Slashback: Solidity, Sneakiness, Recovery 185
Vivid Video, take note: NickElm writes: "The 3Dwm project, already featured twice before on Slashdot (the last time little more than a year ago), is still alive and kicking and making steady progress. This summer, we added CSG support, full VNC interaction, and our first real application (a 3Dwm clock). To top it off, Xybernaut recently donated two wearable computers to the project, perfect platforms for this kind of thing. 3Dwm packages have existed for Debian for quite some time, and we were just now adopted by Mandrake as well. What are you waiting for, download it and try it out for yourself! Still far from a complete user environment, but we're getting there..."
Do you want your iTunes iBack, little iBoy? pinqkandi writes "Apple has released some tips on getting back your data lost by the iTunes Installer for Mac OS X. If you haven't written to the partition where the loss occured, you should be able to get it back with Tech Tool Pro or Norton Utilities. Apple's tips warn to NOT use a Volume Recover feature in these utilities, but instead use their tools to recover lost data. Also, boot from a CD before recovering data, and also follow your utility's maker's directions. Unfortunately, no free utilities are listed for the recovery."
The sort of details you'll find on page 17 in small print. ARP writes "A while ago RatedPC brought us some scoop of HP's upcoming Digital Entertainment Center de100c. At first this unit seems to be a perfect addition to home theatre systems right? Well, you better forget about it if you think you are going to use it to share music or make your own CDs from your MP3 collection. What HP hasn't told us is they have been seriously whipped by DRM (Digital Rights Management). An internal FAQ has revealed that users will be unable to use CD-RWs to burn off their own CDs. You will need to buy "Digital Audio Discs" and royalties from these discs are distributed to artists via the RIAA. And you can't transfer your songs to your PC either. Without a doubt RIAA's foothold has extended much above just this. Don't be surprised if it won't play your MP3 collection because they are not digitally signed. The problem is that RIAA will be riding high on HP success with this product and their grip will be firmer when it comes to controlling what you will do with your music."
A similar problem affects the otherwise very cool-looking Terapin video recorder, which I would pick up in a heartbeat if it worked with regular CD-Rs. The HP website talks about burning tracks to CD, but makes no mention of such restrictions; I hope this is simply bad information, but it seems quite likely that "burning to CD" in this case will mean burning to industry-sanctioned CDs with their accompanying surcharge. Can anyone provide further information?
Vivid Video? (Score:3, Funny)
What does a major porn distributor have to do with 3Dwm?
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:1)
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:1)
Vivid Video, take note: NickElm writes: "The 3Dwm project, already featured twice before on Slashdot (the last time little more than a year ago), is...
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:3, Offtopic)
One of the features they have apparenly added is a 3-D walkthrough as a menu-choosing function (navigate choices by browsing, first-person-like through a hallway in their simulated House O' Skin). Perhaps someone with a functioning DVD player can better comment on this.
Added to which, they have a big online / computer interest if not presence (the vivid studio head, whose name I forget, gets shown / interviewed on TV sometimes talking about such), so this seems like a natural fit for them.
timothy
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:1)
I haven't seen a Vivid movie in years. Too tame for my taste, although their girls are *hot*
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:1)
But that would mean... men only... and that would be... gay.
Aha. I see what you're getting at...
IIRC, Vivid puts out the "Where The Boys Aren't". It's been a few years since I worked at the video store (dot-com boom got me hired doing computer work and that put a damper on my video store clerk career) but I don't think Vivid does gay (male) porn.
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:1)
This is a gerat feature if you like the idea of walking through down a hallway (replete with crappy texture mapping) in order to get to the, ahem, content. Personally, I think that the main reason to buy DVDs is to avoid cumbersome access times. On the plus side, they do manage to cram a lot of, ahem, content onto those DVDs. Definitely a value.
BTW, this feature works on both my laptop and my DVD player.
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:1)
I'm in trouble now... (Score:5, Funny)
So I clicked on the link looking for enlightenment, and all it was was some porn site.
Then the boss walked in...
Then the popups started popping up.
