Seeking Nerdvana

A massive backlash has seen Microsoft back down on plans to stop people who buy retail copies of Vista from reinstalling it more than once, just as I predicted they would. It was an insane idea that was going to be a major pain for people who regularly rebuild their computers (like me) and was just going to drive more people into the arms of Linux. The whole saga is just another example of Microsoft trying to see what they could get away with - I reckon they were always prepared to back down but just want to see if they could sneak it through. Here's a quote from a "Microsoft spokesperson", which is code for a PR person who doesn't want their name in the paper;

"In preparation for the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft recently published the retail license terms for the Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate SKUs of Windows Vista. You can find the complete information here: http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/default.aspx . We listened to the feedback from our customers and the community and decided to make a change to the retail license terms for Windows Vista. Specifically, the terms now read: 'You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices'."

"We heard that users wanted more flexibility, and this change should give hardware enthusiasts in particular more latitude to upgrade their PCs or reassign their license to a new PC, while still making clear our intentions to protect our software from piracy. This change will benefit customers who purchase the retail SKUs of Windows Vista who will now get more value from their Windows Vista license."

It looks like Australia isn't alone in being a technological backwater - with the UK government still yet to legalise ripping CDs and DVDs to portable media players. Hopefully the UK will do a better job of its laws than the pathetic attempt by the luddite Australian government and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.

The copyright law is an ass and sadly it weighs heavily on the scales of justice in Australia.

Read the full post at http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php/play/2006/11/03/uk_urged_to_legalise_ripping_music_and_v

* NOTE: This post is on Hydrapinion, an opinion-based, multi-headed blog - or hydrablog - I've started with four other freelance technology journalists. My topic is Play and my day is Friday so from now on I'm going to point to Hydrapinion every Friday, but Friday is also the day I'll post TechVidReviews here at Seeking Nerdvana and reprints of my magazine products reviews that don't appear online elsewhere.

Nintendo Australia is launching the Wii games console on December 7. It will sell for $AU399.95, which includes one wireless Wii Remote controller, one Nunchuk controller and five different Wii Sports games on one disc.

Additional Wii Remote controllers will sell for $AU69.95. Accessories such as the Nunchuk controller and the Classic controller will be available for $AU29.95. A Wii Component Video Cable will also be available, for a higher quality video signal, at $AU49.95.

Its often argued that most people who download content illegally would be prepared to pay for it, if they considered it was reasonably priced, but the recent events over at Podtropolis would indicate this is not the case.

Podtropolis found itself short on friends when it needed them most.

Podtropolis is a BitTorrent search engine designed especially for video iPod owners, allowing them to search for movies and TV shows optimised for the iPod. Podtropolis asked for donations from users several times to cover running costs, but it wasn't enough to keep things going and the site was forced to close its doors in July because it couldn't pay the server bills. For want of a measly $US580, Podtropolis went under.

A couple of weeks later isoHunt, one of the leading BitTorrent search engines, took Podtropolis under its wing and it's now back in operation again - once again serving the people who were too stingy to kick in a few dollars to keep it running. isoHunt's administrator, Gary Fung, has a history of such acts of charity and Podtropolis is now tied in with isoHunt's sister site TorrentBox (but retains its own front end). With life becoming harder for sites like Podtropolis every day, you'd expect a bit more community spirit from iPod owners getting something for nothing.

Microsoft has released Australian upgrade pricing for Windows Vista;

Windows Vista Home Basic $AU385 - Upgrade $AU199

Window Vista Home Premium $AU455 - Upgrade $AU299 (Academic $AU179)

Windows Vista Business $AU565 - Upgrade $AU379

Windows Vista Ultimate $AU751 - Upgrade $AU495

I'm still waiting for confirmation as to whether you can upgrade from XP Home to the high-end versions of Vista. Regardless, I'd still say upgrading is a bad choice for most people, you're better off just waiting until you buy a new computer.

Finding a mobile phone that's primarily a communications tool rather than entertainment centre is becoming quite a challenge...

Read the full review at http://www.theage.com.au/news/upgrade/its-all-business/2006/10/30/1162056925537.html

Forget dark wizards and axe-welding trolls, something much scarier now lurks in the online realms of multiplayer games - the tax man.

WarCraft's newest character, the Level 60 Orc Accountant.

The Australian Taxation Office warns people making real money in virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft or Second Life could face a real tax bill, according to Nick Miller at The Age.

Online worlds have become big business, so it's no surprise the tax man wants his pound of flesh. Fair enough, if these people are making real money then the tax man is entitled to expect a cut of the plunder - but how many die-hard gamers do you really think would fess up to the fact they're making a little cash on the side selling dodgy swords to newbie Paladins? Does the ATO really expect people to write "Level 60 Troll Priest" under occupation on their tax return? I wonder what kind of deductions you can claim? I'd say your internet bill for a start. Plus all that dry cleaning to get the blood of ogres off your good armour.

If you need to keep an eye on your P2P downloads 24x7 then;

a) you should get out more
b) you need Symella or SymTorrent

SymTorrent puts BitTorrent in your pocket.

Symella and SymTorrent are Gnutella and BitTorrent clients for Symbian smartphones, released this week for Symbian's S60 Platform 3rd edition - found on phones such as Nokia's N series and E series. SymTorrent supports downloading multiple torrent files at the same time and is capable of both downloading and uploading. Symella is only capable of searching for torrents and downloading files, not uploading.

I can maybe understand why you might want to run these apps on a wifi-enabled phone, such as the Nokia E60, but running them a file sharing app over a mobile phone network seems insane - at least at the pricing we pay for data in Australia. Still, no-one said Nerdvana has to make good economic sense.

The good news is that Asustek Computer (better known as plain old Asus), Planex Communication and QNAP Systems are building BitTorrent file sharing software directly into their hardware - so you can steal, I mean share, files 24/7 without having to leave your computer running. Well, it would be news if not for the fact that it was actually done months ago. I reviewed Asus' BitTorrent-enabled WL 700gE router in August and it's already on sale in Australia.

Don't throw away your computer just yet, the BitTorrent client in Asus' WL 700gE leaves a lot to be desired.

The bad news is the WL 700gE's "Download Manager" is extremely basic and a little flaky. Serious BitTorrent users - who are obviously the target of such a product - will very quickly miss the advanced features of their favourite BitTorrent client. The WL 700gE has a built-in 160GB, 7200RPM hard drive so it can store files when your computer is shutdown, but serious file sharers happily leave their computers running 24/7 anyway - especially if they got a sexy, whisper-quiet lounge room computer on the end of a decent fat pipe (when I say decent, I basically mean not Australia's Telstra).

The idea of on-board BitTorrent is exciting, especially as more legal applications for the technology emerge, but hardware makers will have to do a better job of it than Asus' WL 700gE if they expect it to be more than a novelty.