DRM is sofware that lets the vendor control where and how you use a piece of software you bought and is both offensive and pointless in my opinion. That said, here's yet more evidence of how DRM causes problems for people who aren't doing anything wrong.

(H/T to Slashdot for the link)

I found this on Schneier's blog and it's a very interesting read from one of the people who's responsible for taking advantage of people with adware.

One of the funniest parts was this:

I should probably first speak about how adware works. Most adware targets Internet Explorer (IE) users because obviously they're the biggest share of the market. In addition, they tend to be the less-savvy chunk of the market. If you're using IE, then either you don't care or you don't know about all the vulnerabilities that IE has.

Are you using Firefox yet?

A company has cloned a family pet and delivered it to the family who's dog died sometime last year. The clone is a puppy with the same DNA as the dog they had that died. While movies like to pretend that it's possible to transfer memories through cloning, the fact is that this dog is only similar genetically.

However, there's quite a bit of behavior and attitude that comes with us due to genes and it will be interesting to see how similar this dog is to his predecessor. In the future if we really loved a particular pet, instead of trying something new, we can just make Fluffy 2.0? This should get interesting.

(H/T to Slashdot for the link)

I was sent a notice about a new search engine that maintains complete privacy by my acquaintance Katherine Albrecht, the worlds foremost authority on RFID privacy issues.

I've made no secret of my disdain for other search engines like Google or Yahoo who tell you they're doing a favor by only storing data for a little while. And then there was AOL who proved to the world how damaging even anonymized search data can be.

Technically, Ixquick is a meta search engine and doesn't do it's own work, but by acting as an intermediary, it can effectively shield you from the rotten privacy practices of those other guys. It will take some testing to see how well it works, but it's worth a shot until some of the other search services wise up.

Seriously? What do they think this will accomplish?

Looks like we made the right choice. Obama appears to have had a slough of changes lined up for the moment the ink dried. He's already:

From CBS news

Slap, slap, slap. That is the sound of Obama landing blow after blow to Bush's tactics and history. Thank the heavens this country was smart enough to not vote for McCain!

Oh, and this:

Obama: "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist"

Well said.

I've been waiting a long, long time for Bush to finally exit from the Presidency. If I had to sum up how I feel right now, I would say it's something like a stab victim feels after the stabbing stops. It's a relief, but a very shallow one.

What I and the rest of us need now is to see whether "Dr. Obama" really has the qualifications and smarts to fix up the hemorrhaging. And while healing is the most important thing, like any other victim, I would also very much like to see the perpetrator brought to justice.

Let's hope that lack of limelight doesn't let Bush and his inept crimes slide into darkness forever.

What has been known as a Credit Freeze, but that I will now refer to by a simpler and more correct name: Credit Report Lock, is something pretty much everyone should do. Here are the links for each of the three major credit reporting companies:

http://www.experian.com/consumer/security_freeze.html
http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/fraudIdentityTheft/preventing/securityFreeze.page
http://www.equifax.com/cs/Satellite?c=EFX_ContentRoot&cid=1165203975981&pagename=5-1%2F5-1_Layout

If you've ever wondered what the Department of Homeland Security knows about you, try filing a Freedom of Information Act request like this guy did.

I'm so glad I dumped them.

This is clever. HP used a variety of laptop parts to make a cool and silent, but powerful gaming desktop.

I have always been a fan of medical science and replacement parts (let's face it, you shouldn't have to live your whole life blind, missing a limb, or with serious medical issues due to the mistakes of youth). I'd always thought there must be a way to trick the body into regrowing teeth and apparently I was on the money.

In a few years dentists will treat periodontal disease with regeneration by using stem cells to create hard and soft tissue; they will take out a tooth that is about to fall, and reconnect it firmly to the regenerated tissue. Although nobody is predicting when it will be possible to grow teeth on demand, in adults, to replace missing ones, a common guess is five to ten years.

Legal experts and environmental advocates say the practice of "sanitizing," or blacking out, this information not only strips vital information from the public, it violates the agency's own law.

Thus the EPA is broken. Is there any government agency that's actually doing its job and doing it well?

I've complained before about how Google records your search records for no reason that I can find other than to profit off it. Yahoo is apparently no better (which is also no surprise).

This comes from a long string of stories about how bad privacy is getting in the UK. As bad as it's become in the US, apparently our friends out there have it much worse.

(H/T to Slashdot for the link)