I talk about different podcast models and why there is room for multiple flavors in the space. I also share with you some personal info that I hope will help some of you that listen to the show. Lots of tech as usual!

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Listener Links:
Saturn Fly By Jaw Dropping!
Starz and Netflix Info.

Show Links:
VC Mentality.
Bad Spelling = Security Risk.
AT&T Admit GSM Monopoly Competition Issues.
Google Doc – Comments Only!
TestFlight for iOS Developers.
Facebook winning Time Battle.
Amazon e-book Subscription System.
GBTV Profitable?
Rescue with Breath Tester.
How far we have come in 10 Years.
Chumby neTV.
To the Moon.
The Game of all Games!
Samsung wants all Screens!
Robonaut Alive at ISS.
TBS and TNT on iPad!
Need some 6k Shoes?
Fantasy Football App.
Mobile Malware.
Intel Mobile Chips.
IBM Watson Super Computer your next Doctor?
Bug Labs and Ford Collaborate.
Mercedes Hybrid Car!
Your New Stove.
RIAA Lobbyist Turned Judge Biased.
Troll Sanctioned.
Band Music Payment Rates.
630 AD Copyright Infringement.
70 More Years of Copyright.
No More Plutonium 238.
Japan Renewable Energy.
Mouse with Borders.
Mobile – Dominant Internet Device by 2015.
Android Tips.
iOS 5 going Gold.
PowerPC Updates Canceled.
Chinese Gets Citizenship Revoked and Jail.
Millisecond worth 100 Million?
NinjaVideo to jail you go.
Fiber HDMI!

Credits: Jack Ellis – Executive Producer

Back to business on show 701. I am excited about our Saturday Morning Tech we will have a number of our bloggers on to talk tech, so be sure to join me Saturday morning at 9am PST.

Big Thanks to Our Executive Producer Jack Ellis for all his work on all of our shows!

Subscribe Today: Audio | Video (HD) | Mobile Video | iTunes | Zune
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Follow me on Google+
Follow @geeknews on Twitter
Geek News Central Facebook Page
Purchase GNC gear from the Ohana Store!
Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Volvo and Siemend team up on Electric.
Hubble Movies.
120 Petabyte Drive.

Show Links:
ISP Giving up User data!
Mars Secrets.
Space Junk Out of Hand.
AT&T + T-Mobile = DOA by DOJ?
AT&T – T-Mobile = Winner?
Sicko Goes to Jail.
LoJack to get Sued?
Buzz Out Loud scales back.
Lion Enhanced Apps.
Final Cut Studio Back on Sale?
FT says no way to Apple Extortion.
Linux Kernel Server Hacked.
Conflict of Interest?
Tweet Button Value?
Netflix looses Starz – Netflix Yawns.
How dare they!
BlogFrog for OhanaNews.com?
Waffle House Hurricane Factor?
Hubble Time Lapse Movies.
Hotfile has to give up Users.
BitTorrent TV?
Will an Apple TV Happen?
Cool RC Plane Video.
China Hackers Revealed.
Parallels 7 for Lion.
Google Calendar Time Zone Mayhem.
Ford Evos
Ford Zipcar.
Sony Tablets.
Tom Tom GPS Update.
Jailbreak Tutorial.
Samsung SmartTv update.
Creative Gaming Headset.
PogoPlug Mobile.
AT&T Kills A-List Feature.
Dyson DC41.
Nexus S in Space?
How to deal with the Law.
Massage Device Recalled.
Blogger gets an Update.

I talk about constraints tonight, you will notice show is 1:23:00 I have realized I have been feeling constrained and rushed with the 1:10:00 limit I imposed on myself. Unless I get a barrage of email begging me to go back the show is going back to a semi un-constrained time limit.

Are you a Fan of this show or others at TPN follow the producers? Click Me!
Mobile Video Feed!

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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Shuttle Cockpit 360 Degrees!
Barnes and Noble Comment!
Studio and Plank Discussion.

