BackupBluray rip utility released » WesleyTech.com -> HD DVD, Blu-ray, CD info and more
The person (muslix64) behind the infamous BackupHDDVD utility and the subsequent appearance of HD DVD torrents is at it again, this time with his sights set on the Blu-ray Disc format.
Dap: /.
Apparently, the Recording Industry Association of America, does not understand the industry the represent. This is apparent in the arrest of DJ Drama, a prominent mixtape artist.
On Tuesday night he was arrested with Don Cannon, a protégé. The police, working with the Recording Industry Association of America, raided his office, at 147 Walker Street in Atlanta. The association makes no distinction between counterfeit CDs and unlicensed compilations like those that DJ Drama is known for. So the police confiscated 81,000 discs, four vehicles, recording gear, and “other assets that are proceeds of a pattern of illegal activity,” said Chief Jeffrey C. Baker, from the Morrow, Ga., police department, which participated in the raid.
The point of this post is not about the legality of Drama’s trade. It is probably illegal. Especially when he uses copyrighted content, or signed artists without permission. But lets face it, mixtapes ARE a firm part of the Hip-Hop culture, and if you are going to trade in Hip-Hop culture you should understand all of its aspects. Not only that but Drama was doing what the Industry should have been doing, which is identifying and cultivating new talent, and providing publicity, and more importantly credibility to artists. Recording companies benefited from what Drama was doing.
I must admit DJ Drama could have avoided jail altogether. The moment he received a C&D letter he should have closed shop, hired a GREAT IP lawyer, and started negotiating profit sharing with the industry.
The most interesting comment is below:
There have been mixtape busts before: in 2005, five employees of Mondo Kim’s, in the East Village in New York, were jailed after the store was found to be selling unlicensed mixtapes. But the arrest of a figure as prominent as DJ Drama is unprecedented. Record companies usually portray the fight against piracy as a fight for artists’ rights, but this case complicates that argument: most of DJ Drama’s mixtapes begin with enthusiastic endorsements from the artists themselves.
The Cat’s out of the bag. The RIAA anti-piracy campaign is about protecting the income of record companies, not artists. Moral of the story: don’t use signed artists for your mixedtape.
When the iPhone becomes available in June, you’ll be able to buy ringtones through iTunes. I came to that conclusion when I read this :
IPhone Fans and Foes Clash Online - WSJ.com
What will be missing from Apple’s iPhone — in spite of its cooperation with Cingular — is Media Net, Cingular’s wireless portal, where phone users can browse the Web and buy ringtones and games. Mr. Siegel declined to comment on what kind of features will eventually be available on the iPhone.
… And the sheep will actually pay for them. $.99 rigtones has GOT to be the biggest scam in the world. You pay the SAME price you would for a full length song but only get 20 sec. Anyway, your gonna pay 5 or 6 hundred dollars to Apple for phone, don’t give them any more. The article linked uses Audacity but if you have an iPhone, you probably have a Mac, which means you probably have iLife, which means you probably have GarageBand, which probably a MUCH better choice for editing audio files.
… if the Commission to Strengthen Confidence in Congress Act of 2007 passes. That is what Richard Viguerie is saying I haven’t made up my mind about it yet. The part of the bill in question is Sec. 220. Disclosure of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots Lobbying. You have to view that section in light of section 1602 & 1603 of Title 2 of the Unites States Code. And as the say “the Devil is in the details.”
UPDATE:
This is apparently moot. The Senate has voted to strike this section from the Bill. 48 of the 49 Republican Senators voted to remove section 220 along with 7 Democratic Senators . Click here to see how your Senator voted. Unfortunately both of my Senators voted to keep 220.
Dap: /.
CNN has the story Secret court to monitor domestic spying program
What is interesting is this:
“Accordingly, under these circumstances, the President has determined not to reauthorize the Terrorist Surveillance Program when the current authorization expires,” the attorney general wrote.
From that it obvious that the spy program is about extending Executive Power and NOT about a finding terrorist. And the reason the President doesn’t want over site on this program is that the KNOWS he is going to be preforming surveillance without ANY legal reason to do so.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Dap: /.
