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Nokia Urges Linux Developers To Be Cool With DRM

superglaze writes in to note that according to Nokia's software chief, its plans for open source include getting developers to accept things like DRM, commercial IP rights, and SIM locks. "Jaaksi admitted that concepts like these 'go against the open-source philosophy,' but said they were necessary components of the current mobile industry. 'Why do we need closed vehicles? We do,' he said. 'Some of these things harm the industry but they're here [as things stand]. These are touchy, emotional issues, but this dialogue is very much needed. As an industry, we plan to use open-source technologies, but we are not yet ready to play by the rules; but this needs to work the other way round too.'"

PC Video Games Thriving... But In Different Ways Than You Might Expect

Recently, we had a story about a lawyer who was suing a bunch of folks for uploading a pinball video game, with some questionable statements about how piracy was destroying the PC gaming industry. Of course, that's not actually true. An excellent post by Cord Blomquist explains how the PC gaming business is actually growing, but in different ways than most people expect. Sure, it may be harder to find certain types of video games that you see on consoles these days, but other games are thriving. But they're doing so by adopting different business models that aren't so impacted by unauthorized distribution. For example, they involve online services (ongoing MMO type games, where the payment is for service, rather than the software) or they focus on making money through other means, such as advertising or upselling premium editions.

Social media isn't about just consuming news or entertainment but sharing â?" and sharing early and often.  But how can you stay always-on and still get your work done? Easy â?" if you have the right tools.

Social media isn't about just consuming news or entertainment but sharing — and sharing early and often. The good news? You can do most of your updating from your mobile device.

Review: The Linux Powered Nokia N810 Internet Tablet

"For many years people have been looking for a simple and efficient way to take the internet with them. First there was laptops, but those were too big. Then came phones and PDA's, but those were too small, and too feature lean. But now that is all history thanks to Nokia's new N810 Internet Tablet! But what are some of the things that make this device so special? Actually, quite a lot. So let's go have a look and see what it has to offer you.

That Wii Fit Video? Hot But Not A Nintendo Marketing Effort

So a guy films his girlfriend wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear tantalizingly gyrating her hips while playing Wii Fit and, poof, instant YouTube stardom. Nope, It's not a marketing stunt from Wii but it did come from a guy in advertising, Giovanny Gutierrez, director of interactive marketing at Miami's Tinsley Advertising. And, and, and...his girlfriend, Lauren, also works in the business. Neither, however, for Nintendo in any capacity.

There's Stupidity Somewhere Here, But It's Not Coming From Google...

Matt Asay writes about Nick Carr's article in the July issue of The Atlantic, "Is Google making us stupid?" I'm not so sure that you can make such a generalization, but something certainly seems to be messing with Nick Carr's reasoning ability. With such a provocative title, I was expecting a little more evidence with a lot less storytelling and speculation -- but I was seriously disappointed.

Google Earth in the browser is fast, but ugly

Google today sped ahead in the web search domain once again with the release of the Google Earth API. Yes, the recent improvements to Live Maps were impressive, but today the search giant has put Google Earth into the browser. Microsoft made this move first, completely disregarding Google's client release of Google Earth, with its Virtual Earth API and browser plug-in. Google's Windows-only release today seems to focus on 3D, and speed. The performance is noticeably superior to Microsoft's, but there are still obvious kinks that need to be worked out.

In Japan, Cellphones Are Too Complicated but the iPhone Is Too Simple

Interesting fact about the laundry list of magical powers bestowed to Japanese cellphones—it makes 'em really hard for mere mortals to use. Nobi Hayashi (who's like Japan's Pogue) estimates people use less than 5 to 10 percent of their handsets' functions—his Panasonic P905i has a 3-inch TV, 3G, GPS and motion-controlled, Wii-style games, which he shows off to amaze Americans, but in truth most of it doesn't work that great (motion controls are slow, TV cuts out). Complicated menus bury cool functions that you have to dig for like an archaeologist. So the easy-to-use but fairly feature-full iPhone seems like it'd go over well right? Eh, maybe.

