The Legality of Illegal Technology

That title may be a little misleading, but I just found two articles that seemed to intertwine and I was having trouble putting into words the sentiment I wanted to express. In recent months the distribution of TV shows has become a high-profile problem, but I didn't realize the trend of media providers using the Internet to show extra content alongside some ads to keep them free. Some of you may have already used MTV Overdrive, AOL Music (the Live 8 stuff), or the video updates on CBS News. The importance of this is that it's beginning to legitimize the Internet as an effective vehicle for media backed by workable business model. P2P networks have come to be associated with legal troubles nowadays, but a new kind of network (Freenet) uses darknet principles to allow for the sharing of data anonymously. The purpose of this truly is to stave off political oppression (I wonder if China's situation was an inspiration for them), and if it becomes big it could be an important step to showing that P2P doesn't have to hurt business and can be used to help people like its supporters claim it can.

What is illegal no matter how you slice it though is online auction fraud, and ZDNet has an interview with the man behind eBay security against such scammers as the first in a series of interviews against online crime. It's a pretty educational read for those of you who use eBay (so that means virtually everyone). Those of you keeping up with the IE saga may want to know about the standards it's supporting, but it will still not pass the Acid2 Test because apparently some of its items are a bit difficult to comply with. As long as this version is less buggy though I'll be happy. Those of you programmers who are loathe to write comments in your code regularly should at least read this post outlining some very basic tips that I think are very useful. Lastly, if you're intrigued by Linux but have been sucked in by Windows you may want to look into Xandros. Apparently, this OS makes it easy to maintain both platforms and I may have to try it when I have a bit more time.

I actually have a project to do for History class (which I'll likely write about very soon), and so I'm not going to drag the little movie news out there today on too much. I'm still very much interested in The Constant Gardener and so I was glad to learn of a brand new trailer. Another movie I've grown to become interested in is called Thumbsucker and though it seems to be part of a trend of smart teen angst movies I want it to be good because of its great cast and really neat trailer. I just hope they don't try too hard. A rumor at AICN has surfaced suggesting the strong possibility of a movie about a young Indiana Jones. It's hard to imagine why they'd want to do this and Indiana Jones 4, but could they be one in the same? Another presumption movie geeks are making is that Sin City 2 may already be underway. That's only based on a statement from Brittany Murphy on her excitement to return though, so it may also mean nothing. Lastly, some new pictures from Corpse Bride have gone online including this one:



This week I'm going back to the Monday Music Mambo:

01. What song(s) come to mind that mention a girl by name? Example: Oh, Sherry by Steve Perry
"Delilah" - Tom Jones (sad I know, but I heard it a couple of days ago so it easily came to mind)

02. What artist(s) or song(s) come to mind when you hear the word girl? Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
I wanted to say that one! I guess I'd have to say "Oh, I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain.

03. Do you and your girlfriend (or your girl friend) have a song? If not, go ahead, designate one now.
*sniffle* No Comment :(

04. Let's have a little fun with rock-n-roll.

a) Name artists or groups whose name resembles rock? Example: Rolling Stones Or name songs which contain the word rock (or something similar) in the title or the lyrics.
I guess Smashing Pumpkins doesn't count? What about Queens of the Stone Age? And as for song names: "Like a Stone" by Audioslave.

b) Name songs which contain the word roll in the title or lyrics? Proud Mary - "rollin' on the river"
"I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night" by Kiss.