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*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. June 2006 @ 19:07 |
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Hollywood and the hackers
By Adam Livingstone and Richard Taylor
BBC Newsnight
Motion Picture Association President Dan Glickman locks horns with Electronic Frontier Foundation's John Perry Barlow over big media's war with the internet.
The biggest pirate movie site on the Internet was raided by police a few days ago. Within 48 hours it was up and running in a different country. It's just another week on the barricades of the information revolution.
Over and again we at geek central find ourselves reading about the latest skirmish between the copyright cops and the darknet without ever hearing that there might be a war going on.
The hackers want to break Hollywood on the wheel of their collective ingenuity and show the suits who is in charge.
Big media wants to make money from the internet like it does with every other outlet, or at the very least not have piracy forever draining away their profits.
And they have been hammering away at each other for years now.
Grateful Dead
But could there ever be peace between these two warring tribes? Have they got anything to teach one another, or will they spend yet another decade 'not getting' each other's point of view?
DVD
Copying and sharing films has never been easier
Newsnight decided to track down the two most powerful voices on either side of the divide and ask them about their own philosophies and what they thought of their opponent.
John Perry Barlow used to be the lyricist in the US supergroup 'The Grateful Dead.' He went on to co-found the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the pressure group that's placed itself front and centre in the fight to keep the tanks of government and corporation off the lawns of cyberspace.
Congressman Dan Glickman became US Secretary for Agriculture under Bill Clinton. Nowadays he's the President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, the body that wields the collective political and legal muscle of the Hollywood studios.
Here's an edited highlight of what they have to say about one another:
John Perry Barlow: The entertainment industry is as it always has been. It's a rough bunch of people and a rough industry. I don't think that the movie industry is any more ready than any other part of the information industries to adapt itself to the information age. But it's going to go there one way or the other.
And whatever its cries of protest and growing pains, it'll make it eventually - it's just going to do everything it can, as the record industry has done, as the publishing industry has done, to stop progress in that direction until it gets its act together.
There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies... because they want to stick it to the movie business
John Perry Barlow, Electronic Frontier Foundation
And I fear that it's done grave harm to itself and to the future in the process of trying to slow down progress, but it'll go there inevitably.
Dan Glickman: John Perry Barlow is the one who's doing a disservice to the consumers, because you see if you don't adequately compensate the artist, the director, the creator, the actor, they won't do it in the first place so people won't get movies.
So, yeah, we should be protecting our copyright but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be looking for new ways to get that content to people in modern ways - particularly young people who [understand] computers and electronic equipment and the internet very well.
John Perry Barlow
Barlow believes the studios will ultimately lose the digital battle
JPB: These are aging industries run by aging men, and they're up against 17-year-olds who have turned themselves into electronic Hezbollah because they resent the content industry for its proprietary practices. And I don't have a question about who's going to win that one eventually.
There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them with their friends but because they want to stick it to the movie business. It's widely assumed that you can't compete with free and that seems like a reasonable thing to think. But this has not been my experience. I mean I've made a fair amount of money over the years writing songs for 'The Grateful Dead' who allowed their fans to tape their concerts.
We were at one point the biggest grossing performing act in the United States, and most of our records went platinum sooner or later.
It's an economic model that has worked in my experience and I think it does work. It's just that it seems like it wouldn't. It seems counter-intuitive.
DK: It is ridiculous to believe that you can give product away for free and be more successful. I mean it defies the laws of nature.
All of us kind of need to chill out
Dan Glickman, Motion Picture Association of America
Would a clothing store give all their clothes for free? Would a car dealership give all its cars for free? Of course not. If they don't make a profit in this world they're out of business. That's just the laws of human nature.
JPB: If I were to encounter Dan Glickman on the street and we were to have a civilised conversation about this subject, which would be a long shot, I'd tell him to relax.
I'd tell him to spend less of the resources of his industry on fighting the inevitable and more on learning about the conditions that they find themselves in and recognising the opportunities, which I think are vast and very encouraging. But they can't get to those opportunities until they quit trying to stop progress.
Dan Glickman
Dan Glickman says if consumers do not pay the product will not exist
DK: First of all I'd tell John Perry Barlow that I'm very relaxed and if we met each other we'd probably have a very good time. But all of us kind of need to chill out.
The fact of the matter is that people who create content for movies and television have to make a profit. If they don't you won't see all this wonderful stuff and listen to it.
But he is right to the extent that we need to be finding new and different ways to get our content to people, whether it's internet or whether it's iPod or whether it's remotely accessed in various parts of the world. If [we] don't the consumer will not be satisfied and in this business the consumer is king and queen. If you don't make them happy they won't buy your product.
JPB: I've got good news and bad news and good news. And the good news is that you guys have managed to buy every major legislative body on the planet, and the courts are even with you. So you've done a great job there and you should congratulate yourself.
But you know the problem is - the bad news is that you're up against a dedicated foe that is younger and smarter that you are and will be alive when you're dead. You're 55 years old and these kids are 17 and they're just smarter than you. So you're gonna lose that one.
But the good news is that you guys are mean sons of bitches and you've been figuring out ways of ripping off audiences and artists for centuries.....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/5064170.stm
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. June 2006 @ 06:43 |
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THANKS TO CDFREAKS FOR THIS ARTICLE
Anti iTunes DRM protests to take place outside Apple stores
Posted by Seán Byrne on 10 June 2006 - 13:49 - Source: Boing Boing
Despite Apple's major success with its iTunes music store, it looks like not everyone is happy, particularly when it comes to consumers who are aware of its DRM and iPod locking system. Many iTunes customers are probably not even aware that the music they buy is infected with DRM, particularly if they have only been transferring it to their iPod until now, where the DRM appears transparent. However, should they decide later on to buy a competing MP3 player, such as an iRiver, Creative or any other brand, they will quickly find out that all of their investment in iTunes has potentially been a big waste of money and time. This is not the case when it comes to buying CDs, since virtually all competing MP3 players and even the iPod series can play music copied from these, assuming the CDs were not crippled either with copy-protection.
