Comme chaque semaine, voici votre rendez-vous vidéo: la Clubic Week. Pour rappel, vous retrouvez ici un résumé « visuel et animé » des actualités multimédia qui ont marqué la semaine. Vous pouvez aussi [...]

Enfin ! Flock tombe le masque et nous montre quel infâme sadique il est dans la vie de tous les jours. Pour illustrer ses plus sinistres penchants, il a choisi de mettre en scène une personnalité bien [...]

Gratuite, ludique et stable, cette excellente application fera le bonheur des adeptes de customisation !

Bonne idée, cette extension Safari intéressera les blogueurs, graphistes et développeurs en herbe !

Un développeur Web répondant au nom de Dale Harvey a récemment publié une implémentation du célèbre jeu Pac-Man en HTML5. Il succède ainsi à Google, qui avait fait de même à l'occasion des 30 ans du jeu, [...]

Ce jeudi, nous vous expliquions comment Sony a réussi à relever la tête lors de la divulgation des résultats financiers du premier trimestre fiscal. La firme de Tokyo affichait alors de bons résultats [...]

L'arroseur arrosé ? Las des positions parfois ambigües adoptées par Mark Zuckerberg sur la question du respect de la vie privée des utilisateurs Facebook, le site Gawker a choisi de rendre au jeune homme [...]

Selon des voeux de la Maison-Blanche, le FBI pourrait avoir à l'avenir un droit d'accès à des données personnelles comme un e-mail par exemple. L'opération se ferait sans mandat et donc à l'insu du titulaire [...]

HTC a aujourd'hui mis un terme à l'(insoutenable) attente en annonçant qu'il déploierait enfin « ce week-end » la mise à jour vers Froyo du HTC Desire. En plus des nouveautés d'Android 2.2 dont bénéficient [...]

Au milieu des rumeurs spéculant sur la sortie prochaine d'une tablette signée Research in Motion, le fabricant canadien continue de nous préparer une rentrée fracassante. Après avoir déployé des programmes [...]

Combinez une montre et une clé USB, et vous obtenez... Une montre qui fait clé USB ! Tel est le nouveau gadget proposé récemment à la vente par ThinkGeek. Cette montre à aiguille, sobre et discrète, [...]

Aux Etats-Unis, le régulateur du numérique et du commerce, la FTC pencherait pour une nouvelle solution pour protéger les consommateurs sur Internet des assauts publicitaires. La Federal Trade Commission [...]

Attendus pour le début d'année 2011, les futurs processeurs à contrôleur graphique intégré d'AMD destinés au marché des netbooks afficheraient, à fréquence équivalente, une puissance de calcul près de [...]

Si l'on suit à la lettre les spécifications de NVIDIA, la GeForce GTX 460 peut être proposée en deux versions (voir notre dossier), munies respectivement de 768 et 1024 mo de mémoire vidéo. Il allait de [...]

Le cabinet IDC a publié de nouveaux chiffres concernant le marché du téléphone mobile entre avril et juin 2010. Ce dernier aurait enregistré une hausse de 14,5% par rapport à l'année dernière. Ce sont [...]

Si l'affaire du WiFi « sniffé » par les Google Cars est loin d'être terminée aux Etats-Unis, au Royaume-Uni, la pratique qualifiée d' « accidentelle » par la firme de Moutain View pourrait bientôt être [...]

IBM a décidé de racheter Storwize, une startup israëlienne spécialisée dans la compression de données en temps réel. La technologie de Storwize permet, selon la startup, de réduire les besoins en espace [...]

Amazon a publié cette nuit une mise à jour de l'application Kindle pour iPhone, iPad et iPod Touch, au lendemain de l'annonce du nouveau Kindle. Cette nouvelle révision apporte une amélioration globale [...]

L'éditeur de solutions de sécurité McAfee continue ses investissements dans le domaine de la mobilité et annonce cette fois le rachat de la firme TenCube. Aucune informations n'a été communiquée sur le [...]

L'Hadopi avait, en début de semaine, lancé une consultation publique relative aux « spécifications fonctionnelles des moyens de sécurisation ». En détail, elle porte sur le projet qu'avait préparé [...]

Google Earth continue d'étoffer son panel de fonctionnalité : le blog Google dédié au service a en effet annoncé hier que la mise à jour 5.2 du logiciel permettait désormais de voir la pluie et la neige [...]

Google poursuit ses efforts dans le domaine de la géo-localisation et a présenté hier deux nouveautés. La technologie de Places, dévoilée au mois de mai, devrait bientôt s'inspirer de Fourquare. Pour [...]

Le succès de ce nouveau support de stockage qu'est le SSD nait petit à petit et donne logiquement quelques idées aux constructeurs. La preuve aujourd'hui avec 3 SSD placés dans des boîtiers externes et [...]

Un représentant de la justice américaine vient de rejeter une action de groupe concernant la position monopolistique présumée d'Intel. Le représentant a considéré que les plaignants n'étaient pas parvenus [...]

Vous connaissez l'expression « pénibilité du travail » ? Le Sysadmin, ou administrateur système en bon français, ne la connait pas, lui qui passe son temps à flooder sur IRC et faire des montages [...]

À peine une nouvelle version de VLC media player a-t-elle été mise en ligne que le populaire lecteur multimédia est à nouveau mis à jour. Publié jeudi dernier, VLC 1.1.1 apportait tout particulièrement [...]

La prochaine mouture du navigateur Internet Explorer en version 9 bêta devrait finalement sortir au mois de septembre. C'est ce qu'a révélé Kevin Turner, chef des opérations financières de Microsoft lors [...]

Après Razer et son ensemble clavier-souris aux couleurs du film Tron : L'héritage, c'est au tour de Monster Cable de dévoiler une gamme d'accessoires en hommage au long métrage qui sortira en France le [...]

Si la norme en matière de graveur de Blu-ray est désormais à 12 vitesses, comme en témoignent les multiples annonces de ces derniers mois, tous les fabricants de disques vierges ne sont pas encore à la [...]

YouTube a coupé court à la rumeur en confirmant cette nuit que la durée maximale d'une vidéo était dorénavant de 15 minutes pour tous les utilisateurs. Dépasser 10 minutes était de loin la fonction la [...]

Dans la mesure où la plupart des cartes graphiques haut de gamme occupent deux emplacements PCI-Express au niveau de la carte mère, il peut se révéler difficile de tenter leur intégration dans un mini [...]

Il y a des présentations qui barbent l'assistance et d'autres qui lui arrachent des hourras. On imagine que la démonstration réalisée mercredi par Barnaby Jack lors de la conférence Black Hat appartenait [...]

De nouvelles informations ont récemment été révélées sur le prochain Nokia N8 qui tournera sous Symbian S^3. C'est la déclinaison italienne du site du fabricant qui a laissé échapper quelques détails. [...]

Alors que la classe politique s'achemine doucement vers ses vacances le 3 aout, un décret explique que la loi Loppsi sera étudiée au Parlement le 7 septembre. La loi d'orientation et de programmation pour [...]

Avec cet excellent lecteur Android, accédez à un large choix de titres gratuits et en français !

La division polonaise d'IBM et l'Université de technologie de Wroclaw ont annoncé un accord pour établir le premier centre universitaire dédié au cloud computing dans le pays. Selon les termes de l'accord, [...]

Depuis sa création, le site de vidéo en streaming Youtube propose à tous ses membres inscrits d'uploader les vidéos qu'ils désirent, à condition qu'elles respectent le droit d'auteur et qu'elles ne dépassent [...]

Comme Dell, dont la Streak fait cette semaine son entrée sur le sol français, RIM aurait l'intention de s'engager dans la course aux tablettes tactiles. Cette hypothèse, qui fait l'objet de rumeurs depuis [...]

L'Autorité française de la concurrence met un nouveau coup de canif dans les opérateurs mobiles. Dans un communiqué, l'autorité se prononce en faveur de la baisse des tarifs des terminaisons d'appels vocaux [...]

La société IBM annonce aujourd'hui le rachat de Storwize, une firme spécialisée dans les solutions compression des données. La technologie de Storwiz ne serait pas seulement capable d'optimiser les archives [...]

Toshiba a récemment annoncé de nouveaux téléviseurs 3D qui formeront dès la rentrée l'entrée de gamme de la flotte du fabricant. En évinçant le fameux processeur Cell, équipant pour rappel la PlayStation [...]

Oracle vient d'annoncer que ses concurrents sur le hardware Dell et HP avaient l'intention de certifier ses systèmes d'exploitation Linux Solaris et OpenSolaris ainsi que Oracle VM sur leurs serveurs x86. L'annonce [...]

Le Web s'était ému des mésaventures de Jérôme Bourreau-Guggenheim, allant jusqu'à parler de lui comme du premier « martyr Hadopi ». Le jeune homme, renvoyé par son employeur pour avoir tenu dans une correspondance [...]

Envie de conserver vos données sur une clé USB originale ? C'est justement ce que propose un vendeur nommé Will Rockwell sur le site Etsy : il s'agit d'une clé USB au style Steampunk, conçue de façon artisanale, [...]

La firme de Tokyo vient de dévoiler le montant de son bénéfice net pour le premier trimestre fiscal 2010-2011. Contrairement aux attentes, les résultats sont bons avec 223 millions d'euros (25,7 milliards [...]

Selon le cabinet Barracuda Networks, spécialisé dans les analyses relatives à la sécurité informatique, si Google reste en tête des moteurs de recherche, c'est aussi celui via lequel les malwares sont [...]