The iPhone is More Powerful Than the DS, But Sucks As a Controller

You know that the iPhone is powerful enough to render 3D games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, as well as various other ones we covered in the marathon review session, but just how powerful is it? How does it compare to actual gaming handhelds like the Nintendo DS and PSP? An EA developer put it this way. On a scale of the three, it's in between the DS and the PSP, but sliding more towards the PSP. That's right. In terms of power, you can expect to see games that look at least as good as the DS once developers get enough (read: more than four months) development time with it.

Kirameki Project DVD 1

The tiny but technologically advanced Mediterranean island nation of Genes is ruled by three teenage princesses: the sensible elder Krone, reserved technical genius Kana, and busty and brassy Nene. When the giant robot Big Mighty comes to their island looking to engage in battle a giant robot its owner has heard that Genes is developing, the sisters spring into action. While Krone directs things from the command center with the help of her Rose Knight Brigade, Nene assaults the robot physically with her powered suit, but it takes Kana reluctantly bringing out her ultra-powerful giant robot, soon named Junerin, to deal with the marauder. But Jin Ohya, the commander of the four-man team operating Big Mighty, has his own problems, and must prepare Big Mighty for a second go-around after being forced to retreat the first time.

Songbird 0.5 Media Player

Songbird is still in Beta, but in the few weeks we’ve been using it the software has been stable and crashed only a couple of times. It’s worth remembering that Songbird isn’t a Mozilla product - it’s based on the Mozilla platform, which is open source, but hasn’t been developed by the team behind Firefox or Thunderbird. There’s no video player, graphic equalisers or disc burning tools at the moment, but we still think you’ll really enjoy Songbird.

Beating the codebreakers with quantum cryptography

28 April 2008 Quantum cryptography may be essentially solved, but getting the funky physics to work on disciplined computer networks is a whole new headache. Cryptography is an arms race, but the finish line may be fast approaching. Up to now, each time the codemakers made a better mousetrap, codebreakers breed a better mouse. But quantum cryptography theoretically could outpace the codebreakers and win the race. Forever. Already the current state of the art in classical encryption, 128-bit RSA, can be cracked with enough raw, brute force computing power available to organisations like the US National Security Agency. And the advent of quantum computing will make it even simpler. The gold standard for secret communication will be truly dead.

Is Robots.txt Necessary For Unlinked File

Say I have a file which is not generally confidential, but just the same, I don't want it indexed by search engines. I place it in the home folder of a site but has no links to it. Will it be found and indexed or do I need a robots.txt file to ensure its anonymity? With no links I would not expect it to be indexed, but better be sure... -Bob

Working With 2 ISPs For Home Networking?

An anonymous reader writes "This is, I think, a simple question — but one which I can't get the answer to. As a typical, but perhaps high-demand home user I would like to use 2 separate ISPs. ADSL is pretty cheap nowadays, and 2 x ADSL seems a better value than one fast one — especially in terms of reliability. If one breaks, at least the other will work. Using an old box as a router/firewall, how can I configure a system to use two completely separate ISPs in a sensible manner? Ideally, I'd like the load of my browsing to be balanced, but at the minimum, I'd want some kind of 'fail-over.' If I leave torrents running over night, I'd like the router to use whichever connection doesn't block the traffic — and preferably for it to reset the errant connection.

Look Ma! I can play like Wii without the Wii

We have seen different versions of motion sensing controllers trying to mimick Wii style gaming. But Ultimotion from Jakks Pacific not only enables play like Wii but has also got its own version of Wii Sport. Unlike Wii, this is not a console but is something like ‘plug n play’ which fires up the games as soon as it is attached to the TV. Included games are bowling, golf, tennis, baseball and football each included with an accessory of its own for more realistic feeling.

Are People In China Happy With The Great Firewall?

We've heard this argument plenty of times in the past, but a recent study suggests that 85% of people surveyed in China are perfectly fine with the Great Firewall, saying that they believe the government has a responsibility to "protect" them from dangerous content. Of course, this is always how the government has positioned the filter: not as "blocking" content it doesn't like, but as protecting citizens from "dangerous" content. Before people act surprised about this, take a step back and recognize that if you did the same study in the US, asking if the government should be protecting children from "bad stuff" online, many Americans would naturally say yes. That doesn't necessarily mean that either is okay -- but does suggest how different the answers are based on how the question is positioned.