So to help make consumers aware of DRM, the Free Software Foundation's "Defective by Design " group has organised demonstrations to take place across the USA today (10th June '06) outside of various Apple stores at 10:30am local time. These demonstrations will protest Apple's use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) on its iTunes store and its iPod series and will offer handouts to make consumers aware of the hidden dangers of DRM in Apple's iTunes.
Unlike CDs, DRM is widely used by online music stores including iTunes to prevent customers from attempting to give away, resell or lease its music. Unlike Winamp, dBpowerAMP and other software music players, Apple has already blacklisted various iTunes plug-ins and made legal threats to try and stop consumers adding functionality to iTunes or the iPod. Finally, while the artists may seem to be doing well with 99c price changed per song, in fact, most get 7c or less per song, with a vast majority of the price going straight to the music industry. Thanks to RTV71 for letting us know about this news:
Activists in seven cities across the US will picket Apple Stores, handing out information about the dangers of the DRM hidden in Apple's iTunes. iTunes DRM may seem pretty innocuous at first, but every time you invest in an iTunes Store song, you make it more expensive to switch to an Apple competitor's product at any time in the future. You didn't have to abandon your CDs to switch to MP3s (in fact, the more CDs you owned, the better your MP3 experience was, since you could rip those CDs to seed your MP3 collection), but if you want to go from Apple's iTunes to a competing device, ever, you have to be prepared to abandon your whole investment.
This is the first time I?m aware of protests being carried out over the use of DRM, however it seems like it is too late to do much about it, particularly with iTunes running for several years now. On the other hand, we have already seen how well the controversial Russian music download stores get on without the use of DRM. In fact, the AllOfMP3 Russian music store has already grabbed 14% of the music download market in the UK, thus showing that it is possible to have a successful music store that lacks the unwanted restrictions. However, rather than the music industry learning from their very successful approach, all they care about it trying to shut it down and get anything like it out of site! In fact, if the only improvement AllOfMP3 made is pay royalties to the artists for each song purchased, it would potentially be the perfect music download service in my opinion.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13530
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. June 2006 @ 07:00 |
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No fix for 'critical' hole in Windows 98, ME
By Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: June 9, 2006, 1:03 PM PDT
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint
Microsoft will not fix a serious flaw in Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition because a patch could break other applications.
The security bug relates to Windows Explorer and could let an intruder commandeer a vulnerable PC, Microsoft warned in April. The software maker has made fixes available for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000, but it has found that eliminating the vulnerability in Windows 98 and ME is "not feasible," it said.
"To do so would require re-engineering a significant amount of a critical core component of the operating system," Microsoft said in a Thursday update to its MS06-015 security bulletin. "After such a re-engineering effort, there would be no assurance that applications designed to run on these platforms would continue to operate."
Instead, Microsoft recommends that people who still use the older operating systems protect their PCs by using a network firewall that filters traffic on TCP Port 139. "Such a firewall will block attacks attempting to exploit this vulnerability from outside of the firewall," it said.
The software maker even had trouble with its fix for Windows XP. It had to revise the update and release it a second time because the patch caused problems for people who used Hewlett-Packard Share-to-Web software or older Nvidia graphics drivers.
Microsoft is phasing out support for the older operating systems. Windows 98 was released in June 1998, Second Edition followed a year later, and Millennium Edition came out in 2000. Microsoft has been providing fixes for only "critical" flaws the past couple of years and is ending support altogether next month, after its planned July 11 patch release. Windows XP with Service Pack 1 reaches its end of support on Oct. 10, 2006.
Not providing fixes leaves users vulnerable, but software can't be supported forever, said Michael Sutton, a director at security intelligence company iDefense, a part of VeriSign. "At some point, any vendor has to make a business decision to cease product support, and these products are now 7 to 8 years old," he said.
The older Windows versions have never been secure, said Russ Cooper, a senior scientist at Cybertrust, a security vendor in Herndon, Va. "The lack of a 'critical' patch does not weaken these OSes. Instead, it should merely put an end to their perception that they were secure before this fault came to light," he said.
And as far as blocking traffic on port 139 goes, it is a network port that has been abused in the past for attacks, said Don Leatham, director of solutions and strategy at PatchLink. "Most organizations will already have port 139 blocked," he said. "Although it is good that Microsoft is reiterating this, I don't see it being a huge impact."
The best way to secure PCs that run older versions of Windows is upgrading the operating system, Microsoft suggested.
"With the upcoming end (of) support for these products, we strongly recommend that those of you who are still running these older versions of Windows upgrade to a newer, more secure version, such as Windows XP SP2, as soon as possible," Christopher Budd, a staffer in Microsoft's' security response center, wrote on the team's blog.
http://news.com.com/No+fix+for+critical+hole+in+Windows+98%2C+ME/...
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. June 2006 @ 10:40 |
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iTunes shut-down in Scandinavia?
p2p news / p2pnet: On Thursday we posted an item saying Norway's Consumer Council of Norway is, "on track to win case against Apple, claiming iTunes breaches of fundamental consumer rights".
But it looks like Apple has more than just Norway to worry about.
"Apple Computer?s iTunes online music store could be shut down across Scandinavia following joint action by three Nordic nations to force it to make downloaded songs usable on all digital music players," says the Financial Times.
