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Encryption

Submission + - aacs la 'builds house' on consumer land

Submitted by
member.09f9
member.09f9 writes: "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 Michael Ayers, the chairman of the AACS LA has drawn the following analogy on the attack on the aacs implementation of drm through the publishing of the aacs processing key: "If the local neighborhood gang is throwing rocks at your house, some people might tell you not to call the police because they will just throw bigger rocks," He concludes that you must call the police to protect yourself. However i think that it is important here to extend the analogy that he uses, when we do we can see that the civil disobedience surrounding the publishing of this number and aacs la's issuing of cease and desist communiques are only part of a bigger picture. The analogy should be extended as follows, that although the house may belong to aacs la the they have built it on land that does not belong to them, it's land that belongs to the consumers (i.e. fair use: backups, format changes (e.g. tx to a hard drive),compatibility with software (Linux) and other hardware) one can argue that the occupation of the land is immoral and probably illegal considering fair use rights. The DMCA is protecting an illegal /immoral occupation. The people "throwing rocks" are the oppressed who have been turned into refugees of their own media. The publication of the processing key achieves two things for the oppressed: 1. It is a protest to the occupation in the form of civil disobedience. 2. It allows one to regain ones fair use rights (by removing the restrictions on the media). To quote and by no means to diminish a greater more profound struggle, the day consumers overthrow DRM is the day on which we can proclaim: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!""
Windows

Submission + - Vista Sales Strong

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It seems Microsoft is not only alive, but has been thriving these last few months. Following Apple's solid earnings yesterday comes above-expectations from Microsoft. Profits jumped 65% from the previous year, and sales of its Windows operating system were strong: (from TFA)

Microsoft said it deferred $1.2 billion in Windows Vista revenue to the third quarter, to account for upgrade coupons given to PC buyers during the holiday season before the consumer launch of the new operating system. Excluding this figure, client revenue totaled $4.1 billion, 30 percent higher than last year.

Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said Vista beat internal forecasts by $300 million to $400 million, and Office 2007 sales were $200 million better than expected.
Microsoft

Submission + - The end is nigh for XP

Submitted by
SlinkySausage
SlinkySausage writes: "Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite strong ongoing demand for the OS. Analysts and computer makers are wondering if the move is premature given Vista's ongoing performance and compatibility issues. Dell recently said it would reintroduce XP on a range of machines due to customer demand but Microsoft will only allow this until the end of the year."
Security

Submission + - Israel tops malicious net activity per capita

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Jerusalem Post has an article boasting that Israel tops the world on a per capita basis in malicious Internet activity, followed by Taiwan, then Poland & USA. From the article:

The sophistication of Israel's Internet users and its developed hi-tech sector have contributed to the high level of malicious Web activity, said Arie Danon, Symantec manager for the Mediterranean region.
Perhaps for websites not expecting an international audience, some of these domains might be good ones to block.
Privacy

Submission + - FBI in Cohoots with Verizon, AT&T, MCI

Submitted by
mrbluze
mrbluze writes: "In the ongoing FBI probe, Wired News confirms that the FBI did enter into contracts with telephone companies to "harvest" telephone records.



"The contract essentially pays for the man hours or the personnel cost for the people who have to do the work," said FBI Assistant Director John Miller in an interview with Wired News last night. "We want dedicated people who handle our requests or do nothing else."


I have read elsewhere that security organizations have deals with operating system and other software manufacturers to provide back-doors to PC's. How widespread is all of this privacy invasion in reality?"
Music

Submission + - RIAA caught in lose-lose legal situation

Submitted by JeffreysTube
JeffreysTube writes: The RIAA's legal fight against a divorced mother has run into trouble, with the judge now telling the RIAA that its only two options are to proceed with a jury trial against Patty Santangelo or dismiss the case with prejudice. If the latter happens, Santangelo officially "wins" and could collect attorneys' fees. The judge is less than pleased with the RIAA, which is now trying to drop the case without giving Santangelo a chance to be declared guilty. "This case is two years old," wrote Judge McMahon. "There has been extensive fact discovery. After taking this discovery, either plaintiffs want to make their case that Mrs. Santangelo is guilty of contributory copyright infringement or they do not."
Utilities (Apple)

