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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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16. September 2006 @ 10:14 |
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Movies File Share Top Ten Downloaders ('leechers')
BitTorrent, World-wide
Current simultaneous leechers as of September 16, 2006
Ranking Movie Number of Downloads
01 >>> Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (unchanged) 49,401
02 >>> Scary Movie 4 + 4 48,143
03 >>> RV - 2 48,094
04 >>> Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 3 46,066
05 >>> Beerfest + 6 43,379
06 >>> Poseidon (new) 41,883
07 >>> Monster House + 8 42,218
08 >>> The Sentinal - 7 39,445
09 >>> The Benchwarmers - 5 40,080
10 >>> Final Destination 3 (new) 40,156
Movies File Share Top Ten Downloads
p2p, World-wide
Week ending September 16, 2006
Ranking Movie Number of Downloads
01 >>> Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (unchanged) 1,586,772
02 >>> Scary Movie 4 + 4 1,583,018
03 >>> Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (unchanged) 1,549,675
04 >>> The Sentinal + 6 1,525,211
05 >>> RV (unchanged) 1,524,326
06 >>> Inside Man + 9 1,516,944
07 >>> Beerfest + 8 1,511,018
08 >>> Poseidon (return) 1,474,722
09 >>> Silent Hill + 10 1,471,580
10 >>> The Benchwarmers - 4 1,461,626
Movies File Share Top Ten Downloads
p2p, USA
Week ending September 16, 2006
Ranking Movie Number of Downloads
01 >>> Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (unchanged) 957,096
02 >>> Scary Movie 4 + 4 942,272
03 >>> Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 2 938,517
04 >>> RV + 6 932,040
05 >>> The Sentinal (unchanged) 918,972
06 >>> Inside Man + 9 918,247
07 >>> Beerfest (unchanged) 904,100
08 >>> Poseidon + 10 902,505
09 >>> The Shaggy Dog (new) 894,239
10 >>> The Benchwarmers - 3 858,194
(Saturday 16th September 2006)
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2006 @ 10:22 |
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Adobe .pdf back doors,be careful
p2pnet.net News:- UK security researcher David Kierznowski says legitimate features in Adobe PDF files can be used to open back doors for hack attacks.
Kierznowski, a penetration testing expert, has released proof-of-concept code and rigged PDF files, "to demonstrate how the Adobe Reader program could be used to launch attacks without any user action," says eWEEK.
But, "I do not really consider these attacks as vulnerabilities within Adobe," the story has him saying. "It is more exploiting features supported by the product that were never designed for this," Kierznowski stated.
"The first back door (PDF), which eWEEK confirmed on a fully patched version of Adobe Reader, involves adding a malicious link to a PDF file," says the story. "Once the document is opened, the target's browser is automatically launched and loads the embedded link"and, "At this point, it is obvious that any malicious code [can] be launched," Kierznowski said.
(Saturday 16th September 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/9877?PHPSESSID=b...5e05f0de909a216
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16. September 2006 @ 10:23
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2006 @ 10:30 |
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Plastic Batteries Coming Soon?
Posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday September 16, @12:23PM
from the polymer-power dept.
Power Hardware
Roland Piquepaille writes "Engineers at Brown University have built a prototype of a hybrid plastic battery that uses a conductive polymer. The system, which marries the power of a capacitor with the storage capacity of a battery, can store and deliver power efficiently. For example, during performance testing, 'it delivered more than 100 times the power of a standard alkaline battery.' Still, it's unlikely that such a device can appear on the market before several years."
go here to read the rest
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News...-07/06-022.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2006 @ 10:43 |
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Hardware Seagate Says 2.5TB Drives By 2009
Seagate plans to triple areal densities within two years
At the IDEMA DISKON show in Santa Clara, California, Seagate demonstrated a magnetic recording device with a whopping 421 Gbits per square inch density. To put that in perspective, the company recently announced 160GB 5400.3 2.5" perpendicular notebook drives that have an areal density of 135 Gbits per square inch. Toshiba, the current commercial density leaders, recently demonstrated 2.5" hard drives with areal densities of 188 Gbits per square inch.
Seagate CEO Bill Watkins claims "Breakthroughs in areal density are enabling the digital revolution and clearly indicate that hard drives can sustain their advantage to meet the world's insatiable demand for storage across a wide range of market segments."
According to the press release put out by Seagate, the company claims a 1.8" disk drive produced on the same 421 Gbits per square inch technology would result in a 275GB hard drive. 2.5" drives on the density would level out around 500GB, and fully fledged 3.5" hard drives would be able to house a density of 2.5 terabytes. Perhaps even more exciting is that Seagate "anticipates that solutions at these density levels could begin to emerge in 2009."
