The Digital Revolution Will Not Be Televised February 28, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Digital Rights, DRM, HD DVD, HDTV.2 comments
The Digital Revolution has been announced by Sony to start on May 23 in North America to coincide with the release of the first movies in the Blu-Ray Disc (BD) format.
Personally I believe this revolution will not be televised, not on my HDTV screens, and based on the multitude of postings on the video and computing forums/blogs, not on many of the _early adopters’_ screens either.
The reasons are many, we shall start in no particular order:
- I cannot play a Blu-Ray Disc on my Home Theatre Personal Computer (HTPC). Even if I would want to buy one, there is no BD drive currently on the market.
- I decided some time ago not to buy any more DVD players that become obsolete in 6 months therefore I refuse to pay $1000+ for a stand alone box. Any software (movies, music, etc) that I buy must play on my HTPC.
- At $40 for a movie I’ve seen already, makes a trip the Movie Theatre sound like a really economical alternative.
- Marginally technical improvements: why Sony & Co. thinks that I will droll all over 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Resident Evil Apocalypse or XXX in High Definition? I already use my HTPC to upscale (upconvert) my _regular_ DVD movies to 720p and I am really satisfied with the results. I paid $7.99 over Christmas for Terminator 2 in WMV-HD and DVD bundle, after a day of work in the office I could not tell the difference between the 1080p downconverted to 720p and 480i upconverted to 720p. One may argue that Blu-ray is much better then WMV-HD, I don’t buy that. Maybe if you have a high-end projector and a movie theatre at home but not on my Samsung DLP-RPTV.
- DRM: I refuse to pay for any product purposely created to infringe on my rights (in lame terms: to screw me). The AACS DRM used by the new HD formats is as evil as it gets and I vote with my wallet here.
- Even if I would suffer from the sheeple syndrome, one of my HDTV sets won’t be able to play the BD disc at full resolution due to lack of HDCP. The same goes about my pricey LCD monitors. When the lack of HDCP forces the resolution back to 960 x 540 it makes my current DVD setup a much better resolution, pun intended.
- Last but no least: Sony. I absolutely refuse to purchase any product made or endorsed by Sony, ever. I was a Sony fan until few years ago. Ever since they started pushing their proprietary formats, DRM everywhere and recently the rootkit fiasco, I gave them the boot.
If you want to spend your hard earned money on the _Digital Revolution_ be my guest, but don’t be crying on your blog on how Sony & Co., MPAA and RIAA screwed you like it did it to us, the early adopters of HDTV.
As far as I am concerned, MPAA would have to pry my DVD drive out of my hands before I’ll spend a dime on HD.
Technorati Tags: Digital Rights, DRM, HD DVD, HDTV
_Accidental_ E-mail February 27, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in General Rants, Internet, Technology and Software.add a comment
This is too funny not to comment on the story. The Moron Director of Admissions at University of California, Berkeley, law school, was training a new office worker when _accidentally_ hit the send button while selecting “you’ve been accepted” notice and the full list of 7000 applicants.
This _accidental_ email is as accidental as the _accidental_ shooting that flooded the cable news couple of weeks ago. It’s called negligence people, accident is when you get struck by lightning.
[...] said he has since talked with workers in the school’s IT department to see if the software vendor can add a pop-up dialog box to the application to give users a last chance to confirm that they are about to send out e-mail.
Blame it on the IT group, like yet another pop-up dialog can replace missing brain cells.
Technorati Tags: General Rants, Internet, Technology and Software
HDCP Fiasco February 27, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Digital Rights, DRM, Technology and Software.add a comment
HDCP rant posted on Firing Squad some time ago. Courageous article given the target (video card manufactures) and implications for Firing Squad (they may not get to review new video cards for a while).
As far as I am concerned, I don’t plan to upgrade to Windows Vista any time soon, much less to buy any HD DVD hardware and software thus I am pretty happy with the NVIDIA 6600 with passive cooling I got for my living room HTPC.
Yet another example how consumers get screwed by DRM.
Technorati Tags: Digital Rights, DRM, Technology and Software
High Definition DVD Boycott Site Launches February 26, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Digital Rights, DRM, HD DVD, HDTV.add a comment
Writers Block started a website dedicated to the boycott of the new High Definition DVD format(s) and the associated DRM schemes. I tip my hat to them!
