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Music

Submission + - Apple cracks down on the Hymn Project (hymn-project.org) 2

An anonymous reader writes: Ever since the initial launch of the iTunes Music Store, an intrepid group of programmers over at the Hymn Project have engaged in a marvelous cat-and-mouse game with Apple. Now they're finally being hobbled by Apple's lawyers.

The purpose of the project has always been to provide software that can be used to losslessly remove Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection from music purchased through iTunes, so that the buyer may exercise their right of fair use and play the music on non-Apple devices (Hear Your Music aNywhere).

The software has gone through many incarnations. The original hymn has been succeeded by JHymn, QTFairUse6, MyFairTunes, and others. Regardless of the program, the emphasis has always been squarely on fair use — not piracy. Any discussions of piracy have been strongly and actively discouraged on the site's forums.

For years now, Apple has been content to mostly ignore the Hymn Project. At worst, they would introduce subtle changes to new versions of iTunes that would break the Hymn software. Nobody really knows if this was done intentionally, but it was usually just a matter of time before a new solution was found. This seemed like a reasonable approach for Apple to take. After all, why should they care? The DRM was only in place to placate the record companies. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has even expressed his opinion that all music should be free of DRM.

Well, now things have changed. Recently, a new program called Requiem was announced that appears to be a complete crack of the iTunes DRM scheme. Previous programs had relied on various forms of trickery or memory hooks to access the unencrypted audio data — none had ever completely cracked the encryption algorithms.

Requiem seems to have been the last straw. Earlier this week, the ISP hosting the site received a Cease and Desist order from Apple Legal, demanding that all downloads be removed from the site, and that the site post no links to any programs that could remove DRM from Apple music or video. Reportedly, similar C & D orders were also sent to at least one of the project's developers, and to another ISP where Reqiuem had been hosted. Ironically, Requiem was never actually hosted on the Hymn site — merely mentioned and linked to in one of the forums. Nevertheless, the Hymn Project has now come into the crosshairs of Apple's lawyers and, lacking legal resources, has seen no choice but to comply with the order.

Medicine

Submission + - Researchers Develop Self-Cleaning Clothes

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "Researchers at Monash University, in Australia, have found a process to coat natural fibers such as wool, silk, and hemp that will automatically remove food, grime, and even red-wine stains by coating their fibers with titanium dioxide nanocrystals, which break down food and dirt in sunlight. Titanium dioxide is a strong photocatalyst and in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapor, it forms hydroxyl radicals, which oxidize, or decompose, organic matter. "These nanocrystals cannot decompose wool and are harmless to skin," says organic chemist and nanomaterials researcher Walid Daoud. Titanium dioxide can also destroy pathogens such as bacteria in the presence of sunlight by breaking down the cell walls of the microorganisms making self-cleaning fabrics especially useful in hospitals and other medical settings. "Self-cleaning property will become a standard feature of future textiles and other commonly used materials to maintain hygiene and prevent the spreading of pathogenic infection, particularly since pathogenic microorganisms can survive on textile surfaces for up to three months.""
The Courts

Submission + - Encrypted Laptop Poses Legal Dilemma 1

Reservoir Hill writes: "When Sebastien Boucher stopped at the U.S.-Canadian border, agents who inspected his laptop said they found files containing child pornography but when they tried to examine the images after his arrest, they were stymied by PGP's password-protected encryption program. The government wants Boucher to give up the password, but doing so could violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by revealing the contents of the files. "This has been the case we've all been expecting," says Michael Froomkin, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law. "As encryption grows, it was inevitable there'd be a case where the government wants someone's keys." A grand jury subpoena to force Boucher to reveal the password was quashed by federal Magistrate Jerome Niedermeier. The government has appealed the ruling and law professor Orin Kerr says the distinction that favors the government in Boucher's case is that he initially cooperated and let the agent look at some of the laptop's contents. "The government can't make you give up your encryption password in most cases. But if you tell them you have a password and that it unlocks that computer, then at that point you no longer have the privilege," says Kerr."
The Internet

Submission + - SPAM: US download quotas - the shape of things to come

WirePosted writes: "IT news sites in the US have been running hot over the past few days with reports that Time Warner Cable is about to trial usage-based billing for its broadband services, including monthly download caps that could be "only 5Gbps per month." These developments are just the harbinger of bigger changes to come."
Link to Original Source
Books

Submission + - SPAM: Online cartoonist breaks publishing record?