The leap to such densities would result in a three-fold increase of current areal densities. However, Seagate isn't alone in this race. Earlier this year Hitachi put out a press release claiming we would see 1TB holographic drives from the company before the end of the year. However, both companies use Komag as the primary supplier of their high density platters -- and it should not be a surprise if we see 1TB hard disk drives as well.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4193
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2006 @ 18:51 |
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7-Zip (32-bit and 64-bit) 4.43
Posted by: Digital Dave on September 15, 2006 12:28 PM
Free and pretty damn good at compressing the hell out of things.
7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio. The program supports 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, LZH, CHM, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB formats. Compression ratio in the new 7z format is 30-50% better than ratio in ZIP format. It also compresses to ZIP 2-10% better than PKZip and WinZIP. It has an additional powerful command line version and FAR Manager support.
License: Open Source
OS Support: Windows 2000/9x/XP
- Betanews.com - 32-bit
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/7Zip_32bit/951078804/1
- Betanews.com - 64-bit
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/7Zip_x64/951078804/2
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2006 @ 18:56 |
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Microsoft deliberately blocking disc burning software in Vista, claims Alcohol
Posted by: Digital Dave on September 14, 2006 11:49 PM
Really? Na... they can't be that stupid.
To their own frustration and to the frustration of their users, big CD/DVD burning companies Roxio, Alcohol and Ahead Software (makers of Nero) are facing a huge problem in getting their software packages to work with Vista.
According to Alcohol Soft, the maker of Alcohol 52% and 120%, Microsoft is blocking its ability to ensure compatibility:
- apcstart.com
Microsoft deliberately blocking disc burning software in Vista, claims Alcohol
* 14 September 2006
To their own frustration and to the frustration of their users, big CD/DVD burning companies Roxio, Alcohol and Ahead Software (makers of Nero) are facing a huge problem in getting their software packages to work with Vista.
According to Alcohol Soft, the maker of Alcohol 52% and 120%, Microsoft is blocking its ability to ensure compatibility:
They have actually placed a hard block on the device drivers for the time being, to stop the virtual drives from loading. It is more than likely in place to help them beta test Vista without having reports from beta users regarding virtual drives, which might complicate things. We are working with them at the moment to ensure there are no incompatibility problems in the future.
As a result, ?As of this time Alcohol 120% will not work in Windows Vista Beta, although we do hope to support it once we get past the RC1 release and further,? Alcohol Soft says.
Roxio and Nero cannot be definite about the compatibility of their product either. Roxio says that
EMC Version 9 is Vista compatible, but Vista is a moving target, so we can?t assure 100% compatibility until after Vista is final and released. We may have to release an update at that time, but we are committed to doing so if necessary.
Nero is ?currently working on? reliable compatibility but could not commit to anything more definite ?at this stage?.
However, Vista RC1 users report that Deep Burner (shareware) and ImgBurn (donation-ware) are working.
APC gave Microsoft ten days to provide a response to Alcohol Soft?s claim, but at the time of publication, it still hadn?t responded since its initial acknowledgement of the enquiry.
RELATED STORIES
* No Nero for Windows Vista beta 2 yet
* Burn slower, or risk data loss: Microsoft
http://www.apcstart.com/site/tgaden/2006...-claims-alcohol
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AfterDawn Addict
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17. September 2006 @ 11:03 |
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FREE HAMACHI..........
Simple and sweet! With Hamachi you can organize two or more computers with an internet connection into their own virtual network for direct secure communication. LAN over the Internet. Zero-configuration VPN. Secure peer-to-peer. Access computers remotely. Use Windows File Sharing. Play LAN games. Run private Web or FTP servers. Communicate directly. Stay connected.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://www.hamachi.cc/
What it is
Hamachi is a zero-configuration virtual private networking (VPN) application.
In other words Hamachi is a program that allows you to arrange multiple computers into their own secure network just as if they were connected by a physical network cable.
Hamachi is fast, secure and simple. Its core version is also free.
What's in it for me?
Hamachi gives you LAN over the Internet.
Virtually any application that works over local/home networks can also be used over Hamachi networks.
Think - Windows File Sharing, iTunes, Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance or even gaming - all fully encrypted, authenticated and peer-to-peer.
Technology
Hamachi is a zero-configuration virtual private networking application with an open security architecture and NAT-to-NAT traversal capabilities.
Hamachi is the first application to mix seemingly unrelated networking technologies in one powerful package to deliver an unprecedented level of direct peer-to-peer connectivity. More ...
Security
Hamachi is secure. All Hamachi communications are encrypted and authenticated with industry-standard algorithms and protocols. Nobody will be able to see what two Hamachi peers are talking about. Not even us.
However what is equally important - Hamachi security architecture is completely open meaning that its detailed description is available to anyone interested for review and validation. More ...
