Buzz Out Loud Podcast

We discuss the developing story that the 4GB RAM limit in Windows is nothing but a license maneuver. Say it ain't so, Microsoft? Also Apple may be trying to sneak in antivirus in Snow Leopard, and guest host Dr. Kiki tells about MIT's effort to teleport data. No more lag in Dalaran!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Apple to retain, redesign plastic MacBook family
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/25/apple_to_retain_redesign_plastic_macbook_family.html

Report: Antivirus feature for Snow Leopard?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10318201-37.html

Twitter exploit still works
http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/twitter-exploit-still-works.html

FCC declares intention to enforce Net neutrality
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/08/25/2044233/FCC-Declares-Intention-To-Enforce-Net-Neutrality

Dutch ISP builds dike around ‘Net, throttles non-HTTP traffic
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/dutch-isp-builds-dike-around-net-throttles-non-http-traffic.ars

Behind the 4GB memory limit In 32-bit Windows
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/08/25/1818215/Behind-the-4GB-Memory-Limit-In-32-Bit-Windows

Microsoft: Prove you’re human by reading and regurgitating an ad
http://www.techflash.com/Microsofts_latest_idea_Prove_youre_human_by_reading_an_ad_54859922.html

Micro wind generators reduce wind capital cost
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10318155-54.html

Steam Car team claims record run
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10317389-76.html

Stanford team readies solar car for Aussie race
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/08/stanford-solar-car

Toward a quantum Internet
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20565/?a=f

Dr. Kiki (@drkiki) online!
http://www.drkiki.tv

Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Thursdays 3-4pm
http://live.twit.tv

This Week in Science
http://www.twis.org/audio or on iTunes

Voice mail
Paul from Verizon says Verizon does the same thing as ATT

Juan in Houston has a response to suing over headphones

E-mail
I think that the reason Google had to redact a lot of information from it’s response to the FCC is because Google may still be under an NDA with Apple even though they apparently don’t require one any more.

–David From CA.

**********

Hey Tom,

In episode 1049 you mentioned that Sony was pushing ePub as a standard
but no one else is using it.
That is true — kind of — but for once Sony is not pushing its own
standard. (Funny what being second place in the market will do!)

ePub is actually the industry standard backed by all the publishers
and readers’ advocacy groups.
It is free and open.
It was created to be the mp3 of ebooks but it was created by a
consortium of publishers so naturally they standardized two flavours:
one that allows DRM and one without.

Sony is using the DRM version. That sucks but at least they switched
to 3rd party (Adobe) authentication servers.
Theoretically at least that means Sony-device owners are not locked
into the Sony universe and can buy from other epub-compliant stores or
small publishers who sell direct.

Publishers and book people are quietly applauding Sony’s epUB move.
The DRM decision blows but publishers want to publish, track, and
manage only one file with one ISBN.
And it goes without saying that ending the eBabel for formats is great
for everybody.

As for the other players…

B&N bought Fictionwise so their catalog is in the Fictionwise
proprietary format that predates ePub.
Indigo’s book service — Shortcovers — is all cloud based. Look ma no
format.
And it is Amazon that is trying to be the Kingmaker with their
proprietary .mobi standard.

Publishers hate that Bezos is taking this approach. It is an inferior
format.
Dotmobi files won’t support things like monospace fonts (important in
publishing computer books).
And Bezos bought the company that makes Stanza — one of the first
and biggest all-ePub shops — and put their efforts on ice.

Love the show.
Mark from The Pub Call
pubcall.com

**********

So I looked at the news today and saw that the Space Shuttle Discovery launch has been delayed until Friday. First it was “weather.” Now a “valve problem.” Uh huh. It just so happens to conveniently fall around the time when Molly Wood will be in Florida… hmm… I think Molly has connections with someone on the “inside.” Hmmm…. hmmmm…

lucky

**********

Buzz folks
In BOL Episode 1049, I think Leo’s analogy comparing Apple to Mussolini’s Italy is particularly apt. You see, the trains didn’t actually run on time in Mussolini’s Italy; his propaganda department was just so good that everyone thought they did.

