AppleInsider | It’s official: Apple and The Beatles kiss and make up: “Apple and The Beatles’ parent company Apple Corps said Monday they have entered into a new agreement concerning the use of the name “Apple” and apple logos, ending a testy trademark dispute dating back nearly three decades.”
This will make many people happy. Personally, I enjoyed the fight.
Jobs goes on the offensive right on the apple website:Apple - Thoughts on Music. I haven’t been playing close attention, but a number of reports of the EU coming down heavy on Apple’s DRM (Digital Rights Management) restrictions have been popping up. Jobs response is clear…. it is not us, it is the record companies, and they’re largely European… so get off our backs and look in your own back yard… hee hee.
Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company. Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.
Slashdot | Why Does Skype Read the BIOS?
“Myria at pagetable.com, among others, noticed that Skype reads the machine’s BIOS code on startup. This probably would’ve gone unnoticed if the operation didn’t fail on 64-bit windows. From the post: ‘It’s dumping your system BIOS, which usually includes your motherboard’s serial number, and pipes it to the Skype application. I have no idea what they’re using it for, or whether they send anything to their servers, but I bet whatever they’re doing is no good given their track record… If they hadn’t been ignorant of Win64’s lack of NTVDM, nobody would’ve noticed this happening.’”
[more at pagetable.com » Blog Archive » Skype Reads Your BIOS and Motherboard Serial Number]
I have never been a fan of skype, evern since I noticed skype related things happening on my computer when I had skype turned off. But most people laughed at me… well some were laughing about other things and I just took it as read. Anyway… I don’t say skype is evil, because I didn’t do any of these tests, but if someone wants to confirm that fact and assert it publicly, I’d not be shocked.
And this just in time for my Flickr, digital photography lab and after our discussion of the safety of children’s information. Ya gotta love how slashdot is willing to help with my course materials.
Slashdot | Your House Is About To Be Photographed
“Photographers from a Canadian company are going house to house, shooting pictures of every house in America, in hopes of building a giant database that can be sold to banks, insurance companies, and appraisal firms. While this activity is legal (as long as the photographers don’t trespass on private property to get their shots), there are obviously concerns about security and privacy. Considering that an individual can be detained and questioned by the FBI for photographing a bridge in this country, why should this Canadian company get a free pass? Tinfoil hat aside, something seems very, very fishy here.”
Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education - Inside Higher Ed :: A Lesson in Viral Video: “Last Wednesday, Michael Wesch was one of thousands of Internet users to add material to the video-sharing site YouTube. He posted a five-minute clip, set to techno music, that helps explain Web 2.0 — the so-called second wave of Web-based services that enables people to network and aggregate information online.” I posted this video below somewhere… yes, everyone wanted to see it… and people are shocked?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