"Ultimately Apple can be put out of business,? Thorgeir Waterhouse, a senior adviser to the Norwegian Consumer Council, is quoted as saying.
The FT has Apple saying, "We have received a letter from the Norwegian Consumer Council and are looking into it. We?re looking forward to resolving this matter."
The story also points out that when France tried to legislate on the same matter, Apple called it, "state-sponsored piracy".
Apple's Digital Restrictions Managagement for iTunes is C.R.A.P., as ZDNet's David Berlind summed it up.
And yet people around the world still allow themselves to be ripped off by Apple to the iTune of $1 and up for each lossy download.
Also See:
fundamental consumer rights - Norwegian iTunes victory, June 8, 2006
Financial Times - Apple faces a new threat to iTunes music, June 9, 2006
summed it up - Apple and its C.R.A.P., March 4, 2006
==================
http://p2pnet.net/story/9024
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2006 @ 04:04 |
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GOOD MORNING ALL,I AM READY FOR THE NEWBIES
God fails to save idiot in lion enclosure
Dutch heron drowns bunny - World Cup omen?
By Chris Williams
Published Sunday 11th June 2006 07:02 GMT
Find your perfect job - click here for thousands of tech vacancies.
RZSL It's bad news this week for those who were hoping some divine intervention would help humanity overcome its power-thirsty animal attackers.
A man in Ukraine set out to prove that the Lord would protect him when he clambered into the lion enclosure at a Kiev zoo Sunday, The St Petersburg Times reports.
An official at the zoo said: "The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions."
The man got his answer when an affronted lioness grabbed him by the throat and killed him in front of horrified visitors. The official helpfully explained: "A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."
A deer in Wisconsin meanwhile staged a daring solo raid on an apartment in Racine. The Journal Times reports the arsearsein crashed in through the window.
Victim Jerry Falkner said: "I heard glarse breaking and I thought someone was breaking in. The next thing I know, a deer is running toward my room." A frightened Falkner retreated to the bedroom, leaving his pit bull Shadow to face the wrath of the murderous Bambi. Unable to reach its intended human target, the one-year-old doe settled for knocking out the pooch, and flooding the apartment by kicking in pipes, before being tranquilised by wildlife officers.
A bad week for canines all round in fact, after a dead chihuahua was used as a makeshift kosh in a woman's dispute with a dog breeder.
It seems much of humanity has simply given up though, and instead of repelling the animals, decided to find a way join them. The Times of India reports an Orissa woman married a cobra this week in a ceremony watched by 2,000 people. Blushing bride Bimbala Das said: "Though snakes cannot speak nor understand, we communicate in a peculiar way."
We're sure you do, and this is in no way along the same lines as a case going through Alabama courts where Henry Lewis, of Sweetwater, is accused of getting so friendly with his pony he killed it.
The Sun reports a similar case in England's very own Dixie, Somerset, where a 67-year-old was given a caution for attempting sex with a cow from a stepladder.
To end on a distessing note, our low country bunny drownings correspondent Robin Pollard provides this translation of a story appearing on dutch site NieuwNieuws:
The bird grabbed the cute bunny by its ear, with it squirming and screaming it flew to a ditch and drowned it, after which without care for proportion it swallowed it with little difficulty.
Frankly upsetting images of the attack are available here.
http://www.nieuwnieuws.nl/archives/2006/06/reiger_eet_konijn.html
Can't we all just get along?
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2006 @ 04:15 |
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How to Mask Your IP and Use Country Restricted Services
June 10, 2006 at 13:34 · Filed under Entertainment, Everything Else
If you want to watch ABC streaming TV episodes even if you don?t live in the US or see the Football Worldcup in the BBC Sport site, even if you don?t live in the UK - the next few steps will help you mask your IP by changing your default proxy to the correct country.
We always knew it was possible, but not that it?s this simple! This can probably help people who want to use different softwares and services online that are usually restricted to the locals and not only for just viewing the above online TV. This little IP and proxy tweak also makes your surfing much more secure and anonymous.
1. In IE -> Choose Tools -> Choose Internet Options -> Go to Connections (tab) -> Press LAN Settings (button) -> mark the ?Use a proxy server for your LAN?? -> In the IP Address field, enter the IP (use 206.107.155.137 for US services, 62.171.219.179 for UK services) -> In the Port field, enter the port (US - 8080, UK - 80) -> Press OK (button) -> Press OK again (button).
2. For more IPs (proxy servers) from different countries, you can check out this site.
http://www.publicproxyservers.com/page1.html
3. If you?re having any problems, read the original, very detailed post here.
http://www.ghacks.net/2006/06/06/how-to-view-the-football-worldcu...
If you know any other good location based sites or great services that you thought were restricted to your country until now, please comment and share them with us.
http://6initiative.com/how-to-mask-your-ip-and-use-country-restri...
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2006 @ 07:59 |
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Today I am an unhappy bear, I am trying the Beta Vista and all I have to say at this time is &89$*@!~_+ :(
After trying to dl for awhile I finally got the stupid thing in and then I tried to install my sound card and it gives me a message of that it cannot find it, I put in the disk and it says the information was written for Win 98 or higher OS, please make sure you have the correct OS. What a freaking pain, so I managed to get half of the my SB ZDS Platinum installed and got sound, but none of the add on programs work nor does the equalizers. Tried to install my chipset, but that finally took, but the stupid thing will not take my Dell drivers. Can hardly wait to see if I can get any of my other programs to work. Plus these stupid annoying messages keep popping up asking you if you want to continue with what you are doing. I feel the need to get back to my nice stable XP, I ain't liking Vista so far.
