Archive for May 27th, 2008
Why does Jonathan Coulton rock, and why is he just overall a slice of awesome that’s big enough for all of us to share ?
I answer that question by posting this you tube video…
China, a country known for keeping a hard line and a keen eye on security has taken the next step for the Olympics.
Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are embedded with a microchip containing the bearer’s photograph, passport details, addresses, e-mail and telephone numbers. Less to do with security and more to do with maintaining a positive public image during the ceremonies, the high tech tickets are meant to keep trouble makers out of the 91,000 seat stadium. Chinese officials fear protesters might wreck the glitzy ceremonies, unfurling Tibet flags, anti-China banners or even T-shirts adorned with strident messages.
Aside from doing very little to increase security, these tickerts raise huge questions about privacy and identity theft, and they pretty much ensure utter chaos at the ticket gates.
Not all tickets will contain the excessive amounts of personal data, only the tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, some which are going for $720.00 a piece at face value.
Will they assist in securing the games? Roger Clarke, an Australian security expert says no.
“They should be concentrating on sniffing out the kinds of dangerous stuff rather than worrying about the identify of the people with the tickets,” said Roger Clarke
His Xamax Consultancy in Canberra advises businesses in online security and identity authentication.
Clarke added:
“The way in which you recognize an evildoer, somebody who wants to throw a bomb, somebody who wants to unfurl a Tibet flag is not on the basis of their identity, it’s the act that they perform and it’s the materials they carry with them.”
In the end this idea may do more harm to China’s publicity then letting in all the “Free Tibet” protesters.
A new way of screwing honest music listeners is quietly being supported by Warner Music Group. Lala.com has created an online service that allows users to “buy” a song from them, and play it only from their website. You have no download privileges on those songs, and they can not be played on any external device.
While the advertisements talk about buying songs, you are really just renting it. The songs and the permission to play them are kept by Lala, on their server, and what is more, when you “buy” the song you agree that they may discontinue the service at anytime. Huh?
Remember the Virgin Music store? Yeah, me either, they ceased operation. Recently the MSN Music Store announced they would [ pull the plug ] on August 31st and all purchased songs would go into the coffin as well. If Microsoft cannot keep their store going should you really expect any store to be permanent, or at least permanent enough to trust holding your files for you?
Warner Music group has dumped about $20 million dollars into this concept, and while the API and website that LALA has put together look nice and seem to work well, it seems to me that putting music in a format that is ALREADY available for free and then requiring that people pay for it is … well it’s asinine.
I did a search for RUSH on there, and they had the majority of the collection, and for $14.09 they were going to graciously place them in a playlist that I could then stream. Ok, but for free, I can go on YouTube and stream not only the song, but the video too. On [ napster ], I can stream the whole songs for free as well.
Really what I am getting for my money in this situation? Nothing. So, here we are again, with the music industry flailing in an environment they clearly do not understand, and don’t seem to want to understand. Meanwhile, good money is being wasted on concepts that are doomed to failure for the simple fact that they bring nothing of value to a table already well stocked.
Lala.com, go sell crazy somewhere else, we’re all full here.
Yep.. I am trying my hand at this whole podcast thing. I have put together my very first episode, that talks about why being a geek may be cool, but brings responsibility with it, why Twitter’s future may be in question, why ficlets.com absolutely rocks, why I loved Indy’s latest big screen adventure, some other movies you might like, and what we can expect with Guitar Hero 4.
Click to Listen :
Click to Download : [ download ]
Holiday blues. Dell busted in NYC — found guilty of misleading advertising, abuse debt collection, etc. Terrible. No new kernel for Windows 7. Also it will not be out until at least the end of 2010 NOT next year as Gates promised. Creative Suite 4 on track. Centrino 2 delayed. Bad radios and bad graphics to blame. FiOS coming to NYC meaning Verizon is now in the TV business.
Click to listen:
The latest craze in robotics has been to bring them closer to building emotional connections with us humans. This will help us to accept them when they finally achieve sentience and take over the earth. This latest on focus’ on the concept of communication through touch … but it really just reminds me of a tribble.
Steve Yohanan, from the University of British Colombia, created what is being called a “Haptic Creature,” a robot rabbit that is designed to mimic the interactions a person has with their pet, specifically, by responding when it’s touched or stroked by making breathing movements, inaudible purring vibrations, or by moving its ears.
Initial tests have been successful in being able to “elicit a range of emotions in humans.”
Personally, I welcome our new robotic rabbit overlords.
Recently we talked [ here ] about Michael Fournier and his desire to set several free falling records by jumping from a pod 25 miles up. We are all excited about this, and hope that everything goes great for him, but apparently his balloon is a little too excited and left with out him.
The balloon separated from the gondola and floated away from the launch site located at North Battleford Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, according to the Canadian media, the balloon is now unusable.
This is the latest setback for the sky-diver, as Monday he was forced to postpone the attempt due to high winds and bad weather. He has also had to postpone back in 2002, and 2003.
Hopefully, Fournier will be able to get all the pieces together and do the jump, because I for one would love to see that happen, though I doubt we will find footage on you tube…
The TSA has released specs to laptop case manufacturers that will allow them to make bags that allow scanning by the TSA, which means you could leave your laptop in the bag.
Now, this seems to be a good idea on the outside, faster security lines, less fumbling with bags, less potential damage to laptops… EXCEPT..
Not everyone will have these laptop cases, and the TSA won’t know until they put their case through the screening, and so that means that 9 out 10 morons at the airport line are going to insist that their case is approved to go through, then it won’t be and so they will have to back up the conveyor, have the person go back and take out their laptop and then send everything through again… do you see how this just adds more time.
We live in a world, where most regular travelers have gotten the “strip to your shorts and put everything into a tray” routine down to a science, so why are we fuddling up the system by adding an unknown.
Then let’s deal with the saps that actually buy into this “Approved” case stuff. The point of the special case is that is not cluttered with straps, and junk inside to make it difficult to see, so you won’t be able to have your wires, and adaptors and all the fun computer accessories in with your computer, you will have to have a second bag for all that crap, so more carry on.
Hmmm. Yeah, I am thinking that they need to do some more thinking on this ….
TSA Approved laptop cases … Epic FAIL!