Kaltaris Weblog

New legislation was passed in August that forces US university to tighten their policies against P2P file sharing. The new legislation states that universities must inform all students that file sharing is illegal and subject to prosecution and investigation. The new policies are creating havoc for IT groups at both private and public universities throughout the US as they scramble to further secure their networks and put a stop to P2P sharing by students and even faculty.

Along with the requirement of notifying students of the consequences of file sharing, the new law suggests that universities should license media sharing services such as Napster to help promote legal downloads. The law is very specific in stating that universities should offer alternatives to P2P and illegal files sharing. If these laws come into strict administration next year, universities can expect to shill out hundreds of thousands of dollars for licensing such file sharing programs. Perhaps the government has overstepped its bounds this time…?

Due the large number of active computer users in China (some 200 million) and recent piracy issues surrounding Microsoft’s Vista operating system, the big dog has released a new security update to be active with all vista updates in China. Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) originally checked the authenticity of Windows sending a pop up message to the user if the copy of illegitimate and would halt further updates. The new version which was mass released last week takes a much more direct approach to crippling pirate copies of windows. Upon detection of a faulty license the new update will completely black out the desktop display, forcing the user to their computer, and upon restarting the screen will black out again after one hour, rendering the OS almost completely useless.

Chinese lawyers have filed complaints and state that the new update is a violation of their law and that if it is not revoke they will pursue legal action. I find this all a bit ridiculous, because obviously if the copy is not legit, they legally have no right to use it. Seems pretty black and white, but since there is such an influx of pirate copies of Vista in China this update has crippled many businesses and personal users, causing quite a disturbance overseas.

I read recently that a guy is suing AOL for putting text advertisements in the email messages he sends. He argued that since he pays for his account they should have no right to add additional content to the body of his messages. Guess he didn’t read the fine print…Here’s a solution to all your problems: GET THE HELL OFF OF AOL. I can’t think of a worse ISP off the top of my head, and adding ads to your email messages is only one of MANY horribly annoying “features” of their service. While this is annoying to no end, I still find it funny how people will trying sue over just about anything…no doubt this will be tossed out of the courts quickly.

I have fond memories of days spent in a friend’s game room with half a dozen other kids and computers, playing StarCraft and Quake until our eyes bled and our hearts nearly ruptured from excessive consumption of caffeine and sugar. That was years ago, but much remains the same even today with but a few exceptions: the games AND the caffeine consumption have changed…perhaps evolved even. The most disturbing is the evolution of the energy drink however, something that many people tend to take for granted today.

What started as Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper later changed to Red Bull, a formidable product that has allowed many gamers to endure countless self-induced sleepless nights. The reason this comes to my mind today is because while stopping at the local 7-11 on the way to work today I couldn’t help but notice that there are not two but THREE different sizes of Red Bull cans available to the consumer now. As if eight ounces of heart attack wasn’t enough, now you can purchase the deadly brew in both twelve and sixteen ounce containers.

I suppose I find this all very unsettling because of the little known health concerns that traipse hand in hand with the excessive consumption of caffeine. High blood pressure, kidney stones, UT problems, and even heart disease are all directly linked to this devious concoction that our busy world is so reliant on today. I even find myself locked within the demi-addiction throughout my busy week…So why are we so dependent on these potentially hazardous products? Because you can’t usually get hammered at work…and most reasonable folk find meth a bit too Section 8 for their liking…

So I watched the original Star Wars movies last night (episode 4-6) for the first time in what must be years…and I have to confess, it made me a bit sick to my stomach. Have you seen the new added dance scene in Jabba’s palace? Its as if one moment you’re watching the original Star Wars, and the next you’re sitting there viewing what can only be described as a Pixar movie gone horribly wrong…then it switches back to the mild sanity of Jim Henson’s brilliance in the blink of an eye.

There really should be a law against directors and producers ruining their own movies. As if replacing all the guns in E.T. with walkie talkies wasn’t enough, now we have to be subject to the demoralization of films that were once nothing short of iconic legends. If Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Christensen weren’t enough to give it away, then at the very least the awkwardly imposed additional cg content in the original 1970’s masterpieces should clue you in to one solid fact: George Lucas is a raving lunatic.

Well my car finally died a couple days back, and honestly I’m surprised it held on this long. RIP 1999 Mercury Cougar, you served me well through much abuse and turmoil. Since the blue book value of the vehicle is under $4,000 and it needs a new transmission, ac compressor, window switches, fog lights, heat controller, tires, and brake pads/disks/rotors its not even worth fixing…to the scrap yard with you my old friend!

So I find myself having to do what I’ve dreaded most of my life…use public transportation. In all honesty, riding the Dart isn’t that bad at all. Aside from being a bit cramped at peak hours its actually been extremely practical, and with the free passes UTD students get through the university I am saving a ton of money on gas. You meet some pretty…interesting characters on the bus…so it’s been an experience to say the least.

I’ve finally seen gas drop below $3 a gallon again, and I don’t even have a vehicle to fuel…what a shame. Maybe the low prices will stick around for another couple of weeks so I can fill my new tank at these moderately affordable rates….