Owner: Firestarter URL:http://iapetus.dyndns.org/ Join Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2007 08:11:00 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A little of everything, from politics to technology. Site statistics:Click here
Teen Resists RIAA 2007-02-01 14:30:58 16-year old Robert Santangelo has been charged with music piracy by the RIAA. Now most of us have heard of people being sued by the music industry so much now that this seems like old news, but the difference is, this time the accused is fighting back. Santangelo has counter-sued the RIAA, accusing them of violating antitrust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats. Once again, something we all knew they were doing, especially after they decided it was a good idea to try bullying a witness into perjury.
The various record companies now stand accused of being “a cartel acting collusively in violation of the antitrust laws and public policy” and of making “extortionate threats … to force defendants to pay.” The RIAA is, predictably, still claiming that piracy has caused the industry to suffer enormously. Once again, I ask what would happen to sales if the albums were reasonably priced and had more than one or two good song
Schneier on Security 2007-01-24 17:33:21 Good to see that we’re not all crazy. One of the best names in computer security weighs in on full disclosure and agrees it’s the best way to go.
Vista Digital Restrictions Management Defended 2007-01-23 11:31:58 Windows Vista
Content Protection - Twenty Questions (and Answers)
It seems that some attention has been attracted by recent criticism of Vista’s DRM. It’s good to see that someone at Microsoft was willing (allowed?) to say something that isn’t completely positive about Vista. It’s especially good to hear that the content protection mechanisms aren’t designed to degrade all output, although I do have concerns about what would happen if multiple instances of a program were running, one instance displaying free hi-def content and another instance displaying restricted hi-def content.
I’m still fairly skeptical about the HFS requirements, I don’t think the major IHVs will release their documentation. They’ve refused to release anything other than binary blobs until now, I can’t see them suddenly changing their established practices.
Also concerning is the way S/PDIF and Component (Y’PbPr) video are handled. Content providers g Read more:Digital
, Management
, Restrictions
Censoring Opinion 2007-01-22 21:46:00 In Canada, opinion and free speech are typically not subject to censorship unless the cross the line of hate speech, promoting illegal activities, or being indecent. Apparently that now includes ads about renewable fuels. Two videos behind that link were rejected by the Television Bureau of Canada (TVB) for being “Issue and Opinion” because, according to the TVB, “the subject of renewable fuels being a hot topic these days makes it an opinion expressed.”
Of course, it doesn’t stop there. One ad features a quick clip of Prime Minister Harper. So what does the TVB say about that?
We also need an attestation letter from the advertiser stating that they have obtained the rights to Premier [sic] Harper’s footage from the station and his consent for his presence in the commercial.
Good to know he’s only a Premier, although that leaves me wondering who the real Prime Minister is.
Of course, the Executive Director of the Conservative Party hasnR
Stopping Cancer Not Profitable 2007-01-20 14:15:16 Small molecule offers hope for cancer treatment - CTV News
Do you know someone affected by cancer? Or maybe you yourself? Wish there was a "miracle drug" to make it go away? Such a drug would be prohibitively expensive, right?
Actually no, it’s quite cheap, and widely available in chemistry stores. The compound is called dichloroacetate, or DCA, and it works by repairing the mitochondria in cancer cells. Mitochondria regulate cell death, so cancer cells with damaged mitochondria are able to resist being killed off and don’t die as easily. And it’s been used in humans for years already, treating various mitochondrial diseases in both young and old people.
So what’s the catch? Pharmaceutical companies aren’t interested in funding further studies, because the drug isn’t patented, and it’s very inexpensive to administer. In short, the pharmaceutical companies want nothing to do with a quick fix for cancer because they can’t Read more:Cancer
, Profitable
Equalization? 2007-01-19 20:29:07 So the Conservative government seems to have shot themselves in the foot here. Combine that with a case of foot-in-mouth disease and you have some interesting calculations for equalization payments to the provinces. As we all recall from page 22 of the Conservative Election Platform*, the Conservatives promised:
Work to achieve with the provinces permanent changes to the equalization formula which would ensure that non-renewable natural resource revenue is removed from the equalization formula to encourage economic growth. We will ensure that no province is adversely affected from changes to the equalization formula.(emphasis mine)
Two interesting points there. First, Harper promised us that non-renewable natural resources (oil anyone?) wouldn’t be counted in equalization. However, it seems that half is closer to nothing than "nothing".
