Sony's War on Music is Nearly Over

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i6efb69eb2243cb842be35f0eab40082d

"The scope of a yearlong download promotion planned between Pepsi and Amazon, Billboard has learned, is among several developments forcing further consideration by Warner Music Group (WMG) and Sony BMG Music Entertainment to follow EMI and Universal Music Group's lead in distributing music in the MP3 format.

"News of the Pepsi promotion, which is expected to be announced Feb. 3 during the Super Bowl, coincides with an ultimatum from Wal-Mart asking major labels to supply walmart.com with their music in MP3, sources say. Labels, meanwhile, say they have been watching the success of an MP3 test UMG began in August; the major continues to allow the sale of 85% of its current catalog as MP3s. Sources say UMG is on the verge of permanently embracing that digital format. But a source close to the testing insists the decision is still up in the air while the company awaits conclusive results from the trial, which are due in mid-January."

Texas

Texas once again proves itself to more appropriately part of the third world.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/29/questioning-intelligent-design-in-texas-youre-fired/

"The state's director of science curriculum has resigned after being accused of creating the appearance of bias against teaching intelligent design.

"Comer was put on 30 days paid administrative leave shortly after she forwarded an e-mail in late October announcing a presentation being given by Barbara Forrest, author of "Inside Creationism's Trojan Horse," a book that says creationist politics are behind the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools. Forrest was also a key witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case concerning the introduction of intelligent design in a Pennsylvania school district. Comer sent the e-mail to several individuals and a few online communities, saying, "FYI."

Intelligent Design

Stupidity, Republicans, Politics, Fundamentalism, The Dark Ages, Religion and Intelligent Design...

This diagram works so well it's uncanny!

http://saintgasoline.com/2007/03/12/politics-stupidity-religion/

Cobert

Cobert breaks character to talk about the election...

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Colbert_Not_running_for_President_running_1101.html

Colbert also noted with obvious approval that when the Constitution was written, "the theory was that if you had three equal branches of government, they'd be too busy fighting amongst themselves to oppress the people." But then -- moving for the moment back into his right-wing pundit persona -- he added that "while checks and balances are great in theory ... the Constitution is not a suicide pact. In a time of extraordinary danger, executive power must be extraordinary."

The writer's strike seemed to really stall Cobert's campaign though.

What is wrong with people?

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/eco-friendly/birds-real-estate-wall-461127

A glass wall around a neighborhood? Only in California could people be so shockingly insensitive and destructive. People are stupid. Really, really, really stupid...

America's Mayor

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/7073.html

"As New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according to previously undisclosed government records."

God's on Their Side

Score yet another moral victory for the religious righteous!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071128/ap_on_re_us/papa_pilgrim;_ylt=A0WTUdJ7CU1HfPkA5ACs0NUE

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A man who called himself "Papa Pilgrim" and took his family far from civilization to raise them according to his interpretation of the Bible was sentenced to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting a daughter.

A judge imposed the sentence Tuesday after Robert Hale's wife and many of their 15 children delivered statements that included intense stories of physical and mental abuse. Judge Donald Hopwood called it "one of the worst cases of domestic violence I've seen."

Worst

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/0,39029552,49293700-10,00.htm

The top ten worst consumer technology products... MSFT Vista comes in at number ten. Way to go Microsoft, Vista is the least bad of the very, very worst!

We're Number Ten!
We're Number Ten!
We're Number Ten!
...

This would just be funny except that this is the current flagship product from the company that's done more to hinder technologic progress than, well, anyone ever... And people still won't stop using their stuff!

Look at the other junk on this list! You wouldn't see that crap on woot!

Oh wait, this just in, on this list Microsoft is number one!

http://resources.zdnet.co.uk/articles/features/0,1000002000,39291080-1,00.htm

The top ten things holding back technology. Ten nails on ten heads, starting with the number one thing holding back technology: Microsoft Windows.

Duh

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/26/wpad_vuln_investigated/

"Microsoft bug squashers are investigating reports of a serious security vulnerability in Windows operating systems that could allow attackers to take control of vast numbers of machines, particularly those located off US shores.

"A Microsoft spokesman had only minimal details about the investigation, which was prompted by a presentation last week by researcher Beau Butler at the Kiwicon security conference in New Zealand. According to this report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the flaw affects every version of Windows including Vista and is actually the continuation of an old vulnerability that Microsoft supposedly fixed years ago."

