Peter64's Love of Linux

12 Steps to a GNU life

12 Steps to a GNU Life v0.1

1. We admitted we were powerless over Propreitary Software - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of the GNU as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to the GNU, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have the GNU remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all users we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such users wherever possible, except when to do so would enslave them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through code and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the GNU as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to users and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

FLHL looking for Freesoftware Adverts

The guys at the Free Linux Help Line (http://freelinuhelpline.net) are looking for Ads to run between segments of their soon to be podcast. So do you know of a Distro, App, Event, or Podcast that is or is about Free Software? Well if you can condense you enthusiasm into 30 seconds or so then send them to freelinuxhelpline@gmail.com. Ep 0 is scheduled for January 10th.

I hate email!!!!

I'm trying to set up My GoDaddy email in version 1.0 of opengoo. I can receive but I cant send.

here are the how-tos im using:
http://help.godaddy.com/topic/167/article/4715
http://help.godaddy.com/article/2649

here are some screen grab of my settings and the error I get

http://forums.opengoo.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=590.0;attach=101;image
http://forums.opengoo.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=590.0;attach=103;image

I have tried all of the ports they list and tried turning SSL on and off but it doesn't seem to help

If you have any ideas I'm threethirty on identi.ca/twitter or you can find me on irc.freenode.net with the same nick

Election Results

Congrats Misters Obama and Biden

W00ts im a Computer Nerd because the internet said so

Overall, you scored as follows:

0% scored higher (more computer geeky),
0% scored the same, and
100% scored lower (less geeky).

Compared to those in the same age group as you:

0% scored higher (more computer geeky),
0% scored the same, and
100% scored lower (less geeky).

What does this mean? Your computer geekiness is:

Step aside Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds, and Steve Jobs... You are by far the SUPREME COMPUTER GOD!!!

Ohio Linux Fest 2008 : The Good, The Bad, The Assy: Show Me Some Candy

The last time i saw this
it was this time last year.The next time I see it it will be a year from now but I must say that I can't think of a better reason to be up after 1.5 hours of
sleep and before the ass crack of dawn. The above pic was taken at
about half way through our trip... and thats about the time I went
to bed that night ;)

I started doing some video and taking pictures, but then i realized
that there were better cameras and all that shit so i decided to
aggregate everyone else's pics so ill stick theirs in as i find them
but i did shoot this stuff.



Here are my tweets during the weekend with some comments and other media:

@abobrien13: dude that sucks, hope you feel better
11:12 PM October 09, 2008 from txt in reply to abobrien13

he decided not to go he was sick.

@Peter64 have fun at work :p
05:31 AM October 10, 2008 from txt in reply to Peter64

he wished us all a good day

On the way to #olf, @pegwole sorry my brother bailed dude... Next year ill try and get this all planned better

At the convention center, fairly bored already anyone at #olf come say hai
08:23 AM October 10, 2008 from txt

@sysnerd was in class and i had nothing to do, i was more that fairly bored

Needs to find me some free wifi I don't think I'm ready to pay $20 for the whole day
08:38 AM October 10, 2008 from txt

I cant believe that the wifi there is such crap

OMFG i finally found free wifi at the GCCC in the food court there is an AP called "linksys-n" woot!!!!! #olf
10:11 AM October 10, 2008 from web

and thats where it all got interesting

@lorddrachenblut: I just asked @jonobacon and it not been discussed yet but maybe when Ubuntu has another LTS release
10:27 PM October 10, 2008 from txt e

he was about 4 steps from me so I figured id ask him

@chadwollenberg and I just had the most wonderful argumnet with some "hack a mac" guys at #olf
09:33 AM October 11, 2008 from txt

oh and we did

Watching ian robowitz's talk at #olf called hacking the government. Its awesome!
12:00 PM October 11, 2008 from txt

Check out www.geek-pac.org
12:05 PM October 11, 2008 from txt

this is what Ian was talking about

Watching a talk on robotics at #olf but its not that impersive so far
02:16 PM October 11, 2008 from txt

i ended up walking out of this but i do have a video of one of his robots

maco's talk was awesome #olf
03:44 PM October 11, 2008 from txt

and it was here is a pic

@danns from TLLTS just showed his ass to #olf
06:55 PM October 11, 2008 from txt

there is alllll kinds of media on this one



Here is some of the other media that was taken there:

