Buzz Out Loud Blog

If a robot has a firm handshake, does that mean its creator is a stand-up guy, or just that he programmed his robot to have a firm handshake? That and other serious technology topics are examined today, and we also give our official Buzz Out Loud reviews of the new Microsoft commercial with Jerry Seinfeld. Brian Cooley joins us for Friday goodness.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 803

LHC will not destroy the universe in 5 days
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/09/04/lhc-will-not-destroy.html

Microsoft begins big ad push
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10033375-56.html
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/9/seinfeld-s-first-microsoft-commercial-awkward-not-funny

Comcast appeals FCC traffic-blocking ruling
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10033376-38.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080904-martin-responds-to-comcast-lawsuit-we-still-want-answers.html

Blu-ray gone in five years, Samsung claims
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/04/1656212

Redesigned, bulkier Honda Insight to challenge Prius
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/09/05/0141244.shtml

Michael Moore plans Net-only film premiere
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10033561-93.html

Album leak welcomed by Metallica (Thanks Bernardo!)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7598617.stm

Robots Are Net’s future, says Vint Cerf
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/04/1751209

Adobe and NBC to provide live streaming of NFL games
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Stewart/?p=924

Columbia set to resurrect Ghostbusters
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/05/ghostbusters_3/

VOICE MAIL

Anonymous
Cybercommand update.

Dave
My friend's bad bandwidth.

FORUMS

Comcast bandwidth meter
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=307301

Preview of Seth McFarlane’s Google ad cartoons
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=307304

E-MAIL

Hey Crew! Long time listener, first time e-mailer!

I was bugged by the whole Comcast putting a cap on my end of the tube. I would consider myself a moderate bandwidth user, and was curious as to how much I actually use. So I called Comcast on Saturday, got to the person I who would answer my question, and the lady said she’d have no problem telling me how much. After a minute or two, she said she’d have to talk to her manager who knew exatcally where to look, was gone for a few minutes, came back, typed a bunch, left again, came back, thanked me for being patient, kept looking…. She asked me why i was inquiring about how much I use, and I explained to her that I had no idea where I was compared with the 1%… she told me that it was only 1 percent who would get cut off, and I explained to her again that I didn’t know where I was to know how close I come to the 250GB, to which she said ‘well, you get 350GB not 250GB. I told her what the news said, and she said it was wrong. I was going to ask her for name and her extension for future reference, but my store got busy, so I had to go. It took about 20 minutes for her to find the bandwidth I used in the last 30 days, which was about 75GB.

I would think that the average customer would ask “where do I stand compared with the cap?”… The only answer I was getting was “well, only 1 percent will hit the cap”, which isn’t an answer. The average customer is not going to have any point of reference to gauge how much they use.

Thanks keep up the good work!

Todd,

Lynden, Wash.

Hay buzz crew,

Just writing in to say "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!" Thanks to BOL my wife is now interested in tech stuff and I have a new outlet for my tech talk.

It all started as I slipped a copy of Buzz out loud on to her iPod and renamed it NY Times. Idea stolen from Microsoft Mohave Experiment.

Can you give her a shout out!

Now I only have to get her to play COD 4 & Gears of War Don't know how I am going to do that but wish me luck!

Thank You

Matthew

Hey Jamoto, Tobias from Sweden again.
As I hope you remember, I e-mailed you yesterday about SPORE DRM-
license-server-thing that refuses to work. I’ve been trying for three days now, still no luck!

Sad to say I’m not the only one, just check out this thread (one of many):

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/spore-technical-support/334745-mac-users-cannot-connect-license-server.html

So you remember us Mac-users can’t get into the game. Well worse, PC-users that bought Galactic Edition can’t seem to log in either, because for them, the game says that their serial code is invalid.
I’ve paid almost 90 bucks for the game, is it to much too ask for it only to work?

Worse yet, EA Support doesn’t know what to do. One I talk to didn’t even understand that I was on the Mac (he was trying to get me to run the EAReg.exe or whatever it is called on the PC). Another guy told me to register online. And everyone else told me to wait. Nothing helps!