I will not buy not one more product designed to infringe my rights. One can argue that the current DVD format has copy protection as well. However, I feel it was designed mostly to satisfy the movie studios rather then a true copy protection and certainly is no DRM.
Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t condone it but I can live with it. However, the HD DVD DRM is too much, I will not take it anymore and I am voting with my money. Boycott HD DVD!
Technorati Tags: Digital Rights, DRM, HD DVD, HDTV
iTunes Suckers, _Thanks a Billion_ February 25, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Digital Rights, DRM, Internet, Technology and Software.add a comment
Apple announced that iTunes sold one billion songs to iPod suckers. A really good article by Thomas Hawk clearly underlines my reasons for not owning an iPod and not participating in the heard like mentality of being an iTunes sucker.
I am a believer in using one mobile device only, when Handspring unveiled Treo 600 it was a winner in my book. However, Palm’s Treo 650 was a disappointment and I reluctantly upgraded early this year. I will not hesitate to jump ship to a better smartphone brand when available and take my music with me. Follow this iPod users!
Yes, you can backup your music on CD then rip it back to mp3 (with some loss in quality due to the DRM) but I value my life much more then this and waste it going around stupid DRM technologies just to be hip. iTunes DRM is still DRM and I refuse to spend my money on a product build to work against me.
Therefore I can’t understand these people who spent thousands of dollars locking themselves in a DRM technology owned by the One company with an awful track record in regards with backward compatibility and investment protection for their customers. Over and over, Apple made their customers spend money on hardware and software upgrades in order to stay abreast with technology advances.
As bad as Microsoft is, I could always install the latest Windows 2000 patches and fixes on my 7 year old (now retired PC). The other day I tried to install the latest version of Safari on one of our Macs in the office with no avail, it required OS X 10.4.5 which cannot run on the Power Mac we purchased in 2003.
End of story, no iPod/iTunes for me!
Technorati Tags: Digital Rights, DRM, Internet, Technology and Software
The State of Broadband February 23, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Broadband, Internet, Technology and Software.add a comment
Bad news for Broadband adoption according to an article posted on Internetweek by Christopher T. Heun. According to the International Telecommunication Union US fell to 16th place on the number of high-speed subscribers per capita with 11.4 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
South Korea, the global leader, has 24.9 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, trailed by Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Switzerland, which all have at least 17 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Updated data is expected soon for 2006, and some predict the United States will fall out of the top 20.
This is only adding to the debate on Net neutrality in Congress. It should send a strong signal to the US Government that we are falling behind on this area as well. If we let Telcos have their way, without supervision and regulations things are only going to get worse.
AOL announced the other day a rate hike for their dial-up service to match their high-speed offering thus hoping to push subscribers to the broadband side. This unique initiate while laudative may be too little too late. I can’t see how is going to entice rural users to switch to a broadband service that is not available in their neck of the woods.
The way I see it, the biggest problem with broadband is lack of coverage in rural areas due to the complete lack of interest from Telcos. If the government does not intervene the situation cannot improve. On the contrary, the Telcos are rather interested in squeezing even more money for their existing subscribers with no interest on expanding the coverage. They would rather charge more to use the existing broadband connections thus hampering innovation and making it more difficult for smaller companies to offer Web services.
Technorati Tags: Broadband, Internet, Technology and Software
Cable a la Carte February 22, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Cable, General Rants, HDTV.add a comment
There is talk nowadays about _cable a la carte_, it’s about time! Anyone else tired of paying the Cable company for all these channels you are not watching? Myself I am tired already. I look forward to the day when I can dump the packaged subscription and pay just for the channels I watch.
It would be a fast and easy choice form me: give me all the HDTV channels and one or two news channels and I’ll be set. Ever since I discovered HDTV few years ago I cannot make myself watch a movie on a SD channel, I’d rather read the book.
Technorati Tags: Cable, General Rants, HDTV
Trusted Computing is DRM February 19, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Digital Rights, DRM, Technology and Software, Trusted Computing.1 comment so far
There is a flurry of articles lately on Trusted Computing {TC} and DRM. It seems that people are finally realizing that Trusted Computing is DRM, the most evil (total) incarnation of DRM.
Regardless what Microsoft, Adobe, Intel and others want you to believe, there are no benefits for consumers in Trusted Computing, or we should call it on its meaningful macronym: Treacherous Computing. There are benefits however, but for their customers.
