Categories
Digital Culture Legal Issues

DRM Frustration at Opera Mobile

Or maybe just Opera in general.

I own a Samsung Blackjack, and it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that Internet Explorer on it sucks. Just a horrible browser. Enter Opera Mobile, a really great little browser for mobile devices. I downloaded the trial version and gave it a month…good interface, fast, let me do everything I wanted.

So I decide I want to purchase this piece of software. It will make my life much easier, and is worth the $24.

I got to the Buy Opera page, tell them I want to buy a copy of Mobile for Smartphones, and it asks me for some info…including my “Device ID” which is evidently their method of DRM. By using a code specific to the phone, they can control whether or not I share the program by making it impossible for me to do so.

Ok, whatever. I can still move my install to another phone if I want by calling them, not perfect but I’ll deal. So how do I get the Device ID? By going to the “menu” function on the browser, on the phone.

Which doesn’t work, because the trial has expired, and all I get is an error message when I try to run it.

So…I can’t buy the software I want to use, because I tried the software to determine I wanted to use it.

Somehow, this seems appropriate again:

frustration

Categories
Brand_New_World Equipment

Loot! Part I

Back from the first baby shower (with my folks, in Nancy, KY). Got tons of great stuff. All the usual: lots of clothes, some diapers, wipes, toys, wash cloths, bottles, baby bath stuff. Jason will probably report on the more unusual stuff, so I’ll leave that to him. It was actually quite fun, although weird to be in the spotlight opening presents. Felt a little strange, but I’d better get used to it (two more showers to go!).

Categories
Brand_New_World pregnancy

Me and my Big Mouth

So, yesterday asked my doctor if it was truly okay that I only passed my glucose test by 1 point. Then, I casually mentioned that diabetes runs in my family (brother, several aunts, cousins). That made her decide that we should do the three hour test “just in case.” So, in two weeks, I have to do a three-hour glucose test, which involves fasting overnight and four needles (which I hate). At first I was horribly depressed about this decision. But the more I think about it, the more I think “better safe than sorry.” It really is a problem in my family, and I’ve gained quite a bit of weight in this pregnancy, so I just want to be sure. Anything I have to do to keep little Eliza safe is okay by me. I can take it.

Categories
Books

Philosophy at 2:30 am

Thought before collapsing into bed:

Librarians have always been concerned with informational objects that have metadata associated with them that enhance findability…for example, a Book and it’s equivalent Catalog card or MARC record. We’ve layered metadata on top of our physical objects for years. We’re only now in the very recent past began scratching the surface of metadata for digital objects.

When we digitize a book, which is the “object” and which is an instantiation of that object? What is Primary? Where is the Real when you have a physical book and the digital copy both in existence? And what does the metadata describe then? I think Plato may have some answers, maybe.

Or maybe it’s way too late for me to be thinking about this.

Categories
Digital Culture

My favorite piece of writing this evening

Here’s my favorite tidbit from my writing fest this evening.

…links are the currency of the web. In network theory, Metcalfe’s Law says that the value of a system grows as approximately the square of the number of users of the system. That is, for any network, adding a node increases the value of that network. As well, adding a link to any piece of information on the web increases the value of that piece of information from the perspective of search engines, and increases its findability. Every bit of content that you re-purpose and link to becomes more valuable simply by the fact that you have chosen to do so.

Is that a law of the internet yet? “The value of any piece of information increases geometrically in relation to the number of links pointing at it…”

Categories
Brand_New_World Equipment Meta

Baby gear and gadgets

I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that seems to be needed for Eliza. And that doesn’t include the stuff that I would just like to have…for instance, a videocamera isn’t a necessity for her.

But it might be for me.

I can’t imagine not capturing as much of her life as possible…especially as an infant. Every day is unique, and they change so fast…I can’t imagine yet how quickly, but I know that I want to document the journey with her so that she can have these memories to look over later in her life. Thats one reason that I started this blog. Partially for Bets and I, but also for her. In 5 years, she can come back to these posts and read about our love for her, before she is even here. I think that’s pretty marvelous, and a sort of magical time-travel that she won’t get any other way.

