I was watching some Law & Order and an ad for “comwave” came up. They were advertising “iPhone.” Here’s a screenshot from their website (click for a bigger image):

They are really asking for it. I wonder how long before they get sued to iWorld hell.

…you should not be allowed to copyright a number. It goes against the entire idea of copyright where you are trying to ENCOURAGE creation and innovation. Furthermore, preventing “curcumvention” by claiming you can’t publish a number is equally as absurd*. Therefore, the DMCA causing this is crazy. If you can copyright a number the I claim ‘e,’ ‘i,’ and ‘pi.’ Too bad… NASA can’t do anything now without paying me.

*You know what is really absurd? Giving media giants the legal power to take away the rights and protections granted to the consumer.

Update: This site has an example of why an integer as a circumvention device is absurd.

Well done Sony… well done. Sony has implemented a new copy protection scheme (apparently):

YES ! It appears that Sony have done it again.  In their zeal to make their DVD movies copyproof (yeah right) they have in fact made their latest releases unplayable on some DVD players, including my Sony DVP-CX995V DVD player. I recently rented “Stranger than Fiction” (2 copies) and “The Holiday” ( please no comments on my choice of movies) both by Sony Pictures.  Both load up to the splash title screen and then load no further,  then after about 60 secs the player turns itself off!  

Of course this is going to help stop piracy and is well worth pissing your customers off. Oh wait… Shit.

From the press release:

Apple has announced that iTunes will make individual AAC format tracks available from EMI artists at twice the sound quality of existing downloads, with their DRM removed, at a price of $1.29/€1.29/£0.99. iTunes will continue to offer consumers the ability to pay $0.99/€0.99/£0.79 for standard sound quality tracks with DRM still applied.  Complete albums from EMI Music artists purchased on the iTunes Store will automatically be sold at the higher sound quality and DRM-free, with no change in the price. Consumers who have already purchased standard tracks or albums with DRM will be able to upgrade their digital music for $0.30/€0.30/£0.20 per track.  All EMI music videos will also be available on the iTunes Store DRM-free with no change in price.

A great step forward but I’m not a fan of the DRM-free “tax.” The sound quality increase won’t be noticeable by most  but lets say it’s worth 5 cents. This means that they are charging an extra 25 cents for the DRM-free aspect. One way to look at it is that EMI is essentially expecting that 1 out of 4 DRM-free tracks will be pirated off to someone else. I’m not sure that this is really a valid charge to pass on to the consumers who pay for their music. Remember, DRM doesn’t stop piracy.

Either way, one step at a time…

All I have to say is w00t w00t! Check it out. Here are the most important parts:

…DRM system employs secrets. There is no theory of protecting content other than keeping secrets. In other words, even if one uses the most sophisticated cryptographic locks to protect the actual music, one must still “hide” the keys which unlock the music on the user’s computer or portable music player. No one has ever implemented a DRM system that does not depend on such secrets for its operation.

The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets and publish a way for everyone to get free (and stolen) music.

…

Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right!

… 

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.

In conclusion, w00t. Now the big-4 have to get on board.

Note: here are some of my past posts on this topic in chronological order: France 1, France 2, Graphical representation of DRM, Examples, Great picture, and  Apple.

Cheers to Tim for sending this too me.

This article talks about cellphone manufacturers starting to sell phones directly to consumers. If it works out, it will be great for consumers. Until now, large switching cots (contracts and losing your phone number) have locked consumers into their carriers. Now, with the ability to move your phone number from carrier to carrier, if you pay the $80 premium, you can avoid the contract as well. This will (hopefully) turn the cellphone services into a commodity, thus lowering the price, and stop some damn companies from charging crazy amounts for services that cost them pennies.
That’s my rant; good night, and good luck.

I’m having this flashback to the days of bashing Microsoft. It was so easy and now I’m feeling the same thing about the RIAA/CRIA.

Michael Geist has posted some stats (released by the recording industry) that directly counters some of the CRIA’s reasons for wanting legislated anti-circumvention (among other culture and rights destroying laws):

… CRIA President Graham Henderson was telling the media that the Canadian digital market was not taking off and that “people are simply abandoning the marketplace altogether, and they’ve made the decision they’ll just download the music and worry about how the artist gets paid later.”

Not so. Canadian digital download sales grew by 122 percent last year, increasing from 6.7 million to 14.9 million (digital albums increased by a similar percentage).

Awake at 6AM and posting about digital downloads. Is there a bigger geek in the world? Well… maybe these guys.

p.s. It’s always funny to see who’s hotlinking to you sometimes. Check out this. Scroll about half-way down. There’s my thumb with the fortune.

… and all I have to say is HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA. Here is an old post on I made on this topic.

Tim sent me a link to the iProduct. Check it out. (I’ve made it available on my server in case it gets taken down, click below for the local copy).

I found a blog with some answers to many iPhone questions. The answers don’t make it look any better (in general). I also find it funny that there is some ambiguity over if it will have a vibrate/silent mode.

I know this was on Slashdot but I like to have some of my past posts supported by other people on the compu-global-hyper-mega.net (i.e. I like to win :)). Here’s a post about how the most likely large force in supporting DRM is going to be Apple. [sarcasm]Big Surprise[/sarcasm]