] The Ritz Camera chain today will introduce a one-time-use
] digital camera for about the same price as a typical
] "disposable" film camera in about 100 of its stores.
] Walgreens, which was testing the camera in Madison, is
] expanding the test to all 140 Wisconsin pharmacy outlets.
] And Walt Disney World will begin selling the camera at
] its hotels and theme parks in the fall.
]
] The 2-megapixel Dakota Digital, which offers the image
] quality of a $200-$250 digital camera, doesn't have an
] LCD screen to view images, and doesn't connect to a
] computer.
]
] But users can delete their last shot if they think they
] missed it, and they can get prints back within 15 minutes
] after taking the camera in for processing, because no
] film has to be developed. A CD of digital images is
] included, so users can manipulate the files on their
] computer and share them via e-mail and Web sites.

Hmmm... $11 digital camera that "cant be interfaced to a computer"? This is screaming "HACK ME!!!"

Laughing Boy

For $11, skittish photographers can dip into digital

] Concerned that information about your file-sharing
] username may have been subpoenaed by the RIAA? Check here
] to see if your username is on one of the subpoenas filed
] with the D.C. District Court.

EFF: RIAA Subpoena Database

] When I mentioned in last week's column that I would this
] week be writing about a legal way to do a successful
] music downloading business -- a business that would
] threaten the Recording Industry Association of America
] and its hegemony -- dozens of readers wrote to me trying
] to predict what I would write. Some readers came at the
] problem from a purely technical perspective, ignoring the
] fact that the real issues here aren't technical but
] legal. Some readers took a legal approach, but they
] tended to ignore the business model. Some were looking
] solely for the business model. Interestingly, nobody
] even came close to my idea, which makes me either a total
] loon or a diabolical genius. Truth be told, I'm probably
] more of a diabolical loon.
]
]
] The reason I am even writing this column is two-fold.
] The biggest reason is simply because I would like people
] to consider lateral solutions to problems. I am pushing
] the concept of problem solving in a new way. There is no
] particular methodology here, just the underlying concept
] that if things aren't working the way you like, think of
] something different. Too often, people restrict their
] thinking or they somehow expect the world to change just
] for them, which it won't. But taking a lateral approach
] often yields interesting results. And once you've found
] an approach, maybe it can be applied to a different
] problem. What I am abo

Cringely's crazy idea

] Josh Pfluger and his scouting pals went into his Rockford
] garage and hammered out a shoe-scanning device now in
] daily use at O'Hare International Airport. His goal at
] the time was simply to polish off his Eagle Scout
] requirements.
]
] Looks like the project passed muster.
]
] Pfluger's homemade invention %u2014 a box with a metal
] detector that travelers step onto before they reach the
] security gate %u2014 are an optional, preliminary step to
] let passengers know whether their shoes will trigger
] alarms at the gate.
]
] That can speed up lines by tipping passengers off they
] may need to remove their shoes and send them through
] X-ray machines %u2014 and maybe even encourage people to
] leave footwear with metal eyelets behind on future trips.
]
] "It's obviously not a certified machine, but it does
] initially help in the screening process," said Monique
] Bond, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Aviation at
] O'Hare. "It's a unique idea ... giving the Boy Scouts an
] opportunity to demonstrate their merit."

Teenager's Eagle Scout project used to ease waits at O'Hare airport security

] A Hawaii research company announced that it has developed
] a vaccine using genetically engineered viral proteins to
] protect human beings from contracting the West Nile
] virus.
]
] David Watumull, president and chief executive officer of
] Hawaii Biotech, said the vaccine produced by the company
] protected 100% of 60 test animals who were injected with
] West Nile virus. In contrast, 77% of the 30 control
] animals died and the others showed some signs of
] sickness, he said.
]
] Aiea-based Hawaii Biotech, a privately held
] biopharmaceutical company specializing in drug research
] and development, was founded in 1982 by nine University
] of Hawaii professors.
]
] The company plans to test the vaccine on humans within
] the next 15 months, Watumull said.

Hawaii firm develops West Nile vaccine

] In a 2001 survey of 1,000 drivers for Exxon, more than
] 70% of drivers say they eat while driving, up from 58% in
] 1995. Some 83% say they drink coffee, juice, or soda
] while driving and a few even say they'd love a microwave
] in their car.

Microwave in the car... yea... I suppose the shit I stash in the glove box could go elsewhere to make way! :p

What I'm waiting for is the day when they have telephones in cars. Can you imagine how cool THAT will be?

