Episode 1129

Google is in talks to buy Yelp and it may finally be pushing the line over what's too big. Sure, a lot of you thought it was too big already, but now it's just getting ridiculous--although, I didn't like that it lost its court case in France over indexing books. We also touch on the Twitter hijacking and new 3D Blu-ray standards.
==Stories Covered==
Twitter hijacked by ‘Iranian Cyber Army’
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10418140-93.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10418270-36.html
Google said talking buyout with Yelp
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10418185-93.html
Google loses French copyright case
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10418319-93.html
Firefox, Adobe top buggiest software list
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10417785-245.html
3D Blu-ray standard outlined, includes PS3
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10417449-1.html
Bing! Information Design sues Microsoft
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/12/14/daily62.html
Netflix sued for privacy invasion
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/18/1344246/Netflix-Sued-For-Privacy-Invasion
Skip the newsstand: Buy Esquire on your iPhone
http://mashable.com/2009/12/18/esquire-iphone-app/
Don’t pay twice for content
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-10417065-250.html
U.S. military drone security breach “fixed”: official
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091217/us_nm/us_usa_drones
$300 Sci-Fi YouTube Video Lands $30m Movie Deal
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/12/17/1711256/300-Sci-Fi-YouTube-Video-Lands-300m-Movie-Deal
==Voicemail==
Roland on the hacked drones
==Emails==
Hey Buzzers,
For years now I have heard you explaining that DRM only punishes the honest customers.
Well, today I was such an honest customer for the last time.
I went to see Avatar in my local Cineplex.
I saw a huge crowd standing in the lobby and knew something was up.
The theater manager explained that the premiere screening of the 3D version could not commence.
They had been waiting for the digital key to arrive that is necessary to decrypt the film.
It should have arrived by email from FOX over four hours earlier but it had not.
Apparently this was a problem for every movie theater in Germany and probably every cinema in Europe that wanted to show the film at that day.
The 2D version was not affected by the way.
I gather 50% of all the perplexed visitors had no idea what kind of key he was talking about.
But definitely 100% were pissed and had no understanding why they made all the way and effort to come to the movie theater only to be told: “Sorry, we don’t want your money!”.
16 Dec 2009 was supposed to be the day I see a masterpiece.
It turned out to be the day I swore to never set foot in a movie theater again.
Screw you FOX and happy downloading!
Angry Andy.
----
Hi guys
In 1128 you talked about cromeOS and if it can get in trouble in the
EU because it is then the only browser because it is a OS too.
My question now: why is apple not in trouble for openly forbidding
other browsers on the iphon?
Mozilla and the others complaint to the EU because IE had a to big
marketshare! Well – Safari on the Iphone has 100% Marketshare! And
nobody cares?
Strange….
LtS
Alex
----
Hey Buzz Crew,
In response to BOL episode 1128’s discussion of ChromeOS as a monopoly due to having the browser integrated, there are a couple points that differentiate it from MS Windows that change the situation:
1) MS Windows runs proprietary, closed-source code whereas ChromeOS can be built and customized from open source code (ChromiumOS). A competing browser vendor is free to put their own browser in the place of the Chrome browser and re-use the existing kernel and underlying code within the restrictions of the free license.
2) The MS Windows OS is, itself a platform for running applications. By contrast, the Chrome browser is the sole app that runs on ChromeOS, the Chrome browser is the platform, not the OS.
Point 2 opens ChromeOS up to the possibility of anti-competitive accusations if the Chrome browser integrates Google web apps or is compatible only with Google web apps to the exclusion of competing web apps. For example, if Google Maps runs but Windows Live Maps doesn’t, then their behavior could be considered anti-competitive. The open source nature of the browser and its support for open web standards may protect it in those cases, putting the responsibility on the web app vendor to comply with those standards.
-heulenwolf
/Hoy-len-vulf/'''
==After The Credits==