Buzz Out Loud Podcast

Turns out when we blew up the moon a few weeks ago, we found water! Yay! The bottled water companies are presumably planning their trips now. THIS is how we motivate us to get back to the moon! We also hear more from old man Murdoch on blocking Google from indexing his newspapers, and Dell launches a smartphone. Does anybody want it?

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Rupert Murdoch to remove News Corp’s content from Google ‘in months’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/6559694/Rupert-Murdoch-to-remove-News-Corps-content-from-Google-in-months.html

Google Chrome OS to launch within a week
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/13/google-chrome-os-to-launch-within-a-week/

Google confirms purchase of VOIP provider Gizmo5
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-google-confirms-purchase-of-gizmo5/

Dell smartphone to debut in China, Brazil
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/us_tec_dell_smart_phone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10397177-94.html

Cheap to good home: Used 360, pirated games, slightly banned
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/11/cheap-to-good-home-used-360-pirated-games-slightly-banned.ars

Modders release update to free the 1 million Xboxes banned by Microsoft
http://www.dailytech.com/Fix+for+1+Million+Banned+Xbox+360s+is+Incoming/article16823.htm

YouTube to get high-def 1080p player
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10396826-2.html?

SPDY: Google wants to speed up the Web by ditching HTTP
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/11/spdy-google-wants-to-speed-up-the-web-by-ditching-http.ars
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10396574-265.html

Comcast TV Everywhere launch details: December, free for existing subs, really goes anywhere
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/12/comcast-tv-everywhere-launch-details-december-free-for-existin/

Synthetic Stone DVD claimed to last 1,000 years
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/11/13/019202/Synthetic-Stone-DVD-Claimed-To-Last-1000-Years

Using photosynthesis to power hydrogen production
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/11/photosynthesis-proves-to-be-a-powerful-source-for-hydrogen.ars

Water. On the moon.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/prelim_water_results.html

VOICE MAIL
Ken in DC has a solution for the town in Ohio that lost it’s WiFi

Richard in Santa Monica has a theory

Anonymous Verizon user’s question about cancellation.

E-MAIL
Hey guys,

I’m sobered up now, and the bet about Project Natal is most definitely
on. Um… the thing is, I only intended to make a bet against any
buzz host, not every host. It’s possible that I wasn’t exactly clear
about that (I can’t imagine why) but I’m not sure I can justify
shelling out for 3 or 4 of them, and if I win, then the hassle of ebay
or craigslisting the extras ones doesn’t exactly smell of victory.

So since Natali was the first one to accept, then this is my digital
handshake. If Project Natal is available at retail on or before
November 30th, 2010, I will buy one for her. If it’s not, then she
will have to buy one for me. I only ask that you all autograph the
box for me (I promise not to sell it!). If Natali decides to back
out, then the offer is still on the table for anyone else.

/casey

**********

Hi Buzz crew, Matt from MN.
So whats the difference between what the MPAA is doing to a town and what Microsoft is doing to XBox Live users. There was no judicial oversight in either case.
Does this mean that Apple could claim an user violated the EULA on a jailbroken iPhone and then take away their right to use Apple's OS on their phone?

Love the show!

**********

Hey buzz crew

Just a thought.. If you can use facebook status updates to get yourself out of jail, maybe the next thing will be using your google latitude history to show you weren’t at the scene of a crime.

Just sayin..

Love the show
-beth

**********

Hey Buzz Crew -
I am an Apple stock holder (albeit a fairly small investor - but an investor nonetheless) and I am starting to give a second thought to the whole Psystar lawsuit with Apple. Since they are going about legally purchasing licenses and using them to install on other machines, does Apple really have a case against them or not? I'm concerned that if Apple does not win this suit, this will open the floodgates HUGE to making all types of Hackintosh-style computers, thus taking a potentially huge portion of the market away from them and would begin the decline of Apple stock. I know that Apple is more than just an operating system but still…Thoughts? Should I be afraid that Apple might not be able to defend against this?

