Monthly Archives: October 2003

CBDTPA

Posted on 10/31/2003 by Ben

Sen. Fritz Hollings has introduced another recording and movie industry abomination: the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA). The bill would require programmers and software firms to embed government-approved copy-protection schemes in all of their products. More here.

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System recovery with Knoppix

Posted on 10/28/2003 by Ben

For future reference. “This article shows how to access a non-booting Linux system with a Knoppix CD, get read-write permissions on configuration files, create and manage partitions and filesystems, and copy files to various storage media and over the network. … Continue reading →

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Kids Play

Posted on 10/28/2003 by Ben

EGM gets nine kids, ages 10 to 13, to play classic video games from the 70s and 80s and writes down what they say with hilarious results. On Tetris: Tim: Which button do I press to make the blocks explode? … Continue reading →

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TPM covering NH primary

Posted on 10/27/2003 by Ben

This is cool: Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo suggested that if his readers contributed some money, he could spend ten days covering the New Hampshire primary. He raised almost $5000, more than enough, in one day. It’ll be nice … Continue reading →

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Salon and Wired on Broadcast Flag

Posted on 10/27/2003 by Ben

A couple of good articles on the broadcast flag today. The MPAA is counting on your apathy. It’s precisely because the flag seems, on the surface, so innocuous that the studios are having an easy time pushing it to regulators … Continue reading →

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The Mystery of SWG

Posted on 10/27/2003 by Ben

Timothy Burke, author of the “Sevent Deadly Sins of SWG” posts on the Star Wars: Galaxies forums, has this final scathing critique of the game. Star Wars: Galaxies curdles faster than any other MMOG in my experience, and I do … Continue reading →

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EMI gets a clue?

Posted on 10/25/2003 by Ben

EMI to offer entire digital music catalog online. EMI has apparently made a deal with Wippit to offer its entire music catalogue on the Wippit P2P network. Wippit offers unlimited downloads for $6.50 a month, so the price is right. … Continue reading →

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Stop the MPAA’s Broadcast Flag

Posted on 10/23/2003 by Ben

“Hollywood is at it again, trying to control the design of new digital technologies. If the motion picture studios have their way, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will force all future televisions to include Hollywood-approved “content protection” technologies. Fair use, … Continue reading →

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Coleman on RIAA

Posted on 10/21/2003 by Ben

WashPost: The RIAA and the Music Piracy Debate. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) was online to talk about his efforts to rein in the recording industry’s aggressive legal war against people who illegally trade music online. Piracy is wrong, Coleman agrees, … Continue reading →

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Trinity Republic Inaugural Ball

Posted on 10/21/2003 by Ben

For your daily dose of geekery, here are screenshots from my SWG PA‘s Presidential Inaugural Ball. There are some really nice ones in there.

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Boykin backpedals

Posted on 10/20/2003 by Ben

Lt. Gen. Boykin has apologized for his anti-Islamic statements and the White House is insisting that the fight against terrorism is not a war between Christianity and Islam. I’m still not reassured about Boykin’s appointment. Here’s another illuminating quote:Pointing to … Continue reading →

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Instant Messaging standards

Posted on 10/20/2003 by Ben

Jabber Builds Case For IM Standards. “XMPP is an open protocol widely used as the common connection between open source and proprietary IM systems. The JSF has been pushing hard to get the protocol ratified soon by the IETF. As … Continue reading →

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Mass OSS

Posted on 10/20/2003 by Ben

Globe: In open source gain, Bay State locks horns with Microsoft. More on the Mass open source initiative.

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Not a bromide

Posted on 10/16/2003 by Ben

It turns out my new wallpaper isn’t a picture of a meteor after all. Space.com is reporting that the image is likely of a jet contrail, possibly from the Concorde.

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Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin

Posted on 10/16/2003 by Ben

Ladies and gentlemen, the nation’s top terrorist hunter, Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin: During a January church speech in Daytona, Fla., Boykin recalled a Muslim fighter in Somalia who bragged on television the Americans would never get him because his … Continue reading →

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