Yahoo! Buzz: Top Sci/Tech Stories

Microsoft and NBC enforce the nonexistent Broadcast Flag, WTF?!

Fri, 16 May 2008 20:01:51 PDT

Danny O'Brien from the Electronic Frontier Foundation sez, Vista users are complaining that Media Center refuses to let them record broadcast digital TV shows on NBC. Here's a screenshot of what they're seeing. After we won the fight to stop the Broadcast Flag three years ago, over-the-air digital TV shouldn't have any copy controls -- and if it did, Microsoft shouldn't have to obey them. Is it a bug in Vista's DRM systems? Did Microsoft and NBC cut a deal? What other receivers out there are going to obey the broadcasters instead of their owners? Link (Thanks, Danny!)

Friday Survey: Do You Own An iPhone?

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:39:08 PDT

It’s coming up on a year since the iPhone was released, and the second version appears to be just around the corner. So it’s a good time to check in with our readers and see just how many of you actually use the device. Please take a second and let us know where you stand. [...]

George Clooney in Men Who Stare At Goats movie

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:16:47 PDT

The Men Who Stare At Goats is a must-read 2005 book by UK journalist Jon Ronson about the US government's interest in very strange stuff, like Jedi powers, psychic spying, subliminal sound weapons, and the potential to kill something (like a goat, or an enemy soldier) just by looking at it. Fact or fiction, or most likely some of both, it's an absolute blast to read. (And Ronson's BBC documentary based on the book, Crazy Rulers of the World, is a lot of fun too! You can find it here on Google Video.) Yesterday, it was announced that Grant Heslov will direct a feature film based on The Men Who Stare At Goats. The star? George Clooney. From Variety: Script was penned by Brit Peter Straughan ("How to Lose Friends and Alienate People"). The project has been around for some time, but international buyers only just received the script this week as the Cannes fest and market got started. Script topped the 2007 Brit List of best unproduced screenplays. Link to Variety, Link to buy Men Who Stare At Goats Previously on BB: • The Men Who Stare At Goats Link • Documentary: Crazy Rulers of the World Link

Deadline passes in EA bid to buy Take-Two Interactive shares

Fri, 16 May 2008 20:15:36 PDT

AFP - A deadline for Take-Two Interactive Software shareholders to agree to a buyout by video game giant Electronic Arts has passed with neither firm commenting on the takeover bid's fate.

Vintage Japanese robot gallery

Fri, 16 May 2008 20:01:51 PDT

Wired's posted a photo gallery from the new show of vintage Japanese robots opening at the Sci Fi Museum in Seattle. Iconic graphic designer Tom Geismar, whose firm Chermayeff & Geismar has created memorable logos for Mobil, PBS and other U.S. institutions, has been collecting the shiny bots for decades. The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle will exhibit toys from Geismar's collection in Robots: A Designer's Collection of Miniature Mechanical Marvels through Oct. 26. The vintage robots on display reflect Geismar's trained eye. "I've really restricted myself to ones that appealed to me as interesting, imaginative designs," he says. Link

Battle Over Data Ownership on Gillmor Gang

Fri, 16 May 2008 17:37:04 PDT

Epic Gillmor Gang today. Everyone went in with guns blazing over the data portability/ownership debate that has spilled out over the Facebook/Google scuffle. DataPortability founder Chris Saad was also on the call, but failed to take a leadership position in the debate (he did, however, weigh in with a blog post on the subject before [...]

5 Groovy Sites for Free Music Downloads

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:00:00 PDT

Want to fill up your MP3 player for free without facing the wrong end of an RIAA lawsuit? These five sites offer DRM-free downloads from exciting artists.

Participatory Exploration: Climb Everest, Bring 10K People With You

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:50:58 PDT

Last fall he performed an unplanned EVA to help repair a critical solar panel on the International Space Station, this month he is attempting to summit Mount Everest. For emergency room surgeon turned NASA Astronaut Scott Parazynski the only way...

EDS Buy Could Give HP Edge Over Dell, Analysts Say

Fri, 16 May 2008 17:50:09 PDT

Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Electronic Data Systems won't hurt Dell in the next few years, but it could affect Dell's...