I never actually cared about the whole DRM debate, but now I’m so pissed about it because it only hurts the honest average customer who just wants to play his or hers friggin’ game!

I appreciate you mentioned my e-mail on episode 802, and with this e-mail I’m hoping that you will take this further and discuss it. Maybe we can get a Molly rant on DRM?

Love the show, and have a great weekend

Tobias

Hello Buzz Crew,

Netbooks and laptops are already bundled by carriers outside U.S.

In Romania you can get when you subscribe to the mobile Internet services cheaper laptops and Netbooks.

Orange has Eee PC 901, Macbook Air, and other Dell and Asus bundle offers.

Allex from Romania

Dear Buzz Out Loud,

You can put an OEM copy of Windows on any machine you want. The catch is, once it is on one, that is the only computer you can put it on. Some places also require you to also buy some sort of hardware in order to buy an OEM copy. This doesn’t usually mean a complete system, unless you’re buying from places like HP or Dell; often you can buy one component such as RAM. It can be something else you might need (DVD-ROM, hard drive, etc.), but RAM is usually a good way to go seems how you’ll probably need more anyways. OEM software is always a good way to go if you’re building your own machine and want to keep costs down.

Brian, Ill.

I thought I made up a word, but upon further review, slaver turns out to mean to smear as if with saliva. Ew. But we also talked further about listening to media in the shower and even got to some tech news. That involved the release of Spore, the recall of Sony laptops, and Amazon launching a new video streaming service.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 802

Spore (PC) game reviews
http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-games/spore-pc/4505-9696_7-31484467.html

Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 to $199 in throw down with Sony
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080903-microsoft-makes-play-for-second-place-360-price-cut-to-199.html

Sony recalls 440,000 Vaio laptops
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7598344.stm

Amazon flicks on its streaming-video service
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10032491-93.html

BBC to launch music download store
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/03/1937241

Sprint Touch Diamond reviewed
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=3336

Dell plays defense with Mini 9 netbook
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10032134-1.html

Google on Chrome EULA controversy: Our bad, we’ll change it
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080903-google-on-chrome-eula-controversy-our-bad-well-change-it.html

What exaflood? ‘Net backbone shows no signs of osteoporosis
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080903-what-exaflood-net-backbone-shows-no-signs-of-osteoporosis.html

The 5 most laughable terms of service on the Net
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/03/2130233

VOICE MAIL

Anonymous
Mad PC gamer

FORUMS

Bandwidth metering software
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=306977&messageID=2847675

E-MAIL

I’m upset at my ISP. The wrote to me a few months ago with an amazing offer, to ‘upgrade me’ from my naked uncapped ADSL connection to a less expensive capped DSL connection with phone included. Now I’m a busy person so I didn’t write them back to tell them where to take their amazing offer.

Now some months later, the lovely people at my ISP have telephoned me 10 times in eight days offering to ‘upgrade’ me. I--again being busy--pretended not to be the account holder and told them to go away. But the really frustrating thing is that today, my Internet has been down since about 4 a.m. yet they still called me to tell me how I could get the great Internet connection I’m getting just now for less!

I don’t have the time to explain the the minimum wage employee on the end of the phone at 1) the deal is crap, you really expect me to give up an uncapped connection and my static IP address to save £5 a month and 2) that I have something called VoIP and that means I really don’t give a crap about their phone service.

So BOL, please send a nice big Buzz Off to Pipex in the U.K.. They annoy me with their phone calls and with their two instances of downtime, I’ve already exceeded the 5GB cap on my HSDPA account only four days into the month.

ross(cbrown)

Dear Jamoto,

I have been a long time listener and passively enjoying your show, but, I think I may be missing the point on the Psystar issue. I won’t go into some crazy analogy comparing Psystar with some middle earth subcreature or something. I just want someone to clear up how what apple does is so much different than the OEM license that Microsoft issues. Isn’t that copy of the operating system locked to a specific machine?

Someone help me out. Explain to me the difference. Feeling a little dense on this.

Steve

Have you guys wondered why the new 250GB bandwidth cap is not exposed as a meter customers can lookup?

