The Great Geek Manual News

The £3.5 million project aims to create a machine that can open all obsolete files, including text, websites and games.

The team behind Keeping Emulation Environments Portable (KEEP) claim it is necessary to prevent data from being lost forever as formats become redundant.

“People don’t think twice about saving files digitally – from snapshots taken on a camera phone to national or regional archives,” said Dr Janet Delve, a computer historian from the University of Portsmouth who has worked on the project.

“But every digital file risks being either lost by degrading or by the technology used to ‘read’ it disappearing altogether.”

Her fellow researcher Dr David Anderson said: “We are facing a massive threat of the loss of digital information. It’s a very real and worrying problem.

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Source: The Telegraph

There has been high drama on the second day of the Pirate Bay trial. Due to serious shortcomings in the prosecution evidence, around 50% of the charges in the case are going to have to be withdrawn. The defense describes it as a ’sensation’, seeing half of the charges being dropped on the second day.

What has been shown in court today is that the prosecutor cannot prove that the .torrent files he is using as evidence actually used The Pirate Bay’s tracker. Many of the screenshots being used clearly state there is no connection to the tracker. Additionally, prosecutor Håkan Roswall didn’t adequately explain the function of DHT which allows for so called “trackerless” torrents.

The flaw in the evidence was pointed out by Fredrik Neij (TiAMO), who requested to comment on Roswall’s explanation of how BitTorrent actually works. Fredrik said that the prosecution misunderstood the technology, and told the court that the evidence doesn’t show that the Pirate Bay’s trackers are used.

This has resulted in prosecutor Håkan Roswall having to drop all charges relating to “assisting copyright infringement”, so the remaining charges are simply ‘assisting making available’. “Everything related to reproduction will be removed from the claim,” he said.

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Source: Torrent Freak

Reacting to an online swell of suspicion about changes to Facebook’s terms of service, the company’s chief executive moved to reassure users on Monday that the users, not the Web site, “own and control their information.”

The online exchanges reflected the uneasy and evolving balance between sharing information and retaining control over that information on the Internet. The subject arose when a consumer advocate’s blog shined an unflattering light onto the pages of legal language that many users accept without reading when they use a Web site.

The pages, called terms of service, generally outline appropriate conduct and grant a license to companies to store users’ data. Unknown to many users, the terms frequently give broad power to Web site operators.

This month, when Facebook updated its terms, it deleted a provision that said users could remove their content at any time, at which time the license would expire. Further, it added new language that said Facebook would retain users’ content and licenses after an account was terminated.

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Source: The New York Times

The idea is to replace the printer with a secure e-mail server operated by the postal service that can then deliver a digital equivalent of your paper phone bill or investment statement to a personal, secure online mailbox. The approach has been embraced by Swiss Post, Switzerland’s national carrier which operates in 16 countries.

Calls for an overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service are getting louder. They’ll only increase in volume in the runup to a 2 percent increase in the price of a first-class stamp, scheduled for May 11.

The extra postage is needed to cover the rising costs of a sprawling operation that employs 685,000 people, operates 37,000 retail locations, and in fiscal 2008 delivered 202 billion pieces of mail in every state, city, town, and village in the U.S. and its territories. The U.S. Postal Service [USPS], which relies on postage-stamp sales and not Uncle Sam for revenue, is operating at a large loss. Last year’s $2.6 billion shortfall, on $75 billion in revenue, is expected to widen to $8 billion this year.

In an effort to rein in costs, Postmaster General John E. Potter last month floated before a Senate subcommittee the idea of cutting back on mail delivery to five days a week from six.

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Source: News Factor

A new phone based on Google’s operating system Android has been unveiled by Vodafone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The touchscreen HTC Magic will feature a 3.2 Megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS, but no slide-out keyboard.

The first “Google phone”, called the G1, was launched in September by HTC and is exclusive to T-mobile.

The Magic will feature new Android firmware, known as “Cupcake”, with changes based on G1 user suggestions. It will go on sale to Vodafone customers in the UK, Germany, Spain and France, and non-exclusively in Italy.

Android phone users will be able to access the Android Market, a storefront for applications that already boasts 800 offerings.

That number that is sure to grow with more Android handsets on the market.

