Buzz Out Loud Podcast

Episode 843

National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Trojan virus steals bank info
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7701227.stm
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10079593-83.html

Apple hires top IBM chip designer and blade server guru
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10079494-37.html

More on the Windows 7 UI: new taskbar will be mandatory
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081030-more-on-the-windows-7-ui-new-taskbar-will-be-mandatory.html

Fire fear sparks battery recall
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7701348.stm

OMG! Gmail Adds SMS Chat
http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/OMG!_Gmail_Adds_SMS_Chat
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10078997-2.html

Datz launches MP3 download deal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7699000/7699487.stm

Download full seasons of popular TV shows for $5 (well, sort of)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10079171-58.html

Sprint cuts cogent off the Internet
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/31/0439245

Asus to phase out sub-10in Eee PCs, says CEO
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/10/31/asus_eee_focus_10in/

CueCat patent granted, finally
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/30/1712254

Phillies 1, Mitsubishi 0
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10079861-2.html

Voice mail

Daniel - Gaming not so recession proof
http://www.betanews.com/article/EA_loses_310_million_announces_layoffs/1225404415

Dale - DTV killed my Dad’s VCR

James in Irvine - Here’s what I meant about BitTorrent

E-mail

I bought Warhammer Online… online <.< and they had me download the
client via bittorent. It was 10GB and I was a littler nervous about
the speeds I might get, but I was maxing out my bandwidth at 2.5MB/s
the whole time. Only took me about 45 minutes to download the entire
client. I also see more and more Betas for MMOs or FPS’s being
delivered this way. Im pretty sure though with commercial bittorrent
that there probably is a dedicated seed with high bandwidth always
around to make sure the torrent doesn’t die, but it still probably
saves them a ton of money when things start getting active.

Jacob Tapp
Phoenix, AZ

**********

Wow, if only everyone put that much effort into their email subject lines. So, what do I or could I use Bittorrent for legally?

Open source audio books, especially Librivox
Independent music
Podcasts
Amateur porn (duh)
.iso’s for discs that have been lost, destroyed, or scratched up. This is a gray area, but if I, for example, have lost my Windows XP CD, I can download and burn an .iso. If the software isn’t cracked and doesn’t come with its own product key, then it’s functionally equivalent to the disc that I lost. And I supply my own product key, since I bought a legitimate copy of XP when I bought my computer.
Modified versions of other OS’s. This is another gray area, but it seems like I should be able to get a modified version of XP if I want to. And if I want to run OS10 on my computer? Well, assuming that I bought a copy of the software, it should be legal for me to download a version of OSX86 that has all the legwork done for me.

**********

Hey guys,

Sitting here in sunny Istanbul creating visual effects for a weird
Turkish feature, listening to episode 842.

I get all of my vfx training from fxphd.com (an amazing online source
of tuition) and it’s all distributed via bit torrent. Normally I have
a great broadband connection in Sweden but when I work in places like
Turkey bit torrent is really the only alternative for getting several
hours of tuition every week. I know that the school has a lot of
postgrads in parts of Asia that would never be able to get the
training if it wasn’t on bit torrent.

Love the show,

Patrick O’Casey
vfx artist

**********

In re: episode 842 and Tom’s request for legit uses of bit torrent - Mars
Hill Church in Seattle uses bit torrent for free distribution of video of
Pastor Mark Driscoll’s sermons. That’s not only legit, it’s holy.

**********

Jeremy

Hi buzz crew,
CBC distributed the final episode of the reality show “Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister” on bittorrent. I remember you talked about it on a previous show. CBC was mad at Bell and Rogers for throttling their legitimate way of distributing a TV program. People outside Canada could download the show faster than the Canadian tax payers!

Love the show,
Jerome

**********

Yesterday you were talking about the Hot Topic Music Store, and someone asked why we need another music store when there are already so many DRM free stores. Think of it this way, Walmart sells CD’s, but when another store that sells CD’s opens you don’t say “Walmart sells CD’s, why do we need another CD store.” Safeway sells food, but when a Albertsons opens you don’t say “Safeway sells food, why do we need another food store”. Walgreens is a pharmacy, but when a CVS opens you don’t say “Walgreens is a pharmacy, why do you need another pharmacy.”

Competition helps business!

-Hayden

PS. When I was in the states I went to costco and walmart, where at both I saw Brain Cooley on about 50 different tvs. Also, target sells prepaid cell phones for like $12! How can you make a cell phone for $12. You guys are crazy.