If Comcast knows how much bandwidth a customer consumes in a months time, wouldn’t it simply be an number, adjacent to their account number in a giant database somewhere? How hard would that be to expose to customers via a password protected customer portal…

OR…

Perhaps, the don’t know how much bandwidth each customer uses. After all, its pretty difficult to track this on a shared loop network, like a cable broadband network.

Nilay

Hi Guys,

I loved the story about the waterproof TV because I have to admit I am a shower media junky. I recently upgraded to a smartphone and have loaded it with BOL and other tech podcasts. At home I put the phone on a ledge and play it over the speaker but have contemplated bringing a ziplock to the gym so I can play it in the shower there as well. I drive my wife crazy because I move around with the phone playing the podcasts as I get out of the shower, brush my teeth, and so on. Nothing gets my day off to the right start like a good Molly rant!

My only regret is that I heard this story while in the car, not the shower this time, which would have been really cool. Love the show!

Thanks,

Matt

Just thought you guys would like to know that while watching CNBC today (sadly a little after the live stream concluded) they had a segment on what the Apple announcements might be and one of their highlighted items was a possible Beatles deal. Looks like your rumor is spreading like wildfire. Keep up the good work.

Tommy in Atlanta

EPISODE 801

Speed test: Google Chrome beats Firefox, IE, Safari
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html

Firefox counters Google’s browser-speed test
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10031278-92.html

Chrome suffers first security flaw
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10031250-83.html
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1843

P2P traffic drops as streaming video grows in popularity
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080902-p2p-traffic-drops-as-streaming-video-grows-in-popularity.html

DirecTV, TiVo Plan HD DVR
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329340,00.asp

“Google satellite” to be launched this week
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/09/02/210233.shtml

Insert ‘Ghostbusters’ song reference here: PNY offers movie on USB
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10031329-1.html

Report: 58 percent of adults clueless about ‘social networking’
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/09/report-58-of-ad.html

Survey says: DVR could improve your relationships
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10030452-1.html

Service call gone awry leads to playwright’s arrest
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080901.whostage01/BNStory/Technology/
http://idle.slashdot.org/idle/08/09/02/1636205.shtml

VOICEMAIL

Mike Hoboken
What is JaMoTo?

Anonymous
Digital TV transition in Wilmington.

E-MAIL

I had to laugh about Chrome’s new “Omni Bar” supposedly being a rip-
off of the Awesome Bar. Maybe Google is just giving props to OmniWeb , which has had this feature for years.

Jen

**********

Hey Buzzards,
Not sure if you guys have heard about this yet, but Google's nifty new browser has the EULA from hell. Basically, by installing Chrome, you give all-inclusive rights for Google to do whatever they wish, and with whomever they choose, with the data that was transmitted using Chrome. So, uploading a pic to Facebook or even browsing your company's internal content-management system gives Google a license to that content. Either Google is being run by Dr. Evil, or somebody just copied and pasted the EULA from Google Docs without paying attention to the details.

=== From the EULA ===
11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.

James

**********

Hey Tom, Molly, and Jason,
So, I was trying out the new Google Chrome (what a lame name BTW) when I ended up at lifehacker and tried to watch a YouTube video that only played for two seconds. At first I thought maybe they didn't embed it correctly, so I went to YouTube and CNET TV to find that this so called "sophisticated technology" has the same stupid Flash bug that Firefox has. Come on, Google. You built your browser on AppleWebKit, not Gecko; how can you import a Firefox problem to your browser?! And, Tom, please don't give me that beta crap. I mean, it's just Flash--it isn't that hard; even Microsoft gets it right. Also, it really irked me that there's almost as much press coverage both on the Web and TV as the iPhone for this piece of junk. I don't understand how they just talk about Microsoft and Google . Did those stupid TV News reporters forget about Firefox, Opera, Seamonkey and the rest of, like, 60 Web browsers out there? Oh wait, they don't know bull about the Internet. And, how on earth can they recommend their viewers to download a browser that is in beta to the public to newbie internet users? Stupid Chrome, stupid reporters...glad I uninstalled it.

