Comment John Scalzi on why it won't work (Score 1) 370
John Scalzi wrote a hilarious exchange on his blog the sums up perfectly why this idea is made of fail:
There's much more, but I didn't want to jack his entire post.Sony BMG spokesperson: We're pleased to announce we are the final major music corporation to release electronic tracks without that pesky DRM! All you have to do is leave your house, go to a selected retail outlet, buy a special card there, go back to your house, scratch off the back of the card to find a code, go to our special MusicPass Web site, enter said code, and download one the 37 titles we have available, from Celine Dion to the Backstreet Boys!
Kid #1: Or, in the time it takes me to jump through all those hoops, I could just download all 37 of those albums off of Pirate Bay.
Kid #2: Or, I could just scratch off the back at the store, record the pin number, go home and download the album through a Tor connection, so you can't trace my IP number.
Kid #1: Also, what's with this first slate of artists? Celine Dion? Backstreet Boys? Kenny Chesney? Barry Manilow? Are you high?
Comment Re:DMCA (Score 1) 332
Yes......yes they did.
Submission + - Wal-Mart's $200 Linux PC Sells Out (ecogeek.org)
hankmt writes: "About a week ago Wal-Mart began selling a $200 linux machine running on a 1.5 ghz Via C7 processor and 512 megs of RAM. While the specs are useless for vista, it works blazingly fast on Ubuntu with the Enlightenment Window Manager. The machine is now officially sold out of their online warehouses, and the product sales page at WalMart.com is full of glowing reviews from new and old linux users alike."
Comment Re:Power off command (Score 1) 324
That reminds me many years ago, when my friend worked as a programmer in a major bank writing small programs for an online international financial system. He issued an 'shutdown' command through JCL(Job Control Language) and that really shutdown the entire system. He didn't realize he had the privilege to issue administration commands.
[rant] I'm forced to wonder, did the sysadmin who granted a programmer (one responsible for "small programs," natch) administrative priveledge get fired? How about the manager that signed off on it (assuming a proper change control system)? How about the executive that probably wrote off the proper change control system as "unnecessary overhead"? [/rant]
Journal Journal: Announcing the release of my new book 22
This feels like a mega-spam entry, and I'm very self conscious about posting it, but I'm excited about this and I wanted to share . .
Submission + - The Google Phone is a Reality.
MrCrassic writes: "It appears that Google is initiating talks with well-known PDA/smartphone manufacturer HTC to make the Google phone a reality. With impressive tech specs and an already impressive concept underway , could Google be the next company to make a mark in the wireless device industry?
From the main article:
However, a recent report by CrunchGear states that its own sources at mobile handset provider HTC have tipped the site off to multiple gPhone handsets being prepped for launch in the first quarter of 2008 and that the handsets will be coming out of Taiwan. There will supposedly be over 20 different handsets to choose from — some with GPS — and they will carry special versions of Google Maps, Google Calendar, Gmail, and VoIP-enabled Google Talk.
Speaking of software, Google is rumored to be developing its own operating system for the gPhone. According to reports by Engadget, the OS has been in development since 2005 after Google's acquisition of a mobile software company called Android. The Android team has since developed a Linux-based mobile OS while at Google — a detail that is corroborated by the CrunchGear report — which of course comes with tight Google integration. Both sites appear to agree that their sources indicate Google isn't currently looking to develop the hardware... for now.
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Simon Pegg to Play Scotty 233
In response to yesterday's casting news about Chris Pine possibly taking the captain's chair for the new Star Trek movie, apparently Simon Pegg will be playing the role of Scotty. Simon Pegg is known for his role as Shaun in Shaun of the Dead and more recently for his leading role in Hot Fuzz. "Pegg joins Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, John Cho as Sulu and Zachary Quinto as Spock in the film which reportedly, and logically, 'chronicles the early days of the Enterprise crew.' Leonard Nimoy will also put in an appearance, while Eric Bana signed up this week as the movie's villain, Nero."
Journal Journal: Confronting pseudoscience in advertising
The Scientist reports that UK group Sense About Science is confronting advertisers about pseudoscientific claims in health products such as "Aerobic Oxygen," "Salt Lamps," and "Activ8." They called the advertisers' customer service numbers and grilled the unfortunates on the other end of the phone about their misuse of scientific language to sell products. The project,
Journal Journal: new article on camshaft advance vs mpg
just finished doing what should have been a simple experiment, figuring out what the best position to set your camshaft to get the best mileage possible.
article is not that exciting since anyone that cares about mileage has probably already figured out advancing the cam slightly will give better bottom end power and better mileage. But, it is still interesting to get some halfway decent numbers.
Submission + - Stained Glass Case Mod
inetsee writes: "Have way too much time on your hands? How about building yourself a
stained glass case for your computer. No construction details, just three
photos of a beautiful way to wrap your computer."
Submission + - Amanda Marcotte resigns from Edwards Campaign
duckintheface writes: Super-blogger Amanda Marcotte (of Pandagon.net fame) resigned today from her position with the John Edwards for President campaign under pressure from right-wing groups who objected to her personal views. http://www.pandagon.net/ Marcotte submitted her resignation because she felt that "every time I coughed, I was risking the Edwards campaign". Marcotte is famous for her biting feminist wit and insight into the way the religious right slams free speech. The line that brought her down? In a discussion of Catholic teachings on birth control, she asked rhetorically, "What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit?"
Journal Journal: Larval Stage 1
They used to say you were a geek in "larval stage" if you pulled more than one all nighter in a row. It was a sign that you were gestating some major hackage. I've noted that "larval stage" symptoms have recurred at different times in my life. Each time I learn a new programming language I kind of geek-out for a while, up late, up early, forget to eat, forget about a lot of things while I hyper focus on learning the new technology in front of me. I'm coming out of the longest "larval stage" I've
Journal Journal: MvixUSA, Unicorn Bends to Pressure, Releases GPL Source Code
After being pressured by their user base, MvixUSA, the distributor of the Mvix MX-760HD Wireless Media Center, has obtained the source code to the firmware from the Korean manufacturer, Unicorn Network Total Solution, and made it available for download on their website. The firmware is based on the uClinux kernel. This is reminiscent of the fight that the community had to go through with GamePark Holdings, Inc. to have them
Submission + - US bill to prohibit patenting genetics
An anonymous reader writes: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d110:3:./t emp/~bd3poG::
