Month: July 2005

EFF on Microsoft trusted computing

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EFF’s Seth Schoen has a series of articles on hardware encryption support that is coming in the next version of Windows. This is a must-read for anyone planning on continuing to use Windows over the next few years. [Microsoft Trusted Computing Updates](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/003804.php), [The Dangers of Device Authentication](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/003805.php), [Protected Media Path, Component Revocation, Windows Driver Lockdown](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/003806.php), [Microsoft Sells Out the Public on CGMS-A](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/003807.php)

In the near future, when you try to install software to time-shift your favorite Real Audio webcast, your PC might disable all media player applications. Until you remove the software, your PC will remain crippled. Or perhaps you want to watch a downloaded movie on a wide-screen TV, but your PC might turn off its video card’s analog output.

Welcome to the world of Windows Longhorn (now known as Vista) and the Protected Media Path, where Microsoft, copyright holders, and DRM licensors may grant or revoke permission to use your own computer and digital media.

According to announcements at 2005 Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn will go to great lengths to prevent users from tinkering with their own software environments. The proximate cause of the new restrictions is a scheme called Protected Media Path (PMP), which helps Longhorn make DRM for audio and video significantly stronger.

Paper Says Edible Meat Can be Grown in a Lab on Industrial Scale

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Some older news that I found in my link backlog.

And, the authors agree, it might take work to convince consumers to eat cultured muscle meat, a product not yet associated with being produced artificially.

“On the other hand, cultured meat could appeal to people concerned about food safety, the environment, and animal welfare, and people who want to tailor food to their individual tastes,” says Matheny. The paper even suggests that meat makers may one day sit next to bread makers on the kitchen counter.

Acoustic Aphex Twin

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[Robot Wisdom](http://www.robotwisdom.com/) points to this great collection of acoustic renderings of Aphex Twin songs. Yes, it’s [available on Rhapsody](http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?type=playlist&title=Acoustica&ref=blog&rhapid=234747&from=listen)

Hillary vs. the Xbox: Game over

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Steven Johnson, author of *Everything Bad Is Good for You* implores Hillary Clinton in an open letter to stop worrying about the video game generation.

Many juvenile crimes — such as the carjacking that is so central to “Grand Theft Auto” &mdash are conventionally described as “thrill-seeking” crimes. Isn’t it possible that kids no longer need real-world environments to get those thrills, now that the games simulate them so vividly? The national carjacking rate has dropped substantially since “Grand Theft Auto” came out. Isn’t it conceivable that the would-be carjackers are now getting their thrills on the screen instead of the street?

Crime statistics are not the only sign that today’s gaming generation is doing much better than the generation raised during the last cultural panic &mdash over rock ‘n’ roll. Math SAT scores have never been higher; verbal scores have been climbing steadily for the last five years; nearly every indicator in the Department of Education study known as the Nation’s Report Card is higher now than when the study was implemented in 1971.

By almost every measure, the kids are all right.

Ones to Watch July 2005 An assortment of…

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Ones to Watch (July 2005):
An assortment of tracks from some of our favorite emerging artists.
1. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Nouvelle Vague
2. Orris Root Powder (Volume 0) – MF DOOM
3. Summertime Cowboy – Husky Rescue
4. The Long Goodbye – A Girl Called Eddy
5. Make Your Move (9th Wonder remix) – Hieroglyphics
6. Too Drunk To F**k – Nouvelle Vague
7. Vinca Rosea (Volume 9) – MF DOOM
8. Sunset Drive – Husky Rescue
9. People Used to Dream About the Future – A Girl Called Eddy
10. Mind Body and Soul – Opio

Piracy is Good?

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Here’s a good article on how U.S. viewers used BitTorrent to watch the first episode of Battlestar Galactica months before it aired and what it means for the broadcast television industry.

While you might assume the SciFi Channel saw a significant drop-off in viewership as a result of this piracy, it appears to have had the reverse effect: the series is so good that the few tens of thousands of people who watched downloaded versions told their friends to tune in on January 14th, and see for themselves. From its premiere, Battlestar Galactica has been the most popular program ever to air on the SciFi Channel, and its audiences have only grown throughout the first series. Piracy made it possible for “word-of-mouth” to spread about Battlestar Galactica.