Love the show,

Leo S.

**********

I could just put my eyes out.

I worked at a structural engineering firm (which shall remain nameless) for 3 years and the bulk of my work was in retail projects. I’ve worked on about 25 Apple stores.

My favorite part of BOL #800 was when everyone was saying “Why don’t they just build a store?”, and “Why can’t they just put a wall up?” You guys sounded like every design team meeting I had been to for Apple stores. The meetings that Apple wasn’t at, I mean. I can understand wanting to build a quality product--I try to do that in my work-- but it seemed to me that there would always have been a faster, cheaper, more efficient way of building those stores if Apple had only listened to and worked with their consultants.

And the second best part of the episode was learning about ifoapplestore.com. And, by second best part I mean the worst part. OMG. I could just put my own eyes out! I counted five of my former projects on the front page. Somebody does this in his/her free time? Really? Is it for funsies? Am I the only who thinks this is totally weird?

I’ve seen two Kindles and a Sony eReader in the wild, all on MUNI (maybe not important), and I love the show.

engnr_chik

**********

I have been watching the show for a few months now and I really enjoy
it on my drive to school. So, I just wanted to say thanks. Also you
could have a fourth person on BOL more often, like maybe once a week,
and it could be a different person each time. It would throw in
other perspectives and give us more rants.

-Mohammed Ilias

LOVE THE SHOW!!!

**********

One of Tom’s annual predictions is a major network Internet simulcast of
a regular show. (I recall sports didn’t count when NBC did the NHL All
Star game.) So, does precasting of regular, top-rated, serial-
television count?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10030797-93.html

PittCaleb

EPISODE 800

Apple Store in Hawaii still not open
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2008/08/23/hawaiian-spirits-dictate-storefront-materials/

Meet Chrome, Google’s shiny new browser
http://news.cnet.com/Meet-Chrome%2C-Googles-shiny-new-browser/2009-1032_3-6246210.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10030025-2.html
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-09-02-n72.html

Apple makes September 9 iPod event official
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10030344-37.html

Is Cuil killing Web sites?
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/01/is-cuil-killing-websites/

IE8 Beta 2 fatter than Firefox and XP
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/09/02/1418252.shtml

Lenovo won’t refund the Windows tax without an NDA
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080831-lenovo-wont-refund-the-windows-tax-without-an-nda.html

Spore to finally appear later this week
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/02/spore-finally-appear-later
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122031227102788791.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Nokia ‘Comes With Music’ to offer ‘Free’ music to cell phone subscribers
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/nokia-comes-wit.html

Ultrasound to give feel to games
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7593444.stm

Is technology making it harder to be unfaithful?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10029985-71.html

Shower TV!
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/02/sony-floats-waterproof-bravia-xdv-w600-1-seg-tv-for-the-bath/

VOICE MAIL

Jim from London
About bandwidth caps.

Bill
An example of an album as a single file.

E-MAIL

Josh Denver wasn’t very far off, in fact BMW developed a racecar that runs on the same principal. It was super fast setting 9 speed records and its only byproduct was water. It was called the BMW H2R. Here is the the Wikipedia article link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_H2R

Google it if you have any other questions

Comcast’s limits:

Take 250GB and divide by thirty (8.3GB daily cap), 347MB hourly cap, 5.7 meg per minute, and 96k per second. The key question is, “What applications do I run that consume 100kpbs per second?” In a family of five, here’s the math:

Son 8 - Club Penguin
Daughter 11- Homework, AIM chat
Daughter 4 - iTunes video
Wife - Web browsing/online chat, Internet radio
Me - Buzz out Loud, Skype, Adium, Transmission, Slingbox, Pandora

OK, maybe we ought to switch off our router at night… that would double our numbers, but let’s face it, the real problem is if you need to run something that persistently consumes bandwidth: Torrents & Persistent Music & Video connections are still the big issue. Who’s kidding who?

Glad I’m on Time Warner...so far, we’re safe, for another five minutes. Even so, I know we all know they’re shaping our traffic, it’s just a matter of how sneaky they are at it.