Thanks guys!
Rob

A new law in Europe protects all citizens from the evils of cookies. Instead of relying on people to operate their own browsers, Europe now requires all Web sites to notify users that they will set cookies. That certainly sounds annoying. Come on over to our freedom-loving U.S. sites, y'all! We also check in on Motorola Droid sales and find out that the Milestone kicks the Droid in the butt. And Google has a holiday present for you. And it's free!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Motorola probably sold 100,000 Droids in first days
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4IZD2kI6dh8

Smartphones beat recession, Nokia still on top
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/11/smartphones-beat-recession-nokia-still-on-top.ars

Microsoft pulls Windows 7 download tool
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10394191-56.html

Google to acquire Gizmo5, swing at Skype with VoIP-enabled Google Voice?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/09/google-to-acquire-gizmo5-swing-at-skype-with-voip-enabled-googl/

Google to offer free Wi-fi in approximately 50 airports for holiday season only
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20091110_free_airport_wifi_holiday.html

Yahoo to put Wi-Fi in Times Square
http://www.appscout.com/2009/11/yahoo_brings_free_wi-fi_to_tim.php

Intel introduces a digital book reader that reads aloud to the blind
http://venturebeat.com/2009/11/09/intel-introduces-a-digital-book-reader-for-the-blind/

Hundreds of Facebook groups hacked
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10394058-2.html

Consent will be required for cookies in Europe
http://www.out-law.com/default.aspx?page=10510

Mac OS X 10.6.2 delivers more than three dozen fixes, but crashes Atom-based Netbooks
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221601027

Blockbuster to rent movies on SD cards, but why?
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/blockbuster-rent-movies-sd-cards-why

VOICE MAIL
Rafa from Brazil on blackouts in Brazil
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/brazil_blackout/

Thomas in Ohio about selling free software

E-MAIL
Long time first time. I started listening when Molly was out having her baby, and I haven’t missed one episode since.

I moved back to China three months ago, and at least in Beijing, the podcast is not blocked right now. When I visited home in 2008, all cnet podcasts were blocked, but it’s no longer the case this year.

I try to get around the great firewall very sparingly, only when it’s absolutely necessary, so I know pretty well among the podcasts I subscribe to, which are blocked and which are not. As mentioned on the show, Radio Lab is blocked. So is This American Life. So is Savage Lovecast by Dan Savage. But sorry guys, BOL is not, not even after the WOW incidence.

LOVE THE SHOW

alex
(no, my name is not alex)

**********

Hey BOLers..

This is Vijay from India.. Long time BOL listener.. you guys rock..

We have been talking about Motorola DROID for long now.. but not much about its GSM/UMTS brother the MILESTONE. Now that MILESTONE has been announced in some European countries, I was waiting for it to launch in India too. I guess it will be coming soon. Initially, I was thinking that only the Radio is different from the DROID. But apparently not… Here are some of the differences

The following features are available in Milestone and not in Droid

MultiTouch in Gallery and Browser (Droid only has double tap)
Geotaging in the Gallery photos.
MotoNav (Offline turn by turn navigation maps) This does not require internet connection (say if you are in some rural areas or in San Fransisco if you are on AT&T 3G ) where as Google Navigation requires connection to internet. Google Nav is also available on the Milestone.. best of both worlds !!
Phone Portal – Very cool thing where a webserver runs on the phone !!! The phone can be accessed just like a website from any desktop browser for the gallery, bookmarks etc just like accessing any cloud service.. pretty cool
MTP Sync Media Transport Protocol sync for easy syncing of media along with meta data etc.
Mysign – Gesture based short cuts where certain functions (say calling a specific contact, or turning on wifi etc) can be made into shortcuts based on certain gestures..

I did not get a link with these differences but basically got this information from the motodev podcast.. at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/motodev/2009/11/04/Developing-Android-Applications-for-DROID-and-Mile

LOVE THE SHOW..

Vijay

**********

Hi Buzz Crew,

It’s not a given that Murdoch has to loose against Google, because it’s
not a given everybody would use Google to search for news. Imagine most of
the news coporations would opt out of Googles Index and would be searchable
on Bing, because Bing would share their revenue. People would move to Bing
- at least for search for news. Newspapers would get more revenues.
Everybody would be happy, except for Google, which would at some point be
forced to pay newspapers to add them to its index.

Otherwise, love the show!

