 player out of an altoids box and impress other geeks geekier than thou!

Minty MP3: "Tired of not being able to find cases for your projects? Stuck
with those hideous ABS plastic RadioShack boxes? Try those ubiquitous
tin boxes, not only do they block EMI, they come with free mints!
Fresh breath and fresh design in one."

Hacking Coke Machines - Taking Advantage Of Technology

2005-01-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

I thought that this was pretty cool. I won't use it, but I think it shows that Coke is going to have to do a better job with security before 12-year-olds hit the streets trying to "fight the power" by changing the price of Coke's.

Hacking Coke Machines - Taking Advantage Of Technology

"Rhapsody, this is e.Swede, I'm leaving if you don't say anything to make me feel better...."

2005-01-11T11:20:00.000-05:00

This nifty little article details Napster's new Napster2Go technology where basically you can transfer songs to your iPod or whatever to play "on-the-go" and can keep them there as long as your device checks in once a month and says "i'm still paying."

Sounds good to me, but then my friend Brad Hill at thedigitalmusicweblog critizes this technology.

You can read my response below:

Hey man,
Love your blog. Gotta say, on this one, I disagree with you strongly.

My dream is a $25-50 a month, subscription based digital media playground - movies, music, TV, shows, games - where i have access to it all, on-demand, in the format I want, on the platform I want, where I want.

This 15 dollar Napster deal is a step in the right direction. Ownership really is not necessary anymore. Just complete access. Heck, I'll stream instead of store anyday! If I have to store to go, until we have wireless to support that, I'll do that.

But right now I have to "be illegal" and painstakingly download everything over days and weed through the crap to get what I want. Meanwhile, I'm WILLING TO PAY to be legit, have gurannteed quality, and supply. If that means I have to put up with a non-invasive, private "have-you-paid-this-month" DRM file halflife, then I'll gladly do it.

The only thing I want to see improved on now is increased direct compensation to authors/artists.

This is the business model of the future, and we should support it through VCL (eff.org) and our blogs. This is the way we must push the industry and this is a great sign. I may be leaving Rhapsody for this 5-dollar upgrade.

No flaming here, my friend. I think we're fighting the same fight. Keep up the good work.

Slashdot | MIT Making Computer Parts from DNA

2005-01-11T10:17:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | MIT Making Computer Parts from DNA

Read the article, then read this guy's response. It's great!

So - humans playing God, synthesizing life from its basic components. Hubris, or something better?

Without stating a position either way on the existence (or nonexistence) of God, what better way to glorify a Creator than by showing Him we've learned some of His tricks?

(Allow me one assumption here: the assumption that if God exists, He's not a copyright lawyer, and will be flattered by our success, rather than whomping us with a Deistic Millenium Copyright Act violation notice in the form of a 20-mile-wide asteroid.)

God: I created you by breathing life into dirt.
Man: Cool trick, God. We've learned to do the same thing.
God: Cool trick. Now try it from first principles.
Man: What do you mean?
God: Well, next time, make your own dirt.

And before you point out - correctly - that with a sufficiently large energy input we could indeed synthesize all the components that make up "dirt" out of hydrogen, you haven't solved the problem. Ultimately, it comes down to this:

God: Look, I appreciate the flattery, and I encourage you to keep at it. But read the job description -- you qualify for My job when you derive a universe capable of evolving intelligent life based on the setting of a small number of physical constants, and you can have My job when your resume' includes experimental proof in the form of a portfolio that includes your worshippers.

We hairless apes still have a bit of work to do.

Only you can prevent Cybersquatting

2005-01-11T09:46:00.000-05:00

Ever wish you would have registered the domain name blockbuster.com, pontiac.com, or babagahnoush.com back in 1993. Yeah. We all do. Because we'd all be millionaires if we would have. Thanks to a little thing called "cybersquatting."

Tech News World hosts a good article which talks about the future of this "profession" and what might happen to those visionary, entreprenurial, vagabonds and the bullying corporations who love them. Check it out.

