Buzz Out Loud 744: A date with Firefox

Firefox 3 comes out June 17, and that's all we have to say, except we hope it fixes Molly's Flash problems so she doesn't have to get a Mac--or Opera. In other news of the day, you can now find out once and for all whether your car mechanic is giving you a good deal. Hint: No.

EPISODE 744

Buzz Out Loud San Francisco Meetup! TONIGHT!
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/780695

Firefox 3 to release 17 June
http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/06/11/coming-tuesday-june-17th-firefox-3/
http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/200824/1225/Mozilla-Corp-confirms-Firefox-3-launch-for-July-17
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9966839-57.html

U.S. congressmen accuse china of hacking their computers
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C40069388048257466000851ED.html

Google: We don’t know how to make money from YouTube
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4120860.ece

RepairPal: Yes, your mechanic is ripping you off
http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9966636-2.html

iPhone 3G: iPhone 3G’s true price compared
http://gizmodo.com/5015540/iphone-3gs-true-price-compared

Unsubsidized iPhone 3G priced at $499/$569 in Europe
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/unsubsidized-iphone-3g-priced-at-499-569-in-europe/

NXP unveils world’s fastest cellular modem with multimode GSM support
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/nxp-unveils-worlds-fastest-cellular-modem-with-multi-mode-gsm-s/

Microsoft Surface surfaces in Las Vegas (Thanks cbpatte1!)
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007096.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9965825-7.html

VOICE MAIL

Lucas
An accessory for iPhone 3G

Brian Nashville
Inside info about text message plan for iPhone

David the Video Editor
Excited about Snow Leopard

E-MAIL

Hey guys, just listening to you talk about Disney's sluggish nature in moving to online distribution/streaming. As someone who is somewhat "in the know," one primary driver for not moving to online distribution is the insane margin Disney earns on each DVD sold. For example, if after stamping 20 million DVDs for the latest blockbuster movie lets say the cost per disk comes out to be $1 per disk. When being sold at the local Walmart for $15, that is a profit margin of $14 per disk. Multiplied out by those 20 million DVDs and we are getting into some fuzzy math that I'm sure Molly can walk us through. Although the costs for providing 20 million downloads will decrease, Disney won't be able to sell an online download for $15 bucks, and the costs won't be able to decrease enough to compete against margin Disney is currently enjoying.

Food for thought, what if it only costs Disney 25 cents per DVD, or 10 cents per DVD... How about them margins?

--Nicholas

Dear Buzz Crew,

With all the talk in yesterday’s show (#743) about pigeons, I'm surprised that no one mentioned the infamous RFC 1149, a proposal actually brought forth by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force — the guys that standardize the various protocols used on the Internet) describing a “Standard for the transmission of IP datagrams on avian carriers.” Lest you think that this is some gigantic hoax or hogwash, this protocol was actually implemented by the Bergen Linux Users Group, who published their results online.

More information:

http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1149.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers
http://www.blug.linux.no/rfc1149/

LOVE THE SHOW

--Donald

Regarding a story you covered some months back regarding the promo CDs that the industry sends out. Main points are bolded.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/28713
—
In a major pushback against music industry efforts to expand copyright control at the expense of consumers, a California judge has ruled that recipients of promotional CDs are free to do with them as they please. In other words, what would seem obvious to the layman, in this case also happens to be the law.

However, during a long-running legal battle that shut down an eBay seller, Universal Music Group had argued that it retained licensing rights and could prohibit such resale despite the fact that its promo CDs are distributed willy-nilly to thousands of music industry insiders who neither ask for them nor are not expected to return them.

Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero is meaningful not merely because it protects an income stream for CD resellers, says the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but primarily because it affirms the so-called “first sale” doctrine. From the EFF’s press release :

“This is a very important ruling for consumers, and not just those who buy or sell used CDs,” said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. “The right of first sale also protects libraries, used bookstores, and businesses that rent movies and videogames. This ruling affirms and protects the traditional balance between the rights of copyright owners and the rights of the public.”

“It was clear to the court that these CDs were the property of (the eBay merchant), and therefore he had the right to resell them,” said Joseph C. Gratz, attorney with Keker & Van Nest. “Copyright holders can’t strip consumers of their first sale rights just by sticking a ‘Not for Sale’ label on a CD.”

The bottom line from the judge:

“The promo CDs are unordered merchandise,” Otero writes in his order (PDF). ” … By sending the promo CDs to music industry insiders, UMG transferred title to those insiders and the promo CDs are subject to the First Sale Doctrine.”
—

--Ethan
Minneapolis, Minn.

Pluto not a planet, but now a “plutoid”…

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080611-plutoid-planets.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611094136.htm

excerpt:
Plutoids are celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun at a distance greater than that of Neptune that have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that they assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (near-spherical) shape, and that have not cleared the neighbourhood around their orbit. The two known and named plutoids are Pluto and Eris. It is expected that more plutoids will be named as science progresses and new discoveries are made.

huh!? hhhmmmmm…so is this a good judgement, fig leave, or olive branch from International Astronomical Union?

Best,
--Shalin