Episode 827

WiMAX launch
http://cnettv.cnet.com/9742-1_53-50004011.html

Apple notebook launch!
https://twitter.com/natalidelconte/statuses/952901666

It’s official: Apple to talk laptops on October 14
http://www.cnet.com/8301-18603_1-10062305-73.html

$800 Apple notebooks?
http://www.inquisitr.com/4834/exclusive-apple-to-launch-800-laptop/

Touchpanel EEE PCs to debut at CES 2009
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20081008PD229.html

Asus ships Eee Box PCs with malware--Tanks Steve!
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2016&tag=nl.e589

Microsoft preps external Blu-ray disc optical drive for Xbox 360.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20081008073445_Microsoft_Preps_External_Blu_Ray_Disc_Optical_Drive_for_Xbox_360.html

Unbreakable’ encryption unveiled
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7661311.stm

SlingCatcher finally sees light of day–and may get a boost from Sling.com
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10060898-1.html

EMI to launch its own music portal
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b76fa624-94d1-11dd-953e-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Google’s Super Satellite Captures First Image
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/geoeye-1-super.html

Clickjacking threat!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10061358-83.html

Google engineer wants the world to name his baby
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10061920-71.html

Study: Reading online privacy policies could cost $365 billion a year
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081008-study-reading-online-privacy-policies-could-cost-365-billion-a-year.html

Voice Mail
Adam: Why all the Zune hate?

E-mail

Hey JaMoTo & (fill in guest host here),

I’m a little behind on the episodes thanks to silly law school homework, but in your discussions on entertainment offerings that have been victims of copyright licensing, I think there’s one glaring omission- The Wonder Years. For years, I’ve been reading that the reason that the show is not available on DVD is because the show’s producers never anticipated needing licenses for the music used on the show when the show was created in the late 80s. And since the music was such an essential element of the show, DVD of the show’s seasons have never been released because licenses would be too costly and the show wouldn’t be the same without the music.

Love the show,

-Will

**********

I pity da foo!!!! The voice mailer from BOL 826 is infringing on our business model for an airliner. As the spokesman of BA Airlines I can tell you our founder is more than a little upset. It was us that developed the drugging and flying the passengers to their destinations. We were first and I’m not going to let some ninja wannabe steal our idea. If he does not cease and desist in his operation, our founder BA Baracus will certainly want a word with the foo. Of course we’ll have to drug him and have Murdoch break out of the mental hospital to fly him. Just thought the Ninja should know who he was messing with.

Considered Ninja Airlines Warned,

The Dingo

**********

Hey Guys,

Just heard my e-mail on today's BOL, and was mortified to realise that I had in fact used the word 'bust' when in fact I meant to say busy. Its not some cool Irish jargon, just a regular old typo. Thats what I get for sending e-mail on my crippling iPhone keyboard.

Dave the publicly shamed software developer
Ireland

**********

Hi I am a patent examiner. It didn't take the office nine years to get to the application, it took nine years to issue. Which means the examiner probably thought it was not patentable as presented and was trying to protect the market from another overly restrictive patent, which kills competition. In the nine years, the claims were probably rewritten multiple times and the examiner's decision was probably appealed. If you want it to be streamlined, complain to the applicants who file overly broad applications who want to stifle competition. Regardless all the blame doesn't fall on the patent office. Love the show (even with all uspto hate).

-Tim from VA

**********

Greetings! In show you were quizzing over Cox phone technology and its
connection to the internet. Short story: Even though Cox phone service
does use VoIP technology, the actual phone packets are encrypted
between the residence and the headend, where it either interfaces with
incumbent phone service for non-Cox users, or goes on to other
locations through Cox’s backbone. Even on the last mile, the data
doesn’t really travel through the Internet, but actually alongside it.
Therefore, unlike other VoiP services like Vonage, Cox customers are
not subject to the various issues surrounding Internet carriage.