"Yes, I was doing my job I was reading Slashdot and the article linked...
"...Oh, never mind"
Re:I'm in trouble now... (Score:1)
we all believe you. suuuuure.
Re:Vivid Video? (Score:3, Funny)
To top it off, Xybernaut recently donated two wearable computers to the project, perfect platforms for this kind of thing.
Can I make it any clearer?
Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:5, Informative)
http://newforums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.c
Re:Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:1)
Re:Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:2)
As they should. Although, they shouldn't have erased my files to begin with.
Now, how do I start my broken Mac again?
Re:Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:2)
Granted, but mistakes happen.
Now, how do I start my broken Mac again?
With your OS 9 CD. Pop it in and hold down "c" until you see OS 9 booting up. Alternatively, the Norton CD is self-booting.
- j
Re:Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:2)
If this was Microsoft, Slashdot would be wiping the floor with this story. 2000 comments...
Re:Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:2)
Re:Apple giving an even more helping hand... (Score:2)
Oh, great. If a simple non-system-related application can screw up and delete an entire partition, I can just imagine something as low-level as a file undeleter reflashing your BIOS with garbage.
Seriously, though, when you're mucking about with file recovery and such, you want lots of looking at the code, lots of testing, and all those other software engineering things that take lots of time and effort but produce better, safer, more stable code. It's not the kind of thing you rush out the door, and it's not the kind of thing that'd get done in time to appease customers that currently have boat anchors sitting on their desks. Using an existing product is the obvious choice.
It's Unfortunate, but not unexpected (Score:2, Interesting)
I can't say I'm totally suprised by the move from HP. With their upcoming merger with Compaq, there is no doubt that they are worried about possible legal action from others while they are vulnerable. This move by them for DRM is really only to protect themselves. I don't like it, but I can't really blame them.
As for the 3Dwm, great idea! I hope you guys keep it going. Something like that could be very good for UIs in the future.
And the Apple stuff. Hmm. Not an Apple user myself since Elementary School, so I won't seriously comment.
Re:It's Unfortunate, but not unexpected (Score:5, Funny)
Probably the only large group with more connections than the RIAA is the MPAA.
Re:It's Unfortunate, but not unexpected (Score:2)
I would presume (not assume, since, well, statistics aren't on my side) that you are buying the rights to make a legal copy of some music onto that disk.
So using this burner and media, I would be able to make mix-cds for my friends w/o infringing any copyrights? I mean, I am already allowed to make mix-cds for myself, as per fair-use, so I must be getting SOMETHING for the extra money I pay, no? And since you say it is for royalties, that must mean that ANOTHER legal copy was created by my copying (as you only pay royalites on each song once).
Re:It's Unfortunate, but not unexpected (Score:2)
I dunno. It seems like something that wouldn't stand a true legal test. Does anyone know of any cases where this has been brought up?
ITunes Recovery (Score:4, Interesting)
Which is what any data recovery pro could have told you.
But many modern systems are sold with only one partition. and there is the added question of virtual memory systems such as used in Mac and windows. The Mac OSX setup, based on BSD, should not have this as a big issue, if they use the typical swap partition.
(and some people wonder why you would not put it all into one large partition!)
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:1)
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:5, Informative)
Very few mac users use more than one partition. There isn't a compelling reason for most people.
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:2, Informative)
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:2)
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:2)
As others have said, this bug did not erase the disk mounted at / ; it only erased partions mounted in
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:1)
Re:ITunes Recovery (Score:1)
HP (the printer maker) will see this die... (Score:1, Troll)
Good riddance.
Re:HP (the printer maker) will see this die... (Score:3, Insightful)
To be semi on-topic, I can't believe that HP's new mp3 device is so limiting. It seems that the old HP would have gone with what people really want, and not bow to the RIAA and all this digital protection crap. Look what happened with Napster: You used to have one mp3-sharing company to kill, now you have 50 small, flexible, and no-one-person-owns-me mp3 sharing networks/programs. They really shot themselves in the foot on this one!