Show Links:
Down she goes.
Will economy affect VC investments.
Pay for TV on Roku?
$500.00 or your Life?
Google TV Update!
Running out of Time?
Yes Police their is Freedom of the Press.
TSA No Insulin for You!
Syrian Hackers Fight Back?
Antimatter in Orbit?
WordPress Hijack.
Warrantless Spying on rise.
Apple Lion Recovery Disc.
Apple wants in ring with Lodsys.
Sorry I have bad news for you!
How Big are Solar Flares.
Juno Launch.
Sued for going to Fast.
Hacker Toolkit for Android.
200,000 on Lawsuit Hit List.
Portable Shaver.
Cool Device Chargers.
FrameSocket.
Website Speed.
Sell Shirts.
OpticBook 3800 Scanner.
Read it later.
Zip line Express for iPads.
Skype Updated for Lion.
Apple TV Hacked to Play Games.
3d Glass Standards Finally?
Google+ ios App.
Chrome OS for Tablets.
Honeycomb Update for LG!
Survey Says.

Channel 4 News is reporting that the British Government will put forward changes to the UK’s archaic copyright laws on Wednesday. Format shifting for both music and video is expected to become legal as will sharing  with family. Parody works will gain protection.

The proposals will be announced by Vince Clarke Cable, Business Secretary on Wednesday, and while file sharing using peer-to-peer and similar technologies will remain illegal, the legalisation of format shifting will allow companies like Amazon and Google to offer online music services which store copies of the owner’s music collection. This is currently illegal under British law which is why none of the current offerings are available here.

The protection to parody works (spoof music videos) is also good news as several popular songs such as Newport State of Mind have struggled to stay on-line in the UK where parody doesn’t have the protection it might in the US.

Overall, very welcome news for consumers in the UK and fingers crossed that the proposals don’t get too watered down before they become law. More news on Wednesday.

Internet connection died half, way through my show tonight. No idea what happened but it made for an interesting show. The Blue Man makes an appearance plus a lot more cool tech, news, and information. Huge Mahalo to our Ohana for your continued support of the show.

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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Secret Service is not Playing.
Soaps Moving Online.

Show Links:
Amazon Gets Political.
Banks sell you out.
Groupon Loyalty.
Self Incrimination.
Apple users spending a lot of Money.
Artificial Sound.
Malware in your Imported Electronics?
Did Entertainment Industry Backdoor us?
Predators surfing at Local Wifi Spots?
Fukushima never ending.
Philly Papers to try Android.
Facebook Contact War.
1 in 5 is a texting accident?
Android Malware.
Hotfile vs MPAA.
Anonymous Hacks.
Gmail+ ??
Firefox Beta 6 for Android.
Hypnotize my kid no way!
Bing Maps.
Smoke Detector with Mobile Sim?
Grocery Special Delivery.
Last Shuttle Back flip.
Shuttle Mission Extended 1 day.
56 MPG end of Mercedes / Land Rover?
Hyundai Blue Link.
Insanity.
Yucca Mountain Round 11?
Google Wifi Lawsuit Moves Forward.
More peeks at Ios5.
400 Million Windows 7 copies Sold.
Machine 1/100th of Brain.
Cosmo for Guys.

The month is winding down, but I could not be happier the team of writers at GNC have been kicking out some pretty awesome content. The refresh of the show formula so far is working and the feedback so far has been positive. I am on the search for existing talent across the new media space. Do you know of a show that is considered to be at the top of the class in their genre? If so I want to talk to them… Big thanks to the Insiders for all their support and of course the Ohana for being part of the show.