Mark — Florida

EPISODE 820

Stallman rejects cloud computing
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080930-why-stallman-is-wrong-when-he-calls-cloud-computing-stupid.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/sep/29/cloud.computing.richard.stallman

House Web site overwhelmed by e-mails
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10054346-38.html

RealNetworks files suit against Hollywood over realDVD
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/30/realnetworks-files-suit-against-hollywood-over-realdvd/

http://www.download.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=dvd%20ripper&searchtype=downloads&tag=mncol;rbxcdl.2.a.1

Meanwhile Amazon had some Adobe Flash problems and was giving away movies
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080929-adobe-amazon-point-fingers-over-video-ripping-exploit.html

U.K. spy agency looking for a few good Facebook users
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080929-uk-spy-agency-looking-for-a-few-good-facebook-users.html

MI6 terror photos, data accidentally sold on eBay
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/slashdot/eqWf/~3/AM–AiheNPg/article.pl

AMD’s 45nm Shanghai enters production, next stops are Deneb, Istanbul
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/30/amds-45nm-shanghai-enters-production-next-stops-are-deneb-ist/

The 25 most influential people on the Web
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0929_most_influential/1.htm
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10054281-36.html

VOICEMAIL
Doug in Culver City
Trick for burning without CDs

RogueTess
In defense of men using EeePCs

Anonymous
Zune is DRM-free (mostly)

E-MAIL

OK, two (three?) things.

About Spore, did you see: http://xkcd.com/480/, very funny. No need to buy Spore!

Secondly, the comments in various episodes about turning off the DRM servers...Games get patches, right? Well, when the game is 5 years old and people want to still play, just release a patch. Didn’t that happen with another game (also discussed on BOL previously) where the DRM was bunk and the developer actually released a community-created patch to strip the DRM? Few people will be playing it then and piracy wouldn’t be as rampant on a 5-10-year-old game.

For music, they just die because they are built into the files…but this could apply as well. Look at DRM-stripping programs for iTunes, etc. Walmart (from Ep. 819) could just release/e-mail a bit of software that looks in a folder and runs the program to strip the DRM and it’s done. If the labels are OK with them coming out and saying, "Hey burn to CD and re-rip," why not just allow them to strip?

Erick the Satellite Guy.

*********

Hi Buzz Crew -

I’d like to throw some ice water on the idea that a 250GB cap from Comcast should be enough for the average user. I just listened to the Real Deal episode on Bandwidth Caps (plug!) where the size of a “downloadable game these days” was guessed at 1GB.

I just purchased Call of Duty 4 over Steam and downloaded all 10 Gigabytes of it. 1/25th of my monthly stipend gone. Guess what? The install went awry and I had to redownload the game, which thankfully Steam easily allows you to do. 20GB later… BAM…. 1/12 of my monthly allotment gone. One-twelfth…. just downloading a game.

We’re doomed.

Love the show!
Fraggle

*********

JaMoTo & Guest

In Ep. 799 you talked about the 100-flavor Coca-cola soda fountain (http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/29/coca-cola-readying-100-flavor-soda-fountains/). Here are a few quick updates:
There a 100 flavor-cartridge bays--not 100 flavors.
The syrup is very unstable and must be kept at a specific temperature and must be agitated to keep from EXPLODING.
Carbon is added separately to the water, allowing for non-carbonated drinks such as Gatorade.
The image on Engadget is confirmed. The freestanding fountain features a touch screen.
The machine is so complex that the company making the inside of the device makes and designs medical equipment.

The project has just been completed and is now into production. Hopefully to be seen early 2009.
Sam
Melbourne, Australia

*********

Hi,
I kept laughing through Buzz Out Loud 818: The Zipless Squirt as you discussed “College bookstores turning to kiosks to stem e-textbook tide” and how they do not understand how to save themselves and all the things they should consider.
They are already history; they just do not know it yet.

My son just started his second year at UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County), which is a totally wireless zone with Internet everywhere.

Other than the first books that we purchased on the Internet for his first semester, he has not purchased books.

Since everything at the school is online, there is an online community for swapping books without going through the bookstore.

Two of his computer science teachers give the books they wrote away in PDF form--the professors figured they were paid to be there and present the material in a form needed/understood by the students.
In his current Java class, the teacher refered the students to sun’s JavaDocs and the Sun Tutorials at http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/. Their IDE is eclipse.
Similar story in his C class, GNU GCC complier and my 20-year-old copy of K&R C, the oldest copy in the class!

For his reading assignments in English Literature, he found the books in text form at the Gutenburg project http://www.gutenberg.org or MP3s for his iPod also at the Gutenburg project.