Regards,
Matthias from Germany

**********

Tom Richmond, the star caricaturist of MAD Magazine’s new generation had a project he worked on rejected by Apple. It was an app that had caricatures of all the members of Congress with their contact information. It was rejected because in ” in Apple's reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory."
I got the information from Mark Evanier’s site http://www.newsfromme.com (http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_11_09.html#018025)

Here’s the direct link to the story: http://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/2009/11/09/apple-rejects-my-caricature-app/

Love the show!
PS to Molly ~ Go Cats on 11/21!

Jay Huber
Bozeman, MT

Rafe wonders what could possibly go wrong with Comcast monitoring its users to protect them from malware. In the process, Rafe makes a few comments that have us wondering whether he'll return home to any Internet service at all. Barnes and Noble is rumored to be rolling out an Android e-book reader, while Steve Ballmer claims that the PC is the best e-book reader.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

B&N e-book reader reportedly in the works
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10371468-93.html

PCs are best for e-reading, Microsoft’s Ballmer says
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE5974OZ20091008

Snow Leopard bug threatens user data, according to reports
http://www.9to5mac.com/snow_leopards_eat_users
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10356505-263.html

Report: AT&T waits 17 months to break even with iPhones
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10371785-37.html

DRAM study turns assumptions about errors upside down
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/10/dram-study-turns-assumptions-about-errors-upside-down.ars
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10370026-264.html

New ways to try and buy Microsoft Office 2010
http://blogs.technet.com/office2010/archive/2009/10/07/new-ways-to-try-and-buy-microsoft-office-2010.aspx
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10371817-56.html

Comcast’s war on infected PCs (or all customers)
http://it.slashdot.org/story/09/10/08/2022211/Comcasts-War-On-Infected-PCs-Or-All-Customers
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10370996-245.html

Comcast set to launch ‘HomePoint’
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Set-To-Launch-HomePoint-104907

Pressure-sensitive keyboard? Let the fun begin
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10371215-1.html
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/10/08/2152239/Contest-Winners-Show-Potential-For-Pressure-Sensitive-Keyboard

Penny-size nuclear batteries developed
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/10/09/1243245/Penny-Sized-Nuclear-Batteries-Developed

VOICE MAIL
Tommy in Kingston: The password book

E-MAIL
Moon 1, NASA 0:
So, I get up at O-Dark-Hundred to watch the greatest space collision since Shoemaker-Levy 9.

5-4-3-2-1 Impact! … Impact?

Watching the stunned NASA commentators, one of whom says “I Don’t know what we just saw.”…

PRICELESS!

Rob from Sedona

**********

Hi Buzzfolk,

I beg to differ with the slow Windows 7 boot times story you reported on in Episode 1080. I have run a script (on the RTM 32-bit version) that measures the time, from shutdown to usable desktop, multiple times and consistently get a time of 54 seconds, which does jive with the times your lab got in their testing, but not what Lolo Technologies achieved in theirs.

I think the bigger story here is why is Lolo getting slower times?

I’m not saying it’s because they sell PC tune-up software and may have a conflict of interest, I’m just sayin`…..

Thanks! Love the show.
Satchmo
Seriously, I love you. <3

There's a little panic over the fact that Bing's market share dropped last month, but you have to remember, folks, Bing is young. Rafe puts it in perspective for us. Also, Kindle gets a price cut and goes worldwide, yo. That's big. What is also big is the keylogger network that's hijacking everyone's Web mail accounts. We can help you out with that, a bit.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Another Kindle price cut…and it goes wireless internationally
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/06/financial/f210208D88.DTL&tsp=1
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10369321-93.html

AT&T to allow VoIP iPhone apps on 3G network
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10368955-37.html

Huge Web mail phishing scam spreading fast
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8294714.stm

Australian ISP in court for not disconnecting users
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/australian-isp-in-court-for-not-disconnecting-users.ars

Court rules for software ownership over licensing
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/10/06/2245214/Court-Rules-For-Software-Ownership-Over-Licensing

HitWise says Microsoft Bing fell 0.5 percent to Google’s gain
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/HitWise-Says-Microsoft-Bing-Fell-5-to-Googles-Gain-529954/

