p2pnet World Headlines - July 2, 2009

Fri,03 Jul 2009 10:36 GMT -4:00 http://www.p2pnet.net/story/24302

Psystar Emerges From Bankruptcy With New Product, Same Insane Resolve Gizmodo

In what is probably the most surprising non-celebrity-death story in weeks, recently bankrupt Psystar—surly maker of all things hackintosh—is now claiming to be ready for a comeback, with a new product in tow. This makes very little sense. A superquick recap: Psystar releases the OpenMac, a $400 desktop Mac clone; people debate if this is possible, technically or legally, and if Psystar is a scam; the hackintoshes turn out to be real; they ship; Apple gets upset; Psystar grandstands; Apple continues to be upset; Psystar gets murdered. To death. That was the story a few weeks ago, at least. Now Psystar is basically acting like nothing happened, releasing a fresh bootloader, a new computer—the $1500, i7-based Open(7) desktop—and revisiting their old, defiant tone in an email newsletter: As you all may already be aware in late May, Psystar filed for bankruptcy protection. Although this was critical to our continued daily operations, we are now ready to emerge and again battle Goliath.

Some Vista users say they’re getting the Ultimate shaft CNet News

Microsoft promised that by purchasing the pricey Ultimate edition of Vista users would get all kinds of extras. However, for many, those extras turned out to be little more than a few screensavers and a poker game, prompting some significant grousing. Now, that frustration has turned to anger after Microsoft offered its pre-order program for Windows 7. Through July 11, Microsoft is offering a steep discount for those moving to cheaper versions of Windows 7, but nothing for those who want to stay on Ultimate. Under the terms of Microsoft’s discount pre-order program, users can buy an upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional at roughly half the list price, but the Ultimate version is offered at the full $219 price. Among the versions of Windows Vista Ultimate that Microsoft sold was this limited-edition package signed by Bill Gates. John Dabarno, a purchaser from Montreal, said that Microsoft is alienating exactly the wrong crowd. Dabarno notes that he is the person that friends and family turn to for computer advice. Indeed he has already pre-ordered Windows 7 copies to update his wife’s desktop and laptop, but feels stuck on what to do with his Vista Ultimate machine.

Responding to privacy concerns, Facebook streamlines user controls Mercury News

Amid mounting concerns about Internet privacy, Facebook on Wednesday announced plans to streamline its user controls by introducing a “Unified Privacy Page.” The Palo Alto social-networking leader said it was taking action to address common complaints among its more than 200 million users worldwide about privacy. The company also announced that it is phasing out familiar regional networks such as “Silicon Valley” to minimize confusion. Facebook credits its growth to fostering a culture that assures privacy and encourages authenticity. But in the past, Facebook has also engendered controversy by gathering data without user consent — a practice later reversed amid a user backlash. On Wednesday, Facebook also sought to allay puzzlement and concerns over its fledgling “Everyone” posting feature, which it introduced in March. The feature, Facebook says, eventually will enable users to broadcast messages, photos and video far beyond their personal social networks and to the Internet at large. Facebook is vague about products, but acknowledged they could take the form of bulletin boards or forums on a vast array of topics, as well as a new searchable database. The “Everyone” initiative has helped revive questions about Facebook’s dedication to privacy safeguards. Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, portrayed the latest changes as a public relations gimmick.

Judge throws book at Usenet.com in RIAA lawsuit Ars Technica

A court has found newsgroup provider Usenet.com liable for copyright infringement. Advertising to file-sharers, putting “warez” in your site’s meta tags, and tampering with evidence don’t amuse federal judges.