As for teaming with Amazon, it has already happened. We purchased his first books through Abe Books (http://www.abebooks.com), “used”. They are now owned by Amazon, who has always had a very good used book market. Read http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/01/shelfari-and-librarything-awkward-bookends-to-abebooks-amazon-deal/

Now, I admit he is a programmer, as am I, and we tend to go to the Web before going to the store.
But where the geeks (and engineers) tread the world eventually follows.

luv the show,
Kent -> State of the Ark programmer -> 37 years of coding excellence!

At least in Taiwan, the Linux version of the Asus Eee PC is very popular among housewives and students. Meanwhile geeks want the Windows XP version. Also on the show today Microsoft finally declares war on Apple's advertisements, and an Xbox 360 price cut may be coming as early as Sunday. Oh and there was something about the iPhone. Apparently people are excited about it.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 762

Apparently, one third of us have been copying DVDs!
http://www.cnet.com/8301-17914_1-9985794-89.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080708-breaking-the-law-one-third-of-us-residents-rip-dvds.html

Xbox 360 price cut coming July 13
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9985383-7.html

Wal-Mart spreadsheet claims 40GB PS3 “will be replaced” in August
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/09/wal-mart-spreadsheet-claims-40gb-ps3-will-be-replaced-in-augus/

Microsoft admits Windows Vista mistakes, criticizes Apple ads
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208803153

Linux for housewives. XP for geeks.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=342

iPhone 3G reviews: It’s fast, hungry, and still pretty
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9986195-1.html

Belgian operator will sell iPhone simlock-free
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/09/belgium_will_sell_iphone_simlock_free/

iPhone wannabes or smart alternatives? You decide
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-9985925-94.html

Aussie device ‘could speed up Web 100 times’ (Thanks Wayne!)
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=594743

The travails of receiving digital TV broadcasts
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13556_3-9985562-61.html

Getty Images and Flickr announce exclusive partnership to offer new collection of creative imagery
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=320377
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/great-photo-on-flickr-getty-images-might-pay-you-for-it/

Skooba’s TSA-approved bag — for real this time
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/08/skoobas-tsa-approved-bag-for-real-this-time/

VOICE MAIL

Braden
Putting that 7 cents a kilobyte in perspective.

Bill Portland
Question about TrueCrypt

E-MAIL

Hey almost BOL crew (minus the ranty one) I just came accross this story:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080709.wgtiphone0709/BNStory/Technology/home

Basically it says that Rogers is going to offer the 6GB(still not unlimited grr) plan for $30 instead of $100 from launch day until August 31. As of right now (12:30 ADT) there has been no update on the Rogers Web site or the infamous ruinediphone.com other that on the latter there is a link mentioning a video address later today. If this plan also includes the minutes included with the previously announced then this might be a pretty good deal. Still lame that it’s limited but a lot better….
Love the show
Justin the engineering student
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Tom, as much as i love the feature too, I gotta say the new feature in Gmail has a down side to it and it is the person who is in your Gmail account can log you off too. so while someone else is checking your mail and see that you sign in he/she can log you off. so maybe when the happens you need to be the faster person and log the other person off and change your password as quick as you can. Its going to be a war game between logging each other off. Yay Fun!

love the show
Manuel

Hey BOLers.

http://www.ubi.com/US/News/Info.aspx?nId=5336

This is Wayne the pixel fudger here in Quebec. I just thought I would share this with you. With this merger, there is going to be some serious realism infused into next-gen games. I worked at Hybride for 8 years on such projects as Sin City, 300, (and you favorite Tom & Molly….& Veronica) Snakes On A Plane. They do some very nice work there and with the emerging 3-D trend (insert groan here), Hybride is the logical choice for this kind of merger.

I know the owner of Hybride very well and I think with the extra cash from this deal, he’ll be able to afford Rogers’ iPhone price plan.

Heart the Show,

::Wayne B

Long time listener (via podcast), first time “caller.” I started my computer this morning to find that the Internet connection was unresponsive. As a loyal follower of the show, my first response was to blame Comcast, curse a little, and start to reset my cable connection. Eventually I traced the problem back to the Zonealarm firewall I have installed. It turns out that one of Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday updates crippled third party firewalls.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2221138/microsoft-fix-kills-web
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/07/09/ms_dns_patch_zonealarm_woes/

It appears that MS was making a legit DNS protocol update, but that they failed to tell software vendors building to their old system that it was going down. I smell antitrust if this lasts longer than a day and the Europeans catch the scent… oh well, off to uninstall Zonealarm and enable Windows Firewall (hey, it’s bundled after all).