Technology News: Global: Corporate Trademarks and the Future of Domain Disputes

Top 11 Geek Break Up Lines

2005-01-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

OMG! SOOO FUNNY!
BBspot - Top 11 Geek Break Up Lines: "Now that Half Life 2 is out, I need to refocus my priorities."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Games win for Blu-ray DVD format

2005-01-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

EA and Vivendia get on board with Blu-ray.

I guess that about does it for the format wars. At least in the gaming industry.

BTW, EA scares me and I don't think they promote quality in games.

just my 2cents.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Games win for Blu-ray DVD format: "When players do come out, they will be able to play
standard DVDs too, which is good news for those who
have huge libraries of current DVDs."

The ebb and flow of digital gaming platforms

2005-01-06T09:24:00.000-05:00

I think I'm beggining to see a pattern here. It seems that ever 3 years or so the console gaming industry and the computer gaming industry flip/flop in superiority.

Hopefully with better displays, wireless homenetworking, media centers, and wireless peripherals making the home more digital we will see more convergence, rather than competition. I want competition between gaming companies and systems, not technological platforms.

I remember when I started playing games on the orginal Nintendo, and my cousin was playing cheezy games on the PC. They were about equal. Then the Super Nintendo came out and BLEW THE PC away. And then I saw Duke Nukem 3D for the PC and shat me draws, after that it was all uphill. We had the likes of Quake CTF competing with Sega and Playstation!? Give me a break. No contest. And now I have World of Warcraft on the PC which is graphically incredible and crazy good interaction online with folks. But you've also got Xbox w/ Xbox live, and I'm no Halo fanboy, but dang, if that isn't fun too... Burnout 3: Takedown?!!?! Yes please!

The problem for me is, I pretty much like using the keyboard and mouse by now, lol. We'll have to see what happens when Micro$haft brings us Xbox2 sometime this year. I think I may be jumping to the console ship when that happens....

Xbox 2 is a Windows lovechild

Y2K38!? --> The year 2038 bug

2005-01-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

This is the first I've heard about this.

Are they going to develop some "Moore's Law">Moore's Law" for how often we will need to globally fix a doomsday bug?

I just hope it brings another boom to the IT industry.

You can read about Y2K's lasting legacy here.

The year 2038 bug: "The Year-2038 Bug"

Ask me again why I shouldn't resist DRM?

2005-01-04T14:37:00.000-05:00

The RIAA never ceases to amaze me.

Also another reason why not to use Windows media player.

p2pnet.net - the original daily p2p and digital media news site: "Overpeer's latest dirty trick"

Idle hands make..... the cure for cancer?

2005-01-04T08:47:00.000-05:00

For years, SETI has been utilizing unused computer processes to search for extraterristrial life by distributing the search workload over a vast network of interconnected, idling computers.

The Cancer Blog has an interesting article about how Grid.org seeks to use the same technology in it's search for a medcinal research using it's United Devices Grip MP technology:

With the participation of over 3 million devices worldwide, grid.org projects like Cancer Research, Anthrax Research, Smallpox Research and the new Human Proteome Folding Project (running in conjunction with IBM's new World Community Grid) have achieved record levels of processing speed and success.

Not that I don't think it would be cool if my computer discovered little green men somewhere in the final frontier, it's just that something like this (that isn't so conspiracy theorist, area 51-ish) has a greater potential to draw a wider user base. Hopefully we'll see this kind of distributed grid processing technology employed in other useful ways.

Now if I could only get that eBay bot to work right.... Then I'd be idlin' my way to some massive *bling*

"I said buy low, sell high, you EEEdiot!"

So leave those computer running and help us process our way to healthier lives.

BitTorrent Operator Bites Back at MPAA

2005-01-03T10:44:00.000-05:00

LOL Sweden!!!

BitTorrent Operator Bites Back at MPAA: "Outside the United States, content companies have been largely ignored by BitTorrent sites. One recent cease-and-desist threat by Dreamworks lawyers from Keats, McFarland & Wilson serves as an example. Lawyers sent the Stockholm-based BitTorrent tracker site Pirate Bay an order telling them to stop because they were liable for infringing on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

One of the site's members, replied by e-mail in August:

'As you may or may not be aware, Sweden is not a state in the United States of America. Sweden is a country in northern Europe,' the e-mail read. 'Unless you figured it out by now, U.S. law does not apply here. For your information, no Swedish law is being violated.'"