Présent sur tous les fronts, Samsung a également récemment annoncé un nouvel ordinateur portable, en plus de ses nouveaux produits audiovisuels. Le coréen répond donc à Dell avec l'ultraportable « X125 [...]

Le fabricant de puces électroniques taïwanais Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) vient de dévoiler ses résultats pour le deuxième trimestre de l'année 2010. C'est son meilleur trimestre de tous [...]

Si le collectionneur de pinces à sucre est appelé pessaccarophile, quel nom donner aux amateurs de CPU ? Il faudra en tous les cas un substantif de belle facture pour qualifier ce jeune Russe, surnommé [...]

Adobe et Microsoft travaillent désormais ensemble pour offrir aux éditeurs de solutions de sécurité un panorama unifié sur leurs efforts pour corriger les bugs. Avant la fin de l'année, Adobe commencera [...]

Suivez la rédaction de la newsletter pendant la semaine...

Le fameux « Ballot Screen » proposé par Microsoft pour régler définitivement les problèmes du choix du navigateur Internet avec Windows 7 semble soulever l'enthousiasme des autorités européennes. L'éditeur, étonné de cette réception si positive, semble désormais prêt à adopter cette méthode pour tous les problèmes à venir ...

L'histoire se répète une nouvelle fois, c'est à croire que les ayants droit oublient trop rapidement les leçons du passé. The Pirate Bay suit en effet très exactement la même destinée que feu-Napster. Très populaire, le service peer-to-peer Napster avait été rapidement mis en difficulté ...

La loi n° 20009-669 du 12 juin 2009 « favorisant la diffusion et la protection de la création sur Internet » a été promulguée au Journal Officiel ce samedi 13 juin. Cette loi n'est rien d'autre que la fameuse loi Hadopi, amputée des articles censurés par le Conseil Constitutionnel cette semaine ...

C’est la semaine des joueurs, puisque le salon E3 vient d’ouvrir ses portes à Los Angeles. Face aux échecs des versions précédentes, l’ESA (Entertainment Software Association) a décidé de revenir à la configuration d’origine, passant de 38 exposants et une surface de 3000 m² en 2008 à quelque 150 exposants et 67.000 m² cette année ...

Comme ils l’avaient annoncé, les députés socialistes, verts et communistes ont déposé un recours commun auprès du Conseil constitutionnel contre la loi Hadopi, en soulevant onze points d'inconstitutionnalité ...

15.000. Ce serait le nombre d'exemplaires vendus du jeu Grand Theft Auto : Chinatown Wars sur Nintendo DS en France en 3 semaines, alors qu'il s'agit pourtant d'un des jeux les plus réussis sur cette console. La faute à un piratage massif ? Sans doute, mais c'est loin d'être la seule raison ...

Déjà l'édition 400... et une newsletter une nouvelle fois consacrée en grande partie à la loi Hadopi, dont le vote solennel est attendu ce 12 mai. Alors, que va nous réserver l'après-Hadopi ? Si l'on en croit la ministre de la Culture, les plates-formes légales vont, comme par miracle, connaitre une croissance vertigineuse ...

Non, je ne suis pas la première victime de la loi Hadopi, ma connexion Internet n'a pas encore été coupée. L'absence de newsletter pendant ces quelques mois était seulement due à un planning un peu compliqué depuis le début de l'année. A propos de la loi Création et Internet, le feuilleton comique du moment, il faut constater que plus le temps passe, et plus les opposants sont nombreux ...

Dans le contexte de lutte contre le piratage, il fallait oser : la page d'accueil du site Internet du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Bonneville (Haute-Savoie) a été modifié le 26 décembre dernier, pour être transformé en "Stro", autrement dit un espace de stockage hébergeant 23 Go de contenus warez (films récents, logiciels, jeux Xbox360…). Le site, qui connaissait une telle affluence qu’il était souvent inaccessible, a finalement été mis hors service ce 5 janvier, puis remis en ligne peu après ...

Première newsletter de 2009 oblige, je vous adresse tous mes vœux pour cette nouvelle année. Avant de débuter, jetons un rapide coup d'œil sur ce qui s'est passé en 2008 : un processeur Phenom d'AMD loin derrière les Core 2/Core i7 d'Intel et un Phenom X3 pitoyable, le succès du processeur Atom, une chute vertigineuse des prix des chips mémoire, un chipset nVidia GeForce 9400M réussi (mais un nForce 780i SLI pathétique), une remontée spectaculaire en termes de ratio performances/prix chez AMD avec la gamme Radeon HD 4xx0 ...

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2007/12/03/top-5-seo-tips-for-bloggers/

Everyone wants to blog on Lockergnome – you can make some decent money by posting your articles here – but not everyone understands that Lockergnome, like so many other websites, lives and dies by the search engines. In order to make a killing on Lockergnome you need to do some killer SEO. Here are the top 5 tips you can use to improve your blogs SEO.

1. Keyword Focused Content – Keep your content laser focused on your keywords. While you can write about anything, you need to make sure that your article stays on topic. Any straying from the main topic at hand could confuse the search engines – and your readers.
2. Proper Keyword Use – Always remember to put the keywords of your article in three places: the title of the post, the beginning of the post, and several in the actual content of the post.
3. Don’t over-do Keywords – While using keywords throughout the article is a good idea (see the above tip), the next logical progression – to use the keywords early and often – only results in the search engines thinking you’re nothing more than a spammer. Try to keep your keyword density down to about 3% of the article.
4. Use Tags, People! – Tagging is an uber-important part of a blog. they give internal cross-reference links, as well as links from other non-Google search engines like Tagjag and Technorati. Ultimately the right tags are just as important as the right keywords.
5. Link Back – Linking back to earlier articles that reference a similar topic helps – a lot. Sure, getting links from popular outside locations is important, but internal linking, especially within articles, is also very important and should not be overlooked.

Do you have any SEO tips for bloggers?

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2007/12/03/top-5-seo-tips-for-bloggers/

Everyone wants to blog on Lockergnome – you can make some decent money by posting your articles here – but not everyone understands that Lockergnome, like so many other websites, lives and dies by the search engines. In order to make a killing on Lockergnome you need to do some killer SEO. Here are the top 5 tips you can use to improve your blogs SEO.

1. Keyword Focused Content – Keep your content laser focused on your keywords. While you can write about anything, you need to make sure that your article stays on topic. Any straying from the main topic at hand could confuse the search engines – and your readers.
2. Proper Keyword Use – Always remember to put the keywords of your article in three places: the title of the post, the beginning of the post, and several in the actual content of the post.
3. Don’t over-do Keywords – While using keywords throughout the article is a good idea (see the above tip), the next logical progression – to use the keywords early and often – only results in the search engines thinking you’re nothing more than a spammer. Try to keep your keyword density down to about 3% of the article.
4. Use Tags, People! – Tagging is an uber-important part of a blog. they give internal cross-reference links, as well as links from other non-Google search engines like Tagjag and Technorati. Ultimately the right tags are just as important as the right keywords.
5. Link Back – Linking back to earlier articles that reference a similar topic helps – a lot. Sure, getting links from popular outside locations is important, but internal linking, especially within articles, is also very important and should not be overlooked.

Do you have any SEO tips for bloggers?

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/google-public-service-search-makes-for-easy-phishing/

Wow, it seems like even the beloved Google has become a type of security threat. Phishing has just become as easy as a Google search.

You might want to be very careful before entering your username and password on any “new” services from Google. Developer Eric Farraro has uncovered a potential hole in Google’s Public Search Service that allows a malicious (or mischievous) person to put up a fake Google sign-in page to collect usernames and passwords for real Google services.

I found a question this morning on Ask MetaFilter about a supposed new service called Gmail Plus. The URL, www.google.com looked legit. In my pre-caffeinated state, I almost entered my Google username and password to see what sort of pre-announced Google service this MeFi-er had turned up. Instead, I went ahead and checked the comments and found that signing in would have been a very, very bad idea.
Turns out, it’s a page created by Farraro to demonstrate a potential exploit in Google’s Public Service Search… Source: NewsForge

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/google-public-service-search-makes-for-easy-phishing/

Wow, it seems like even the beloved Google has become a type of security threat. Phishing has just become as easy as a Google search.

You might want to be very careful before entering your username and password on any “new” services from Google. Developer Eric Farraro has uncovered a potential hole in Google’s Public Search Service that allows a malicious (or mischievous) person to put up a fake Google sign-in page to collect usernames and passwords for real Google services.

I found a question this morning on Ask MetaFilter about a supposed new service called Gmail Plus. The URL, www.google.com looked legit. In my pre-caffeinated state, I almost entered my Google username and password to see what sort of pre-announced Google service this MeFi-er had turned up. Instead, I went ahead and checked the comments and found that signing in would have been a very, very bad idea.
Turns out, it’s a page created by Farraro to demonstrate a potential exploit in Google’s Public Service Search… Source: NewsForge

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/livecom-is-not-passing-referer-information/

And so, it appear that the Live.com has taken its permanent place among the icons of the Internet. In short, MSN Search is no more.

So MSN Search Switched to Live.com the other night. Guess what… Live.com is not passing referer data. I.e. you will not know what type of traffic you are getting from live.com. You won’t know you got 10 or 100 or 1,000 visitors from Live.com. You won’t know what keywords they searched on in Live.com to find you in the free results. You won’t know!
MSN Search did pass referer information, but Live.com is not, at the moment at least.
I verified this with my stats from yesterday, nothing from Live.com and I know I used to get some MSN Search traffic (which has now been replaced by Live.com). Source: Search Engine Roundtable

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/livecom-is-not-passing-referer-information/

And so, it appear that the Live.com has taken its permanent place among the icons of the Internet. In short, MSN Search is no more.

