From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V11 #323 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Saturday, November 26 2005 Volume 11 : Number 323 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Ariel review from the Onion ["Mark B" ] Re: More great PR for Sony BMG [Ethan Straffin ] More Charlotte Martin dates! (CA, OR WA) ["Xenu's Sister" Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ****************** Tommy Persson (tompe@lysator.liu.se) ******************* *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Tommy Persson Wed November 25 1964 Sagittarius Pat Tessitore November 26 Sagittarius Valerie Kraemer November 26 Sagittarius Justin Bur Fri November 27 1964 Sagittarius Sue Trowbridge Sun November 27 1966 Skytten Ward Kadel Tue November 29 1977 Sagittarius Jesse Hernandez Liwag Wed November 29 1972 Water Rat Mirko Bulaja Sat November 30 1974 Block Juha Sorva Thu December 02 1976 Sagittarius Chip Lueck Thu December 05 1968 Sagittarius Lenore December 05 sagi Michele Wellck December 08 Sagittarius Jeremy J. Corry Fri December 11 1970 Sagittarius Renee Canada Tue December 13 1977 Sagittarius Julie C. Kammerzell Sun December 15 1968 Sagittarius/Scorpio combo Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti Sat December 15 1956 queen_nefertiti@prodigy.net Laura Clifford Tue December 17 1957 Sagittarius Dirk Kastens Tue December 17 1963 Sagittarius Milla Wed December 17 1975 Sagittarius Chris Schernwetter Tue December 17 1974 Sagittarius Sherry Haddock Sat December 17 1960 Sagittarius Tracy Benbrook Tue December 18 1973 Sagittarius Mark Lowry Mon December 22 1969 Capricarius Kay Cleaves Wed December 22 1976 Prancing Pony Uli Grepel Wed December 25 1968 Steinbock Joseph Wasicek Sat December 25 1976 Brown Eagle - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 08:02:20 -0500 From: "Mark B" Subject: Ariel review from the Onion That's right, the Onion which is known for it's offbeat phoney headlines has a serious side called the AV Club. Reviewed by Noel Murray November 23rd, 2005 Some musicians take so long between albums that they lose track of their own careers and start issuing periodic annotated census reports when simple yearly newsletters would do. Then there's Kate Bush, whose new Aerial comes after what turns out to have been a welcome 12-year absence. Bush has followed her own trilling muse since her 1978 debut, and aside from some minor cosmetic and thematic differences, each of her records has offered a similar blend of prog, folk, and new wave. By the time Bush released 1993's unfocused The Red Shoes, her routine had grown stale, and though Aerial doesn't change that routine significantly, the record still sounds fresh, because it doesn't follow a decade full of cookie-cutter albums. Aerial's two discs of nocturnes, folktales, and sensual dance tracks have been sorted into sections. The first disc, "A Sea Of Honey," is more character-driven, with songs about a sad Elvis ("King Of The Mountain"), a happy-making child ("Bertie"), and the courage of Joan Of Arc ("Joanni"). Bush tries out a variety of styles on the first disc, from Renaissance balladry to trance-y rock, but she's at her eccentric best when she sits alone at the piano and sings "Mrs. Bartolozzi," about a load of laundry that inspires an erotic reverie. (Perhaps only Bush could imbue a line like "slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy / get that dirty shirty clean" with deep emotion.) The second disc, "A Sky Of Honey," is more about tone than tunes, though it does tell a unified story of a kind, about the passing of a single day in an oceanside artists' colony. Bush builds the songs around stunted piano runs, crafting melodies that hover and pace without ever going anywhere. Where "A Sea Of Honey" is really just a handful of new Kate Bush songs, "A Sky Of Honey" is a fully realized mood piece, designed to lift listeners out of their own heads. It's a stirring return to that special place behind the eyes of Kate Bush, where every raindrop contains universes within universes. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 14:11:53 -0800 From: Ethan Straffin Subject: Re: More great PR for Sony BMG In related news from the EFF... Ethan - -- * EFF Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Sony BMG Company Should Repair Damage to Customers Caused by CD Software San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), along with two leading national class action law firms, today filed a lawsuit against Sony BMG, demanding that the company repair the damage done by the First4Internet XCP and SunnComm MediaMax software it included on over 24 million music CDs. EFF is pleased that Sony BMG has taken steps in acknowledging the security risks caused by the XCP CDs, including a recall of the infected discs. However, these measures still fall short of what the company needs to do to fix the problems caused to customers by XCP, and Sony BMG has failed entirely to respond to concerns about MediaMax, which affects over 20 million CDs -- ten times the number of CDs as the XCP software. Sony BMG is to be commended for its acknowledgment of the serious security problems caused by its XCP software, but it needs to go further to regain the public's trust," said Corynne McSherry, EFF Staff Attorney. "It is unconscionable for Sony BMG to refuse to respond to the privacy and other problems created by the over 20 million CDs containing the SunnComm software." The suit, to be filed in Los Angeles County Superior court, alleges that the XCP and SunnComm technologies have been installed on the computers of millions of unsuspecting music customers when they used their CDs on machines running the Windows operating system. Researchers have shown that the XCP technology was designed to have many of the qualities of a "rootkit." It was written with the