fx
imagination
leads us to places untouched
by special effects.
the smedley log - suburban scrawl
Why my next computer will not have Windows Vista
Coyote Blog explains a few of my worst fears pretty well.
(via Cziltang)
Demise of VHS (with fair use in tow)
NPR ran a critique of DRM wrapped inside a story about the death of the VHS format. (via Slashdot)
The more I hear about the ongoing closure of creative content, the more I loathe it.
iPod Pious?
The perfect gift for those whose religious symbols aren’t accessorized enough.
(via Marjo)
In case anyone at AOL is still wondering what went wrong…
Pertaining to the failing business model that almost sunk Time Warner, it may have something to do with the drastically over-rated customer service model and the gauntlet one has to run to cancel service.
Now imagine what it’s like to cancel the service, and then get a bill in the mail five months later for a hundred bucks. And yes, you can accurately interpret the title of this post as saying, “AOL sucks.”
Net neutrality: kicked out of the House
I posted a little bit on net neutrality over at Philly Future yesterday. In that post I quoted two main sources. One was an opinion piece from yesterday’s Inquirer. The other piece was from Asymptomatic, in which Owen makes a sensible plea.
Then I had some other, more visceral, thoughts. [Read more →]
More Net Neutrality
Wired News: ‘Net Neutrality’ Battle Widens
And I’ve yet to hear a compelling argument why a tiered system would work better for the consumer. Are they actually going to give me free internet access by charging business websites for bandwidth?
Yeah, I didn’t think so…
Loathing the internet extorter
This one comes courtesy of Ales Rarus. I can relate to his sentiment.
If you’re still browsing with Internet Explorer, I suggest a visit to Browse Happy.
Change is painful
-at least for the impatient among us.
I’m in the midst of an ugly divorce from my old DSL provider, and because my new flame can’t just seemlessly take over for the old one, there’s going to be this cooling off period. Yes, it’s a return (for now) to the olden days of 56k web-crawling.
The first few hours have seemed unbearable, but I’m hoping that the next several days in dial-up purgatory will make next week’s return to high speed that much sweeter. One newfound friend that’s easing the strain on my patience is a Firefox extension known as Fasterfox. It works about twice as well as the accelerator built into my current dial-up fling.
Performancing rookie
I just downloaded Performancing for Firefox, and it’s a pretty cool little tool that can publish to various blog platforms. Pretty cool stuff… I, of course, did not know it existed until about three hours ago.
Technorati Tags: performancing, blogging, firefox
Don’t say I didn’t warn you
In a move reportedly prompted by her crack(ed?) legal team, Becky has finally come clean and incorporated a handy little EULA.
Oh dear, I fear I may have just violated term 2…
Burningbird Debate on DRM
Shelley Powers has one of the most fascinating DRM debates going (mostly in the comments section of the linked post).
The issue of DRM, in its totality, is far too large for me to wrap my tiny head around. This is probably true for most folks, so I’ll narrow my reason for opposition to this: to me the single most disturbing factor of DRM are its probably effects on fair use.
It boils down to the law of unintended consequences, made possible by ninnies (new word for me) who ignorantly insist the only opposition to DRM emanates from the lawless renegades with no regard for copyright laws. A narrow-minded idea, at the least. What great set of rights are they seeking to further? And at what cost to the rights of others?
We simply cannot allow a basic concept like fair use to be redefined by those whose essential aim is to eliminate it.
More from the ‘Yes, you bought it, but it’s not yours’ department
Boing Boing has a caution for people buying the new Coldplay CD, including a screenshot of the insert that tells you what mustn’t be done with the CD. Yes, the things you can’t do with the disc include returning it (which you won’t find out until you’ve purchased and opened it).
I have a couple mental wanderings about this: (1) Have they (record companies) learned nothing about alienating consumer good will? (2) Which CD is the Boing Boing post referring to? I have a copy of X&Y purchased last year, and it’s not possessed by the copy-protection demons. Maybe it’s just an additional production run of the existing album.
Finally, EMI another record company enters into the DRM wars with more condescending, invasive tactics, like those that gave Sony a black eye.
UPDATE: As Heliologue noted in the comments, the disc inserts in question are apparently from Indian copies of the CD. That explains why some other people were mentioning their loathing for Virgin Records, while I was more likely to associate Coldplay with EMI. Either way, it’s still a bad way to treat your customers.
Monday with Mike
-Mike Royko
Schneier on layers of rootkit concerns
Anyone who’s as obsessed as I’ve been with this whole Sony rootkit controversy (all three of you) will probably be interested in IT security expert Bruce Schneier’s analysis at Wired. He digs through the layers and finds that the initial answers lead to more troubling questions.
The Sony bunker continues to cave in
Woohoo… a recall, finally. Now let’s see what new monster Sony can find to replace the old one.
Wired News: Boycott Sony
-don’t mean to harp on this Sony/BMG DRM debacle, but when I see a worthwhile cause, I have to show my approval. Wait, would this apply to other Sony ventures (like movies and such), or are we just talking about the recorded music portion of the empire?
DRM (Die, Repugnant Malware)
I came across the hopeful news while reading Cziltang’s post on new DRM developments, which sent me searching for other stories, just to be sure it wasn’t my imagination:
Sony BMG Pulling Controversial DRM
