There's no evidence of an authentication chip beyond an iLounge review that sounds like speculation. 3rd-parties have already announced earphones and remotes for the new shuffle. The iLounge review did not dissect or attempt to reverse engineer the earphone controls, so I do not think they're qualified to be a authoritative source on what is or isn't inside the remote.
*scratches head* I think you're overreacting. Apple has never sued individuals over copyright infringements. Apple tends towards using DRM to lock down hardware (and being open about it - if you don't like it, don't use it) as opposed to software (aside from OSX - which can be argued is a form of brand name protection, from cheap knock-off computers - I believe they've had a lot of experience with this in the 1990s).
As far as music sharing goes, you can pull the MP3/M4A/etc. files right out of your iTunes directory (or just tell it to not move them there in the first place), and share them just fine. Unless you also consider music-playing phones and other devices that require some sync program for music to be evil, since you can't copy all the tracks straight off the device.
As far as the DMCA goes, perhaps it would be a better use of your time to lobby against it's existence, instead of complain about corporations (which are generally psychopathic, greedy entities - and are basically required to be by law) using the law to extend their own profits.
And the headphone plug is still a 3.5mm standard jack, and will play music through any headphones just fine. The control interface is what's missing, which I'm unaware of any standardization on.
Is the music player not also a digital device? It may not be DRM to the letter, but it's still technology to prevent you from freely interacting with your purchases.
It's not a digital purchase, which is where DRM comes into play. If the headphones stopped particular music tracks from playing? It'd be DRM. If the headphones gave you a low quality signal on certain tracks? It'd be DRM.
This is not DRM. It may not be the best situation ever, but it's not DRM - it's, as other people have noted, a 3rd-party accessory lock-in, at it's worst - which has reasons such as crap flooding the market that damages the devices, and can give Apple a bad name for their iPod having a high failure rate (instead of the no-name 3rd party accessory getting a bad name).
If you're calling this DRM because it "prevents" you from interacting with your music purchases (by lacking controls), then you need a serious reality check - since I can say that any MP3 player that doesn't have X feature is DRM, since it won't let me do X with my music.
That's going, as I've noted in another reply, on a single iLounge review. Not exactly a technical analysis of what's going on inside the earphones. It sounds more like a non-standard control chip, as opposed to a DRM chip.
See also my reply with the definition of Digital Rights Management (short version - the music is entirely unaffected and can play through any headphones).
Ah, you beat me to it (I replied below). This really doesn't seem anything beyond a non-standard control interface - particularly since it doesn't seem to fit the definition of "Digital Rights Management" at all. It more accurately fits "Physical Rights Management" - in terms of restricting what accessories are required to do something with their device. It does nothing to the (digital) music playback (music is reported to play just fine through any headphones).
I wouldn't doubt that one could, with a little ingenuity, hack together some sort of standard headphone jack on the end of a cut-off earbud remote that currently comes with the shuffle, as well.
Normally I support the EFF quite highly, but they seem to be jumping the gun a little on this one, going on the word of one iLounge review, as opposed to a report from someone actually taking the thing apart to see how it works - such as a manufacturer.
Is there actually any evidence of the chip being a DRM "authentication" chip, as opposed to just a non-standard control interface? A single iLounge review is hardly what I'd call conclusive evidence - considering they note in there that there are likely to be 3rd-party remotes that do not have headphones attached before long.
While not an ideal situation, by far, I think it may not be quite as bad as your initial reaction paints it to be. It *is* also explicitly noted in the review that it still does play music through any headphones, and that the control is what's missing - not the music itself.
I also highly doubt that any such headphones will become required on any other iPod devices, since the shuffle is the only thing Apple has constantly been trying to cut down the number of buttons on. Furthermore, I personally would welcome some 3rd-party remote-only accessories, as they seem like they'd be likely to work with other recent iPod models as well, when you don't feel like digging it out of your pocket.
If you're important enough to a server to have a reserved slot, I'd hope you'd be smart enough to know the basics of using the console to connect, or could at very least be taught how...
Popular servers tend to have about 30 people online at once. At a turnover rate of two people per minute, you break even. I'd expect it to be less than two people per minute though (probably more on the order of one person per minute or less).
As long as the server isn't below that negative threshold, it won't ever get de-listed. If it does drop at times, it should have enough points "built up" to not get de-listed for some time anyway. Also, presumably, it would be bast on averages from lengthy time periods (weeks/months), not just on a hourly basis or something.
Space isn't really cold... And any heat built up would need to be radiated away, not removed through conduction or convection. I'm not very well versed in this all, but I expect these limitations would actually make it hard to do all that much with...
Many of those are reasonably similar to their Windows/closed-source counterparts - there are many of the same basic features, and many are located in more or less the same place.
Considering the vast changes to IE from 6->7, Office from 2003->2007 (I think these are the right versions), and Windows from XP->Vista, it may still be around as difficult to train for proprietary upgrades, even where the similarities aren't as pronounced.