The Congress was expected to see the launch of a number of Android-based phones from several manufacturers, but the Magic is as yet the only confirmed release.

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Source: The BBC

Google Inc. will allow developers to sell applications for its Android cellphone operating system beginning next week in the United States, as the search giant strives to expand in a smart phone arena dominated by Apple Inc.

Google’s announcement marked an important step in the search giant’s quest to catch up with Apple in the fast-growing market for smart phones.

It signals Google’s commitment to expand into a relatively hot mobile market, even as it pulls back on certain other initiatives such as broadcast radio.

Google said in a blog post Friday its Android Market will initially carry paid applications from developers in the United States and Britain, with plans to allow developers in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Spain to participate later this quarter.

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Source: The Globe and Mail

A common blood-pressure drug can selectively dampen fearful memories, according to research published today in Nature Neuroscience.

The findings add support for a new approach to treating anxiety disorders: chemically blocking the emotional component of a memory as it is being recalled. In healthy volunteers, the drug was more effective than exposure therapy, one of the most common treatments for anxiety disorders, which involves repeatedly exposing patients to what they fear.

The research builds on preliminary tests in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in which people who have experienced severe trauma, such as rape, are plagued by disturbing and uncontrollable memories of the event. “Anytime you can reduce the emotional component of a memory while leaving the other content intact is very exciting,” says Seth Norrholm, a neuroscientist at Emory University, in Atlanta, who was not involved in the research. “We want patients to understand what triggers their fear without feeling the anxiety.”

The findings also build on our understanding of memory, supporting the notion that even an old memory, once recalled, becomes labile and susceptible to alteration.

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Source: Technology Review

The Pirate Bay’s “spectrial” got underway in Sweden Monday morning as prosecutors laid out the charges. Appearing before a packed house of bloggers, press, and people dressed as pirates, prosecutor Hakan Roswall made his opening statement, charging The Pirate Bay with aiding in massive copyright infringement and profiting from its actions.

Three Pirate Bay defendants and Carl Lundstom, a Swedish businessman who used to run Rix Telecom and is accused of being a Pirate Bay investor, were in the dock listening. Roswall painted the group as businesspeople out to make serious money from their operations, and he detailed the site’s genesis and growth since being launched back in 2004.

Those who understand what The Pirate Bay is and how BitTorrent works won’t find much new or shocking in Roswall’s summary of the case; the question is simply whether creating a search engine and tracker service that traffics mainly in copyrighted content is illegal in Sweden or not.

The music labels did provide a bit of new information, however—specifically, the amount of money they want from The Pirate Bay. It turns out to be over $13 million (117 million kronor).

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Source: Ars Technica

Sunday, NPD released its January video game sales figures, and once again, Nintendo dominated.

According to the research firm, Nintendo sold 680,000 Wii units and 510,000 DS units. Microsoft was able to sell 309,000 consoles in January, and Sony once again trailed the pack with 203,000 units sold.

On the software side, Nintendo’s Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii took the top three spots, while Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: World at War rounded out the top five.

At this point, after well over a year of leading the video game industry, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Nintendo dominated the charts for yet another month. After all, the company has found a way to provide consumers with a fun and unique experience at a price that’s more affordable than its competition. And in this economy, that’s a necessity.

But as the months have worn on and more Wiis enter homes around the world, I’m left wondering if I’m an “old school” gamer who has been left behind. Sure, I own the Wii and I’ve played all the games listed here, but if we are to believe that sales figures can adequately determine the preferences of gamers, I don’t think it’s out of the question to say that I’m no longer the typical gamer. And it’s Nintendo’s fault.

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Source: CNet

On 9 June, BBC commentator Bill Thompson wrote a critique of a joint venture between the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) and Virgin Media to write to customers whose net connection may have been used to download unlicensed content. Here, BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor responds to his comments.

Bill Thompson’s critique of the new education campaign we have launched with Virgin Media was a good illustration of why such a campaign is needed: in drawing misleading analogies between illegal file sharing and taping programmes off the TV he shows that even “experts” get it wrong sometimes.

It’s good that he recognises that the future for consumers, internet service providers (ISPs), and the music community is in developing even more new licensed download services. But it’s naive at best to think licensed music services can prosper without action being taken against illegal downloading.

Indeed it’s Mr Thompson, rather than music companies, who is stuck in the past.