So MSN Search Switched to Live.com the other night. Guess what… Live.com is not passing referer data. I.e. you will not know what type of traffic you are getting from live.com. You won’t know you got 10 or 100 or 1,000 visitors from Live.com. You won’t know what keywords they searched on in Live.com to find you in the free results. You won’t know!
MSN Search did pass referer information, but Live.com is not, at the moment at least.
I verified this with my stats from yesterday, nothing from Live.com and I know I used to get some MSN Search traffic (which has now been replaced by Live.com). Source: Search Engine Roundtable

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/googles-fight-for-the-gmail-name/

Bet Google never saw this one coming! It seems that Google is in a fight for the right to use Gmail. And yet some how, I am willing to bet that they’ll find way to win.

Google’s free Web email offering may be available for correspondence in 40 languages, but efforts at worldwide expansion using the moniker “Gmail” continue to face complications.
Last October, the search giant grabbed headlines ? and miffed some British users ? when it voluntarily renamed its service “Google Mail” in the UK, following an out-of-court trademark dispute.
The woes don’t end there. Across western Europe, a quiet battle rages on between Google and Daniel Giersch, a German-born venture capitalist who insists he’ll never relinquish his six-year-old trademark registration of “G-mail…und die Post geht richtig ab” (translation: G-mail… and the mail goes right off)…. Source: ZDNet

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/googles-fight-for-the-gmail-name/

Bet Google never saw this one coming! It seems that Google is in a fight for the right to use Gmail. And yet some how, I am willing to bet that they’ll find way to win.

Google’s free Web email offering may be available for correspondence in 40 languages, but efforts at worldwide expansion using the moniker “Gmail” continue to face complications.
Last October, the search giant grabbed headlines ? and miffed some British users ? when it voluntarily renamed its service “Google Mail” in the UK, following an out-of-court trademark dispute.
The woes don’t end there. Across western Europe, a quiet battle rages on between Google and Daniel Giersch, a German-born venture capitalist who insists he’ll never relinquish his six-year-old trademark registration of “G-mail…und die Post geht richtig ab” (translation: G-mail… and the mail goes right off)…. Source: ZDNet

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/acer-yahoo-team-for-search/

So why in the world would Acer and Yahoo possibly have a desire to team up on a project. Oh, the answer to this might just surprise you.

Taiwan-based PC maker Acer and Yahoo signed a multi-year partnership to set Yahoo as the default search engine on all Acers sold globally.

According to Gartner Dataquest, in the second quarter of 2006, Acer was the number three notebook vendor worldwide, and the top vendor in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The partnership will give Acer’s customers access to a number of Yahoo services, and will include a co-branded toolbar and start page on all its PCs…. Source: NewsFactorNetwork

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/15/acer-yahoo-team-for-search/

So why in the world would Acer and Yahoo possibly have a desire to team up on a project. Oh, the answer to this might just surprise you.

Taiwan-based PC maker Acer and Yahoo signed a multi-year partnership to set Yahoo as the default search engine on all Acers sold globally.

According to Gartner Dataquest, in the second quarter of 2006, Acer was the number three notebook vendor worldwide, and the top vendor in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The partnership will give Acer’s customers access to a number of Yahoo services, and will include a co-branded toolbar and start page on all its PCs…. Source: NewsFactorNetwork

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/next-wave-dabble/

If someone wants to start-up a new company that would really excite me, how about one that helps to me to recall a particular song based on my voice in a mic singing the melody. Until then, Dabble offers us something else to consider…

The popularity of online videos – mostly short, quirky clips of people doing the darnedest things – has exploded this year as consumers upload more and more rich media content on their computers. But sifting through the millions of videos on the Web to find only the ones you want to see is a daunting undertaking.

Dabble, a Berkeley, California-based startup, is trying to help cut through the clutter. The company, which officially launched in July, is building a video search engine that includes descriptions and links for every Web video in the world. Dabble says it has formed partnerships with 240 sites that have agreed to supply descriptions of the videos they host. Video-hosting giants like YouTube and Google, as well as tiny sites that feature only a few clips a day, send Dabble so-called “metadata” that includes the creator’s name, what it’s about, who’s in it, and who has watched it. [Source: Red Herring]

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/next-wave-dabble/

If someone wants to start-up a new company that would really excite me, how about one that helps to me to recall a particular song based on my voice in a mic singing the melody. Until then, Dabble offers us something else to consider…

The popularity of online videos – mostly short, quirky clips of people doing the darnedest things – has exploded this year as consumers upload more and more rich media content on their computers. But sifting through the millions of videos on the Web to find only the ones you want to see is a daunting undertaking.

Dabble, a Berkeley, California-based startup, is trying to help cut through the clutter. The company, which officially launched in July, is building a video search engine that includes descriptions and links for every Web video in the world. Dabble says it has formed partnerships with 240 sites that have agreed to supply descriptions of the videos they host. Video-hosting giants like YouTube and Google, as well as tiny sites that feature only a few clips a day, send Dabble so-called “metadata” that includes the creator’s name, what it’s about, who’s in it, and who has watched it. [Source: Red Herring]

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/google-asks-surfers-for-help/

OK, why would anyone want to participate? No seriously, not just the reasons Google is offering, I mean in the real world.

Google is asking surfers with time on their hands to help it categorize and label the images indexed by its search engine, building a database of knowledge about the contents of the images.

The company launched a new online game on Friday, Google Image Labeler, which it describes as “a fun way to help us organize all the images on the Web.” In the game, two randomly selected players are each shown the same image, plucked at random from Google’s search index, and given 90 seconds to suggest as many keywords or phrases as they can to describe it. They score points if any of their descriptions match.
Google’s image search engine currently returns results based on captions and other text adjacent to images on Web pages, without reference to the content of the images themselves. The game will allow it to improve the performance of the search engine by returning results based on the players’ descriptions of the images…. Source: PCWorld

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/google-asks-surfers-for-help/

OK, why would anyone want to participate? No seriously, not just the reasons Google is offering, I mean in the real world.

Google is asking surfers with time on their hands to help it categorize and label the images indexed by its search engine, building a database of knowledge about the contents of the images.

The company launched a new online game on Friday, Google Image Labeler, which it describes as “a fun way to help us organize all the images on the Web.” In the game, two randomly selected players are each shown the same image, plucked at random from Google’s search index, and given 90 seconds to suggest as many keywords or phrases as they can to describe it. They score points if any of their descriptions match.
Google’s image search engine currently returns results based on captions and other text adjacent to images on Web pages, without reference to the content of the images themselves. The game will allow it to improve the performance of the search engine by returning results based on the players’ descriptions of the images…. Source: PCWorld

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/googles-summer-isnt-so-hot/

According to MarketWatch, Google has seen better summers. In reality, it feels more like the search giant leveled off rather than slumped, but maybe it’s just me?

Things started cooling off for Google in July, when it ended a run of 11 consecutive months of gains in the U.S. Internet search market, according to comScore Networks Inc. In July 43.7% of all search queries conducted in the United States used a Google search engine, down from the 44.7% attributed to Google the month before.

The number of search-engine queries is part of the complex formula used to gauge its successes or failures. In theory, more searches would result in more revenue from advertising…. Source: MarketWatch

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/googles-summer-isnt-so-hot/

According to MarketWatch, Google has seen better summers. In reality, it feels more like the search giant leveled off rather than slumped, but maybe it’s just me?

Things started cooling off for Google in July, when it ended a run of 11 consecutive months of gains in the U.S. Internet search market, according to comScore Networks Inc. In July 43.7% of all search queries conducted in the United States used a Google search engine, down from the 44.7% attributed to Google the month before.

The number of search-engine queries is part of the complex formula used to gauge its successes or failures. In theory, more searches would result in more revenue from advertising…. Source: MarketWatch

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/google-says-may-launch-video-service-in-japan/

Google is invading Japan! Well, with their video, anyway. Hipcast has been in this market for sometime, wonder what took Google so long?

TOKYO (Reuters) – Google Inc., the world’s biggest Web search engine, said on Thursday it was seeking partners to contribute contents for a video service in Japan.

“We haven’t yet been able to introduce Google Video in Japan, and hope to do so soon,” Google Japan’s President Norio Murakami said during a conference in Tokyo. “Going forward, Google’s services can’t work without cooperation from contents partners.”

Murakami said video was the next step for Google in Japan, following the company’s online news and book searches.

Google Video, a free service launched this year in the United States, lets users search, watch and buy television shows, music videos and other clips submitted by both companies and individuals.

Yahoo Japan Corp., the country’s biggest portal site, already offers a free video search engine.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, is trying to expand its services such as video and map searches beyond the United States. More than half of the traffic to Google.com comes from outside its home country. Source: Reuters/ibtimes

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/09/08/google-says-may-launch-video-service-in-japan/

Google is invading Japan! Well, with their video, anyway. Hipcast has been in this market for sometime, wonder what took Google so long?

TOKYO (Reuters) – Google Inc., the world’s biggest Web search engine, said on Thursday it was seeking partners to contribute contents for a video service in Japan.