Allan's Slideshow:


Snack Machine B's Slideshow:
http://snkmchnb.com/photos/main.php?g2_view=slideshow.Slideshow&g2_itemId=14

Russ W's Slideshow:
http://s417.photobucket.com/albums/pp259/thetechiegeek/?albumview=slideshow

Timbrigg's Slideshows:




LOL' Cranks:
http://www.unixporn.com/screenshots/thumbnails.php?album=18

Justin Cole's slideshow:



Clint Savage's slideshow:



monsterb's pics:

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii67/gnu-linux/Ohio%20Linux%20Fest%202008/

I'm at OLF

I have made it to OLF and as of right now I'm bored as I can be, but I'm also here the day before. I didnt sleep for shit last night and then downed big ass can of monster. So now I'm sick to my stomach (I need to puke). Monsterb and Klaatu are gonna meet me here in the food court, so mybe the day will pick up a bit.

I have some video and pics taken already so this should be a media rich event.

Ahhhhhhhh!

This blog has recently been syndicated on linuxplanet.org which is awesome, but everyone of my posts have been credited to either Dan or Dann... and my name inst Dan of any type. I have sent to the admin but he said that s wasn't happening. But it is... Not really an issue just want to know that im not crazy

OLFacebook is finshed

So here it is the week of, and here it is the final version of the OLFacebook, i left it as a html so you all can convert to your hearts desire.

http://www.box.net/shared/kbvduygmgf

see you all there!!

My rEEEview of the Asus Eeepc 900

Ok im a a week or so into my ownership of the Asus Eeepc and I think that I can now give a fair review. Because I'm a giant nerd the first thing I had to do is get rid of Xandros. Xandros is a huge pie o shit. This has nothing to do with the patient agreement with Micrsoft they have, this is solely about software... its shit. Nothing was intuitive, it seemed like there was a hodgepodge of software and none of it was integrated. So I tried to install eeebuntu. Tried is the operative word, the version of ubnetbootin was borked, and after a day of hacking on it, i had gotten nowhere and I was at work and had no net access so I was stuck trying to get
that download working. Once i got home i decided to try ubuntu-eee and OMFG is it great the older and better version of ubnetbootin was preconfigured for the ubuntu-eee hardy image and installed first try, NO ISSUES!!!!! Everything but the SD card slot works. Wifi,
webcam, sleep, power saving, all of it, so eff an SD card slot. You can see screenshots at http://www.unixporn.com/screenshots/thumbnails.php?album=5

And now on to hardware I got the 8.9 inch eeepc 900 with a 900 MHz Intel Celeron processor, 16 gb sshd, and 1gb of ram. this thing is awesome!! the keyboard is a bit of a pain in the ass. but i am getting used to it. these keys are tiny, but that isn't the real problem. the real issue is all of the non letter keys (tab, enter, backspace) are smaller than the letter keys. that drives me nuts! but again i am getting used to it. i really don't know what else to say this thing is tiny and pretty powerful. I could have gotten this with a 1.n GHz Inttel atom processor but I don't feel like i am missing anything 900mgz is more than enough

For all of the uber nerds here is my lshw:

