Still feeling bad for the RIAA and the MPAA? Well, it turns out that one of their contractors is exploiting a Windows Media DRM bug that allows someone to insert adware (and possibly worse) into what looks like Windows Media files. Be careful what you download.
It's hard to believe, but the Mars rovers have been making mischief on Mars for almost a year. NASA has created an interesting retrospective. (via Slashdot)
I currently have four terminal windows arranged on my screen so that none of them overlap. I wanted to try to free some space up by switching to iTerm. The nice thing about iTerm is that it does tabbed terminals in the same way that Firefox and Safari do tabbed browsers. However, I'm finding that it's not showing syntax coloring in vim, which is a deal-killer because I'm always in vim. I know that it has to be able to do this. So, what am I missing?
I just ran across a good profile of Tree Wave by Sam Machkovech of the Dallas Observer. I've been listening to their free songs for a few months. I'm especially fond of Sleep. I really ought to buy their EP.
President Bush, had he a larger imagination, and perhaps had he not squandered money and troops in Iraq, could have unveiled the building blocks of a Marshall Plan for the poor countries affected by the Tsunami. This development, in turn, could have become the source of tremendous good will and economic development in the United States and abroad. It could have done more to prevent terrorism worldwide than the Iraq war ever will. It could have become an engine of economic growth for poor countries, America and the world. It could have married the needs of poor nations with wealthy nations, creating mutual interests to the benefit of all. In short, it could have produced greatness. George W. Bush could have been great.
Greatness requires “a certain level of aspiration,” a little imagination. Bush has none.
John Perry Barlow has written a moving piece about being hopeful in dark times (via Boing Boing).
From No peace on Earth during unjust war by Father Andrew Greeley:
One of the criteria for a just war is that there be a reasonable chance of victory. Where is that reasonable chance? Each extra day of the war makes it more unjust, more criminal. The guilty people are not only the [Bush foreign policy team] but those Americans who in the November election endorsed the war.
(via Austin Mayor, via WurfWhile)
Clive Thompson's article in Wired about Bram Cohen and BitTorrent is excellent. It's hard to imagine being as smart as Bram. Just read his blog and you'll see what I mean. Also, I'm continually amazed at how clueless people in the copyright industry are:
The executive vice president for research and planning at CBS, David Poltrack, elaborates: “In our research with consumers, content-on-demand is the killer app. They like the idea of paying only for what they watch.” The trick, he figures, is to work out a solution before the audience for illegal downloading becomes truly huge. He figures the networks have 10 years.
Ten years? This stuff is spreading like wildfire. I can't imagine that they have more than a couple years before they really start feeling the effects of BitTorrent or something like it. A good example is the spread of blogging. A year or two ago, very few people knew what a blog was. Now, according to Technorati, a new blog is created every 7.4 seconds. I think BitTorrent is well on its way up the exponential curve.
From Think Secret:
With iPod-savvy Windows users clearly in its sights, Apple is expected to announce a bare bones, G4-based iMac without a display at Macworld Expo on January 11 that will retail for $499, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret.
It's about time!
The other day John Maeda pointed to a speech Milton Glaser gave entitled This Is What I Have Learned. Good stuff. I especially like how he restates “less is more” as “just enough is more.”