Internally, very few devices would consciously choose to use FAT, as there are much better filesystems for flash chips. Furthermore, I don't even believe it's possible to use FAT as a root filesystem for Linux due to lack of proper permissions and case-sensitivity.
A lot of the bullshit surrounding Firefox is the reason I avoid it where I can. Even if that means just using the unofficial or Iceweasel branding. I don't particularly like Mozilla Corporation's obsessiveness with income (see the other Mozcorp story on the front page - "Hey, look, we might be able to get more money from someone else!"), their stance on trademark names/icons (see Debian vs. Mozcorp), or the way their developers tend to come off as, sometimes, elitist (such as the memory leak "feature" discussions).
Neverwinter Nights modules. Some of the best "free games" I've ever encountered. Pay $20 for the Diamond edition (NWN + both expansions), and you have far beyond $20 of content available. Some of the modules are even more in-depth and polished than the official campaigns (though they don't often have much, if any, voice acting).
And that's not even counting some of the stunning player-run persistent worlds, which have some incredible GM/player interaction.
The last 737 I flew on was delayed for a repair when it was fully loaded, with me sitting on it. Some warning light came on, and it needed some small repair or check (it was never complexly explained exactly what was wrong) before flying. Delayed the flight by about 45 minutes.
Encryption works for very important data (that you would die to protect), less important data transferred over a network (moderately important e-mails), and unimportant data as a form of misdirection (if everything is encrypted, no one can tell what's important or not).
Full disk encryption, while nice, is not a protection for your data from someone who really wants it, unless you will die to protect it. It is protection from casual thieves for things like passwords, credit card data, personal information (your contact lists, for instance).
Re:I think you jumped the gun a little.
on
Watchmen Watched
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· Score: 1
Same here, except tomorrow around midday with a friend (who's busy in the evenings). Finished the book a few weeks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm not up to having fanboy level excitement over much of anything these days.
The kernel isn't the operating system. That's the basis of the GNU/Linux vs. Linux debate.
That said, this seems to be functionally comparable to deleting the Safari.app on a Mac - the application is gone and cannot be launched, but the rendering engine sticks around because it's used elsewhere in the operating system for other tasks.
Slashdot Mirror
...uh, the brief monopoly on the earphones that ship with the device?
How fast do you go through earphones?
There's no evidence of an authentication chip beyond an iLounge review that sounds like speculation. 3rd-parties have already announced earphones and remotes for the new shuffle. The iLounge review did not dissect or attempt to reverse engineer the earphone controls, so I do not think they're qualified to be a authoritative source on what is or isn't inside the remote.
*scratches head* I think you're overreacting. Apple has never sued individuals over copyright infringements. Apple tends towards using DRM to lock down hardware (and being open about it - if you don't like it, don't use it) as opposed to software (aside from OSX - which can be argued is a form of brand name protection, from cheap knock-off computers - I believe they've had a lot of experience with this in the 1990s).
As far as music sharing goes, you can pull the MP3/M4A/etc. files right out of your iTunes directory (or just tell it to not move them there in the first place), and share them just fine. Unless you also consider music-playing phones and other devices that require some sync program for music to be evil, since you can't copy all the tracks straight off the device.
As far as the DMCA goes, perhaps it would be a better use of your time to lobby against it's existence, instead of complain about corporations (which are generally psychopathic, greedy entities - and are basically required to be by law) using the law to extend their own profits.
And the headphone plug is still a 3.5mm standard jack, and will play music through any headphones just fine. The control interface is what's missing, which I'm unaware of any standardization on.
It's not a digital purchase, which is where DRM comes into play. If the headphones stopped particular music tracks from playing? It'd be DRM. If the headphones gave you a low quality signal on certain tracks? It'd be DRM.
This is not DRM. It may not be the best situation ever, but it's not DRM - it's, as other people have noted, a 3rd-party accessory lock-in, at it's worst - which has reasons such as crap flooding the market that damages the devices, and can give Apple a bad name for their iPod having a high failure rate (instead of the no-name 3rd party accessory getting a bad name).
If you're calling this DRM because it "prevents" you from interacting with your music purchases (by lacking controls), then you need a serious reality check - since I can say that any MP3 player that doesn't have X feature is DRM, since it won't let me do X with my music.
That's going, as I've noted in another reply, on a single iLounge review. Not exactly a technical analysis of what's going on inside the earphones. It sounds more like a non-standard control chip, as opposed to a DRM chip.
See also my reply with the definition of Digital Rights Management (short version - the music is entirely unaffected and can play through any headphones).
Ah, you beat me to it (I replied below). This really doesn't seem anything beyond a non-standard control interface - particularly since it doesn't seem to fit the definition of "Digital Rights Management" at all. It more accurately fits "Physical Rights Management" - in terms of restricting what accessories are required to do something with their device. It does nothing to the (digital) music playback (music is reported to play just fine through any headphones).