Subscribe Today: Audio | Video | iTunes | Zune
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Follow @geeknews on Twitter
Geek News Central Facebook Page
Purchase GNC gear from the Ohana Store!
Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Show Notes:
Finding that Perfect Domain.
Google Garage.
Boost your Brain Power with 9 volt battery!
TomTom has some explaining to do.
** Watch the ESA Video.
X Marks the Spot!
Voyagers in Deep Space!
Endeavor getting built!
Endeavor Facts
Qik Apps Updated.
Tungle purchased by Rim.
PSA Notices now on Seized Domains.
Ukrainians Shut down Adult P2P Site.
P2P Used for Movie Distribution.
Windows 8 Store Settings in Cloud?
Internet oh how far we have come.
New Type of Shovel?
DualLink Sync Cable.
High Speed Camera on the Cheap?
Upload Images into Google Doc Spreadsheets.
Chilling Effects.
Gmail / Outlook Sync Expanded.
Wireless Lockdown?
Custom Gaming Machines by Walmart?
More Free Android Apps over iOS.
Progress off to ISS.
Social Spy.
Copyright Blocks 81 yr old Jazz recordings.
Chrome gets Patched.
LTE Outage.
2028 Computers become Aware?
Amazon Cloud Issues.
Apollo 18 Films?
HP Gets Huge NASA Contract.
Is Part of your Brain Sleeping?
White iPhone.
YouTube Founders buy Delicio.us
Facebook DMCA Broken.
DOJ No more Microsoft Oversight.
Apple iPhone 5 in testing.
Hackers have Playstation Credit Cards?
Microsoft Revenues.
Only 5 Million?
Samsung swings again at Apple.

Bit of Soap Box time tonight folks. Plus as chance to win a Apple TV be sure to listen to win. Entry email you will need is podcast@podcastconnect.com I share a little insight into some announcements we made today. Make sure you are signed up for the newsletter as that is the quickest way to get information on new show releases. We are half way to show 700 amazing how time flies. Big thanks to Trucker Tom for the Audible endorsement. You will want to get your free trial below!

The following Sponsors keep GNC running your support of them is greatly appreciated!
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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links
Mom Jeans Origin
Apple Firestorm.
Apple Factory Workers Sickened

Show Notes:
Private Space Funding.
Discovery Last Flight.
Alien Matter Discovered
NASA Tech
Android Bootloader for Xoom.
South Korea Residents get 1GB to Home.
AirDrop
MobileMe RIP
USB 3.0 Someday?
Thunderbolt Technology.
Cookies and Credit Cards.
Apple Face Time.
Red Communist Chinese Hackers go after Oil.
Have you been to your Library?
CR48 Day 3
Rent Tool
Five Linux Audio Packages.
Google Cloud Connect.
Will Amazon Impact Netflix?
Pay TV Comeback?
LavNav
iPad Paintbrush.
BTDigg
Smart Shirt!
Pitfalls of Mobile.
In Depth Xoom Review.
Google goes after Data Farmers.
Content Farms days Numbered.
Anonymous Shreds Westboro Church Website.
Craigslist goes to Battle.
ATV docks at ISS.
Helium 3 in Short Supply.
Huawei says you can trust us.
Microsoft fixes Antivirus Engine.
ISP Win In Australia
Movie Industry Gets Instructions in Australia.
Map your Internet Offerings.
Box Office Receipts Record Highs!
Universal Service Fund Scam.

Jeff Ravencraft from the USB Implementers Forum discusses the deployment of USB hardware interface standards, including USB 3.0 as well as wireless USB. So-called “Superspeed” USB, or USB 3.0, can operate up to 10 times faster than current USB 2.0 connections. USB 3.0 ports can supply up to twice as much power as USB 2.0 ports, which is important for charging many of today’s portable devices more quickly.

Mr. Ravencraft also discusses the certification process that USB devices and device manufacturers must go through in order to be able to legally display the respective official USB logos.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

Please Support our CES 2011 Sponsors.

Save 25% on 4GH Hosting 1yr Subscriptions Save 25% Promo Code CES2.

Share with you some details that has been affecting the show and what I am doing about it. I also announce a new underwriter program for the show listen to find out how you can become an underwriter and get exposure on the show. I have a pile of stuff for you today all of it hot of the press.

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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links
Net Neutrality: Verizon to challenge FCC
Michigan Company’s Solar/Windmill Lighting Products
Eye-Fi Wireless Cards
Overview and Comments on the New Epson R3000 Printer
Review of WD TV Live from a Photographer’s Perspective
www.sharefile.com
Brickify Lego Fan Resource!
Pentalobe Screwdriver.
Norway’s Harp.

