Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

vansmack wrote:
XP Users, turn off your McAfee.  Quickly.  Before it's too late.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/mcafee-update–shutting-down-xp-machines/

Botched McAfee update shutting down XP machines worldwide

yup.  we were told to disconnect from VPN immediately about 3 hours ago… now i know why: our mcafee can only get an update when we're VPN'ed.  this means we won't be able to reconnect to e-mail and other vital internal resources until the techies figure out how to roll back this patch, or get a new update to replace the previous one that's causing this problem.

edit: just as i was about to post this, got an e-mail from corp IT that all is clear.  i have some remediation instructions if anyone was affected by this, PM if you're having difficulties.

It's really easy.  All we had to do was this.

Amazing.

Hitler `Downfall' parodies removed from YouTube

NEW YORK ? Adolf Hitler, for years a vessel of frustration in a popular Internet meme, has been quieted.

"Downfall," a German film released in 2004 about Hitler's last days, has been adopted for wildly popular YouTube parodies that have spanned mock rants about topics as varied as playing Xbox video games to Kanye West to Apple's new iPad.

(…)

On Tuesday, the clips on YouTube, many of which had been watched by hundreds of thousands, even millions, began disappearing from the site. Constantin Films, the company that owns the rights to the film, asked for them to be removed, and YouTube complied.

(…)

Some have argued that, being parodies, the videos are protected under "fair use," the legal doctrine that holds that the use of some creative works for purposes such as parody and education may be considered "fair."

The site's policy about content that infringes on copyright is that it will remove videos if the copyright holder requests it. Using "Content ID" technology, the site is able to digitally search through its enormous archives and automatically remove any videos in violation.


so… what about fair use?  it absolves YouTube, dunnit?

Two things:

(1) I never saw "Downfall" until I saw that clip, which I rented after I saw a parody because  Bruno Ganz does an amazing Hitler.

(2) Fair Use does not protect youtube, but instead the uploader.  Youtube does not take a side and if someone makes a reasonable claim to the clips copyright, youtube will remove it until the claim is resolved.  Each individual that uploaded the clip can now take on Constantin films to argue fair use allows for the clip to be on youtube.  I doubt most will.

To youtube's credit, when they hear of stuff like this, they offer the copyright holder a share of the ad revenue from the clip to let it go.  In this case, Constantin films opted not to due to whatever factor (I'm going with the ADL). 

It's been 2 years since we've done a Mountain Dew taste test, and since I'm off the Dew right now in protest over the disappearance of "Throwback" from the shelves, you can understand how surprised I was to find out that there are three new tastes fighting for you approval:

Typhoon (Tropical Punch)
Distortion (Lime)
White Out (Citrus)

I found bottles of Typhoon and Distortion this weekend, but have been unable to locate a bottle of White Out.  I'll post my review of the three when I do. If you find them - let me know what you think.

yet another installment of things sweetcell thinks smackie should know: http://supersexycpr.com/cpr.html (as the URL implies, somewhat NSFW)

Microsoft just ruined my day by asking Google to remove the "new tab page and most visited websites" feature from the Google Toolbar in Internet Explorer.  Bastards.  I loved that feature.  This may be the straw that broke the camels back to get even me to switch to a different browser.

you're still using IE, by choice?

sweetcell wrote:
you're still using IE, by choice?

Not IE6 if that's what you're asking.

Hulu in the Xbox 360?

From its humble origins as a chunky black box of PC parts, the Xbox has grown into a strapping young adult – attracting a social circle including Netflix, Facebook and Twitter. Now, rumor has it that the Xbox 360's preening for a date with Hulu, too. Though plans aren't set in stone, Gear Live tells us Hulu has been spotted in internal Xbox 360 dashboard builds, and that Microsoft will introduce the streaming video service as part of their Xbox LIVE experience at E3 2010.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/01/hulu-headed-to-a-xbox-360-dashboard-near-you/

Interesting:

Sprint?s 4G move opens way to merger with T-Mobile

Requires registration to read, but basically, it says that Sprint has left enough spectrum free in it's 4G upgrade (WIMAX) so that it can move to LTE in 2-3 years, and if T-Mobile were to make the same move (very likely) a Sprint/T-Mobile merger is not out of the question.  Deutsche Telecom has been looking to sell T-Mobile (US) for some time, but at&t and Verizon are worried about anti-trust, leaving Sprint at the only potential purchaser at the moment.

CNN: Playboy unveils 'safe for work' website
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/07/20/playboy.safe.for.work/index.html

Anybody else use Dirpy to convert online videos/music to Mp3/Mp4/flv's?


Dirpy, which is currently in beta, is an advanced Digital Video Recorder (DVR) service that lets you download or convert your favorite freely available online media. Dirpy offers many useful features like real-time conversions, ID3 metadata tags, offsets, support for high quality formats (including HD), and more.

It's kind of nice for videos for phone screens and Mp3's of live in studio performances…

Wyclef Jean is running for President of Haiti.  He can't be any worse than their previous leadership….

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2010/08/wyclef_jeans_candidacy

Game Changer.



Engadget is reporting that Sony Ericsson is making a 4 inch Android phone with a PSP like slideout gaming controller.  It's set to run Android 3.0 this fall.  This could be huge.

I always get nostalgic when I see my original little black book:

i need information about new phones with shiny buttons from japan, but only if the people who give me such information are not on the same coast as me.

I've only got steak dinner non-information to give you.

By Japan, I think you mean Korea and Taiwan, but, sure, go ahead….

EDIT: I get it now.  I only use the subcription/notification feature that this wonderful board offers to monitor this thread so originally the joke was lost on me…

Anybody else watch Hard Knocks this season?

Antonio Cormartie killed me last night with his disussion of his kids names (those he could remember) and how many 3 year olds he currently has?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5qzQ2HBh0s&feature=search