James the Graphic Designer

P.S. I realize that providing a source almost ruins the joke, but it’s Snopes, so it’s fun anyway: http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/trains.asp

A high school teacher finds it inconceivable that any software could be free. I wonder if she uses Internet Explorer? We also talk about the failure of not one but two big Internet filters, and get the scoop from Caroline McCarthy on why YouTube isn't in decline.

EPISODE 869

Google to take Chrome out of beta
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/10/google-takes-chrome-out-of-beta/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10120049-92.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Australian plan to censor Internet in shreds
http://www.theage.com.au/news/home/technology/labor-plan-to-censor-internet-in-shreds/2008/12/09/1228584820006.html

IWF backs down on Wiki censorship
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7774102.stm
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10119879-93.html

ComScore: 100 million YouTube viewers in October
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10120027-93.html

TV has license to kill movies at iTunes, Netflix
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10119509-93.html

Bebo launches Social Inbox aggregation service
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10119389-2.html

Quantum memory in the cloud--a cold, metallic gas cloud
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081209-quantum-memory-in-the-clouda-cold-metallic-gas-cloud.html

When teachers are obstacles to Linux in education
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08%2F12%2F10%2F001236

Linux Defenders to protect open source from patent suits
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081210-linux-defenders-to-protect-open-source-from-patent-suits.html

Maybe I’m Code 11 but I haven’t heard any of this so-called ‘tech’ slang
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7775013.stm

Google’s 2008 Zeitgeist lists of most popular searches
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13953_3-10120008-80.html

BONUS:At the end of today’s show is a song that Buzz citizen Amanda French wrote!
http://allmyinternetfriends.com/

VOICE MAIL

Jason in Cincy
BOL fights crime. (He reviewed the TiVo)

Tom in Colorado
I have a brilliant idea.

E-MAIL

Hi JaMoToGu(est),

While listening to BOL 868, I noted Molly and Brian’s brief exchange, concluding that Sony are not producing smartphones. A solitary tear fell as unavoidably as a failed marketing initiative onto the 800×480 resolution touchscreen of my new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, then rolled disconsolately across it onto the full QWERTY keyboard. Maybe you’re not ’smart’, but don’t worry little guy - you’re trying your best.

-Mike in Perth, Western Australia

Hey Hot ToMolly, (and Jason:)
Sony denies Netflix is coming to the PS3, we buzzards know what that means riiight? Netflix is coming to the PS3!
What was the rule? 1 month from denial a feature/change shows up?

http://gizmodo.com/5105558/sony-has-no-plans-to-put-netflix-on-ps3
Elam
Owner of an Asus Eee PC 900HA

Hi T,M,J and ?,

I was sitting at a local bar tonight, working on my netbook and thinking about the recent rash of near miss encounters with netbook users. This may present a matchmaking opportunity! I’m envisioning “matchbook.com” - online dating for netbook owners and the people who want to love them. What do you think?

Cheers,

Heather in Boston
Owner of an Asus Eee PC 900HA

PS: I’d love for someone to chat me up about my netbook, I L-O-V-E it and welcome any opportunity to show it off.

PPS: Molly, it fits in almost ALL my purses!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

EPISODE 854

Obama can’t use his BlackBerry
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html

Asus phone
http://gizmodo.com/5090348/asus-announces-800mhz-worlds-fastest-smartphone
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/11/17/asus_p565/

Google speech application supposed to really launch today
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/16/update-on-google-iphone-voice-recognition-app-look-for-it-on-monday/

Flash on Windows Mobile
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2008/11/16/adobe-to-demo-flash-on-mobile-but-only-windows-still-working-on-the-iphone/

AOL video uploads shutting down
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/15/aol-gets-out-of-user-generated-video-business/

Most users don’t office in the cloud: 1% use Google Docs
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081117-report-users-continue-to-prefer-office-over-google-docs.html

Old people are scared of technology
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/scared_of_technology_youre_old.php
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10097839-1.html

UK couple in real-life divorce over virtual affair
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27718230/?gt1=43001

Order pizza from your TiVo
http://www.gearlog.com/2008/11/ordering_dominos_pizza_from_yo.php
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10098333-93.html

Lost Beatles song may bring Fab Four to Net sales
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10098215-93.html

Quantum cloaking makes molecules invisible
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/16/2137230

US space-funeral company plans lunar cemetery
http://news.sg.msn.com/oddities/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1786876

VOICEMAIL

Jason in Georgia - What happened to exploding batteries

Andy Novosibirsk, Siberia - Netbooks galore here!