Free Windows Software Without Spyware/Adware

2004-12-30T14:56:00.000-05:00

Free Windows Software Without Spyware/Adware

Slashdot | LokiTorrent vs. MPAA

2004-12-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

Read the article first, then read Catbeller's response.

Slashdot | LokiTorrent vs. MPAA:

"There are so many here hammering the "it's illegal - it's piracy - " meme injection that I strongly suspect the MPAA has hired astroturfing agents to dominate the thread. Holy Scientology, Batman.

Answers for their contentions, all at once:

It's not "piracy"; it's copying without permission. If you sell copied films, then you're a pirate.

Copying without permission wasn't a criminal matter until the content producers bought such laws. It was a civil matter, and conviction required evidence of monetary loss on the complaintant's part.

Copyright was a compromise in U.S. law. One faction in the constitutional convention wanted NO copyrights, another was more of the current IP ilk's way of thinking. Compromise: copyrights were to exist for a limited time, to get the best of both worlds -- enticement to produce new works, and the graduation to public domain of old works for the common good.

With the Sonny Bono Law, the deal was destroyed. No compromise. Copyright for life of author plus 75 years for an author, a HUNDRED years for a corporation. And no guarantee at all that future congresses would keep extending the terms for ever and ever and ever...

The deal is over. And we didn't break it, the "intellectual property owners" broke it - savagely, permanently. Now works are owned for all time. No public good. Just private. No derivative works allowed. And corporate "owners" can use their profits to buy larger and larger blocks of "property" indefinitely. We may see a small handful of chummy corporations eventually owning all the published works of mankind - science, art, literature -- everything.

The law broke the deal. The corporations wanted anarchy. They got it. They have guns on their side. The Scientologists are peeing themselves with glee.

What we have here is more than downloading copies of movies or music. If copyright lasted only 20 years, I would honestly be fighting alongside the owners so that they could make a profit from their works. That is, if the artists actually owned the copyrights, rather than the corporations they signed rights over to.

But this is not what copyrights is about. It isn't about property. That's a 20th century legal fiction. Music and images are not "property"; items are property. Copyright was about licensing copies.

Fair Use law mandated that the public could copy even without paying, within limits. THAT'S out the window. If it's illegal to break encryption, you can't copy within those rights.

I will not accept the shutdown of the Constitution's purpose of copyright. I will not accept the death of Fair Use. I will not countenance the elimination of the Deal. I will not watch the works of man fall under the eternal control of immortal corporations. Science and art as we know it cannot survive the imprisonment-with-conditional parole of human endeavor. If copying files annoys them and shakes their control, then let it be so. I want this regime of control shaken and stirred until such day we can install real limits on copyright once more."

The Tyranny of Copyright (nytimes.com)

2004-12-29T16:21:00.000-05:00

It's about time .

The New York Times finally comprehensively reports on CopyLeft, Free culture, obsolete entertainment industry business models, and a revolution which is basically a downhill battle.

The Tyranny of Copyright (nytimes.com):

''We are invoking ideas that should be central to the American tradition, such as that a free society is richer than a control society,'' he says. ''But in the cultural sphere, big media wants to build a new Soviet empire where you need permission from the central party to do anything.'' He complains that Americans have been reduced to ''an Oliver Twist-like position,'' in which they have to ask, ''Please, sir, may I?'' every time we want to use something under copyright -- and then only if we are fortunate enough to have the assistance of a high-priced lawyer.

This kind of public exposure to these ideas is extremely important. However, they miss the mark in leaving out the Creative Commons VCL (Voluntary Collective Licensing) model.

For my complete take on the situation see my previous blog post here (to be linked soon).

A tax is not the way to go, a subscription/revenue clearinghouse is the model that is appropriate. Micropayments will never work and DRM will always get hacked.

"When asked whether he thinks his ambitious scheme has a chance, Fisher says that the likeliest possibility would be for it to be adopted in countries that are neither so developed that they have signed on to international copyright protocols nor so undeveloped that they are desperate to do so. Only second-world countries, like Croatia or Brazil, he speculates, are unfettered enough to try something new. ''The hope is in the rain forest,'' he says, in countries that ''are more like the United States was before 1890, when we were a 'pirate' nation.''