Music companies are radically re-inventing their business models in response to changes in how music fans want to access music online. Yet Mr Thompson’s digital utopianism clings to an implausible and dated belief that the internet will be an endless free lunch.

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Source: The BBC

Twitter, the microblogging service that is spreading like wildfire, has secured over $50 million in its third round of funding. Strangely, the company was not even looking for the money, but news of such a large sum is placing even more pressure on Twitter’s plans to begin generating revenue. The service has become everything to everyone—a microblogging platform, a customer service hub, a replacement for chat and e-mail, a bite-sized newspaper, and even a Pirate Bay trial translation service—so, naturally, everyone is waiting to see what Twitter’s first major step into prime time will be.

Twitter’s latest funding comes from Benchmark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners. According to the company’s announcement, though,Twitter was not even in the market since there was plenty of cash left from the $15 million it raised last May. The company is not generating any of its own revenue yet, though ironically, a growing number of third-parties have cashed in by selling applications or accepting donations for services that work with Twitter (in particular, iPhone clients and sites like Tipjoy that allow users to donate money to friends or organizations).

Still, with everyone from President Obama to Shaquille O’Neal contributing to a 900 percent growth in active users over the last year, Benchmark and IVP clearly must see an opportunity for big ROI.

No one at Twitter will discuss revenue ideas with any detail beyond some vague statements from wonderfully named co-founder Biz Stone about the value that exists for businesses and organizations from using Twitter.

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Source: Ars Technica

uTorrent - the client of choice for most BitTorrent users - has added a Google powered torrent search engine to its website. This added search capability uses Google’s custom search program and prioritizes BitTorrent sites in the results. With millions of visitors a month, this is likely to bring in some additional revenue for BitTorrent Inc.

Many visitors to the uTorrent website are relatively new to BitTorrent, and a proportion of these are clueless as to where they should start looking for .torrent files. For this group the new torrent search box on the uTorrent homepage might come in handy. On the other hand, for BitTorrent Inc. it will generate some welcome additional revenue in troubling times.

While the added search is not a particular good way to find torrents, its addition to the site is an interesting move by BitTorrent Inc. Not so long ago, uTorrent removed the search boxes to sites like Mininova and isoHunt from their client, as per requests from copyright holders. However, since BitTorrent Inc. closed its video store, there is now no need to please Hollywood and they are free to link to torrent sites again.

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Source: Torrent Freak

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has petitioned the Library of Congress to officially protect phone owners who bypass software restrictions on their phones—aka “jailbreaking.” Apple has just filed an objection, arguing that doing so would infringe on their copyright. If Apple gets its way, “[it] would have the right to claim statutory damages of up to $2,500 “per act of circumvention.” People who jailbreak phones, might even be subject to criminal penalties of as long as five years, if they circumvented copyright for a financial gain.”

The big question, of course, is who really owns your damned phone? Apple says that bypassing their software restrictions messes with the “chain of trust” they’ve set up and screws up their “ecosystem.” The EFF counters that if you apply Apple’s argument to another industry, it falls apart: “One need only transpose Apple’s arguments to the world of automobiles to recognize their absurdity. Sure, GM might tell us that, for our own safety, all servicing should be done by an authorized GM dealer using only genuine GM parts. Toyota might say that swapping your engine could reduce the reliability of your car. And Mazda could say that those who throw a supercharger on their Miatas frequently exceed the legal speed limit.”

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Source: Consumerist

Amazon has blocked sales of a sick Japanese PC game that puts the player in the role of a criminal who rapes a mother and her two teenage daughters.

The online vendor recently advertised two copies of the game RapeLay sold through the Amazon Marketplace section open to third-party vendors.

Made by the Japanese production house Illusion, RapeLay is intended for release in Japan only. But a couple “like new” copies were made available by the US seller Hentaiguy who specializes in peddling Japanese animated porn.

Online reviews of the game describe a disturbing plot where the player sexually attacks and kidnaps a single mother and her daughters out of revenge for being sent to prison for molestation. Gang rape and forced abortions are listed as features.

Yokohama-based Illusion’s other games include Battle Raper, Artificial Girl, and Sexy Beach. The game was pulled after Amazon received several complaints — but Google cache reveals all.

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Source: The Register