Ease of Use
Great effort went into designing and polishing the Hamachi user interface. The result is sleek, simple and intuitive; yet still very functional. Everything you need, nothing you don't.
Hamachi software contains no spyware, bannerware or any other -ware unrelated to its purpose. And it never will.
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17. September 2006 @ 17:56 |
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NOTE THIS POST MIGHT HAVE TO BE PULLED......
quote cdfreaks
IfoEdit author offers software as a protest
Posted by Dan Bell on 18 September 2006 - 00:32 - Source: IFOEdit
bcn_246 used our news submit to tell us: "Not sure if the staff will be willing to post this (might count as linking to warez) but it certainly surprised me. Derrow (author of numerous, mainly free, audio/video tools) seems to have found his own way of protesting against people stealing his code. Assuming what he claims is true I have some sympathy with him. It seems that now many bigger companies seem to feel it is their right to steal freeware code for their own commercial programs, probably on the assumption that the programmers don?t have the time or money to do anything about it. I wonder if either party will take any more action..."
"Video Vault uses my engine and code to process DVDs without my permission, so you can use this full version legally for free! (If you have purchased Video Vault before, then call your credit card company and aks for a charge back because you haven"t received a legal product. You can do this up to 3 month since your purchase.)
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13973
IfoEdit - The solution to DVD Copy 1:1
http://www.ifoedit.com/
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. September 2006 @ 18:15
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xhardc0re
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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18. September 2006 @ 05:20 |
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@ireland
you know man, you simply amaze me. the information you provide is excellent. your humor is witty, sometimes obscene...but always spot on. This thread is my favorite for showing people the evils of DRM technology. thanks for being awesome!
xH
if you're a college student, do NOT settle with the RIAA http://tinyurl.com/37oz2z
~ SlimPS2 v15US, PSP v3.60FW, TaiyoYuden DVD-R, SwapMagic_v3.6 & BreakerPro 1.1 (No mod)
Writer: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4080N 0G03 SW: DVDDecrypt*r,
lastest Nero Ultra 7 & Alcohol 120% ~ |
AfterDawn Addict
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18. September 2006 @ 07:27 |
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[size=5] RIAA receives ANAL assistance[/size]
p2pnet.net News:- The multi-multi-(repetition deliberate)-billion-dollar movie and music industries are in a terrible bind.
Wicked file sharers, some of them 12 years of age and some no longer living, are ruining their businesses and sadly, many executives have been forced to register at drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinics because they can no longer afford the vast quantities of substances they've become accustomed to ingesting.
Worse, almost, the cartels may soon be forced to cut off a number of friendly politicians around the world, but mainly in North America and China, who've been getting by on industry financial assistance programs.
Clearly, this can't be allowed to continue, but Customer Control measures are taking longer to take hold than originally expected.
Until they do, however, the entertainment cartels may be able to draw some small comfort from the fact they're not alone, as this confidential document posted by p2pnet reader RV indicates:
Confidential memo to ANAL members
From: American Newspaper Alliance (ANAL)
RIAA-ANAL Relations Director
To: ANAL members.
Please be informed that we have formed an RIAA-ANAL coalition to jointly advance our mutual interest in stopping piracy. As you all know, ANAL papers have given RIAA free publicity for years. Now they are helping us with their legal expertise.
I have been named RIAA-ANAL Relations Director.
We are already seeing the benefits of the ANAL-RIAA coalition.
With the help of RIAA, we have made a comprehensive study about the problem of browsing of ANAL papers without buying.
This is the problem. At a time when we are loosing sales as a result of competition from the Internet we must stop all piracy against ANAL members, who lose billions because people just browse ANAL papers at newspaper stands and stores without actually buying.
We have estimated that the number of browses of ANAL papers without actually buying the paper about 10 billion per year, in the USA alone. Considering each browsing equals a lost sale, we are loosing $5 billion in yearly sales.
The RIAA has recommended that ANAL classify the browsing of a newspaper without actually buying it an act of piracy and a crime, just as listening to a CD without buying it is a serious crime punishable with jail time.
Clearly we must act. Here are some of the RIAA suggestions we will be considering:
a. Filming people browsing ANAL papers and then sending them letters with a threat of a lawsuit and a settlement offer. The criminal can settle with us for $5,000. The cost of just answering lawsuit costs over $5,000 and the defendant may risk going to jail and appearing on our front pages as a criminal (this part is our idea), so people will tend to settle. RIAA's similar program, RIAA tells us, is even more profitable than the sale of CDs.
b. Suing the owners of the businesses that sell ANAL papers and allow readers to browse for free. These businesses, by placing ANAL papers where people can just grab them for browsing, is inducing infringement, reading without buying. The US supreme Court has already decided that inducement is infringement.
c. Lobby to make reading without buying a crime punishable with jail time. After all, if you can go 5 years to jail for copying a DVD, why not the same for stealing from ANAL members, when ANAL is the most powerful lobby, more powerful than the music and movie cartels, above all at election time, when politicians need us most.
d. Since some ANAL members operate newspapers abroad, we must also lobby so that by treaty, other nations are forced to comply with the new American laws, if they want low interest armament loans and want to import their cheap products into America. Our trade officials at Washington have much experience on this, so there should be no problem. Also if any regime abroad opposes this, our newspapers abroad, with the help of CIA will take care of them.
