Hackers Break HD DVD Copy Protection

There’s a new twist in the ongoing battle between the next-generation, high-definition DVD standards: Hackers have cracked the antipiracy software on several movies published in the HD DVD format. Perhaps ironically, hackers chose to break the copy-protection system in Universal’s Serenity, a 2005 science fiction film about a renegade crew of space outlaws. The hackers are distributing copies of the films using BitTorrent, a once-controversial file-sharing tool that is working to clean up its reputation by forging partnerships with TV and movie companies. Hmm… as this crack is on a movie-by-movie basis, I’m seeing this as a workaround rather than a global format crack

Seagate’s Fast Drive May Help Data Centres

Seagate claims the 2.5-inch Savvio 15K, which comes in 36GB and 73GB models, needs 30 percent less power than any other 15K drive. That’s good news to data centres coping with the high cost of cooling bills, as ultradense architectures, including blade servers that pack high-powered machines into racks like sardines, prove harder and harder to cool

Nanotechnology Allows for Modifying Existing Chips

Hewlett-Packard researchers have developed a novel way to create flexible electronic circuits that could make it routine by the end of the decade to modify and upgrade the circuitry in computer-based consumer products even after they have been sold. The technology grows out of an advance in nanocomputing, which involves creating circuitry on a molecular scale and making it interact with today’s silicon wires and transistors

Apple Charges For 802.11n, Blames Accounting Law

If you have a Core 2 Duo Macintosh, the built-in WLAN card is capable of networking using (draft 2) 802.11n. This capability can be unlocked via an update Apple distributes with the new AirPort Extreme Base Station. Or, they will sell it to you for $4.99. Why don’t they give it away for free, say with Software Update? Because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (which was passed in the wake of the Enron scandal). iLounge quotes an Apple representative: It’s about accounting. Because of the Act, the company believes that if it sells a product, then later adds a feature to that product, it can be held liable for improper accounting if it recognises revenue from the product at the time of sale, given that it hasn’t finished delivering the product at that point — via Slashdot

DMCA Complaint Against YouTube Dropped

The husband of Second Life land baroness Anshe Chung said he should not have filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaint against YouTube in his attempts to have the site delete a video of her avatar being attacked by a barrage of digital flying penises. And as a result, he said, he has revoked the DMCA claim. I didn’t realise that some people would misunderstand this as a censorship attempt, which it definitely was not, Guntram Graef said. So, what was it if not an attempt to scupper the story?

Three HD Layers Today, Ten Layers Tomorrow

While Toshiba has publicly announced its achievement of developing a triple-layer HD DVD-ROM (read only) disc with a capacity of 51 gigabytes, Ritek is disclosing behind closed doors at CES its own achievements in multi-layer HD optical media. Ritek claims to not only have been able to produce a three-layer and four-layer HD optical discs, but to have successfully designed HD media with a full 10 layers. The company says that its multi-layer process can be applied to both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats

NT Schools to Trial $100 Laptop

Northern Territory schools will become the first in Australia to test a revolutionary new laptop computer that costs just $US100 ($128). The One Laptop Per Child project — which is shipping hand-cranked laptops to Brazil, Argentina, Libya, Nigeria and Thailand — has sparked the interest of the NT Education Department, which will begin testing the machines when schools recommence later this month

MI5 E-Mail Alert Subscription ‘Not Secure’

The terror alert e-mail service being offered by the British secret service is not secure, according to a Spy Blog, a libertarian organisation that monitors security and surveillance developments. MI5 launched an e-mail alert service on Tuesday which informs subscribers of any changes to the national security threat levels. However, a Spy Blog investigation claims to have found that subscriber details will be sent out of the country, unencrypted, to a server based in the US

Desktop Fabricator May Kick-Start Home Revolution

A cheap self-assembly device capable of fabricating 3D objects has been developed by US researchers. They hope the machine could kick start a revolution in home fabrication — or rapid prototyping — just as early computer kits sparked an explosion in home computing. Rapid prototyping machines typically cost from $20,000 to $1.5 million. The standard version of the Freeform fabricator — or fabber — is about the size of a microwave oven and can be assembled for around $2400. It can generate 3D objects from plastic and various other materials. Full documentation on how to build and operate the machine, along with all the software required, are available on the Fab@Home website, and all designs, documents and software have been released for free

New PayPal Key to Thwart Phishers

Over the next few months, eBay will be offering its PayPal users a new tool in the fight against phishers: a $5 security key. The security key is actually a small electronic device, designed to clip on to a keychain, that calculates a new numeric password every 30 seconds. PayPal users who sign up to use the device will need to enter their regular passwords as well as the number displayed on the key whenever they log in to the online payment service

Google Patches Gmail Spammer Bug

Google has quickly fixed a flaw that reportedly exposed the contact lists of Gmail users to spammers, giving them, at least in theory, a new source of e-mail addresses for hawking their wares. When users access Gmail, Google’s Web-based e-mail service, their contact lists are stored in a JavaScript file on their hard drives. Before the flaw was patched, a malicious Web site could have read that file, extracting the list of contacts, then sending that data to spammers

Microsoft Leaves Critical Word Flaws Unpatched

On Tuesday, Microsoft released its monthly round of patches to fix vulnerabilities in Windows and Office, but conspicuously absent were fixes for two known flaws in the widely used Microsoft Word application. The vulnerabilities were first reported in December, and were ranked critical by security firms because they could be used by malicious hackers to gain complete control over a system