I wouldn't doubt that one could, with a little ingenuity, hack together some sort of standard headphone jack on the end of a cut-off earbud remote that currently comes with the shuffle, as well.
Normally I support the EFF quite highly, but they seem to be jumping the gun a little on this one, going on the word of one iLounge review, as opposed to a report from someone actually taking the thing apart to see how it works - such as a manufacturer.
Is there actually any evidence of the chip being a DRM "authentication" chip, as opposed to just a non-standard control interface? A single iLounge review is hardly what I'd call conclusive evidence - considering they note in there that there are likely to be 3rd-party remotes that do not have headphones attached before long.
While not an ideal situation, by far, I think it may not be quite as bad as your initial reaction paints it to be. It *is* also explicitly noted in the review that it still does play music through any headphones, and that the control is what's missing - not the music itself.
I also highly doubt that any such headphones will become required on any other iPod devices, since the shuffle is the only thing Apple has constantly been trying to cut down the number of buttons on. Furthermore, I personally would welcome some 3rd-party remote-only accessories, as they seem like they'd be likely to work with other recent iPod models as well, when you don't feel like digging it out of your pocket.
If you're important enough to a server to have a reserved slot, I'd hope you'd be smart enough to know the basics of using the console to connect, or could at very least be taught how...
Popular servers tend to have about 30 people online at once. At a turnover rate of two people per minute, you break even. I'd expect it to be less than two people per minute though (probably more on the order of one person per minute or less).
As long as the server isn't below that negative threshold, it won't ever get de-listed. If it does drop at times, it should have enough points "built up" to not get de-listed for some time anyway. Also, presumably, it would be bast on averages from lengthy time periods (weeks/months), not just on a hourly basis or something.
Hopefully one person wouldn't make a difference, in the whole picture of things (with ~20-30 people per active server, in my experiences).
Space isn't really cold... And any heat built up would need to be radiated away, not removed through conduction or convection. I'm not very well versed in this all, but I expect these limitations would actually make it hard to do all that much with...
Shoot them both.
...That sounds needlessly confusing. Why is it not at least somewhat obvious how to make use of this "feature"?
That's why it's only if they win. A precedence would have been set.
Many of those are reasonably similar to their Windows/closed-source counterparts - there are many of the same basic features, and many are located in more or less the same place.
Considering the vast changes to IE from 6->7, Office from 2003->2007 (I think these are the right versions), and Windows from XP->Vista, it may still be around as difficult to train for proprietary upgrades, even where the similarities aren't as pronounced.
Memory cards.
Internally, very few devices would consciously choose to use FAT, as there are much better filesystems for flash chips. Furthermore, I don't even believe it's possible to use FAT as a root filesystem for Linux due to lack of proper permissions and case-sensitivity.
Will they even be honest enough to give you the service or support you paid for? I wouldn't even trust them that far.
A lot of the bullshit surrounding Firefox is the reason I avoid it where I can. Even if that means just using the unofficial or Iceweasel branding. I don't particularly like Mozilla Corporation's obsessiveness with income (see the other Mozcorp story on the front page - "Hey, look, we might be able to get more money from someone else!"), their stance on trademark names/icons (see Debian vs. Mozcorp), or the way their developers tend to come off as, sometimes, elitist (such as the memory leak "feature" discussions).
Neverwinter Nights modules. Some of the best "free games" I've ever encountered. Pay $20 for the Diamond edition (NWN + both expansions), and you have far beyond $20 of content available. Some of the modules are even more in-depth and polished than the official campaigns (though they don't often have much, if any, voice acting).
And that's not even counting some of the stunning player-run persistent worlds, which have some incredible GM/player interaction.
The last 737 I flew on was delayed for a repair when it was fully loaded, with me sitting on it. Some warning light came on, and it needed some small repair or check (it was never complexly explained exactly what was wrong) before flying. Delayed the flight by about 45 minutes.
So it's definitely not uncommon.
Encryption works for very important data (that you would die to protect), less important data transferred over a network (moderately important e-mails), and unimportant data as a form of misdirection (if everything is encrypted, no one can tell what's important or not).
Full disk encryption, while nice, is not a protection for your data from someone who really wants it, unless you will die to protect it. It is protection from casual thieves for things like passwords, credit card data, personal information (your contact lists, for instance).
Same here, except tomorrow around midday with a friend (who's busy in the evenings). Finished the book a few weeks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm not up to having fanboy level excitement over much of anything these days.
The kernel isn't the operating system. That's the basis of the GNU/Linux vs. Linux debate.
That said, this seems to be functionally comparable to deleting the Safari.app on a Mac - the application is gone and cannot be launched, but the rendering engine sticks around because it's used elsewhere in the operating system for other tasks.
But does it run Linus?