“We haven’t yet been able to introduce Google Video in Japan, and hope to do so soon,” Google Japan’s President Norio Murakami said during a conference in Tokyo. “Going forward, Google’s services can’t work without cooperation from contents partners.”

Murakami said video was the next step for Google in Japan, following the company’s online news and book searches.

Google Video, a free service launched this year in the United States, lets users search, watch and buy television shows, music videos and other clips submitted by both companies and individuals.

Yahoo Japan Corp., the country’s biggest portal site, already offers a free video search engine.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, is trying to expand its services such as video and map searches beyond the United States. More than half of the traffic to Google.com comes from outside its home country. Source: Reuters/ibtimes

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/google-uk-unique-indexing-issues/

What makes Google UK different from that of the Google here in the US? Apparently, its indexing…

A WebmasterWorld thread discusses, what they suggest to be, issues unique to UK based sites, within the UK only Google search results. One such example;

A site:domainname search lists the pages in the site ok when performed in the default search, but lists all pages APART from the homepage when done with the ‘pages from the UK’ option. Also, a search for the domain name shows the homepage in the #1 slot in a default search, but a search for the domain name using the ‘pages from the UK’ option shows the same list, but no homepage anywhere.

The site is hosted in the UK on a shared IP, physically located in the UK. I have located other .coms on the same IP and their homepages show up fine when the domain name is searched for using the ‘pages from the UK’ option.

Can this be related to last week’s Google update (not specific to the UK only)? I think it may. Source: Search Engine Roundtable

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/google-uk-unique-indexing-issues/

What makes Google UK different from that of the Google here in the US? Apparently, its indexing…

A WebmasterWorld thread discusses, what they suggest to be, issues unique to UK based sites, within the UK only Google search results. One such example;

A site:domainname search lists the pages in the site ok when performed in the default search, but lists all pages APART from the homepage when done with the ‘pages from the UK’ option. Also, a search for the domain name shows the homepage in the #1 slot in a default search, but a search for the domain name using the ‘pages from the UK’ option shows the same list, but no homepage anywhere.

The site is hosted in the UK on a shared IP, physically located in the UK. I have located other .coms on the same IP and their homepages show up fine when the domain name is searched for using the ‘pages from the UK’ option.

Can this be related to last week’s Google update (not specific to the UK only)? I think it may. Source: Search Engine Roundtable

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/apilitax-101-released-ajax-gui-for-adwords/

Speaking as an AdWords kind of guy, this is a great thing indeed! Ajax can bring so much to an endeavor, so adding it to AdWords is not all that surprising.

We are pleased to announce that APIlitAx v1.0.1, an open source AJAX GUI for AdWords, is now available for download.

Version 1.0.1 includes many new modifications including:

* a more compact UI design, more consistent icon layout,
* a WYSIWYG creative editor,
* better support for Javascript multi-window interface,
* support for creative exemption requests, and
* better support for many browsers including MSIE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Konqueror, and Camino on the Linux, Windows and Mac platforms.
* support for the AdWords API sandbox.

APIlitAx is an open source project founded by AdWords API Specialist Thomas Steiner. As with all open source projects, we encourage any and all developers to submit external contributions. For more information, or to learn how to contribute to APIlitAx, please visit http://sourceforge.net/projects/apilitax. Source: Jon Diorio/Google

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/apilitax-101-released-ajax-gui-for-adwords/

Speaking as an AdWords kind of guy, this is a great thing indeed! Ajax can bring so much to an endeavor, so adding it to AdWords is not all that surprising.

We are pleased to announce that APIlitAx v1.0.1, an open source AJAX GUI for AdWords, is now available for download.

Version 1.0.1 includes many new modifications including:

* a more compact UI design, more consistent icon layout,
* a WYSIWYG creative editor,
* better support for Javascript multi-window interface,
* support for creative exemption requests, and
* better support for many browsers including MSIE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Konqueror, and Camino on the Linux, Windows and Mac platforms.
* support for the AdWords API sandbox.

APIlitAx is an open source project founded by AdWords API Specialist Thomas Steiner. As with all open source projects, we encourage any and all developers to submit external contributions. For more information, or to learn how to contribute to APIlitAx, please visit http://sourceforge.net/projects/apilitax. Source: Jon Diorio/Google

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/microsoft-to-provide-and-sell-ads-on-facebook-the-web-site/

This is a great deal for the folks over at Microsoft. Seriously, I mean is there any real question that allowing this ad deal to go through would be great for both companies?

Microsoft said yesterday that it would provide advertising for Facebook, a Web site aimed primarily at college students, over the next three years.

The two did not disclose the terms of the deal, in which Microsoft will be the exclusive seller and provider of banner advertising and sponsored links for Facebook. The site, a social network that allows users to set up pages about themselves, post pictures and create discussions, attracts a youthful demographic that is highly prized by advertisers.

The deal follows an announcement earlier this month that Google had agreed to pay a minimum of $900 million over three and a half years to the News Corporation to provide search functions and advertising to MySpace.com, the hugely popular social networking site.

Microsoft was one of the competitors for the deal with MySpace, which earlier this month registered its 100 millionth user, compared with Facebook?s 9 million registered users. ?It?s basically a consolation prize,?? Phil Leigh, president of Inside Digital Media, a market research firm specializing in digital media, said of the deal. ?But Facebook is also a legitimate test bed, a place where Microsoft can test new technology in a commercial context,?? he said…. Source: NYT

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/microsoft-to-provide-and-sell-ads-on-facebook-the-web-site/

This is a great deal for the folks over at Microsoft. Seriously, I mean is there any real question that allowing this ad deal to go through would be great for both companies?

Microsoft said yesterday that it would provide advertising for Facebook, a Web site aimed primarily at college students, over the next three years.

The two did not disclose the terms of the deal, in which Microsoft will be the exclusive seller and provider of banner advertising and sponsored links for Facebook. The site, a social network that allows users to set up pages about themselves, post pictures and create discussions, attracts a youthful demographic that is highly prized by advertisers.

The deal follows an announcement earlier this month that Google had agreed to pay a minimum of $900 million over three and a half years to the News Corporation to provide search functions and advertising to MySpace.com, the hugely popular social networking site.

Microsoft was one of the competitors for the deal with MySpace, which earlier this month registered its 100 millionth user, compared with Facebook?s 9 million registered users. ?It?s basically a consolation prize,?? Phil Leigh, president of Inside Digital Media, a market research firm specializing in digital media, said of the deal. ?But Facebook is also a legitimate test bed, a place where Microsoft can test new technology in a commercial context,?? he said…. Source: NYT

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/researchers-yearn-to-use-aol-logs-but-they-hesitate/

AOL has a craptastic record in general, so the fact that researchers are less than excited about wanting to use their search logs should come as no surprise.

When AOL researchers released three months? worth of users? query logs to a publicly accessible Web site late last month, Jon Kleinberg, a professor of computer science at Cornell, downloaded the data right away. But when a firestorm over privacy breaches erupted, he decided against using it.

?Now it?s sitting there, in cold storage,? said Professor Kleinberg, who works on algorithms for understanding the structure of the Web and searching it. ?The number of things it reveals about individual people seems much too much. In general, you don?t want to do research on tainted data.?

After the data was released for academic researchers like Professor Kleinberg to work with, many were torn, loath to conduct research with it as they balanced a chronic thirst for useful data against concerns over individual privacy….. Source: NYT

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/24/researchers-yearn-to-use-aol-logs-but-they-hesitate/

AOL has a craptastic record in general, so the fact that researchers are less than excited about wanting to use their search logs should come as no surprise.

When AOL researchers released three months? worth of users? query logs to a publicly accessible Web site late last month, Jon Kleinberg, a professor of computer science at Cornell, downloaded the data right away. But when a firestorm over privacy breaches erupted, he decided against using it.

?Now it?s sitting there, in cold storage,? said Professor Kleinberg, who works on algorithms for understanding the structure of the Web and searching it. ?The number of things it reveals about individual people seems much too much. In general, you don?t want to do research on tainted data.?

After the data was released for academic researchers like Professor Kleinberg to work with, many were torn, loath to conduct research with it as they balanced a chronic thirst for useful data against concerns over individual privacy….. Source: NYT

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/seek-on-the-web-and-the-advertisers-shall-find-you/

So does Yahoo’s latest actions (among that of others) mean that they are crossing the line in their efforts to generate revenue. Or instead, would it be better to allow them to discover what works best for them as they companies like this remain unchecked?

If you use Yahoo’s Web search engine to learn about hybrid cars, the site will quietly note that you fit into a group of users it calls “Consciously Cruising.”

If you click on ads for moving van companies you will join the “Home Hopping” group. Shop for wedding cakes and you might be tagged as a future bride or groom.

This year, Yahoo introduced a computer system that uses complex models to analyze records of what each of its 500 million users do on its site: What they search for, what pages they read, what ads they click on. It then tries to show them advertisements that speak directly to their interests and the events in their lives.

Yahoo and the many other companies building similar systems say they are benign because they typically do not collect personal information like names and addresses…. Source: IHT

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/seek-on-the-web-and-the-advertisers-shall-find-you/

So does Yahoo’s latest actions (among that of others) mean that they are crossing the line in their efforts to generate revenue. Or instead, would it be better to allow them to discover what works best for them as they companies like this remain unchecked?

If you use Yahoo’s Web search engine to learn about hybrid cars, the site will quietly note that you fit into a group of users it calls “Consciously Cruising.”

