17August2004
Posted by Zane under: Personal.
I realized recently that nearly every time I need to drop outgoing mail into a blue metal US Postal Service mailbox, I hesitate uncomfortably for a second or two. I inspect my mail, doublechecking return addresses, the adhesive on the stamps and envelope. There’s something a bit intimidating about the finality of US mail, in contrast to nearly all other routine dealings I have with objects in the real world. Most of the time when I put something somewhere, I can take it back if I want, I can pick it up again. But mail is final; with mailboxes, it’s like I’m dropping a ring into Mount Doom.
I suppose part of the reason it’s a big deal is that I only use snail mail for important stuff these days, like big checks and letters home. But it’s funny that over the web, transactions and communication rarely seem so final. If I pay a bill online, PayPal someone, or order from Amazon, I can usually take it back easily. I can edit or remove blog posts that don’t come out right. Clicking the SEND button makes email final… but I never feel that same hesitation. It’s like… staring at a bright screen full of 1s and 0s just doesn’t drum up the same emotional reactions as that BLUE METAL BOX OF NO MAIL RETURN. I am a creature built for physical space.
16August2004
Posted by Zane under: Personal.
Last Thursday, it was raining quite hard as I traveled home from work and nearly 75% of the people on the roads did not have their headlights on. This morning on the way to work I noticed a repeat effect with about the same precentage of people that didn’t have their headlights on as we drove through extremely heavy fog. The fog was so heavy that you could only see about twenty-five feet infront of you. Is is a matter of people forgetting or is it that most cars have auto on/off headlights that sometimes they don’t come on and too many people depend on this? Let me say that I have auto on/off headlights and I always make it a point to have my headlights on when it is raining or foggy. I guess most people don’t realize how much of a safety factor it is as well as a visibility issue, and besides it is the law, This all just blows me away every time I see it! Do you drive with your headlight, or parklights at the very least, on when it is foggy or raining?
12August2004
Posted by Zane under: News; Technology.
The Norwegian hacker who broke the DeCSS DVD encryption has now cracked Apple’s AirPort technology, which encrypts music sent between iTunes and wireless base stations Jon Lech Johansen, the Norwegian hacker famous for cracking DVD encryption, has cracked Apple AirPort Express.Johansen has revealed the public key that Apple AirPort Express, a wireless networking protocol, uses to encrypt music sent between iTunes and a wireless base station.
AirPort Express was released in June 2004 as a small wireless bridge from a personal computer to a hi-fi. Details of the AirPort Express codes were also published on Johansen’s weblog, which is called So Sue Me.
In a double whammy for Apple, Johansen also wrote a program called JustePort - allowing software other than Apple iTunes to stream music to AirPort Express.
Thanks to Johansen’s work, it’s now only a matter of time before other popular software is capable of streaming music to the Airport Express. Until now, a copy of iTunes 4.6 was required.
Johansen shot to fame over his controversial program that bypassed DeCSS encryption schemes on DVDs.
In 2003, he narrowly escaped criminal charges, brought by Hollywood, after a Norwegian court found him justified in developing the program to view legally bought DVDs on his Linux machine.
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11August2004
Posted by Zane under: News.
Billionaire Ronald Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. will form a new venture with Renco Group Inc., which owns Hummer sport utility vehicle maker AM General LLC, that will give MacAndrews managing control of AM General, the companies said on Tuesday.AM General, which designs and builds the Humvee military vehicle and its commercial siblings, the Hummer H1 and H2, will be operated by Perelman’s MacAndrews subject to certain rights still held by Renco, the companies said.
Renco is run by dealmaker Ira Rennert, who took over South Bend, Indiana-based AM General in 1992 for $133 million. The companies did not provide a value for the deal, which was widely reported to be worth more than $930 million.
10August2004
Posted by Zane under: News; Technology.
Sonic Solutions said Monday that it signed an agreement to buy the consumer software division of Roxio Inc. for a combination of cash and stock totaling $80 million.Sonic, which primarily makes DVD-creation software, said the acquisition will give it a well-recognized set of consumer software brands, access to long-standing distribution channels and strong marketing expertise.
Roxio, the owner of the Napster music Web site, will receive $70 million in cash and Sonic shares valued at $10 million. The sale is part of Roxio’s plan to focus on the digital music market. The company said it is changing its corporate name to Napster and will trade under the ticker “NAPS” on the Nasdaq after the completion of the deal.
“Napster will emerge as a well-positioned pure-play in the fast-growing digital music sector with a substantially enhanced balance sheet that will support our growth plans,” Roxio chairman and chief executive Chris Gorog said in a press release.
The companies said they expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter.
Nasdaq - listed shares of Sonic closed earlier up 32 cents, or 2.6 percent at $12.63. Roxio stock, which also trades on the Nasdaq, closed up 16 cents, or 4 percent, at $4.14. In the extended session, Sonic was up nearly 7 percent and Roxio was up nearly 8 percent recently.
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