Laughing Boy

MSN Money - 10 most dangerous foods to eat on the road

Elonka wrote:
] ] I landed in Los Angeles at 11:30 PM, and it took me
] ] another hour to get to my hotel. The city was booked, and
] ] I was lucky to get a reservation where I did. When I
] ] checked in, the clerk insisted on making a photocopy of
] ] my driver's license. I tried fighting, but it was no use.
] ] I needed the hotel room. There was nowhere else I could
] ] go. The night clerk didn't really care if he rented the
] ] room to me or not. He had rules to follow, and he was
] ] going to follow them.
]
] ] The only way to change security is to step outside the
] system
] ] and negotiate with the people in charge.

Or the other way is to say "fuck the system" and use a fake ID for such insurgencies! ;)

Seriously... if he had to photocopy your ID, what is their policy for disposing of the photo copy after you have checked out?? That would mondo-suck if a dumpster diver was able to harvest enough info out of the hotel trash to commit identity theft.

Laughing Boy

RE: Bruce Schneier: 'How to Fight'

] In October, three nuns vandalized a nuclear missile silo
] to protest the use of weapons of war. For that act, all
] three will spend the next several years behind bars.
]
] A federal judge on Friday sentenced Jackie Hudson to 2
] 1/2 years, Ardeth Platte to almost 3 1/2 years and Carol
] Gilbert to two years and nine months. All three were
] given three years of supervised probation.
]
] U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn departed from
] sentencing guidelines Friday in punishing the women.
] While the maximum term is 30 years, the guidelines call
] for a six-year minimum term.
]
] "We're satisfied," prosecutor Robert Brown said.
]
] Hudson, 68, Gilbert, 55, and Platte, 66, were convicted
] in April of obstructing the nation's defense and damaging
] government property after cutting a fence and walking
] onto a Minuteman III silo site, swinging hammers and
] using their blood to paint a cross on the structure.
]
] Officials said the women caused at least $1,000 in
] damage.

Nuns sent to prison for vandalism - Jul. 26, 2003

] The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to
] overturn controversial rules adopted by the Federal
] Communications Commission that would greatly increase
] the number of television stations a single company is
] allowed to own.
]
] The FCC last month voted to ease ownership restrictions,
] lifting the national broadcast "cap" -- or reach of any
] single company -- to 45 percent of the national market
] from 35 percent and letting TV, radio and newspaper
] companies buy each other more freely.
]
] But by a vote of 400 to 21 the House rejected those
] changes.

Thank GOD!!! Stick THAT in your pipe and smoke it, Clear Channel.

US House of Representatives nixes FCC rules expanding ownership

Dementia wrote:
] ] The following questions and answers are being presented
] ] as a public service of RattleHead Records, to help people
] ] understand the New World Order as it is being created by
] ] the Universal Artists Group. The questions below seem
] ] irrelevant only because it is not the current reality;
] ] but sometime in the very near future, if these people
] ] remain unchallenged, it will be the reality.
]
] Anyone want to comment on how true these statements may/may
] not be?

He said it best...

"The only thing a label sells is copies of music made by other people. Don't ever forget that. If copies are free, they're out of business"

But I'll do him one better - if copies are avaliable online as well for a reasonable COST (iTunes, buymusic.com, MP3.com et al) the recording industry is out of business.

Not only do labels sell copies of music, they also up till very recently had an absolute lock on distribution. Unless a band is going to set up a REAL indie label and hire a team to work their asses off, it is virtually impossible for an artist to distribute their own work in traditional retail channels and compete with the big boys - even locally. Unless you find a store with a very cool manager, selling local bands on consignment is something most of the big record chains wont even touch because the small number of units moved doesn’t justify the hassle for them. So just about the only place you are going to be able to sell your own CD is at the "mom and pop" record shops. National/international distribution? Forget about it. There was the necessity of the big labels.

Enter the Internet. If an artist can set up their own website and sell their music direct to their fans - totally bypassing the greedy middlemen, AND retain complete control of their copyrights, AND net 50% or more of the gross, who needs big record labels anymore?

So... you have an industry that is fighting tooth and nail to hang on to its obsolete and antique business model. Oh yes - expect the labels to put up a fight to the bitter death, including lobbying ridiculous copy protection measures like SDMI. But don't forget - its "all in the interest of preserving the artists rights".

CoughBULLSHITcough.

Laughing Boy

RE: SDMI and You