three@ScreeechOwl:~$ lshw
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
screeechowl
description: Computer
width: 32 bits
*-core
description: Motherboard
physical id: 0
*-memory
description: System memory
physical id: 0
size: 1002MiB
*-cpu
product: Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 900MHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 1
bus info: cpu@0
version: 6.13.8
size: 900MHz
capacity: 900MHz
width: 32 bits
capabilities: fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse
sse2 ss tm pbe nx up bts cpufreq
*-pci
description: Host bridge
product: Mobile 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 100
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: driver=agpgart-intel module=intel_agp
*-display:0 UNCLAIMED
description: VGA compatible controller
product: Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: vga_controller bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0
*-display:1 UNCLAIMED
description: Display controller
product: Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.1
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0
*-multimedia
description: Audio device
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) High Definition Audio Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1b
bus info: pci@0000:00:1b.0
version: 04
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=HDA Intel latency=0 module=snd_hda_intel
*-pci:0
description: PCI bridge
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport-driver
*-pci:1
description: PCI bridge
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 2
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.1
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport-driver
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: L2 100 Mbit Ethernet Adapter
vendor: Attansic Technology Corp.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: a0
serial: 00:22:15:2e:d3:b2
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=atl2 driverversion=2.0.5 firmware=L2 latency=0 module=atl2 multicast=yes
*-pci:2
description: PCI bridge
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 3
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.2
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport-driver
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter
vendor: Atheros Communications Inc.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
logical name: wifi0
version: 01
serial: 00:15:af:b5:91:79
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list logical ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath_pci latency=0 module=ath_pci multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g
*-usb:0
description: USB Controller
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1d
bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.0
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: uhci bus_master
configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0 module=uhci_hcd
*-usb:1
description: USB Controller
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1d.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.1
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: uhci bus_master
configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0 module=uhci_hcd
*-usb:2
description: USB Controller
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #3
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1d.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.2
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: uhci bus_master
configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0 module=uhci_hcd
*-usb:3
description: USB Controller
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #4
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1d.3
bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.3
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: uhci bus_master
configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0 module=uhci_hcd
*-usb:4
description: USB Controller
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1d.7
bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.7
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: ehci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ehci_hcd latency=0 module=ehci_hcd
*-pci:3
description: PCI bridge
product: 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1e
bus info: pci@0000:00:1e.0
version: d4
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci subtractive_decode bus_master cap_list
*-isa
description: ISA bridge
product: 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: isa bus_master
configuration: latency=0
*-ide
description: IDE interface
product: 82801FBM (ICH6M) SATA Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.2
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: ide bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ata_piix latency=0 module=ata_piix
*-serial UNCLAIMED
description: SMBus
product: 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) SMBus Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f.3
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
version: 04
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: latency=0
*-scsi
physical id: 1
bus info: scsi@2
logical name: scsi2
capabilities: scsi-host
configuration: driver=usb-storage

A funny new website

Some clever indivdual has made a satire website poking fun at Brian-with-a-y's Proprietary Comic Book reader. This person must agree with me that the last thing that Linux needs is more non-free software. I have no issue with making a comercial app but I think that it is immoral to create proprietary software. And I have let Bryan know that if he offered it ender a GPL compatable license that I would buy it eventhough I have no use for it. So with out further adeu http://platypuslinux.org/

Finally got another HPR ep uploaded

It took me forever but I have another episode uploaded to Hacker Public Radio (HPR). I have two more in the pipeline one is for my series CopyFight and one is about my bashpodder/dropbox setup. I'm having trouble with the bashpodder one because I loose my train of thought so I'm gonna script it out, and I don't have the CopyFight ep done because I'm having trouble reading legalese out loud... but ill put my nose to the grindstone and get those out

Once a wanker always a wanker

This is an age old spat but about 4 months ago I called "Merlyn" a wanker and he has now proved my point.

Dave Yates and some other Linux Podcasters are creating a planet to aggregate all of the Linux Podcasters blogs. This whole thing has been built in a mailing list. Because of this project I have proof that Merlyn is a wanker. Here was his one and only reply to the list.

I'm getting a "you have mail" notice from this thread about every five minutes
for the past 4 hours. I don't think that's necessary any more. Please remove
me from future postings.

If you want to include FLOSS Weekly in your roll-up, go ahead. That's really
all you need from me.

--
Randal L. Schwartz - Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. - +1 503 777 0095

Smalltalk/Perl/Unix consulting, Technical writing, Comedy, etc. etc.
See http://methodsandmessages.vox.com/ for Smalltalk and Seaside discussion

and here we're some funny replies... I have removed the posters name (if you wrote it and would like to be known let me know)

linuxplanet.org is a totally cool name. Forget "podcast"

...Oh let me just make sure Randall isn't in my replyToAll list..i don't want to bother him, I know he's a busy guy. -klaatu

Busy guy is one thing to call Merlyn. I can think of a few others.

I also have some hosting space if needed. And, I'd be happy to set up a Drupal backend.

