November 2005 - Posts
After a couple of months of cell phone hands free driving, I'm ready to switch to a Bluetooth cell phone. I can only find three on the Sprint web site, and two of them are PDAs - I just got my HP iPaq rx3715 in April and I'm not ready to buy another one. Does anyone know if Sprint is going to be releasing any new Bluetooth phones soon?
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
Accessibility: Firefox 1.5 delivers easier navigation for everyone, including those who are visually or motor-impaired. Firefox is now the first browser to support DHTML, which enables Web content to be read aloud - even new kinds of graphics-rich content. Users may navigate with keystrokes rather than mouse clicks, reducing the tabbing required to navigate documents such as spreadsheets. Firefox 1.5 is also the first browser to meet government requirements that software be easily accessible to users with physical impairments.
From: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1105/277015.htmlA senior Homeland Security official cautioned entertainment companies against discouraging piracy in ways that also make computers vulnerable. Stewart Baker, assistant secretary for policy at DHS, did not cite Sony by name in his remarks Thursday but described industry efforts to install hidden files on consumers' computers.
"It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property, it's not your computer," Baker said at a trade conference on piracy. "And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days."
and from: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/11/the_bush_admini.htmlDHS Official Weighs In on Sony
A high-ranking Bush administration official weighed in Thursday on anti-piracy efforts domestically and abroad, indirectly chastising Sony BMG Music Entertainment for its digital rights management (DRM) software, which computer security analysis say uses tactics typically employed by virus writers to hide its components and resist their removal.
The reference to the scandal over Sony's anti-piracy software came at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event in downtown Washington on combating intellectual-property theft. At the event, Stewart Baker, recently appointed by President Bush as the Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary for policy, made a comment that suggested that some anti-piracy efforts introduced by the industry could have profound and unexpected effects on the security of the nation's critical infrastructures.
I learned this neat trick last night from another Microsoft MVP: To find out if your PC is running Flash Player 7, go to the Macromedia web site and right-click on the banner graphic at the top of the page - the context menu will tell you what version you're running. If you are running Flash Player 7, please upgrade to Flash Player 8.
MPSB05-07 Flash Player 7 Improper Memory Access Vulnerability
Summary
A vulnerability in Macromedia Flash Player 7 has been identified that could allow the execution of arbitrary code.
Solution
The current version of Macromedia Flash Player (8.0.22.0) contains a fix for the vulnerability. Users who have already upgraded to Flash Player 8 are not affected by this issue. Macromedia recommends all Flash Player 7 and earlier users upgrade to this new version, which can be downloaded from the Macromedia Player Download Center. For customers with operating systems that do not support Flash Player 8 (Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT, or classic Macintosh operating systems), please refer to the Flash Player 7 update TechNote.
Affected Software Versions
Flash Player 7.0.19.0 and earlier
Severity Rating
Macromedia categorizes this as a critical update and recommends affected users update to Flash Player 8.
It's currently 42 degrees and it's supposed to go up to the high 60s today. This sure doesn't feel like November in Connecticut.
So, I went to serve jury duty today; we got a late start this morning; the parties involved had some things to work out before they brought us in. We then heard testimony from the plaintiff and took a recess. The recess was supposed to be for 15 minutes - the judge came in to the jury room at 30 minutes and said it was over - the case had been settled - in the plaintiff's favor - for $2500.
So now I'm off the hook for the next 4 years.
And now that it's over, I have a couple of things to say about the process. You may think they're petty, but I think they're worth saying. The Court House in Middletown does not allow recording devices of any kind. Seeing as my cell phone and my PDA both have cameras, I had to go back to the car and lock them up. Had the jury notice stated this, I would have left them home. The jury notice also says to report at 8:15 am on your first day - it would be nice if they told you not to bother coming early because the building doesn't open until 8.
There. I feel better.
I went to court for jury duty yesterday and was selected to serve on a jury for a civil trial that begins tomorrow. I am real nervous, as I've never served on a jury before. But at least it's a civil case and not a criminal case. Anyone have any advice for me?
If so, you'll want to read this post: Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far and think twice before you buy another one. It's a long post, but defintely worth reading. Great detective work by Mark Russinovich.
I've been called to jury duty, which begins today. I haven't been called since some time in the '70s. Should be interesting, but if not, I'm taking my copy of Angels & Demons - I started it about a year ago, but never finished it. I'll probably have to start it over again.