Slashdot Mirror

...is if my iBong is included.

Wired [goatse.cx]

The states released a June 2000 RH Linux e-mail that showed a plan for Linux's media player to play music files in proprietary formats by rivals RealNetworks and Apple.

"Remember the 'embrace and extend' campaigns we've used in the past," RH Linux employee Frasier Mocke wrote to colleagues, "and personally I want us to rule the airwaves."

Another RH Linux executive, Dave Foster, cut the discussion short: "No more replies," he wrote. "We need to keep all of this off the airwaves."

EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
Resistance is Futile!

security through obscurity = modding down anti-linux posts so maybe noone will see them

Wired [goatse.cx]

The states released a June 2000 Microsoft e-mail that showed a plan for Microsoft's media player to play music files in proprietary formats by rivals RealNetworks and Apple.

"Remember the 'embrace and extend' campaigns we've used in the past," Microsoft employee Frasier Mocke wrote to colleagues, "and personally I want us to rule the airwaves."

Another Microsoft executive, Dave Foster, cut the discussion short: "No more replies," he wrote. "We need to keep all of this off the airwaves."

EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
Resistance is Futile!

security through obscurity = modding down anti-linux posts so maybe noone will see them

Wired

The states released a June 2000 Microsoft e-mail that showed a plan for Microsoft's media player to play music files in proprietary formats by rivals RealNetworks and Apple.

"Remember the 'embrace and extend' campaigns we've used in the past," Microsoft employee Frasier Mocke wrote to colleagues, "and personally I want us to rule the airwaves."

Another Microsoft executive, Dave Foster, cut the discussion short: "No more replies," he wrote. "We need to keep all of this off the airwaves."

EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
EMBRACE AND EXTEND!!!
Resistance is Futile!

Likely outcome of the bust left as an exercise for the reader.

Living in a lucky country where the economic measures didn't even shorten stride as they gallop into the unknown, I have noted a few other people starting to bemoan the degree to which money is starting to get in the way of even the simplest things which are essential to our very humanity ... from seeing friends to putting one person's junk to the service of some less demanding cause.

But every day it looks more likely that we do not have to wait till after the boom for depression, but that depression has already set in, both for those whose ever harder work continues to underpin the indicators and for those struggling to find their way into the loop.

There is something primitively natural in the cycle of long growth and rapid death which flies in the face of human aspirations to fairness, the kind of overgrowth which our granting veto to the bean counters has made has made an inescapable aspiration of every human institution ... and at which those best at spreading FUD continue to have the greatest success, be they involved in hyping upgrades or the war against drugs.

So you don't have to wait for the depression to follow Wired's long boom, you just have to look around and ask people how they feel.

Like the letter sent back to Microsoft says: how will I know that the software being used to count votes -->8-- is working as it should if I don't have full access to the system running it???

Of course that's in Australia, not the USA. And it used the grotesquely complex Hare-Clarke voting system, far more complex than the USA's trivially simple first-past-the-post. One more thing - the system doesn't just electronically count the votes, it's an electronic voting system too, for multiple languages, with help for the visually-impaired so they can cast their vote in secret, and so on. Sounds as if it's just what Peru needs.

So why don't the people in the US demand something better than the system you've got? Over 2 U.

Look, here's another one! Wow, is someone selling a book on how to do these scams?

Anyone else remember pixelon? You'd think investers would learn from their past mistakes...

Wired mag ran a story last year about a guy with a similar scam. P.T. Barnum rules!

With Bill Joy's alarmist speil about nanobots replicating out of control, this is hardly good PR for nanotech. I mean, viruses? We're talking about the most evil self-replicating things we can find, throw them in with nanotech and it doesn't exactly make a good association.

Now I'm not particularly worried about these custom virii infecting humans, particularly if they're using virii that don't infect multicellular organisms (like the very cool bacteriophage virus). I think the laymen will, however, and the last thing I want to see if governments restricting nanotech the way they are clamping down on biotech.

Websurfing done right! StumbleUpon

...and this is coming from someone who just spent several hours learning all about the painful ins & outs of cross-platform/cross-browser Flash player plug-in detection...

For certain applications, Flash works wonderfully _and_ far better than anything else out there. I am thinking in particular of short animations (with or without limited interaction) that can demonstrate ideas/diagrams/or tell a story.