If you click on ads for moving van companies you will join the “Home Hopping” group. Shop for wedding cakes and you might be tagged as a future bride or groom.

This year, Yahoo introduced a computer system that uses complex models to analyze records of what each of its 500 million users do on its site: What they search for, what pages they read, what ads they click on. It then tries to show them advertisements that speak directly to their interests and the events in their lives.

Yahoo and the many other companies building similar systems say they are benign because they typically do not collect personal information like names and addresses…. Source: IHT

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/google-demotes-froogle-trumpets-video/

Apparently Google is trying to position their video service into the mainstream spotlight as they toss the much more valued Froogle into the back seat.

NEW YORK – Google Inc., the search engine whose clean, minimalist home page was a stark contrast to the link-laden Web portals of the late 1990s, made a tiny tweak to its site last week that may have much bigger repercussions.

On Wednesday, Google removed a text link to its comparison-shopping site, Froogle, and replaced it with one pointing to Google Video, where amateur spoofs uploaded by users mingle with episodes of Dave Chappelle?s show.

While Google explained the switch as a philosophical one ? more about helping users find new video content than driving traffic to any particular section ? some bloggers and Web watchers saw the change as more strategically significant…. Source: MSNBC

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/google-demotes-froogle-trumpets-video/

Apparently Google is trying to position their video service into the mainstream spotlight as they toss the much more valued Froogle into the back seat.

NEW YORK – Google Inc., the search engine whose clean, minimalist home page was a stark contrast to the link-laden Web portals of the late 1990s, made a tiny tweak to its site last week that may have much bigger repercussions.

On Wednesday, Google removed a text link to its comparison-shopping site, Froogle, and replaced it with one pointing to Google Video, where amateur spoofs uploaded by users mingle with episodes of Dave Chappelle?s show.

While Google explained the switch as a philosophical one ? more about helping users find new video content than driving traffic to any particular section ? some bloggers and Web watchers saw the change as more strategically significant…. Source: MSNBC

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/googles-new-service-click-and-clip/

Google is getting into the coupon business, even if many of us are growing a little leery of this move.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. ? Google Inc. is making it possible for users to find and print coupons from merchants listed in the on-line search leader’s index of local businesses, adding to a slew of free features designed to attract more traffic to its website.

More than 20,000 coupons are expected to be available Tuesday when the new service has its debut on Google’s popular mapping service.

The initial coupon supply is being provided by Cox Enterprises Inc.’s Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, which has been mailing envelops stuffed with coupons and discount offers for nearly 40 years.

Valpak, based in Largo, Fla., plans to provide Google with nightly updates to expand the supply of coupons from a list of neighbourhood merchants that will include pizzerias, auto shops, dry cleaners and handymen…. Source: globeandmail.com

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/googles-new-service-click-and-clip/

Google is getting into the coupon business, even if many of us are growing a little leery of this move.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. ? Google Inc. is making it possible for users to find and print coupons from merchants listed in the on-line search leader’s index of local businesses, adding to a slew of free features designed to attract more traffic to its website.

More than 20,000 coupons are expected to be available Tuesday when the new service has its debut on Google’s popular mapping service.

The initial coupon supply is being provided by Cox Enterprises Inc.’s Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, which has been mailing envelops stuffed with coupons and discount offers for nearly 40 years.

Valpak, based in Largo, Fla., plans to provide Google with nightly updates to expand the supply of coupons from a list of neighbourhood merchants that will include pizzerias, auto shops, dry cleaners and handymen…. Source: globeandmail.com

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/google-launches-free-wi-fi-network/

From search engine to everything engine, Google is now running as a WiFi service, too!

The Wi-Fi network Google built for Mountain View becomes generally available on Wednesday, providing free broadband wireless access in this California city that the search engine giant calls home.

Google’s network includes 380 access points throughout this city, which has about 72,000 residents and covers a 12-square mile area, said Chris Sacca, Google’s head of special initiatives.

It will offer 1Mbps of throughput both upstream and downstream, and that capacity can be increased if necessary, he said.

Google had been shooting for mid-September for the service’s official launch, but it wrapped up its final tests ahead of time. About 1,000 people participated in the service’s test phase, he said.

Starting Wednesday, people with Wi-Fi devices will be able to pick up the Google network’s signal and sign in with their Google account user ID and password…. Source: InfoWorld

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/22/google-launches-free-wi-fi-network/

From search engine to everything engine, Google is now running as a WiFi service, too!

The Wi-Fi network Google built for Mountain View becomes generally available on Wednesday, providing free broadband wireless access in this California city that the search engine giant calls home.

Google’s network includes 380 access points throughout this city, which has about 72,000 residents and covers a 12-square mile area, said Chris Sacca, Google’s head of special initiatives.

It will offer 1Mbps of throughput both upstream and downstream, and that capacity can be increased if necessary, he said.

Google had been shooting for mid-September for the service’s official launch, but it wrapped up its final tests ahead of time. About 1,000 people participated in the service’s test phase, he said.

Starting Wednesday, people with Wi-Fi devices will be able to pick up the Google network’s signal and sign in with their Google account user ID and password…. Source: InfoWorld

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/15/google-gets-back-into-myspace/

Serving as a search engine for MySpace is not small deal, let me tell you.

How much are friends worth? To Google (GOOG), almost a billion dollars. The search engine giant said on Aug. 7 it will pay News Corp. (NWS) more than $900 million to serve as the search engine for MySpace.com and other sites under the media giant?s Fox Interactive umbrella.

Under the terms of the multiyear deal, Google will provide search capability for Fox Interactive Media by the end of 2006. It will continue to serve as the search engine until at least the second quarter of 2010, when the deal expires…. Source: Business Week

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/15/google-gets-back-into-myspace/

Serving as a search engine for MySpace is not small deal, let me tell you.

How much are friends worth? To Google (GOOG), almost a billion dollars. The search engine giant said on Aug. 7 it will pay News Corp. (NWS) more than $900 million to serve as the search engine for MySpace.com and other sites under the media giant?s Fox Interactive umbrella.

Under the terms of the multiyear deal, Google will provide search capability for Fox Interactive Media by the end of 2006. It will continue to serve as the search engine until at least the second quarter of 2010, when the deal expires…. Source: Business Week

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/15/aol-leaked-search-queries/

AOL does it again with leaked search engine queries. No rest of the unfortunate I suppose…

AOL fessed up to leaking hundreds of thousands of search queries yesterday. But it was all a big mistake.

Spokesperson Andrew Weinstein told internetnews.com that the company posted the queries on July 31 on the publicly accessible research.aol.com.

Weinstein said AOL removed the queries, as soon as it discovered them, on Sunday evening.

“This was a screw up, and we’re angry and upset about it,” Weinstein said.

“It was an innocent enough attempt to reach out to the academic community with new research tools, but it was obviously not appropriately vetted, and if it had been, it would have been stopped in an instant.”

According to Weinstein, AOL mistakenly released search data for roughly 658,000 users over a three-month period from March to May.

AOL did not provide personally identifiable data, but it said search queries themselves can sometimes include such information…. Source: InternetNews.com

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/15/aol-leaked-search-queries/

AOL does it again with leaked search engine queries. No rest of the unfortunate I suppose…

AOL fessed up to leaking hundreds of thousands of search queries yesterday. But it was all a big mistake.

Spokesperson Andrew Weinstein told internetnews.com that the company posted the queries on July 31 on the publicly accessible research.aol.com.

Weinstein said AOL removed the queries, as soon as it discovered them, on Sunday evening.

“This was a screw up, and we’re angry and upset about it,” Weinstein said.

“It was an innocent enough attempt to reach out to the academic community with new research tools, but it was obviously not appropriately vetted, and if it had been, it would have been stopped in an instant.”

According to Weinstein, AOL mistakenly released search data for roughly 658,000 users over a three-month period from March to May.

AOL did not provide personally identifiable data, but it said search queries themselves can sometimes include such information…. Source: InternetNews.com

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/15/googles-blogger-unblocked-again-in-china/

Blogger has been unchained in China recently. Still, there are still a number of problems that remain in question.

Google’s free Web log service, Blogger, is once again accessible from Beijing without the use of a proxy server, indicating that apparent government efforts to block the site have been lifted.

Access to Blogger was restored on Thursday. The site has largely been inaccessible from China since late 2002, when government censors apparently blocked access to Google’s search engine and other sites. Last year, Blogger was accessible during a three-month period that stretched from mid-October until December, when the service once again became inaccessible…. Source: InfoWorld

http://www.lockergnome.com/search/2006/08/15/googles-blogger-unblocked-again-in-china/

Blogger has been unchained in China recently. Still, there are still a number of problems that remain in question.

Google’s free Web log service, Blogger, is once again accessible from Beijing without the use of a proxy server, indicating that apparent government efforts to block the site have been lifted.

Access to Blogger was restored on Thursday. The site has largely been inaccessible from China since late 2002, when government censors apparently blocked access to Google’s search engine and other sites. Last year, Blogger was accessible during a three-month period that stretched from mid-October until December, when the service once again became inaccessible…. Source: InfoWorld

From the Owning What's Yours dept.:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation drove three deep wedges into the US prohibition on breaking DRM today. EFF had applied to the Copyright Office to grant exemptions permitting the cracking of DRM in three cases: first, to "jailbreak" a mobile device, such as an iPhone, where DRM is used to prevent phone owners from running software of their own choosing; second, to allow video remix artists to break the DRM on DVDs in order to take short excerpts for mashups posted to YouTube and other sharing sites; finally EFF got the Copyright Office to renew its ruling that made it illegal to unlock cellphones so that they can be used with any carrier.