Viva la resistance.
iTunes (Score:5, Informative)
I managed to get v2.0.1 later this weekend and re-installed, just to be on the safe-side, and in case there were any other changes.
The improvements like the EQ, crossfade and faster burning are nice. It doesn't crossfade when burning, though, which stinks - but otherwise you couldn't track-change. You can burn MP3 CDs now, too.
A costly upgrade for some... ;) But pretty darned nice if it works out, which should be for the majority of the people.
Hey, give Apple a chance - they're a little new to this Unix thing. Heh. MacOS X fully rocks.
Re:iTunes (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:iTunes (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually, Apple had it's own Unix a long time ago. It was called A/UX and it ran on many of the 68k macs (no PowerPC). It was pretty slick. It had this cool System 7 intigration thing, and IIRC it could run normal MacOS binaries. Pitty Apple hasn't opensourced it, or at least made it free. The people in comp.unix.aux are really informative if you have any questions.
Re:iTunes (Score:3, Informative)
Re:iTunes (Score:1)
Re:iTunes (Score:2, Funny)
Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:2, Redundant)
It's nice that they're doing the right thing.
Re:Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:1)
Re:Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:1)
Re:Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:1, Flamebait)
This is not flamebate...don't mod it as such...
Re:Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:2)
Do you realize that this bug is very specific? You must have at least two partitions, and one must be called "Foo" while the other is called "Foo Bar." That is, the drives must have the same name up to the space. "Disk" and "Disk 1" is an another example that many have used. QA is all fine and dandy, and programmers should be exceedingly careful with "rm -rf," but nevertheless, this is a very obscure bug.
- j
Re:Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:2)
Re:Apple is offering to reimburse users (Score:2)
- j
Free utilities? Feh... (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, for what it's worth, us Mac users are already used to paying out the nose for stuff. I happen to have both Norton Utilities and TechTool Pro actually, and I don't know a Mac user who doesn't have one or the other. They're excellent resources in a pinch.
For those of you who claim that with "Apple's stuck-up attitude about it's OS" that it should come with these sorts of utilities, understand that Norton Utilities for the Mac is much different from Norton "Let's baby the infantile user" Utilities for Windows. TechTool Pro and NU bring out the power users in the Macintosh community. Oh...and IAAPOBIHAMAW. (I am a PC owner but I have a Mac at Work)
Norton Utilities (Score:2)
Does anybody know how how to burn a bootable Norton Utilities CD (with System 9.2)? Is it posssible to do this using the Apple CD Burner program?
Re:Norton Utilities (Score:2)
Apple's CD Burner program can't burn bootable CDs.
I believe that Toast Platinum will, however I haven't used it.
Norton 6 wouldn't boot your iBook? Curious. Why do you need 9.1? AFAIK it was mostly a bug-fix release.
I have Norton 5, which has 9.0.3 installed. It boots my iMac 400 just fine.
Re:Norton Utilities (Score:2)
Re:Norton Utilities (Score:2)
Apple helps out (Score:2)
He offered to reimburse me for the purchase of nortan utilities, and to have it sent to DriveSavers (apparently a company that recovers data from harddrives) on Apple's dime.
While the whole situation sucks, at least steps are being taken in the right direction. Anyone have confirmation of the account? How about accounts of other companies taking similar steps. I am quite curious.
HP success? What are you smoking? (Score:4, Insightful)
This is not a problem, it's a blessing, as at $1000 HP will sell few of these. Then we can all point to the RIAA's DRM component as the reason for lousy sales (it's certainly a major reason I wouldn't buy one, even at half the price). To make this work, everyone here should write HP a nice snail-mail letter politely telling them that you were interested in the de100c until you learned of the DRM crap.
Slashdot's Clock is an Hour fast (Score:1, Offtopic)
Did slashdot not update their clock?
It appears the slashdot's clock is an hour fast... I'm in the CST zone and it's about 6:15pm, EST is only 1 hour ahead and should be about 7:15pm, but the timestamps on the article and the other comments is 8:00.. ??? 45 mins off???
