Buzz Out Loud 710: Operation MAHEM

Episode 710

Hacker testifies News Corp unit hired him
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080424/tc_nm/echostar_newscorp_dc_1

T-Mobile confirms Android phone by year’s end http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200804231045DOWJONESDJONLINE000770_FORTUNE5.htm

FBI wants widespread monitoring of ‘illegal’ Internet activity http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9926899-7.html
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9927552-38.html?tag=ne.fd.mnbc

Ballmer: You want XP, we’ll keep XP
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9927721-7.html?tag=newsmap

Microsoft starts pushing out Vista SP1
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9927155-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Nintendo to produce 30 percent more Wiis
http://gizmodo.com/383504/nintendo-to-produce-30-more-wiis
http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/04/nintendo-averag.html

Growing a Wii bit bored
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/entertainment/story.html?id=e35a2e4a-39e2-4daf-99a9-f0ac7e2d9667

Samsung resignations spark rioting, photo burning
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/23/samsung-resignations-spark-rioting-photo-burning/

Science fiction inspires DARPA weapon
http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2008/04/science-fiction-inspires-darpa-weapon.html

Time runs out on Microsoft’s SPOT watches http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9927213-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Drunk Darth Vader’s Jedi assault
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/7360871.stm

VOICE MAIL

Fordo Part 1
I have a question about Web sites.

Max Oakmass
Zune thoughts.

Larry
Just checking in. And I have an announcement!

Greg, London
About those captchas.

E-MAIL

Hey Buzz Crew!

I think I have the solution to the CAPTCHA problem for those with impaired vision.

Instead of a voice speaking out which letters and numbers need to be typed, the voice should read out a short story. At the end of the short story, there will be a question that asks the user about the story, such as the setting of the story or to describe the characters in the story.

Love the show,

--Kevin (the Software Engineering Student from Toronto) [totosquirt on the Forums]

Hey Buzz crew,

Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that HD DVD is not completely dead to the world; it’s going the way of the dodo (or Beta?) is a good thing for companies trying to save some dough.

I work for a company that designs and manufacturers DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and (until recently) HD DVDs for the major studios, but we have continued a small niche of a business creating HD DVD discs for big box retailers, cable television companies, and the like so they can show off high definition content to prospective customers.

Since the players are so cheap (or they had already invested heavily in a large stock prior to the fall) HD DVD has become a specialty item.

Here’s hoping this could spark a Molly rant

[insert Love the Show recording]

--Cody, Los Angeles

Aloha from Hawaii, buzz crew. This is in response to BOL708 where Molly said she thought sending signals into space might not be such a good idea, because we may just as likely attract bad aliens as good ones.

As luck would have it, I just heard a report by NPR science reporter Robert Krulwich that asserted that humans are much less likely to be “heard” out there in space than we think. First of all, space is still echoing with the sound of the Big Bang, which is noisy enough to drown out stray radio signals before it gets out of our solar system.
Secondly, thanks to advancing technology, from digital signals to focused satellite relays to cable and fiber, Earth is actually making less noise today than it was in the 1970s.

So rest a little easier, Molly. We may very well be living on a speck on a clover in the jungle with no giant elephant to hear us.

--Ryan

Hello Buzztown,

On episode 709 You talked about Microsoft shutting down their old DRM servers.

The recent exemptions added to the DMCA should allow you to remove the DRM from your old music.
See item two here:

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2006/11/new-dmca-exemptions-granted

Please keep my favorite podcast going.

--Henry C.
Troy Mich.

Regarding Michael from HK’s Fibre

Our slow Internet is no laughing matter, Michael. I am a student at UC Irvine and I live in an apartment where the Internet is slower than Microsoft’s realization that there’s something wrong with Vista.
Imagine trying to do any type of research at a reasonable rate. I takes me hours, I kid you not, HOURS to download this podcast sometimes. That’s why I stay on campus just an extra 10 minutes to download it there. Your 100MB fiber hurts my feelings too. I feel as if I’ve been slapped across the face with a fist full of fiber optic cable. Anyway, love the show and bring on the Verizon Fios.

--Lewis from UCI.