If you have any suggestion or questions about this program. please contact me, your director of RIAA-ANAL Relations. [Name witheld.]
==========================
UPDATE: It's hard to believe the above is being taken seriously. But on the other hand, maybe not.
Anyhow, it's a take-off mocking the RIAA.
Cheers! Jon
http://p2pnet.net/story/9881?PHPSESSID=e...079a08153a5b30f
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. September 2006 @ 07:50 |
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Are you a 'flaming jackass'?
p2pnet.net News:- "No one wants to believe that the book he's brought home is only partly his, and subject to the terms of a license set out on the flyleaf. You'd be a flaming jackass if you showed up at a con and insisted that your book may not be read aloud, nor photocopied in part and marked up for a writers' workshop, nor made the subject of a piece of fan-fiction."
So says Cory Doctorow in a Locus Magazine article. There's a lot more, and by way of example, below are a number of tasty excerpts:
The theory is that if the Internet can't be controlled, then copyright is dead. The thing is, the Internet is a machine for copying things cheaply, quickly, and with as little control as possible, while copyright is the right to control who gets to make copies, so these two abstractions seem destined for a fatal collision, right?
Wrong.
The idea that copyright confers the exclusive right to control copying, performance, adaptation, and general use of a creative work is a polite fiction that has been mostly harmless throughout its brief history, but which has been laid bare by the Internet, and the disjoint is showing.
And ------>
go here to read the total article
(Monday 18th September 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/9887?PHPSESSID=f...3e86b642bd3dde7
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. September 2006 @ 13:48 |
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Site reveals Indian motorcycle launch date
T-minus 317 days and counting
By Tony Dennis: Monday 18 September 2006, 10:02
IF OUR maths prove correct, the recently revived Indian Motorcycle company will launch its first new models on August 1st 2007.
The INQ has calculated the date from the web site which says there's just 317 days to go before lift-off.
The company announced back in July that it has acquired manufacturing space in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Then, last week it revealed that it had raised $30 million to finance its operations.
So the INQ thought it had better sign up pronto to make sure it had its name down to acquire one of the company's famous Indian Chief V-twin machines.
While signing up for email alerts, the INQ spotted the site's ticker. Which was great news since, officially the launch date is only given as Q3-Q4 2007.
Now we know better.
And it's nice to know that we Brits have been able to help out America's second most famous motorcycle company. Indian Motorcycle's executive chairman is one Stephen Julius who claims to be Anglo-Italian.
The only cloud on the horizon is the chance that India will take the company to the WTO. After all, if Champagne has to come from the correct region of France then surely Indian motorcycles have to be made in India? µ
[lame excuse for running bike pic]
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34450
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. September 2006 @ 13:50 |
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Microsoft tells web site owners to take down FairUse4WM
9/17/2006 8:18:59 PM, by Jeremy Reimer
Last month, Ars reported that Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) digital rights management protection had been cracked, and a program called FairUse4WM had been written that would strip DRM data from purchased audio files. Microsoft was aware of the workaround, but did not seem too concerned, merely stating that "we designed the Windows Media DRM system to be renewable, so that if such events occur the system can be refreshed to address them." Now it seems that the company has gone a little further than that, sending out cease and desist orders to web sites hosting the FairUse4WM program. According to the owner of the web site BG4G, the orders came in via e-mail.
The notices are of a standard boilerplate format, claiming that the sites are "offering unlicensed copies of, or is engaged in other unauthorized activities relating to copyrighted works published by Microsoft." The copyrighted works are Windows Media Player 10 and 11, and the unauthorized activities are listed as "offering 'Cracks' or 'Product Keys', intended to circumvent technical measures that control access to Microsoft's copyrighted works and that protect Microsoft's copyrights in those works."
The "Demand for Immediate Takedown" e-mail comes from a James Young, "Internet Investigator," who claims to be acting on behalf of Microsoft Corporation. The interesting thing about the e-mail is that it makes no mention of the DMCA, which is the one law that would make FairUse4WM (which does not contain any copyrighted code, portions of Windows Media Player, nor any copyrighted music files themselves) illegal. The DMCA contains provisions against programs that attempt to circumvent copy protection. It also provides a "safe harbor" for Internet Service Providers and web hosts that take down files in a certain amount of time (usually 10 to 14 days) after a warning letter has been received.