China. China is where they are developing enough, open enough to technology, have the bandwidth infrastructure in place, the desire to be free and democratic, want to not be known as "the bad nation" who pirates everything, but has no concept of paying for software. Plus, the deciding factor is that as of now they have the centralized, controlling government which could pull off/enforce something like VCL.

Buzz phrase/things to know:

Prevailing Attitude: I am not a pirate. I am an agent of change.

And in the United States, is there any future for this sort of payment system? Perhaps when the various current schemes fail, Fisher's plan will seem more attractive, he says. ''What is involved here is nothing less than the shape of our culture and the way we think of ourselves as citizens,'' he adds. He describes a recent letter he received from a supporter of his work. ''When they come for my guns and my music, they'd better bring an army,'' it read. ''People are used to being creatively engaged with the culture,'' Fisher explains. ''They won't let someone legislate that away.''

Copyright is FOR A TIME. We need to get back to our copyright roots: A necessary evil. Listen to our Founders. Article 1, Section 8 U.S. Constitution

The fight against "piracy" is actually the entertainment industry's reluctance to adapt to shifting users needs.

culture commons vs. permission culture.

A fear of the "Permission Culture" is causing the U.S. to loose it's global innovative prowess cause peopel are scared of getting sued for doing something new.

No one is truly an "original author" of anything.

Fair use.

Do not squelch inovation.

The threat of lawsuits is killing due process.

Information wants to be free.

Privacy is not a crime.

(If you got to this sentence and still haven't read the article in its entirety this is your last chance to do so before I start not liking you very much.)

;-)

Civil Disobedience, p2p | Downhill Battle

2004-12-28T16:55:00.000-05:00

Civil Disobedience, p2p | Downhill Battle

speed up firefox!

2004-12-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

This really works
speed up firefox - hack a day - www.hackaday.com: "speed up firefox"

JHymn - Thank you God

2004-12-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

My music and iPod are free, massah!
JHymn Help

VWB MediaReady Flyboy 40GB Linux-based personal video player - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2004-12-27T16:54:00.001-05:00

VWB MediaReady Flyboy 40GB Linux-based personal video player - Engadget - www.engadget.com: "VWB MediaReady Flyboy 40GB Linux-based personal video player"

HOW-TO: Get videos and DVDs onto your Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) for free - Engadget - www.engadget.com

2004-12-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

If I ever buy a PSP to replace my iPod and PMC then I'll need to remember this article
HOW-TO: Get videos and DVDs onto your Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) for free - Engadget - www.engadget.com: "HOW-TO: Get videos and DVDs onto your Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) for free"

This is the closest thing to a VCL that I've seen

2004-12-27T11:23:00.000-05:00

I smell progress!

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000417024429/

Cappuccino : SlimPro SP625 with intel mobile processor

2004-12-21T16:52:00.000-05:00

Look how small this thing is!!
Cappuccino : SlimPro SP625 with intel mobile processor

Holy WiFi-toteing Zeppelins, Batman!

2004-12-16T10:19:00.000-05:00

Economist.com | MONITOR

I am not a pirate.

2004-12-16T08:28:00.000-05:00

I am not a pirate.

I am an agent of change.

DynAdvance

2004-12-14T11:12:00.000-05:00

DynAdvance

IEEE Spectrum Careers- How to fix the patent system

2004-12-10T10:31:00.000-05:00

IEEE Spectrum Careers

Zeropaid Forums - A Handy Guide to Using the Files You've Downloaded

2004-12-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Zeropaid Forums - A Handy Guide to Using the Files You've Downloaded: "A Handy Guide to Using the Files You've Downloaded"

Zeropaid Forums - Comprehensive Security Guide - by Malakai1911

2004-12-09T13:24:00.000-05:00

The best security guide I've ever seen:

Zeropaid Forums - Comprehensive Security Guide - by Malakai1911

I'm so sick of the mouse and keyboard

2004-12-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

Let's hope this works out:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4074869.stm

Come on brain power!

Gmail = 1GB remote storage network drive !?!?!!