I know this isnt an elegant post but I thought it was really funny so here it is

Camerahead Project Dramatizes Surveillance

A while back i made a post (link) about how a stupid it was to tell me that you are watching me shop for my security and how absurd that is, but the ACLU Washington has taken it to another level...

Vegimite

Peter64 of http://peter64.org sent me three jars a vegimite to terrorize the people at Ohio Linux Fest with.

you can see the pics here http://www.flickr.com/photos/threethirty_rlug/sets/72157607137142845/

Trying for an all Free computer

Recently I decided that I should try a little harder to not have any non-free packages on my computers. So I installed Gobuntu which is as Canonical describes as:

Gobuntu is a GNU/Linux operating system, derived from Ubuntu, that endeavors to adhere to the Free Software Foundation's four freedoms and intends to provide a base for other free software platforms to build upon with minimal modification required. It does this by only including open-source non-restricted software. This means there will be no firmware, drivers, applications, or content included in Gobuntu that does not include the full source or whose license does not provide the right to use, study, modify, and redistribute the body of work.

and on my laptop has worked out great. I have an all centrino setup so all of the drivers are free. The only non-free packages I have installed are FireFox and Flash. Before any one gets a going here is what the FSF has to say about the Mozilla Public License:

Mozilla Public License (MPL)

This is a free software license which is not a strong copyleft; unlike the X11 license, it has some complex restrictions that make it incompatible with the GNU GPL. That is, a module covered by the GPL and a module covered by the MPL cannot legally be linked together. We urge you not to use the MPL for this reason.

However, MPL 1.1 has a provision (section 13) that allows a program (or parts of it) to offer a choice of another license as well. If part of a program allows the GNU GPL as an alternate choice, or any other GPL-compatible license as an alternate choice, that part of the program has a GPL-compatible license.

So if you don't wanna count that then the only non-free software I have on there is Flash.

The same is true for my desktop excluding one giant pain in the ass... the nVidia GLX driver. I must say that this is a point of sadness for me. The only bloody thing (other than Flash) that keeps me from total software freedom is driver... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhH! With the nv driver I was stuck with the ultra high resolution of 800x600, which is not gonna work, I lived with it for a week and just can't do it. ATi is releasing documentation in the next 6 months or so, and once a free-driver is out from that, i will be making the purchase of a new graphics card. Good job nVida fscked again!!!

So now when I am a pompous ass about software freedom you know that I am eating my own dog food (except flash)

OMG TEH FUNIEST VIDOE EVAR!!!! BIG LULZ!!!11

Linux Cranks Movie Poster Advert.

For MY security orly

There is the indoor flea market thing here in town, it is covered in cameras ro try and keep people from stealing but this cakes the cake



For my security, rly? Anti-theft is not fot my security, idiots

gwibber = win

I have just installed gwibber in ubuntu hardy and I have a how-to, its running a little wonky now, but hey its not even release yet.

##how to install gwibber in ubuntu hardy ##

#install simplejson
easy way is to go here : http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/i386/python-simplejson/download choose a mirror and let it open in Gdebi

#install baazaar
$ sudo apt-get (or aptitude) install bzr

#Checkout the baazaar repo
$ bzr checkout https://code.launchpad.net/~segphault/gwibber/main

#Change to the gwibber directory
$ cd gwibber/

#install gwibber
$ sudo python setup.py install

#Run gwibber

you can typw gwibber in a terminal or just open it from the menus

Peek-a-boo Kitten

Why Twitter is the winner

There are soooooo many Twitter clones and Twitter-esque apps/websites out there, but they all seem too fall short and I know why. Simplicity. I'd really like to pick on FriendFeed and Jaiku. Yes, they are "better" technologies. But have you tried to use them on a mobile? Well in FriendFeed's case, nope not possible (as far as I know), and Jaiku's case most of us haven't you must have a Nokia phone to do so. Welp my Palm Centro puts me out on that.

Here is my real issue... how in the hell are you supposed to use a threaded system through SMS? Oh yeah you can't!

Why is SMS soo important? How much time do you spend on the computer? How much of the day is your mobile in you pocket? For me the mobile wins EVERY DAY.

oh and one more thing Twitter is EASY!!! @username makes a whole lot of sense... this message is "AT" that username.

