So Obama has announced his candidate for Vice President. Joe Biden, the senator from Delaware, has been in politics for quite some time. He entered the scene at age 30 (1973), so there’s plenty of history to compare trends against.

I’m sure there’s plenty of information out there about what Biden has done, what his beliefs are, and (more importantly) your thoughts and opinions on him. I’m sure some have plenty to say, but this post will stay focused on the information and privacy sector. I’m sure Biden was picked because of his foreign policy, but seeing how privacy is turning into a thing of the past (when it shouldn’t) in this country, it’s worth taking a look.

Running through Biden’s track record shows that he has a history of some questionable tactics. Let’s discuss:

* Sponsored a bill in 2002 that would have make it a federal felony to trick certain types of devices into playing unauthorized music or executing unapproved computer programs.(lobbied against and shot down by plenty of companies, including Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, and Verizon)

* Signed a letter in 2002 urging that the P2P/online piracy lawsuits should be performed/paid for by the Supreme Court (e.g. taxpayers) instead of the RIAA/MPAA (e.g. a private entity).

* Sponsored a bill in 2007 to restrict Americans’ ability to record and play back individual songs from satellite and Internet radio services (passed and came into existence as the Perform Act, and currently is the basis of a lawsuit between RIAA and XM satellite radio about their latest receivers).

* Supported the DMCA.

* Supported both the Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Act and the Violent Crime Control Act in the early ’90’s. While they both sound nice, they were very anti-cryptography. From the bill: It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law. This essentially states that there can’t be any encryption. If there is, there must be a backdoor for the government to use to decrypt the data. It’s because of these bills–because of Biden–that PGP was created.

* While the previous bills didn’t come to pass, their reincarnation did in the form of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). It’s pretty obvious, then, why wire-tapping is so common nowadays and why it keeps getting expanded and extended. This bill was huge, was definitely not a small footprint in the Internet’s short history. Directly related to this bill, in a top-secret memo to members of President George H.W. Bush’s administration including Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and CIA director Robert Gates, one White House official wrote: “Justice should go ahead now to seek a legislative fix to the digital telephony problem, and all parties should prepare to follow through on the encryption problem in about a year. Success with digital telephony will lock in one major objective; we will have a beachhead we can exploit for the encryption fix; and the encryption access options can be developed more thoroughly in the meantime.”

* Supported the Real ID Act. He also supported the Patriot Act.

* Proposed spending $1 billion of tax payer money to police P2P networks.

* Indicated that he was skeptical of net neutrality, stating that no preemptive laws were necessary because if violations do happen, such a public outcry will develop that “the chairman will be required to hold this meeting in this largest room in the Capitol, and there will be lines wandering all the way down to the White House.” 

Obviously, most won’t vote based on the copyright and privacy opinions of a Vice Presidential candidate. It should be noted that Obama’s views on some of these broader topics are quite opposite and rather refreshing:

* “Strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.”

* Instead of declaring war on the Internet and crack down on P2P, piracy, et. all, he says that we need to ”update and reform our copyright and patent systems to promote civic discourse, innovation and investment while ensuring that intellectual property owners are fairly treated.” (that’s got EFF written all over it)

(Then again, Obama did support FISA.)

Biden probably should just focus on what everyone suspects he’ll be working on: foreign policy, and keep his fingers out of the Technology cookie jar. He’s got a pretty negative history in the sector of privacy and technology in my opinion.

The Internet is young, and needs wise leadership. As is our privacy, both on the Internet and in your daily life. So easily have both fallen to abuse in the past. I can’t say any of his policies with regards to technology and privacy are a step in the right direction.

The election is upon us. Let the games begin.

~Jaker

All too often do I hear that phrase when I talk to people about privacy. They should take a gander at this.

Well said, in my opinion. Assuming, of course, that no one will take my opinion out of context..

~Jaker

I’d really like to know what’s going through Microsoft’s head right now. Let’s examine the life of a unique product that Microsoft released:

Stage 1: Release the product to limited OEM’s, and have high system requirements.

Stage 2: Release an upgrade to the product, but keep it to OEM’s. Overhaul the user interface and lower system requirements. Release updates to improve stability, and begin the process of creating an avid user base.

Stage 3: Release an update to the product, but incorporate it with a mainstream product. Overhaul the user interface, include new features, all while keeping your avid user base happy.

Stage 4: Release a highly-anticipated update, but keep it to OEM’s. Include support for several new features, but keep some very important features out of the picture.

You’ve probably already picked up that I’m talking about Microsoft’s Media Center technology. It started out as a very limited-exposure product, became more popular with MCE2005, and received mainstream attention in Vista.

Since Vista was released, Microsoft has been hinting at a secret project that was codenamed “Fiji.” At first it was thought that Fiji was a kernel update that focused on Media Center. As time went on, things got really quiet and Microsoft didn’t say much about it. Then within the past month Microsoft released a statement about Fiji, saying that it supports new standards (ClearQAM for us, and some DVB stuff for Europe).

It was hoped that Fiji would be the ticket for DirecTV’s HDPC-20 tuner, but thus is not the case either. Nor is there any h.264 support.