2004-12-07T09:59:00.000-05:00

So uhm, maybe I'm the last kid on the block to get a skateboard here, but basically if you have a Gmail account you have 1GB of remote storage accesible through My Computer like a remote network drive.

http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT?!

OMG! This is awesome! I will never give away another invite, ever, ever, ever... LOL!!!

Using the app linked above you can use your google accounts like 1GB of storage under my computer accesible like a USB jump drive or something.

That's ridiculous and awesome.

A Guide to Choosing the Right 19" LCD Monitor

2004-12-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

Anandtech gives all of us big display junkies a guide to choosing the right 19" LCD monitor. Njoi...

http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2289

If you're a blogger and you want distro files use this

2004-12-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

BlogTorrent baby.

http://www.blogtorrent.com/

If you're running PHP, you're golden. Hardly uses any bandwidth.

Thanks Downhill Battle!

Wifi Seeker, finder, detector roundup

2004-11-29T11:04:00.000-05:00

Get yer WifiFinder and yer war-drivin' war-chalk folks. It's time to abervtise where to jack into teh Freetrix for free!

http://www.handtops.com/show/news/68

Makes 'em really hard to hate (for today)

2004-11-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

I know I rarely say this, but:

Let's hear it for the FCC!!!!

http://news.com.com/FCC+further+deregulates+Net+calls/2100-7352_3-5444883.html?tag=nefd.hed

How to setup your router for BitTorrent

2004-11-08T08:18:00.000-05:00

This is clutch if you want to be able to ditch P2P programs and transcend to bit torrent file transfers using programs like Azereus and a site like Suprnova.

http://p2p.weblogsinc.com/entry/0401842428674831/

What really happens when you "Format C:"?

2004-11-04T07:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.hohle.net/scrap_post.php?post=23&m=full

Today's Links!!!11!1!!!11oneone (all Engadget's best)

2004-11-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

Friggin' Awesome Comps $$$$!!!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/01/voodoopc_fastest_pc/

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1699406,00.asp?kc=PCRSS02129TX1K0000530

Today I shall print a chip:

http://www.epson.co.jp/e/newsroom/news_2004_11_01.htm

Paying with your cellie:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1646533664464166/

Under the skin chip IDs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/technology/01necom.html?ex=1257051600&en=474caa25f8bbe36c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

F Apple and finally get those songs off your iPod with ephPod:
http://www.ephpod.com/
Or podworks for macers:
http://www.scifihifi.com/podworks/

Njoi!

A great list of computer How-to's

2004-11-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

http://www.maximumpc.com/how_to/reprint_2004-01-05.html

Fall 2004 DVDR Roundup: Dual Layer and 16X DVD+R

2004-11-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article talking about the top-end DVD burners out right now for your intelligent purchasing.

(Via anandtech)

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2260

An article which really sheds some light on the "copy right"

2004-11-01T09:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-bloom112202.asp

The new iPod Photo is out, viva accretion?

2004-10-27T08:23:00.000-05:00

In my ritualistic daily check of the world's gadget haps and the craps on Engadget I was made aware that the newest iteration of Apple's iPod - the iPod Photo - just came out.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/7674671713523335/

I always read what Engadget has to say and then some of the users' comments. Everyone was bashing essential "the value" of it (high cost vs. unimpressive features) and then a commentor by the name Jon Rubin posted this comment:

Look at the big picture, people
Posted Oct 26, 2004, 4:25 PM ET by Jon Rubin

This is the video iPod. Apple's just being cautious. They're making sure their tv interface is easy to use and beautiful to look at. They're getting people used to the idea of an iPod that hooks up to a tv, and getting the av docks out there in the market. They're perfecting a color display, and all the little 'extras' you'd expect from an Apple portable media player, like album covers.

The important thing to note is that Apple's now got a portable device with RCA and SVIDEO out. Then connect the dots.

Think about what Apple always says: their marketing doesn't show that people want to watch video on a small screen for an extended period of time. Well, that's not saying "we'll never produce a video iPod," just that "if we make a video iPod, we're not going to expect people to actually watch video on its tiny screen."

Now all they're waiting for is hard drive prices to go down. As soon as that happens, I bet they'll slap in another DSP to decode a quicktime variant.

