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The Courts

Media Server Manufacturer Wins in Court 98

Posted by CowboyNeal
from the gentlemen-start-your-rippers dept.
whoever57 writes "The DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) has lost its bid to shut down Kaleidescope, which manufactures media servers that can copy DVDs (along with decryption keys) to built in hard drives. The DVD CCA claimed that this violated the terms of the contracts that control DVD-related equipment because the DVD need not be physically present for payback. However, the judge ruled against the DVD CCA on the narrow grounds that part of the specification of the Content Scrambling System was not part of the overall license agreement. This may open up the market for similar devices."

Comment: Re:Exit Polls are Inaccurate (Score 1) 555

by Ian Peon (#17665600) Attached to: Who won?
You clearly have not voted on a voting machine or voted on one that has a paper trail. I have. The voting machine allows for MUCH more accurate voting. When has a paper ballot said "Here is your list of choices, please review before pressing the VOTE button"? It doesn't. The UI in these things is EASIER to use than a paper ballot and it works hard to be easy to read. With the paper trail, after the "review" screen, it presents an option to print your vote - which it does on receipt paper behind glass. It is less a review than what is presented on screen. The UI is very clear. It's the back end I don't trust.

Computer Control, by Bug and by Brain 76

Posted by timothy
from the different-domains dept.
electric_mongoose writes "NewScientistTech has a fascinating story about a paralysed man who can control a computer and robot arm using electrodes implanted in his brain. The electrodes measure neural signals generated when he concentrates on trying to move one of his paralysed limbs and software translates these imagined gestures into the movement of an on-screen cursor or a robotic arm. Other researchers have also revealed a way to dramatically boost the efficiency of similar brain implants in monkeys." If you don't have a handy human brain to play with, 9x320 writes points to a report on LiveScience of Wim van Eck's graduation project: a computer game similar to Pac-Man controlled, not by conventional computer code, but by the brain of an insect. From the article:"Instead of computer code, I wanted to have animals controlling the ghosts. To enable this, I built a real maze for the animals to walk around in, with its proportions and layout matching the maze of the computer game. The position of the animals in the maze is detected using colour-tracking via a camera, and linked to the ghosts in the game. This way, the real animals are directly controlling the virtual ghosts."

Making Money Selling Music Without DRM 383

Posted by Zonk
from the actually-owning-your-stuff dept.
phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica's Nate Anderson has an excellent writeup on the rise of eMusic and how they're suceeding despite their unwillingness to hop on the DRM bandwagon. From the article: 'The Holy Grail of online music sales is the ability to offer iPod-compatible tracks. Like the quest for the mythical cup itself, the search for iPod compatibility has been largely fruitless for Apple's competitors, whose DRM schemes are incompatible with the iconic music player. For a music store that wants to succeed, reaching the iPod audience is all but a necessity in the the US market, where Apple products account for 78 percent of the total players sold. Perhaps that's why eMusic CEO David Pakman sounds downright gleeful when he points out that there's only two companies in the world that can sell to them--Apple and eMusic.'"

Best Buy Invaded By Blue Shirt Improv Artists 399

Posted by Zonk
from the actual-wisdom-of-the-crowds dept.
deviantphil writes "About 80 Improv Everywhere agents invaded their local Best Buy store wearing blue shirts and Khakis. Eventually they were asked to leave, but not before capturing some great photos and video." From the article: "Security guards and managers started talking to each other frantically on their walkie-talkies and headsets. 'Thomas Crown Affair! Thomas Crown Affair!,' one employee shouted. They were worried that were using our fake uniforms to stage some type of elaborate heist. 'I want every available employee out on the floor RIGHT NOW!'" Their inspired cellphone symphony from this February is also well worth checking out.

"That boy's about as sharp as a pound of wet liver" -- Foghorn Leghorn