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14 Nov 2009 19:07

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Tech: Pystar death star: Apple clones dealt another murderous blow

  • It’s unfortunate, but Apple was in the right legally. There are tons of side issues in the Mac clone case to end all Mac clone cases, but Pystar – which had famously been selling generic noisy black boxes and putting a bunch of Mac software on them – is done. Apple has them from just about every avenue possible – copyright infringement, derivative works, misuse of copyrights and DMCA violations. As a result, the case that would’ve allowed Hackintoshes has only ended up protecting the Mac business model instead. Sorry, Pystar. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 13:51

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: Our decade in review goes all the way to 2006

  • 1. Tokyo Police Club may have ushered in the era of the blog-buzz band, but that doesn’t mean their first mini-album doesn’t hold up. These Canadians, who weren’t even old enough to drink (in Canada!) at the time, brought a lot of energy to their post-punk stylings, if not a lot to say. Unfortunately, the Black Kids/Pitchfork fiasco can probably be blamed partially on their success.
    2. In 2006, TV on the Radio finally lived up to the potential of their first EP thanks to their amazing second album, “Return to Cookie Mountain,” which is on the shortlist for best album of the decade. “Wolf Like Me” is on the shortlist for their best song. If “Staring at the Sun” didn’t already exist, there’d be no contest.
    3. While Girl Talk’s “Night Ripper” is definitely of a single amazing piece of cloth, “Hold Up” deserves mention simply because it features the best single use of a Weezer song since 1997 – including by Weezer themselves.
    4. The great thing about The Thermals? They sound like a bunch of goofy grown-up kids playing punk rock, but (unlike Tokyo Police Club) the subject matter they tackle is dead serious. On “A Pillar of Salt,” Hutch Harris tackles religion with lyrical book smarts but with the energy of a six-year-old.
    5. If girl-group pop was slowed down to just before the point where the life was completely sucked out of it, you’d have Grizzly Bear’s “Knife,” their calling card into the top tier of indie rock. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 12:48

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Culture: Daily Poll: Indie directors making movies for kids – good or bad?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 12:25

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Biz: Wal-Mart’s supplier credit-rating program genius, say smart people

  • I would expect a retailer’s credit quality always to be taken into account when a firm is lending money against that retailer’s receivables. If a vendor is owed the money by Wal-Mart that is very different than if a vendor is owed the money by [bankrupt] Linens N Things, for example.
  • GimmeCredit analyst Carol Levenson • Describing how Wal-Mart’s new policy, which allows suppliers to get credit on the back of the company’s very strong credit rating, is genius. Obviously, not every supplier can count on retailers to bail them out like this. But many are in a position to do the same thing, including Target, Kohl’s, TJX Cos. (the parent of TJMaxx, Marshall’s and other similar stores), Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walgreens. Considering that suppliers are likely in the tank in this economy, this could save them. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 11:35

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Politics: The DMCA (and Fox News) strikes again: We’ll miss you News1News.

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  • It was perhaps the best news-related channel on YouTube. You know our weekly Max Headroom feature? The one that features all the clips from all of the talk shows? Well, it may have just suffered a pretty terrible blow. Fox decided to go after News1News, a talk-show-clips channel, and YouTube ended up straight-up removing it, despite the fact that it was, well, an amazing resource and often continued the conversations that began on Fox News. Was it political? Gawker suggests it might be – especially since many liberal bloggers used it. We understand its removal but think it’s shortsighted. Too bad, though. It was one of our faves. On the plus side, it’s back up over here. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 11:01

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Tech: Google’s street view: Not blurry enough for the Swiss

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  • Haven’t you Swiss jerks caused enough trouble? First, you totally flip the neutrality switch and arrest Roman Polanski and now you’re going to claim that Google’s Street View isn’t blurry enough and doesn’t obscure faces and that sort of thing very well? You know, Switzerland, in America, we like our diminished privacy with a side of bacon. And some of the best home fries you’ve ever eaten. In a diner that used to be an IHOP until someone decided that it wasn’t good enough to be an IHOP and took away the franchise rights. We don’t complain about blurriness. Neither should you. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 10:17

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World: Today’s suicide bombing in Pakistan hit a police checkpoint

  • 10 were killed, and 25 more injured in the attack source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Nov 2009 10:09

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World: Hack sabbath: Orthodox Jews not happy with Intel right now

Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem are unhappy that the plant stays open on the day of Sabbath. Intel doesn’t appear to be a very Jewish company. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 09:58

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U.S.: Obama: Hold accountable those who missed Fort Hood shooting

  • Given the potential warning signs that may have been known prior these shootings, we must uncover what steps – if any – could have been taken to avert this tragedy.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking in his weekly radio address about suspected Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan, who reportedly had multiple (between 10 and 20) contacts with a al-Qaeda-sympathetic Muslim cleric. Obama says that whoever didn’t do anything despite these warning signs should be “held accountable” for their actions. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2009 09:17

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Biz, Tech: Google Books has a new, less-infringing, publisher agreement

  • Cost of the deal $125
    million
  • Big changes made Author rights
    Orphan books
    Pricing structure
     
  • Countries in the dealU.S.
    Canada
    U.K.
    Australia     source
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