Apple's creating a market segment for a video iPod before they actually put it out there. The color screen and 60gig hd will filter down to the regular iPod eventually, and the AV port will be what differentiates the high-end pricepoint. When there's an 80gig or 100gig hard drive out there, Apple will roll out an iPod Movie.

Apple is building an extremely powerful mobile device by accretion. I do not think the name 'iPod' was chosen at random--Apple never intended it to just be about music. It's about carrying all the information that matters to you in your pocket.

I tend to agree with this comment

Today's Links 0wnz j00!

2004-10-27T07:57:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, in case you didn't know, the new Grand Theft Auto came out yesterday. People say it ownz. I can help but think the graphics should be looking better right now but apparently the story telling has improved mucho much and the character, music, and voice acting is impecable:
http://ps2.ign.com/?ui=ign_hub_top3

A demo for the new Need for Speed Underground 2 came out today:
http://www.3dgamers.com/dlexit/inspan/games/needforspeed8/nfsu2_demo.exe.html
expect much blink and a whole lotta zing...

This link is for wasting time, a mini game mainly for Ryan:
http://www.kiteretsu.jp/on/tontie/

Not that I'd ever have enough money to buy one of these phat Alienware systems, but atleast I can loosely base the ones I will build on them:
http://www.alienware.com/Configurator_Pages/area-51_alx_sli.aspx?SysCode=PC-AREA51ALXX2SLI-D&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT&cs=1

I lead a demanding life and money is tight, but someone's gotta save the Princess. Finally, an affordable Mario-playing robot made from Legos that can beat Bowser when I just can't seem to find the time:
http://community.middlebury.edu/~tdooley/

A Dynamic Sountrack for you Life

2004-10-26T12:28:00.000-05:00

Is this the future of music?

http://www.engadget.com/entry/2486252161659249/
http://web.media.mit.edu/%7Ebrecht/music/DSP/

A Google version of FireFox!? Yes, please.

2004-10-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

"Interestingly, mailto: urls will work with Gmail, allowing peple to click email links in pages and have Gmail open a new mail to that address, as well as IE-like buttons on the toolbar for composing new mail from scratch."

YES! I am so tired of clicking on a mailto: link in FireFox and seeing it open up an Outlook message. Only to close it all and get that annoying "hold on while Micro$oft 0wnz your computor" message. (And why the hell does Outlook take so long to shut down, anyway?! What is it doing?).

So that's enough reason for me to do it right there.

BUT, they go on!

"Also, Google loves the recently aquired Blogger, and will have built in linkage to Blogger and rich-editing tools, making Blogger a highly integrated feature, with the ability to blog links and web-content as easily as using their integrated GMail features. "

Schweet. This will make my life ALOT easier. My CTRL-C and CTRL-V buttons will get some well-deserved CTRL-R&R.

So this is what I'm saying:
The reason people trust Google, everything Google, is because they started out as just offering one thing and offering it so well that they became the hands-down defacto standard for websearches. On top of that, they never pursued "being evil" (as they call it as a company) to the user. They never did pop ups, they never did frontpage flash ads, nothing (unlike Yahoo, Jeeves, or MSN). Google's site will load in a nanosecond AND return your results in a millisecond.

Plus, with Google, they know how to still make money with their products intelligently, not invasively, so everything they offer can be offered free to the user.

So if people trust Google products to be the best products and always free products, they don't have anything to prove whenever they release something new. So if they start doing blogs (Blogger) I switch to blogger, if they start doing IMs, I use their IM service. And so on.... The same will be true with this gBrowser coming out. I'll download it, I'll use it, I'll always patch it.

I won't shake in my boots as I do whenever Micro$haft releases an "improvement" or "upgrade". Why the hell should I have to kreep around a million techno-geek forums to find out "who's saying what" about so-and-so patch! Argh..... there has to be a better way. (I know Linux or Mac.... I'll get there...)

http://mozillanews.org/?article_date=2004-10-19+01-52-31

(disclaimer: this article is some guy's speculation. I agree with his conjecture.)

