Comment Re:Hey, why not just steal GPL code? (Score 4, Insightful) 273
Because sometimes (read: very often) the DRM will prevent the end-user from exercising rights he would have under standard Fair Use doctrines.
Comment Re:A DRM ban clause should be added as a constitut (Score 1) 1127
Online license checking, obviously. Photoshop is the most widely-pirated software, and Adobe doesn't like that. If you don't want your image editor phoning home, use GIMP.
Comment Re:Why not pimp out a C5 cargo plane? (Score 1) 640
Well, hey, if we're going for refurbed military hardware, why not go for the SR-71? The two-seat trainer version, of course. For when you absolutely, positively need to get from DC to LA in under 70 minutes, accept no substitutes.
At least, that's what I'd want if I was President, but that's also probably why I'd never get elected.
Comment Re:Task Bar?! (Score 2, Informative) 898
Win7 is supposedly designed to run on netbooks (I'm guessing that the current trend of netbooks that can only run either Linux or some eight-year-old version of Windows that Microsoft desperately wants to kill off kind of scared them a little) so system requirements should be lower than for Vista, which is a bit of a relief.
Comment Re:Old & reliable equipment (Score 1) 709
the problem apparently is that nobody makes the ancient lever voting machines anymore, and New York is running out of spares for when they break.
I think I'd prefer a Scantron-type system to the all-electronic ones they're planning to replace them with, but they do need to be replaced one way or another.
New MacBook Case Leak Rumors 243
Someone noted that there are more macbook case leaks which look to all but confirm a new MacBook and possibly a MacBook Pro expected to be announced for later this week. There seem to be fewer ports, and no leaks of a 17" aircraft carrier laptop.
LHC Shut Down By Transformer Malfunction 293
Ortega-Starfire writes "A 30-ton transformer in the Large Hadron Collider malfunctioned, requiring complete replacement on the day the LHC came online. No one at CERN reported any problems, and they only released this data once the Associated Press sent people to investigate rumors of problems. I guess it's hard to just sweep a 30-ton transformer breaking under the rug."
Submission + - Hydraulic Hybrids More Efficient than Electric (designnews.com)
gormanw writes: "Is there better hybrid technology than the trusty Prius? Do more efficient hybrids exist? Yes! Hydraulic hybrid systems are more efficient than electric hybrids. UPS and Ford are running pilots, today! This article spells out the details, pluses, minuses, the works."
Submission + - Barack Obama responds to FISA debate (barackobama.com)
The Warlock writes: After the "Get FISA Right" group became the largest group on the Obama campaign's social networking site, Barack Obama wrote up a response to the criticism over his guarded support of the new FISA amendments that, among other things, provide immunity to the telecom companies. The response is here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/rospars/gGxsZF/commentary
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/rospars/gGxsZF/commentary
Submission + - Wii Homebrew Cracks Latest Update
Dr. Eggman writes: Ars Technica brings us news on the Wii homebrew front. As you may recall, recently firmware version 3.3 was released and countered the popular Twilight Hack. The update would check for corrupted save files and delete them, eliminating the ability to use the file for launching homebrew apps. However, already new holes have been found which allow the user to mask the altered save file as a normal file and continue use of the homebrew apps as usual.
Gaping Holes In Fully Patched IE7, Firefox 2 303
Continent1106 writes "Hacker Michal Zalewski has ratcheted up his ongoing assault on Web browser security models, releasing details on serious flaws in fully patched versions of IE6, IE7 and Firefox 2.0. The vulnerabilities could cause cookie stealing, page hijacking, memory corruption, code execution, and URL bar spoofing attacks." Here is Zalewski's post to Full Disclosure.
Own Your Own 128-Bit Integer 477
Byte Swapper writes "After all the fuss over the AACS trying to censor a certain 128-bit number that now has something over two million hits on Google, the folks at Freedom to Tinker would like to point out that you too can own your own integer. They've set up a script that will generate a random number, encrypt a copyrighted haiku with it, and then deed the number back to you. You won't get a copyright on the number or the haiku, but your number has become an illegal circumvention device under the DMCA, such that anyone subject to US law caught distributing it can be punished under the DMCA's anti-trafficking section, for which the DMCA's Safe Harbor provisions do not apply. So F9090211749D5BE341D8C5565663C088 is truly mine now, and you can pry it out of my cold, dead fingers!"
Do We Really Need a Security Industry? 297
netbuzz noted that Bruce Schneir's latest column
discusses the security industry where he points out that "The primary reason the IT security industry exists is because IT products and services aren't naturally secure. If computers were already secure against viruses, there wouldn't be any need for antivirus products. If bad network traffic couldn't be used to attack computers, no one would bother buying a firewall. If there were no more buffer overflows, no one would have to buy products to protect against their effects. If the IT products we purchased were secure out of the box, we wouldn't have to spend billions every year making them secure."
PC World Editor Resigns When Ordered Not to Criticize Advertisers 327
bricko noted a story of our modern journalism world gone so wrong it makes me sad. "Editor-in-Chief Harry McCracken quit abruptly today because the company's new CEO, Colin Crawford, tried to kill a story about Apple and Steve Jobs." The link discusses that the CEO was the former head of MacWorld and would get calls from Jobs. Apparently he also told the staff that product reviews had to be nicer to vendors who advertise in the magazine. The sad thing is that given the economics of publishing in this day and age, I doubt anything even comes of this even tho it essentially confirms that PC World reviews should be thought of as no more than press releases. I know that's how I will consider links from them in the future. But congratulations to anyone willing to stick to their guns on such matters.
Bridging the Gap Between Hackers and Academics 50
Tal Garfinkel writes "There has long been a disconnect between academic computer security and underground forums like Black Hat and Phrack. A new USENIX-sponsored workshop called WOOT (Workshop On Offensive Technologies) is looking to bridge that gap by providing a high-quality, peer-reviewed forum for attack papers, with top reviewers from the academic, open source, commercial IT, and information warfare communities. Got a great attack paper? See if it makes the cut at WOOT."