Show Notes:
Uproar over missing Google Reader.
Nationwide Keystroker!
Cargo to ISS via Japanese.
ISS Spacewalk.
NASA Replaced injured astronaut.
Google and VP8 is not a Standard?
RIAA Lawyer Nominated to Solicitor General?
How many pirates are there?
25% Fake Files via P2P.
IPV4 Running on Empty.
US Broadband Slow!
Maleware updates itself.
Pirate bay has something planned of IFBI.
Inside Foxconn Factory.
Sean Parker says Social Network work of Fiction.
Mass Extinction by Coal.
Yes China steals everything.
TSA gets beat badly in court!
NFL + Toyota + Safety = Nervous NFL
UFC goes after Justin.tv
Religion and Space.
NASA remembers space heroes!
Big Hubble Announcement on Wed 1pm EST.
WOW Orion Nebula!
Uranus 25yrs Ago!
Sleep Cycle get it Squared.
5 Billion in online Ads by 2013
Vid.ly
Fastmac U-Sockets.
House Legislation going after extending surf history
Wayback Machine gets a makeover.
EZTV launches BitTorrent RSS Protocol.
Facebook Credits to rock gaming world.
Magic Box + Apple Magsafe connector = Success
House Fire from looking for Remote!
Lens Pens Video!
Dual Sided Magnet Cases.
Rugged iPad cover with mouse! (Pick of the Day)
Dia Digital Picture Frames.
Video Name Tag!
Sony 3D Consumer Cameras!
Qmadix line of iPad Accessories.
Insure your stuff!

Left my cameras at home for the live recording, decided to use the Macbook Pro webcam.. Wow what a piece of crap that thing is. Interesting show tonight reflect on the challenges of post show CES! and soliciting ideas for next year. I have a great line up of content for you along with some serious questions on cloning for you to reply to.

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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links
TvuNetworks.com
Hacking your TV!
Brainwave Detector for iPhone.

Show Notes:
Memolane.com
Firefox keep the RSS Icon.
No Private Stock for Americans.
Amazon App Store Model (gag).
Have you seen the Android Man!
The Facts about Bottled Water
Roku XDS unlocking USB Port.
SF Cord Cutter Meetup!
YouTube Live!
Wikileaks + Rich People Banking Info = Hire a body Guard.
Facebook Privacy Concerns Again!
Get Well Steve Jobs!
Smartphone search and seizure!
The 1000mph Car!
Superfast Broadband for small towns.
Redbook Kiosk rentals on the rise.
Future of Femtocells?
LTE Speed Truth in Japan!
Get your 10k from Apple!
Smart TV or Internet Connected TV?
Top 10 Powerful women in Silicon Valley!
Firefox 4 and Hardware Acceleration for Linux?
Wolly Mammoth Cloning.
Router and Switch Aging Issues.
Tunneling for Games.
What is wrong with our Society!
Airforce has a plan.
Sony Ericsson and Clear lawyer up.
All the G’s
Car Theft by Antenna.
Booking Flight Challenges.
Apps to save Old Media.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal recently, Google’s Eric Schmidt suggested that teens will automatically change their name in order to disassociate themselves from the indiscretions of youth.  While this might seem to be a somewhat extreme action to take, how easy is it to actually change your name?

If you live in the UK, it’s actually very easy.  All you have to do is start using your new name.  As long as there’s no intention to deceive or defraud, that’s it.  Pretty easy.

If you want to make it it a bit more formal so that it’s on your passport and driving licence, you can use a “deed poll” to change your name.  You  fill out a simple form, get it witnessed and that’s it legal.  You then present the deed poll whenever you want to get your old name changed to your new name.  Job done.

One further and final step is to “enrol” your deed poll which then becomes part of the public record.  All of these deed polls are published in the London, Edinburgh or Belfast Gazettes and there is a charge for this service of around £50 ($75).

There’s a guide to changing your name by deed poll and enrolling it on Her Majesty’s Court Service.   If you do a quick Google, you’ll find plenty of websites (a) wanting to charge for the service and (b) testimonies of people who have done it for free.  I liked this one who changed his name legally to “Flash” because he was going to be forced to answer the phone with his real name.

It’s perhaps more common than you think.  I know one couple personally who, instead of the wife adopting the surname of the husband, they created a new surname that combined parts of both of their original surnames.  They took care with how it sounded and it worked out well.

So Eric Schmidt might be onto something if it’s that easy – the difficult part is going to be choosing a new name.