At least there’s support for new standards. And the ability to use analog and digital tuners. But there’s a catch. Unless you’re a tester or you’ve purchased a new machine from a vendor, you’re not going to get this update. It’s OEM only.

Allow me to rant on this for a moment..

Way back in the day when I first started testing Media Center, my grand vision was having a home theatre PC that controlled all of my media. I didn’t want a lot of boxes, and eventually I wanted to get a case that looked like it was a part of a home theater setup. It was a grand vision, and still is–just partially realized (I’m still missing the case).

There’s a lot of people out there who live and die by Media Center, but don’t rely on a OEM to get them there. They’re like me: building a machine how I want it, plug it into a TV, and stand in amazement at how cool the media center concept is.

When I’ve dedicated a high-performance PC to power my Media Center, it’s an insult when a major update is released that completely writes you off. When something goes mainstream, I don’t think major updates should go through the OEM channel. If anything, they should release it for general use, but not through Windows Update. They’d keep the general population happy because their “you need your OEM to hold your hand through this” updates would not go mainstream, and they’d keep us enthusiasts happy because we have access to updates that we can install if we so choose. 

Nevertheless, I’ll end my ranting. Despite the fact that this update is OEM only, you can still get the update through “other” channels. And that’s what this post is about.

I acquired KB953272, and despite Microsoft saying it only works on a fresh install, I was able to install it on my machine just fine. My TV settings were wiped, but it only took a couple seconds to get everything back together.

Having the “Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008″ installed for a short time, I’ve noticed the following differences:

- Native ATSC support. My ATSC channel lineup looks correct now (10.1, 10.2, etc. instead of the oddball 10xxx channels).

- Better UI usage. When I re-ran the TV signal setup and told VMC to use 1080p, it changed the colors a tad and spread out where things were laid out on the screen. It feels much nicer, where previously it felt like the middle of the screen was a little crowded (or like VMC knew you were on a widescreen, but it still kept things within a 4:3 setup).

- Better Guide. In the old guide, VMC would only get the main channels (10, 18, 24). Any subchannels were ignored, and the media guide displayed no data. Now all channels are detected and the entire channel guide is listed. Very cool!

- UI Quirks. Not sure if it’s because of the update itself, or because of my “unsupported upgrade path,” but the UI is a little jumpy sometimes. If I’m watching live TV with a caption showing the current program, pressing the up/down buttons will bring up another dialog under the previous dialog with the channel changer. I have to wait for that previous dialog to disappear.

- Speed. Many parts of VMC feel faster, while other parts feel a bit sluggish (mostly when accessing the network to playback files. The playback is fine, but navigation seems a tad slow).

- dvr-ms is dead. Long live wtv! Unfortunately, nothing but Media Center plays it..

Now begins stability testing. Let’s see how well this upgrade works in the long run..

~Jaker

Facebook has made quite the effort with it’s “Notes” to make it a blogging platform. It’s actually a brilliant idea, as you can easily tie in the social networking aspect with your writing. It’s like getting 100 fans for free, and then free advertising as Facebook goes out of it’s way to tell everything that you spent your precious time writing something.

Since this blog is almost as old as Facebook, I prefer posting on it instead of Facebook. I didn’t want to double-post either, since it was time consuming (and I rarely am on Facebook–it’s all about texting via phone).

The new Facebook has a fancy new feature. It’ll read in RSS feeds from your own blog and convert them to Notes. Now the new process:

1. I can post here.

2. Have Facebook repost it, then spam it to everyone

3. ?????

4. Profit!

Facebook, you’re so evil, yet so convenient. No wonder everyone loves you.

~Jaker

I’m assuming Totem must be dependent on gstreamer for it’s music, as I could not get any mp3 file to play (it said I needed the correct codec). Audacious could play mp3’s, so it was a mystery.

Want mp3 playback for your gstreamer-dependent programs in Gentoo? Just emerge media-plugins/gst-plugins-mad

Not that I’d ever really use Totem to stream online radio. It’s just nice to know that I can now.

~Jaker, posting via Gnome

As described in my last post about getting HDTV to my Media Center, it’s a definite inconvenience for homebrew projects to get anywhere with HDTV. DirecTV and it’s HDPC-20 tuner seemed like the best solution, but since I’ve heard that the project keeps getting pushed back, and we probably won’t see anything from them until 2009 or 2010–a long time from now.

The other kicker about the DirecTV/satellite-based option is I have finally accepted the fact that I’m just not facing the right way for satellite. Satellite requires you to have a clear view of the southern/south-western sky, and I’m the exact opposite of that. So even if/when DirecTV decides to become the coolest company ever by releasing their Media Center tuner (not OEM, *cough* *cough*), I’ll still be facing the wrong way to even get a signal.

Right now I’m still rolling with good old OTA. It’s classic, it’s digital, but it sucks pretty bad. Granted I am using just a wire for an antenna, there’s rarely anything I ever want to watch on TV. South Park on Comedy Central? Nope. Bill Nye’s new show on Planet Green? Nadda. Local on the 8’s on The Weather Channel? Sadly, nothing.