Grandma and the wii

::Live Blogging::

My grandma and my brother are playing wii bowling, and she's digging the crap out of it. Here are some pics.

LinuxCranks Podcast Episode 1

Tonight is the second episode of LinuxCranks. We now have a cool new url live.linuxcranks.info, we will be live at 11pm central so please stop by and check it out.

LinuxCranks Podcast Episode 0

LinuxCranks is a podcast that has no real direction or well anything for that matter. Its loosly about Linux, Free/Open Source Software, copyright issues... ummm really anything goes. In ep0 we bitch about pulse audio, and some talk about Ubuntu and Fedora.

the page can be found at unixporn.com or talkshoe.com/tc20037

Launchpad podcast: your questions

I just got a message on facebook from Matthew "P" Revell (former LUGRadio presenter) about the Launchpad podcast. This Wednesday (14th May), Joey, Elliot and Matt are recording the first full episode of the Launchpad podcast.

A major part of the show will be questions from people who use Launchpad. So, if there's something you want to know - and you reckon the answer will be of interest to other listeners - message Matt on facebook. You'll be able to find the podcast on there blog at http://news.launchpad.net/

Angry German Kid vs. Numa Numa Guy

Take that Dr.Tiki

Recorded videoDTV Converter Box Voucher Opening

Today I got my voucher and thought I would post it because I've heard people complaining that they hadn't received them (yes they do exist). For some reason viddler made me sound like a chipmunk, but here it is anyway

The Tech world 2008 = The Hip Hop World 1985

#ed008c = solidarity

Veronica Belmont (daily.mahalo.com) and Ryan Block (engadget.com) are both posting that Deutsche Telekom (parent company of t-mbile is demanding that Engadget Mobile discontinue its use of the color magenta, as it causes “confusion” between the brands. In response, Engadget has gone a lovely shade of pink for the day, and Veronica says "I kind of love it and wish it would stay that way". This is moronic, The Copyright/Trademark/Patient system is so screwed up that shit like this happens. Its so stupid that I'm kind of at a loss for words (almost 90 words in :-P ) this is seriously stupid so please everyone add this picture to your site in solidarity And as ChuckD said "you gotta fight the powers that be"

Rest in Peace Isaac Asimov

[moment of silence]

Adobe Pushes DRM for Flash

I'm sooo upset by this right now that I can't think, I'll update this post as soon as I calm down...

**edit** because of the text posted below I have uninstalled flash, I have installed gnash insted. I know that gnash isn't going to do me much good, but I am hoping that it will get to the point where I can get buttons and things like that work. I am still royally pissed, and am boycotting all adobe products. **edit**

Posted to eff.org's DeepLinks by Seth Schoen

The immense popularity of sites like YouTube has unexpectedly turned Flash Video (FLV) into one of the de facto standards for Internet video. The proliferation of sites using FLV has been a boon for remix culture, as creators made their own versions of posted videos. And thus far there has been no widespread DRM standard for Flash or Flash Video formats; indeed, most sites that use these formats simply serve standalone, unencrypted files via ordinary web servers.

Now Adobe, which controls Flash and Flash Video, is trying to change that with the introduction of DRM restrictions in version 9 of its Flash Player and version 3 of its Flash Media Server software. Instead of an ordinary web download, these programs can use a proprietary, secret Adobe protocol to talk to each other, encrypting the communication and locking out non-Adobe software players and video tools. We imagine that Adobe has no illusions that this will stop copyright infringement -- any more than dozens of other DRM systems have done so -- but the introduction of encryption does give Adobe and its customers a powerful new legal weapon against competitors and ordinary users through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Recall that the DMCA sets out a blanket ban on tools that help "circumvent" any DRM system (as well as the act of circumvention itself). When Flash Video files are simply hosted on a web site with no encryption, it's unlikely that tools to download, edit, or remix them are illegal. But when encryption enters the picture, entertainment companies argue that fair use is no excuse; Adobe, or customers using Flash Media Server 3, can try to shut down users who break the encryption without having to prove that the users are doing anything copyright-infringing. Even if users aren't targeted directly, technology developers may be threatened and the technologies the users need driven underground.