The DMCA is a US invention and applies only in the United States, but many companies have attempted to use it outside their country's borders. The notice advising web sites to take down the FairUse4WM program came from the domain Microsoft-Antipiracy.com, which according to DNS records belongs to Microsoft but is actually administered by the ISP Nildram Ltd, which is based in the UK (the web site itself redirects to a page on microsoft.com).
Microsoft has not commented on the takedown notices, but they would be consistent with the sorts of notices given to web sites hosting cracks for other media-related copy protection. In the case of FairUse4WM, the problem may be somewhat more urgent from Microsoft's perspective, as the subscription-based model used by many DRMed WMA online music stores allows downloading an unlimited number of songs, but they can only be listened to for as long as the subscription is active.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060917-7761.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. September 2006 @ 13:55 |
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Pirate Party falls short of Swedish election goals, blames faulty procedures
9/18/2006 1:25:07 PM, by Anders Bylund
Sweden's Pirate Party was optimistic about its chances leading up to yesterday's general election, but the results are in and it doesn't look good for the upstart political movement. Under current election procedures, you need at least 4 percent of the national votes or 12 percent in any one electoral district to qualify for a parliamentary seat, and the Pirate Party came up short with only 0.6 percent of the national vote.
Four districts gave the party more than a 1 percent share, but none of those tallies exceeded 2 percent. Just days before the election, Pirate Party press releases said that the party was "stronger than ever," that the party had more members than three of the largest alternative parties combined, and that it should snag at least a 5 percent national share. As vote counts roll in today, 4,810 votes cast for the party (links to material in Swedish) placed it firmly on a benchwarmer's seat, behind one of the parties it dissed last week, and below the total of 12,577 blank votes cast. The 822 districts counted at the time of writing was enough for Prime Minister Göran Persson to tender his resignation. More on that later.
It's unfortunate to see the party fall short of its goals, and party leaders are placing some of the blame on unfair procedures. "We have received reports of voters who were told that blank ballots will become invalid if anything is written on them," says Pirate Party leader Rickard Falkvinge. "We saw reports of election officials who moved ballots for all non-parliament parties to a spot outside the polling place. Unfortunately, overall reports point to obvious problems with democratic election procedures." Writing in your own candidate or party on a blank ballot does not, in fact, invalidate the vote. Sour grapes or legitimate complaints? I'm sure there will be formal complaints and official investigations to settle that question.
In the bigger picture, Sweden is in for some changes. The moderately leftist Social Democratic Party has ruled the country alone or in coalitions continuously since 1994, and only 9 years since 1930 have seen a right-wing Prime Minister. The right-wing coalition swept the board this time, and the Social Democrats turned in their weakest election in decades. Election turnout came in a 80.13 percent, up 0.95 percentage points from four years ago, and leaving the "record-setting" 60.7 percent of the 2004 US general election in the dust. Continuing an age-old tradition, variations of the Donald Duck Party got 10 votes.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060918-7768.html
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18. September 2006 @ 13:57 |
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Four formats on a single disc?
9/18/2006 12:17:31 PM, by Nate Anderson
Does riding the DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray Roller coaster of Consumer Confusion make you queasy? Supporting three formats is giving the movie studios indigestion, but so far they haven't found the right antacid. It costs time and money to produce discs in multiple formats, and it takes a valuable shelf space at retail. Surely there must be a better solution than selling three kinds of discs and three kinds of players?
Talk of a hybrid player that could handle both new high-def formats set the tech world buzzing when the chipset was demonstrated early this year, but hardware based on it has yet to materialize. The other approach, making hybrid discs, has so far produced only HD DVD/DVD hybrids. While HD DVD and traditional DVD share enough in common to make the manufacturing processes similar, Blu-ray requires an expensive technology upgrade.
The basic problem is that the different technologies use different types of lasers and store data at different depths. Traditional DVDs use a 780nm red laser, while Blu-ray and HD DVD both use a blue laser at 405nm. DVD and HD DVD share the same data depth, though, at 0.6mm, while Blu-ray's pits are only 0.1mm from the surface.
A recent patent unearthed by New Scientist suggests that Warner has seen the hybrid future and could one day produce discs featuring all three formats, plus CD.
The patent, which lists several top Warner execs as the inventors, describes how "a dual disc may also be formed with two high-capacity data layers, one conforming to the HD DVD format and the other conforming to the BD [Blu-ray disc] format." Warner engineers have figured out a way to use semireflective coatings to allow the two layers to coexist on a single side, using HD DVD's greater depth to position it beneath the Blu-ray data layer.