Ultimate Recycling on the ISS: Urine to Water

Right now, the crews on board the International Space Station consist of three people. But by late next year, the crew size will grow to six. That means more food, more water and ultimately more waste. But NASA has been working on a recycling system to transform urine and other liquid wastes into water that can be used in space for drinking, food preparation and washing. Agency officials say the water from the system will be cleaner than U.S. tap water. Not only does this help manage wastes on board the station, but its also a cost-saving measure. Water is heavy and launching it on board the shuttle or Progress re-supply ship is expensive.

How to Build a $150 Linux-based PC Through Online Deals and Coupons

If you've always wanted to build a computer from the ground up but never really had the time to find the necessary parts online, a coupon-centered blog called Coupon Codes Mall has done all the work for you. We think their choices lead to a pretty solid build, and all the coupon/sale links are current, but let's just say this straight-up: You should temper your expectations right now. It's a simple bare bones PC and it probably won't win any real tough benchmark contests. But it's hard to argue with useful and efficient cheapness.

Jewish Museum Opens Cultural Summer Program

"Andrej Hermlin and his Swing Dance Orchestra" Present "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen - Jews in Jazz"There are but a few who don't know the song "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen, " but not many are aware of the significant role Jewish musicians and composers played in the emergence of jazz – not only in America, but also in Germany and the former Soviet Union.

Gear4 BlackBox Micro is Micro Black Box Speaker For MP3 Gear

Last time we talked about Blackbox gizmos from Gear4 it was a largeish Bluetooth speaker, but this new one is different. It's wired, USB-powered and designed to be a portable companion for an MP3 player. You may think size sacrifices bass power, but apparently it's got an "SFX gel" base, meaning it uses any flat surface you stick it to to amplify sound volume and bass. It's got a normal driver too, takes line-in, and can be powered with a power-brick. Gear4's site doesn't reveal exactly how small it is, but it's out August in the UK for $40. [Gear4 and Pocket-Lint]

How to Build a $150 Linux-Based PC Through Online Deals and Coupons

"If you've always wanted to build a computer from the ground up but never really had the time to find the necessary parts online, a coupon-centered blog called Coupon Codes Mall has done all the work for you. We think their choices lead to a pretty solid build, and all the coupon/sale links are current, but let's just say this straight-up: You should temper your expectations right now. It's a simple bare bones PC and it probably won't win any real tough benchmark contests. But it's hard to argue with useful and efficient cheapness.

A Bare-Bones Linux+Mono+GUI Distro?

nimble99 writes "I am a computer software engineer, focused mainly on the Windows platform — but most of my development time is spent in .NET. I would like to move my .NET development to Linux in the form of Mono, in an attempt at building a media-center type of device. All I require, is a base operating system with simple hardware support, Mono, and a window manager that (preferably) does nothing but act as a host for mono applications. Is this available? I dont know a lot about Linux, so I thought I would ask if there is already something like this available. Obviously a 'Mono Operating System' would be the cleanest solution, but a similar thing could be achieved with the barest minimum of Linux distros right?"

Ten sticking points for new Ubuntu users

With Ubuntu, Canonical has had notable success in convincing people to switch from other platforms, but potential Ubuntu users are still running into trouble in several areas. Having spent some time on Canonical's forums, I've identified 10 points that seem to be common sticking points for new users -- that is, problems that have the potential to prevent a new user from adopting Ubuntu in the long term. These problems span the entire Ubuntu experience, but they all have two things in common: they are all serious enough to evoke the dreaded "I tried Linux but it didn't work" excuse, and they are all solvable.

macally PowerTune iPod Battery Pack Speaker Case Stand

Are you the type of person that sacrifices perfection to buy one gadget that can do multiple things, but is the master of none of them. Or do you prefer to buy the best gadget for each task? I fall somewhere in the middle of those two scenarios, but want a multi-tasking device to be a master of all ;o) The PowerTune All-in-One iPod Battery Pack / Speaker / Case / Stand from macally is a four function device. But is it the master of all them? Let's find out...

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