Love the show,

Ernest

I am sure that this is beat to death but I am one of the few who may be affected by this new cap. My husbands employer just allowed him to work at home as a software developer. He VPNs everyday for 8-to-9 hours into his works network. I myself work from home as a writer for a daily news blog and maintain a personal blog where I upload pictures and videos daily. My husband and I do online gaming at night, watch Hulu, just browsing, and so on. My children are home schooled and we use an online learning program and lots of Web sites as educational resources. We even use VoIP for our phone! We pay for the most expensive Comcast plan at $75/month. It was advertised as a “gaming and entertainment plan”. So much for that. If we get booted from Comcast our only choice is 1.5MB DSL thru Fairpoint. Sounds ridiculous but we may have to buy a new house just to get the Internet we need.

-kate

Hey JaMoTo,

Quick update on your analysts site, I settled with NTT DoCoMo. After having a few e-mail discussions with DoCoMo, they eventually told me it was a mistake to send me that e-mail, and the person who sent the e-mail misunderstood what causes infringement on there copyright! Also you can now access the site from a new URL, Jamotoanalysts Dot Com. Plus the first press release comes out wednesday!

-Hayden

August 31, 1998, is when the very first mp3 player was available:

http://www.teamteabag.com/2008/08/31/retro-computing-corner-the-worlds-first-mp3-player-c-1998/

The mp3 player is now a decade old!

Hi Crew,

Regarding Lloyds "password" saga (BOL 799)--it isn't actually a password, it is a "secret word".

Amongst the many joys of the British banking system, any call to customer service will involve (after a 20 minute wait and multiple choice questions) providing such information as age, date of birth, inside trouser (pant?) measurement, and so on, and finally the Secret Word.

From this word you are asked to provide, for example, the first and third letter--all this is to supposedly prove you are you and no one else, said word is not part of any login system and is purely for human consumption.

Finally--Top Gear and the i-pod pronunciation, that is just James May aka Captain Slow, he has made it into the 21st Century, but only just.

Regards

Mike Lumley
Torquay U.K.

While listening to episode 797 the superbug of piracy, you guys were talking about spreading the rumor about The Beatles coming to itunes September 9, well I just wanted to let that the other day at work (I work at Best Buy…… yeah Best Buy, who buy the way are proud sponsors of CNET TV just wanted to throw that in there). I informed a friend of mine (who is also a BOL fan), that The Beatles were coming to itunes September 9 and he was all like REALLY!!!!!!!!! (all excite) and I was like no….. it’s just a rumor that Molly and the guys from BOL are spreading, and he than just started laughing, than later in the day when I was sitting in the lunch room talking with a bunch of other staff, Pat walked in and said “So Nicole did you hear that The Beatles are coming to iTunes September 9” everyone in the room was like really…….and I was like ya didn’t you hear. It was a super funny moment anyways LOVE THE SHOW.

Nicole Drummond
just another BOL fan

EPISODE 799

Comcast puts a cap on Net usage
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/08/25/daily35.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10028506-2.html
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-comcast-to-roll-out-monthly-usage-cap/

Kaminsky DNS bug claimed fixed by 1-character patch
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/29/127210

Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9113739

No new Kindle this year
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007628.html

Yahoo kills their social network
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10028716-36.html

Psychologist invents new uber-wiki
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/29/mememoir_uber_wiki_announced/

Android developer challenge winners announced
http://code.google.com/android/adc_gallery/

Alphabet decides who gets most spam
http://www.pcworld.com/article/150464/alphabet_decides_who_gets_most_spam.html

Coca-Cola readying 100-flavor soda fountains
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/29/coca-cola-readying-100-flavor-soda-fountains/

Voice mail

Camilla
Rant of the week.

Josh Denver
So… About the hydrogen…. Seriously.

RogueTess
Why water is different than OS X

E-mail

Hey Guys,

About the story in 798 - artists not selling their music on iTunes because of lack of an album only option - I disagree with the stance that this purely the record labels trying to exert more control. In the Ars Technica piece you will notice the it says Kid Rock decided to pull out of iTunes not his label. I’m assuming that this decision is because it’s a concept record, which is something of a lost art these days.