Re:Slashdot's Clock is an Hour fast (Score:1)
Re:Slashdot's Clock is an Hour fast (Score:1)
Re:Slashdot's Clock is an Hour fast (Score:1)
Ok... I feel stupid.. didn't even see that option
Re:Slashdot's Clock is an Hour fast (Score:2, Informative)
(Semi-obscure time zone reference there.)
HP dec (Score:4, Insightful)
Pros: Looks pretty and fits in with the rest of my entertainment system, neato little remote, able to d/l new music (marginal in my skeptical opinion)
Cons: I gotta buy a $6 (?)dollar blank disc so that Britney isn't robbed of her royalties, potentially "signed" format preventing me free movement of my files from the device, to my PC, to my iPod, whatever. Also, broadband link to my music collection, potentially showing them, what music I have, and what I'm listening to (marketing anyone?)
Here's my solution. Buy yourself a cheap old box (I a P3 350 on ebay for under $100), throw a big HD and a CD-RW on it, and hide it in your entertainment system. Not as pretty, sure, but cheap, and no big brother RIAA.
Re:HP dec (Score:1)
I have a similar setup, but I've found that a true 1U rack computer with a CD-RW and an SB Live works terrific, and looks really awesome on your stereo rack. I can't afford it by any means, but a local HiFi outfit had a rig setup with one (on a Tag/McLaren setup no less) that was just kick ass.
Re:HP dec (Score:3, Insightful)
If I took a Vanessa Daou CD (one of my favourite artists) and burned it on one of those $6 CDs, Britney would get all the royalties (because they are based on artist popularity), and Vanessa wouldn't get a penny.
I paid my $25 for Vanessa's MP3 collection, (http://www.eq8r.com) so all my MP3s of her music are perfectly legit. So tell me, why on earth should I pay Britney Spears when I loathe her music?
Far as I'm concerned, the ASCAP and BMI folks, who make these charges, are stealing from Vanessa and the other obscure artists in their catalogue so Britney will get more, and this is deeply offensive to my sense of fair play.
You can find more interesting information on the workings of this here:
http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/webcasting.h
D
PS I make a first-class living as a programmer using open source tools.
Music only CD's (Score:4, Informative)
The media generally costs twice as much as normal CD's, even though it is basically identical - the extra is for the RIAA tax that is placed on the media.
BBK
Re:Music only CD's (Score:1)
HP Madness (Score:3, Interesting)
the thing to do here is to go into stores and badmouth it to the sales reps, tell them that they'll get a bunch of returns and it is a bogus system because the customers can not use the device the way they think they could.
Now sales geek do _not_ like dealing with customer returns from angry customers, and likes to know about insider secrets so that customers will think he has a clue.
So talk up the bad points - special HP only CD Media, etc.
"yeh, you can't use the regular blanks, you got to use their special cd blanks. and it can only be played on their machine, no place else. It is as bad as the ink cartridges. A real dog man."
make this stuff go the way of the DIVX format. (remember that?)
Re:HP Madness (Score:2)
Re:HP Madness (Score:2)
A Few Things On A Few Subjects (Score:3, Interesting)
Second, some thoughts on how the iTunes fiasco can hurt Apple. Not only does this further embarass the company but also goes to say that their bug fixing department can't really be trusted too much. This was a rather large bug and suggests that not too much testing was done. If Apple becomes known for releasing buggy software that crashes your computer then they might dig themselves even deeper graves in the tech industry.
Onto the third subject, he says that you cannot transfer files from the HP Digital Entertainment center to your PC. Two things. One, the device has USB ports. Something tells me that people will find a way to hack it. Second, the part about not being able to use CD-RWs (you have to pay for special RIAA approved discs) is probably also hackable in some way shape or form. The RIAA will never win.
Re:A Few Things On A Few Subjects (Score:3, Funny)
The Third Hollow Victory (Score:2)
It's a case of winning a battle but loosing the war.
