News for Thursday, 22 June 2006

Ricoh has launched a new kind of VCPS blank DVDs, where VCPS stands for "Video Content Protection System". This norm, which is indeed a protection, will allow content providers - such as satellite TV - to make sure that a given broadcasted programme can only be recorded once on the same device.
To do so, these blank disks withhold a key that can be combined with a second one contained in the burning device to encode the data on the flight in AES 128 bits.
Not only can this data be recorded only once, but a compatible player is required to read it. And of course, disk copy is out of the question.
Hard to keep mum and remain quiet when facing this pack of protections lurking at the door. The decade to come will be a long one... Let's just hope nobody will come out with a book that crumbles into dust vampire-style when its last page is read. ;)

Hereafter are 2 impressive photos taken during a conference in Japan.


A notebook suddenly and violently burst into flames.
Thanks fully it was laying on a table and nobody was injured.
The notebook was a Dell...but we guess it might have happen to any other notebook using a similar battery...
In addition all users will now think twice before reloading the notebook battery on a table, or even working with his notebook on his knees...

Samsung could release for Q1 2007 a multiformat Blue laser based player able to manage both BD- and HD-DVD-based media. LG is also suspected to prepare such a drive.
But it is only related to a multiformat player, for having a multiformat burner drive, one will for sure have to wait for a longer time.
all this format mess due to 2 companies unable to agree on a standard universal format...it is all about the money; who cares about customers? Maybe we should keep using the current DVD format to show them our concerns about their blue-laser war.

Hereafter is what we consider as the best integration of a Mac mini in a Car.

the car is a Toyota Prius.
Pour voir plus de photos et d'autres détails :
http://www.kusnetz.net/prius/
Do not forget that when you are driving a car, your are driving a car, and not doing anything else.

Creative has released new digital music players based on flash memory.

Without any surprise, they will be available with 1, 2 and 4GB of storage capacity. Prices will be similar to the current Apple nano models.
Apple is expected to release an update of the current iPod nano models; probably in September. This will for sure not help to cool down the tensions between Apple and Creative.

To follow the RoHS European directive (Restriction of hazardous substances) Apple Europe has discontinued the following products (hereafter is the French AppleStore based list)
-Reference: M8799F/A
Description: AirPort Extreme (802.11g) Base Station
-Reference: M9397F/A
Description: AirPort Extreme Base Station (Ethernet)
-Reference: M8817FD/C
Description: iSight
-Reference: M9833
Description: eMac 1.25GHz/256MB/40GB/CD/Radeon9200
-Reference: M9834
Description: eMac 1.42GHz/256MB/80GB/Combo/Radeon9600/56K
-Reference: M9835
Description: eMac 1.42GHz/512MB/160GB/SuperDrive/Radeon9600/56K
-Reference: M9759G/A
Description: External Battery for iPod shuffle
Those products will be available till June 30th, the date when RoHS directive must be applied.
As the targeted products were not recently introduced one can conclude that they will be by default EOL.