June 2007
Breaking: AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy...
We’ve got three separate accounts of people reporting that AT&T is forcing them to buy accessories along with their iPhone at three different AT&T stores. This was definitely not the case at Apple stores, and for several AT&T stores to decide this on their own to cash in on the launch is pretty damn shady. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Instructables How to add Chroma key (green screen... →
RIAA Wants Agreements to Stay Secret
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes “The RIAA is opposing Ms. Lindor’s request for discovery into the agreements among the record company competitors by which they have agreed to settle and prosecute their cases together, by which she seeks to support her Fourth Affirmative Defense (pdf) alleging that ‘The plaintiffs, who are competitors, are a cartel acting collusively in violation of...
Local MInneapolis Media Calls iJustine an... →
Justine of justin.tv fame was flown to Minneapolis by the man behind TechEvangelist.com, Ed Kohler. While she was waiting in line at the Mall of America for the iPhone launch when the local media decided to see what the girl with the camera on her head was all about.
Rick Fu: I am a most unhappy gadget geek right now. (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Rick Fu: Wishing I was in line for the iPhone across the street at the 5th Ave Apple Store instead of in this office. (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
FTC Nixes Net Neutrality
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has turned thumbs down on net neutrality. In a report on broadband availability and connectivity, the FTC found little reason to protect consumers and content providers from attempts by large telecommunications providers to charge more for faster delivery. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
BOO!!!
…did i skeerd u?
capped and submitted by: Jeanie S.
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Torvalds attacks Microsoft: show us the 235 Linux...
Well, the Linux community might not have the money and legal fire power of Microsoft, but it’s not going to take Microsoft’s recent accusations that Linux violates patents lying down. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Spirited Exchange Over Net Neutrality
LukeCage sends us to The Register for a rabble-rousing account of a US Commerce Department official’s talk at Supernova 2007. The article is headlined Bush official goes nuclear in New Neut row, and points out that the speaker, John Kneuer, is a former telecom lobbyist. To figure out what really went on in that session — whether it was a shouting match as El Reg reports — be sure to read Suw...
Former "Ex-Gays" Apologize for Causing...
Three former leaders of “ex-gay” organization Exodus International held a news conference at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center on Wednesday on the eve of their former organization’s annual conference, being held in nearby Irvine, California.
A joint statement was read by former Exodus co-founder Michael Bussee:
“Some who heard our message were compelled to try to...
Former "Ex-Gays" Apologize for Causing...
Three former leaders of “ex-gay” organization Exodus International held a news conference at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center on Wednesday on the eve of their former organization’s annual conference, being held in nearby Irvine, California.
A joint statement was read by former Exodus co-founder Michael Bussee:
“Some who heard our message were compelled to try to...
Microsoft Pays Bloggers to Tout MS Slogan
Stony Stevenson writes “In an effort to inject Microsoft’s latest slogan, ‘People-ready business’, into popular usage (and no doubt raise its Google page rank), Microsoft asked a passel of A List Bloggers to write blurbs on what this meaningless phrase means to them. Michael Arrington, Om Malik, Fred Wilson, Richard MacManus and a handful of others happily agreed to churn...
FTC shoots down Net Neutrality, says it is not...
The Federal Trade Commission today dealt a serious blow to “Net Neutrality” proponents as it issued a reporting dismissive of claims that the government needs to get involved in preserving fairness of networks in the United States. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
ISP as copyright cop: Aussie ISP kills all user...
One Australian ISP has taken a troubling approach to copyright enforcement: it deletes every multimedia file in its users’ accounts, every night. Users can opt out of this with an e-mail, but its actions paint a disturbing picture of what life could be like if ISPs decide to turn into lapdogs for Big Content. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Rick Fu: Sean, the Dil, Lil Swole is now known as The Godfather. (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Autism Reversed in Mice at MIT Lab
ClayTapes writes “It seems that scientists at MIT have been able to reverse the effects of autism and some forms of mental retardation in mice caused by fragile X chromosomes. They do so by targeting an enzyme that changes the structure of connections between brain cells. The treatment actually repairs these structural abnormalities which suggests that it may be possible to reverse the...
"The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype" says the NY...
So how is it? As it turns out, much of the hype and some of the criticisms are justified. The iPhone is revolutionary; it’s flawed. It’s substance; it’s style. It does things no phone has ever done before; it lacks features found even on the most basic phones. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Techdirt: Are The RIAA's Investigation Techniques... →
There Will Be Silence:
If you thought your favorite internet radio station was on the fritz today, it’s probably not; many internet radio stations are participating in a day of silence in protest of a royalty rate increase that could put several streaming stations in the poor house.
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Day of Silence On the Internet
A number of readers sent in stories about Net radio going dark for a day. Not all of it, but according to the Globe and Mail at least 45 stations representing thousands of channels. The stations are protesting a ruling establishing royalty rates that will put most of them out of business on July 15. “The ruling… is expected to cost large webcasters such as Yahoo and Real Networks...