BTW, I work in educational R&D so I see great examples of this stuff used all the time to complement web-based curricula. Sure, it can't be indexed by a search engine, but it's there to _illuminate_ the ideas stated in the text; i.e. to enhance it, not to replace it.

Sure, Flash can be abused (as many advertisers have done, and designers who want to use it as their entire tookit); However, the Flash-haters on /. are confusing the abuse of a general purpose tool (with some flaws that are being corrected) with the "dastardly deeds" done with it.

BTW, how does /. usually respond to attacks on general purpose tools that some people are attacking based on a relatively minor domain of applications that they dislike? (hint: CSS, copyable-CDs, PVRs, reverse-engineering tools...) ...Sigh...

Yes, most Flash ads suck. And so do 90% of Flash-heavy sites. This problem won't be corrected by removing a particular tool - the crappy designers will just migrate to SVG/Real/WM/etc. Besides, banning/spitting on something disliked is the RIAA/MPAA way of doing things.

If we're such geeks we should be proposing/creating superior tools that are better focused on what Flash is best at, or improving Flash ourselves. Nope, I guess it's just easier to bitch about it.

Yes I do

From news.com.com:

Jerry Sanders, chief executive of computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, also conceded he had not read the states' proposed sanctions ...

"You've never checked to this day whether what Mr. Gates told you...was true in the remedies," Gutman challenged. Sanders agreed he had not read the states' proposals.

From the Register:

And in written testimony to the court, Sanders quotes from AMD's annual report: "If we fail to retain the support and certifications of Microsoft, our ability to market our processors could be materially adversely affected." (Remember, this is a witness for Microsoft.)

Back to news.com.com:

Gates' appearance next week would be his first in-person appearance at the trial. In the main portion of the trial, Gates appeared in a videotaped deposition. In portions of that videotape, Gates repeatedly answered questions with "I don't know" and "I don't recall." His statements were frequently contradicted by e-mails he had sent and received, and he frequently claimed no recollection of the messages.

Even Business Week, in a generally flattering review of Gates' testimony, leads with:

Is Bill Gates Doing Himself Any Favors?
He's poised and confident on the stand, a far cry from his deposition during the antitrust trial. But maybe he shouldn't be there at all

Good old news.com.com again:

During cross-examination Wednesday, states' attorney Steven Kuney brought up the issue of Windows XP Embedded, a version of Windows made for gas pumps and other machines that contains the core elements of Windows but doesn't necessarily contain browsers or messaging software, depending on how it is configured.

Kuney asked Gates if Windows XP Embedded could be installed on PCs. Gates responded, "You could configure it for that."

But Gates said he didn't know of anyone who had done such a thing, later acknowledging that one reason is because Microsoft doesn't license XP Embedded for that purpose.

Back to the Register:

One of the exhibits in the previous stages of the Microsoft antitrust trial included an email from one Chris Jones, recommending to Bill Gates that the binding of IE into Windows should be such that users would find running rival browsers "a jolting experience." At the time many people, not least of them the Department of Justice, seemed to think that this and other associated exhibits were all about the anticompetitive tying of IE into Windows in order to destroy Netscape. But apparently not - MS Windows exec Chris, taking the stand yesterday, put forward an explanation of almost patentable novelty.

What he meant, he said, was that the experience would be jolting for good reasons if it occurred because of the "great innovations" that integration of IE brought to Windows. So presumably you could think about the new versions of IE Microsoft was designing as being truly wondrous, and that users would therefore find use of the comparatively stone age rival products truly unpleasant.
...
Another interesting point was brought up by States' attorney Kevin Hodges, who established that the proposed MS-DoJ settlement had less teeth to it than appears at first glance. Under this deal PC manufacturers will have the right to install rival companies' software, but it's still feasible for Microsoft to bar them from running Netscape when the computer is first turned on. Jones seems to have argued that as IE was a part of Windows, Microsoft didn't have to give OEMs the right to run Netscape. (So much for Microsoft allowing competition on the desktop.)

Now from Wired:

Several companies, as well as the nine states, argue that Microsoft adopted open technology standards only to make them proprietary later, forcing many to use Microsoft products. Sutherland said he did not study any records of Microsoft's conduct.

"You did not take into consideration Microsoft's past conduct in these proceedings?" Schmidtlein asked.

"Only as background," Sutherland said, adding that he didn't find it relevant.