Love the show, keep up the great work. All the best,

Evan
Washington, DC

AT&T employee here and I just got an email asking me to wait a few days before buying an iPhone so customers could have the opportunity to get theirs first.

awwwwwwww,

Tracy

EPISODE 715

iTunes Store gets same-day DVD releases
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080501-apple-itunes-store-now-gets-films-for-purchase-same-day-as-dvd.html

HP reports big advance in memory chip design
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7377063.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/technology/01chip.html? em&ex=1209787200&en=c4345e5bcda95925&ei=5087%0A
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9932054-7.html

Microsoft raises yahoo offer to $32-$33 through WSJ; YHOO Wants $37*
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/4/microsoft_offers_price_increase_ of_32_33_for_yahoo_through_wsj_board_voting_now

New Sezmi set-top blows away the TV
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2289653,00.asp

Microsoft’s new PC initiatives
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7375286.stm

Canadian bank hands out free Eee PCs
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/ canadian-bank-hands-out-free-eee-pcs/

Analyst: HD DVD demise hasn’t meant scramble for Blu-ray
http://ap.google.com/article/ ALeqM5g61RdIeGOIc6yBHUXuHJ7vtaEm2gD90CEK4O3

Pidgin controversy triggers fork
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/30/1822237

VOICE MAIL

Dave Durham
Here’s why Blu-ray is having problems.

FORUMS

Elections, parliment, candidates, Wikia, .org - confusion.
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html? forumID=97&threadID=293280

E-MAIL

BOL Mayor job voting question

I guess I am a little confused about this whole BOL mayor thing.

We have a diplomat who likes to restate things in a more polite fashion, and interjects new topics into the conversation. (Tom) We have a sheriff, (Molly) who talks tough, calls it like she see it, and is rumored to carry a shotgun.
And then we have Jason, who acts more like a city administrator, pushing buttons, playing recordings, and publishing the podcast, all without much credit.

We even have a cranky old guy next door who loves cats and hates europeans, (Raife) as well as a house full of kids across the street who talk funny, play loud music all the time, and hold parties on the lawn. (The 404 podcast)

but this mayor thing confuses me, who chooses, who votes, and how? Is this like Chicago, can I vote more than once?

Keep up the good work,

--David
Living in the 4th ward of Buzztown, down by the bacon plant.

P.S. Who do I talk to about getting a key to the city?

Yahoo toolbar strikes again

Hello Jamoto,
The other day I bought components to build me a new PC and one thing I noticed in the motherboard software (it was gigabyte’s ep35c ds3r) that it included the Yahoo toolbar on the driver install list, it was at the very end of the driver installer. After the USB, chipset, SATA controller and LAN drivers.
Just a warning to everyone installing gigabyte drivers from their CDs.
I wonder how much Yahoo is paying those companies to push the toolbar.
And why don’t they just pay me, the customer, directly instead

--Khaled

The Bot Project

Hi

Just thought I’d flag this up with you--http://www.thebotproject.com

To save you clicking the link, it’s basically an open source, community driven bot tracking initiative. Today is very much day one so there’s really not much of a community yet.

Anyway, there it is. If it’s of interest, take a look.

Cheers
--Dan

P.S. Sorry for the unsolicited e-mail…. and love the show.
P.P.S. Molly--you were soooo serious on Twit.tv that I thought you’d been body snatched!

Its not giant, its colossal

Molly--you referred to the currently defrosting/dissecting squid as a ‘Giant Squid’. In fact it’s a ‘Colossal Squid’.

I guess that’s what happens when you name your squids with superlatives… let’s hope they don’t find a bigger one. For linguistic reasons alone.

I actually would like to see a bigger squid, Maybe they could call it the ‘Bigger Squid’.

This is starting to sound like an Andy Rooney segment. I should stop now.

LTS KUTGW

--Keith

GTA IV

Hello,

I just heard you mention the GTA IV issues. I bought a Collectors Edition and had to return the disc as my Xbox 360 failed to read the disc properly. The replacement disc that I got from the original retailer worked fine and so far no problems, unless you count jaw pains from repeated droppage at the awesomeness. Love the show, and come to Boston!!!!!

Respectfully,

--Charles W. Moore, Jr.