Jackson’s death unleashes barrage of online scams Associated Press

Minutes after any big celebrity dies, Internet swindlers get to work. They pump out specially created spam e-mails and throw up malicious Web sites to infect victims’ computers, hoping to capitalize on the sudden high demand for information. Michael Jackson’s death was no different, and security experts say the fraud artists are just getting started. The scams started cropping up almost instantaneously as Jackson’s death was still hitting the news. As days have gone by, they’ve gotten more sophisticated — and dangerous. Jackson’s death “took a lot of people by surprise — the spammers, too,” said Dermot Harnett, principal analyst for anti-spam engineering at Symantec, the Cupertino-based security software maker. “It might take them some time to really pounce on this issue. They are catching up pretty quickly, though.” Any major world event, such as the recent protests in Iran, triggers a barrage of Internet attacks. Security experts say the malicious traffic associated with Jackson’s death will most likely match and perhaps exceed those of other big spamming campaigns, such as those connected with the swine flu outbreak and Saddam Hussein’s execution.

Microsoft chucks vomit ad CNet news

Earlier this week, we were all rather intrigued by the appearance of a Microsoft ad, in which a wife borrows her husband’s laptop and suffers a technicolor nightmare when she espies a site that he has been, um, enjoying. By Wednesday night, however, Microsoft had second thoughts about the pulling power of puke. The ad has been pulled from the IE8videos channel on YouTube. It’s also has been removed from the BrowsefortheBetter.com site, which is part of the ad campaign. The vomit ad’s slot has been replaced by a tag that says “coming soon.” This could have meant that a new ad is coming soon, or that the upchuck was uploaded too soon.

MCPS Finances Hit By Interest Rate Slump Billboard

The sudden fall in interest rates has forced the U.K.’s Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) to implement a far-reaching review of operations in order to cut costs. Speaking at the Music Publishers Association (MPA) annual general meeting (AGM) in London, PRS for Music chief executive Steve Porter revealed that what he dubbed the “interest rate meteor” was projected to result in £4 million ($5.6 million) shortfall in MCPS finances in 2010. MCPS, the subsidiary company of the MPA, is part of the PRS for Music collecting society brand. Porter said that MCPS distributed income to publishers for 2008 was £184.3 million ($259.8 million), an increase of £8 million ($11.3 million) on the original budgeted figure, which he described as a “pretty strong performance.” However, he predicted a 10-15% reduction in revenue from audio products in 2009.

No to SQL? Anti-database movement gains steam Computerworld

The meet-up in San Francisco last month had a whiff of revolution about it, like a latter-day techie version of the American Patriots planning the Boston Tea Party. The inaugural get-together of the burgeoning NoSQL community crammed 150 attendees into a meeting room at CBS Interactive. Like the Patriots, who rebelled against Britain’s heavy taxes, NoSQLers came to share how they had overthrown the tyranny of slow, expensive relational databases in favor of more efficient and cheaper ways of managing data.

Rules Set for Distribution of Broadband Stimulus Funds Wall Street Journal

The Obama administration on Wednesday published the criteria it will use to hand out billions of dollars in stimulus funds aimed at developing the infrastructure to deliver broadband Internet access to areas that are underserved or without access. The Commerce and Agriculture departments will consider projects that provide wired or wireless access starting at low-end DSL speeds, but will give priority to ones promising higher speeds. An area will be considered “underserved” by broadband, and thus eligible for grants, if half or fewer of the households can get wired broadband today, among other criteria. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. lags behind more than a dozen other countries in terms of Internet access.

Twittering from the tractor: smartphones sprout on the farm CNN

As he rolls across the wheat fields of his Nebraska farm, Steve Tucker often has his hands not on the wheel of his tractor, but on a smartphone. He sometimes posts a dozen messages per day on Twitter, commenting on everything from the weather to the state of his crops to his son’s first tractor ride and even last night’s cheeseburger. “Got rained out trying to finish up planting corn. Only 90 acres left. Maybe it will dry up today and I can finish Lord willin’,” he wrote in one recent post. “Just sold some more wheat, now, I wait for God to provide the harvest so I can fill the contracts,” the 39-year-old said in another. “Eat more bread!” Tucker is proof that smartphones are starting to put down roots in rural America.

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July, 2009




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