And again from news.com.com:

But under questioning from the states' lawyer, Sutherland acknowledged that he knew little about Microsoft's past anti-competitive conduct and had no experience with the kind of Web-based services at issue in the case.
...
Sutherland said any company that wants to compete in the telecommunications business must make its technologies work seamlessly with other companies' services.
...
Under questioning from states' attorney John Schmidtlein, however, Sutherland conceded he had no direct experience with Web-based messaging and was only part of a small group at Qwest that is studying the possibility of getting into the business of Web-based messaging.

He also admitted the group was formed less than a month ago--nearly two months after Microsoft named him as a witness in the antitrust case.

"My intention is to offer the court an understanding of how the communications world works," Sutherland told the judge. "My testimony is not specific to Microsoft's behavior on the Windows desktop."

As someone said, if this represents the level and quality of Microsoft's legal team's trial prep, you have to wonder how much they're getting paid.

They may have lost their Linux Exec, but they recently acquired Whitfield Diffie! (For those not aware, Whitfield Diffie is one of the inventors of public-key cryptography, the technology used in PGP and elsewhere)

Actually with the latest virus (klez.gem) you can't rely on the "from" line of emails. It is enough that both your email and Hemos are in an infected machine for this to happen. Read Wired for more info.
So don't jump to conclusions.

I agree with you that the CBDTPA is terrible but I think that the nature of your question is the wrong one. The fundamental problem here is that we do not need any news laws. I realize, of course, that it isn't legislatively sexy, or politically gainful for a budding Senator to say that but it's the truth.

The proponents of the bill claim that the current anti-piracy measures are insufficient, and unless "something" is done the "Content Production Industry" will collapse. And, they claim that if this industry collapses nothing new will ever be created. As proof of the damage they cite the lack of Consumer Broadband and Digital Television, as well as declining CD Sales.

As Carnivore and magic-lantern demonstrate governments can track user behavior online. And, they are exploiting those abilities to the utmost. They have been focusing on terrorism lately, but they can always turn their eyes to copyright infringement if they wish. I believe that those tracking powers are too great and need to be reigned in not expanded, but that is a discussion for another time.

Therefore, despite what the "Content Production Industry" claims, the existing laws can be enforced. We do not need to change the underlying code in order to make it more difficult to trade files, nor do we need to make otherwise legal activities (such as fair use) illegal for fear of theft. Such bills only punish the vast majority in order to catch the few, and in so doing, go against the whole point of criminal justice; to defend the majority, not persecute them.

Digital Television and Broadband have been held up by competing standards, low demand, unfair competition, and the last-mile problem. Despite what the bill "finds" the lack of demand is the fault of a number of factors not potential piracy. Even if it was, that lack of demand is not a social problem requiring government efforts. The rpbolem is one for the marketing departments not public servants.

When you consider CD-Sales the same problem of proof exists. When Napster was at its zenith (at the height of the tech boom), CD Sales were up. Now, in the midst of a U.S. recession, they are down. Doubtless copying is part of this but, how much? And, does that impact justify increasing the prices on most consumer electronic products, and making life more difficult for consumers, electronics producers, and even copyright holders? Again the proponents of the bill have not offered any hard proof. The same goes for Movies, books and other cultural works.

Lastly and most importantly, the whole point of copyright law is to encourage the production of "science and useful arts..." It is not intended to create or sustain a publishing industry. Despite what Jack Valenti says they have not proven that the current state of affairs will reduce the number of authors, musicians and filmmakers out there. All that they have shown is that it may reduce the number of publishers out there.

The bottom line is; there is no proven compelling public need for this kind of legislation. If anything the need is to examine the charges of price-fixing and stifling competition that have been leveled at the industry and to examine the digital tracking of the Justice Department.

The clear avenue here is not to do nothing but to prevent harm from being caused.

From that wired story.: *

"When someone provides a link without my permission ... the user may experience something different from what I intended when I established my website"
- Bruce Sunstein, I.P. law attorney

Aaahhh. So people aren't getting his whole website experience? Well I guess they'd better outlaw those of us who have Javascript turned off, then. Or those of us not using IE5. Or those of us who block ad.doubleclick.net. Or those of us who disable flash, and disable looping animations.

And then the whole web breaks, because nobody will be able to read anything. It'll be like watching Sky-1, having 20 minutes of adverts per 5 minutes of programming.

