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::: Friday, September 20 ::: |
Uhm, hello: Open source haunts Microsoft
"I don't know how we can more clearly state that we don't believe in security through obscurity."
How about actually living up to the standard instead of just giving it lip service, for a start? It's very easy, for instance, to say you are a customer-focused enterprise, but your customers can certainly tell right away if that is truly the case. Microsoft's track record of not announcing flaws and rolling patches into Service Releases without documentation of the original flaw is at best irresponsible and at worse purposefully manipulative.
10:01 AM CST ::
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Sweet: Audio's Next Big Thing?
I'm not too thrilled about the "non-lethal" weapon part of this research, but having true Dolby surround sound without rear-channel speakers would be a welcome change.
9:52 AM CST ::
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Hmm: New Bill Imposes More Digital TV Limits
"An addition to the bill also requires that analog ports no longer be added to digital televisions."
I'm just spit-balling here, but it seems likely that this quote is referring to analog outputs only. If these new sets don't include analog inputs then the current crop of game consoles, such as the PS2, are going to be rendered obsolete as well. If it does include a ban on analog inputs, Sony and others will be forced to provide some sort of analog-to-digital converter which could then be used with current VCRs, DVDs, etc. for playback.
9:46 AM CST ::
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Ugh: RIM granted handheld email patent
If this patent stands in court we could be in for a very expensive future in the handheld market. Everything from calculators to cell phones could have to be redesigned or else the manufacturers could find themselves paying royalties to RIM.
9:04 AM CST ::
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::: Thursday, September 19 ::: |
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Hmm: Windows update does end run
Maybe it's just me, but it seems silly to berrate Microsoft for attempting to conform to an anti-trust settlement that isn't even legally binding yet. I understand that, as usual, Microsoft's definition of "compliance" is a tad loose, but is it really helping the States case to constantly complicate the filings to the court? I would think that the case is more than complicated enough to make even the most tech-saavy judge's head spin.
10:11 AM CST ::
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::: Tuesday, September 17 ::: |
Uhm: COFANI FUNEBRI CISA
This is certainly an interesting marketing technique. Click on "La Produzione" to view the products section then scroll down to the "Cofani funebri e fascino" section and click on any of the models from the Filo oro to the Madonna. Doesn't that make you want to run out and buy a coffin?
Or perhaps you'd like to download their sexy calendario? Those Italians sure know how to live...
1:40 PM CST ::
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Whoa: Trent Reznor's pretty hate machines
Reznor got himself an Atari 2600 home gaming console and spent long afternoons at the house of a friend who had a coveted color RadioShack computer. Soon enough, he had his very own Commodore 64 and began teaching himself to program. He went on to study computer science at Allegheny College and worked briefly as an engineer until he decided the time was right to pursue his dreams. "When you could use computers to make music," he says, "I wanted to be right in there."
It's eerie how much that paragraph mirrors my own start on the road to being a programmer. Well, up until you get to the rock star part anyway...
1:22 PM CST ::
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Yep: Fed cybersecurity initiative boosts TCPA
I couldn't agree more. It's the first thing you learn on the first day of Journalism 101... follow the money. Any story can appear so complex as to be inscrutable until you follow the money. In this case, the money comes from us and goes into the coffers of the RIAA et al.
1:15 PM CST ::
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::: Saturday, September 14 ::: |
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::: Friday, September 13 ::: |
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Ugh: Finally, a Fair Fight with Big Music
The [MPAA and RIAA] use software called bots that speed across the [internet], reviewing all available file names. If the bot finds a suspicious title, like "Beatles" or even "Beetles," they mark the location and automatically generate form notices that are sent to ISPs.
What can I say? I'm thrilled.
10:08 AM CST ::
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::: Wednesday, September 11 ::: |
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Interesting: Win-XP Help Center request wipes your HD
This is the sort of thing that tends to bite Microsoft hardest. The Help Center was intended to aid unskilled users during Tech Support calls. The problem comes when the programmers assigned to the project don't consider the nafarious uses for their tools.
Regardless, this one is a bit of a doozy when combined with the elevated privileges granted to Help Center scripts. WinXP users should consider their options carefully.
11:19 AM CST ::
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::: Tuesday, September 10 ::: |
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::: Monday, September 9 ::: |
Damn: Science Fact - Farscape Axed
While I understand the fiscal reasoning behind the decision, it still sucks to see what is arguably the best sci-fi series every produced fall by the wayside. I think there were two key mistakes that the SciFi Channel made which spelled the end for FarScape. First, they didn't work hard enough to distinguish it from space-schlock crapfests like Lexx. Secondly, they monkeyed with the schedule so often that even the truly dedicated were never sure when a new episode might air.
Farewell, FarScape... we barely knew thee.
2:08 PM CST ::
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Uhm, no: ISPs gird for copyright fights
I'm so sick of the courts getting wrapped around the axle because they don't understand how the internet works. What someone needs to do is explain it thusly: if someone faxes a page containing copyrighted lyrics to someone else, is the telephone carrier responsible for that infringement? I wouldn't assume so, and as such, I don't think ISPs have any liability either.
Just because a technology is newer doesn't mean it needs its own set of laws. To believe otherwise is pure folly.
1:57 PM CST ::
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Eh: Forgot to renew your domain? Never mind, it did it itself
I'm not sure which is worse... the fact that Register.com decided to opt it's clients into this arrangement or the fact that they were required to do so to keep Verisign from poaching their hard-earned clients. I'm torn. Either way Joker and Go Daddy are cheaper alternatives without nearly the risk.
1:47 PM CST ::
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Hmm: MS flips on new 'global' Windows remote-root vuln
I read the Microsoft article in question last week before the changes were made and nearly blogged it then. The sense of futility in the tone of the article was quite astounding. Anyway, they've fixed the article now, but seem to be practicing a bit of revisionist history as to the bugs importance.
Regardless, W2k users -- particularly those not behind a strong firewall -- should read up and make sure they are covered.
1:42 PM CST ::
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::: Friday, September 6 ::: |
Hell, yeah: On the events of AD 2101
It could be argued than kitten is indeed crazy. It's my personal opinion, however, that it's a *good* kind of crazy. It's the kind of crazy that makes quantum theory and fuzzy logic achievable.
If there is no one taking things too far it becomes difficult to discern exactly where the true edge lies. When the edge becomes blurred the reaction of cautious souls is to back even further away. That, friends and neighbors, is exactly how this country became so cravenly Politically Correct that we wouldn't know a good time if it sat on our collective face.
So, yeah, he might be a madman or he might be a genius, but there's a chance that kitten, and others like him, are both... and that chance is all our country has to lean on at the moment.
1:51 PM CST ::
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::: Thursday, September 5 ::: |
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::: Wednesday, September 4 ::: |
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::: Tuesday, September 3 ::: |
Sweet: Mozilla 1.1
Apparently, the "Minimum Font Size" preference has been around since Moz1.0 RC1, but I just noticed this morning after loading 1.1. Regardless, I'm hard pressed to find a more useful preference other than possibly the javascript popup-blocker. There's also a preference to stop people from turning off the Status Bar now which I don't remember seeing in 1.0.
Yummy.
4:05 PM CST ::
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dinoneil[at]newdream[dot]net
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