destinyland writes: "The first collection of "Perry Bible Fellowship" comics racked up pre-sales of $300,000 due to its huge online following, and within seven weeks required a third printing. Ironically, the 25-year-old cartoonist speculates people would rather read his arty comics in a book than on a computer screen, and warns that "There's something wonderful, and soon-to-be mythic, about the printed page..." He also explains the strange anti-censorship crusade in high school that earned him an FBI record!"
Link to Original Source
Television

Submission + - HD-DVD or Blu-Ray: which is more F/OSS friendly?

filbranden writes: I'm no expert on the formats for hi-def DVDs, and I have no opinion on which is better. But I wonder which of them is more open and friendlier to F/OSS. That means, which of them has less DRM, which is less patent-encumbered, are there open source software players for any of them? HD-DVD? Blu-Ray? Both? None of them?
Music

Submission + - Nine Inch Nails post result of "Free or Pay

Rovent writes: Back on November 1st, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails convinced Saul Williams to release his latest album, "The Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust", for free or $5, you decide. After a two month run, Trent posted the results of this experiment on the Nine Inch Nails homepage. On it, he breaks down how many people downloaded the album, who came back and paid for it, and his insight on the whole affair.
Government

Submission + - Social Security may not be broke. (blogspot.com)

boomka writes: I am sure you have all heard the story before: Social Security is so unprepared to deal with its future liabilities that it is completely broke for all practical purposes. Well, one person decided to sit down and actually do the numbers on his own, and documented the calculations in his blog. His conclusion? Social Security is not broke. The blog makes for a fun read for the number crunchers among us.
Security

Submission + - Navy Wants Dolphins to Patrol Nuclear Sub Base

NewsCloud writes: "Many Seattle residents don't realize they live across the water from a major nuclear submarine base, one which the Navy hopes to begin patrolling with sea lions and dolphins (like the ones that escaped after Hurricane Katrina). Aside from ethical concerns, Puget Sound is home to the endangered killer whale (technically a dolphin but apparently not interested in mercenary work) and its waters are often too cold (40F) for the softer warm water military dolphins. Ironically, we might end up with sea lions defending our country inside Puget Sound, while being shot with rubber bullets nearby to protect endangered salmon runs. Meanwhile, California has reinitiated lawsuits against the Navy for continued use of sonar suspected of harming wild mammals."
Microsoft

Submission + - Remotely attack Windows thru your cursor?

millerjl writes: Welcome to the brave new world where animated cursors can execute remote code in windows. Microsoft released Security Advisory 935423 today announcing the issue. Oh, there is no patch at this time. Microsoft's official recommendation at this time: "Do not visit untrusted websites or view unsolicited email". And yes, Vista along with all the rest are vulnerable according to this SecurityFocus article.
Education

Submission + - Mexico displays giant electronic teaching sceens

An anonymous reader writes: It what is believed to be the most ambitious project of its kind in the world. In a program called Enciclomedia, giant electronic screens have been attached to the walls of about 165,000 Mexican classrooms. Some five million 10 & 11 year-olds now receive all their education through these screens. From maths to music, from geography to geometry, black and white boards have given way to electronic screens. During a biology lesson we watch as pupil after pupil comes to the screen to piece together the human body... electronically. One boy taps his finger on the screen and brings up the human heart. He then slides his finger across the screen, taking the heart with him and places it where he thinks it belongs on the body located on the other side of the screen.
Media

Submission + - Popular HD DVD Disc Hits a Snag

An anonymous reader writes: Following weeks of headlines touting strong sales for Blu-ray discs, rival next-gen format HD DVD looked like it had its own success story in the making with this week's HD DVD release of the cult hit 'Children of Men.' The disc recieved a stellar review at High-Def Digest, and went on to out-sell the most popular Blu-ray discs on Amazon. But now comes word of apparent incompatibility issues with the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, with some (but not all) consumers reporting that even multiple returns of the disc are unplayable on the format's leading playback device.
Spam

Submission + - Massive Yahoo Groups Glitch Bombards Inboxes

Talaria writes: "What appears to be a massive internal glitch in the Yahoo Groups system has caused users' inboxes to be overloaded, and left Yahoo Groups owners and moderators dealing with complaints and dozens of copies of every administrative request. According to reports, Yahoo users' inboxes have been filled beyond storage capacity, with no relief in sight. No word yet from Yahoo on the cause of the problem or when it will be fixed. Ironically, Yahoo just announced that starting in May, all users will have unlimited storage capacity for email."

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Thus spake the master programmer: "After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless." -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

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