News: Is Wi-Fi A Health Threat?

By | November 24, 2011
 An Illinois lawsuit against a school district is bringing attention to the possible health effects of wireless networks. Wi-Fi Networking News takes a closer look at concludes that while a study used by the parents in the case “should certainly disturb those in the cell industry, it?s applicability to Wi-Fi is very very low.”

News: Microsoft Turns Its Guns On Blogging, RSS Etc

By | November 24, 2011
 Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Microsoft have got their eye on blogs, RSS feeds and all those things that we love down here at Loose Wire. Microsoft Watch reports a prototype of software code-named “Wallop” — the company’s foray into social-networking software. While part of the application is a blogging tool, it also includes Sapphire, technology for simplifying and unifying data storage/retrieval; Stacks, technology for organizing photos; Personal Map, technology for organizing contacts; and MS Connect and Point-to-Point, which show connections between people (via Active Directory), as well as between individuals and groups.

News: Another Shot In Foot For Apple

By | November 24, 2011
 It never rains but it pours for Apple. Its stuff seems to be selling well, but it still seems to run into trouble. Britain’s TV standards authority the Independent Television Commission has banned an ad for the the PowerMac G5 which claims it was “the world’s fastest, most powerful personal computer”. Viewers (well, eight of them) said it was misleading because the main claim was based on the results of limited tests in which the specification of the computers used was configured to give Apple the best results.
 
An expert looked into it and agreed: He found that the claim was not supported by independent reviews and that at best “the G5 was generally as fast as the best Intel-based workstations currently available”. Judgement: the advertising was misleading and required that it should not be re-shown in its current form. Discussion on Slashdot here.

News: Sony (Nearly) Gets It

By | November 11, 2003

 Sony is taking the route I (and I’m sure, hundreds of others) have been pushing for: offer the consumer a reward, or compensation, for going legit. But they still don’t get it right. Reuters reports that Sony Music will introduce new CD technology in Germany that prevents users from copying songs to file-sharing sites, but allows them to make copies for their personal use.
 
The important bit is the extras they offer on the CD: Naturally Seven’s new German CD will have a “second session.” The disc can be played on almost any device conventionally, and also contains a compressed digital copy of the music that can be quickly copied onto any computer. The CDs also allow users to connect to Web sites with exclusive features such as bonus songs and concert tickets. The features are only available if you have the original CD.
 
Sadly, however, Sony still don’t get it, thinking we all live in a world that looks like a Sony ad: The digital files will only play on Sony-licensed digital music players. And to copy the music to the Sony portable player, the technology requires an extra step to copy the files to a separate program to transfer the music to the portable player.
 
When will they learn?
 
Somewhat bizarrely,  the piece quotes Sony Music Chief Technology Officer Phil Wiser as saying, “All copy-protections can be hacked. But if give people what they are asking for in terms of value, they won’t go out and steal it. It’s called trusting the consumer.”

News: Offline Smut Goes Way Of All Flesh

By | November 24, 2011
 Seems there’s only room for so much porn. Offline, hardcopy pornography — porn mags, to you and me — is going the way of all flesh. AP quotes veteran pornographer Al Goldstein as saying he has “stopped publishing Screw magazine and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, giving him a chance to cut costs, relaunch the magazine and refocus attention on his Web site.”
 
 
Founded in 1968, Screw was a hit for a while, but now, Goldstein says,  ”we are an anachronism; we are dinosaurs; we are elephants going to the bone cemetery to die. … The delivery system has changed, and we have to change with it if we want to survive.”