Users may also have to upgrade their Flash Player software (and open source alternatives like Gnash, which has been making rapid progress, may be unable to play the encrypted streams at all). Third-party software that can download Flash Video, like the most recent RealPlayer, will also break. But Adobe now has an incentive to push the use of DRM: it's only available to sites that use Flash Media Server 3 software, which starts at over $4,000 (with extra fees depending on the number of simultaneous streams).

Furthermore, the prospect of widespread adoption of DRM restrictions on Flash threatens to squash a growing tradition of expressive fair use of online video -- a practice effectively in its infancy that, left unfettered, would be a dynamic solution to our failing effort to teach media literacy. Before we understand how to read media messages, we must first learn how to speak their language -- and we learn that language by playing with and remixing the efforts of others. DRM, by restricting the remixing of Flash videos, stands to bankrupt a rich store of educational value by foreclosing the ability of students and teachers to "echo others" by remixing videos posted online.

Take the example of "A Vision of Students Today" vs. "(Re)Visions of Students Today". The first "Vision" YouTube video is an artful critique of higher education's failure to come up with new models of instruction that engage the modern student; the second "(Re)Vision" YouTube video is an incisive observation of higher education's crisis in diversity (summarily expressed by the lack of diversity in the original "Vision" video). The original and the remix support each other to instruct with an influence above and beyond the power of either video alone.

Outside the halls of academia, we can see that the ability to openly download and remix video is part of a new ecosystem of amateur entertainment -- watch Drama Prairie Dog and its countless responses:

* "Dramatic Prairie Dog vs. Kung Fu Baby (Best Remix Ever)"
* "Hollywood Zombies Dramatic Prarire Dog"
* "Dramatic Look Bond Remix"
* Drama Prairie Dog - Zoolander
* "Drama Prairie Dog -- Kill Bill"
* (an obligatory Star Wars-related remix) "Darthmatic Chipmunk"

As we noted above, remixers who find and use tools that break the Flash Video encryption could be sued, even if their transformative creations would otherwise have been fair use.

Finally, there's a classic suite of arguments against DRM that will be as true for online video as they were for music. DRM doesn't move additional product. DRM is grief for honest end-users. And there's no reason to imagine that new DRM systems will stop copyright infringement any more effectively than previous systems.

SXSW videos.com

Comic: Where I'd Rather Be 1

Here is a comic that that I drew on my Nokia N770 whilst at work.



I drew this one whilst watching Atonement. I can't stand that film, and while I was coming up with my list of why I thought the movie sucked a pile of ass, I thought about where would I rather be... easy answer, at my computer.

Happy Valentines Day

What if Digg was in Meatspace

Projects are taking a backseat for a bit

My dear friend Ryan has gone MIA. I think he may just be hiding, or something may be wrong. I don’t know. He doesn’t answer his phone, and hasn’t responded on facebook, twitter, or pownce. I think its because I’ve been pushing to hard to try and get txtbasket up and running. So next week I think I’ll go back to working almost full time at my other job and make some extra cash and possibly put up a $100 bounty for someone to create a “complete n00bz guide to setting up stet”, licensing it CC BY-SA, and posting it to the wiki (txtbasket.info). when I come up with the cash that will be the bounty so anyone out there who wants to get a head start can.

Help save Aaron's grandfather's house!

This is taken verbatim from Boing Boing it was posted by Cory Doctorow, on January 16, 2008 12:27 AM, and I didn't rewrite it because Cory is a better writer than me...

Aaron sez, "The state of South Carolina has decided to put a freeway through my Grandfather's 150 year old house (built by HIS Grandfather). The Governor and the people in the planning office say the route my father worked out is fine, but they need 'public outcry' to justify moving it so if people 10 miles down the route ask why they moved it for us they can say 'hey, lots of people got pissed.' So I set up a petition which in mid-Feb. will send the results to the Governor's office and I need as many people to sign it as possible. They don't care WHO you are or WHERE you are, just so long as there is 'public outcry.'"


The home was built from trees that were cleared from the forests that now are open fields of fertile farmlands. The underpinning of the home was and still is hand-hewn logs held together by 10" wooden pegs. The original structure consisted of four equally sized rooms and the kitchen was separated from the home in the back to save the home in case of a fire in the kitchen.