I work on three music projects in which I write, produce, and release all the music myself through Tunecore. While I love the service and it’s very convenient to release to iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and others, I find it to be a rather frustrating process to figure how to release our music in that i write in terms of a concept album and to break it up is difficult decision to make because you feel like you are putting something out there that is out of context. What ultimately I decided to do is to use iTunes to release compilations containing songs from all three projects and use Amazon mp3 the sell them as an album only, as you failed to mention or you didn’t know Amazon does offer this option.

I leave you with this if Pink Floyd released the The Wall today would have gained as much acclaim, attention and influence on later bands as it did in 1980 when it was released or would be just about Another Brick in The Wall and Comfortably Numb.

Great show.

Eric - DC, Soon to be back in Austin

**********

Buzz clique,

It appears in episode 798 you have finally addressed one of the fundamental issues that have divided our two nations for decades. I thought I’d set you straight as to what the deal with ‘pants’ is.

There’s a reason why pants is a British adjective for something that is not good. This is because when we use the word pants we don’t think of a pair of well cut, nice fitting khakis from Gap, but rather a pair of sweaty, skid marked, discarded undercrackers.

The American use of pants in place of trousers has always bothered me slightly, but not as much as the over pronunciation of the letter I. I will not be going to EYEraq, taking antEYE-depressants or installing Norton AntEYE-virus. Pretty sure you guys aren’t guilty of this one though. Right on, and more power to you.

Love the show, and what the frack is a Kindle?

Greg, London

P.S. Caprica? WICKED!

**********

Buzz Fellows,

I simply cannot believe that the circumstances behind the situation of the Pants story (from episode 798) exist at all! Everyone knows (or, apperantly they don’t!) that you never, ever store customer’s actual (plain-text) passwords ANYWHERE.

The standard practice is to use a Hashing algorithm to create a unique and one-way translation of the user’s password into a key. This key cannot be reverse engineered to obtain the original password, but the same password will always generate the same key. So, when you store or check a user’s password, you hash whatever they enter and compare the key to the key you have in your database.

If you store plain-text passwords, as Lloyds TSB clearly does, then you run the HUGE security risk of providing a malicious attacker with thousands of users’ real passwords, which could be used immediately to log into their accounts. This is all a story within itself BEFORE we even get to the fact that someone felt the need to change a user’s password!

When I read “In these cases an advisor can read the full password.”, I nearly had a heart attack.

~EndangeredMassa

**********

hey buzz crew

i have been waiting to hear about a solution to the firefox flash video issue, as it affects me all the time!
i mostly have 15-20 tabs open when browsing.. maybe that does have something to do with it?

in the mean time, i’ve found that i can watch flash video in firefox ( 2 / 3 ) without the issues by using the ‘ietab’ extension

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

So, everyone can use this while they wait for adobe and mozilla to work it out!

Cheers

Aladar

**********

I was the person who created the JaMoTo Analysts site. I don’t know if you noticed, but the logo I used was the NTT DoCoMo (The Japanese cell phone carrier) logo, I changed the logo around a little bit and added some effects, but the next day I got an email form DoCoMo asking from me to take down the logo! I don’t even know how they saw the page so fast! The email said that the DoCoMo logo is there property and that it should not be used or altered at all, and that if I don’t take down the logo it could lead to quote “LEGAL ACTION”! My first thought was to take down the logo, but should I? Do I have the right to use a heavly altered logo on the site. I have no intention of making money off the site, I am not selling a product or anything. I have no idea what to do!