You cant have your MP3's back!! (Score:2, Funny)
(Then again, deleteing a disk full of N'Sync and Britney tunes * IS * a good thing)
Make your own CDR-Audio? (Score:2, Interesting)
Accordingly, wouldn't it be possible for someone to write a utility that will write those "few bits" onto a regular CDR and solve the problem?
Or am I missing something here?
Re:Make your own CDR-Audio? (Score:1)
Re:Make your own CDR-Audio? (Score:2)
Re:Make your own CDR-Audio? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Make your own CDR-Audio? (Score:1)
CDR Identifier [www.gum.de]
Re:Make your own CDR-Audio? (Score:1)
RIAA walking a well-travelled road (Score:3, Insightful)
I know it's not the same, but it does feel similar to what the MPAA tried to pull with Divx. Divx of course failed because customers didn't want to buy crippled equipment, and rightly so. Perhaps HP will face a similar response here.
Region coding is another example of crippling for profit, but unlike say Divx, it didn't affect the majority of customers. In the major markets of US and Japan, only a few would seek to play DVDs from outside their native region. Europe was more badly affected, and DVD still hasn't taken off in Australia really, due to the paucity of region 4 releases outside the big titles.
HP's crippling though would become apparent everytime one tried to record on it. What is Digital Audio Media, other than a disingenuous choice of name? I'm presuming it's the same as the (expensive) CD-Audio disks, which or course are just CD-R with magic mark on it for the benefit of (presumably) the RIAA.
Similar shenanigans killed DAT as a home medium, but maybe the other features of the HP device will win out. Recording aside, it does look like a nice piece of kit.
Region Coding (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Region Coding (Score:2)
I believe region coding is actually illegal in New Zealand. The Kiwis have a law against using artificial means to prevent people from importing goods; maybe they're free-trade nuts, I dunno.
but the upshot is that Kiwi DVD players will all play back all regions.
Quake WM (Score:2, Interesting)
Daylight Saving Time (Score:1, Offtopic)
That should be Daylight Saving.
Note there is no "s" at the end of Saving.
Please remember this in the future.
distributed to capitalist pigs (Score:3, Insightful)
that is probably not exactly correct, according to this account [salon.com] at salon.com [salon.com], the artists are the LAST people that are likely to see any of this money...
Hp trying to cater to a non-market (Score:3, Interesting)
No DRM crap, and no content control.
If you really want that integrated device do a searxh for linux and CAJUN on google and build one yourself for less, without DRM, and get higher quality playback (esp if you use a SB Live or better Sound card)
Nice try HP, I'll keep using my audiotron and my PC which does more and was less money with the network wiring,100base switch and wall plates for the Cat5 cable.
The Empire (Score:1)
The more you tighten your grip, RIAA, the more digital music files will slip through your fingers.
Re:The Empire (Score:2, Funny)
Nothing new here: AHRA (Score:1)
Now the theory was that this tax was compensation for the copies of your music that you make. Any copies made on taxed media were presumed non-infringing. Now, RIAA hasn't kept that end of the bargain, but that shouldn't surprise you.
Why two kinds of CD-Rs? Simple. Computer have always been exempt from the AHRA, hence no required DRM (even something as feeble as SCMS) and no media tax. But the consumer CD-R burners are considered consumer electronics, and are thus subject to the AHRA. RIAA managed to lobby/browbeat/threaten the CD burner vendors into a standard for detecting taxed media and only burning to it. I think they'll play CD-Rs from a PC, but they won't burn to them.
Lets make the /. home audio distribution (Score:2, Interesting)
We all know that this stuff is simple with a linux box. Why dont we get together, and build up a mini-distribution and software for a roll your own version of this.
Find a smallish PC box that can do reasonable audio in and out, tv out, cdrw, IR for remote control. The software is there, it just has to be put together to make it appliance simple to use.
Make it so simple to install, setup, and use that even a windows user can do it
Re:Lets make the /. home audio distribution (Score:2)
Releasing an integrated MP3 box: you're going to get prosecuted under the DMCA for putting out a circumvention device. There is no doubt.
You're right in a sense, though, and maybe some kind Europeans will do it.
