By John Klein (aka Saskboy) Imagine buying a house, and being locked out of the basement by the previous owner. That’s what digital locks do. If you’ve been following Canadian politics, particularly the new Copyright Act (Canada’s DMCA) Bill C-11, you’ve heard of “digital locks.” A digital lock, or Digital Rights/Restrictions Management (DRM), is a […]
Copyright bill gives big media control
By Eric Pettifor A new copyright bill has been introduced into parliament today, Bill C-32. I nearly wrote “anti-copyright” bill because, while I like the original idea of copyright, most of what governments have done to it in recent decades has been to its detriment. The idea behind copyright was that all creative works belong […]
The Terrifying Tale of Textbook Tammy
By Eric Pettifor I was chatting with a friend about the high cost of textbooks, and he recalled a young woman of his acquaintance from his university days who made some extra cash by selling photocopies of textbooks. I didn’t ask how she did this. Did she hang around on campus wearing a big raincoat […]
Yet more disappointing technologies
Shaun Nichols and Iain Thomson of pcauthority.com.au have compiled a list of top ten disappointing technologies. Drum roll please . . . Number 10: Virtual RealityNumber 09: Alternative Search EnginesNumber 08: Voice RecognitionNumber 07: Apple LisaNumber 06: 10 GB EthernetNumber 05: FireWireNumber 04: BluetoothNumber 03: ItaniumNumber 02: ZuneNumber 01: Windows VistaYes, there you have it, […]
Is that a poppy coin in your hand, Mr. Bond?
Earlier this year, some US defense contractors travelling in Canada were concerned about a coin shaped device planted on their persons. “It did not appear to be electronic (analog) in nature or have a power source,” wrote one U.S. contractor, who discovered the coin in the cup holder of a rental car. “Under high power […]
Let the Music Play!
This week we’ll examine impediments to accessing music in three realms: the digital, the fiscal, and the lithic. On the digital front, Steve Jobs seems about to walk the talk with regard to getting rid of digital restriction management (DRM). Last week Apple sent word to iTunes content providers that soon they will be able […]
Of lights and lasers
Now that I’ve just about completely replaced all incandescent lights in my apartment with compact fluorescents (CFL), GE has announced a new, improved, more energy efficient incandescent. Eventually, they say, it’ll be better than CFL. What’s up with that, and why didn’t they do it sooner? The press release doesn’t say, and I won’t speculate […]
Avast ye, eh?
Avast ye, and listen well. Ol’ Joe Biden has turned his guns to North and is taking aim at our Great White Land o’ the Pirates, aye. Seems he and his Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus gave fair warning three years ago when they put us on a watch list, but e’en so we did not […]
Windows? Linux? OS/X? Why choose?
What the devil are we going to do with all the power that the latest computers offer, given that soon you won’t be able to buy a machine with less than two cores on the CPU and less than a gigabyte of RAM? Well, one possibility that more and more people are taking advantage of […]
A tale of two ethics
The wide release of Windows Vista this week, and the billions that will be spent to buy it over the next few years, prompts one to ask: how exactly did we get into this mess? Once upon a time, not so long ago, computers were big things owned by businesses, governments, and universities. That changed […]