-Hayden

EPISODE 798

IE 8 beta gives other browsers a run for their money
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10027345-83.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7585741.stm

State cannot force removal of SSNs from privacy advocate’s site
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/08/08/28/1536249.shtml

Music labels rethink iTunes, again; same old gripe of album vs singles
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-music-labels-rethink-itunes-again-same-old-gripe-of-album-vs-singles/

“Galactica” proves the ratings system is dead
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26396271/

Veoh defeats copyright infringement lawsuit
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10027926-93.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121989796262379185.html
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/8/a-victory-for-video-sites-court-grants-veoh-its-dmca-defense-in-copyright-case

YouTube finally figures out how to make money: Big ads on its home page
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/8/youtube-finally-figures-out-how-to-make-money-big-ads-on-its-homepage

Report: AT&T source explains exact technical details of iPhone 3G problems - Thanks Jay!
http://www.dailytech.com/Report+ATT+Source+Explains+Exact+Technical+Details+of+iPhone+3G+Probems/article12797.htm

Why can’t they fix the Flash/Firefox bug?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10027752-2.html

Aaron Sorkin creates Facebook page, writing Facebook movie
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/08/confirmed_aaron_sorkin_creates.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7585632.stm

Hackers prepare supermarket sweep
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7584258.stm

Man’s ‘pants’ password is changed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/7585098.stm

Voice mail

Josh in Denver
Hydrogen-powered cars.

Anonymous Analyst
Made a site.

E-mail

Hey BOL Crew,
I think that Psystar’s counter-suit against Apple, saying that they
violated anti-trust laws, is completely bogus. It’s as if someone were
to sue Dasani saying that they are violating anti-trust laws by
packaging water in the specific Dasani bottle. Now, if the consumer
wants to put the water from the Dasani bottle into their own - they
can. Just like the OSx86 project. Now, if you were to sell Dasani
water in your own bottle, it’s obvious that you are ripping of Dasani.
It’s the same situation with Apple v Psystar. If Psystar wins, it’s
like allowing the common people to make Apple’s company decisions.

-John

**********

Hey Guys,

On 797, you briefly mentioned the use of the letter “Y” and how it
began with Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

I’m a little confused… Are you saying that shows didn’t commonly
exist prior to Buffy with “Y”s at the end, or that “Buffy” was
originally “Buff The Vampire Slayer,” but they added the “Y” to give
it the secret Whedon sauce of success?

It sounded like there was a reasoning behind the “Y” but you didn’t
really explain. Please do.

Tim
St. Louis, Mo.

P.S. Was Molly originally “Moll” before the “Y” craze?

**********

Hey hey TMJ,

I’m fully not expecting this to be on the podcast tomorrow, but wanted to share my fangirl love for you guys. At 3 different points in podcast 797 I was talking back to you guys while driving home from work!

1. Hey Tom, #800 won’t be on Monday, but on Tuesday, unless you guys are podcasting on Labor Day
2. Hey Molly, answering the phone in Japanese isn’t “konichiwa” (although that is technically “hello”), but “moshi moshi”. As a japanophile, I thought you’d know that one!
3. Hey Jason, when you asked “are you ready for some soft rock!” I was waiting for Johnathan Coulton’s “Soft Rocked by Me” from his Thing a Week collection: http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2006/06/02/thing-a-week-35-soft-rocked-by-me/

PS Jason, how’s your DirecTV?

Love you guys!
Amy in the East Bay

**********

Hey Buzz Crew,
I was just listening to episode #797 , and the near Molly rant about
Apple pulling apps form the App Store made me fire up the old
Powerbook, put the baby in the swing and give you my two cents. The
way I see it is that Apple built the sandbox, ordered the sand, and
even made sure the dumb truck did not wreck their yard. Now all they
are trying to do is get the cat poop out the it. I guess what I’m
trying to say is that I dont see any difference between Apple pulling
apps, for what ever reason, even for no reason at all. And those signs
you see that every mom and pop restaurant that state ” We reserve the
right refuse service to anyone”. Is Apple being a tool do doing this,
yes? But its still their sandbox.