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ddp
Moderator
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11. June 2006 @ 08:08 |
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why did you put it on than??
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2006 @ 08:20 |
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It was like test driving a car, you want to see whats under the hood, and it definitely is missing a few spark plugs. The new IE7 will not let me get into my AOL mail, it keeps freezing.
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ddp
Moderator
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11. June 2006 @ 08:26 |
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it is a beta version so is still buggy.
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2006 @ 14:29 |
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thanks to cdfreaks
ye got to love this article....
Apple faces threat from Scandinavia to open music to rivals
Posted by Seán Byrne on 11 June 2006 - 16:44 - Source: Financial Times
Apple's closed proprietary DRM system faces another threat across Scandinavia after three Nordic nations have jointly started action to force music download services to offer music that can be played on all digital music players. As most are aware, music bought from iTunes can only be played on Apple's own iPod series and Apple has already run into problems in the past, including being forced into making their DRM interoperable with rival players by proposed legislation in France up until recently, getting pressure from the BPI in the UK to open up its DRM to even protests carried out over its DRM.
Apple has received letters from Norway, Sweden and Denmark with set deadlines for which Apple must open its iTunes music to allow consumers to play back music on any player of their choice. Finland expects to start similar action also. Norway's deadline is June 21st and Sweden's is August 1st, however it is unclear what deadline Denmark has set at this time. Even though the opening of Apple's DRM is unlikely to affect its iTunes music sales, Apple previously announced that it actually profits on iPod sales and not the iTunes music store itself.
An Apple spokesman said on Friday: ?We have received a letter from the Norwegian Consumer Council and are looking into it. We?re looking forward to resolving this matter.? Previously Apple has called the French legislation ?state-sponsored piracy?.
Working together, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have sent letters to Apple setting deadlines for their demands. Similar action by Finland is expected.
The three states argue that consumers, having bought music on iTunes, must be permitted to listen to it on other players, such as mobile phones. ?The consumer should be free to use their player of choice,? said Mr Waterhouse. Norway has set a deadline of June 21 and Sweden August 1.
If the Scandinavian countries succeed in getting music download stores to open up its DRM system to allow playback on all players, assuming Apple does not decide to pull out of the affected Scandinavian countries, it would be interesting to see how they would deal with this. If they offered their music as MP3, this would instantly solve the compatibility problem, but obviously would be against the wishes of most music industries due to no DRM. On the other hand, if Apple made its music available in several restricted versions such as WMA DRM, Sony?s Atrac3 and so on to cover all the hardware DRM systems out there, they would face having to take on the licensing costs of using all these DRM formats. This method would not even fully solve the issue either since players that lack restrictive DRM support will still not be covered.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13531
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2006 @ 14:38 |
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An 'amazing' remote-controlled plane
June 11, 2006 6:00 AM PDT
We at Blogma would never claim to be experts in remote-controlled vehicles, so please withhold the flames if this strikes you as amateurish. Ranking high on blog some indexes this weekend is a YouTube clip of an "amazing R/C airplane demo."
video here
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/2006/06/amazing_rc_airp.html
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gerry1
Suspended permanently
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12. June 2006 @ 04:10 |
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Good morning all! Strong iced coffee after my morning walk to the office and a bowl of what remained at the bottom of four cereal boxes. I've nearly completed decorating my victorian brothal replica and I'm making a list of additional materials I need. My sister added just the perfect touch ... just for the laugh, she brought me a box of doilies and antimacassars which my mother crotched in the forties and fifties to pin on sofas backs and arms and what not. My sister went around pinning them on everything LOL!...I quickly went around removing them ... you know, I can only take the joke so far without ruining my reputation!
I'm now on the 20th floor of a center city Philly high-rise with an unobstructed view of tens of thousands of offices, apartments, hotels rooms etc. I have such strong itch to buy myself and enormously powerful telescope. Never really realized I had a touch of the voyeur in me LOL!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. June 2006 @ 04:11
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AfterDawn Addict
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12. June 2006 @ 04:10 |
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thanks to cdfreaks
Former RIAA CEO & chairman sees RIAA lawsuits ineffective
Posted by Seán Byrne on 12 June 2006 - 00:30 - Source: Huffington Post
While Hilary Rosen was RIAA's former Chairman and CEO, she has often been accused of getting involved in suing college students and other potentially innocent people for the unauthorised sharing of copyrighted music. However, she has made it clear that it was not until after she left that the RIAA actually began targeting individuals.
During her time with the RIAA, their focus was targeting those who were involved in profiting from piracy such as those who's business involves pirating music. She then went on to mention that she honestly would not have known what to do when it came to suing individuals should she have stayed on, however she did participate in multiple planning and debate sessions about the lawsuits and mentioned about how most successful executives she knows have made controversial decisions.
Finally, she does feel concerned about how the lawsuits against individuals currently taking place as they are no longer as they have outlived their usefulness and that the record companies needs to start working on alternative measures such as creating legitimate file sharing sites and helping music services work better with portable music players. For example, she pointed out how Apple's proprietary DRM is a problem and that DRM itself is not the proper strategy for online music distribution.
Commenters on this site regularly accuse me of suing college students and other "innocents" in my past role as Chairman and CEO of the Recording Indsutry Assciation of America The lawsuits against individuals initiated by the RIAA was started after I left. When I was there, our litigation focus was on those who were bulding commercial businesses on the backs of the creative community without their agreement or participation.
I don't honestly know what I would have done about the individual lawsuits had I stayed. I certainly participated in multiple planning and debate sessions about them. There were good arguments on both sides and the staff at the RIAA are thoughtful, good people who work hard to protect their constituency. Thankfully my plan to leave was firmly in place and I didn't have to make that tough call or take the heat for the one that was made.