Usual disclaimer – I’m not a lawyer and the above doesn’t constitute legal advice.

Every once in a while I have a off night, and today during the show I just wasn’t hitting on all cylinders. Weird how that happens once in a while despite all best intentions. Things have been crazy here probably a lack of sleep. Next show is from Michigan after I spend the day at Ford Motor Company. For those wanting to meet, there will be a meet-up on 5-22 @ 6pm EST at Applebees in Coldwater Michigan please RSVP. Special version of Geek News Central Insider coming be a Insider!

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Show Comments please call 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Awake During Surgery!
E. coli helps person like his iPad!
War Driving could cost you 100 Euros in Germany!
File Transfers in US Gov’t unsafe?
The Japan Experience.
Solar Storms.
Early Ford Motor Car Assembly Plant Video!

Show Links:
LED ceiling lights to transfer Data?
3 TB drive Announced by Seagate.
Wi-Fi Sync Review.
UFC Pay Per View coming to Roku.
Can Android Phone Implementers Keep up?
RawVoice is hiring need a Job?
Get “Whole Dollar off” for being a Starbucks Mayor.
Body Scanners at Airports taking one for Team!
GQ tries to ramp up iPad Subscriptions.
Fanboy History!
Does your Pilot have a Fake License?
How to Poop in Space!
MobileMe mail Review.
YouTube 2 Billion Views a Day!
You have to Envy This!
Google to push Feeds real time!
Amazon goes on Battle footing.
Mac Sales up, iPod sales down!
Techmeme.com Leader board!
Pirate bay offline.
Google Wi-Fi Snooping gets Serious.
Your Browser is leaving trails.
ISS Spacewalk #1 Complete.
iPhone res gets big!
Life Stress Survey!
H.264 Video Views up 160%
Time for IE6 to go!
Lithium battery Fires cause determined.
Office 2010 review!
MIT designs next generation Airplane.
Verizon did not collect.
Wikipedia in Chaos?
Big Galaxy eating everything around it.
Microsoft Settles out of Court!
Do you have Google-Itis?
Time Warner says enough already on mass lawsuits.
New Lie Detector test introduced in court!
Rebel T2I nice Camera!

Send in your stories to geeknews@gmail.com and be sure to provide a link to your websites!

I blew the barn doors off on this one folks!. Hopefully iTunes cooperates tonight not sure what happened last podcast. Be sure to always check in at the website for the show. I cover a far amount of ground tonight and I reach out to our Italian listeners hopefully you all can talk to me about the Insanity in Italy at the moment.

Support by these fine sponsors your support of them is greatly appreciate.
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Show Comments please call 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Can the US defend a Cyber Attack?
Run Shark!
School Spying Analysis!

Show Links:
Italy has lost their minds!
Microsoft brings down Botnet!
OGG Versus H.264 Head to Head!
Intuit updates Quickbooks for Mac!
Facebook gets Wires crossed!
TV Stations asked to give up 500mhz!
Virgin Media to roll 100 mbps Service out!
Latvian Hacker spills beans on Banks!
Esa’s Smos European Space Agency Mission Report.
PALM in Trouble!
Boxee back on Apple TV!
Thunderbird Security Fix!
FTC Investigating Companies for P2P document leaks!
Skype on your TV!
End of Support Life for Many Microsoft Products!
NASA Chief under Fire!
Johnny Cash Song 10 Billionth Downloaded!
Citibank monumental screw up!
Has your Blackberry Radiated you Today?
Whoops Did not mean to knock your site offline!
Is it time for ET Ethics?
Patent Label Chasers?
40 Billion and wanting to Spend Money!
Sen Al Franken wants User Bandwidth Caps!
Klipsch’s Ear Buds.
Telava 3g Pay as you Go!
Detect Wi-Fi Hot Spots at 20 Miles!
Augmented Reality and Social Media?
Second Life to get Second Life?
Politicans and there Keepers!

Send in your stories to geeknews@gmail.com and be sure to provide a link to your websites!

Check out this screenshot. Tell me why it’s an Oxymoron:

If you said “This is an Associated Press article – I CANNOT share it on Mixx, Buzz, Digg, Reddit, Facebook or Newswire”, then you are correct!

