The Null Device
2001/3/10
Scumbags in action: Remember CDDB? The free online database of CD track listings assembled by volunteers from all over the Net, that was bought by some company who promptly declared it proprietary information? Well, now they have blocked "unlicensed" applications from accessing it. What does an application have to do to be licensed? Well, it needs to show ads for CDDB, prohibit the use of any other CD databases, and not allow the data to be exported to other applications. The Slashdot thread is here.
As China strives to take its place as a global superpower, it is preparing to challenge the U.S. in one of its traditional areas of supremacy: the manufacturing of boy/girl R&B bands. The goal is to tap into the vast youth market, currently dominated by Korean "hip-hop" bands, and produce "hip-hop with Chinese characteristics". But don't expect songs about race relations, gangbanging or bootywhang; the encore at T.N.T.'s first performance was "a paean to Beijing's glorious bid to play host to the 2008 Olympic Games".
In a country where rock concerts still enjoy an uncertain status, often deemed a threat to public order, the first row of the stands was fully occupied by uniformed members of the People's Armed Police.
(via Plastic)
Referring search request of the day: how do you empty out /dev/null. If anybody has any suggestions on how to help this person, let me know, and I'll pass any choice suggestions on. Or at least post them where searchers may find them.
Memetic biological warfare: Were Afghani faith-based movement the Taliban, who are transporting explosives to destroy those world-renowned Buddhist statues as we speak, created by the CIA? Apparently someone at the CIA had the great idea that a conservative, values-cherishing religious movement would provide a natural foil to the spread of communism, and the more fanatical the better; and so, with the help of Pakistan, they spend US$3bn on encouraging Islamic fanatics from all over the world to set up shop in the country. (via Unknown News)
Violent video games are causing our kids to kill, say some religious groups. And the answer? Christian first-person shooters, which allow good, Bible-believing youth to go around shooting demon-possessed Roman soldiers, thus avoiding being seduced into the gothic apostasy that accompanies games like Quake. I wonder how long it will be until there is a Christian erotica industry to provide the faithful with a wholesome alternative to the godless porn out there?