So what does this mean for the provinces? Well, Saskatchewan et. al. get much less than they would have, with Saskatchewan pocket
IE Phishing Filter to Cause Problems 2007-01-18 16:16:44 One of the most touted features of IE 7, the phishing filter, is poised to cause big problems for small businesses. The problem stems from the browser’s toolbar colouring system, which is red for phishing sites and other nasty places you shouldn’t go, white for normal sites and standard SSL-protected sites, yellow for suspected phishing or nasty sites, and green for verified businesses. Of course, not just any SSL certificate will do here. Only the latest and most expensive certificates will turn IE’s address bar green. The privilege will cost you US$1299 for one year, or US$2495 for two years. After January 31, 2007, the same certificate will cost you US$1499 or US$2695, respectively. Oh, and if the price wasn’t enough to turn away most “mom and pop” shops, this sure will: only big businesses qualify for these enhanced certificates. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, and similar models are stuck with a white address bar.
The problem comes fr Read more:Cause
, Filter
100 Million IE7 Downloads Misleading 2007-01-18 14:09:45 Microsoft has reported that they’ve had over 100 million downloads of the new Internet Explorer 7 browser. WebSideStory, the company Microsoft uses for measuring browser usage, is reporting that just over 25% of people are using IE7, second only to IE6. While I don’t doubt the numbers, I have serious doubts over what these numbers say. Just because 100 million downloads have been registered, are there really 100 million people using IE7? How many of these downloads (and how many subsequent users) of IE7 were forced on the users through Windows Update? How many were voluntary? How many of these downloads are only being used for testing website compatibility?
Firefox usage (note: not downloads, usage) is at approximately 14%[ref] and still slowly climbing. To me, that says a lot more than Firefox having whatever number of downloads. It tells me that the stories of people asking friends to “fix the internet” after seeing what IE7 looks like (and my personal Read more:Downloads
, Misleading
It's all about hearts and minds 2007-01-17 20:07:22 The Torch
Windsor Star Blogs
It’s the kind of thing that reminds
you of what we’re really there for. We’re not there to kill people, destroy a country, or throw a party, we’re there to help these people. Now we can just hope these men and women accomplish their tasks and return home safely.
Windows Vista NSA Edition 2007-01-16 03:48:14 For WindowsVista
Security, Microsoft Called in Pros
Microsoft has called in the big guns for Vista, enlisting the aid of the NSA for Vista security testing. This has some people understandably concerned about backdoors being built into Vista, since the NSA has long held interest in having a backdoor to encrypted data. Of course, other people don’t think a backdoor is necessary. Of course, with its current security track record, Windows doesn’t need a backdoor built in, there’s very likely a bunch of side doors just waiting to be found.
But seriously, why would the NSA want a backdoor to Vista? And how would they process data from the millions of computers eventually to be running Vista? Well, why did they want to wiretap all those phones, and how did they process all that data? Would they spy on individual Americans? I imagine it would be similar to the phone tapping.
Here’s my challenge to Microsoft: prove me wrong. Just once, prove me wrong by provin Read more:Windows Vista
, Edition
Baby Sent Through X-ray Machine 2007-01-16 02:23:12 Baby is sent through X-ray machine at LAX
Umm…whoops?
A Spanish-speaking grandmother who doesn’t understand English puts her grandson through a X-ray machine at Los Angeles International Airport last last month. Apparently the woman didn’t seem to have a problem with the child disappearing into the machine, nor did she think it was necessary to have the child examined for any issues caused by the radiation inside the machine. Doctors estimate that in the several seconds inside the machine, the child got a dosage equivalent to a full day of normal cosmic ray exposure, thankfully not enough to harm the child.