From the Buy Once, Get Reamed Everywhere dept.:
Mom-and-pop repair shops in Massachusetts are pushing a bill that would require auto manufacturers to provide, at a price, all the diagnostic and software information they make available to their dealerships.

Massachusetts would become the first state to approve the so-called auto right-to-repair law. The Senate recently passed it, and it's pending in the House. Industry observers say passage of the bill in Massachusetts could drive similar legislative efforts in other states.

From the Cloudiness, Chance of Openness dept.:
OpenStack is an open-source cloud platform designed to foster the emergence of technology standards and cloud interoperability. The initial components being offered through this project include the code that powers our Cloud Files (available today) and Cloud Servers (expected available late 2010). Leaders in the technology industry and other stakeholders support the project and are expected to help us drive a deployable, completely open cloud solution.

What does an open cloud mean for you?
Prevents vendor lock-in
Increases flexibility in deployment for a highly elastic commodity cloud
Offers a bigger, more robust ecosystem for more tools, better capabilities and a stronger platform
Gives you the freedom to decide how you want your cloud
Drives greater industry standards
Increases the speed of innovation in cloud technologies

From the uh huh dept.:
Russian publication Vedomosti reported on Wednesday that Microsoft had also given the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) access to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server source code, with hopes of improving Microsoft sales to the Russian state.

The agreement will allow state bodies to study the source code and develop cryptography for the Microsoft products through the Science-Technical Centre 'Atlas', a government body controlled by the Ministry of Communications and Press, according to Vedomosti.

Microsoft Russia president Nikolai Pryanishnikov told Vedomosti that employees of Atlas and the FSB will be able to share conclusions about Microsoft products.

From the Hands Off! dept.:
Brazil has just created the best-ever implementation of WCT. In Brazil's version of the law, you can break DRM without breaking the law, provided you're not also committing a copyright violation. And what's more, any rightsholder who adds a DRM that restricts things that are allowed by Brazilian copyright laws ("fair dealing" or "fair use") faces a fine.

From the dept.:
On behalf of the Python development team, I'm jocund to announce the final release of Python 2.7.

Python 2.7 will be the last major version in the 2.x series. However, it will also have an extended period of bugfix maintenance.

2.7 includes many features that were first released in Python 3.1. The faster io module, the new nested with statement syntax, improved float repr, set literals, dictionary views, and the memoryview object have been backported from 3.1. Other features include an ordered dictionary implementation, unittests improvements, a new sysconfig module, auto-numbering of fields in the str/unicode format method,
and support for ttk Tile in Tkinter.

From the FoxVille dept.:
Just three days after adding plug-in crash protection to Firefox, Mozilla rushed out another release because people playing FarmVille on Facebook complained that their browser was shutting down the game. Although complaints about Firefox's quick killing of hung plug-ins were not limited to FarmVille, that game was the squeaky wheel that got the update grease.

From the Haters Gonna Mitigate the Hate dept.:
Mozilla Firefox 3.6.4 went to general release today. The big new feature in this release is out-of-process plugins (OOPP). This means things like Flash, Java, QuickTime, etc., all run in separate processes, so when Flash decides to crash, it won't take your browser out with it. If Flash starts consuming all the CPU it can find, you can kill it without nuking your browser session. I've been using this feature since it was in the 'nightly build' stage, and it was still more stable than 3.6.3, just because Flash was isolated."

From the Good Riddance dept.:
udge Ted Stewart has ruled for Novell and against SCO. Novell's claim for declaratory judgment is granted; SCO's claims for specific performance and breach of the implied covenant of good fair and fair dealings are denied. Also SCO's motion for judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial: denied. SCO is entitled to waive, at its sole discretion, claims against IBM, Sequent and other SVRX licensees.
CASE CLOSED!

Maybe I should say cases closed. The door has slammed shut on the SCO litigation machine. The judge writes in the Memorandum Decision and Order about SCOsource, "Finally, while SCO's witnesses testified that the copyrights were 'required' for SCO to run its SCOsource licensing program, this was not something that SCO ever acquired from Novell." He totally got it. He noticed Darl McBride admitted that SCO didn't need the copyrights.

From the MUbuntu dept.:
Canonical is preparing a version of the Ubuntu OS for tablet computers as the company looks to extend its presence in the mobile space, a company executive said.

Tablets with the Ubuntu OS could become available late in winter 2011, said Chris Kenyon, Canonical's vice president of OEM services. The OS will be a lightweight version of Linux with a simplified, touch-friendly user interface.

Hacking human gullibility at Defcon

Defcon A hacker competition that challenges contestants to trick employees of large companies into divulging potentially sensitive information aims to show how human gullibility is the biggest security vulnerability of all. During its first day at the Defcon hacker contest in Las Vegas, it had clearly achieved its goal.?

The camel's nose under Google's tent

A trio of Apple filings seek to patent mobile-application "systems and methods" for travel and online shopping ? and to move us three steps closer to a Google-free world.?

Dressing up what you kill

Microsoft is so committed to the cloud that it's throwing everything at rivals like Google to crack open the door on sales and gain momentum online.?

Free On-Demand Webcast - Virtualizing the Hard Stuff

* - offensive humor may vary

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is preparing to launch an iPad competitor in November, and it will be called the BlackPad, according to a report citing two people familiar with the company's plans.?

Gate not closing

When AMD spin-off GlobalFoundries broke ground on its fab in upstate New York last year, the chip manufacturer boasted it was "closing the gap" on Intel. "We were a year behind Intel at the 45nm node, and that difference will be cut significantly at the 32nm generation," said vice president of manufacturing systems technology Tom Sonderman. "By 22nm, there will be no difference. It will be in the noise level."?

Judas Phone 'death grip' proven fatal

More evidence has surfaced that Apple's beleaguered Judas Phone does, indeed, have serious reception challenges ? and today's facts and figures come from a sophisticated source.?

Attacks on rise

Warning of an uptick in attacks, Microsoft plans to issue an emergency update to patch a critical Windows vulnerability that hackers are exploiting to seize control of PCs.?

Hunts down Japanese FTC

Microsoft will try to stop Yahoo! from hooking up with Google in Japan.?

Free On-Demand Webcast - Virtualizing the Hard Stuff

Take a peep

Leaving aside the creepy privacy aspects, Street View is one of Google's most valuable services. The ability to familiarise yourself with somewhere strange, before you arrive, is genuinely useful.?

Dust up over supposed evil particles

A futurologist has defended his controversial warning that "smart dust" is liable to become a future information stealing threat.?

A ClearPath to the development skies

A mainframe cloud may seem oxymoronic like a lead Zeppelin ("a" included on purpose), or intuitively obvious (given the virtualization and metering capabilities that have been in mainframes for decades). But Unisys has nonetheless fluffed up a mainframe cloud for its ClearPath mainframe customers.?

$20 million

BlueArc, the hardware-accelerated NAS array supplier startup, has pocketed another $20m in a seventh funding round, taking total funding to around $225m.?

Render foreign beatdowns unenforceable

The US House of Representatives has passed a law which will render libel rulings from the English courts unenforceable there. The bill has already been passed by the Senate and will go to US President Barack Obama to be signed into law.?

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No touching

Spar is going contactless, attracted by the four pence per transaction the company could save by not asking shoppers for their PINs.?

Capitalism and open source

Open...and Shut When the mouthpiece of American capitalism calls a company a dog, it's time to re-evaluate that company's chances.?

...it's a... yes, one of those!

Mozy says that the bugs reported by users concerning repeated full backups were not bugs at all, instead reflecting a feature of the product.?

What happens in Vegas...

Security shortcomings in Black Hat's newly established streaming media service allowed a security consultant to hack into the system and see presentations for free.?

Na zdraví!

Beer drinkers in the Czech Republic, and that's most of country, will be raising a glass today to celebrate a local victory against Anheuser-Busch, the maker of US "beer" Budweiser.?

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HDD & SSD hybrid craftsmanship?

Word has reached us of a development project codenamed Katana inside Xiotech, with hints that the project involves HDD and SSD hybrid craftsmanship.?

Quickest crypto off the mark

The UK's Cyber Security Challenge has announced the winner of its prologue crypto puzzle, as well as the solution - for anyone still struggling to find an answer.?

Signs Voda UK for heavy lifting

TalkTalk is to launch its own mobile phone service, thanks to a deal with Vodafone UK.?

Stunned web developers die a little inside

Computers in Whitehall will largely continue to run Microsoft?s Internet Explorer 6, which will make web coders spit out their cheese?n?pickle sarnies this lunchtime.?

Shaves tariffs

Last month, we reported T-Mobile UK's price-plans for the iPhone 4. Today the telco start shipping the iphone, and has come in with lower tariffs .?

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Fun retro-snapper revived

Review The news that Polaroid has a new instant camera, after we thought it was done with all that frivolity, is likely to be greeted with squeals of nostalgic joy. While digital is superior in almost every sense there's a real warmth about those 80s prints that we remember adorning fridges and noticeboards. The Polaroid 300 (tsk, these unwieldy techie names) takes you straight back to your childhood, making a spontaneity-encouraging break from all that DSLR refinement.?

So who gets the DVD collection?

A year after leaping into bed with O2, NatWest is no longer backing the operator's pre-paid credit card offering, citing differences in strategic goals as the cause of the breakup.?