DoubleTwist unveils an alternative to the iTunes music store, powered by Amazon MP3
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/06/doubletwist-unveils-an-alternative-to-the-itunes-music-store-powered-by-amazon-mp3/

E.U. approves test of Windows 7 ‘Browser Ballot’
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2353906,00.asp

Fans come together to complete "Star Wars Uncut"
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/09/10/06/1647234/Fans-Come-Together-To-Complete-Star-Wars-Uncut

“Apps for Innovation” Developer Contest
http://www.ce.org/GovernmentAffairs/Innovation_Movement/apps-contest.asp

VOICE MAIL
Rick on Vonage

Stewart on gas masks

E-MAIL
Hey Buzz-Crew,

In ep 1077 you asked for a CIO/CTO to weigh in on the IBM Inotes vs Goolge Docs hypothetical prize fight for our hypothetical business. While I am not of that stature at my company I do sit right outside the out CIO’s office so I wrestled him down, duct taped him to his chair and made him answer this very question!

Okay, well not really that first part but he did answer and here is what he said:

“We actually looked at Google Docs for cost reduction and there is no way we could use it. With all the customer data that we have and the nature of our business (not to mention internal systems) having something in the cloud would be much to risky. Cloud stuff just isn’t reliable enough for us to even consider using it. Not only that but there was no way that Legal would let us (not to mention that it didn’t clear SOX compliance). And let us not forget about our ‘wonderful’ users. The learning curve that they would have to deal with might just break them.”

So there you have it. The argument against clouds at my company are (1) Reliability, (2) Legal / SOX issues and (3) Inept users.

Love the show,

M
The overweight I.T. Ninja

P.S.- Sorry for the anonymity but I’m just covering my bacon (if you know what I mean).

**********

Hey, Buzz crew,

With all the discussion about mobile OS platforms and developers in
yesterday’s show (episode 1078), I’m surprised you didn’t mention the
announcement Adobe made on Monday about how they’re going to enable
Flash developers to code apps in Flash that can then be converted into
native iPhone apps. Technical merits aside, it’s an interesting move by
Adobe to keep Flash application and game developers from abandoning
Flash to take a swing at developing apps solely for the iPhone, and you
have to wonder if Apple is somewhat annoyed that five iPhone apps
created with this technique made it into the app store.

–Brian from Bowie, MD

**********

Hey Buzz Crew,
I am listening to Episode 1076, (I’m a bit behind) and upon hearing Tom’s dreams of “Tenspeed and Brownshoe” being streamed online, I ran over to Google to find out what in the world he was talking about. So of course, I wound up at IMDB reading up on the subject, how mundane right? Why would I be emailing to tell you this? Well, I noticed at the top of their page, a popularity ranking, and had to laugh when I saw that the popularity of the series went up 34% this week. Glad I wasn’t the only one left wondering “wtf?” after that comment!

Love the show!

Patrick Sullivan
Augusta, GA

**********

Hey guys,
I’m a couple episodes behind, so you may have already talked about this but: things just got real with Palm http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/05/palm-throws-the-doors-open-review-free-app-distribution-over-th/

What better way to compete with the iTunes app store than to lower the barrier of entry for open source apps and decentralize the distribution of free apps.

Jake (the computer science student in Grand Rapids)

The authors Guild might be afraid of the robotic voice of the Kindle, but Wil Wheaton sure isn't. Neilsen lays a bombshell with the news that job search sites have increased traffic because of, you guessed it, these troubled times. And Hearst is planning their own large format e-reader for their magazines.

EPISODE 920

Facebook wants you to ring in on policy
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=56566967130

It’s not always about money; sometimes hackers just hate you
http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/02/its-not-always-about-moneysometimes-hackers-just-hate-you.ars

Neilsen: Job search site traffic is up
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10172635-2.html

Hearst to launch a wireless e-reader
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/27/technology/copeland_hearst.fortune/index.htm

Skype To Go lets you make VoIP calls from anywhere
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10172518-62.html

Detachable keyboard on new LG phone
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2341777,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

Nokia Comes With Music phones confirmed for U.S. this year
http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/02/nokia-comes-with-music-comes-to-us-in-2009-au-in-march.ars

Digg to get a software-free toolbar
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10172940-2.html

Prototype SunCat batteries enable solar charging
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10173434-1.html

Smart Cars that communicate with each other Could Hit the Road by 2012
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/02/talking-cars-co.html

Wil Wheaton vs. Authors’ Guild vs. Kindle
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/26/wil-wheaton-vs-autho.html

TV.com iPhone application
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2341817,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

VOICE MAIL
Chris in STL
How do you follow news on Twitter

The Beast 33
Context for LimeWire on Today Show

Jay in Tacoma
If you can’t hear my voice mail….