Vertical farming in the big Apple →
City of Heroes holds a gay prom via GayGamer.net →
Overheard at LaGuardia
Airline representative: Paging La... La-gua-ti-ne Pu-ra-na-ma-te? Paging... Eh, I know I messed that one up. If your name rhymes with the one I just said or it sounds at all like yours, please come to the desk.
How Am I Doing Now?
Girl: Didn’t your mother ever teach you if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say a fucking thing? Guy: Um… Girl: You’re such a dick! God, what a motherfucker. —1 train
Alsome | Thumbs up | Thumbs down |
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Posted 2007-06-25
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
I'm Just Not Ready to Lay Eggs at This Point in My...
Bimbette: Yeah, well, I don’t give head. Guy: Oh, why? You don’t like it? Bimbette: No, it’s just that I’m afraid to get pregnant! —78th & 41st Overheard by: rain
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Rick Fu: From PRIDE to Vlada, NYC. (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Rick Fu: Watching Pride 2007 Parade. In front of McDs at 8th St and 6th Ave (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Rick Fu: Pride Parade NYC 2007. My first Pride ever! (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Rick Fu: Hey (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Rick Fu: Dad’s gall bladder surgery went very well this afternoon. He’s already home and having a big cheeseburger :) (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Rick Fu: Passed by the Die Hard 4 premiere at Radio City…Justin Long is a cutie :) (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
800 Break-ins at Dept. of Homeland Security!!
Senior DHS officials admitted to Congress that over a two year period there were 800 hacker break-ins, virus outbreaks and in one instance, hacker tools for stealing passwords and other files were found on two internal Homeland Security computer systems. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Missing Soldier's Wife Faces Deportation →
“I can’t imagine a bigger injustice than that, to be deporting [the wife of] someone who is fighting and possibly dying for our country,” Kolken told WBZ.
EMI Says ITMS DRM-Free Music Selling Well
An anonymous reader writes “‘The initial results of DRM-free music are good’ says Lauren Berkowitz, a senior vice president of EMI, at a music industry conference in New York. Berkowitz went on to say that the early results from iTunes indicate that DRM-free offerings may boost revenue from digital albums as well as individual songs.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
...
The Privacy of Email
An Anonymous Coward writes “A U.S. appeals court in Ohio has ruled that e-mail messages stored on Internet servers are protected by the Constitution as are telephone conversations and that a federal law permitting warrantless secret searches of e-mail violates the Fourth Amendment. ‘The Stored Communications Act is very important,’ former federal prosecutor and counter-terrorism...
cagle.com
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Red Hot Monkey Love
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Security:
Defense experts in France advise French government officials to stop using BlackBerries because of national security concerns: data sent with the handhelds passes through servers in the U.S. and Britain.
(via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Judge Deals Blow to RIAA
jcgam69 writes “A federal judge in New Mexico has put the brakes on the RIAA’s lawsuit train, at least in the US District Court for New Mexico. The case in question is part of the RIAA’s campaign against file-sharing on college campuses and names “Does 1-16,” who allegedly engaged in copyright infringement using the University of New Mexico’s network. In a...
Rick Fu: Watching Brokeback Mountain for the first time. I know…finally! (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Dell Apologizes For Asking Consumerist To Remove...
Dell has said it’s sorry for trying to get The Consumerist to remove a “confessions” post from a former Dell worker. (via Rick’s shared items in Google Reader)
Of Which There Is None at This Alleged "Bar"
Technician: It will cost a hundred and fifty dollars to have our technicians look at it. Girl with computer problem: A hundred and fifty dollars?! No way. I’d rather spend that on alcohol. —Apple Store Genius Bar Overheard by: becca
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Posted 2007-06-18
(via Rick’s shared items in Google...
IFPI Threatens UK Academic For Linking To Article
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes “Apparently the RIAA is getting sensitive about counterclaims. When a British blog author linked to a recent article about a defendant’s counterclaims for extortion and conspiracy by the RIAA in a Florida case, UMG v. Del Cid, a record company executive who sits on the board of the RIAA’s UK counterpart, the IFPI, threatened the author if he did not...
Rick Fu: Twitter is my only connection to the net. So sad. The cable ppl won’t be here for *days*. (via Twitter / Rick Fu)
Ubuntu Linux Validates As Genuine Windows
bobbocanfly writes “Another crack in the Windows Genuine Advantage wall. A user at UbuntuForums.org managed to validate an Ubuntu installation as a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows and get to the download page of Windows Defender, using IE4Linux and Wine. (Here is an OGG video of the process.) Along with the advancement of LiveCD technology, this could spell the end of Microsoft’s...
Rick Fu: Watching /Blue in the Face/ with a Heineken in our new place. (via Twitter / Rick Fu)