If you go to the A.P.s site, you do not see any sharing widgets. However, if you go to the sites that pay for the content, they could have these little add-ons to try and promote their brand. But with these widgets, they could be in breech of their contract.

The Associated Press has said it doesn’t want to squelch new media, but it will go after sites that post it’s content and make money on it. Isn’t that like EVERY site on the Internet?

Back in June, the AP told their reporters to police social media like Facebook and Twitter. The idea would be to identify and irradicate any posts that violate their usage policies. So you could get a take down notice if you post  or “Re Tweet” those A.P. articles.

If you have a website and you have A.P. content on it, you might want to think about those little blurbs to suggest sharing the articles. You may be inadvertently breaching your contract.

I wonder if someone should start a list of Websites that use A.P. so we all know not to share the data from it. Of course, I am not going to rock that boat. However, if you know of a website that is an Associated Press site, you might want to comment on it below…

The Software DVDXCopy by 321 Studios was banned in the US 5 years ago after a big battle with Hollywood. 321 studios took on a lawsuit stating that people have a right to backup and archive material they purchased. The movie studios countersued, and in February 2004, it was ruled that DVDXCopy violated Digital Millennium Copyright Act laws and was officially banned in the US.

Well, the website apparently revamped their site from the Sale of the DVDXCopy software to an informational website of the best DVD Copy software. They review 3 different DVD copy programs, but are heavily pushing DVDneXtCopy, which the pro version can allow copying of single, Double sided DVD’s in multiple formats including formats for the iPod and PSP.

The site is not shy on saying that the XCopy version has been banned. But they are also warning people that there are fake versions of the software out there.

Of course we all know that copying movies for redistribution is illegal. However I would like to back up my movies in the case of damage. When I travel I don’t like to take original movies – I like to take copies. That way if something happens, I don’t lose the original.

Then again, with items like Blockbuster and Netflix around, will copying DVDs be as important nowadays?

*NOTE: I made a couple slight corrections to highlight the points in this article. I am not siding with Apple nor Psystar. I am siding with the consumer for wanting an Apple machine at a decent price.

Apple finally went for the Psystar Jugular as they not only filed a major lawsuit, but also want “All Open Computers Sold” recalled. Therefore if you bought a Psystar with the OSX 10.5 software on it, you would have to return it to Psystar. Good luck in getting a refund or a replacement machine.

Apple is also going for Triple the amount of damages and a permanent injunction of sales. This move could easily wipe out the small Florida based company.

I cannot believe that Apple is this selfish in the game. I cannot believe that Apple is willing to put another company under for giving consumers an alternative and maybe getting them interested in Apple computers.

It seems more and more relevant that Apple is a money grubbing company. How do you expect to get more than 20% marketshare if you deny the consumer market every time? How do you expect to beat the PC if you are not willing to make it affordable?

CNet has already noted that Apple charges almost three times as much for accessories (like Memory) for their machines then a company like Dell. Yes, you can buy a Mac Mini for $600, but what do you really get? For $600 I can get a usable Windows PC or even a good laptop. The Mac Mini has no real upgrade options (video for example), and if you want to upgrade items like memory, well get out that pocketbook. The Mac Mini doesn’t even come with a mouse or keyboard (it’s only a $5-10 addition in production cost).

The only customizable machine is the Mac Pro for $2800. For $2800, I can equip 8 people with decent PC’s. I can equip 2-4 people with high-end machines.

Maybe Psystar shouldn’t be the ones who need to be sued. Don’t get me wrong here – Psystar was wrong for selling the OS and should be penalized.But did their actions really harm Apple enough for them to go for triple the damage? NO. Not even to set an “Example”.

Say what you want about Intel and Microsoft. At least you know where those snakes are. Apple is posing as the “Friendly Snake” that is just gonna bite you in the…. well… derriere. It’s understandable they want to protect their stuff. But is this really necessary? Even if it might mean a five to ten percent Marketshare increase?

Shame on you Apple. SHAME ON YOU.

It probably is, however there is conjecture that a case up before the federal court of appeals might change the patentability of business methods. Reffered to as Bilski (after the last name of the original filer), the patent was files in 1997 and was one of the first to claim a patent on a business method, and the ruling that upheld it against challenge is considered the validation of business process patents as a concept.