You have to wonder, if a baby can get that far into the machine, are the screeners really being effective at watching what goes in the machine? Of course, one also must wonder how it is that someone can sneak on a plane to take a nap with how secure we’re told airlines are now. Read more:Machine
Bush: Iraqis should be thanking America 2007-01-15 22:25:45 BUSH: “Iraqi People Owe America
ns Huge Debt Of Gratitude”
So when someone beats you until you can’t take anymore, kicks you a few more times, offers you a band-aid, and punches you a few more times, you should thank them for the band-aid? Read more:Iraqis
Canadians Don't Have Enough Breaks 2007-01-15 21:30:29 I have to say I agree with the Greens claim that Canadians
don’t have enough vacation. As a university student who’s done a professional experience internship (basically take between 8-16 months of paid full-time employment as part of school) I can say that good vacation is necessary for being productive. After working myself too hard during the first few years of school (two and a half years, always taking classes and working, including summers) and seeing grades suffer, it took a year of a professional experience internship in a relaxed work environment before I felt I could even attempt classes again.
It’s also interesting that countries with higher vacation allotments seem to perform better. For a society bent on increasing profits and productivity, why haven’t we implemented what seems to work in every other country more productive than us? According to BonkWorld, France works 46 weeks out of the year (if you count Bastille Day, Lundi de Pentecote, and Read more:Enough
New Canadian Copyright Law? 2007-01-14 04:27:51 Heard about the new copyright law currently poised to be enacted as early as next month?[1] If not, don’t worry, that’s probably how the government would like to keep it. It’s easier that way you see, they don’t have to worry about pesky things like facts and informed people demanding changes that might upset major content distributors. It appears that the new legislation is essentially ready, but “Heritage Minister Bev Oda and [Industry Minister Maxime] Bernier are struggling on final wording that gives each the maximum political brownie points.”[2] Unfortunately for any credibility Oda may hope to have in this, her original election campaign was funded by a rather interesting group of people that Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, was kind enough to post for us all:
copyright lobby groups - CRIA, CFTA, CMPDA, CMMRA, Director’s Guild, Entertainment Software Association, SOCAN, Read more:Canadian
Military Procurement 2007-01-10 21:10:50 Kudos to Phil Primeau for noticing some issues with military procurement in the past and the disturbingly anti-Conservative implications in the original Globe & Mail article.
The so-called “traditional” method for purchasing involved putting out a tender and selecting the best value (read: lowest bidder) for the job required. This has its share of problems though, mostly in the form of hidden costs that, in my not-so-humble opinion, actually cost Canadians more than if a single vendor was selected without a tender process. This has Alan Williams, the retired assistant deputy minister for procurement, quite concerned that Canadians could end up spending “hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs in coming military purchases, with no guarantee of obtaining the best product”[2].
I agree we won’t be guaranteed the best product, but we won’t be guaranteed a product useless until hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on it after procur Read more:Military
Pirates Cause Drop in Music Sales 2007-01-08 09:37:54 Article: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/01/05/music-sales-nielsen.html?ref=rss
Actually it’s more like digital downloads (iTunes and similar services) boosted American music sales for 2006. By just over 19% according to the CBC, to approximately 1.2 billion units. But from all the hype about not stealing music and how desperately we need DRM entrenched in our content delivery and usage systems, you’d think pirating was actually getting worse. I’m not entirely sure, but I’d think that if music sales are going up thanks to downloading, I’d be encouraging the use of these systems. Maybe there’s also more than a little truth to the idea of people downloading something to see if they lke it and then buying it if they want it. Read more:Sales
, Music
, Cause
, Pirates
First World War veterans don't want state funeral 2007-01-06 00:54:27 From CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/02/veteran-funeral.html
In what I can only hope is a move made under the idea of “better late than never”, the last World
War I veteran to die has been offered a state funeral. Problem is, there’s three World War I veterans still living, and none of them want a state funeral. One such veteran, Lloyd Clemett, has nailed the problem exactly:
“He himself feels there should not be attention given to the last person, but the attention should be given to them all,”
Good for them for refusing a state funeral for now. Now I think a state funeral is more than well deserved by these men, but at the very least the offer needs to be extended to all three veterans. As well, there needs to be some way of educating young people about the sacrifices made by the men and women involved in the Great War. Soon we won’t have these gentlemen, and even people my age rarely understand just how much these people were Read more:First
, First World
Vista Content Protection: World's Longest Suicide Note 2007-01-03 16:10:22 Summary
If you’re one of the people thinking of downgrading to Windows Vista
(yes, I said downgrading, and yes that means going to a version worse than the current version) you may want to think a little more, read this, and then think a little more. My opinion: if you buy Windows Vista, you’re an idiot. Ignoring the massive hardware upgrades needed, the DRM in Vista should be enough to make anyone who can turn on a computer take a step back and think for a moment. Of course, the cost of the new hardware should make everyone else step back and think.
