News: Camera phone manufacturers ban camera phones

By | November 24, 2011
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The limits to camera phones
 
 CNET Asia reports that some Korean manufacturers like Samsung and LG Electronics “may be fiercely promoting camera-equipped phones to consumers, but are wary about allowing their use on their own company grounds.” Both companies have barred employees from using the gadgets in some of their factories to prevent “industrial espionage and intellectual property theft”, the report says, quoting Korean daily Chosun Ilbo (here’s the original report).
 
This is another chapter in the fast moving saga of camera phones. They’ve been banned in some public areas — changing rooms and the like — and CNET says bookstore owners in Japan “are also mulling measures to stop female shoppers from snapping pictures of magazines with their camera-phones”. Korea, CNET says, is considering a law which makes it mandatory for phone makers to install a “noise emitter” in their camera-equipped handsets.
 
Hmm. It’s not all bad, though: I’ve read other stories about folk snapping shoplifters, hold-ups and other criminal activities. The debate is bound to go on, probably until it’s overtaken by miniature cameras that no one can see, built into ties, sun-glasses, or whatever. And of course, with wristwatches and PDAs sporting cameras, where exactly do you draw the line?

Software: Another way to view those feeds

By | November 24, 2011
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  For those of you getting into the excellent RSS feed concept, here’s another way to read the feeds. I haven’t tried it yet, and it carries a Beta health warning, but looks interesting.
 
FeedDemon, just into its second beta version, is written by Nick Bradbury. It runs on Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP.

Update: Cracking the code

By | November 24, 2011
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Microsoft Reader: a clarification
 
 
 Further to my note about successful efforts to crack the new code protecting the copyright of Microsoft Reader ebooks, here’s a clarification from Dan Jackson, who keeps a copy of the software which can circumvent the code on his website:
 
I noticed you have an article concerning the new version of Convert LIT 1.4. Just thought I’d straighten a few things out. Due to a miscommunication between myself and the author, a few copies were indeed sent out anonymously, but the program and its source code are now freely available from the Dan Jackson Software website at http://members.lycos.co.uk/hostintheshell/ – this is the official site for Convert LIT and all binaries residing on there have been fully tested and virus scanned.
Like yourself, I do not condone the use of this tool for copyright violation, and the technical limits of the program help to curb that to some extent (owner-exclusive DRM5 eBooks can still only be converted on the machine on which the activated copy of Reader which was used to purchase them is installed). The primary intention of the program is to allow other platforms or devices to be able to access Microsoft Reader format files. Hope this information is of use, Dan Jackson.
 
Thanks, Dan. Of course none of this detracts from the fact that the code has been broken, and quickly too. Microsoft, your move.
 
 
 

News: Court says Gator-style ads are legal

By | November 24, 2011
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  Good news for Gator, the adware company I wrote about a few weeks back. According to CNET News.com a federal court has ruled that pop-up ads for rivals of U-Haul International, placed atop the moving company’s own site by a third-party software application from WhenU.com, are legal.
 
 
Although the case doesn’t involve Gator Corp, it may well have an impact on them. Gator, like WhenU.com, peddles an Internet “helper” application that dishes ads up to people while they are surfing the Web or visiting specific sites — usually over the top of, or near, those of rivals. The judge granted WhenU’s motion to dismiss charges of trademark infringement, unfair competition and copyright infringement.

CNET says: “The early decision could influence lawsuits involving a more well-known ad-software, or “adware,” company, Gator Corporation.” In February, Gator settled a case brought by among other media companies, Dow Jones, which publish the newspaper, website and magazine I write for. Other lawsuits, CNET says, have been consolidated and will be decided by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in Washington, D.C.

 

News: Protecting the Unprotectable

By | November 24, 2011
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 However much they spend, Microsoft don’t seem to be able to fend off the hackers. A new version of its Reader — designed to allow users of the handheld device to read copyright protected versions of ebooks, while ensuring they don’t copy the ebooks or do thing with them they’re not supposed to — has been hacked within days of its release, according to my friend Jerry Justianto, who runs a blog on the subject.
 
 
He says the digital rights management scheme (DRM for short) was a major upgrade, but has gone the way of its predecessors, courtesy of an updated version of Convert Lit, a very small program (32K), which was sent to him anonymously. The program, he says, will either remove the DRM encryption or it will explode the ebook into an unprotected version or an HTML file that can be read in a normal browser, complete with pictures.
 
Jerry is scathing about the update. He points out that Microsoft are effectively forcing users to get the upgrade even though it includes no major new features — except the security ones — and will require many users to re-register their hardware in order to keep using it. Check out what Microsoft itself says of the upgrade. Neither Jerry or I condone breaking the law, but this tug of war between producer and hacker has got to stop. It’s a waste of time for everybody, and the money could be better spent not trying to limit what we users do with our possessions. Your views, as ever, are welcome.