Linux-user-turned-movie-pirate has to switch to Windows

[Ars Technica] "I had a meeting with my probation officer today and he told me that he has to install monitoring software onto my PC. No big deal to me; that is part of my sentence," he wrote on his Lost and Alone blog. "However, their software doesn't support GNU/Linux (Which is what I use). So, he told me that if I want to use a computer, I would have to use an OS that the software can be installed on."

High-def streaming over cable comes complete with DRM

[Ars Technica] Cable subscribers should soon be able to stream cable TV programming over their home networks, as CableLabs has announced its approval of a new streaming protocol. Called DTCP-IP (Digital Transmission Copy Protection), the new spec will use DRM to lock down content to ensure that it doesn't escape the cozy confines of cable subscribers' homes.

Monster.com waited five days to reveal data theft

[Reuters] It wasn't until Wednesday, a day after Symantec issued the August 21 report, that Monster put a notice on its Web site, www.monster.com, warning users they might be the target of e-mail scams.

Labor unions oppose patent reform

[InfoWorld] By enlisting labor unions, patent reform opponents are trying to put Democrats "in the same situation the Republicans were in," said Ronald Riley, president of the Professional Inventors Alliance, which represents small inventors. Riley's group, along with the American Ingenuity Alliance and other groups, have focused getting unions to back their cause in recent months.

iPhone unlockers strut their stuff

[InfoWorld] ohn McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones, said his Belfast, U.K., company will be posting software on Saturday that iPhone users can download to unlock their handsets to work with any SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card on any network they choose. The software should hit the Web at www.iphoneunlocking.com between noon and 2 p.m. Eastern Time, he said.

GOOG may start NY transit guide

[Bloomberg] ``We are always looking for ways to incorporate technology in what we do,'' Jim Redeker, assistant executive director of New Jersey Transit, said in a telephone interview from Newark. Google has ``good experience at making this work.''

gPhone in two weeks?

[TechCrunch] Rediff News in India is reporting that the Google Phone is set to be launched in 2 weeks time! The GPhone is said to simultaneously launch in both Europe and the United States, with the only thing standing in Google’s way being US regulatory approval.

Sony's sweet little battery

[VentureBeat] Sony hopes to make up for its millions of exploding batteries with new research that proves you can run a music player with glucose-based batteries.