The full Huffington Post article can be read here.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilary-rosen/for-the-record-for-wha...
The RIAA would probably have been better off taking all of its resources it currently uses to target individuals and use them on organisations that pirate music for profit, particularly since consumers are more likely to buy music after hearing it from a file sharing network than if they bought a pirated copy.
Finally, locking all forms of music distribution online with DRM is not the answer either to cutting piracy either. It would be nice if they helped run a trial music download service which offers music in MP3, particularly since they could easily stop the trial should it turn out to be a failure. As the vast majority of music in shops is already available on file sharing networks, there is actually no real point in crippling music from online services in DRM, since consumers who wish to download music from P2P instead will find a shared version anyway.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13532
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. June 2006 @ 04:13
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AfterDawn Addict
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12. June 2006 @ 04:42 |
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CRBAP..........Control the recycle bin. Helps You Get Rid of Recycle-bin Files Quickly. No more answering "Yes" to delete files, Customizable Hotkey to Empty Recycle-bin, Customizable Hotkey to View the Recycle-Bin, Increased Functionality over previous versions. GUI Assissted Configuration, Completely Hidden - No Windows or Icons, Optionally Alerts you wehn you empty the Recycle-bin, Hotkey allows you to quickly exit the program entirely, Optionally Starts with Windows and uses lfew resources, 100% Freeware - Absolutely NO SPYWARE!, Features Automatic Live Updates utilizing the UpChk engine.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://members.shaw.ca/hruodperht/crbap/CRbAP.html
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12. June 2006 @ 04:46 |
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BANDWIDTH VISTA..........Monitor the network speed and bandwidth performance of your network connections. Any type of connection can be monitored on your lan or the internet, wireless or cable. Network activity is monitored and logged for each individual connection. Bandwidth Vista is an asset to the home computer or network server alike .....(free).....GO THERE!
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With this program you can see exactly where your are.
Bandwidth Vista Requires the .NET Framework 2 installed (available here ) which is freely available and is also downloadable from windows update. The .NET Framework will be built into Windows Vista. Bandwidth Vista is already a valued bandwidth monitor in use by over 15000 users.
GO HERE TO SEE THE PIXS
http://www.tamarsolutions.co.uk/
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AfterDawn Addict
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12. June 2006 @ 05:35 |
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Apple DRM problems grow
p2p news / p2pnet: Apple's consumer control problems are escalating. Fast.
When France seemed set to introduce a new law that would have forced Apple to let iPod owners download songs from services other than iTunes, Steve Jobs said it amounted to, 'state-sponsored piracy".
More recently came news that Norway's Consumer Council of Norway was claiming iTunes breaches fundamental consumer rights, and a couple of days later, "Apple Computer?s iTunes online music store could be shut down across Scandinavia," said the Financial Times..
Now, "As the outcry in Europe is spreading, there is some opposition to Apple's business practices in the U.S," says BusinessWeek Online, going on:
"A group called the Free Software Foundation carried out protests on June 10 at seven Apple retail stores in cities that included New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle."
"Defective by Design" protests are aimed at Apple, "as well as other companies the foundation thinks are supporting a growing trend toward legal restrictions that bind digital content to particular playing devices."
Elsewhere, in Europe, "Apple is facing hassles over the same compatibility questions, as well as its pricing structure in Britain, says BusinessWeek Online, pointing out that iTunes songs there go for 79 pence, or about $1.45, against the .99 euros (about $1.25) charged elsewhere in the European Union.
"We know that prices in Germany and France are lower," it has Alena Kozakova, principal economist at Which?, a British consumers' advocacy group, saying.
"There is no justification of this because the product is virtual. The traditional way of justifying this is that property and wages are more expensive in Britain and therefore products should be as well. But because this product is virtual this cannot apply."
Apple's DRM (Digital Restrictions Managagement) is C.R.A.P., says ZDNet's David Berlind.
Digg this story.
Also See:
state-sponsored piracy - Apple: foiled in France, March 28, 200
consumer rights - Norwegian iTunes victory, June 8, 2006
BusinessWeek Online - Now It's Europe vs. Apple, June 12, 2006
David Berlind - Apple and its C.R.A.P., March 4, 2006
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(Monday 12th June 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/9030
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AfterDawn Addict
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12. June 2006 @ 06:48 |
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Korea bans p2p file sharing
p2p news / p2pnet: Eight of Korea's 11 p2p services have caved in to pressure from the Big Four Organized Music record labels.
They'll now "intercept" mp3 files, says PC Pro.
The Big Four's Korean Association of Phonogram Producers (KAPP) had threatened legal action unless the p2p companies took action by 12 June, says the story.
"We held an urgent meeting last week, and eight of 11 member companies agreed to block MP3 files until we find ways to charge users,'' TMCNet has spokesman Jun Hyun-sung saying. However, "he refused to name the eight companies because he worries they may suffer a disadvantage in negotiations with the music industry," it states.
Services such as Soribada and Purna, "have been widely used for file sharing, where thousands of users can give and take their music and movie data," says TMCNet. "Users pay only about 50 won (about 52 cents) to service providers for downloading an entire album, usually about 50 megabytes in MP3 file format ..."
In March, p2p sites including Soribada, forced to adopt fee-charging services and due to launch on April 1, said they could go on hold.
At the time, filtering technology to stop people from sharing music files owned by the Big Four hadn't been put in place, observed KMPA boss Seo Hee-deok.
After being forced offline by the KMPA, Soribada, Korea's largest p2p file sharing company, reappeared in February with the news that users would "have to pay certain amounts of service fees for downloading music files".
