I got a new Acer Ferrari 5000 in work 2 days ago, shipped with XP 32bit despite being a 64bit system. Trying to install 64bit XP is a pain the arse - drivers are scarce. Ubuntu 64bit otoh, was a breeze. X wouldn't work straight off and needed an apt-get install of a restricted driver, but apart from that everything was up and running a lot quicker than XP (which I gave up on).
Dunno what the point of that speech was, but I feel better for it.
I suppose one way around it would be to distribute through bittorrent and have the site require a user/pass based on a BBC TV Licence serial number, after which the content is uninfected. Some of the obsolete legal requirements will be satisfied, customers will be satisfied, the BBC will be fulfilling it's duties and the amount of BBC content freely available on the net will not be affected a jot, but that's by the by.
My understanding from reading the BBC Trust consultation on all this was that they're letting the Beeb put out DRM-infected content for the moment simply to get the content out there and get people used to the service
Platform-agnostic approach: As proposed, the TV catch-up service on the internet relies on Microsoft technology for the digital rights management (DRM) framework. The Trust will require the BBC Executive to adopt a platform-agnostic approach within a reasonable timeframe. "This requires the BBC to develop an alternative DRM framework to enable users of other technology, for example, Apple and Linux, to access the on-demand services." Remember that DRM here does not just refer to the silly crap that gets used on iTunes and other sites - it just means that licensing is taken into account and dealt with. This could be as simple counting the number of downloads...or as cruddy as breaking all the videos and restricting access to one man called Kevin from Buttsplice, Ohio like bittorrent.com did.
It's important to bear in mind that the BBC is not the RIAA. It's a traditionally left-leaning public-minded body inhabited by a load of liberals, and it's answerable to the public.
For the love of Jeff, that's the least-readable site since Ain't it Cool. And I nearly threw up when I saw the movie format options - 'ipod version' and the normal version in Quicktime format? How about an Xvid and a resized Xvid for portables, like everyone else on t'internet does their video?
It's not a question of 'no proof' - this is never going to be the only proof that sends someone to jail, it's just a handy package for reporting an incident to the police. It isn't the big deal you're making it out to be.
Is it better for a 12yo girl who's just been propositioned/flashed/whatever online to be able to send it all to the police there and then, or for her to have to submit her computer to the police computer crime unit, who'll have it for months due to a backlog, then try to recover the data from unallocated space with uncertain success?
As I've said, this evidence would only be a part of a case. It's not a magic button, it's just something that'd help.
Maybe once the 'call the cops' button is pressed it saves the current session, hashes it and presents session and hash. It'd be up to the investigation and/or courts to decide the veracity of either side's statements - just the same as any other report of a crime. This is just something to offer law enforcement a bit of help in evidence gathering by giving them a contemporaneous account - it's not a magic 'jail a paedo' button, it just means that once the alleged offence is reported, the logs and IPs are already saved in a standard format rather than some flatfoot having to figure out what the evidence is when he's dispatched. It just helps a bit, that's all.
One of the least credible sources of information is through chat and blog and instant message internet services
I think the opposite in this case - the police get a standardised package straight from the user of chat transcript, times, IPs and file transfer: 'I think this guy is a paedo, here's the reasons why'. The police see exactly what the complainant has just seen.
Slashdot Mirror
Innovation? It's a phone. That's all. Putting an 'i' at the beginning and having Jobs dribble some of his sacred spit on it doesn't make it special.
I got a new Acer Ferrari 5000 in work 2 days ago, shipped with XP 32bit despite being a 64bit system. Trying to install 64bit XP is a pain the arse - drivers are scarce. Ubuntu 64bit otoh, was a breeze. X wouldn't work straight off and needed an apt-get install of a restricted driver, but apart from that everything was up and running a lot quicker than XP (which I gave up on). Dunno what the point of that speech was, but I feel better for it.
My understanding from reading the BBC Trust consultation on all this was that they're letting the Beeb put out DRM-infected content for the moment simply to get the content out there and get people used to the service Platform-agnostic approach: As proposed, the TV catch-up service on the internet relies on Microsoft technology for the digital rights management (DRM) framework. The Trust will require the BBC Executive to adopt a platform-agnostic approach within a reasonable timeframe. "This requires the BBC to develop an alternative DRM framework to enable users of other technology, for example, Apple and Linux, to access the on-demand services." Remember that DRM here does not just refer to the silly crap that gets used on iTunes and other sites - it just means that licensing is taken into account and dealt with. This could be as simple counting the number of downloads...or as cruddy as breaking all the videos and restricting access to one man called Kevin from Buttsplice, Ohio like bittorrent.com did.
It's important to bear in mind that the BBC is not the RIAA. It's a traditionally left-leaning public-minded body inhabited by a load of liberals, and it's answerable to the public.
A plugin for AD admins to adminster FF as they do IE. Maybe then it'd appear as default browser in more big corporate sites.
For the love of Jeff, that's the least-readable site since Ain't it Cool. And I nearly threw up when I saw the movie format options - 'ipod version' and the normal version in Quicktime format? How about an Xvid and a resized Xvid for portables, like everyone else on t'internet does their video?
Is it better for a 12yo girl who's just been propositioned/flashed/whatever online to be able to send it all to the police there and then, or for her to have to submit her computer to the police computer crime unit, who'll have it for months due to a backlog, then try to recover the data from unallocated space with uncertain success?
As I've said, this evidence would only be a part of a case. It's not a magic button, it's just something that'd help.
Maybe once the 'call the cops' button is pressed it saves the current session, hashes it and presents session and hash. It'd be up to the investigation and/or courts to decide the veracity of either side's statements - just the same as any other report of a crime. This is just something to offer law enforcement a bit of help in evidence gathering by giving them a contemporaneous account - it's not a magic 'jail a paedo' button, it just means that once the alleged offence is reported, the logs and IPs are already saved in a standard format rather than some flatfoot having to figure out what the evidence is when he's dispatched. It just helps a bit, that's all.