2002 September 03 | john ford dot net

According to Cnet, the major record labels are backing off their threat to flood the US market with copy-protected CD’s. Why? It seems that fear over consumer backlash is outweighing their fears over piracy. I’ve stopped buying CD’s at target because of the return policy. Why would I buy a CD from a store that won’t allow me to return it if the shrinkwrap is removed? I get the CD home and find out that it won’t play on my computer and then the store won’t let me return it? I don’t think so.

Forget the cone of silence, a guy in North Carolina has filed for patents for an “invisibility cloak.” His “three dimensional cloaking process and apparatus” can conceal objects and people by employing photodetectors on the rear surface which are used to record the intensity and color of a source of illumination behind the object. Light emitters on the front surface then generate light beams that will exactly mimic the same measured intensity, color and trajectory. The end result is that an observer looking at the front of the object appears to see straight through it.” I know some people that appear to exhibit this naturally.

I don’t know how I missed this. The RIAA site was hacked again over the weekend. That’s twice in a week. On Monday when I surfed over the complete Linkin Park CD was up and this text : “The RIAA wishes to apologize for the heavy-handed manner in which the popular Chinese site Listen4Ever was closed down, and would like to present the following items for free download as a token of its goodwill.” The RIAA site has been up and down all day today. CNet has the full scoop.

Ya gotta love the internet. Here’s a quick guide to playing the guitar from Kuro5hin Some useful links and tips. Good beginner info..

Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living in Utah and other 9/11 urban myths.