What is DRM
What is DRM you ask? It’s a technology that allows the movie industry (RIAA), movie industry (MPAA), Apple Computer (most notably through the iTunes Music Store), and others to set limitations on what you can do with media you’ve legally purchased [Note A]. So what does DRM really mean for the consumer? Rising prices, extra hardware, and generally being treated like criminals for doing the Right Read more:World
, Content
, Suicide
, Protection
, Longest
A Tribute to our Fallen Soldiers 2006-11-14 04:03:14 Possibly the most important links I’ve seen all year, this video pays long-overdue tribute to all our fallen soldiers. The documents remind us of how these soldiers are too often pushed aside and forgotten about, treated as an embarrassment instead of being recognized for their deeds and given the respect they deserve. This should serve as a reminder to all of us that while we may or may not agree with current events, they are happening and people are being injured and killed. Pass this around and remind people that however deep they bury their heads in the sand, this isn’t just going to go away.
Watch the movie (WMV)
Old Bill (DOC) (PDF) (ODT) (RTF) (TXT) Read more:Soldiers
, Fallen
Countering Global Counterinsurgency 2006-10-24 05:17:41 On October 19, 2006, U.S. war resister Cory Glass spoke about his reasons for leaving the war in Iraq to an audience of about 75 people at UNB. To add to this was Jack Gegenberg speaking on behalf of Jews for Just Peace about Canada and the current crisis in the Middle East, Dr. Jeff Brown spoke about Canada’s role in Afghanistan, and Asaf Rashid and Graham Cox spoke on the Academic-Military-Industrial Complex, specifically relating to the newly-formed Gregg Center at UNB.
Dr. Brown, currently the only professor at UNB specializing in American history, spoke first. As a professor of history, Brown has a unique opportunity to teach people about not only current events, but the reasons behind current events, the historical occurances that have shaped the events of today. Recognizing the importance of international relations between Canada and the U.S., Dr. Brown openly states that to know about Canadian international relations, one must also know about American international rel Read more:Global
Hard Questions for Big Media 2006-10-13 02:51:15 As an add-on to my last post, here are some Frequently Awkward Questions for the RIAA and the MPAA compiled by the EFF. Asking questions like these isn’t the only way in this world to keep honest people honest, but it’s the only way to put dishonest people on the spot and force them to make fools of themselves.
For the RIAA:
The RIAA has sued more than 20,000 music fans for file sharing, yet file sharing continues to rapidly increase both online and offline. When will you stop suing music fans?
The RIAA has sued over 20,000 music fans for file sharing, who have on average paid a $3,750 settlement. That’s over $75,000,000. Has any money collected from your lawsuits gone to pay actual artists? Where’s all that money going?
The RIAA has sued over 20,000 music fans for file sharing. Recently, an RIAA representative reportedly suggested that “students drop out of college or go to community college in order to be able to afford [P2P lawsuit] settlements.&#
DRM - Digital Restrictions Management 2006-10-09 07:02:05 What is DRM?
DRM referrs to hardware and software that restricts what you are permitted to do with a copyrighted work that you have legally purchased (although ironically, not copyrighted works you illegally obtain; more on that later). DRM technology is a growing problem for all computer users, and by extension all of society since it’s increasingly difficult to find areas of life that don’t involve computer use.
Why Does DRM Exist?
That depends on who you ask. If you ask content distributors, such as Disney or Sony, they would tell you DRM is essential to prevent copyrighted works from being illegally shared on P2P networks. However, anyone who has recently obtained new copyrighted material (new films or new music especially) and they’ll likely tell you they had no problems getting it, so that argument is easily proved false. What they won’t tell you is that DRM actually comes with a whole slew of restrictions placed on you, the legal purchaser. To enforc Read more:Digital
, Management
, Restrictions
Random Geek Posts indeed… 2006-10-08 00:19:39 It seems my “random computer geek posts” keep some people amused. In the spirit of keeping people (or one person?) amused, and hopefully providing some education into the problems created by Microsoft and amplified by not only Microsoft but other companies (including Linux companies and Apple) there’ll be a couple more posts coming up in rapid succession. There’s a bunch of things going on now that would make for one really long post that I think would be better served as separate posts.