Fortunately for Microsoft, people are stupid. They will continue to shovel money at Microsoft no matter how poor the products are (apparently).

War

Just in case there could be any doubt that AT&T is getting ready for an ad war with Google:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/19/att-acquires-ingenio-and-their-pay-per-call-network/

"We haven't heard much from Silicon Valley based Ingenio lately. In 2006 the company launched Ether, a service that allows people to charge people for calls. Since then, nada.

"But today AT&T is announcing that they've acquired the company and plan to integrate it into its directory service and local search advertising portfolio (yellowpages.com, etc.). The Pay Per Call service will allow advertisers to reach potential leads."

Math

Texas style!

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/114296

"Reviewers have found 109,263 errors in sample copies of math textbooks to be used next fall in Texas.

"One second-grade math book, for example, has 4 plus 7 equaling 10, the San Antonio Express-News reported Friday."

It's OK, it's Texas... Jesus will will do their math for them.

Shocking News!

Vista isn't selling!

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/10/18/dsg_vista_profits_down/

I just can't believe it!

And there there's this item...

http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/infrastructure/applications/news/index.cfm?newsid=6258

"Ninety percent of 961 IT professionals surveyed said they have concerns about migrating to Vista and more than half said they have no plans to deploy Vista."

Is it possible that people are finally going to wake up and begin acting in their own best interest?

Probably not. Oh well, download a real operating system instead, one designed by grown ups more interested in functionality than lock-in (or lock-out as the case may be).

http://www.ubuntu.com/

The Latest

Here's the latest in the music middle-man industry's war on, well, music. This is almost too strange to believe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7029892.stm

"A car repair firm has been taken to court accused of infringing musical copyright because its employees listen to radios at work."

"The PRS claimed that Kwik-Fit mechanics routinely use personal radios while working at service centres across the UK and that music, protected by copyright, could be heard by colleagues and customers.

"It is maintained that amounts to the "playing" or "performance" of the music in public and renders the firm guilty of infringing copyright."

Sue

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/03/performance_pricing_sues_google_aol_yahoo_microsoft/

A Texas company has sued AOL, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, claiming that all four web giants have infringed its patent "for conducting business transactions over the Internet".

Performance Pricing Inc. filed suit last week in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, a popular place for patent infringement suits. The company insists that four of the biggest names on the net are stepping on its patent with their ad technologies, including Google AdWords, Microsoft adCenter, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and the Google-powered AOL Search Marketplace.

Here is the patent:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=3X8VAAAAEBAJ&dq=6978253

1) Stupidity and Fear, 2) Something, 3) Profits!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/24/schneier_security_theatre/

"Bruce Schneier, founder and chief technical officer of BT Counterpane, said many security products offered the feeling of being secure rather than actual security. Vendors can't be trusted to give a reliable precis of a product's capabilities, he warned.

"The field of information technology security is so complex that purchasing decisions are based on feelings and hunches rather than reality, a process that suppliers play into, in what Schneier described as "security theatre". Products sold through this process often either fail to live up to their promises or address a threat that is overstated."

Always present stupidity, plus occasional fear not only creates political opportunities, but business opportunities as well. Kepp this in mind around the office. It happens at all levels in a million little ways. Unless you're one of the stupid majority, in which case, better just do as they tell you. It's less confusing that way, and you don't want to have to think now do you?

A New Record

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071106/a_iranpoll06.art.htm

"Meanwhile, Bush reached an unwelcome record. By 64%-31%, Americans disapprove of the job he is doing. For the first time in the history of the Gallup Poll, 50% say they "strongly disapprove" of the president. Richard Nixon had reached the previous high, 48%, just before an impeachment inquiry was launched in 1974."

George W. Bush has done a staggering level of damage. But you have to blame the people that supported him. It was obvious what a sham administration this would be right from the beginning. People are horribly, horribly stupid...

America

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/daily/war_and_peace/every_day_diplomacy.php

This post is well worth reading. It shows clearly what sort of country the US is, the US of George W. Bush and the right-wing Republican fear and hate machine.