"We agreed with Soribada to charge 500 won (about 51 cents) for users downloading music files labeled with digital right management, 700 won (about 72 cents) for music files without DRM and 250 won (ahout 26 cents) for poor sound-quality music," Hee-deok stated.
Other p2p service providers were also said to be, "in talks" with the KMPA, "for similar arrangements," but major labels such as DoReMi Media, Manine Media, Ins Digital and CJ Music were opposing monthly flat fees, except for "outdated" songs,
Meanwhile, "The online service companies are worried the government only listens to the copyright holders," TMCNet has Jun saying, adding:
"We will request the government to take a more balanced stance on the matter."
Digg this story.
Also See:
PC Pro - Korea stops music file-sharing, June 12, 2006
TMCNet - Internet Music Sharing Blocked, June 11, 2006
fee-charging services - Korea p2p charges revealed, March 27, 2006
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(Monday 12th June 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/9034
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AfterDawn Addict
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12. June 2006 @ 07:04 |
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Microsoft: Zombies most prevalent Windows threat
By Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: June 12, 2006, 6:00 AM PDT
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint
Many Windows PCs have been turned into zombies, but rootkits are not yet widespread, according to a Microsoft security report slated for release Monday.
More than 60 percent of Windows PCs scanned by Microsoft's Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool between January 2005 and March 2006 were found to run malicious bot software, according to Microsoft. The tool removed at least one version of the remote control software from about 3.5 million PCs, the software maker said.
"Backdoor Trojans?are a significant and tangible threat to Windows users," Microsoft said in the report.
A computer compromised by such a Trojan, popularly referred to as a zombie, can be used by attackers in a network of bots, or botnet, to relay spam and launch cyberattacks. Additionally, hackers often steal the victim's data and install spyware and adware on PCs, to earn a kickback from the spyware or adware maker.
Microsoft introduced the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool in January last year. An updated version of the program ships monthly with Microsoft's security updates. The tool identifies and removes prevalent malicious software from PCs. Since its release, the tool has run about 2.7 billion times on at least 270 million computers, Microsoft said.
Over the 15-month period covered by the report, the tool removed 16 million instances of malicious software from 5.7 million unique Windows systems, Microsoft said. On average, that's at least one instance of a virus, Trojan horse, worm or rootkit from every 311 computers it runs on. The program does not remove spyware.
Backdoor Trojans are the most prevalent threat, followed by e-mail worms, which were found on and removed from just over 1 million PCs, Microsoft said. Rootkits, which make system changes to hide other, possibly malicious software, are less widespread, with removals from 780,000 PCs, according to Microsoft.
"Rootkits?are a potential emerging threat but have not yet reached widespread prevalence," Microsoft said in the report. This contrasts with a study from McAfee, which in April said the numbers of rootkits it sees are rising sharply.
Rootkits lunged into the public spotlight last year when anticopying software on certain Sony BMG Music Entertainment CDs was found to contain a rootkit. Microsoft added detection and removal capabilities for the Sony rootkit in December and its tool wiped off the software 250,000 times, according to the report.
The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool found a rootkit on 14 percent of the 5.7 million PCs it removed malicious software from. This figure drops to 9 percent when excluding the Sony rootkit. In about 20 percent of the cases when a rootkit was found on a computer, at least one backdoor Trojan was found as well, Microsoft said.
Attacks in which a victim is tricked into running malicious software are a significant source of infections. Worms that spread through e-mail, peer-to-peer networks and instant messaging clients account for just over one-third of the computers cleaned by the Microsoft tool, the Redmond, Wash., software maker said.
The top five threats identified by Microsoft's removal tool: Rbot, Sdbot, Parite, Gaobot and FURootkit. Parite is an aggressive file-infecting virus that first appeared in 2001, Microsoft said, and the FURootkit is often used to hide a backdoor Trojan such as Rbot, Sdbot and Gaobot on a PC.
The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is available in 24 languages to people who use Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The current release of the tool is capable of detecting and removing 61 families of malicious software.
http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6082615.html?part=rss&tag=6082615...
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. June 2006 @ 03:18 |
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GOOD MORNING ALL...HAVING ME SECOND 12oz COFFEE
FREE...
FAST KAKE..........FastKake will create a set of handy and useful shortcuts which will give you full control of your Windows operating system and simplify your computing life. There will be shortcuts to quickly shutdown/reboot/standby/hibernate the computer, lock the desktop or logoff the current user. There will also be shortcuts to empty the recycle bin, close all windows, quickly compose and send an email, launch default browser, launch default email client, open/close your cd drive, disable/enable your screensaver, add/remove programs, device manager, search for files and folders, launch word, excel, powerpoint, notepad, etc. etc. FastKake is small in size (120kb), requires no installation and does not modify your system .....(free).....GO THERE!
http://www.phy.uni-bayreuth.de/~btp344/fastkake/
FREE
POWER METER PLUS..........Replace the native battery power meter for Windows with a better one. Power Meter Plus has the following features: It gradually appears as the power levels drop. The lower the power, the more prominent the meter will be. When you're charging the laptop it'll turn green and slowly disappear/fade as the charge increases. The meter appears either on the bottom left or bottom right of the screen; it moves to the opposite corner if you move your mouse over it.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://mattcollinge.wordpress.com/software/power-meter-plus/
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. June 2006 @ 03:21
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gerry1
Suspended permanently
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13. June 2006 @ 05:15 |
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I'm multitasking ... I'm testing clients while having nice strong coffee and the strangest breakfast I've ever had. I stopped by a new little asian diner with a sign reading "we serve breakfast". I ordered my usual eggs, bacon and homefries but I knew I was in trouble when they started slicing a potato then threw the slices in a wok with some onions as I asked for them. Bacon was off to the side somewhere but watching them cook my eggs was comical and I wish I'd taped it. After explaining what "over light" means, they were trying to cook my eggs in a wok which was about as hot as the surface as the sun. I never knew eggyolks could explode like that LOL! Well, I'm eating some sort of egg-based concoction with some sort of new styled potato chips that are as hard as a silver dollar ... the bacon was ok. Strange way to start the day but it was funny as hell even if the breakfast is crap. (I also had to buy the coffee elsewhere).
