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  • Metrogirl
    In today's Security Focus article by Mark Rasch, it is revealed that Takedown Notices served under the hated DMCA are increasingly being generated by automated systems, or "Lawyerbots".
     
    The article, although written in a light-hearted style, carries a sinister message. Lawyerbots abound. They trawl the internet on the behalf of copyright owners, searching for any potential infringement, and they issue Takedown Notices whenever they find one.
     
    The problems are obvious. They don't always get it right. They don't stop until the perceived infringement disappears (remember the Terminator?). If it comes back, so do they. They create all the correct legal language, complete with dire threats, which can prompt an ISP into taking action out of proportion to the real issue.
     
    The DMCA is very clear on Takedown Notices. The ISP has to notify the alleged content owner of the notice, and if no response is received by a certain time, the content must be removed. Some ISPs will remove the content immediately to avoid problems, awaiting a complaint or explanation from the person responsible. Suspending that person's account is common.
     
    Naturally, the Lawyerbots don't need wages, they don't get tired and they don't go home at night. It is trivial to set one up and sit back while it generates thousands of Takedown Notices.
     
    What usually happens when litigation is threatened by a big company in the US? Joe Public can't afford to pursue true justice, so he packs up and gives in to the lawyers. Once again innovation and creativity are stifled by a law which has gone way beyond its original intent.
     
    As for OSx86, you can be certain that Apple is not in the dark about Lawyerbot technology. To date their Takedown Notices have apparently originated from real men and women in real offices, but who can be certain?
  • Swad

    30 Years: A Retrospective Look

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    This weekend marks 30 years since the beginning of Apple's contribution to computing history... and what a contribution it has been. The impact of Apple's innovations has been treated by much more capable writers than I, but I think this weekend marks a good opportunity to look at what has changed in the past 30 years.
     
    I wasn't around to experience the thrill of early computing, although I did grow up playing action-packed monochrome spelling games on an Apple IIe. A visit to the British Science Museum in London helps us place these things in perspective, however - with an Apple I sitting a few feet away from the Babbage Differential Engine, it becomes clear that we are living in the formative age of computing.
     
    The community that this site is built on is a highly technical one; most of us are self proclaimed geeks and proud of it. Not only can we readily recite our high scores in the MMORPG of your choice, we can do it in binary.
     
    But are we truly better off than we were 30.1 years ago? I love my computers as much as the next person. I've built them, torn them apart, ruined them only to save them at the last moment. But it's a Faustian bargain - with the enjoyment of trying out the latest Linux distro comes the incessant barrage of emails from coworkers demanding my attention. At times exciting and annoying, it seems I am tied to my technology.
     
    Are we as a society better as a result of the PC? It's a question to consider. Two good opinions on the issue can be found in this Guardian article on the subject - they represent the Angels and Demons (not of the Dan Brown sort) on my shoulders.
     
    So Happy Birthday Apple! Thank you for your innovation and - more importantly - your infectious, innovative philosophy. Let's take this opportunity to ensure that we are responsible stewards of your creation.
     
    [Digg it!]
  • Deetman

    IRC is BACK!

    By Deetman, in OSx86,

    As many of you probably noticed, our IRC network has been down for approximately a week now and all of us here at the OSx86 Project truly apologize for this. However, we have taken this time to build a completely new, more robust network than we had before. Our network is now distributed across four servers and will include another shortly. As a result of this, our MacSpeak IRC network should never have any major downtime again.
     
    Please join us today to celebrate Apple's 30th anniversary on our new network! To connect, join irc.macspeak.net which will connect to one of our servers in the United States or Europe. (Thanks go to DrX from area86 for the Europe server). We look forward to chatting with you!
     
    - OSx86 Project Staff
  • Metrogirl

    Internet Jackass Day

    By Metrogirl, in OSx86,

    Internet Jackass Day
     
    April the 1st is almost upon us. This forum hasn't been around quite long enough to have experienced the lunacy that tends to go on on All Fools' Day, particularly on the internet. Yet.
     
    CNET News has a timely warning in today's article by Daniel Terdiman, detailing some of the more - and less - amusing goings on with the internet on this great day for jokers, pranksters and those with less benevolent motives. The author of Waxy.org, a popular technology culture blog, dubs it "Internet Jackass Day"
     
    It's all fun, of course, and most people can spot a spoof, but I'd like to add an extra note of caution which wasn't in the article. The malware authors, pharmers and phishers never miss any opportunity to catch more victims, and links to 'amusing spoof stories' will probably abound. Be extra vigilant in what you read tomorrow, and for the next few days, since propagation is not always instant.
     
    I'm sure none of our worthy members will be posting bogus stories here, will they? If you're tempted to post a spoof, you might want to stop to consider the impact on some of our newer users.
     
    BBC Stories Used as Bait.
     
    In another breaking story on CNET today, a concerted effort to exploit an unpatched Internet Explorer vulnerability using BBC News stories as an enticement to click on a link to a site dropping trojans or Phishing for personal information. Aren't you glad you're using Safari?
  • Swad
    Today Apple continued transitioning its professional line by releasing a universal version of Final Cut Studio 5.1. All those video wizards with previous versions of FCP can crossgrade for less than $99, depending on the version you have. Apple released another pro app, Logic Pro, awhile back.
     