I'm glad that deep-linking is still, as always, completely legal.

* Oops, maybe I shouldn't post that link. Better go to the front page, and good luck trying to find the article!

From that wired story.: *

"When someone provides a link without my permission ... the user may experience something different from what I intended when I established my website"
- Bruce Sunstein, I.P. law attorney

Aaahhh. So people aren't getting his whole website experience? Well I guess they'd better outlaw those of us who have Javascript turned off, then. Or those of us not using IE5. Or those of us who block ad.doubleclick.net. Or those of us who disable flash, and disable looping animations.

And then the whole web breaks, because nobody will be able to read anything. It'll be like watching Sky-1, having 20 minutes of adverts per 5 minutes of programming.

I'm glad that deep-linking is still, as always, completely legal.

* Oops, maybe I shouldn't post that link. Better go to the front page, and good luck trying to find the article!

It is surprising, but sadly it might violate existing copyright laws according to this Wired article.

-Dracken

Herbal remedies on a Mac.

Oh yes, I have just the thing for you. Ladies and gentlemen, the iBong!

Inhale and enjoy...

Grab.

Wired : Doom Goes To War
They were training marines with Doom of all things....
Real marines can look up/down AND jump!
heh... ;)
-=CHUD

"...there was a new and "very interesting" feature included. Anti-viral experts said they'd yet to identify anything particularly interesting."

I just spent the last two days fighting this virus in a 125 seat company. Although in the end only a half dozen boxes were infected, the impression end users got was that the virus was on everybodys computer.

It was easy to find the infected computers once I realized that the "REPLY-TO" address in the header reflected the actual sender.

I see in one Wired article that folks worry what sort of message that Klez sends about them. I don't know about them in particular (since the From line is spooked) but Klez tells me that there are still a lot of stupid people using Micorsoft mail programs!

People signing up for newsletters and mailing lists that they never subscribed to has been a major source of frustration for both users and the list owners.

If Klez happens to send an e-mail "from" a user to an e-mail list's automatic subscribe address, the list software assumes the e-mail is a valid subscription request and begins sending mail to the user.

Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org)

Linux and FreeBSD have converted hundreds of thousands if not millions of desktops, systems, servers and people to using something other than Microsoft. I was running a straight up Microsoft shop/ISP. And, I was converted for both personal and corporate use. The magnitude of Linux machines running out there on personal PCs should tell you they are eating up Microsoft territory. That is why Microsoft Blasts the GPL every chance they get (I am not a fan of GPL either - prefer BSD License, another Open Source / Free Source license).

The real story here is that Steve can't stop the whole "I am the best acid trippin' visionary ever" mantra long enough to target his marketplace. He is still competing with the wrong company. You really want to live off Sun's drop-offs? Come on! Sun does not have a lock on any decent share of the desktop market. Macs are NOT Servers! They are visual development and personal computing tools.

:)

Think over!

In a speech last week, [Commerce Department undersecretary for intellectual property] Rogan said that "negotiations are presently underway among hardware manufacturers and content owners to develop improved means for protecting online content," and legislators should wait for results before voting on a proposal such as the Hollings bill.

"Before Congress rushes into the imposition of a legislative solution," Rogan said, "I hope its members will grant more time for the free market to find its own middle ground."

And what will the "standard" require? Well, for starters, all tech will have to be "tamper-resistant," which means that you won't be able to tinker with the hardware and software you own. Open source will be illegal.

Those devices that are allowed will only be permitted to incorporate cables and media that limit copying. And new technologies will only be added to the list of permitted tech if Hollywood says so (the standard that the studios have proposed for evaluating new tech is "We'll know it when we see it").

Imagine it: HDTV devices and computers that interface with them will only be allowed to incorporate broken technologies that Hollywood permits. If your computer monitor doesn't include the "approved" inputs, it will be against the law for your computer to output a digital video stream to it. The manufacturer will have two choices:

1. Add a second input that uses a "protected" method (you'll need two wires to connect your computer to your monitor)
   
2. Take away the "unprotected" input and just use one, "protected" wire, which means that you won't be able to buy a computer that allows you to do anything you want with the video that you make on your own
   

Don't let 'em fool you -- CBDTPA is just another way of spelling BPDG, and it's a-comin' soon. The BPDG says it'll have its standard finalized by May 17, and no one's even noticing. The BPDG meetings are public (though they cost $100 to attend). There's one coming up in LA on Monday, and wouldn't it be sweet if a couple hundred of us showed up to tell 'em what we think?