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. June 2006 @ 05:17
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. June 2006 @ 06:04 |
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Google Earth - in 3D
p2p news / p2pnet: One of the coolest applications going is Google Earth which lets you zoom in from outer space for an amazing aerial view of your home town, say.
"You point and zoom to anyplace on the planet that you want to explore," says Google. "Satellite images and local facts zoom into view. Tap into Google search to show local points of interest and facts. Zoom to a specific address to check out an apartment or hotel. View driving directions and even fly along your route."
Now Google Earth has added a 3D interface.
And for the first time, it works with Linux.
Check it out here.
http://earth.google.com/
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. June 2006 @ 09:39 |
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VERY DAM GOOD READ
Hollywood needs YOU!!!
p2p news / p2pnet: "On the one hand, we're playing in the old-fashioned packaged goods business, and at the same time, we have to deal with new technologies."
So says Bob Chapek, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment, quoted by The New York Times.
Disney is still trying, and obviously failing, to use antiquated business models centred on physical product in the digital 21st century.
"Studios are starting to beam digital movie files to consumers over the airwaves and send them through the Internet, but sales so far are minuscule," says the story. "Rentals and video-on-demand, though growing, generate far smaller profits for the studios than store-bought DVD's."
Thus, "plain old DVD will remain their bread and butter for several more years" while the studios try, "everything they can in their quest for a new cash cow".
That's you. And while you digest that, here's an interesting fact :
"Studios make money when Netflix and other companies rent out their movies," says story, going on, "But the amount that studios make on rentals pales compared to how much they make when consumers buy discs. Studios earn $17.26 for each DVD they sell, but only $2.37 for movies on demand and $2.25 per DVD rented, according to Tom Adams, the president of Adams Media Research."
It's also, "a business model that can't be matched," he said.
And it explains why Hollywood is pushing new high-definition DVD's, although there's an unfortunate hitch, namely, "The studios, electronics makers and technology companies that developed them came up with two formats: Blu-ray, backed by Sony, Dell, Disney and others; and HD-DVD, which is supported by Toshiba, Microsoft and Universal, among others."
Consumers risk getting saddled with obsolete players and discs if one side ultimately backs down, and, "Cost is another factor, says the NYT, " Toshiba has introduced a $500 player that, at least for now, can only play movies from three major studios. Later this month, Samsung will release the first Blu-ray machine, which will be able to play more movies, but it is expected to cost about $1,000."
There's a whole slew of expensive new products lined up for the new hi-def formats but, "Even so, the companies backing both high-definition formats are likely to see only modest sales initially," says the article, adding:
"Consumers will buy just $175 million worth of HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs this year; by 2010, high-definition DVD sales will still be only half those of standard-definition disc sales, according to Adams Media Research."
The Cash Cow (upper right) is with apologies to Dean McAdam ; P
Digg this story.
Also See:
The New York Times - As DVD Sales Slow, Hollywood Hunts for a New Cash Cow, June 13, 2006
(Tuesday 13th June 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/9052
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. June 2006 @ 04:24 |
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Windows Vista pros and cons
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/os/soa/Windows_Vista_pro...
By Robert Vamosi, CNET.com
14 June 2006 06:06 PM
E-Mail Story Printer Friendly Tell Us Your Opinion ZDNet Alerts
The decision for some small business users to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista once it becomes available in early 2007 will depend largely on what the new operating system can do for you and what hardware you have to run it on.
Microsoft has prepared a Get Ready page listing the hardware required to run Windows Vista, and for Windows Vista beta 2 there's a public download available.
It's still early, and Microsoft could easily change aspects of individual features between now and the final release. But based on what I've seen after living with Windows Vista beta 2 for a week, here are five things I think you'll like about the new operating system -- some of which might persuade certain fence-sitters to upgrade -- and five things that may convince others to stick with Windows XP for a few more years.
What I love about Windows Vista
Learn about the new features within the Windows Vista operating system that I think you'll like.
What I hate about Windows Vista
See what I think is wrong with the new operating system.
Windows Vista pros: What I love about Windows Vista
On this page, you'll learn about the new features within the Windows Vista operating system that I think you'll like. Since the Windows Vista Aero graphics system, which I like, will work only with certain high-end hardware configurations, I've focused here on features I like within Vista that do not require Aero. At the moment, all of these features are scheduled to be included in the Home Premium and Business editions of Windows Vista. If you're mainly interested in what's wrong with the new operating system, move on to the next page, where you can learn more about glitches we've encountered so far.
1. Search or create virtual files
Forget directories, forget directory trees. Microsoft has integrated search throughout its new operating system, and you'll quickly come to wonder how you lived without it. You can search for all documents authored by John Doe, then save the search as a virtual file folder for later reference without having to physically relocate or make copies of all those files.
2. Widgets -- er, Gadgets
In Windows Vista, Microsoft allows you to drag and drop Gadgets (think Widgets on the Apple OS X desktop) to tell time, calculate currency, or tackle any trivial task you perform regularly that would be handier if it were always on top of your current screen. Presently, you can acquire Gadgets, or Widgets, for your Windows XP machine from online sites such as Windows Live. In the near future, Microsoft says you'll be able to write your own Windows Vista Gadgets, allowing you to really personalise your desktop.
