Wes Phillips

On December 16, Congressmen James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and John Conyers (D-MI) introduced <A HREF="http://static.publicknowledge.org/pdf/HR-4569-DTCSA-Analog-Hole.pdf">HR 4569</A>, a bill "to require certain analog conversion devices to preserve digital content security measures"&mdash;in other words, to mandate that electronic devices and software manufactured after a yet-to-be-specified date respond to a copy protection system or watermark embedded in a video signal and pass that along when converting the signal to analog or vice versa. It also mandates copy protection for analog signals. This is referred to as "plugging the analog hole," since analog signals, even those converted from protected high-definition digital sources, are currently "in the clear" or open for copying. (Standard-definition signals can be protected by systems like Macrovision, but no such protection exists for high-definition signals.)

"So what are you reviewing now?" A polite question, considering that my old friend Randy is definitely <I>not</I> an audiophile.

Bagheera thinks a small amount of compression is acceptable in return for tube warmth.

An interactive New York map (that doesn't even cover <I>my</I> nabe, grrr). Cool though.

If you're at all interested in archeology, you've probably read about the San Bartolo Mayan mural, which dates back to about 100 B.C.&mdash;about 700 years earlier than the Bonanpak murals, previously considered the oldest yet discovered.

I haunt Post Secret.

Turn your computer monitor into a really high-tech snow globe.