The man's name is Carlos Slim Helù. Fear him.

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50754,00 . tml

Selected paragraphs from the article:

During a packed hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, Democrats appeared far more eager for the government to intervene in what has become a highly visible tussle between Silicon Valley, which advocates a laissez-faire approach, and the Hollywood firms lobbying Congress to step in to prevent piracy....

Republicans appeared much more skeptical of the SSSCA -- which is, after all, championed by a Democratic committee chairman -- and argued legislation would be too interventionist.

In the 2000 election cycle, the entertainment industry gave Democrats a whopping $24.2 million in contributions compared to $13.3 million to Republicans, according to figures compiled by opensecrets.org....

Israel is reportedly developing a biological weapon that would harm Arabs while leaving Jews unaffected, according to a report in London's Sunday Times.

The report, citing Israeli military and western intelligence sources, says that scientists are trying to identify distinctive genes carried by Arabs to create a genetically modified bacterium or virus.

The "ethno-bomb" is reportedly Israel's response to the threat that Iraq may be just weeks away from completing its own biological weapons.

Wired had this great story about compact macs in Japan which, among other things, showed a G3 powerbook's innards ported to a Mac 128K enclosure, running OS X on the original 9" b/w 512.384 screen.

What's that steaming puddle of plastic for?"

Duuuuuuuuude! It's my Mac Bong, man!

Poor Baby.

• More on Is rael's ethno-weapons

The report, citing Israeli military and western intelligence sources, says that scientists are trying to identify distinctive genes carried by Arabs to create a genetically modified bacterium or virus.

The "ethno-bomb" is reportedly Israel's response to the threat that Iraq may be just weeks away from completing its own biological weapons.

The "ethno-bomb" program is based at Israel's Nes Tziyona research facility. Scientists are trying to use viruses and bacteria to alter DNA inside living cells and attack only those cells bearing Arabic genes.

The task is very complex because both Arabs and Jews are Semitic peoples. But according to the report, the Israelis have succeeded in isolating particular characteristics of certain Arabs, "particularly the Iraqi people."

Dedi Zucker, a member of the Israeli parliament, denounced the research in the Sunday Times. "Morally, based on our history, and our tradition and our experience, such a weapon is monstrous and should be denied."

Last month, Foreign Report claimed that Israel was following in the ignominious footsteps of apartheid-era research, in their supposed efforts to develop an "ethnic bullet."

• Going as far as laws on music

• More on Is rael's ethno-weapons

The report, citing Israeli military and western intelligence sources, says that scientists are trying to identify distinctive genes carried by Arabs to create a genetically modified bacterium or virus.

The "ethno-bomb" is reportedly Israel's response to the threat that Iraq may be just weeks away from completing its own biological weapons.

The "ethno-bomb" program is based at Israel's Nes Tziyona research facility. Scientists are trying to use viruses and bacteria to alter DNA inside living cells and attack only those cells bearing Arabic genes.

The task is very complex because both Arabs and Jews are Semitic peoples. But according to the report, the Israelis have succeeded in isolating particular characteristics of certain Arabs, "particularly the Iraqi people."

Dedi Zucker, a member of the Israeli parliament, denounced the research in the Sunday Times. "Morally, based on our history, and our tradition and our experience, such a weapon is monstrous and should be denied."

Last month, Foreign Report claimed that Israel was following in the ignominious footsteps of apartheid-era research, in their supposed efforts to develop an "ethnic bullet."

• Going as far as laws on music

For those who didn't read it, Bill Joy wrote a thoughtful article back in April 2000 in Wired Magazine, entitled Why the Future Doesn't need Us.

Joy argues that, with the advent of Genetic Engineering, Nanotechnology, and Robotics (GNR), normal (non-modified, non-cybernetic) humans will be outdated and perhaps unable to compete. He makes a good argument, and there have been a large number of responses to his article.

Here's another page with a lot of related info.

Bill Joy isn't a Luddite either. We can thank him for Java & vi (for better and for worse...) He's definitely well versed in technology and social interactions...

Here it is.
Thought I would still prefer the breaking m$ in 5 pieces
and force open the APIs solution.

I think it would be really cool to "upgrade" it to OSX like in this article. I wouldn't tear into my old Mac Plus, but I'd love to buy a used one and upgrade it.