WiMax and Intel - bedpartners with an equation for success

2004-10-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

If Intel can do the same thing for WiMax as it did for WiFi (ala Centrino) you can count on this bein gour new standard.

http://news.com.com/Intel%2C+wireless+pioneer+McCaw+team+up+on+WiMax/2100-7351_3-5425683.html?tag=nl

EFF Interview

2004-10-26T10:23:00.000-05:00

If you're trying to be active in today's technology law you MUST read this interview with Wendy Seltzer of the EFF.

Wendy Seltzer can have my baby:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/6177529296451618/

Corresponding links:
http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/dmcrahandout.htm

http://ipaction.org/

http://www.eff.org/patent/

http://www.eff.org/share/collective_lic_wp.php

Streamline FireFox performance based on your processor

2004-10-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

Apparently these are extensions that make FireFox work better according to which processor you have.

http://pryan.org/firefox/d503/

I'd appreciate comments and feedback if you agree it helps or not.

If you use P2P software read this...

2004-10-25T12:18:00.000-05:00

Almost everyone has used Kazaa. Read this before you ever open the program again and see some safe alternatives

http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=551

Perhaps the best result of this article is "Tom's" reply to it. It is the first one found here:

http://www.p2pforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4208

He explains why Kazaa is dead and what is good for music and movies and software. Really read this.

Set alerts for when your favorite artists release new music

2004-10-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

http://www.tunestracker.com/

Finally, a site for the WarDriver in all of us..

2004-10-25T10:12:00.000-05:00

http://www.wifinerd.com/

Today's links

2004-10-22T13:40:00.000-05:00

This owns. Call me type-A bizzaro but I love it
http://www.engadget.com/entry/3464715371535672/

YES! how much?!
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1634297196564853/

With where we're at right now, and where the rest of the world is, I
just think this won't happen, and if it is, we have our priorities
outta whack.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/8031583271547815/

Halo 2 developers complain because they won't invest in IT security
and think the world is full of good people:
http://spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=7832

Latest Pirates! info (I'm pumped)
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3135718&did=4

Uncensored GTA trailers:
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/gta4/downloads.html

Uhm, as soon as I own something BlueTooth, I'm going to do this:
http://www.bluedriving.com/linksys-mod.htm
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/article/0,20967,714017,00.html

The author of this article apparently wanted to convey the fact that he is an idiot in the title alone:
http://news.com.com/Is+gadget+convergence+going+too+far/2070-1032_3-5419487.html?tag=nefd.swarm

This is precedent setting for RFID. If you don't know what RFID is, you need to. It will be a huge part of our adult lives. I think it is a major pitfall and we could end up trusting it too much. The ability to hack it sounds huge. And it would be in charge and responsible for SO MUCH. It will happen though. So learn and get ready.
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,65412,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1

Good by silicon, hello nanocomputers:
http://www.physorg.com/news1667.html

VoIP for newbies....

2004-10-21T08:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks TomsHardware

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Sections-article94-page1.php

Beating Adware on a large scale

2004-10-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

http://ask.slashdot.org/askslashdot/04/10/19/0038232.shtml?tid=172&tid=111&tid=201&tid=4

My picks of the day (mostly Engdaget)

2004-10-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

Since we need to get smaller but need more resolution on our displays this is the only solution that I can see:

http://www.engadget.com/entry/8547656110143977/http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/cat_gadgets.php

Parents might use: http://www.engadget.com/entry/3746421320807387/

Now this is convergence:http://www.engadget.com/entry/7447878454598645/

NICE camera (400 bucks, ouch though. Still like mine.)http://www.photographyblog.com/comments.php?id=4152_0_1_0_C

Higher megapixels on camera phones may not mean better pictures:http://www.phonemag.com/index.php/weblog/read_more/10132004_motorola_mpx220_digital_camera/

I'm shocked! People prefer "free" to "pay"!!??http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/online/archives/digital_music/2004/10/fewer_people_paying_for_music_downloads_npd.html

Tuturoial D: The future of databases?

2004-10-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

This article features a new way to do databases. Could it be the next step beyond SQL?

http://www.techworld.com/applications/features/index.cfm?featureid=910

Is Apple rotten?

2004-10-11T09:24:00.000-05:00