As a Slashdot user noted, usually customers and consumers represents the same group of entities. In case of Trusted Computing in particular and DRM in general, consumers (us, the People) are very different then the customers (RIAA, the movie industry, Sony, etc.).
There are numerous reasons for considering Trusted Computing evil, a representative one is handling of documents. Trusted Computing proponents are trying to cheat consumers and business into thinking that this gives creators control of their own documents and content thus allowing them to police who and when has access to their files.
The truth is that the ultimate power stays with the software and hardware vendors since they control the encryptions keys. They could even hold your own documents ransom and blackmail you for your money. Would you trust Microsoft, Adobe and Intel to be the gatekepers of your own property? Would you trust Microsoft to not have any security holes?
You know that is the ultimate ultimate irony in Trusted Computing? To have your computers hijacked by a virus or trojan not be able to eliminate since is trusted by the OS!
Of course, there is more to Trusted Computing, like the inability to run software that is not trusted thus the complete obliteration of competition and eventually progress. Once Microsoft and Intel takes control of your own computer it will leave all competition in the dark (hardware and software) making them unable to compete. Forget about installing a video card of your choice or running Linux for example.
In closing I wanted to share a particular excerpt from The Right to Read, it gave me goose bumps when I red it:
For Dan Halbert, the road to Tycho began in college–when Lissa Lenz asked to borrow his computer. Hers had broken down, and unless she could borrow another, she would fail her midterm project. There was no one she dared ask, except Dan.
This put Dan in a dilemma. He had to help her–but if he lent her his computer, she might read his books. Aside from the fact that you could go to prison for many years for letting someone else read your books, the very idea shocked him at first. Like everyone, he had been taught since elementary school that sharing books was nasty and wrong–something that only pirates would do.
…
You can read this full story here.
Technorati Tags: Digital Rights, DRM, Technology and Software, Trusted Computing
First they came… February 19, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Civil Rights, Digital Rights, Privacy.add a comment
Recently I was fascinated by First they came…, a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller, a German Protestant priest during WWII that stood up to Hitler and was eventually imprisoned. Today I found a XXI century revision published on Slashdot.org:
First they came for the [hackers] and I did not speak out
– because I was not a [hacker].
Then they came for the [music and movie theives] and I did not speak out
– because I [never stole music or movies].
Then they came for the [software pirates] and I did not speak out
– because I was not a [software pirate].
Then they came for me
– and by then there was no one left to speak out for me.
Here is one of the presumed original versions in German and English:
| OriginalAls die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist.Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, Als sie die Juden holten, Als sie mich holten, |
TranslationWhen they came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, When they came for the Jews, When they came for me, |
I find this poem to be worrisomely current given the way civil liberties are being infringed bit by bit: DMCA, everything DRM, Treacherous Computing, Eavesdropping …
Technorati Tags: Privacy, Civil Rights, Digital Rights
Google Blasts the Bush Government February 17, 2006
Posted by Batista N Saversa in Civil Rights, Digital Rights, Internet, Privacy.add a comment
Google blasted today the Bush government’s demand to obtain Internet search requests as an unfounded fishing expedition that threatens to ruin company’s credibility and disclose trade secrets. The Internet company delivered an indignant legal response to the US Justice Department 6 month old subpoena.
This case attracted global attention because the Bush government’s demand of a random list of search requests made by the millions of users who visit Google. The Bush government is seeking to force Google to hand over Web search data as part of a bid to appeal a 2004 Supreme Court injunction of a very controversial law to penalize Web site operators who allow children to view pornography.
Yahoo, Microsoft and Time Warner already complied with the worrisome request but Google continued to refuse, in today’s legal response the lawyers ridiculed the Bush government’s belief that a list of search requests would help it understand the behavior of Web surfers.
Google was supported in its quest by the ACLU and other privacy activists and civil rights groups while some conservative and religious organizations have criticized the company for failing to help the government combat child pornography.
“This subpoena is the latest example of government overreaching, in which the government apparently believes it can demand that private entities turn over all sorts of information about their customers just because the government asserts that it needs the information,” the ACLU’s lawyers wrote.
As an odd contradiction, while it battles the Justice Department, Google is cooperating with China’s Communist government by censoring some of the search results that the company produces in a country that restricts free speech.
Technorati Tags: Internet, Privacy, Civil Rights, Digital Rights