People frequently look back at history wonder how societies can lapse into fascist dictatorships. How to police states happen? Why do people go along? It seems strange to "modern" thinking. But read the above post and keep these questions in mind. It shows all to well how both ordinary people and authority figures will behave when, as they say, "orders must be obeyed at all times" and "your papers are not in order."

It's easy and comfortable. The dictatorship, the police state, is a warm, comfortable and natural place to people. It's freedom that's hard. It's freedom that scares them.

Grey Networks

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/24/facetime_survey/

"We used to call them peer-to-peer applications, downloaded apps that connect direct to other users to exchange messages and/or data, but apparently the hip moniker of Instant Messaging, VoIP and filesharing applications, is "greynet" these days.

"All this grey activity is providing a great conduit for malware, and IT managers report spending an average of $289,000 on fixing greynet-transported security breaches, compared to $130,000 last year."

I've been talking about this sort of thing for years. Many companies are spending a great deal of money and effort on "rules" to stop this. But all a rule does is allow HR cover when someone needs to be fired for abuse or other irresponsible behavior. A rule won't stop someone working for another company in your building from getting on your crappy Windows network when an employee plugs in some $20 WiFi USB device so his cube-mates can listen to some music. Damn kids with their "rock and roll"...

No this too dangerous to goof around with having a rule. A rule won't make it not happen, and you need it not to happen. What to do? Easy. Install a secure office WiFi network, with internet access. Install it before someone else does.

Bushism

"I believe that the questions he.s been asked are unfair," Mr. Bush said. "He's not been read into the program - he has been asked to give opinions of a program or techniques of a program on which he's not been briefed. I will make the case - and I strongly believe this is true - that Judge Mukasey is not being treated fairly."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/washington/02bush.html?ex=1351742400&en=69efe9a6b60a8705&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Um, except that Mukasey was not asked about a classified program. He was asked about "water boarding". Given a description of water boarding, which Mukasey said he understood, is water boarding torture? Mukasey refused to answer this simple and straightforward question.

I have an opinion on whether water boarding is torture and I haven't been briefed. I wonder if Mukasey could answer a question about whether kidnapping is illegal? How about shoplifting? Need a classified briefing for that? Is driving 20 MPH over the speed limit a violation of the law? Can't say?

This is also troubling:

At his confirmation hearings last week, Michael B. Mukasey, President Bush.s nominee for attorney general, was asked whether the president is required to obey federal statutes. Judge Mukasey replied, "That would have to depend on whether what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/opinion/23rubenfeld.html

"Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal." -- Richard M. Nixon, 1974

http://www.landmarkcases.org/nixon/nixonview.html

That's the way Bush and Cheney see the executive role in government. Sound good?

Christians

Fear, hate and Christianity... They are frequently found together. And when mixed with staggering stupidity, you get something really astonishing, like these people...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/31/funeral.protests.ap/index.html

"A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals in the belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

...

"Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."

...

"Church founder Fred Phelps held a sign reading "God is your enemy," while Shirley Phelps-Roper stood on an American flag and carried a sign that read "God hates fag enablers."

"Members of the group sang "God Hates America" to the tune of "God Bless America."

Although I've taken the liberty of quoting quite a bit here, I encourage folks to read the entire article.

It's too easy to feel good about the lawsuit. Unfortunately, it does not remedy the madness that is hate and religious. The sickness of these sociopaths and what they do is enough to make one believe that there are indeed forces of true evil in the nation. But that's not the cause. It's just us here. And unfortunately, people are just too stupid for our civilization to survive.

Cost

End game... We're coming to the end of the media companies' war on digital music. Judges are now better informed also, finally. This court case, currently in progress, is getting interesting.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071002-music-industry-exec-p2p-litigation-is-a-money-pit.html

"During an occasionally testy cross examination, a Sony executive said what many observers have suspected for a long time. The RIAA's four-year-old lawsuit campaign is costing the music industry millions of dollars and is a big money-loser for the record labels. The revelation came during the first day of Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas, the first file-sharing case to go to trial (it was formerly known as Virgin v. Thomas, but the sole Virgin Records track was stricken from the complaint, making Capitol Records the lead plaintiff)."

...

"One of the biggest bombshells from the cross-examination was Pariser's admission that the RIAA's legal campaign isn't making the labels any money, and that, furthermore, the industry has no idea of the actual damages it suffers due to file-sharing."