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Software piracy typically gets all the attention, but hardware piracy is fast becoming a plague in the industry too. To prevent unscrupulous hacks from making counterfeit microchips from stolen blueprints and then selling them for pennies on the dollar, computer engineers at the University of Michigan and Rice University have developed a lock and key for chips. EPIC (Ending Piracy of Integrated Circuits) uses established cryptography methods, giving each chip a few extra switches that act like a combination lock. Manufacturers would need to contact the patent owner via phone or internet connection to activate the part. Read more here.
If you're hoping to score a sub-$200 Blu-ray player now that HD-DVD's pulled out of the race, get cozy because you might have to wait a year. Or more. Gizmodo quoted Sony CEO Stan Glasgow as saying "I don't think $200 is going to happen this year. Next year $200 could happen." Instead, expect the cost of entry to hit $299 sometime in 2008, with third-party manufactured players unlikely any time soon.
Feeling burned about HD-DVD's untimely demise after you went out and picked up a player? Circuit City may have the salve you've been hoping for. The No. 2 electronics retailer is extending the return period on HD-DVD hardware from 30 days to 90 days for store credit. This could be the excuse you've been waiting for to snag a Playstation 3 console...
Speaking Wednesday at the O'Reilly ETech conference, Google developer Dan Morrill shrugged off concerns about carriers building Android distributions that are incompatible with one another, and he isn't losing any sleep at night over security problems either. Morrill did acknowledge the increased risk of attack to Android-powered phones, but said the risk will be small, and ultimately outweighed by Android's advantages. Read more here.
After hackers attacked the Pentagon late last June, Gates eased concerns by saying there was "no anticipated adverse impact on ongoing operations." It appears the early prognosis may have been wrong. GovernmentExecutive.com quoted Dennis Clem, a top Defense Department of technology official, as saying "The breach continues to pose a threat," noting that the hackers stole "an amazing amount" of information. Clem didn't comment if the source of attack was ever identified or what specific information was stolen as a result of the fast spreading email worm.
Crytek's second patch for the hit game Crysis became available yesterday, affording several improvements in mod support, multiplayer, weapons balance, AI, and much more. A handful of tweaks include:
Download the 360MB patch and catch the full changelog of changes here.
We're not sure which amuses us most - the toy itself, the customer reviews, or the list of items that customers of the Playmobil Security Check Point also purchased.
No plans for the weekend? You can still have fun, with Phun! This nifty program brings back memories of The Incredible Machine, only there are no levels to clear, and you create obstacles and gadgets on the fly. View a video of this tantalizing time waster in action here.
Comments are closed on this article
MantaBase
March 08, 2008 at 11:39pm
So, Let me get this right. EPIC will cost more to make and put in a chip. It will require the user to activate the legitimate chip in order for it to operate. Software can't be designed to trick the chip because the number (ID) is only known after the chip is "started".
A Pirated chip will now cost even less (in relative dollars) because they will skip EPIC (it's a pirated chip remember?) and will require no activation.
How exactly does that discourage piracy? Am I slow or something? (Don't answer that).
This is the problem with current DRM concepts. It runs legit users through hoops. Cripes, it's going to get to the point that pirated stuff is more user friendly simply because it just works rather than asking a dozen questions and requesting a phone call!
The biggest problem I see with much of the DRM stuff around is that it focuses on trying to get you (the user) to prove that your material (hardware or otherwise) is legit and put the onus on you - the end user. When did it become my job to enforce the intellectual property right or copyright of a company I don't work for?
When legit product become more difficult or hassling to use than pirated ones, THEN you have a piracy problem. Cheap is appealing. Cheap and easy is really appealing.
Paul_Lilly
March 09, 2008 at 11:54am
"It will require the user to activate the legitimate chip in order for it to operate."
The user won't have to activate the chip, the manufacturer will. For example, the company producing/selling the MP3 player.
The theory here is that the activation scheme will cut back on defective chips making their way onto the marketplace, and encourage companies not to outsource production. But would it play out that way, or as you mentioned, ultimately create hoops for legal beagles?
Aeshir
March 07, 2008 at 4:35pm
Team killed players no longer drop their weapon?
That could be a problem. If someone is getting killed by somebody on a different team, a team member of the person getting killed could TK the guy on his team so the guy on the other team wouldn't get the weapon he dropped.
pcfxer
March 08, 2008 at 12:41pm
Maybe now, governments and managers won't be so silly and assume that because Microsoft "costs more" that it is "superior" to free software. e-mail worms affecting any of my FreeBSD embedded computers/devices: 0. FreeBSD for the ultimate win.
