The Geeks look at the technology that will help to define 2007 and cover some of the Week-in-Geek news: [AACS|Advanced Access Content System] cracked, $1000 HDVD Drive available, gmail loosing email, and Robot Deer take-over.
“Despite their widespread acceptance of the increasingly liberal privacy policies of sites and services, the majority of American consumers don’t, in fact, want their data collected, their activity tracked, or their usage analyzed. A new study from the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology asked 1,200 households several straightforward questions about what level of privacy they think they have when using a cell phone, and what information is and is not OK for companies to track and store. The majority thinks they have far more privacy than they do, and are unequivocally opposed to some of the most common forms of data collection.”
“We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT.”
“Images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft show a concentration of high-altitude haze and a vortex materializing at the south pole of Saturn’s moon Titan, signs that the seasons are turning on Saturn’s largest moon.”
“This movie captured by NASA’S Cassini spacecraft shows a south polar vortex, or a mass of swirling gas around the pole in the atmosphere, at Saturn’s moon Titan. The swirling mass appears to execute one full rotation in about nine hours – much faster than the moon’s 16-day rotation period. The images were taken before and after a distant flyby of Titan on June 27, 2012.”
“Whatever your opinion of New York City as a whole, it’s hard to argue that the local government doesn’t occasionally come up with an interesting public-works project. This latest one is a good example of how, with a little forethought, a piece of thoroughly antiquated technology can be transformed into something that helps people in the course of their day: a pilot program that will install free Wi-Fi in payphone kiosks.”
[Daily Tech|http://dailytech.com/], one of Sean’s suggested tech news sites, has an [article on Toshiba’s new H-DVD Player|http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5514] for about $1000.
The [AACS|Advanced Access Content System] Digital Rights cracked making [Blue-ray|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray] and HDVD discs copyable. More at [News dot com|http://news.com.com/Companies+probe+possible+high-def+DVD+hack/2100-1029_3-6146267.html] or [Engadget|http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/27/aacs-drm-cracked-by-backuphddvd-tool/]
! Calls and Links
!! Robotic Vacuum
Geek Alex just got a [iRobot Roomba|http://irobot.com/] and is pleased as peach as it cleans his floors.
!! Jim – Big Sur, CA asked about website photo sales for photographers
We suggested [Photobucket|http://Photobucket.com] and checking out [Bay Photo|http://BayPhoto.com].
Patricia from Watsonville, CA suggests pbase.com. “Guys, Many of my photographer friends use pbase.com, which is cheap or free and very professional looking. Here’s a favorite of mine: http://pbase.com/jpokln/pelagictrips”