CT baggage handler - But how did they get there?

EMAIL

Hey guys, Looks like MS has decided what to do with all the cash they were going to spend on Yahoo.

I work for one of the Microsoft managed partner ISV's. MS was just on our weekly internal sales call and our MS partner manager was on talking about how we can offer up Microsoft financing through the end of the MS fiscal year (June).

This financing is not just for MS products but anything that is involved in the entire enterprise solution including hardware and other software.

The internal MS guys are touting that 2-5 business days turn around and touting that it will be easier and cheaper than going with traditional financing . They are willing to finance anything from small 10k deals and up, and depending on customers credit rating with D&B will determine the % rate. He was saying that it was going to be in the range of 5-8%.

https://www.microsoftfinancing.com/

Rob

**********

$139 blu-ray players on Woot.com today.

Just sayin...

Ryan the Biologist

**********

In trying to catch up with BOL, I was listening to #845 and I want to
pose a question related to the AT&T experiment with bandwidth caps. Has
anyone thought about the licensing contracts that AT&T might be looking
to sign with media companies? Think about it, AT&T or Comcast could sign
usage contracts with sites like Netflix, YouTube or Hulu so that their
site usage does not apply to their customers’ bandwidth caps. This would
allow ISP’s to make more $$$ and control traffic.

Coming soon to a legal agreement near you… AT&T merges with YouTube.

So far I have not heard anyone bring up this point via CNET or that TWiT
guy. If ISP’s can stop Bit Torrent, then they can probably allow
certain, preferred content to flow freely.

No charge for this two cents opinion. LTS.

Thanks,

Rodney

**********

In show 853, you had two stories which prompted me to type in... First, you made a big deal out of Google search on the iPhone supporting speech. Windows Live Search Mobile has had this feature for quite some time - and I find it quite useful. Like the Google offering, you speak to it, it sends the speech to the servers, and the servers do the speech-to-text. The use of the accelerometer in the iPhone is new - and a cool idea - but the speech part is not new. I use Google Search on my Windows Mobile phone if I am in a place where I can type easily, but use Windows Live Search Mobile specifically for the speech-to-text if I am driving or walking.

You also made a big deal out of President-elect Obama making use of technology by planning to put his weekly address on YouTube. President Bush podcasts his weekly address - see http://www.whitehouse.gov/podcasts/, or http://www.whitehouse.gov/rss/radioaddress.xml. Not sure YouTube video is an earth-shattering improvement for a weekly address that most people won't pay any attention to after the first month. I also happened to listen to an NPR Podcast just after BOL, and they made it sound like Obama invented the Internet because he plans on putting government information on the web. While I'm all for using technology, and more is certainly better, can we have a reality check? Some of the advances in technology use are simply because time is elapsing. When the government launched THOMAS back in 1995, that was newsworthy from a tech perspective. Saying you will put more stuff on the web is, well, simply expected.

LTS,

/John in Fairfax

**********

You guys were teasing about using old software on Friday’s show. Well I am
one of those use it till it dies dudes.
I am still using Quicken Version 3, 1993 that dates back to the Windows 95
days. It still works on XP just fine.
There is more than one reason for sticking with it. Don’t have to learn new
version and best of all hackers are not
going to be looking for a realistic user of a 15 year old version of
financial software. Also still use Eudora for email.
Have been using it since 1995 and it also still works fine on XP. I have
years worth of elaborate filters which I have
moved every time I get or build a new machine. I figure all the hackers and
attackers out there are trying to
break into Outlook and MS stuff in general. At work I use Outlook on our
office exchange server just fine but
at home I am still with Eudora V5.1.