intent of concealing its presence and operation from the owner of the computer, and once installed, it degrades the performance of the machine, opens new security vulnerabilities, and installs updates through an Internet connection to Sony BMG's servers. The nature of a rootkit makes it extremely difficult to remove, often leaving reformatting the computer's hard drive as the only solution. When Sony BMG offered a program to uninstall the dangerous XCP software, researchers found that the installer itself opened even more security vulnerabilities in users' machines. Sony BMG has still refused to use its marketing prowess to widely publicize its recall program to reach the over 2 million XCP-infected customers, has failed to compensate users whose computers were affected and has not eliminated the outrageous terms found in its End User Licensing Agreement (EULA). The MediaMax software installed on over 20 million CDs has different, but similarly troubling problems. It installs files on the users' computers even if they click "no" on the EULA, and it does not include a way to fully uninstall the program. The software transmits data about users to SunnComm through an Internet connection whenever purchasers listen to CDs, allowing the company to track listening habits -- even though the EULA states that the software will not be used to collect personal information and SunnComm's website says "no information is ever collected about you or your computer." If users repeatedly requested an uninstaller for the MediaMax software, they were eventually provided one, but they first had to provide more personally identifying information. Worse, security researchers recently determined that SunnComm's uninstaller creates significant security risks for users, as the XCP uninstaller did. "Music fans shouldn't have to install potentially dangerous, privacy intrusive software on their computers just to listen to the music they've legitimately purchased," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Regular CDs have a proven track record - -- no one has been exposed to viruses or spyware by playing a regular audio CD on a computer. Why should legitimate customers be guinea pigs for Sony BMG's experiments?" "Consumers have a right to listen to the music they have purchased in private, without record companies spying on their listening habits with surreptitiously-installed programs," added EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl, "Between the privacy invasions and computer security issues inherent in these technologies, companies should consider whether the damage done to consumer trust and their own public image is worth its scant protection." Both the XCP and MediaMax CDs include outrageous, anti-consumer terms in their "clickwrap" EULAs. For example, if purchasers declare personal bankruptcy, the EULA requires them to delete any digital copies on their computers or portable music players. The same is true if a customer's house gets burglarized and his CDs stolen, since the EULA allows purchasers to keep copies only so long as they retain physical possession of the original CD. EFF is demanding that Sony BMG remove these unconscionable terms from its EULAs. The law firms of Green Welling, LLP, and Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman and Robbins, LLP, joined EFF in the case. Sony BMG is also facing at least six other class action lawsuits nationwide and an action by the Texas Attorney General. EFF looks forward to representing the voice of digital music fans in the resolution of these disputes between Sony BMG and consumers. For more on the Sony BMG litigation, see: EFF's open letter to Sony: Daniel wrote: >I wrote: > > > >>Has this been posted? Which CDs have the rootkit: >>http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php >> >> > >How to defeat the rootkit: >http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/21/gaffer_tape_trips_up_sony_drm/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:58:26 -0800 (PST) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: More Charlotte Martin dates! (CA, OR WA) Dec 6 2005 8:00P Moes Alley Santa Cruz, CA Dec 7 2005 8:00P 12 Galaxies San Francisco, CA Dec 10 2005 8:00P Cozmic Pizza Eugene, OR Dec 11 2005 8:00P Mississippi Studios Portland, OR Dec 12 2005 8:00P Jazzbones Tacoma, WA Dec 14 2005 8:00P Blind Melons San Diego, CA Are any Ectophiles going to any of those shows? I don't know what her set lists will be like, but she might perform the magnificent "100 Years/Steel" combo. She did it twice during the last tour, in Chicago and Philly. I still haven't found a recording of either of them. :( Vickie - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Music, all I hear is music, guaranteed to please... - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 21:32:28 -0800 From: Ethan Straffin Subject: Re: More Charlotte Martin dates! (CA, OR WA) I don't think it's within my power to not be at the S.F. gig. Thanks for the reminder, Vickie! Ethan Xenu's Sister wrote: >Dec 6 2005 8:00P Moes Alley Santa Cruz, CA >Dec 7 2005 8:00P 12 Galaxies San Francisco, CA >Dec 10 2005 8:00P Cozmic Pizza Eugene, OR >Dec 11 2005 8:00P Mississippi Studios Portland, OR >Dec 12 2005 8:00P Jazzbones Tacoma, WA >Dec 14 2005 8:00P Blind Melons San Diego, CA > >Are any Ectophiles going to any of those shows? I don't >know what her set lists will be like, but she might >perform the magnificent "100 Years/Steel" combo. She >did it twice during the last tour, in Chicago and Philly. > >I still haven't found a recording of either of them. :( > >Vickie > > > > > > >-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ > >Music, all I hear is music, guaranteed to please... > >-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ >-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V11 #323 ***************************