Generosity knows no bounds

YouTube has bumped its upload limit to 15 minutes for users of the Google-owned video sharing website.?

Parliamentary privilege claim kicked out

The four politicians facing fraud charges over their expenses today failed in their bid to avoid prosecution by using ancient Parliamentary privilege laws.?

Hey, Mr Trampoline Man... what's that in your hand?

A 55-year-old described by the BBC as a 'man' and by Scotland's Daily Record as a 'pervert' has avoided jail after being spotted by neighbours having too much fun with too few clothes on a trampoline.?

Android in spaaace

If you've ever wondered what happens when you stick a Google Nexus One phone in a rocket and blast it to 28,000ft from the Nevada desert, then here's your answer:?

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Fat dollar spent on health advice sites

Four Whitehall departments gave Google and similar search engines more than £6m in two years to encourage web users to do more exercise, emit less CO₂ and stop smoking, among other initiatives.?

Watch where you click

Online con artists have developed a strain of scareware that poses as a Firefox update.?

Today's the day to pat yourselves on the back

It?s the last Friday in July, so that can mean only one thing - happy SysAdmin Day!?

Launch? What launch!

Apple's iPhone 4 went on sale today in New Zealand. But Vodafone NZ's handling of the launch left much to be desired, with hundreds of customers left in the lurch.?

Sitting pretty - but for how long?

In a lot of ways, Nvidia is the belle of the GPU/accelerator ball these days. (Make your reservations early for the upcoming "GPU Fancy Dress Cotillion" later on this year; tuxedo t-shirts encouraged.) Intel withdrew Larrabee, IBM isn't pushing Cell, FPGAs aren't gaining a lot of traction yet, and AMD is late to the party with Fusion.?

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Dismissed with a 'non' and a Gallic shrug

Updated French network operator SFR is thumbing its nose at Apple by telling customers to think carefully before upgrading to iOS 4.?

Expense accounts

Starcraft 2 was released this week and at the hefty RRP of £45. Many games sites are hopping mad at this, although typically retailers are selling Blizzard's strategy game at £10 less than RRP.?

Orwellian black Opel scoots past infamous murder site

Until now, we at El Reg have assumed that Google's Street View spymobiles are as fearless as they are all-seeing, but it appears this may not be entirely true.?

In time for US welcome?

PartyGaming and Bwin have agreed to merge, just as moves to make online gambling legal in the US get a little closer.?

Running the stack from one screen

Hitachi's Unified Compute Platform (UCP) integrated IT stack idea is gathering momentum.?

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Raw info may be too confusing

The head of the government's website for the release of public sector data has said it is a challenge to ensure that users can understand the statistics.?

Pure and simple

Review If a recent survey for HP is to be believed, Britons remain committed to packaged media, with 75 percent wanting hard copies of films in a box. So despite the advance of video streaming and downloading, perhaps it?s not yet time to write off conventional disc players, like Pioneer?s latest Blu-ray offering, the BDP-330.?

It's fully blocked!

Google's China search is working just fine, despite breathless claims from countless news organizations that it's "fully blocked."?

Up to 4 million downloads

An Android wallpaper application that collected data from users' phones and uploaded it to a site in China was downloaded "millions of times", according to mobile security firm Lookout.?

Forever is a mighty long time

Underscoring the permanence of data published on the internet, a security researcher has compiled the names and URLs of more than 100 million Facebook users and made them available as a BitTorrent download.?

DoJ doubles down on whistleblower suit

The US Department of Justice has filed a fresh lawsuit against Oracle, three months after intervening in a whistleblower suit that accuses the software giant of overcharging the government by "tens of millions of dollars."?

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'Job-one urgency'

FAM Microsoft's chief executive has come very close to telling investors he screwed up after years of writing off, belittling and underestimated Apple's potential success in touch-based computing.?

Cuda be an enterprise contender

Nvidia announced some new CUDA stuff last week, a new developer kit (3.1) and the Parallel Nsight Visual Studio plug-in, both designed to make it easier for ISVs and other coding types to support Nvidia GPUs in their apps. Our pal TPM has a typically detailed story here.?

The Poland of international conflict

Black Hat Fighting wars that target computer networks is fraught with risks that don't exist in traditional warfare, raising the stakes for future conflicts, a retired US general told security professionals Thursday.?

Turner promises 'great' story

FAM The beta version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 will hit in September.?

September previews planned

Linux users on Gnome must wait a full year before their favorite desktop is updated ? the first such delay in the project's short history.?

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Google mistakenly reported Thursday that China began censoring its web search again. It's a blunder that adds to a list of missteps over the last six months that have the net's top tech company looking unprofessional.

Accessing data on the iPad is the United States is a lot more expensive than almost anywhere in the world. American users pay some of the highest prices in terms of dollars per gigabyte of data on the iPad.

Fifty years after physicists invented the laser, ushering in everything from supermarket scanners to music CDs, scientists have conceived its opposite — the "antilaser."

Instead of investing in their own computer research and development, engineers at the NASA Ames Research Center are looking to cellphones and off-the-shelf toys to power the future of low-cost satellite technology.

A Swedish researcher and entrepreneur has taken the first step toward becoming a cyborg by creating a wearable computer that can be slung across the body.

In the wake of strong U.S. government statements condemning WikiLeaks' recent publishing of 77,000 Afghan War documents, the secret-spilling site has posted a mysterious encrypted file labeled "insurance."

A camera that's equal parts handsome sharpshooter and capable GPS guide? That would be the Cyber-Shot DSC-HX5V.

Attribution is one of the biggest problems on the internet when it comes to cyberwarfare. How do you hold a nation responsible for malicious attacks if you can't determine whether or not the activity was state-sponsored? It doesn't matter, former NSA Director Michael Hayden says. Do it anyway.

You will not be surprised that the porn industry is all over the iPhone 4 -- and the latest business opportunity is, almost inevitably, FaceTime.

Developers and pilots are embracing the gadget, with apps that do everything from tell you the weather to show you the way.

Spotify's longstanding effort to launch in the United States was reportedly sent "back to square one" due to the derailment of its negotiations with one or more major labels. However, the company tells Wired.com that the report is bogus, and that it is still on track to launch here by the end of the year.

Facebook 'will probably' put off until 2012 the IPO it hasn't even acknowledged thinking about much yet, three people tell Bloomberg News. That adds about a year to the latest idle speculation of when Facebook might let its 500 million members (or anyone) become owners, as well.

Meet Caterina Fake, the creative spark behind Hunch. Her big idea? Develop a web service that knows what you want before you even want it.

Here in the America, the CIA's drone war in Pakistan is hotly-contested. In Pakistan, two-thirds of the people have never heard of the drones, according to a new poll. You can hear the champagne corks popping at Langley.

Penguin publishes the first paperback books of substance, bringing the likes of Ernest Hemingway, André Maurois and Agatha Christie to the masses. The business model of the book-publishing industry is about to change.

What will in-flight entertainment be like in the year 2023? There isn't any.

Wired magazine's Found page represents our best guess at what lies over the horizon, from touchscreen windshields to organ farming. Help create our next Found page: Show us what taco trucks will look like in 10, 20 or 100 years?

Clive Thompson waxes philosophical on how text messaging is threatening -- and preserving -- the telephone conversation.

Being able to legally jailbreak your iPhone is cool and all, but think where this type of legal reasoning could take us.

An Army private suspected of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks was admonished as a trainee in 2008 for uploading YouTube videos discussing classified facilities, according to an Army official with direct knowledge of the incident.

San Franciscans gets a peek at what's involved in building a new bridge when builders place the first segment of a tower that will soon hold up a brand-new span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Wired.com shoots photos of the new bridge on a recent tour of the massive construction project.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen is ordinarily a mild-mannered man. But they could barely contain his anger on Thursday at WikiLeaks for publishing tens of thousands of secret documents about the Afghanistan war.

An Android app's data-collection practice has raised concerns about user privacy and security on mobile phones.

A massive simulation of soot's climate effects finds that basic pollution controls could put a brake on global warming, erasing in a decade most of the last century's temperature change.

A genomic hunt for virus genes traced sequences to Ebola and the closely related Marburg virus in no fewer than six vertebrate species. The genes appear to have been mixed in about 40 million years ago, and have stuck around ever since.

A group of rocket enthusiasts used a rocket to send a Nexus One phone 28,000 feet into the atmosphere.

Rapper Kanye West, who might be more famous for his controversial pronouncements over the years than for his music, would seem the perfect candidate for starting a Twitter account, but rejected the notion. However, he changed his mind by starting an account and rapping at Twitter's headquarters on Wednesday.

If the Empulse RR runs as well as it looks, the competition should be very nervous.

LAS VEGAS ? In a city filled with slot machines spilling jackpots, it was a 'jackpotted' ATM machine that got the most attention Wednesday at the Black Hat security conference, when researcher Barnaby Jack demonstrated two suave hacks against automated teller machines that allowed him to program them to spew out dozens of crisp bills.

The Samsung HZ35W would be a great GPS-enabled camera, if it could only give us accurate coordinates.

We have an opening for an experienced C# developer at DoubleTwist:

Should have 5+ years experience in software development

Should have 3+ years of experience with .NET, C# and web services

Should have a degree in Computer Science or related field

Experience developing digital media applications is a plus

Experience with .NET under Linux (Mono) is a plus

You will be tasked with working on both our client software as well as server backend code. Besides coding, you will be responsible for assisting with documentation, building test plans, debugging software, providing design input, and helping in every way to ensure the successful rollout of each phase of the project.