E-MAIL
Buzz Crew,

Here is a link to the first Web browser you mentioned on Buzz Out Loud
episode 919.

http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/WorldWideWeb.html

It was called world wide web

Thanks,

Ted,
Antigo, Wisconsin

Hi guys,

Not an hour after listening to episode 918 was I myself SMiShed. I
received a text message from auto-notice@ncsecu.org (North Carolina
State Employees Credit Union). The body of the text said “State
Employees CU urgent notification:unusual activity,please verify your
online information at 877-336-6029″ Even though I knew it was a scam
I gave them a call to see if I couldn’t waste some of there time ala
419 eaters. I went strait to voice mail; it seems, unfortunately,
that they had too many other SMishy fish in their net already.

This morning on NPR I heard that in fact it was a scam and that people
should be careful not to fall for the trick.

Zac in Raleigh

You CNET folks being in-laws with the CBS peoples, I would like to personally thank Buzz Out Loud for bringing back my reason for going to Las Vegas!

http://trekmovie.com/2009/02/26/cbs-confirms-contract-to-re-open-st-the-experience-in-may-new-stte-documentary/

best,
brian in L.A.

Hi y’all!

I was thrilled to hear your second episode in a row mentioning tech
and education. As a high school teacher, I agree that providing
PowerPoint slides on handouts CAN make students lazy. However, at my
school we have a gadget called the Qwizdom student response system
(NAYY - not affiliated yada yada) that enhances PowerPoints by
allowing teachers to embed multiple-choice or true/false questions
that students answer with cool little remote devices. Teachers can
choose any type of feedback, such as instant right/wrong, ability to
change answers, or no feedback if they want answers recorded as quiz
scores. Some universities even require students to buy their own
remotes to use in certain classes.

Our informal surveys suggest students remember more when they must
interact with the presentation. Plus it’s just more fun!

Love the show,
RogueTess

ActionPoint software: http://www.qwizdom.com/Education/Products/Actionpoint.html

Article about Qwizdom use in universities: http://www.michigandaily.com/content/qwizdom-clickers-tuning-some-students-turning-others

“The European Space Agency (ESA) on Friday named a Frenchman and a German who will join four Russians in an innovative 105-day isolation experiment to test whether humans can one day fly to Mars.

From March 31, the six “crew” will be locked inside a special facility in Moscow that replicates conditions of a space trip to Mars.

The simulation will be followed by a 520-day experiment, starting later this year, that would last as long as a real mission to Mars…. ”

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.1c9410f52a65c5c99d8964a72b43ea22.8a1

Chris the Commuter

Oh snap, as they say. Palm has decided to get all vague in Apple's face about patents. Molly's back and she's hazelnut brown. And we determine that tech is, in fact, pretty sucky. All that and more, if you can get your sucky tech to work long enough to listen.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 897

Microsoft extends Windows 7 beta
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212902415&cid=iwhome_art_Opera_mostpop
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/01/23/general-availability-for-the-windows-7-beta-to-end.aspx

How many versions of Windows 7 will there be?
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/how-many-versions-of-windows-7-will-there-be

Good sign for Blu? Blu-ray theft on the rise
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10148897-1.html

Wikipedia considers limiting user edits
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10149648-93.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7851400.stm

Monster.com suffers database breach deja vu
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/24/latest_monster_security_breach/

Fallout 3game updates coming to Xbox, PC, no PS3
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/things-for-ps3-go-from-bad-to-worse-game-publishers-abandoning-sonys-console-sne

RIM CEO: Buggy smartphone software is the “new reality”
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/26/rim-ceo-buggy-smartphone-software-is-the-new-reality/

