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Media

Proposed Amendment Would Ban All DVD Copying 354

Posted by kdawson from the not-your-bits dept.
Ynefel writes in with a PC Magazine article reporting that the DVD Copy Control Association is considering an amendment to the agreement equipment vendors must abide by, which would completely ban all DVD backups, whether fair use or not, and prevent DVDs from playing without the DVD disk being present in the drive. The amendment is being voted on imminently and if approved would go into effect within 18 months. Quoting: "The proposed amendment was made public in a letter sent by Michael Malcolm, the chief executive of Kaleidescape, a DVD jukebox company which successfully defeated a suit by the DVD CCA this past March."
Television

Submission + - Jericho Saved by Nuts

Submitted by nicholasjay
nicholasjay writes: CNN has an article saying that the "Nuts!" trick has worked. CBS has decided to bring back the series, Jericho, for seven more episodes. Even the president of entertainment at CBS issued a letter to Jericho community.

From the article:

"The renewal of "Jericho" also underscores that there is more to TV viewership than what the Nielsen ratings tell us. As more and more people watch their favorite shows when they want thanks to TiVo (TIVO) and other digital video recorders as well as through sites like Apple's (AAPL) iTunes and the networks' own Web sites, looking just at the "live" Nielsen rating may not give networks a true impression of how popular a show is."
Privacy

Submission + - Apple hides account info in DRM-free music, too

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With great power comes great responsibility, and apparently with DRM-free music comes files embedded with identifying information. Such is the situation with Apple's new DRM-free music: songs sold without DRM still have a user's full name and account e-mail embedded in them, which means that dropping that new DRM-free song on your favorite P2P network could come back to bite you. Apple hides account info"
Microsoft

Submission + - Windows Media Center restricts cable TV viewings

Submitted by PrescriptionWarning
PrescriptionWarning writes: With the latest Media Center Edition update from Microsoft, many other users and myself are finding that content available on Television are now completely unwatchable from Media Center, with a message that simply states "Restricted Content: Restrictions set by the broadcaster and/or originator of the content prohibit playback of the program on this computer."

A simple search on the subject reveals that HBO programming and, in my case Braveheart on AMC, are among the many selections now restricted for playback or recording by Windows Media Center Edition. What's next, restricting every piece of programming on television? One thing is for sure, there won't be much left to watch.
Businesses

Submission + - eBay blocking thumbnail images from toolbar users

Submitted by
MoxFulder
MoxFulder writes: "Remember yesterday when a group of Stanford students released an eBay toolbar for Firefox — before the Mozilla-eBay collaboration released its official toolbar? Well, beyond being a major embarassment, that toolbar offers features eBay doesn't want its users to have, namely the ability to view thumbnail images for auctions that haven't paid for them.

Looks like eBay is fighting back, by punishing users of the Stanford toolbar. If you install the Stanford toolbar and log in to an eBay account, you'll suddenly be unable to view the thumbnails whenever you're logged into that account. I installed the Stanford toolbar earlier today, and all the thumbnails disappeared from the "List View" on eBay (try it yourself!). I found that when I logged in from another computer, the thumbnails disappeared again. The only way for me to get the thumbnails back is to log out of my account.

Isn't this a pretty drastic measure for eBay to take? Banning toolbar users from seeing all thumbnails? Might this violate eBay's contractual obligations to those who have actually paid to display thumbnails?"
Security

Submission + - Bush Causes Cell Phone Ban

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: When President George Bush visits Sydney, Australia for the APEC Summit in September, all cell phone calls within the radius of a football field will be banned. The president's motorcade will be shadowed by a helicopter equipped with signal-jamming equipment. Terrorists have used mobile phones to detonate remote-controlled bombs in Iraq and elsewhere in the world.
Music

Submission + - Nine Inch Nails fans subsidize pop music

Submitted by allcoolnameswheretak
allcoolnameswheretak writes: Based on a comment made by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, it seems that UMG counterbalances "having to discount" pop music by charging high prices for records of bands that have a "true fanbase".

Quote from nin.com:

As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind: * The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne's record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US). By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: "It's because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out — you know, true fans. It's the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy." So... I guess as a reward for being a "true fan" you get ripped off.
Portables

Submission + - A "Bill of Lights" to restrict LEDs on com

Submitted by
PetManimal
PetManimal writes: "Mike Elgan has had it with useless lights on gadgets and computers. He singles out the Palm Treo and the Dell XPS gaming laptops as being particularly bad with the use of unnecessary lights, and also cites the plethora of LEDs on desktop PCs and peripherals:

My PC and other computing equipment make my office look like a jet cockpit. I have two LCD monitors, each of which has two indicator lights that flash even when the PC is turned off. The attached sound control has a light on it. My keyboard has multiple lights. The power cord has lights, the printer has lights, and the power button is illuminated. My cable modem and Linksys router flash like crazy all the time. Together, these useless lights create a visual cacophony of blinking, multicolored lights that make me feel like I'm taking part in a NASA stress test for astronaut candidates.
Elgan calls on manufacturers to respect his "Gadget Bill of Lights" to restrict the use of nag lights and allow users to turn them off. He also says the industry should pay more attention to industrial design when creating new products."
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Urban parks vs. global warming

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: UK scientists say a modest increase in the number of urban parks and street trees could offset decades of predicted temperature rises. Specifically, a mere 10% increase in the amount of green space in built-up centers would reduce urban surface temperatures by as much as 4C.
Intel

Submission + - Paul Murphy: "Intel Macs Are Killing the Plane

Submitted by Leeenux
Leeenux writes: According to LinuxInsider's Paul Murphy, Apple's migration from PowerPC to Intel processors resulted in a massive spike in power consumption that has hurt economic diversity of the US and devastated the environment. Even worse, he suggests, it involves scandal on the part of Apple board member Al Gore. RDM disagrees: Paul Murphy's 'Intel Macs Are Killing the Planet' Myth.
Enlightenment

Submission + - The oddest iPod accessory ever

Submitted by
Gary
Gary writes: "Could the iRosary be the oddest iPod accessory ever? The idea is to help young, hip Catholics learn the prayers. It works by using the iPod's famous white earphones cable which comes with a single bead that can be shifted. The change in position of the bead creates a measurable pulse that can be translated to the sound of traditional beads on a string. Users can choose from "Infidel", "Believer" and "Shepherd" settings — playing back the matching MP3s as the bead is moved."

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