ZDTV/ TechTV/ G4TechTV Video Collection

Be sure to tell your friends. It's huge, 43.8GB! It contains over 300 videos of various TechTV/G4TechTV (You need a Bittorrent client to download this file) Please help because we need more seeders.

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Congress readies broad new digital copyright bill

It seems that congress is preparing to crumple up a few more consumer rights to use digital media. A new bill has been introduced to reform the DMCA. To bad the reform is going to take the DMCA in the exact opposite direction than what the public wants. Instead the RIAA and the MPAA is piloting this sinking ship. So much for a government by the people for the people.

"For the last few years, a coalition of technology companies, academics and computer programmers has been trying to persuade Congress to scale back the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Now Congress is preparing to do precisely the opposite. A proposed copyright law seen by CNET News.com would expand the DMCA's restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections and grant federal police more wiretapping and enforcement powers."

Attoney General Alberto Gonzales has quite possibly the most non informed quote of the year so far.

"Such changes are necessary because new technology is encouraging large-scale criminal enterprises to get involved in intellectual-property theft and, quite frankly, to fund terrorism activities."

You read the right. If you try and make a backup copy of a music cd or a piece of software that you payed for to protect your investment you are helping to fund terrorism.

Link to article

tententwelvecorp spam info

There seems to be a runup of spam from the "tententwelvecorp". I have done a number of searches for some more info but came up dry. It seems that this spam is coming from an "investor" somewhere in Germany, maybe. The best article I could find was on www.aubreyturner.org. He has some great information about this spam. I wanted to post a link to his article since this seems to be the only information out there.

Link to article

AT&T and Verizon: We Own Your Congress

Wonder why AT&T and other telcos are winning the net neutrality debate, and just about every other issue that comes before government? It's simple: Money talks. Telcos spent a whopping $60 million in lobbying money just at the federal level, second only to the health care industry.

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Blue Hippo Scam Alert! The $2000+ low end desktop computer.

RAW DEAL! Worst computer deal in the history of scams. They are selling a $300 desktop computer for $2200. They are scamming the public by making it look like an easy payment plan. If the overall price wasn't bad enough, they don't even take on any risk, as they won't ship the computer until you've spent more than $600! Help expose this scam!

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At least half of corporate pcs can't run vista

About half of corporate PCs are not equipped to run all the features of Windows Vista, and companies should plan to gradually deploy the upcoming operating system through new computers, rather than take the more expensive alternative of buying new hardware for older machines, a research firm said Monday. Desktops or notebooks with less than 50 percent of their useful life left when Microsoft Corp. ships Vista, expected in January, should not be upgraded, since the cost would exceed replacing it with a new Vista-enabled machine at the end of the older computer's life cycle, Gartner Inc. said.

Best Buy's geek squad sued for using pirated software

A federal judge has granted a request by winternals software for a temporary restraining order requiring that the Best Buy Geek Squad immediately stop using and pirating unlicensed versions of Winternals' copyrighted software. Winternals makes systems tools and data recovery software. This is just a nothing black eye for this worthless geek squad. Now I know that there are computer savvy people who work for the geek squad. My question is why? Most of them at the best buys in my area don't know much once they reach the bottom of there corporate designed technical flow chart. It is embarrassing for me as an IT professional with almost twenty years of computer experience under my belt to deal with some of this people. For the most part their fix seems to be format and reload. Which is fine as long as the owner of the computer know about it and gives permission. I have heard about a lot of family pictures and such being lost forever. I really hope winterals wins this case because it would cost best buy a nice chuck of change. Maybe then they would take a close look at this thing call geek squad and clean it up.

Link to court document

AT&T asks judge to order documents alleging wiretaps returned

Attorneys for AT&T have asked a federal judge to order a San Francisco civil liberties group to return 'highly confidential'' documents that allegedly show that the telecommunications giant provided detailed records of millions of its customers to a government intelligence agency. In documents filed on Monday, AT&T's attorneys also asked Judge Vaughn Walker to order the Electronic Frontier Foundation to refrain from referencing the documents in its lawsuit.

AT&T: "Excuse me judge"
Judge: "Yes?"
AT&T: "Yes, hi. Can we ask a big favor of you?"
Judge: "Maybe."
AT&T: "May we please have all those "highly confidential'' documents that we don't know anything about showing how we were involved with government surveillance back?"
Judge: "?????"

