Week13
From Technolotics
Contents |
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Wikispam
- Technolotics gets its first wikispam
- Adds for Viagra and phentermine
- Changes could only be seen by looking at the wiki code The Page in Question
- Wiki article on wikispam Wiki Spam
DVD John Joins Mp3tunes
- Jon Lech Johansen, cracker of DVD encryption with DeCSS and creater of JHymn (which removes DRM crippling from iTunes store bought tracks) has joined Mp3tunes [1]
- Mp3tunes is a start up created by Michael Robertson, creator of the Lindows linux distribution, which allows users to purchase songs in *.mp3 format, and 'controversially' to download those songs an unlimited number of times
- Mp3s are in 192kbps VPR and artists get approx 60c of the 88c price (as opposed to roughly 7c of an iTunes music store track)
- This feature has in the past lead to a lawsuit from
- Johansen is to work on a new project 'Oboe' - which will '"bring digital music into the 21st century"
- Since Norway adopted EU anti-circumvention legislation Johansen is no longer free from legal threats
- A column in this weeks wallstreet journal profiles Johansens bumpy legal history [2]
- Johansens teen years were eaten up in trials, as they recording industry tried unsucessfully to have him imprisoned for cracking (aged just 15) the 'protection' which ment DVD's couldn't be played on open operating systems like Linux
- Johansen initially one a prestigious award for developing DeCSS
- Later his computer systems were siezed and he was charged (but ultimately not convicted) with gaining unauthorised access to a DVD
- Johansen's legal costs were met by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) [3], who fight to protect citizen's privacy and consumer rights online
- Publishing or linking to DeCSS code is still illegal in the US
The EFF disect new EU DRM proposals
- An EU working group have proposed a DRM toolkit - a set of standards for public access to creative and copyrighted works accross europe
- EFF allege These requirements would preclude developments and use of free and open source devices and..creative commons works [4]
- They further suggest that the proposed compulsory DRM remove fair use style rights extant in copyright law and practise
- The EFF point out that DRM is not equivalent to a contract as it can be summarily renegotiated at any point in the future by the "rights holder" with no recourse - e.g.: Apples alterations to the amount ot times an iTunes track and be burned
- Here's the original proposal
The Big Kahuna
- Microsoft hops on the Mail 2.0 bandwaggon with Kahuna
- Kahuna will be the new interface for hotmail - a service which in the past has lost public confidence due to practices like auto deleting old mail when its tiny (still only 2MEG) storage was used up, and deleting accounts which have lain unused for periods as short as one month
- The beta is available to 200,000 users of Hotmail
- The mail beta uses AJAX to create a responsive client Article on Kahuna
- No word yet as to whether it will work with all browser - three guesses
Google Blog Post
- Microsoft has allied with RealNetworks the maker of the Real media player and Yahoo to combine their instant messaging systems.
- Real in return dropped a 1 billion lawsuit against Microsofts use of the windows monopoly to promote windows media player. Lawsuit was will be settled for about 700 million to be paid over the next 18 months.
- They will also work together on new DRM tech and on an 'anti-apple' online music strategy
- Google and Comcast are interested in buying AOL from Time Warner - providing Google with access to what exactly?
- Google also partnered with Sun Microsystems - Dvorak on TWIT speculated that this partnership was merely to spread google bar (its stated purpose), and worry microsoft
- Others speculate - despite Googles flat denial - an online thin clinet office suite - with Google Earth and Print integration. One argument against this, is that Google, unlike apple, do not have a history of flat out denial followed by u-turn. E.g: Google browser. Additionally, they may wish to develop technology mearly to keep their options open
- Google and Microsofts actions have been seen by many as a frank competition for the future of the online space - a war that microsoft is far from guarenteed to win
- Google software and online products are free to use
- Google is actively producing Web 2.0 applications that Microsoft has spent years failing to comercialise - with its .net infrastructure
- Google has show huge flexability and speed of product development - in stark contrast to Microsofts historic '3 times to get it right' iterative development process
- Microsoft has only had two original ideas Clippy and the BSOD
- Google have, by and large kept their goody two shoes image, while Microsoft have gained huge enimy within the industry and amongst cusomers
- Google's gross revenue shot up 96% to 1.58 billion this year in the 3rd quarter and its stock price went up to $342 about 11%. Most of this revenue was from text ads that are placed on google searches and about 1 billion in net revenue
- However..
- Microsoft are 3 times googles size
- Historically highly effective competitors, whereas google have shied away from competition where radical improvement on existing tech is not possible
- Microsoft have huge install base and market share with Windows - can bundle any app they like post anti-trust
How to be Happy
- Research on Happyness is in psychological vogue The Sunday Times Article
- Recent years have seen the launch of a journal of happieness studies and the publication of 3,000 papers on the topic
- Psychologists differentiate between immediate Joy, and a satisfaction with ones life
- Happyness seems to have a strong genetic component - with even major life changes having little long term effect
- A study of the top 10% happiest of students has determined they have the most social contacts - although given the history American blindspots of status and class - these variables may not have been considered - additionally its easy to confuse cause and effect. People like happy people
- Martin Seligman, president of the APA - has led the legitamisation of happiness research
- Previously known for the discovery of learned helplessness - which has had an effect on the development of cognitive therapy
- Seligman funded 50 research groups to study the problem
- Researchers have discovered six virtues recogised crossculturally - wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence
- Humans seem to have a bias tword negative feelings - 4 of the six universal human emotions are negative
- Positive emotions seem to originate from the higher "less bestial" part of the brian, the frontal cortex
- We seem rigged with evolved pain and danger recognition mechanisms, which prevent us from being happy - making us take good things for granted
- Despite this researchers remain convinced that appreciable improvements in happiness are achieveable
- The article mentions two take home methods of increasing your happiness
- Write down three things that went well and why, every day for a week.
- Identifying your signature strengths and use one of them in a new and different way every day for a week.
- Cynics might also note that Seligman charges 10 dollars to register on his website for happiness tips [5]
Whats behind the Revolution
- 1 up take a look behind Nintendos thinking, and the development of their 'revolutionary' controller
- Although the new controller seems very different its in keeping with Nintendos history of design innovation - the GameCube controller was the exception
- The new control system endevours to make gaming a more social activity - and remove control barriers to entry
- Nintendo see online as a buzzword which hides the lack of innovation in game development - a little rich from a company who's output is almost entirely sequel based
- Nintendo is taking a completely different approach to expanding the gaming market
- Rather than Microsoft and Sony - adding non gaming features, and ever higher graphics - they aim to expand the market to all age groups - make gaming more casual, and in a word, fun
- The remote controll format is as much an asthetic device to remove the intimidation as a usability decision
- In a sense the revolution remote is a way of skipping a technology generation - real time tracking is still to primitive to use for anything more sensitive than a parlour game (e.g.: Eyetoy)
- almost equal functionality in a much simpler - though still bleeding edge - technology
- Latest in a long line of movement based controllers - from power glove, to Capcoms Onimusha sword controller - yet managed to be (in concept at least) more accurate, yet more general than any
Bram Cohen, woos hollywood
- BitTorrent easily allows downloading of files
- BitTorrent now accounts for at least 20% of net
- Cohen has made no attempt to allow his users any degree of privacy
- and has no problem when the MPAA and RIAA launch suits against people posting copyright-infringing material
- Last month venture firm DCM-Doll Capital Management invested $8.75 million in the startup
- Cohen suffers from Asperger's syndrome
