The French courts have banned DRM copy-protection on DVDs [english], because it is a consumer right to make a backup or to change formats — via BoingBoing
Under pressure from competing internet providers, Telstra will deliver its next generation ADSL2+ broadband service to the market at least eight months earlier than expected, according to sources close to the carrier
UK music lovers are getting frustrated with restrictions placed on digital music tracks once they buy them from online stores. The magazine reported that people are also being turned off net music stores because of pricing and disappointing sound quality compared with CDs — via BoingBoing
What someone sees can be detected by remotely measuring their brain activity — even extracting information that people are not aware they possessed. The newly-demonstrated technique may lead to breakthroughs in measuring consciousness, helping doctors assess coma patients
Hong Kong is planning to launch a 1Gbps broadband home service. Although the idea of using shared infrastructure is nothing new for TV/phone/data this appears to be the first to do this over IP at such high speed. The cost is high — US$215 a month. Per megabit, however, this is a very cheap service. This kind of solution only really works in town blocks where cat5 cabling is a realistic option
Looks like the Internet Explorer team is trying to catch up to some of the major OS browsers. They claim to have finally added proper PNG support and have fixed numerous CSS bugs
A recent study at King’s College indicates that the average IQ loss of e-mail users was ten points or six points more than cannabis users. And in another story, it seems that computers make kids dumb and an apparent problem-solving deficit disorder
observed in children who use computers
The trend of using inbox as a personal database has become more pronounced as the services have dramatically increased their storage capacity in response to Gmail offering a free service with 1,000Mb of storage. For all but the very organised, old e-mails will contain phone numbers that haven’t been entered into a diary, names and addresses of contacts, meeting or customer information, useful statistics or competitor information and photos of products and people
Spain presented the papacy of Benedict XVI with its first big challenge yesterday when the Vatican and the Socialist government of the Roman Catholic country traded blows in a heated row over its plan to legalise homosexual marriage. The dispute erupted after the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero drove a bill through the Cortes on Thursday that will allow homosexuals to marry and adopt children. The Vatican hit back yesterday by advising Spanish Catholic civil servants to refuse to officiate at homosexual wedding ceremonies, even if it meant risking losing their jobs
Suspended animation is poised to move from science fiction to reality: scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle have successfully used hydrogen sulphide gas to induce a state of reversible hibernation in mammals for the first time, using methods that could eventually be applied to human beings. The breakthrough promises to allow doctors to slow human metabolism almost to a standstill, protecting critically ill patients from damage to the brain and other organs that would normally be inflicted by oxygen deprivation
I can’t believe it’s a Full size stuffed Tiger – Only $149 with the purchase of a new CPU or Tiger OS X!. So what are they gonna offer for MS’s Longhorn?
Succint article on: The Difficulty with Originality
Li’l Brudder vs. Li’l Brudder
John Gruber’s: Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Adobe’s ‘FAQ’ Regarding Their Acquisition of Macromedia
Howl’s Moving Castle trailers. Same guys who did Spirited Away.
Google has added a My Search History feature to its online search engine that allows users to view past searches. The technology also lets them search inside the results to quickly retrieve a page they visited in the past. The feature will provide visitors with a relevant history, such as the number of searches performed and the last time they visited a Web page, as well as an overview of similar searches
Victoria may become the first Australian state to use electronic voting, with the Victorian Electoral Commission looking into using electronic systems for the 2006 state election. An Electoral Commission spokesman said that the current project was about making voting easier and more private for people with disabilities, rather than a test of e-voting technology for wider use. This is not about introducing wide-scale electronic voting at the next state election,
spokesman Doug Beecroft said
Sony and Toshiba, which support the Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD formats respectively, are actively discussing the possibility of a single format. Should they manage to agree on a single format, and gain the acceptance of other companies backing the respective formats, it would benefit both consumers and the electronics and entertainment industries
Google Maps UK and Google Local UK have been launched, confirming speculations that the search engine giant would continue to expand its regional services to an international audience
Adobe buying Macromedia:
Macromedia + Adobe
Adobe snaps up Macromedia
Adobe and Macromedia
Adobe Buys Macromedia
Adobe now becomes your one stop graphics giant, no more mix ‘n’ match apps.
Update: Adobe, ‘Rich Internet Applications’ and Standards
Suggested company names: Macrobe, Macrobedia, Adobemedia (boring), Macdobe (comes with fries).
Update: Love Dave Shea’s article title: Macrodobia
Elwood (Woody) Norris has invented a working flying machine, AirScooter. He asked one of his test pilots to demonstrate it for 60 Minutes on a hilltop outside San Diego, California. It can fly for two hours at 90 km/h, and go up to 3,000 metres above sea level. This week, he will receive America’s top prize for invention. It’s called the Lemelson-MIT award — a half-million dollar cash prize to honor his life’s work, which includes a brand new personal flying machine. Woody Norris’ and others’ inventions are for NASA’s The Highway in the Sky
. It is a computer system designed to let millions of people fly whenever they please, and take off and land from wherever they please, in their very own vehicles — via Slashdot
Many of the world’s largest organisations are turning their backs on outsourcing and one in four are actively bringing services back in-house. A survey from Deloitte Consulting reveals that 70% of respondents have had significant negative experiences with outsourced projects
Adobe is to buy Macromedia in a stock transaction valued at US$3.4 billion that will see the formation of a content-creation behemoth. The deal, announced early on Monday morning in the US, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005, subject to shareholder approval. Bruce Chizen will continue as Adobe’s chief executive and Shantanu Narayen will remain president and chief operating officer. Macromedia chief executive Stephen Elop will join Adobe as president of worldwide field operations
Lesli Reed-Brennan, a 19-year-old Los Angeles woman, has sued AOL saying that a former monitor of its kids only
chat room seduced her online when she was a lonely teenager, persuading her to send him nude photos of herself and to engage in phone sex. It appears that AOL is being sued for Lesli’s own stupidity
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