Love the show,
Never seen a kindle in the wild,

Mark-o from Portland

EPISODE 797

Google tests custom highlights, comments in search
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/08/27/1531241.shtml

Revealed: The Internet’s biggest security hole
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/revealed-the-in.html

Computer viruses make it to orbit
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7583805.stm

Psystar to hit Apple with countersuit
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10026033-37.html

Violent comic book doesn’t meet Apple’s standards
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10026806-37.html
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/08/27/apple-bans-a-comic-book-firestorm-ensues/

iPhone ad banned over ‘all Internet’ claim
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10026842-37.html

Report: Studios want interoperable DRM
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10026735-93.html

Mozilla offers do-it-yourself mashups for all
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10026734-93.html

Opentape invites RIAA to play whack-a-mole post-Muxtape
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080826-opentape-invites-riaa-to-play-whack-a-mole-post-muxtape.html

English is a user-modifiable technology
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/27/english-is-a-usermod.html

VOICEMAIL

Anonymous Guy
We have a unique identifier.

Hello person
Hello.

E-MAIL

Hi Buzz crew,

First, I want to say Molly is right, regulations for Formula One is extremely precise for engines. It must be an atmospheric 2.4 liters V8 fuel powered engine. The fuel needs to follow the Euro95 norm for pump fuel and must contain 5 percent of bio-fuel .
But mainly I want to point out that next year, F1 will be hybrids, the regulation is changing to allow for hybrid design (similar to what exists in regular cars). And also, even though there is a lot of fuel used for all the races during the year, this is completely offset by new technology developed for those cars. I cannot remember the exact details, but I believe Renault F1 sold some aerodynamics design to plane manufacturers that help them reduce plane fuel consumption by a significant percentage.

Love the show
Jerome from Montreal

**********

Hello Tom, Molly, and Jason

This is Daniel from The Bronx. I wanted to ask you guys (mostly Tom) a question about your iPhone. I have a 16GB original and wanted to know if your phone gets or got hot while in use. Here’s what made me want to ask. I got my iPhone a week before the update to 1.1.4 and I noticed that it would run hot when talking on it. Also, up around the SIM card would get warm when using Wi-Fi.

It happened from the beginning and I haven’t read anything about ‘hot iPhones’ in forums or on CNET anywhere, so I thought it was normal. I stopped putting my warm phone to my head and started using the headphones to make and receive calls as a solution. Then came the miracle we all know as the 2.0 Firmware Update and my mysterious ‘hot iPhone’ had been cured! That was all fine and dandy until 2.0.2. Now my iPhone has a fever again. I just wanted to know if I was alone in the world and if so, should I look into getting my phone repaired/replaced.

Love the show and thanks.

Daniel S. (from The Bronx)

**********

Just listed to 796, and I agree that assigned serials as names aren’t outside the realm of possibility in the future. One thing though. I feel bad for whatever future people wind up with names like LUH 3417, SEN 5241, or THX 1138. Lucasfilm is gonna have fun when that happens!

“Let us be thankful we have commerce. Buy more. Buy more now. Buy more and be happy.”
~OMM 0000

Love the show!

Jason H.
Lombard, IL

**********

Amid all the iPhone talk, I lost track--are The Beatles on iTunes yet?
Can we start that talk up again?

Keith

EPISODE 796

Apple event for September 9
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/08/25/rumor-apple-event-for-september-9th

Network notary system thwarts man-in-the-middle attacks
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080826-network-notary-system-thwarts-man-in-the-middle-attacks.html
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Firefox-Extension-Thwarts-MITM-Attacks-97239

Drawings of Android phone revealed
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10025919-94.html
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/26/htcs-dream-a-super-skinny-qwerty/

Google drops Bluetooth API from Android 1.0
http://mobile.slashdot.org/mobile/08/08/26/168251.shtml

No foreign URLs? Top domain registrar blocked in China.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13908_3-10025595-59.html

Bank customer data sold on eBay
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7581540.stm

Amazon to acquire book-networking site
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10025741-93.html

Apple shuts OpenClip: No more copy-and-paste.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10025034-16.html

Fuel-Cell car-racing series aims to spur green motoring
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/26/1232206

Japanese with common last name Yoda denied Facebook account
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/26/japanese-with-last-n.html

VOICEMAIL

Robert in Edinburgh
On the 3G Apple reception tests.

Fordo
On Schneider and iPhone

Chris
I have a question.

FORUMS

HELP FIND TRIP!!!
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html?forumID=97&threa