The patent then describes an implementation in which both sides of the disc contains data layers, which means that we could see discs with CD and DVD layers on one side, HD DVD and Blu-ray on the other. The downside to this approach is that each format gets only one layer, reducing its total capacity. Discs are not especially expensive to produce, so it may make financial sense for studios to begin shipping two-disc movies that contain all three formats. While this would simplify things for consumers and would free up valuable shelf space, it would also make it hard to offer different price points for DVD and high-definition formats. It might well make more sense for studios to release DVD editions in one box, high-definition versions (Blu-ray on one side, HD DVD on the other) in another.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060918-7766.html
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19. September 2006 @ 12:01 |
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heres another one to jump on Lethal_B,right!
Zune price posted by Wal-Mart
9/19/2006 2:08:42 PM, by Eric Bangeman
When Microsoft officially previewed the Zune digital music player last week, it left out details about the price and release date. Although we still don't know when it's going to be out, Wal-Mart may have given us an idea of how much it will cost. In a product page posted yesterday in the Electronics section of its web site, the retailer listed a $284 price tag for the Zune. The page is still up, albeit without the price.
Targeted squarely at Apple's iPod and iTunes Store offering, the Zune will ship with a 30GB hard drive, built-in WiFi, an FM tuner, and a 3" 320x240 display. Zune players will be tied to the Zune Marketplace, which will sell music by track and on a monthly subscription basis. Users will also be able to import tracks ripped in the AAC, MP3, and WMA formats?as long as they don't have any DRM.
Wal-Mart told ABC News that the price "was incorrectly and inadvertently listed at Walmart.com." $284 does seem like an odd figure, unless you take into account Wal-Mart's practice of discounting products a few bucks below the competition. For example, one 2GB Creative Zen player retailers $119.72 at Wal-Mart vs. the $139 price usually seen at other retailers
At the launch event, all Microsoft had to say about the price is that it would be "very competitive." A couple of days prior to the launch event, the consensus $299 price would have been competitive with the 30GB iPod. However, Apple chopped $50 off that model's price at its Showtime event earlier in the week. That unexpected price drop from Apple may have caused a small change in plans in Redmond if Microsoft was indeed planning to introduce the Zune at $299 as many have suspected.
With the Zune launch still an unspecified time period away, it's too early for us to try and slap a price tag on Microsoft's digital audio player. Zune's price point is going to be a significant factor in the success of Microsoft's venture. If the Wal-Mart listing was in the right neighborhood, Microsoft will need to convince consumers that the larger screen, WiFi, sharing capability, and FM transmitter are worth the extra money. If Zune is going to retail at or near the 30GB iPod's level, then Microsoft may be forced to swallow even smaller margins on the player, hopefull in exchange for better sales figures.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060919-7782.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. September 2006 @ 12:14 |
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Microsoft's Zune Won't Play Protected Windows Media
September 15, 2006
In yesterday's announcement of the new Zune media player and Zune Marketplace, Microsoft (and many press reports) glossed over a remarkable misfeature that should demonstrate once and for all how DRM and the DMCA harm legitimate customers.
Microsoft's Zune will not play protected Windows Media Audio and Video purchased or "rented" from Napster 2.0, Rhapsody, Yahoo! Unlimited, Movielink, Cinemanow, or any other online media service. That's right -- the media that Microsoft promised would Play For Sure doesn't even play on Microsoft's own device. Buried in footnote 4 of its press release, Microsoft clearly states that "Zune software can import audio files in unprotected WMA, MP3, AAC; photos in JPEG; and videos in WMV, MPEG-4, H.264" -- protected WMA and WMV (not to mention iTunes DRMed AAC) are conspicuously absent.
This is a stark example of DRM under the DMCA giving customers a raw deal. Buying DRMed media means you're locked into the limited array of devices that vendors say you can use. You have to rebuy your preexisting DRMed media collection if you want to use it on the Zune. And you'll have to do that over and over again whenever a new, incompatible device with innovative features blows existing players out of the water. Access to MP3s and non-DRMed formats creates the only bridge between these isolated islands of limited devices.
The real culprit here is the DMCA -- but for that bad law, customers could legally convert DRMed files into whatever format they want, and tech creators would be free to reverse engineer the DRM to create compatible devices. Even though those acts have traditionally been and still are non-infringing, the DMCA makes them illegal and stifles fair use, innovation, and competition.
May this be a lesson to those who mistakenly laud certain DRM as "open" and offering customers "freedom of choice" simply because it is more widely-licensed than other formats. With DRM under the DMCA, nothing truly plays for sure, regardless of whether you're purchasing from Apple, Microsoft, or anyone else.
Take action now to support DMCA reform and to stop the government from mandating more DRM.