Now I’m starting to reconsider my options once again, and take a look at the Media Center-ready options that are out there. Since satellite is out of the picture, I won’t be looking at that this time.

OTA

Yes, OTA works with Media Center. I have it, I use it. It ain’t pretty, but it’s there. Too bad Microsoft decided to release the last Media Center update to OEM’s only (give it time–you’ll see a rant on that soon), so I can’t use both my analog (while it’s around) and digital tuners at the same time. I guess I’ll go a little easy on OTA at this point, since it has let me watch the Olympics (but I could use the Media Center app for that anyway).

AT&T U-Verse

If I went the U-Verse route, I’d be demanding some kickback from AT&T on this one. I’ve already got them for internet and cell. I know it’s not their usual 3-in-1 packaged deal, but still..

U-Verse is basically AT&T’s rendition of IPTV. It’s TV over your DSL connection. This option would be a plus, as I’d get a DSL upgrade to a faster speed in the process. Based on the technology, it seems technically viable that a software tuner could be created to support an incoming U-Verse stream (seeing that the hardware boxes are just multicast clients that stream whatever the client requests). Heck, even AT&T’s U-Verse tuners are based on Microsoft’s MediaRoom technology (granted they’re based out of a different division, but it’s still from the same company).

If you had a Media Center, and you had the option to get U-Verse, and the setup basically consisted of plugging your Media Center into your network and away you went, would you use it?

I sure as hell would, and you’d be crazy not to! Unfortunately, it seems that they disagree, and this is not an option. U-Verse on the Media Center is only available via the FrankenCable(TM) setup, where the signal would go to the STB, then to the Media Center, then to the TV. With HDTV, this really isn’t an option, as you’ll run into quality loss and likely some DRM restrictions.

Which is too bad, as this would be a great option.

Cable (again)

I only bring up cable again because this time I have a slight fighting chance for it this time. Recently I purchased a new Dell computer for home use. With this machine I had the option (but didn’t get) the ATi TV tuner. With this tuner, my computer would be ready for a CableCARD. I’d have the option of either using the tuner on my homebrew machine (if it worked), or I’d be upgrading my Media Center with a Dell machine and I’d take the other machine. Even better is the news we’re hearing that CableCARD is wising up and has announced that only content flagged for protection has to be DRM’d (compared to the current policy, where CableCARD DRM’s everything it sees, eats, and breathes).

The catch here–since I didn’t purchase the tuner when I bought the computer, I haven’t seen any place where I can buy it now. It seems like I had my chance, and now I apparently missed it.

If I did a way to get that reader, then cable would definitely be an option. Except I’m not the hugest fan of cable, since they have a bad habit of raising prices at nonspecific intervals. Not a fan enough that I’d go a different route, even if it meant using the FrankenCable(TM) system? Possibly.

In conclusion, it’s a good thing for Microsoft that they have such an enthusiastic fan-base for their Media Center product that people are willing to put up with it’s technical downfalls. Yes, Media Center has made a great addition to my home theater setup, but it’s HDTV setup just isn’t there. Any HDTV setup that is there now (that’s you, CableCARD) is almost prohibitively expensive and so locked down that it’s damn-near impossible to go that route either.

Considering my options, I’ll probably go with the U-Verse option, as IPTV is a cool concept to me. I’ll also probably have to go with the FrankenCable(TM) setup as well, but perhaps I’ll be happily surprised when I do more research about it. But hear this, AT&T, I’ll take my time researching this, and I won’t be able to recommend you with confidence to my other Media Center friends until we see something that’s a bit more unified. I know in the ’90s it was “hip and cool” to have all of those STB’s around your entertainment center. But now it’s 2008. We’re all about thinking green, and the fewer STB’s I have, the better.

~Jaker

From the same person who brought you Windows Mobile 6 on the Treo 750 way before it was actually released, it’s happening again! It’s Windows Mobile 6.1 on the Motorola Q9h!

First, some background story: I knew Windows Mobile 6.1 was coming for the Q9h. I’ve actually been waiting for it for awhile now. Seeing that this exact same thing happened before (AT&T has the firmware ready, but waits forever to release the actual binaries), I figured I’d just wait for the official release. Besides, I had a new phone and the whole not-a-touchscreen experience was new to me.

Enter: My friend Mike, who sends me a text message conveying his excitement on the purchase of the Motorola Q9 [insert letter here]. He wants me to send him cool software for his new phone, because “WM 6.1 isn’t available for my phone yet.”

Me: Hmmm… WM 6.1.. It’s been awhile since I’ve checked up on that, hasn’t it. Why not take a look on the ‘tubes and see what I can find..

Bingo.

Phase 2:

?????

Phase 3:

Profit!

Now that the phone is flashed, it’s time to get all of my stuff back on it again (programs, etc.). I’ll report my progress and opinion of the upgrade after I get some real use out of it.

~Jaker

null

~Jaker

That’s quite a bit of updates!

~Jaker

Obviously this person has a strong need to share their love with eggs.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m totally cool with eggs. Just not that much.

~Jaker