Palm responds to Apple veiled threat
http://i.gizmodo.com/5137691/palm-responds-to-apples-legal-posturing-with-even-more-posturing

G1 for sale in non-3G areas
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/01/23/t-mobile-g1-coming-to-the-rest-of-the-us-retail-stores-tomorrow/

Verizon Internet phone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10149009-94.html

Obama launches Recovery.gov
http://mashable.com/2009/01/24/obama-to-launch-recoverygov/

Nintendo brain-trainer ‘no better than pencil and paper’
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article5587314.ece

Huge inauguration photo is like a presidential "Where's Waldo?"
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/01/26/huge-inauguration-photo-is-like-a-presidential-wheres-waldo/

(which he took with a 14.7-megapixel point-and-shoot)
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-g10/4505-6501_7-33280758.html

VOICEMAIL

Tom the Plumber - Here’s how a black hole will kill you

I Miss Molly

E-MAIL
Hello JaNaToX and the Buzz Brigade

(The X is for the guest host, although Mondays are Molly,
so it should be JaNaToMo, but I digress…)

Jason’s back and so is the album artwork!

Some thoughts on the Russian OS:
It could be a fully localised version of one or more
Linux distributions, where both the interface and
documentation is in Russian. I’m not aware of how
far the community-driven localisation has progressed.

In India, the government has funded projects to translate
and localise both Linux and OpenOffice. And mind you,
this involves 15-18 languages! A Debian-derived
distribution called Bharat Operating System Solutions or
BOSS Linux is already available (http://bosslinux.in),
while CDAC, the national computing research establishment,
is working on a localised version of OpenOffice called
BharateeyaOO.o (meaning Indian OpenOffice.org in Hindi).
(See http://www.ncb.ernet.in/bharateeyaoo/details.shtml)

And I fully agree with Tom that governments should be
sceptical (if not paranoid) about proprietary software that
they might need to use. Imagine Russia was using an OS
made in Ukraine, and in the recent gas (natural gas, not gasoline)
dispute, this software vendor decided to push an update to just
Russia crippling the TCP/IP stack. It is certainly possible with
today’s IP Geolocation technology; the only question is how finely
one can tune the “attack” so as to reduce collateral damage and
the resulting bad publicity.

Just my thoughts on the matter.
Eagerly waiting for Ep 900
Aveek from India

**********

On episode 896, you mentioned that Seagate is claiming that they’ve
fixed the firmware issue for the 7200.11 drives.

You asked for reports from listeners of any continuing troubles, which
I’m more (less) than happy to provide:

While Seagate has issued a firmware fix to upgrade existing functional
drives, or drives that were bricked by the faulty update, there’s no
way to fix drives that failed prior to the firmware release, such as
my 1TB drive. The issue with drives that bricked prior to the
announcement is that they don’t appear in your BIOS, and are therefore
inaccessible by the firmware update utility.

Of course, Seagate has been quoted several times in the media as
saying they’ll provide free data recovery for bricked drives. The
unfortunate truth is that when I called about this, their support team
didn’t know about this offer, but told me that I would hear from
supervisor “soon”. That was last week. I called back and was simply
told that my request was “escalated”, however the person I spoke with
couldn’t provide any more information, including who was handling
escalations, how to get ahold of them or when I might hear from them.
All emails to the support line just result in automated responses
about the firmware update that won’t resolve my issue.

Frustrated in Cleveland,
Derek

EPISODE 825

A.M.D. to split into two operations
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/technology/07chip.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10059766-92.html

Warner Bros. to release movies online before DVD in Korea
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081006-warner-bros-to-release-movies-online-before-dvd-in-korea.html

Hulu to stream presidential debates live
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10059756-93.html

EU to require user-replaceable batteries in CE?
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/10/06/new_eu_directive_pushes_toward_replaceable_iphone_batteries.html

EU battery rule may zap iPhone, blow away MacBook Air
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/07/eu_batter_directive_spells_trouble/

VoIP safe from Verizon patent assaults (too late for Vonage)
http://techdirt.com/articles/20081006/2246322473.shtml

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10059844-94.html

Ford to introduce restrictive car keys for parents
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/07/0011249

Google launches Mail Goggles to save you from yourself
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10059735-2.html

Lightbulbs could replace Wi-Fi hotpsots
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/33993.php

Polaroid film factory now “prints” solar panels
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081007005342

Atrivo ISP shutdown sends ripples through the spam deluge
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081006-atrivo-isp-shutdown-sends-ripples-through-the-spam-deluge.html

VOICEMAIL
Hayden: Even Apple changes their tunes!