EPISODE 689

Approval for mobiles on aircraft
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7314362.stm

TiVo's take: It's a Comcast mistake
http://cultureofownership.org/?p=24

Comcast and Time Warner to bankroll WiMax joint venture
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9903411-7.html

Motorola to split into two, asexually
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9903426-7.html

AdWords Text Ads with Video on Google Homepage
http://www.labnol.org/internet/search/ screenshot-adwords-text-ads-with-video-on-google-homepage/2689/

Xbox Live taking action on Gamerscore tampering
http://www.news.com/8301-13772_3-9902810-52.html
http://www.dailytech.com/Microsoft+Marks+Xbox+360+Cheaters+ Resets+Gamerscores+to+Zero/article11248c.htm

XP Service Pack 3 remains in testing
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9903004-56.html

Vista-capable lawsuit paints picture of buggy NVIDIA drivers
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080325-vista-capable-lawsuit-paints-picture-of-buggy-nvidia-drivers.html

Asustek to roll out second-generation Eee PC with touchscreen panels and possibly GPS support in May or June
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080325PD226.html

South Park to Offer All Episodes for Free Download
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/south-park-to-o.html

Japanese ads downplay URLs, encourage searches
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/25/japanese-ads-downpla.html

Suspended Animation In Mice Without Freezing
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/25/2136206

VOICE MAIL

Dnic NY
Can’t have cake and eat it too.

Anon
All you have to do to preview Tiny.URL

E-MAIL

Netflix issues 5% credit as mea culpa

Dear Zoe,

As you may have heard, our shipping system was unexpectedly down for most of Monday. We should have shipped you a DVD but were unable to.
Your DVD was shipped today, Tuesday, March 25th, instead.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. We will issue a 5% credit to your account in the next few days. You don’t need to do anything. The credit will be automatically applied to your next billing statement.

Again, we apologize for the delay and thank you for your understanding. If you need further assistance, please call us at 1
(888) 638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

Zoe

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Bell crimps P2P file-sharing during peak hours

Bell Canada is slowing down access on its Sympatico internet servers for users who file share during prime time, so that other users will not be overly delayed

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/03/25/bell-throttling.html

Bill

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Muni WiFi alternative

Hey Buzz Crew,
You guys discussed the possibility of using cars and busses to create a mesh network in an urban environment, but do you know what would even work better? People. Implant everybody in major cities with a wireless repeater and voila! Instant network. It would be so much better than using cars because it would spread out vertically too. As we all learned in The Matrix, humans are excellent power sources and could surely power a small wifi hub. This is the solution to municipal wifi.

Erik the MBA student from Tulsa

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Well actually, fiber is analog

Hi JaMoTo!

In Episode 686 (with Veronica!) Tom said "I think Verizon doesn't have an analog version because it's FIOS, it's over fiber."

Veronica responded, "It's digital right?"

Well, Actually: fiber simply carries a light signal which may be either digital or analog. FIOS uses a Passive Optical Network (PON) with three different colored lasers. One carries internet traffic downstream, one carries internet traffic upstream and one carries the television signal. At the customer's home, a termination box separates the colors using filters. The TV signal (which is at Radio Frequencies) is simply amplified and dropped onto a coaxial cable to handle the last 50 feet to the television. Thus, it can work without a set-top box on a cable-ready TV. The individual channels can be analog, digital or a mix of the two just like over the air.

In fact, Comcast (my provider) has been using a Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC) network for more than a decade. It uses coax cable within each neighborhood and then converts to fiber for the longer-haul back to the cable headend. The big difference in FIOS versus cable is in its handing of internet and telephone. TV is pretty much the same except that FIOS converts from coax to fiber at the home where Comcast converts at the neighborhood.

So... presumably this means that Verizon does indeed intend to shut down existing analog channels (which they do carry). I'm not sure how the FCC requirement to extend analog transmissions will affect Verizon because they aren't a traditional cable company. Even if it does affect them my understanding is that the requirement only applies to local channels. Also, even though PON networks work with analog cable-ready TVs, I'll bet that the subscribers with this configuration are a tiny minority.

As my brother (an electrical engineer who helped design PON technology) says, "When the frequency is high enough, digital becomes analog."

Great show! And really fun to hear Veronica again!

Thanks,
Brandt in Provo

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AJAX isn’t new

Javascript and CSS and HTML have been out for awhile, just thought I’d be 1/100,000,000 people who are probably letting you know.

Speaking of AJAX, know anyone hiring a web designer in San Francisco?
I need a job, and I’m super good.

I’m jobless/sad.

Love, Matt (the guy who beat Tetris many moons ago)