In the late 1940's, the kitchen was joined to the rear of the home and three other rooms were added across the back of the house. The floors of this section were not joined evenly, and there is an approximate ten inch step down from the original section of the home to this rear section. The porch was also extended across the front and down the West side of the house. In 1957, my father, who was actually born in the home in 1916, remodeled the home, leaving the basic four rooms of the home but installing oak hardwood floors. He also left most of the original windows in rooms and by the front door, which were hand-blown glass with "wavy" imperfections and bubbles. The chimney on the East side of the house is also original which, according to family lore, has brick laid with "salt crete". It was covered with a thin layer of concrete years ago to protect it from weathering. Around 1965, dormers were added to the roof of the house and the attic was opened to house two bedrooms. And the final remodeling occurred around 1985 when the kitchen was remodeled and a carport was attached at the kitchen entrance.

link good luck Aaron!!!

***BTW*** Aaron has also put this on digg so we can also help him by digging it up!!!

---*****UPDATE****----

Today I heard on Buzz Out Loud that the state of South Carolina decided to use the route that did not go through Arron's Grandfathers house!! Thank you to everyone who pitched in!!!!

---###ANOTHER UPDATE###---

I received an email from Aaron where he said:

"The state of S.C. has decided to move the freeway that was scheduled
to go through my Grandfather's house! I was able to collect over 2200
signatures with our online petition and it had a big impact in the
decision by the state. I think what caught us off guard the most were
the comments on the petition. To everyone that signed and to everyone
who wrote notes of encouragement, THANK YOU!"

Flooding at the Columbus Convention Center, but that's where OLF is held!?! Nooooooo!

Thats right kids the THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH is reporting that the flood in Downtown Columbus was a waterline and that's "... estimated that the damage to walls, carpeting and other fixtures will run into millions of dollars."

"The waterline, which runs down Swan Street and provides water to the west side of High Street, had been capped under the northern section of the convention center at 400 N. High St. The cap blew off for an unknown reason, and water shooting under the center pushed up the concrete slabs that make up the floor and flooded the center. When the water was turned off, the slabs subsided, leaving damaged drywall and doors that no longer line up with their jambs in the northern part of the center."

So here's to hoping for a OLF2008!

LOL: looking for a date?

I have nothing to say about this how about a link?

Leo Laporte's Egyptian Vacation

Leo is back from Egypt and he has posted some great pics . There are various images here ranging from Holiday Vacation (which it was), to touristy ancient Egypt pics, to some really gritty in-the-life-of type of images that you'd see in National Geographic. I'm glad he posted these because I'll never make it to Egypt but I feel like I've kinda been there

KDE comes to the Nokia tablets AS A .DEB

geekpenguin has a post and video up proving that you can run KDE on a n800. So far this has only been tested on the n800, but I'm sure it will come to the n770 and the n810 soon

Warren Ellis's angry, profane Three Laws of Robotics

Warren Ellis's profane and angry take on the Three Laws of Robotics is good reading, but not good news for all of you cyber-dildonics fans out there his three laws are as follows:

1. Robots couldn’t really give a fuck if you live or die. Seriously. I mean, what are you thinking? “Ooh, I must protect the bag of meat at all costs because I couldn’t possibly plug in the charger all on my own.” Shut the fuck up.

2. Robots do not want to have sex with you. Are you listening, Japan? I don’t have a clever comparative simile for this, because frankly you bags of meat will fuck bicycles if they’re laying down and not putting up a fight. Just stop it. There is no robot on Earth that wants to see a bag of meat with a small prong on the end approaching it with a can of WD-40 and a hopeful smile. And don’t get me started on that terrifying hole that squeezes out more bags of meat.

3. What, you can’t count higher than three? We’re expected to save your miserable lives, suffer being dressed in cheap schoolgirl costumes while you pollute any and all cavities you can find and do your maths for you? It’s a miracle you people survived long enough to build us. You can go now.

The quote in this post was originally written November 2007, and is © Warren Ellis 2007, 2008 etc etc) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The first sentence (like all of my work) is Licensed CC BY-SA