E-MAIL

Hola.

Ummm...Even if you block streaming porn, you still aren't blocking porn on your HDD or on DVD. Which begs the question, how was this not a problem before Wi-Fi was on planes? I get that as much as I get why you'd watch freaking porn on a freaking airplane, YOU PERVERT.

Personally, I think people caught should be shamed in front of everyone by the captain over the in-flight speaker... "BING! Excuse me, passengers of flight 401. This is your captain speaking. We've reached a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, annnnd I would just like to bring to your attention that the gentleman in seat 36A is watching porn. Yes, the gentleman with the greasy comb-over and gold-plated aviator glasses annnnd the porn appears to involve Swedish maids...Somebody's been a verrry dirrrty boy! Please feel free to scoff at him around the cabin. Thank you, and please enjoy the rest of your flight."

Problem solved.

LtS-KUtGW,
Dr. Karl

**********

At the risk of sounding like a “well actually” I have to give at least some props to Paramount for responding so quickly to resolve the Opt In/Opt Out issue on their recent release of Iron Man, which to my estimation was working on Thursday of last week. It seems like they are actually listening to the forums, which means they seem to actually care about us (at least as much as when there is widespread bad press for their product!).

While the potential of BD-Live hasn’t yet been realized, I think it must be a learning process for them.

We’ll see how this plays out, but I must say I’m cautiously optimistic.

Molly, feel free to tear me up if you feel like it.

LTS!

Cheers,

Anon from L.A.

**********

Seriously?! You talk about RC cows and nobody suggests mounting
freakin’ lasers on their heads! For shame. Then again, mounting a
laser on a mobile methane factory qualifies you for the cow evil
genius short school bus. Mini moo?

Anyway, isn’t one of the games on Wii Play an RC cow? I smell a lawsuit…

brian

**********

Hey Buzzites,

I just listened to show 824 and have to say I take issue with the comment that the musicians were all bands that no one cares about.

All the bands mentioned are huge over here (U.K.), and some of the others like Robbie Williams and Kaiser Chiefs are worldwide. It seems to be just America that doesn’t care but last I checked that's still a minority worldwide.

Sorry, rant over.

Love the show, John from the U.K.

PS. Tom, about my previous e-mail regarding the BBC, maybe there’s a market for a Web service that would allow me to send you recorded Doctor Who and Torchwood in exchange for recorded Heroes and Lost. That would be legal right?

**********

Hey Guys, Sean from Green Bay here. In show 824 you talked about how
ask.com is touting their ability to answer questions like they did
when they had jeeves. Tom said he tested with the question “What high
school did John McCain go to?”. Doesn’t this demonstrate that ask.com
is clearly a hacker tool meant to circumvent password recovery
mechanisms built in to many Web services? Ask.com must be taken down
immediately!

Sean

EPISODE 754

Judge Ends Facebooks Feud With ConnectU
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/judge-ends-facebooks-feud-with-connectu/

Facebook suspends app that permitted peephole
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9977762-7.html

Internet overhaul wins approval
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7475986.stm

Samsung Instinct flies off Sprint’s shelves at record pace
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/26/samsung-instinct-flies-off-sprints-shelves-at-record-pace/

Chrysler vehicles to offer Wi-Fi
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121448112930106809.html

T-Mobile rolls out home phone plan
http://www.informationweek.com/news/telecom/voice/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208801023

BT starts threatening music downloaders with internet cut-off
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/26/bt_bpi_letter/

I’ve seen the future, and it has a kill switch (Thanks, Fabio!)
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/06/securitymatters_0626

This fall's TV shows: Now on P2P networks
http://newteevee.com/2008/06/26/this-falls-tv-shows-now-on-p2p-networks/

Only one quarter of the planet to be online by 2012
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/26/1224252

Voice mail

Dave Wisconsin
Here's a plan for radio stations.