[Postscript: In an interview with Engadget, Microsoft Zune architect J Allard pointed out that Zune has sufficient video format support, in part because there's "Lots of DVD ripping software out there that encodes to those formats, so the most popular formats out there, whether it's MPEG-4 or H.264, we'll support those." Gee, he isn't suggesting that his business model benefits from customers using tools like DeCSS or Handbrake to evade the DRM on DVDs, right? Especially since Microsoft is furiously trying to squash the FairUse4WM tool, that would seem rather hypocritical.]
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004910.php
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. September 2006 @ 15:51 |
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Chuck D lays down the law on DRM
By David Meyer
Special to CNET News.com
Published: September 19, 2006, 3:27 PM PDT
Digital rights management has its benefits, but should not overly restrict users, according to musician and mobile entrepreneur Chuck D.
The rapper, who was a founding member of hip-hop group Public Enemy and now runs a content service, told delegates at the Mobile Content World conference in London that he had always looked at technology as "something you can apply to a better world if you stay on top of it and don't let it stay on top of you."
"[Napster founder] Shawn Fanning revolutionized the way we get music--he doesn't get the respect he deserves, even today," Chuck D said on Tuesday.
He said he does "believe in some sort of DRM" but pointed out that MP3 was the most popular compression format because it does not limit how the customer can use the file once bought.
A global Anti-DRM Day has been scheduled for Oct. 3 by DefectiveByDesign.org, a subset of the Free Software Foundation.
David Meyer reported from ZDNet UK in London.
go here to read the article
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-6117413....17413&subj=news
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. September 2006 @ 15:58 |
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Hezbollah Hacked Israeli Military Radio
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday September 19, @02:39PM
from the how-to-kill-tanks dept.
Encryption Science
florescent_beige writes, "Newsday is reporting that Hezbollah was able to monitor secure Israeli military communications, perhaps using technology supplied by Iran, during the recent Lebanon war. A former Israeli general, speaking anonymously, called the results 'disastrous' for Israel. The story reports that an anonymous Lebanese source said that Hezbollah might have taken advantage of Israeli soldiers' mistakes in following secure radio procedures. The radio gear uses frequency hopping and encryption." The article identifies the Israeli communications equipment as the US-designed Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System.
GO HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/...worldnews-print
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. September 2006 @ 16:02 |
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Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day, Me Hearties
Posted by Zonk on Tuesday September 19, @12:47PM
from the arrr-me-grog-be-tainted-by-the-salt-o'-the-sea dept.
It's funny. Laugh.
nmb3000 writes "Avast, me maties! Today be th' International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Fer today only, ye lubbers no worthy 'nough t' enjoy th' noble vocation o' Pirate can join th' ranks! Firs' ye'll need t' lern t' talk like a pirate, then find yer pirate name, doonload yer ringtones, an' finally sling back some grog. Be smart aboot it, fer today's th' day ninjas fear...ever'one's a pirate! Arrrr!"
GO HERE TO SEE
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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20. September 2006 @ 06:49 |
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Users want video downloads on the TV
9/20/2006 8:01:22 AM, by Jacqui Cheng
Users want more control over the content they watch on their television sets according to an Accenture report released this morning. Over 10,000 Internet users were surveyed in China, South Korea, Italy, Canada, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Germany, United States and Japan?with 1,609 being from the United States?to get a feeling for what consumers want in their future "digital homes. The results found that nearly half (47 percent) of those surveyed in the US want to be able to download movies, TV shows, and other video content to their television sets, with even more of those surveyed globally (54 percent) wishing for such technology.
Having become accustomed to sites like YouTube, Google Video, and other Internet video services, consumers have expressed a strong desire to have a similar viewing experience on their TVs. Even the convenience of digital cable and on-demand video isn't enough, as users increasingly want to exercise the same degree of control on their televisions as they have watching video on a PC. Kumu Puri, a partner with the Communications and High-Tech segment, told Ars that consumers are ready for new ways of consuming media. "What rose to the top was watching movies, TV shows, and other video content on the PC," said Puri. "One of the most unmet needs was the ability to download that type of content and watch it on the television."
Before such technology begins to invade our living rooms en masse, however, tech companies and service providers need to overcome some challenges. Consumers show a great deal of frustration with the complexity of technology available to them and the poor service they seem to receive for it, according to the report. "Consumers are very frustrated with the complexity that they face, trying to make everything work together and getting the right help to figure it out" said Puri, going on to point out that consumers don't want to spend money and time getting everything to work together, they would rather it either (to borrow a phrase from Steve Jobs) "just work" or at least have tech companies provide enough useful help to get it to work.
Consumers are even willing to pay extra for such services, with the majority of respondents indicating that they'd cough up some cash for help in product installation, technology support, service to back up data, service to monitor PCs, and the ability to call tech support.