President Bush signs bill banning pretexting
President Bush has signed the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 into law, making the practice of pretexting illegal. Under the new law, anyone attempting to “knowingly and intentionally” acquire the phone records of a third party by making false representations to a phone company or selling such illegally obtained records will face up to ten years in prison and fines. The penalty can be increased for offenses involving over 50 victims.
I’m interested in seeing the signing statement. It would not surprise me if he has reserved the right for law enforcement to use pretexting to gather evidence, in his “War on Terror.” But then again, my do they need pretexting at all. They could just right a letter.
Don’t look for the Hobbit anytime soon. And if it does come out thier is a good chance it will suck. Why, because Peter Jackson will not be doing it.
Pentagon and CIA snooping Americans’ financial records
In the wake of 9/11, the FBI was given the power to issue demands, in the form of “national security letters,” for records from financial institutions like banks and credit card companies. Compliance with these demands is compulsory.The NYT story reveals that the Pentagon and the CIA have been issuing their own, “non-compulsory” versions of the letters that the banks can choose to contest in court. Apparently, banks and other financial institutions are choosing to cough up the documents, and both agencies have used them to obtain information on hundreds of American citizens.
This Ars Technica article goes on to point out that normally the Military is prohibited from enforcing domestic law and thew CIA is prohibited from spying in the US.
Pentagon officials said they used the letters to follow up on a variety of intelligence tips or leads. While they would not provide details about specific cases, military intelligence officials with knowledge of them said the military had issued the letters to collect financial records regarding a government contractor with unexplained wealth, for example …
(link)
That is of course stupid because They could have (should have) done a background check on the contractor before award the contract. No letter would be needed. I wish the government was this diligent when it come to control wait fraud and abuse by contractors in Iraq.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Next thing you know your new roommate shows up say he has been assigned to “quarter” in your house. For the legally impaired that is in violation of Amendment III.
RSA Security - Press Release - RSA Alert: New Universal Man-in-the-Middle Phishing Kit Discovered
BEDFORD, Mass, Wednesday, January 10, 2007 — RSA, The Security Division of EMC, (NYSE: EMC) announced today that its 24×7 Anti-Fraud Command Center (AFCC) has uncovered a new phishing kit being sold and used online by fraudsters.This new kit, a Universal Man-in-the-Middle Phishing Kit, is designed to facilitate new and sophisticated attacks against global organizations in which the victims communicate with a legitimate web site via a fraudulent URL set by the fraudster. This allows the fraudster to capture victims’ personal information in real-time.
Who ! This hacker is impressed. Even though phishers are becoming more sophisticated, You should remember that in order for a phisher to get you must access HIS fraudulent site. As a long as you don’t do that he can’t get you. A while back I posted some tips to keep you safe from phishers. They still work.
This doesn’t make sense to me. The United States of America is the universally accepted model for modern democracy. We Where the first modern Nation to allow it citizens to CHOOSE its leaders, instead of that mantle being inherited, or won in a bloody war of succession. We have sent monitors, to watch and safe guard the elections of fledging democracies, yet in Wired I read a story about Congressman Vern Buchanan (R) from Florida. He is being sued because of the software running the electronic voting machines.
Wired News: House Seat Hangs by a Byte
As the 110th Congress settles into the Capitol building this month, one congressman won’t be able to get too comfortable in his chair, with a controversy over the electronic voting machines that put him in office boiling down to a battle over the source code.Republican Vern Buchanan claimed Florida’s 13th Congressional District seat last November by fewer than 400 votes, while some 18,000 ballots cast in Sarasota County mysteriously contained no vote either for Buchanan or his Democratic opponent Christine Jennings — an anomaly that prompted Jennings to challenge the election results in a lawsuit against state election officials, Buchanan and the company that makes the machines.
Three things :
Boys and Girls, The way to rig an election is to intercept the data, (i.e. the votes) before they get counted and and added to the official totals. Assuming this can be done, simply blanking the votes, that come from a district that poles heavily for your opponent, would have the desired effect.