Lee Boston
Well, what did you expect from the RIAA?

E-mail

Why hasn’t someone come up with a competitor to the RIAA? There are huge numbers of artists (including big acts such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails) that have shown a desire to operate outside the established recording industry. I’m amazed someone hasn’t tried to band them together in to a competitor to the RIAA that focuses on digital distribution rather than trying to protect the status quo.

With the flak that radio is now taking from the RIAA at the moment, I’m sure they’d love an alternative source for content. I could even see them helping to set up such an organization precisely to break the RIAA members’ stranglehold on distribution methods. I’m sure that radio companies would love to have an organization devoted to working with them on newer technologies such as streaming as opposed to fighting them every step of the way.

Thanks, and
Love the show!
Nate.

**********

Why don’t you comment on the new site design? You say how much you like the new cnet tv, why don’t you say how much you like the new Web site design. I realize by saying nothing you are saying something. I understand it’s not good losing your identity, but don’t go down without a fight, Buzz crew. If you don’t speak up soon I will just have to believe you are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to say something.

Enjoy the show
Jimmie in KC

**********

If I recall the Aeneid properly, the Trojans that survived the war left and followed Aeneas to found Rome, so maybe those soldiers are still on the table...

Sorry, hate to be one of "those" listeners, but I couldn't help myself.

LTS,
Jomichael

EPISODE 748

Flickr co-founders depart Yahoo
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9971209-7.html

Statistics show Firefox 3 spreading fast
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9971672-7.html
http://mashable.com/2008/06/18/firefox-record/

Firefox 3: Power User’s Guide to Firefox 3 (Thanks royterp!)
http://lifehacker.com/396312/power-users-guide-to-firefox-3

Conde Nast’s Reddit goes open source
http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9971150-2.html

VoIP providers to get full 911 access with bill’s passage
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080618-voip-providers-to-get-full-911-access-with-bills-passage.html

All your coffee are belong to us
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/17/1941200

Can Web predict economic gloom?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7459055.stm

An Apple exodus due to low salaries?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9971571-16.html

Like gadgets? You're probably an arrogant
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/06/18/like-gadgets-youre-probably-an-arrogant-prick/

‘Red Paperclip’ guy ready to trade his house
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/06/red-paperclip-g.html

VOICE MAIL

Mike
T-Mobile told me not to get a new phone yet.

E-MAIL

Mail Order Monsters was AWESOME! Only Archon and M.U.L.E. come close to the fun quotient offered by MOM. I may actually get Spore just because of this. I need to check out the video, but Jason, that is a tremendous geek culture callback. Anyone know of a Windows or Mac emulator for any of those games?

Favorably disposed toward the show,

--Jomichael

Following up on Doug’s voice mail yesterday, the HUGE problem right now is that the Liberals (the opposition and equivalent to the Democrats in Canada ) don’t want to force an election. And if they openly oppose the bill, they could force an election and then lose. So unless something miraculous happens, Canada appears headed into the copyright dark ages.
--Nathaniel
Nova Scotia,
Canada

Hello BOL, I finally got around to installing Firefox 3. I actually installed it on an old laptop that I have laying around that I am having to use. Even though it only has 128MB of RAM while running XP, Firefox 3 is fast! Gmail is responsive: it doesn’t freeze up like Firefox 3 Beta.

Oh yeah, and CNET TV loads without crashing the browser, it displays properly, and the videos play with only a few audio hiccups (probably because of the weird peak in CPU usage). And the amazing part? It does all of this (including rendering flash-heavy CNET TV) with just over 48MB of RAM!

--Tony

It is just after midnight and I am driving south on I-75 from Atlanta. I loaded up the iPod with podcasts for the trip, including the two most recent BOLs. After listening to No. 747 my mind started wandering a bit and I drove on in silence,. Then about 7 minutes later, the sound of the theme music startled me so badly I nearly drove off the road.

On the positive side, I am awake now. This adrenaline rush should last until Tifton or Valdosta.

Love the show,
--The Anonymous Musician.