    It would be interesting to know how many multimedia professionals are waiting for all their apps to go universal before making the switch. Let us know – are universal apps the only thing keeping you from a Macintel?
  • Metrogirl
    Today's New York Times carries an article entitled "Windows is So Slow, but Why?". The article compares the development of Vista and MS' insistence on maintaining backwards compatibility, against Apple's strategy.
     
    As XP has remained largely unchanged (bugfixes excepted) in five years, and Apple have exponentially added features to their OS, MS strategy has come into question.
     
    In those five years, Apple Computer has turned out four new versions of its Macintosh operating system, beating Microsoft to market with features that will be in Vista, like desktop search, advanced 3-D graphics and "widgets," an array of small, single-purpose programs like news tickers, traffic reports and weather maps.
     
    So what's wrong with Microsoft? There is, after all, no shortage of smart software engineers working at the corporate campus in Redmond, Wash. The problem, it seems, is largely that Microsoft's past success and its bundling strategy have become a weakness.
     
    The article goes on to question the bloat that will inevitably become incorporated into Vista. Although it's written in NYT's typical journalese, it raises some interesting questions.
  • Swad
    I'll have to admit - there are few things in tech/life more exciting than a good Apple rumor. Somehow between the faked product photos and the insider info (and Steve's Super Secret Podcast), life as an Apple fan is never boring.
     
    MacOSXRumors shares some of this ever present insider info, claiming that Apple is working on virtualization technology for OS X 10.5 Leopard. From the article:
     
    Reliable sources informed MacosXrumors that Apple is developing virtualisation software that could be added to Apple's next major release of Mac OS X, Leopard. The technology will allow users to create and run virtual machines with Mac OS X, Linux or Windows on any Intel-based Mac.
     
    The software, which is said to be code-named "Chameleon", will be made available in Client and Server versions. The Client version will have similar features to Virtual PC and will be included with Leopard Client while the Server version will act as a virtualisation server and will come with Leopard Server. Apple may also sell the solution separately just as it currently sells Apple Remote Desktop.
     
    Sources also claim that Apple is developing the technology hand in hand with partners such as Intel and Microsoft. We don't know if Apple's software will be compatible with Intel's virtualisation technology announced last year but the possibility that Apple's software becomes inter-operable with Virtual PC and VMWare has been mentioned. We also don't know if Apple will use Rosetta technology so as to make the creation of PowerPC based virtual machines possible.
     
    Believable? Maybe. Likely? Maybe? Interesting? Certainly.
  • Metrogirl
    In a classic flipping of the script, a Microsoft program manager who regularly serves as the public face of the software maker's security response process rapped Apple for the way it handles security guidance to customers.
     
    "Here's the reality, for the next couple of years the Mac OS will experience increasing security threats and mark my words, the company will have to seek outside expertise in the form of a head of security communications in the next 12 months," said Stephen Toulouse in his public blog on Stepto.com.
     
    Stepto also carries an entry entitled "Apple, State of Fear, Good night and Good ..." which starts off berating Apple's lack of RSS feed for security advisories.
     
    The full article in this morning's eWeek can be read here.
  • Metrogirl
    "French lawmakers approved an online copyright bill that would require Apple to break open the exclusive format behind its market-leading iTunes music store and iPod players."
     
    After several months' legal wrangling, draft French legislation was passed yesterday which, among other things, will either force Apple to change DRM mechanisms in iTunes, or abandon the service in France.
     
    "Lawmakers in the National Assembly, France's lower house, voted 296-193 Tuesday to approve the bill. The legislation now has to be debated and voted by the Senate -- a process expected to begin in May.
     
    Apple has so far refused to comment on the bill or on analysts' suggestions that the Cupertino, California-based company might choose to withdraw from the French online music market rather than share the proprietary technology at the heart of its business model. Representatives for Apple France did not return calls Tuesday.
     
    Under the bill, companies would be required to reveal the secrets of hitherto-exclusive copy-protection technologies such as Apple's FairPlay format and the ATRAC3 code used by Sony's Connect store and Walkman players.
     
    That would permit consumers for the first time to download music directly to their iPods from stores other than iTunes, or to rival music players from iTunes France.
     
    Apple has most to lose because of its phenomenal penetration of the digital music market, according to analysts. Critics of the French move say legislators have no business forcing Apple to share its proprietary format -- arguing that customers know its limitations when they choose to buy an iPod."
     
    Other aspects of the bill reduce penalties and loosen constraints on file-sharing while making some provisions more restrictive including definitive 30-150 euro fines who break copyright for personal use.
     
    Read the full article here or pre-vote background here.
  • Swad

    MacBooks, Flame On!

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    It seems that while some MacBook Pro users have been busy working to install XP, others have been busy… not being busy at all. This is because of some serious and not-so-serious technical issues with their Apple portable.
     
    Complaints lodged against the MacBook Pro have ranged from a slight buzzing or whining noise (which looks like its related to an inverter) to some serious heat issues. Men, beware of the heat – you know what I’m talking about.
     
    Rogier Mulder, a MBP owner from the Netherlands, came home to find his MagSafe connector burnt and disconnected from his notebook. According to Ars, he said of the event , “Thank god the cats disconnected the MacBook pro during the day (they were probably chasing each other and tripped over the wire).” Seems a little fishy, but oh well – I wouldn’t be too concerned. What’s interesting is that Apple asked him to remove the pics from his flickr account.
     
    Do you have a MBP? Have you had any technical issues? If you don’t have one but are considering one, have these issues convinced you to wait for Rev. B? Let us know.
     

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