Submission + - Microsoft admits XBOX 360 scratching problems
kkimm writes: Microsoft admits XBOX 360 scratching problems
http://www.hardware.info/en-UK/news/ym%2BclJqawpya /Microsoft_admits_Xbox_360_problems/
Submission + - M$ Vista DRM lock-in and who to blame
An anonymous reader writes: Charlie Demerjian over at The Inquirer has a brilliant and impassioned rant about DRM infections, who causes them, who wants them and why hardware vendors don't have the spines to stand up for their rights and for the rights of users. From the article: "THE RECENT BILE directed at DAMMIT [ATI+AMD] over the framebuffer lockout is entirely misdirected. Or, at least, the reason to blame the firm is wrong. The hardware providers may be guilty as hell here, but not for this — the real evil here is Microsoft with its DRM fetish. The loser? You, once again". Read the article here.
Submission + - Pirate Party policies pirated by Norway's Liberals
Ghoti writes: In an unexpected move, Norway's Liberal Party has decided to adopt "pirate copy" of the Swedish Pirate Party's policies on copyright extension, legalised file-sharing, free sampling and a ban on digital rights management (DRM), according to a recent statement (Norwegian link only).
In light of the recent EMI/Apple deal and the European Union's ongoing fight against DRM, the spread of ideas like these to mainstream political parties give a faint promise that the fight for fair use and against corporate lock-in for digital media may yet be won!
Journal Journal: 50 terabyte flash drive made of bug protein
A prototype USB drive using bug protein to store data in the neighborhood of around 50 terabytes worth of data could be here in less then 18 months. This idea first started out by coating DVDs with a layer of protein so that one day solid state memory could hold so much information that storing data on your computer hard drive will be obsolete, says Professor V Renugopalakrishnan of the Harvard Medical School in Boston while reporting on his findings at the International Conf
