As reported by Ars Technica, the New Zealand House of Representatives passed a bill on 8 April 2008 reforming copyright law for the "digital age". Most netizens even outside the US will have come across the American DMCA: any mention seems tainted by the taste of bile. The DMCA criminalises circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) technologies and access controls—many folk argue at the expense of "fair use". Do the NZ reforms provide workable compromise?
Continue reading 'New Zealand progressive on fair use laws'
Tag archive for 'ipod'
The iPhone has arrived in the US. Even if it were available in New Zealand I still wouldn't buy one. I'm happy to wait for the large beta-test program (i.e. 1 in 5 US adults) to refine the product first. That said, I've been looking for a way to converge my mobile devices (phone, PDA, iPod) for some time. Sadly the 1st generation iPhone does not look like the device to fill this need. Relative to other Mac-friendly alternatives it comes up uniquely short in a number of areas on my feature wish-list. But of course I haven't seen or held it in the "flesh", and it is only a 1G device—so I can't be overly critical. Or can I? Most of the pre-launch focus has been on iPhone's interface (not unimportant), but what about comparative features? It's clear that while the iPhone offers few unique features (iTMS DRM playback, bookmark syncing) it's also immediately apparent that, relative to comparable products, the iPhone has the most limitations.
Continue reading 'Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone'
The variety of health-related multimedia available for your iPod (or other MP3 player) and online amusement continues to grow. First we had healthcare podcasts, then health news videocasts from the BBC, followed by 999 (111, 911) advice to store on your iPod. Soon your iPod will help you understand how to take your medicine.
Continue reading 'Medicines information for your iPod'
So you want to explore Linux, or create a LAMP environment for web development without having to re-partition your internal drive or try some flakey Boot Camp hack to triple-boot your Mac? Can it be done? I decided to find out...
Continue reading 'Boot an Intel Mac into Ubuntu Linux from iPod'
As reported by the BBC, the Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust are providing MP3-based first aid advice on how to deal with common and potentially serious situations (such as fits, collapses and resuscitation). This joins first aid advice available as a podcast on the iTunes Music Store by St. John's Ambulance.
Continue reading '999 advice on your iPod'