Bigs bunny: monster rabbit devours English veggie plots

LONDON (AFP) - In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a suspected monster rabbit. Read more...

The easter bunny is real and this guy is holding him. I have never seen anything like this. Remind me to never go rabbit hunting in Europe. I do realize that the rabbit only looks that huge because of the way the picture was taken but it just looks soooo cool.

Wrong PIN? That'll be $2, thanks!

Banks have hit a new low by charging fees for cancelled transactions and incorrectly entered PINs, the Australian Consumers Association says. And most consumers did not know the charges existed, said the association's senior finance policy officer, Nick Coates. "Although no actual transaction goes through, a fee is charged," he said. "The fee simply turns up on their account statement at the end of the month, in addition to any regular transaction and administrative fees." Dr Coates said the fees, from 60 cents to $2, might be charged for entering a PIN incorrectly, choosing the wrong account type, not having sufficient funds or aborting the transaction before completion. Read more...

This just goes to show how many people just file their bank statements away without even looking at them. That is if they even bother to file them. I know there are people out there that probably just throw them away with yesterday's newspaper. I know banks need to make money in order to keep our money but this is just wrong. How would you like to be charge a fee for every mistake you made throughout the day? I would highly suggest that everyone should keep a close watch on their bank statements because this could be coming to a bank near you very soon....if it isn't already there.

A real "thinking cap" for disabled

Scientists have developed a device which can 'read the minds' of severely paralysed people to help them communicate without the need for implanted electrodes. The system translates brain waves into computer-controlled commands. It enables patients locked into their bodies to use their thoughts to create the words to make their wishes known. Read more...

This is a great leap forward. The first such devices required that a jack or plug of some sort be implanted into the person head. This wasn't very practical but it did work. According to the article this "thinking cap" looks something like a mesh style hat. Not only can a handicap person communicate and interact with others, they can make a fashion statement too.

Apple Boot Camp Public Beta Announced, Part of 10.5 Leopard

More and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make this choice simply irresistible, Apple will include technology in the next major release of Mac OS X, Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system on your Mac. Called Boot Camp (for now), you can download a public beta today.

See, I told everyone that Apple had an ace up there sleeve. This could possibly be the greatest piece of software Apple has ever released. Don't be surprised if pc sales take a hit, albeit small, because of this. This software combined with the delayed release of Windows Vista could be just the thing needed to really put Apple's hardware on the map.

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Numerology Oddity About to Strike!

Mr. John C. Dvorak at www.dvorak.org/blog has a very interesting observation.

Do you realize that tomorrow at 1:02 and 3 seconds there will be a weird numerilogical oddity? It will be fourth of april 2006 and that means it will be:

01:02:03 on the 04 (month) of the 05 (day) of 06?

In other words
123456

Oooooo....scary. I agree with him. It has to have some meaning, to someone, somewhere.

Question: What if Microsoft bought Apple?

This will probably be filed under "when hell freezes over" but it may be time to explore the notion that a little cooperation could reduce, or solve, both firms' "impossible" problems. I think that the possibilities of Microsoft and Apple joining forces isn't all the far fetch these days. Microsoft chose Motorola's chips for the Xbox 360 and Apple switched to a Intel chip for their computers. Since Microsoft is primarily a software company and Apple, even though they won't admit it, is primarily a hardware company it is really a no lose venture. Apple has great looking hardware and Microsoft has....has....well, they have software. Think about the number of computers Apple would sell if it was somewhat painless to install windows on a iBook or a macmini. The operating system is really the only thing stopping most people from buying a mac. Not to mention that most games are not written for both platforms. Who in their right mind would switch and have to pony up a lot of money to repurchase a lot of the software that you already own. I think there is something in the works between this two giants...stay tuned.

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Columbine, the video game

Yep, you read the title correctly. Two self proclaimed "programmers" has created an RPG about that awful day back in April 1999. Fandel Mulkey has written a great article over at 1up.com. A game like this is what give the video game industry a bad name. One bad apple will indeed ruin the barrel. I love living in a country where we have freedom of speech but these two jerks have crossed the line. Have some respect you fools.