Here's the link to the picture of a Mac SE running OS X. I'm psyched. That's really cool. Beige all the way. ;-)

Anyone have a link where we can find out how to do this?

This story immediately reminded me of some of the RIAA plans to hack your home machines (also mentioned here). I can't wait for the day when the big virus/trojan du jour hammering corporate networks and bringing down servers right and left turns out to be from the RIAA or MPAA.

"We were just protecting our copyrights, it's not our fault that your payroll files were lost!"

Pipe into hell

If Microsoft continues to control the software industry, and is allowed to continue on their "our fair share is 100% of everything" path of destruction, there won't be enough jobs in the industry to continue with the growth that we've seen in the past 10 years.

When Microsoft has "full reign", they will buy as many politicians as it takes to make Open Source and Linux a "European Thing" (and then it will end up being a "wasn't that something like Amiga?" thing), and work with the entertainment industry to make everybody's computer system a micro-payment paradise of pay to hear/pay to see media content. AOL will fall, as Microsoft will just add a message box that says something like "AOL software is incompatible with your system, please visit our MSN site".

What the Judge needs to think about is that there isn't one company in the world that would create a consumer level operating system right now, as they would have absolutely no hope of ever being able to sell it. Apple doesn't count here, as they are "blessed" by Microsoft.

This whole mess just makes me ill.

Here is the Wired article on it. The article was originally in the March 2002 magazine, which focused on AI (gaming and otherwise).

According to this this article Sharman Networks is planning on taking action against Kazaa Lite...i figure it wont be long till their network wont work properly with the program (much like Morpheous).

Oh well im sure those fun-loving Russians will fight back when it happens, should be fun to watch

The stinky old power plant isn't going to be very reliable when the coal runs out... and, once you factor in the costs of the environmental damage, cancer, and lawsuits, it probably isn't all that cheap either.

As far as solar power being problematic, that's true if you are thinking solely of collecting it via photovoltaic cells. But try doing it with Solar Chimneys or indirectly via windmills, and you'll find the cost/benefit ratio to be quite competitive. (factor in the long term environmental costs, and the fact that you don't have to keep digging up fuel, and these methods are much cheaper than coal!)

The stinky old power plant isn't going to be very reliable when the coal runs out... and, once you factor in the costs of the environmental damage, cancer, and lawsuits, it probably isn't all that cheap either.

As far as solar power being problematic, that's true if you are thinking solely of collecting it via photovoltaic cells. But try doing it with Solar Chimneys or indirectly via windmills, and you'll find the cost/benefit ratio to be quite competitive. (factor in the long term environmental costs, and the fact that you don't have to keep digging up fuel, and these methods are much cheaper than coal!)

http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,51977,00.htm l

The culprit, he discovered, was the cut-and-paste code provided to merchants by California-based PayPal for sending transaction data to the payment service. Examine the PayPal payment links closely and you could easily see where the software was stored on the server. If you pointed your browser accordingly, the software was yours without paying.

this is not playing nice

Yes but the U.S. Military is investigating on how to generate weather on demand. To own the sky as it were.

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these

What we need is a real technological solution, not a political solution to prevent this intrusion of our privacy - and even more it should be something doable in the USA

Funny you should mention that, as the lead story in todays wired is this:
A leash for carnavore

It's an open source system a guy has developed that encrypts all customer records, such that
1) No one can access them without an encryption key.
2) The only way it will provide a decryption key is upon being presented with an electronic request digitally signed by a judge.
3) The key it provides will ONLY decrypt the information specified by the judge and nothing more. No more abusing genuine warrents for overbroad fishing expeditions.

It's a great concept. It allows law enforcement all the data they are entitled to, and preclude rights-violations. And for this reason, law enforcement will probably fight it tooth and nail, and make sure it never gets used.

But an ISP in the USA that sells "secure, private" net access as a premium service could use this system as one hell of a selling point, and perhaps get the ball rolling. No overseas severs needed.

Great idea.

Actually, J Allard the head of MS' digital entertainment division (in charge of xBox) stated in a wired interview prior to the unit's release that he wanted to move prices down fairly rapidly, "to get the retail price to $100 as quickly as possible."

This may be a little faster than they had hoped to lower the price, but MS knows it's gonna take heavy losses to get the market penetration required to start making serious money on the software.