Ars Technica (and other outlets) are reporting that via the ‘DisplayPort’ external video adaptor, Apple has placed an HDCP-like DRM chokehold on iTunes-purchased video playback from its new MacBook and MacBook Pro models to a big-screen monitor. This is a consumer rights issue in more ways than one, including some pretty serious and unprecedented ways (at least in the Apple world).
Read MoreRED has finally released new details of their highly anticipated new Scarlett and Epic digital cinema cameras. Earlier this year, RED had pulled details of Scarlett and Epic in order to do a redesign of the cameras, citing that the camera market had totally changed and that they had to change as well to stay ahead. Dubbed the DSMC (Digital Still and Motion Camera), the Scarlett and Epic cameras are now the centre of a totally modular and customizable digital camera system. Built around the updated Mysterium sensor inside a…
Read MoreIt’s been a long time coming, but the CRTC is only days away from ruling on the 3rd party ISP throttling issue. At the heart of the matter is whether Bell, the nation’s largest DSL provider should be able to throttle the traffic of wholesale 3rd party ISPs. There has been much evidence presented in the past that Bell has misrepresented the extent of P2P (bit torrent) traffic on said networks, and despite claims to be targeting said traffic, slowed down traffic across the board. With the delays in the…
Read MoreThe world’s junk mail folders are breathing a sigh of relief today: The servers are operated by McColo Corp., which these experts say has emerged as a major U.S. hosting service for international firms and syndicates that are involved in everything from the remote management of millions of compromised computers to the sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and designer goods, fake security products and child pornography via email. But the company’s web site was not accessible today, when two Internet providers cut off MoColo’s connectivity to the Internet, security experts said….
Read MoreIf you use WPA to secure your WiFi router (What? You’re using WEP? What’s the matter with you?), it’s time to switch to WPA2. That’s because Erik Tews who is best known for cracking WEP in under a minute has cracked WPA. The scary part is that he can do this in 15 minutes because of a “mathematical breakthrough” that he made: The attack, described as the first practical attack on WPA, will be discussed at the PacSec conference in Tokyo next week. There, researcher Erik Tews will show how…
Read MoreOriginally published in Marketing Magazine, October 31, 2008 | By Canadian Press, with files from Chris Powell The CRTC says Canadians will get more choices in the television programs they watch at no additional cost under new rules the broadcast regulator plans to introduce. The federal regulator’s vision of Canadian television in the future would allow cable and satellite operators to provide a wider menu of conventional and specialty channels, as long as the entire package contains at least 51% Canadian content. CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said Thursday there…
Read MoreThe Wall Street Journal has raised the spectre of smartphones replacing laptops, not even realising, it seems, that it is a spectre. Apple’s “cutting-edge” iPhone is held up throughout the article, without a hint of irony, as the prime example of the sort of device that the author sees one day bumping your main mobile computer into a Sarlacc Pit. No mention at all is made of the completely closed and capriciously-controlled nature of application development through the iPhone’s App Store (practical unofficial alternatives to which, in a 180-degree turn…
Read MoreThe CRTC has once again delayed it’s decision regarding Bell Canada’s practice of throttling it’s 3rd party DSL wholesalers. We SHOULD be expecting an answer in November according to the CBC, but until then, Bell will continue dialing back bandwidth. CAIP said Bell had broken the Telecommunications Act by changing the terms of its wholesale service without giving its members notice. Bell countered by saying the throttling is necessary to prevent congestion, which is within its network management rights. Of course, as we reported back in the spring, Bell’s claim…
Read MoreDoth Microsoft protest too much? Last week we reported on a rumour stating that the Xbox 360 would be getting its own Blu Ray player by as early as the end of this year. And there was much rejoicing. But Microsoft has again banished that rumour to way outside the Garden of Things I Actually Want, and reminded all of us, the consumers, that you bought your 360 to play GAMES on, not watch movies. As we’ve said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on….
Read MoreNever one to shy away from an excuse to take centre stage and bask in the applause of the Fanbois, Steve Jobs and the iCrew today stepped up and introduced the next generation of Macbooks, Macbook Airs and Macbook Pros. The changes are largely cosmetic with some better-than modest speed bumps and an impressive new graphics card. Specs are as follows:
Read MoreThe Tokyo Game Show in Japan wrapped up last Sunday, leaving in its wake a a record 879 new titles and updates designed to please pretty much everyone. Nintendo is a perennial no-show at TGS, but that didn’t stop developers from debuting a slew of games for the DS. In fact, the number of DS games debuted topped the list of titles for any platform. Perhaps not surprisingly, the next strongest showing was for mobile phone games. Despite this year’s lame theme, “Ready for GAME time” (I guess the title…
Read MoreBecause they do things like this [quoted from the company’s ‘unofficial’ human web portal, Matt Cutts]… Randall Monroe, the creator of xkcd, suggested that if YouTube commenters had to listen to their comments read back to them aloud, it might lead to better discussion on YouTube. Some Googlers thought that was a pretty fun suggestion, so they did it. YouTube now has an audio preview so you can listen to your comment before you post it. I love that Google had the sense of humor to add this feature. Click…
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