Re:Lets make the /. home audio distribution (Score:2)
That's still likely going to hit DMCA trouble, but it's much easier to distribute: just put an iso on an ftp site someplace.
It doesn't have the liberating implications for consumers in general of a black box though.
Re:Lets make the /. home audio distribution (Score:2)
Priceless (Score:4, Interesting)
* Two covert lunch meetings with top RIAA officials: $120
* Steve Jobs' Facial Expression: Priceless.
The only thing that could possibly make it better (for the bad guys, you troll-modding trigger-finger amateur 'moderators'!) would to have the installer play the 'sosumi' System 7 beep
(for those not hip to the jive: Apple promised recording company Apple Records Inc. that it would never, ever record any sounds sohelpthembunny, but they did anyway, so they named the sound 'sosumi'.
)
Re:Priceless (Score:2, Informative)
Not to toot my own horn... (Score:1)
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=23075&cid=248
Here's to hoping that set-top fails faster than DivX.
Audio CD's versus Data CD's (Score:2)
3dWM will not succeed without a 3d input device (Score:2, Insightful)
AHRA mandates DRM, royalties for all dig. aud. (Score:3, Informative)
"More information" indeed. I can't believe no one's mentioned this yet, but...
Chapter 10 of 17 USC (federal copyright law) requires that all manufacturers and importers of digital audio devices in the US incorporate Serial Copy Management System or similar systems into their devices, and pay royalties into a central fund. These royalties are then distributed to the American Federation of Musicians, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, music publishers, lyricists, and directly to "interested copyright parties" which includes copyright owners (potentially studios) and artists themselves.
In return, the public is granted the right to make unlimited copies of music on digital audio devices, though of course they may not circumvent copy protection if it is turned on. (The law does not require that all artists enable it.)
Note that "digital audio devices" do not include general-purpose computers. Sorry, all you peer-to-peer fans. Thank the Audio Home Recording Act. (Not the DMCA.)
See the full text [cornell.edu] of the law yourself.
Everyone should know this, right? Maybe I only think so because I'm writing my thesis on the topic. 8P
-B.
One thing leads to another.... (Score:2, Insightful)
If you love something, set it free, if it comes back, it is yours forever, if the fed gets it, it never was.
Never has there been a bigger life sucking entity than the US Fed govt. They produce nothing, yet we gladly give them more money to produce even more nothing.
The bottom line is if they suceed in breaking up MS, then who knows what is next. Some lame ass congressman or senator finds out that Linux is free, and not subject to federal taxation, declares that it is evil on the basis of so and so.....
sound familiar, it should.
This country is founded on the free market system. Let the market work as it should.
If you think the HP device is a unique device, just wait. Before long, all consumer electronics will have to pass the "Copyright protection test" where the various industry leaders vote on how big a piece of the pie they are intitled to. Think back 30 or so years when the IBM clone first came out. If that where to happen now, it would be killed by legislation and copyright infringment litigation.
So the next time you start getting excited about MS being broke up, remember that your pet ox is the next one in the goreing queue.
Not Surprising (Score:2, Interesting)
But if it doesn't play non-signed MP3's it will go nowhere. I'd be surprised if that turns out to be true, though.
If RIAA sold bottled water... (Score:2)
* You'd pay a predefined tax every time you bought an empty bottle
* The water would be poisoned in such a manner that you could drink it but you couldn't let friends have a sip
* You couldn't transfer the water from their bottle to a different container (people in uniforms would knock down your door and throw you in jail)
* You couldn't *describe* a manner in which to extract water from their bottles and put it into a different container (again, you might get thrown in jail)
* The government would be lobbied so that all manufacturers of bottles of any type must conform to the rules the RIAA sets out, namely not allow the transfer of contents between bottles. This might even extend to straws or spigots. It would also obviously impact containers that were never specifically intended or designed to contain water.
* You might not even be able to resell the bottled water if you didn't use it, or found you didn't like it
* The price of water would go through the roof
* The water would taste like crap anyway, all the good springs having long since run out of business
Re: Apple (Score:1)