Posted March 18th, 2008
by Synthesis
Sure, we’ve heard RIAA-admiring lawyers affirm that ripping your own CDs is in fact “stealing,” but it seems the aforementioned entity is putting its money where its mouth is in a case against Jeffrey Howell. Reportedly, the Scottsdale, Arizona resident is being sued by the RIAA, and rather than Mr. Howell just writing a check and calling it a day, he’s fighting back in court. Interestingly, it seems that the industry is maintaining that “it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into their computer.” Ira Schwartz, the industry’s lawyer in the case, is arguing that MP3 files created on his computer from legally purchased CDs are indeed “unauthorized copies,” and while we’ve no idea what will become of all this, we suppose you should go on and wipe those personal copies before you too end up in handcuffs.
Update: We got some more info on the case — it looks like Jeffrey’s actually being sued for illegal downloading, not ripping, but this whole “ripping is illegal” tactic is still pretty distasteful. Check out this post for the full story. [Engadget]
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Tags: drm, lawsuit, legal, riaa, sue, suit Posted in Computers, Miscellaneous, Music, Software And Plugins
Posted March 18th, 2008
by Synthesis
You may recall Libya’s initial pledge to purchase 1.2 million low-cost lappies from OLPC, but some 12 months later, it looks like the nation’s education ministry has given its business (for realz this time) to Intel and Microsoft. Reportedly, the country placed an order in August for 150,000 Classmate PCs, and deployment has just recently begun. Intel spokeswoman Agnes Kwan noted that Intel and Microsoft were “not subsidizing the price of the laptops,” but she failed to mention exactly how much the Libyan education ministry was forking out for the machines. Furthermore, Kwan stated that Nigeria was also on board and should be placing an order of its own soon, but considering how sketchy these commitments have been in the past, we wouldn’t hold our breath just yet. [Engadget]
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Tags: classmate pc, ClassmatePc, developing country, developing nation, DevelopingCountry, DevelopingNation, intel, libya, microsoft Posted in Computers, Hardware
Posted March 14th, 2008
by Synthesis
Manufacturers of USB sticks and cards with fingerprint readers promise us that their data safes can only be opened with the right fingerprint. In their tests, heise Security found that it is easy to bypass the authentication and get access to the protected data. This works by sending a single USB command, using the open source tool PLscsi, that changes the accessible partition. They found the vulnerability in several USB sticks that use the same chipset. The article concludes: ‘The fingerprint sensors in the products mentioned above apparently only serve one purpose: they mislead interested buyers. They do not provide any significant level of protection. We can only recommend that these products not be purchased.’ [Slashdot]
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Tags: crack, drive, finger, flash, print, security, USB Posted in Computers, Gadgets, Miscellaneous
Posted March 11th, 2008
by Synthesis
The following excerpt is from Slashdot:
“Two graduate students at Indiana University conducted a phishing study to determine how readily students will give up personal information if the phishing emails appear to come from close friends. Using only publicly available information, they sent out emails to students asking them to click a link that required username/password information. Needless to say, the study has generated lots of attention on campus. The student newspaper has the story and the researchers have created a blog where the participants can vent.” [Slashdot]
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Tags: credit, credit report, Phish, report, Slashdot, study Posted in Computers, Miscellaneous
Posted February 1st, 2008
by J_Mart
Have you ever had trouble finding desk space for certain items and no matter what way you rearrange stuff, you can never seem to remove the clutter? Well there is no more need to worry about that with this new and improved office printer Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Computers, Gadgets, Hardware
Posted January 29th, 2008
by J_Mart
So everyone knows that the war between Blu-Ray and HD DVD has been incessant for quite some time… Well, good news is that the war may soon come to a, long, awaited, end.
After outselling HD DVD 10 to 1, one of the UK’s major retailers has decided to go all Blu-ray and eliminate the sadly ill-fated format from their stores this March. With HD DVD’s lousy sales and Blu-ray numbers increasing Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Cameras, Computers, Gadgets, Hardware
Posted January 28th, 2008
by Synthesis
Dude! This is definitely one of the most innovative and strange forms of digital art I’ve ever seen. It’s awesome! More babbling and a video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3d paintings, 3dPaintings, art, artist, daim, graffiti, painting, street art, StreetArt, virtual graffiti, VirtualGraffiti Posted in Cameras, Computers, Gadgets, Hardware, Miscellaneous, Software And Plugins
Posted January 28th, 2008
by Synthesis
No, it is not called a girlfriend, but good luck with that. This is the Optimal Office Mouse. Name says nothing. It is an average mouse, with a fun stress tester thumb gauge thingy. It also has a part that does little exercises that allegedly reduce stress. The site seems a little shady but who knows, it may save you from a heart attack. And besides, that tester could come in handy, I mean, who pays enough attention to know when they’re stressed? With my luck, my insurance company will pick up on this and start using these to find out if I’ve been eating right. Head for the hills! Click the link to see the site. [Hot Forest via Gizmodo]
Tags: attack, ball, blood, Computer, heart, mouse, mousepad, stress Posted in Computers, Gadgets, Software And Plugins
Posted January 25th, 2008
by J_Mart
With Blu-ray destroying the competition, the availability of cheaper units is going to be a big part in the future success of the format. That is why Sony’s recent success in shrinking the basic Blu-ray reader/writer module is a turn for the better. The new modules will pave the way for thinner drive bays and cheaper players. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Computers, Gadgets, Hardware
Posted January 24th, 2008
by J_Mart
I’m the kind of person that always wants to make cool stuff, even if it has already been made. And if you’re like me, then this article is made just for you. Keyboards have been around for quite some Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Computers, Gadgets, Hardware, Software And Plugins