Categories
Digital Culture Legal Issues Media Music

In Rainbows is LAME

no really its up to you

Not only is Radiohead releasing their newest album at whatever price their fans are willing to pay, and not only is the digital release completely DRM free and 160kbps MP3, but it looks like it was ripped to MP3 using LAME 3.93. An exploration of the MP3’s in a text editor reveals:

Radiohead uses Lame

They need to upgrade…LAME is up to 3.97 now.

Looking at the header and footer of the files in both a text and hex editor doesn’t show any tracking numbers or codes tying the songs to a particular download. It really does look like these are regular old MP3s.

Thanks, Radiohead, for showing the recording industry how business should be done these days.

Categories
Library Issues Technology

Academic Library 2.0

In my last conference attendance for some time, I’ll be at Internet Librarian 2007 at the end of this month. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited about a conference, and it’s not just that it’s in Monterey in October. It’s that I have a chance to lead a workshop with the most exciting bunch of librarians I know:

Workshop 11 — Academic Library 2.0
9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. FULL DAY
MODERATOR:
Amanda Etches-Johnson, User Experience Librarian, McMaster University
FACULTY:
Chad Boeninger, Reference & Instruction Technology Coordinator, Ohio University
Michelle Boule, Social Science Librarian, University of Houston
Meredith Farkas, Distance Learning Librarian, Norwich University
Jason Griffey, Head of Library Information Technology, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

What do the terms Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 mean for academic libraries and librarians? Join our panel of 2.0 practitioners and experts for a day of exploration and discovery as we navigate the 2.0 landscape, exploring what 2.0 tools and technologies can do for academic library users. Through a combination of presentations, discussion, and hands-on activities, our dynamic speakers introduce you to technologies such as blogs, wikis, RSS, mashups, social bookmarking and online social networks. This interactive session provides practical examples of academic libraries that are using these tools and technologies, arms you with the expertise and techniques to introduce these technologies in your own library, and share strategies for getting buy-in from staff, administration, and patrons. A worthwhile day for those interested in implementing changes to keep up within the Web 2.0 world.

If you know anyone attending IL for a preconference, this one is going to knock their socks off.

Categories
Brand_New_World Uncategorized

Sleeping

The hardest part about being pregnant so far has been sleeping. I’ve heard it said that all these sleep problems in the third trimester may be a way for nature to train you to get used to functioning with little sleep, since that’s what you’ll do when the baby comes.

Every night it’s a juggling act. I have two different body pillows (one u-shaped, whole body style and another that just goes around my middle and cushions my back and front). Then I have the two pillows for my head and a special foam pillow that goes between my knees. Poor Jason. I wake him up sometimes, shuffling things around, trading pillows, trying new configurations. Two nights ago, I had insomnia at 3:30. Starving by 5:30, I got up, ate some cereal, and then went back to bed on the couch. Last night I tried sleeping while sitting up (reclined a bit). That worked until 2:00, when I realized my neck was hurting.

It’s a fun adventure. But poor Jason!

Categories
Brand_New_World pregnancy

Our little kicker

Eliza is jumping around so much tonight that you can see my belly move. A foot? An elbow? A hand? It’s hard to tell at this point. I’m not sure how she’s positioned, but it’s pretty weird to see her nearly coming out of my skin. You can’t come out through the belly button, I keep telling her.

I’m on a “no refined sugar diet,” mandated by my doc, since I only passed my glucose test by 1 lousy point. Too bad sweets are the only things I’ve ever craved during this pregnancy (today I want a King Don, aka Ding Dong!). So far, so good, though. I’m mainly eating veggies, fruits, whole grains, and of course lots of protein, and actually enjoying drinking milk (which I normally don’t do). Two and a half more months without sugar!!!!!! But it’ll all be worth it.

29 weeks, 4 days pg