Pricing is also a factor for most consumers?in fact, it is the number one concern among those surveyed, outweighing all other factors. Puri said that there is currently such a high degree of commoditization in the market that hard for providers to differentiate themselves, but that they could easily do so by providing better services at a decent price. "A lot of people are waiting to buy stuff because of price or because they think it'll get easier or better," she said, pointing out that consumers want to adopt cutting-edge technology in their homes and living rooms but feel overwhelmed with what they consider to be too expensive or too complex options.
Despite so many shortcomings, the Accenture report says that a huge majority of American consumers still believe that technology has made their lives easier and more fun. So can downloaded video content really take off on the TV? It seems that if tech companies and service providers get on the ball regarding ease-of-use and pricing in the years ahead that the answer to that question would be a resounding "yes."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060920-7785.html
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Member
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20. September 2006 @ 07:17 |
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Check this out... Archos AV500 100 GB Multimedia Player and DVR
Chuck
"Men are slower to recognize blessings than misfortunes." Titus Livius (59BC-17AD)
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AfterDawn Addict
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20. September 2006 @ 07:26 |
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i just did check it out,548 dollars 4-a 4 inch screen,
ye got to be nuts to pay that kind of money for a 4 inch screen toy..
but its a hell of a lot better then the IPOOD TOY
ANYONE BUYS A IPOOD OVER THIS IS ALSO NUTS.
Archos AV500 100 GB Multimedia Player and DVR
Other products by Archos, Inc.
Related searches: portable digital media players, multimedia hard drive, archos multimedia player, archos, inc. digital
* 00 GB portable multimedia player with 4-inch LCD
* Plays and stores up to 400 hours of video, 250 movies, 55,000 songs or 1,000,000 photos
* Compatible with MP3, WMA, WAV, protected WMA, MPEG-4, WMV and protected Windows Media Video
* Supports the Mophun mobile gaming platform; USB 2.0 port for fast file transfers
* Up to 15 hours of battery life for music and up to 4.5 hours for video playback on the built-in LCD
Technical Details
* Capacity: 100 GB -- Up to 400 hours of video, 250 movies, 55,000 songs or 1.000,000 photos
* Display: 7-inch LCD, 480x234 pixels, 262000 colors and TV output
* Video file format: MPEG-4, MPEG-2
* Video playback: MPEG-4 SP with B-Frames (compatible with DivX 4.0 and 5.03) with stereo sound; up to 720x480 at 30 fps (NTSC), 720x576 at 25 fps (PAL), AVI file format (including WMV9 SP protected files) up to 352x288 at 30 fps and 800 Kbits
* Audio file format: MP3, WAV, WMA, MP3 VBR
* Music playback: Stereo MP3 decoding at 30 to 320 kb/s
* Photo viewer: JPEG (except progressives) or BMP
* AV connections: TV Docking Pod, AV in/out, AV line-out, headphone jack
* Speakers: 2 x built-in stereo speakers
* Power supply: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery or AC charger/adapter
* Battery life: Up to 15 hours for music, up to 4.5 hours for video on built-in LCD
* Interfaces: USB 2.0 high-speed device, compatible USB 1.1
* Minimum system requirements (for TV, VCR, cable box, satellite receiver connection): AV in/out RCA jacks (connection cables and TV docking pod included)
* Minimum system requirements (minimum computer configuration): Windows Me/2000 or Mac G3 with Mac OS v10.2.4 or higher; available USB 2.0 port
* Minimum system requirements (minimum configuration for playsforsure): Windows XP SP1 or higher; Windows Media Player 10 or higher; available USB 2.0 port
* Dimensions: 3 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches / 7.6 x 12.4 x 2.4 centimeters (WxHxD)
* Weight: 11.1 ounces / 315 grams
* In the Box: AV500 portable video recorder, TV docking pod, remote control (with batteries), AV cables, USB 2.0 cable, USB host adapter, AC adapter and charger, stereo headphones, protective case, user's guide
List Price: $599.99
Price: $548.90
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 20. September 2006 @ 07:33
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Member
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20. September 2006 @ 07:38 |
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... and it's also a recorder, so you could just record your favorite shows directly from your tv. Hummmm...
Me like it
Technology, a gift and a curse.
Chuck
"Men are slower to recognize blessings than misfortunes." Titus Livius (59BC-17AD)
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Advertisement
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AfterDawn Addict
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20. September 2006 @ 07:42 |
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Disney Film Sales Brisk on iTunes
First week brings $1 million in downloads, CEO says.
Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 07:00 AM PDT
In only one week, Apple's iTunes Store has generated $1 million in movie sales for Walt Disney, and that's "just the beginning," the head of Disney said Tuesday.
By the end of this year, Disney expects to reap $50 million in movie sales through the iTunes Store "at no marketing expense to us at all," said Robert Iger, Disney CEO, at a conference put on by The Goldman Sacks Group and Webcast over the Internet.
Early Endorsement
GO HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE
http://pcworld.com/article/id,127193/article.html
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