3. Built-in diagnostics
Programs won't run, the operating system crashes -- Microsoft says these will be in the past with Vista. So far, we've seen more dialogs, from explaining why an application won't run to warning us that there are driver conflicts that prevent our laptop system from going to sleep. For example, Vista will listen to your hard drive and report pending problems, giving you ample warning to back up your data.
There's also a Problems Report and Solutions monitor where you can see what problems Vista has encountered, and then go online to find possible solutions. And, have you ever noticed how Windows computers get slower with age? That's because files get separated from each other on your hard drive and require occasional defragmentation. Most of us never do it, in part because it uses too many system resources. In Vista, the process is automatic and runs in the background, so you won't even notice it.
4. Need more oomph? Vista will find it for you
Need more RAM? How about borrowing some from that 256MB or greater USB drive? In Windows Vista, the new Windows ReadyBoost feature can swap flash memory with any large USB device. If your laptop has a new hybrid hard drive, the Windows ReadyDrive can improve your system's overall performance, battery life, and reliability by taking advantage of the drive's built-in flash capabilities.
New Windows SuperFetch can cache on your hard drive frequently used apps based on the frequency of use so that, for example, every Monday morning when you arrive at your desk for work, you can count on Outlook and your Internet browser to launch quickly. Also, finally, there's a new feature called Low-priority Input/Output that should keep you productive: in Windows Vista, user applications will get higher priority with system resources than antivirus or defragmentation processes.
5. Enhanced help
Help used to be limited to a few pithy sentences about the task you want to perform. Windows Vista changes all that. There are more options available within Help inside Vista. For example, you can initiate a remote-assistance session so that someone you trust can take over your PC remotely and diagnose a problem or perform a task for you. You can also go online and search Microsoft's knowledge base or contact Microsoft's technical support.
Vista images
One really cool feature, however, is labelled Do It Automatically. Here, a task such as checking the version of a driver will be automated, with your desktop going dark as a pointer arrow floats over the screen indicating what to click and where. From time to time, the pointer will stop and a dialog box will require your input before it continues to perform the task. While there are only 15 of these automated help sessions within the current Windows Vista beta 2 release, we hope Microsoft adds more.
Windows Vista cons: What I hate about Windows Vista
On this page, you'll learn about the new features within the Windows Vista operating system that I think you won't like. If you're mainly interested in what's good with the new operating system, move to the previous page, where you can learn more about features I can't live without.
1. Your current hardware won't fully run Vista
Get ready for the media blitz. Get ready for the frustration. While many computers in use today will be able to update and run the new operating system, they'll be able to run it only in what Microsoft slyly calls Windows Vista Basic. That means while you'll have the ability to search files, you won't have 3D Aero graphics, live animation along the Taskbar, or smooth streaming graphics on your desktop.
Unless you buy a new PC sometime in 2007, or add a high-end video card and some extra memory to your current PC, you probably won't get the full visual Vista experience.
2. Vista's Aero graphics gobble up laptop battery power
If you're used to your laptop lasting on a long, cross-country flight, you might want to reconsider upgrading to Windows Vista -- that is, if you want the new Aero graphics features turned on.
In our tests, a laptop running Windows Vista Aero had significantly reduced battery life compared to one running in what Microsoft calls Windows Vista Basic. You'll sacrifice the 3D and smooth streaming of video, but you'll make it to your destination with some battery power to spare. Unfortunately, changing from Aero to Basic is harder than it should be.
3. User Account Protection
The User Account Protection feature has already gotten a ton of negative press. While I understand what Microsoft is trying to do -- protect the user from rogue software installs -- I don't think the company has figured it out yet.
In order to perform basic tasks, such as install or remove an application, even administrator account users must answer a series of pop-up messages, adding time to the process. Worse, whenever you are prompted to respond, the whole Vista desktop goes dark while the pop-up message remains on the screen, preventing you from doing anything else. While this feature can be valuable if rogue spyware attempts to install without your permission, good Internet behaviour will do as much. For most of us, the frequent appearance of User Account Protection on common tasks will be security overkill.
4. Missing drivers and incompatible apps
Not having all the necessary drivers or not having software compliant with a new operating system is to be expected in the beta of a new operating system, but even after several months of developer testing, I was surprised to see a number of common drivers still missing from the public beta for Windows Vista. For example, I had to manually import several Acer TravelMate 8200 drivers from a Windows XP partition on the same drive.
5. Troubled sleep
Microsoft claims that it has addressed the complicated issue of whether to put your laptop to sleep or have it hibernate when it is not in use. Instant Off, a new option on the Start menu, allows Windows Vista to take a quick snapshot of your system, then shut down completely, thus eliminating the occurrence of a hot laptop inside your backpack.
Vista images
After experiencing several false starts -- literally, I was unable to resume my Windows Vista session as I'd left it -- I discovered through Vista's Performance Ratings and Tools report that several legacy drivers, some installed by Vista during installation, were preventing the new Instant Off feature from performing correctly. Vista politely asked that I find updated drivers to replace those on my machine or remove them. I suspect a lot of people will encounter this problem in the months immediately following Vista's full release.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. June 2006 @ 04:28 |
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FREE,SLIPSTREAMER XP..........Flexbeta SlipstreamerXP is an application that will slipstream any Windows XP or Office XP Service Pack into your installation files. It has currently been tested to work for all Windows XP and Office XP Service Packs up to SP2 (SP2 1213 for Windows XP). Unattended install. ISO creator. Friendly graphic user interface.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://flexbeta.net/slipstreamerxp/
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