Need To Know 2001-11-09

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"Use of the Internet often prompts Americans to join groups. More than half of Cyber Groupies (56%) say they joined an online group after they began communicating with it over the Internet." http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=47 ...the remaining 44% said that altering the frequencies of their deflector shield protected them from "assimilation" >> HARD NEWS << strewth - kangaroos! She may be "Torn", but who'd have thought this also meant fashionably "pre-ripped"? NATALIE IMBRUGLIA's "White Lillies Island" album has beaten Michael Jackson to the public enemy number one spot by being the first major UK CD release to feature "Cactus Data Shield", a copy protection system which ostensibly prevents MP3 swapping by corrupting the table of contents so it won't play on PCs (or PlayStations, and some other DVD players as well?). However, in a bid to retain her Aussie indie-pop credentials, Natalie don't seem to know - or seem to care - what copy protection is for, and, in a bizarre bid to pacify PC users, the disc also contains a Windows app which will play the entire album from a chunked 42meg MP3 file - at a scorching 128kbps, hi-fi fans. They're not exactly "lying naked" on the CD - it's some weird proprietary format - but NTK reader MIKE GRAY has already successfully burned the files and the player onto a CDR, where they sound as "bloody awful" as they did on the original ("They couldn't even be arsed putting the track titles onto the files", he fumes). So: a CD which won't play under Linux or MacOS, but which is actually *easier* to pirate under Windows? That's what we call a "difficult" second album. http://uk.eurorights.org/issues/cd/help/ "Be" Ross Anderson - help defend the Red Book standard http://www.fatchucks.com/corruptcds/z.natalieimbruglia.whitelilliesisland.html - "Won't record to MiniDisc via optical-out". The fiends... So, you get chewed out by the freedom-loving SCHNEWS Webmaster for revealing the location of their public site logs. What to do? Take some faux geeky high ground and lecture them on the importance of "full disclosure"? Be all limply ironic and post some bitchy critique to nettime called "Tarnishing The Non-Corporate Image: Secrecy, Spin and Solidarity at the Schnews brand"? No! One should, instead, overcome one's petty differences, and selflessly plug Glorious Web Projects Which Unite Us Against A Common Foe! Introducing STOPESSO.COM, a brave attempt to lobby said multinational to stop its la-la-la-not-listening approach to Global Warming, while sneakily creating a network of local community mailing lists which will henceforth evolve into a practical grassroots network and not just collapse into a mess of furious unsubscribe messages or something. At the very least, try it out to see if you can break it. And, yeah, I guess you should mail us and not Schnews if it does. http://stopesso.com/ - oh go on then, mail all your friends. http://www.npower.co.uk/html/juiceandwindpower_4467.htm - this has been kept a bit quiet too http://www.schnews.co.uk/ - PDF files? From the IMPRISONERS OF DMITRY? Actually, we don't know what they're moaning about - it's not as if weblogs won't be carefully auto-saved by the proposed new data retention rules. And you don't have to be fashionably terrorist anymore: the Guardian revealed this week that these logs could be inspected for *any* crime. Or suspected malfeasance, even. Yep, it's the unholy alliance of the new Anti-Terrorist Bill and the old RIP provision to seize logs for national security and "the prevention and detection of crime". Meanwhile, the European Patent Office appears to have unilaterally declared software patents a-okay. And then, to top off a bad week, the CEO of the new Internet Content Rating Association mailed us to say that we should put up a new adult rating on our Website to "safeguard the future of [our] web site and the freedom of the Internet". Thank God it's as easy as that. Let's roll! http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4293489,00.html - heavier on the "enduring" than the "freedom" here http://www.eurolinux.org/news/coup01A/indexen.html - ah the crystal clarity of EU due process http://www.icra.org/ - hey, we're in an educational context aren't we? http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mkb23/ - cashpoints threatened by man with jumper on his head >> ANTI-NEWS << berating the obvious ROBOTEERS - prepare to, well, not so much "kick" opponent ass: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/09/dohbash.gif ; BEHOLD - the face of fear: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/09/dohdead.gif ... a look under the hood: http://www.gsb.co.uk/menandmotors/programmes/ ... new thrill - inadvertently *appropriately* positioned banner ads: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/09/dohflock.jpg ... heed Jakob's article carefully, then click on the "link validator" link: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980614.html ... NETWORK SOLUTIONS reveal previously unsuspected political stance: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/09/dohtards.jpg ... Folk Hypothesis About Everyday Object Confirmed By Manufacturer- Funded Study: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/011108/80/cevnz.html ... BBC NEWS ONLINE regurgitating foul press releases too: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1642000/1642699.stm - "European companies and organisations in particular are turning to the .info and .biz suffixes because there are so few .com names available" - NOT!... an appositely Austrian FALCO: http://www.whereits.at/ ... taste our test data: http://www.toptable.co.uk/details.cfm?rcode=TTTE ... of *course* it is: http://www.meccano.com/pages/under_c.htm ... >> EVENT QUEUE << goto's considered non-harmful This month, we hope to avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes at October's Strange Attractor event when gawkers, who'd come along to see "what kind of freaks" were responsible for NTK, had their "minds blown" by the preceding explanation of wireless networking and had to leave before we'd even started. On Wed, entertainment editor "Dave Green" - along with his presentation "Strong Language From The Outset: My Life With The NTK Cult" - appears to be first on the bill at MARKETING YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING ONLINE (from 6.30pm, 2001-11-14, Level 6 Suite, City University, London EC1, free - including tea and biscuits - pre-register via email). If you've got a whole weekend to kill, there's hands-on agit-prop conference HOW TO BE AN OBSTACLE (from 10.30am, Sat 2001-11-10, from UKP9 per day, the goddamn ICA, London), which handily seems to coincide with their despairingly titled WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH IT? digital arts fest, featuring Jaron "Autodesk" Lanier, John Maeda from the MIT Media Lab, funny Japanese artists, and "an eerie SMS narrative", no less. Prompting at least one NTK reader to already mutter "Same weekend as EuroBSDcon" (started 9am today Fri 2001-11-09, Thistle Hotel, Brighton, from UKP60 per day). http://www.bsdconeurope.org/ - BOFH equivalent of "I'll get me coat" http://www.ica.org.uk/talk/how-to-be-an-obstacle/ - vs http://www.ica.org.uk/season/ADigitalFestival/ http://www.onlinecontentuk.org/events.html - as "marketed" on uk.culture.arts.writing, uk.local.london, uk.media, england.writing, misc.writing... http://www.strangeattractor.co.uk/ - when we went on, they were still booing Heath Bunting >> TRACKING << sufficiently advanced technology : the gathering Americans have Thanksgiving, the British have Guy Fawkes Night, and NTK has the annual review of another bloody Windows compression utility. Well, it's 2001: and the new word for Pkunzip is ... ARJFOLDER 3.65. This utility, by Raphael Mounier, is so sleak, so tres moderne, as to have practically no interface at all. Open a zip file, and you get a standard Explorer window with the goodies inside. Drag and drop, cut and paste, explore and view as tartan-backgrounded Web page: it always acts the same as a standard folder. Similiarly, you create a zip file by the usual right-click folder-making behaviour. As the name suggests, Mounier's 540KB program handles ARJ too - and JAR, TAR, CAB, UUE, MIME, HQX and the obligatory Quake 3 map files. Sometimes reality oozes out from under Arjfolder's metaphor: thoughtlessly double clicking on zipped executables has them throwing up a "Where am I? Where are my DLLs? WHY AM I ENTOMBED IN CARBONITE?" error. ZIP "folders", even if they contain other folders, still sick out their entire contents into one directory. Also, it is French. But it works well. And given that everyone assumed that ZIP encoding would be assimilated into the OS years ago, it's nice to see that Microsoft leaving *some* breadcrumbs for indie developers. http://www.iceows.com/HomePageUS.html - vive les functionnalities! http://www.ntk.net/index.cgi?back=2000/now1110.txt&line=145#l - out of my way, PowerArchiver, YOU OLD MAN >> MEMEPOOL << the warm bit behind the http://www.gagpipe.com/ Bin Laden *is* Hari Seldon - so is George Bush "The Mule"?: http://www.marsearthconnection.com/attack3a.html#foundation ... Semi-visible Vice President Dick Cheney, I choose YOU! : http://www.topps.com/enduringfreedom.html (from the makers of http://www.essex1.com/people/zelda/36.htm )... thanks everyone, that ought to do it: http://EndTheCycle.org/ ... ROGER MELLY's Almanac: http://www.jump-around.com/tools/place-names.php ... and the leg bone's connected to a - Shockwave simulator: http://www.vectorlounge.com/04_amsterdam/jam/wireframe.html ... Two Flash pages and a mule: http://www.alsharpton.com/ ... X10 cameras part of FBI Carnivore project, "rumours on the Internet" reveal: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/12248 ... if you know where to look, and if you can find them - oh, wait, here they are: http://www.a-team.org/a_about_b.html ... "screeched biographies of great Science Fiction writers [over] churning speed metal in an effort to promote teen literacy": http://www.audiogalaxy.com/pages/review.php?band_id=96981 - but can you dance to it?... "Click here for Gay Pr0n": http://www.utoronto.ca/interv/frames2/general2/doctors/gay/gay.htm ... never mind *why* I want to know, just answer the sodding question: http://www.aristotle.net/~diogenes/meaning1.htm ... >> GEEK MEDIA << get out less TV>> Phoebe "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" Cates remains clothed, Rik Mayall remains alive in Brit-comedian-in- Hollywood disappointment DROP DEAD FRED (8.10pm, Sat, C4)... the usual T4 clowns introduce Ali G introducing German celebs presenting the MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS (10pm, Sat, C4)... and elsewhere it's all Billy Bob Thornton cameos, all the time, with heavy-handed CGI-dice moral dilemma INDECENT PROPOSAL (9pm, Sat, BBC2) and baffling Stevan Seagal eco-thriller ON DEADLY GROUND (11.30pm, Sat, ITV)... Joss Whedon wrote it, but "not as good as the TV show" is the universal verdict on this week's obligatory Rutger Hauer flick, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (9pm, Sun, C5)... Brad Pitt disowned both the production and his Oirish accent as THE DEVIL'S OWN (10pm, Sun, C4)... while Monday becomes unoriginal comedy format night, with "Goodness Gracious Me" spoof chat show THE KUMARS AT NO 42 (9pm, Mon, BBC2) followed by Steve Coogan pioneeringly parodying horror movies in DR TERRIBLE'S HOUSE OF HORRIBLE (9.30pm, Mon, BBC2)... still, you can always spot the "Star Wars" lines and taped-on "Silicon Graphics" branding in Beaufort-scale weather-chaser TWISTER (9pm, Mon, ITV)... this week's prestigious swiftly-cancelled 3am US import slot goes to Jonathan "Jerry Maguire" Lipnicki ET sitcom MEEGO (3.35am, Mon, C4; 4.20am, Fri, C4)... freakish fashion docudrama IT'S A GIRL THING (8pm, Tue, C4) doesn't even feature the band "Girl Thing"... house music history PUMP UP THE VOLUME (11.05pm, Tue, C4) precedes sci-fi animation round-up HOT REELS (12.10am, Tue, C4), with more late-night toons in COMEDY LAB (11.45pm, Thu, C4)... and the intriguingly rebranded MONEY PROGRAMME: THE MEN WHO BROKE MARCONI (7.30pm, Wed, BBC2) profiles the successful defence contractor who ingeniously reinvented themselves as a dot-com supplier - boy, they must be kicking themselves now... FILM>> looks like they're sticking any old Euro-nonsense on the UK's last few remaining screens that aren't showing "Harry Potter" previews - perhaps the most promising being Luc "Leon" Besson's brutal Jet Li prostitute punch-up KISS OF THE DRAGON (http://www.screenit.com/movies/2001/kiss_of_the_dragon.html : we see [Bridget Fonda] on the toilet, asleep or passed out, with her panties around her thighs, but don't see any nudity or biological functions)... from the maker of "Funny Games": "It starts with 'Chopsticks' - and goes all the way to Grade 9" sadly isn't the tagline for yet another harrowing drama featuring that famously erotic musical instrument THE PIANO TEACHER (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/ : passed '18' for strong language, violence, sexual violence, sex and sado-masochism theme)... or for all you Brit-flick fans, there's last-minute multicultural marriage mayhem in recent remake JUMP TOMORROW (http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/search/ : rated 'PG' for thematic material, mild sensuality and language)... >> SMALL PRINT << Need to Know is a useful and interesting UK digest of things that happened last week or might happen next week. You can read it on Friday afternoon or print it out then take it home if you have nothing better to do. It is compiled by NTK from stuff they get sent. Registered at the Post Office as "WE'D NO TOKEN, WOODEN KENT, KEEN TO DOWN" http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi?anagram=need+to+know NEED TO KNOW THEY STOLE OUR REVOLUTION. NOW WE'RE STEALING IT BACK. Archive - http://www.ntk.net/ Unsubscribe? Mail ntknow-unsubscribe@lists.ntk.net Subscribe? Mail ntknow-subscribe@lists.ntk.net NTK now is supported by UNFORTU.NET, and by you: http://www.geekstyle.co.uk/ (K) 2001 Special Projects. Copying is fine, but include URL: http://www.ntk.net/ Tips, news and gossip to tips@spesh.com All communication is for publication, unless you beg. Press releases from naive PR people to pr@spesh.com Remember: Your work email may be monitored if sending sensitive material. Sending >500KB attachments is forbidden by the Geneva Convention. Your country may be at risk if you fail to comply.