Really like BUZZ and all the CNET podcasts. Keep up the funnin’ with us
…. half the time I almost crash on
the way to work or on my way home because I am rollin’ in laughter while
listening to BOL

BYE
Darrell in Virginia
Also got email about Grandpa using Sidekick ‘98 and a user that brings back kids software

**********

Wii Speak
In fact the game does not come with that hardware it just can use it
if you have it. So, the game can travel through the rental and used
markets as normal, just not the hardware. Now whether the hardware
should work the same, that you can debate. Thanks for the great
podcast.
Johnny P

Episode 841

Microsoft to offer Office online
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10077535-2.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081028-microsoft-office-will-float-to-the-cloud-with-office-web.html

MS offers peek through Windows 7
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7695933.stm
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10077484-75.html

Microsoft doubles reward for teen who ran away after his parents pilfered his 360
http://gizmodo.com/5069904/microsoft-doubles-reward-for-teen-that-ran-away-after-his-parents-pilfered-his-360

Dolly Parton enters ‘white space’ debate
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10077742-94.html

Researchers decentralize BitTorrent
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/28/1722214

Quantum key distribution meets the real world, fails
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081029-quantum-key-distribution-meets-the-real-world-fail.html

HD Netflix streaming comes to Xbox 360 first
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/29/hd-netflix-streaming-comes-to-xbox-360-first/

AC/DC confuse Donald with Excel spreadsheet video and CD-only distro
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ACDCs-Black-Ice-CD-Album/story.aspx?guid={0A29BF85-6030-4239-A18D-86082628C6A4}
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/06/poll-should-acd.html
http://gizmodo.com/5068899/acdc-excel-spreadsheet-music-video-has-us-thunderstruck

Walmart relaunches MP3 store with $0.74 MP3s
http://gizmodo.com/5070019/walmart-selling-drm+free-mp3s-for-74-cents-finally-mac-and-linux-friendly-too

The VCR is dead
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/28/the-vcr-is-dead.html

DTV transition will ‘puke’ on environment, says recycling group
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/dtv-transition.html

Voice mail

JL in Minnepaolis
War of the Worlds - twitter.com/wotw2

Mark from Florida
What use is Google Earth

E-mail
…to the internet today, October 29, 2008!

39 years old. Up next: mid-life crisis.

(The first message ever to be sent over the then ARPANET (sent over
the first host-to-host connection) occurred at 10:30 PM on October 29,
1969. It was sent by UCLA student programmer Charley Kline and
supervised by UCLA Professor Leonard Kleinrock. The message was sent
from the UCLA computer to a computer at the Stanford Research
Institute. The message itself was simply the word “login.” The “l”
and the “o” transmitted without problem but then the system crashed.
Hence, the first message on the ARPANET was “lo”. They were able to do
the full login about an hour later.)

But you knew that…

Digital Dave in San Diego
http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~lk/LK/Inet/1stmesg.html

**********

Relatively new listener here. It’s been about 2 weeks. I heard about you guys when someone(I forget who) was on Twit. The reason I like the show is because it gives me something to listen to on a daily basis instead of once a week like Revision 3.

After listening to Friday’s show I wanted to comment on how this listener can return a Console game after opening it. You take it to the customer service desk and say I forgot my receipt and this game doesn’t work for my console. They will replace it with another. They will go and get a new one. MOST of the time they will forget to unwrap the plastic. They will give you a new game with the plastic back on and then you can go to another Wal-Mart a few miles down the road or that same Wal-Mart the next day with your receipt and get your money back.

Thanks,
Steve Rehnborg
Raleigh, NC by way of Ohio

**********

What’s Microsoft calling their cloud computing solution? Azure. Check out the Mac Dictionary’s definition of Azure:

bright blue in color, like a cloudless sky

Cloudless! I love it.

Richard Gunther
Washington, D.C.

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