Leave it to China...

So the Chinese government wants bloggers to be identified by name.

...

I <3 the First Amendment and all of its little protections in the big scope of life.

In all seriousness, though, it's frightening. In a place like China, where we all hear of the restrictions and horrors of speaking out, it's just not what they need. I remember reading about how Google was "fitted" before being used in China, where certain queries and searches and websites were pre-blocked. Now, the government is moving on to the next target--free thinkers. It's both scary and fascinating (though mostly scary).

China ponders giving blogs a name [from CNN.com's Technology section]

Just for fun!

I was perusing YouTube and I found this and it's just too darned cool not to post! I love the song "The Kraken" from the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and this YouTuber managed to figure out the entire song without sheet music. Then, he taped himself playing it. It's impressive! Though it is in the wrong key and it's got a few mistaken notes, it's still pretty amazing. Kudos!

Pulitzer's Rules : Accuracy, Accuracy, Tilda!

This article was so interesting for me. As an avid French reader/writer/student, I'm so used to anally checking and double-checking my accent marks. Perhaps even obsessively. I've seen them used in the French press (take a spin by http://www.lemonde.fr for a glimpse, it's the site of Le Monde, a large French paper). Now, though, they're working their way into the American press too. I really do <3 this melting pot we have!

With diverse readers, papers add accents [from chron.com]

Gotta love the irony... "Internet Killed the Video Star".

A wide, open Vista

I know, I know. I've talked about the new Windows Vista before. I'm actually really excited about it now that I've done my research. I don't know what it is that draws me to new programs and systems, but I'm fairly certain it has to do a bit with packaging. And from what I've seen on Wikipedia and a slew of blogs, Vista is a pretty little thing. So pretty in fact that I'm considering saving up for a new desktop next year (I love my laptop, but I want to be able to do more without worrying about it melting). The menus and desktop designs are designed to take advantage of breathtaking graphics and integrate well with the user. Sure, a few of the features are looking a bit on the Mac side, but they are looking nice. And though the new software doesn't sound all that revolutionary (an upgraded Windows Movie Maker? desktop widgets that Google already has for free with its Google Desktop program?), I think that altogether, it's going to be nice and streamlined. And efficiency is wonderful in my book.

Mmm. Isn't it nice that aesthetics can also be so efficient?

The Official Windows Vista Site [from Microsoft.com]

P.S. - I'm on the lookout for bits and pieces about multimedia JOURNALISM wherever I go, I just haven't seen many lately. But have no fear, I know that multimedia wouldn't be possible without technology and that's why I'm not afraid to explore that a bit in here.

Blu-ray sounds O-kay.

I haven't really looked into the future of at-home movies but it sounds to me like this Blu-ray business means, well, business. Twice the capacity of a normal DVD--that's a huge amount of space. Hopefully, that huge amount of space will be fully utilized to bring the crispest, most vibrant movies to their most amazing glory. Anyone else really, really excited for "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Pirates of the Caribbean" in even more ridiculous detail? I know I am. My only one concern is the hardware. The article listed it well above the $700+ range. When I bought my DVD/VHS player at Best Buy (it's a combo player), it was just shy of $100. I'm frugal. But it works, and if it's not broken, why fix it with such a pretty pricetag? We'll see. If Blu-ray really is the revolution and it the revolution is really that amazing... I'll just have to give in. I suppose.

Oh, indulgence.

"Click" here for first 50GB Blu-ray Disc [from ReutersUK.com]

Slicing up the 'Apple' pie

When you think of "downloading music legally", it seems like the first name that comes to mind is iTunes. Apple's had an enormous influence with the integration of their iPods and accompanying iTunes software, so enormous that a lot of people skip trekking out to the local music store and instead buy an album right through the iTunes store.

Now, though, it looks like Best Buy, Real and Sandisk are jumping in on the action. Who knows what it'll mean for Apple--perhaps it will quash the competition, perhaps it'll be taken down. Personally, I doubt that last bit. Apple seems to have a nice slice of the American music pie; I doubt that it'll settle being the leftovers.

BestBuy, Real and SanDisk come together to sell music online [from DailyTech.com]

Argh, mateys!

I've still got some mixed feelings about the new version of Windows that will be coming out (frankly, I'm still holding out hope for a Google operating system), but from what I've heard so far, it sounds decent to say the least. Another new feature--expanded piracy features that prohibit unlicensed versions of the software from functioning properly. Shiver me timbers, Jack Sparrow, but that sounds a bit like a challenge to all the hackers out there! Hopefully, though, Microsoft will follow through and step up both the anti-piracy and the anti-virus software. Windows is great, but it needs to get closer to Fort Knox in terms of security. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has lost countless multimedia files to virus-driven crashes!

Microsoft warns software pirates [from CNN.com's technology section]

Multicultural Multimedia

I thought this article was rather interesting. Berlin is hosting its annual book fair, at which many authors from various nationalities will be present. The hot topic is electronic publishing (of course) and interestingly enough, Google's recent woes with scanning pages from books and making them searchable. According to the article, a new system (one can only assume from its placement next to the Google bit that it is a Google-based project) is being implemented to show the copyright information of books with scanned pages. A Digital Market Place is also being showcased for software producers. The boldest part of the article is Stephan Fuessel assertion : "The book is increasingly becoming obsolete in this sector."

I think Gutenberg just turned over in his grave. Again.

Many faces of India in focus at world's biggest book fair [from the Khaleej Times Online]