Mac vs. PC ads. Security Commercial Hits the Mark
Apple is laughing all the way to the bank with the release of Vista. In their recent ad campaign, you see two people where one represents a Mac and the other a PC. One of the more accurate ones describes the new security "features" of Vista that prevents you from doing nearly anything without constant warnings and dialogue boxes. .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Macintosh, Microsoft, Utter Failure, Windows, Windows VistaRFID Passports – It Just Gets Worse and Worse
Using some simple deduction, a security consultant discovered how to clone a passport as it's being mailed to its recipient, without ever opening the package.
.... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Tags: Passports, RFID, Security TheaterIf You Want a Mac, Keep in Mind that Leopard is Around the Corner
The Mac website is tearing Vista to shreds listing how many of its "cool features" have been in Max OS X since 2001. As I'm reading the nearly snide snickering articles about why Mac is (and has always been in their opinion) better than PCs, I noticed one important thing about the upcoming Leopard system.
Apparently, they plan to .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Apple, Macintosh, Microsoft, WindowsVista Activation Hacks
The Register has an article about a bogus Vista activation key generator, but lists this interesting bit near the end:
The latest attack exploits Vista's System Locked Pre-installation 2 (SLP2) mechanism, technology which allows Microsoft's favoured hardware partners to avoid users having to activate their Vista installs. SLP2 combines an OEM specific certificate along with markers .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tiny RFID Makes Even Worse Abuses Possible
(See online!)
Also this excerpt from Popular Science explains it in more detail actuallly referencing the use of these RFID chips in money.
Tags: Big Brother, Big Business, RFIDDiebold Election Division About to Push Up Daisies?
The Register reports that Diebold has hurt its relationship with customers and election officials with their pathetic voting machine fiasco.
Negative publicity about the voting machines - such as the HBO documentary Hacking Democracy - has cast a shadow over the 150-year old company, analysts say. Until its move into e-voting, the firm was better known for .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]The RIAA – Who They Are In a Nutshell
This is probably the best summary of who the RIAA is and what they stand for that I've ever heard:
The RIAA is like the Prohibitionists of old. In their view, the law cannot allow for something completely reasonable such as legal circumvention because it could be abused. Millions of people are thereby .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]6 Business and IT Experts Review Vista
Information Week asked six of its readers to give them a review of Windows Vista and the results weren't good.
Problems to date are mostly driver related. I am having all sorts of problems with power management (can't wake up out of Sleep, system starts up in the middle of the night for no identified reason, restart/shutdown .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Why DRM Matters To Normal People
From this page:
Most people don't care about DRM... until it interferes with the Right to Fair Use. If you buy any other product... be it a gun, a car, a chainsaw, a pen, or a knitting needle... you can do whatever the hell you want with it... because it is yours. DRM-protected content is the .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Printer Companies Secretly Tracking Your Prints
Did you know that many new printers print "tracking dots" that encodes information in everything you print? They are nearly invisible, but can be used by law enforcement or others to specifically identify what printer printed any photo or document.
Since they don't openly disclose this "feature", be sure to stop by the EFF's guide to which printers .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Big Brother, Big Business, Tracking Dots