While the case has been heard in appeal before the new look at the facts is expected to overturn the patent. The reality is that it is possible to overturn the patent without changing the nature of methods patents, but given that this case was one of the original citations for precedent it would give a hit to the practice. Unfortunately now, there are so many other cases that could be cited as precedent it could be way too late to shut that gate without lawmakers getting involved.

The idea that a business method represents true innovation that deserves patent protection is not intellectually defenseable, but the nature of the corporate beast is to take whatever advantage they can get. If this is not the end of this sorry saga hopefully it is a nail in its coffin.

The U.S. Copyright Office ruled this week that a manufacturer of low-cost, third-party printer ink cartridges can continue to make and sell cartridges for Lexmark printers. This ruling will have broad impact on the printer consumable market as alternative brands of ink cartridges may now move from the black market to retail store shelves.

Lexmark International sued Static Control Components (SCC) for copyright infringement of computer code contained in Lexmark’s printer ink cartridges, charging SCC with violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) ban on circumventing digital technology that protects copyrighted material. SCC had reverse engineered Lexmark’s software and created it’s own brand of ink cartridges for Lexmark’s printers.

Dave’s Opinion
The Copyright Office took an tack, rather than considering whether SCC had violated Lexmark’s intellectual property protection, the office ruled that the DMCA does not restrict SCC’s actions. This means that software developers may not be free to reverse engineer code if the intention is to create interoperability with another’s computer application.

With this ruling in hand, I expect that there will be a flood of third-party ink cartridges for both Lexmark and Epson printers, the two manufacturers who are most frequently faulted for imbedding chips in their ink cartridges and forcing users to buy the more expensive primary brand consumables.

Call for Comments
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References
U.S. Copyright Office Ruling (the interesting details start on page 172)
Lexmark International
Static Control Components
Epson

Two LA spammers were ordered to pay $2 million and received various business restrictions in Santa Clara County Superior Court, this past Friday. This is the largest judgment won by government prosecutors against senders of unsolicited e-mail. The spammers are also the object of a Federal Trade Commission suit; however, both legal cases are civil suits, so there’s not much chance that the spammers will see the inside of a jail cell anytime soon.

Since 1999, almost three-quarters of states have passed anti-spam laws, but prosecutors have brought only a handful of lawsuits; success in the legal system often requires integrating case law (past judgments), and until more criminal suits are won this catch-22 will continue. Rather than pursue criminal penalties, ISPs and frustrated individuals have been using the courts by filing suit using various laws such as consumer fraud and trespass.

Dave’s Opinion
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved an anti-spam bill this past Wednesday: the first federal legislation to tackle spam. The Sentate bill requires bulk e-mailers to indicate a valid return address, disclose that the content is advertising, and give consumers valid and working opt-out mechanisms. In addition, the bill bans the use of addresses obtained from automated mechanisms, such as web-crawling and e-mail harvesting.

Senate bill S.877, CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, also directs the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to come up with a plan for a do-not-spam registry, similar to the do-not-call telemarketing registry.

The U.S. House of Representatives is considering competing anti-spam legislation, and may have a more difficult time reaching agreement; however, I’m holding out hope for a valid and reliable do-not-spam registry by 2005.

Call for Comments
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References
S.877 CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

Marcy Levitas Hamilton, a media corporation CEO, has filed suit and is seeking to class action status for her complaint against Microsoft. Hamilton says that the software giant is responsible for a cracker’s being able to steal her Social Security number’s using a flaw in Microsoft’s software.

This is a new type of complaint: holding Microsoft legally responsible for the security of its applications and operating systems because the software maker’s disclaimers against responsibility for security flaws are an unfair business practice under the laws of California since consumers have few options other than using Microsoft products.

Dave’s Opinion
This is an interesting legal argument: should software makers be held to a standard of liability similar to the standards of other major industries.

Microsoft says that Hamilton’s law suit is misdirected because the theft is the work of vandals. But I think Microsoft is missing the point — it manages the only building in town and left the door open. Shouldn’t Microsoft, as the only landlord in town, be responsible to lock the door against the vandals?

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.