News

We all knew this day would come, with all of the smaller and hidden cameras on phones, smartwatches and products like Google Glass it was only time before the MPAA stepped in and shut things down. This is exactly what they have done in conjunction with the National Association of Theatre Owners (yes NATO). It is not just Google Glass that they have gone after but a number of other wearables that contain recording technology like the Samsung Gear series of smart watches. The blanket ban does not prohibit someone from bringing them in, but it does require that the devices are removed and turned off for the duration of the movie.

When Apple announced their new NFC payment system it seemed the press and analysts were in nirvana. You could not open up a news site without seeing a headline on how Apple pay was going to change your life. Most of these failed to acknowledge that mobile payments (even through NFC) have existed for decades and that Google Wallet was and still is accepted at a number of locations. They were convinced that Apple pay was the way to go and they (Apple) had the future in their hands.

It would seem that the guys over at the Recording Industry Artists of America have lost their collective minds. In a recent rant they are actually trying to claim that sites like The Pirate Bay are an “assault on our humanity”. To (intentionally) quote a great line from The Princess Bride: “I do not think it means what you think it means”. The last time I checked copyright law was not a protected “right” in any form of the constitution. Freedom of speech/expression is as it the right against unlawful search and seizure (which the blind copyright letters violate).

If you are in the information security field then the latest “news” that Cisco fixed a flaw in a protocol that should not be used will probably give you a chuckle. I am talking about Telnet which is not exactly what you would call a secure means of communicating with any device. In most cases Telnet is one of those options that you turn off right out of the box. Still it is nice to know that Cisco is patching it.