Some upcoming topics will be:
Intel refuses to provide documentation necessary to use their laptop wireless cards despite claiming to support these efforts.
The OLPC project has signed contracts with companies to use their hardware provided they never let anyone know how the hardware works. So much for an “open laptop” where people are “encouraged to hack the software”.
DRM is becoming a real problem for some people. Ironically, the people having t Read more:Random
, Geek
Free Hugs 2006-09-28 18:48:27 In a society that shuns human contact, preferring our own company or the company of a select few, a display of affection and caring for other people of the magnitude seen in this video is not only uncommon, but the initiator is often shunned by those around him for being “weird”, “creepy”, and many other labels shoved onto people who don’t fit into what we’re told is “the norm”. Sadly though, these labels don’t require that you do anything near what is seen here. All you need to do is care about others, express it openly, and be unlike other people, whether for good or for bad. Being different is optional.
Can’t see the video? Go watch it here at YouTube.
Read more:Free Hugs
Ambiguous Question Dialogs 2006-09-21 17:15:30 I have to laugh at this dialog box I saw posted on the Windows Vista development blog. Although it makes me wonder, if they have the time to screw around like this, why don’t they have the time to make the system secure and usable?
Read more:Question
Canadian Movie Piracy Claims False 2007-02-05 23:57:51 Recently, Canada was blamed by Hollywood for being the “leading movie piracy haven”. As it turns out, this is far from the truth. Using only the MPAA’s own data, Canadian
law professor Michael Geist has proven that the claims made are false, or at best extremely inflated.
My favourite part is where the MPAA says that as of August 2006, approximately 1400 movies had been released since 2004. Of those, 179 were shown to be pirated using camcorders. This means that to be labeled a “leading movie piracy haven”, your country needs to have approximately 13% of all movies released be pirated using a camcorder. Based on having seen movies released and hearing people’s opinions of others, this data should actually be used to suggest that for the average Canadian, only 13% of the movies released in that time frame were actually worth watching at all. Personally, I think the actual number of movies worth the exhorbitent theatre prices from that time frame
Vista Questions 2007-02-11 15:21:40 A little while back, the Globe and Mail asked some questions about the newest version of Microsoft Windows, named Vista
. I propose some different answers to their questions:
What am I buying when I purchase Windows Vista?
You’ll be purchasing one of four editions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. A fifth version, Enterprise, is only available to Volume License customers. However, the important thing to remember is the features you’ll get. The first feature, and the most easily noticed, is that you’ll have to purchase new hardware. Not just any new hardware will do, but very specific hardware. It’s expensive. The second feature is not so easily noticed. Microsoft has reserved the right to, without notice to you, inspect the contents of your hard drive and remove anything they believe shouldn’t be there. A third, more easily noticed but also easily forgotten about feature, is the space requirements. In previous versions of Windows,
Vista UAC Vulnerability 2007-02-22 23:26:42 This should probably have the tag “stupid” added to it.
Microsoft Windows Vista
runs with an annoying attempt at security called UAC turned on by default. If it wasn’t so annoying, UAC would actually be useful. However, annoyances aside, UAC actually has a fairly serious security flaw - all installer files (setup.exe, install.exe, etc.) are forced to run as a High Integrity process.
High what now?
In Windows Vista, all processes are assigned an integrity level, and they can only write to areas designated as having equal or lower integrity. Think of it somewhat like your email. You (a High Integrity process) can access your email account (a High Integrity area), but other people (a Low Integrity process) are forbidden from accessing it.
Well Vista has similar things set up, and one thing marked as a High Integrity area is the Windows Registry. Another thing is loading drivers (the things that make stuff on your computer work). Normally this would be great so far,
BBC Breaking News 2007-02-22 13:44:55 It seems that someone at the BBC has an itchy "Publish" finger…
Screenshot in case they take it down:
Read more:Breaking
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