Location: San Francisco

If you are interested, send us your résumé. If you know of someone who might be interested, please forward this to them.

If breaking down proprietary barriers and empowering consumers sounds like your cup of tea, send us your résumé. If you know of someone who might be interested, please forward this to them.

Opening: Reverse Engineering Monkey
We’re looking for a code monkey to work on our DRM interoperability technology. Must possess strong skills in the areas of cryptography, reverse engineering, AJAX, code disassembly, code protection/obfuscation and software optimization. Experience domesticating penguins and eating apples is a plus.

Required skills include C, C++, x86 ASM, DRM and Windows APIs. Strong mathematical knowledge of algorithm analysis and implementation is desired. Minimum of 3 years of directly related experience.

Your favorite number is 0x90.

Location: Antarctica or your home country.

Opening: Senior Software Monkey
We’re looking for a senior code monkey to work on our audio/video products. Must have strong experience designing, implementing, debugging and optimizing userland applications. Multi-platform experience is desired.

Required skills include C, C++, C# and Windows APIs. Requirements include strong experience with current digital audio/video technology (MPEG4, H264 and AAC). Minimum of 5 years of directly related experience.

Location: San Francisco or Norway.

What else to do when jet lagged than to unpack my brand new Apple TV?

I wonder if the Apple TV is powered by a nuclear reactor because it runs fracking hot!
Has anyone determined which photo they’re referring to?

My unmodified Apple TV running vanilla MacOS X off a USB harddrive:

I enabled SSH and then installed Perian + ATVFiles. Now my Apple TV is able to play video formats that don’t fit into Steve’s master plan

Check AwkwardTV for a list of hacks.

EMI has been rumored for months to start licensing DRM-free tracks at a higher pricepoint. From today’s press release:

London, 2 April 2007 — EMI Music today announced that it is launching new premium downloads for retail on a global basis, making all of its digital repertoire available at a much higher sound quality than existing downloads and free of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions.

…

Apple’s iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) is the first online music store to receive EMI’s new premium downloads. 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 wil 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.

When people a while ago requested that Apple start selling DRM-free content from independent labels, some Apple fans argued that Apple couldn’t do this because it would break consistency in iTunes and create consumer confusion. Now Apple is going to be selling some DRM-free music at a higher price point. So much for the consistency and confusion argument! It will be interesting to see how this offering will be branded in the iTunes Store (DRM-free or “Higher Quality”?).

EMI is the smallest of the four major record labels and is in the worst financial shape. More conservative labels such as Universal and Sony BMG are unfortunately not likely to follow anytime soon.

Will Steve Jobs follow up with “Thoughts on Movies”? Highly unlikely, although the thought of a Disney director calling for an end to video DRM is entertaining! Steve’s main argument in “Thoughts on Music” was that CDs don’t have DRM. The studios have always insisted on copy protection (Macrovision, CSS, AACS) and that’s not likely to change in our digital lifetime. Perhaps Steve will start drafting another manifesto after the Apple TV has 90% market share

Update: Steve’s Thoughts on Movies during the webcast:

Q: I take it then that you are going to be advocating the removal of the DRM of the videos you sell on iTunes. Any particular [inaudible] you could do that now with Disney given your involvement with the Disney company?

A: You know, video, uh… I knew I’d get that question today. Video is pretty different than music right now because the video industry does not distribute 90 percent of their content DRM free; never has, and so I think they are in a pretty different situation and so I wouldn’t hold the two in parallel at all.

I dropped by the Apple Store the other day to check out the Apple TV. I was disappointed with how the Apple TVs were demoed in the store. They were sharing the same Internet connection as all the Macs and due to the bandwidth being completely saturated by people browsing the web, it took several minutes before trailers would load on the Apple TVs. The Apple TVs should have been on a separate connection or the trailers should have been cached locally.

Another issue was the disappointing video quality. While the menus and artwork were crisp and clear, the video quality of the movies and trailers was horrible. The Apple TVs should have been configured to stream the 720p trailers instead of the lower resolution ones.

I felt that the remote for the Apple TV was too small and was not happy with the way video seeking was implemented. I think most people would prefer using a scroll wheel for video seeking.

Out of the box the Apple TV is very limited, but there’s a lot of info over at AwkwardTV on how to make it useful.

I’m in the market for a new notebook. I’ve only ever owned ThinkPads (except for a brief fling with a PowerBook a couple of years ago).

My current ThinkPad T42p has served proudly in the DRM wars and is entering retirement. It still does its job, but I want a notebook that’s not as heavy.

I’ve been considering getting the ThinkPad X60t as it’s smaller and lighter than the T60. Unfortunately, it’s currently available from Lenovo with only a L2400 CPU and I haven’t been able to find much info on how well it runs Linux. Also, there are reports of screen ripple issues. I was worried that quality would go down when Lenovo bought IBM’s PC division… and on a related note, the new ThinkVantage and volume buttons are hideous!

Should I switch to a MacBook Pro?

On a recent trip to San Francisco I bought a Tumi Vista Super Light 20″ Wheeled Carry-On. On the way back to Oslo, having completed the SF-London leg, this happened:

It weighed 10 kgs (they weigh all carry-ons at Stansted) and I mostly used the wheels.

I had heard good things about Tumi and their reputation for quality. I was hoping that this carry-on would be robust enough to last me a while, but I guess I have to start looking again. What would you recommend?

Anyway, I should have known better than to buy a product called Vista

Update: A Tumi representative got in touch and will be sending me a new carry-on. It’s a different model, so I’ll be posting a review soon Thanks Tumi!

Note: Bumped this old post for all of you chocolate lovers out there!

Ingredients
4 dl cream
4 eggs
100 g sugar
300 g dark (70%) chocolate
100 g butter
cognac

Directions
1. Melt the chocolate and butter together.
2. Whip the cream until stiff. Put it in the fridge.
3. Whip the egg whites until stiff, adding half the sugar slowly at the end of the process. Put it in the fridge.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar. Add cognac.
5. Mix in the melted chocolate.
6. Mix in the whipped cream.
7. Mix in the egg whites.

Leave in the fridge for 3 hours.

DAAP (Digital Audio Access Protocol) is a protocol defined by Apple and used for iTunes streaming. Apple has licensed the DAAP protocol to at least one company: Roku. Their SoundBridge product is a networked music player that streams music from your computer. Thanks to Bonjour and DAAP the SoundBridge can stream music from an iTunes library without any configuration necessary.

The first version of DAAP was reverse engineered. In response, Apple added hashing of secret values to the next version of DAAP to block non-iTunes clients from connecting to the new version of iTunes. The new version of DAAP was also reverse engineered.

When Apple released iTunes 7 last September, they changed the secret hashing. You would think they would have informed their DAAP licensees of this in advance and provided them with updated DAAP documentation (they wouldn’t need to reveal the release date of the new iTunes version).

Not so.

According to this forum post by Roku’s Mike Kobb they were not given advance notice, let alone any updated documentation. It appears that it took Apple several weeks to supply Roku with updated DAAP documentation.

In light of this, it is not surprising that Steve Jobs is claiming that licensing FairPlay is not feasible and using bogus arguments to support his claim. Licensing FairPlay is quite feasible, it’s just that Steve doesn’t want to do so. Of course, from a business perspective I don’t mind

I knew last year that Apple had licensed DAAP to Roku, but I didn’t learn until today that Apple had stabbed Roku in the back. Thanks to snorp (developer of ipod-sharp and other cool code) for pointing this out to me.

This is the 3rd and last post about Steve’s “Thoughts on Music”

However, a key provision of our agreements with the music companies is that if our DRM system is compromised and their music becomes playable on unauthorized devices, we have only a small number of weeks to fix the problem or they can withdraw their entire music catalog from our iTunes store.

…

The most serious problem is that licensing a DRM involves disclosing some of its secrets to many people in many companies, and history tells us that inevitably these secrets will leak.

…

Apple has concluded that if it licenses FairPlay to others, it can no longer guarantee to protect the music it licenses from the big four music companies. Perhaps this same conclusion contributed to Microsoft?s recent decision to switch their emphasis from an ?open? model of licensing their DRM to others to a ?closed? model of offering a proprietary music store, proprietary jukebox software and proprietary players.

Let’s look at the real world outside the Reality Distortion Field:

Microsoft’s Windows Media DRM 10 (marketing name PlaysForSure) has not had more security breaches than FairPlay despite the fact that it has been licensed to dozens of companies.

Microsoft’s decision to make the Zune DRM a closed system was a business decision and had nothing to do with DRM security. PlaysForSure is still in the market place and will be for the foreseeable future. Content owners are still authorizing content to be sold with PlaysForSure. In fact, WalMart launched a new movie download store (don’t click the link if you’re using Firefox unless you’re into abstract art) using PlaysForSure today.

Ahoy Taplanders! New turn-based swashbuckler heaves into view

For your confidential time-telling needs

Olympic Systems' Jim Sogotis: "They're tanks"

Zodiac-optimized RPG in a league of its own

Naked Zodiac Users rejoice!

Olympic Systems to offer a quality repair at a fair price

Play games. Take photos. Win stuff.

Price reduced, free trial available

Game development upstart supports community in turmoil

Yeah, so what else is new?

Are the Ladies right, do good things come in small packages?

Z2 delivered, TCPMP improvements made

SDIO GPS solution for $129.99

See? We're not dead yet!

working hard, playing softer