The Best Mac OS X Software Tools 213

Posted by kdawson from the steroids dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Mac advocate John C. Welch weighs in with his list of the top 20 Mac OS X products (except Welch manages to list 22). The collection of software tools ranges from the obvious, such as Boot Camp, to the obscure but perhaps more useful — little-known apps like Peter Borg's Lingon, for creating launchd configuration files. What's on your personal list of indispensable Mac productivity aids and programming tools? Also, do you think Welch gives too much air time to built-in OS X tools at the expense of third-party products such as NetworkLocation?"
Businesses

Why Consumer Macs Are Enterprise-Worthy 449

Posted by kdawson from the toys-no-longer dept.
cyberkahn tips us to an article in Computerworld that makes the case for Apple's consumer machines moving into corporations. (The article dismisses Linux desktops in the enterprise in a single bullet item.) With the press that Vista has been getting, is Apple moving into a perfect storm? Quoting: "There is no comparison between Apple's 'consumer' machines and the consumer lines of its competitors. All of Apple's machines are ready to move into the enterprise, depending on the job at hand. The company's simple and elegant product line, which is also highly customizable, will be Apple's entree to the business market — if IT decision-makers can get over their prejudice against equipment that's traditionally been aimed at consumers."
Security

Submission + - Tractor Beam to Prevent Aircraft Missile Attack

Submitted by mattnyc99
mattnyc99 writes: In the race against aircraft terrorism, Boeing's remote control system reported yesterday won't be the only solution. But Northrop Grumman has finally begun testing its laser-powered Guardian defense system in the fight against missiles targeting commercial jets, with nine FedEx cargo jets now carrying the infrared laser deflection system aboard their fuselages. The false heat signature operation is not that unlike Boeing's own airborne laser turret, but the Pentagon's new Global Strike system makes it clear that the U.S. may even have more of an upper hand on offense than defense when it comes to missile technology.
Data Storage

Samsung Ships Hybrid Hard Drives 118

Posted by kdawson from the not-for-you-yet-binky dept.
writertype writes "ExtremeTech reports that Samsung has become the first company to begin shipping hybrid hard drives as discussed last fall on Slashdot. (Some photos here.) Unfortunately, there's no word yet (beyond 'soon') on when retail shipments will begin, or when (or if) 3.5-inch models will be available. Note that these hybrid drives are different than the ReadyBoost USB flash drives optimized for Vista; hybrid drives contain a smaller amount of flash, and work as a write cache for your notebook drive, extending battery life."
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - RFID tags for Apple Wi-Fi devices

Submitted by
Staska
Staska writes: "Apple has an idea of how to make Wi-Fi network setup even more simple — use RFID tags. RFID transceiver goes into a base station (e.g. Airport extreme), tags are slapped onto the network devices. All network settings and security keys are stored on the base station. Then you just bring your Macbook within a feet of Airport Extreme and all the data is downloaded to the read/write RFID tag. You turn on the laptop and its already configured for Wi-Fi network. This even makes possible to securely connect "dumb devices" to Wi-Fi network, e.g. they can now make Wi-Fi enabled Apple remote to control iTunes from anywhere in the home: http://www.unwiredview.com/2007/03/08/rfid-tags-fo r-apple-devices-wi-fi-enabled-apple-remote-ipod-an d-other-peripherals/"
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Per Apple - Get all your iPod drivers from Dell!

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: This may or may not be of interest to you. I hope that it may bring to light that Apple needs to improve training in it's tech support centers. If you look at the linked article, you will see several very outlandish and ridiculous things that were suggested to me by Apple support to get my iPod working with Windows Vista. Mind you, I already knew it wasn't supported, was just calling to see if they had an ETA on formal Vista support.

Key points were that Apple doesn't support iPods for Windows and that I was told four times to go to Dell, that only Dell (my laptop manufacturer) could supply proper drivers for my iPods.

Sheer balls. See the entire article for the full chat log transcript.

http://lastaddress.blogspot.com/2007/03/wtf-apple- no-longer-supports-windows.html
Handhelds

Submission + - Moto Xing

Submitted by MaNiShG
MaNiShG writes: This is the latest offering from Motorola in its cell phones. A poor mans option for a handheld, with all functionality. This functionality is so buggered that except for a few basic functions and due to the absence of a qwerty keyboard, well its near impossible to send even sms without a massive headache. Extremelly useless phone except for its show value.

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