May 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Apple's "Rendezvous" bites "Itunes"
by Major Variola (ret.) 01 Jun '03

01 Jun '03

[DRM, Utility vs. Infocontrol] Apple is clamping down on piracy by imposing restrictions on the way that music downloaded from its iTunes service can be shared. Changes to the service stop people listening across the internet to playlists of songs created by others. The change was included in an iTunes software update that also fixed some bugs in the service. ITunes users are divided over the changes, but some people have been heavily critical. Stop sharing Apple's iTunes music store has become hugely popular since it was launched in May of this year and recorded about a million downloads in its first week. Part of the reason for its popularity was the fact that it placed few restrictions on what people could do with the music they downloaded. The iTunes service allowed people to listen to almost any music collection that was sharing the same local computer network as they were. But clever iTunes users found a way to extend this local sharing across the internet using Apple's own Rendezvous software. Details of how to tweak iTunes to make it share playlists over the internet, and allow people to record the songs being streamed, were published online. The update for iTunes is intended to close this loophole and limit who can listen to a playlist. "Rendezvous music sharing..., has been used by some in ways that have surprised and disappointed us," said Apple in a statement. "Some people are taking advantage of it to stream music over the internet to people they do not even know," it added. "This was never the intent." The change has been widely debated on discussion boards online as well as on sites such as Mac Central and Slashdot. Many people have said the restrictions mean they will not upgrade to the latest version and that the change stops many legitimate uses of iTunes. One angry user wrote on Slashdot: "The digital lifestyle is all about the fluidity of bits, the fact that all computers on the internet are, in some sense, in the same place, no matter where they're physically located." Others were less outraged and said that, even with the change, the iTunes service imposed far fewer conditions on its users than many other online music services. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2946180.stm

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Nullsoft's WASTE communication system
by Bill Stewart 01 Jun '03

01 Jun '03

http://www.nullsoft.com/free/waste/ - Overview http://www.nullsoft.com/free/waste/security.html - Security section http://www.nullsoft.com/free/waste/network.html - Network design http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/05/29/0140241&mode=thread&tid=126&tid… - Slashdot discusssion Nullsoft, who did Winamp and Gnutella, just released a package called W A S T E which does encrypted communications within small groups of people. It doesn't appear to have had outside analysis of its security yet, but they do invite it, and they say it needs some work. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo(a)metzdowd.com

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Re: Maybe It's Snake Oil All the Way Down
by Morlock Elloi 31 May '03

31 May '03

> assumption. The only thing that really differentiates the experts from the > naifs is the amount of smoke. That pretty much sums it up. The only thing that one can more or less safely assume is that crypto that is widely believed to be strong is unlikely to be publicly compromised (ie. used against you, the nobody) as it would make it useless. ===== end (of original message) Y-a*h*o-o (yes, they scan for this) spam follows: __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com

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Re: Maybe It's Snake Oil All the Way Down
by Major Variola (ret) 31 May '03

31 May '03

At 08:32 PM 5/31/03 -0400, Scott Guthery wrote: >Hello, Rich ... > >When I drill down on the many pontifications made by computer >security and cryptography experts all I find is given wisdom. Maybe >the reason that folks roll their own is because as far as they can see >that's what everyone does. Roll your own then whip out your dick and >start swinging around just like the experts. Are you trying to confirm that either the WASTE folks are homosexual, or puerile, as one might guess from the names of some of their projects? (Not that either impugns their code.) On the other hand, both AES and 3DES are US gov't approved. Which is sufficient reason to use Blowfish. Some of the other critiques of WASTE methods are substantial, however, in particular the SSL recommendations are useful tidbits to remember.

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IQ, g, flying
by Major Variola (ret) 31 May '03

31 May '03

At 02:30 PM 5/30/03 -0700, Tim May wrote: >The second irony is that just today I took my first flying lesson, in a >Diamond Katana composite/carbon single-prop plane. I took off from the >Watsonville Airport, which is, I assume, the home airport of Adelman. Just FYI, if you read up on G (general intelligence factor), you will learn that the *only* cause of death that increases with G is dying in airplanes. (This is evidence that G is real, and general, and intelligence is adaptive.) You might also enjoy http://www.av8n.com/ which I once stumbled upon because Denker now does crypto.

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Re: Brinworld: Streisand sues amateur coastal photographer at californiacoastline.org
by Major Variola (ret) 31 May '03

31 May '03

At 10:00 PM 5/30/03 -0400, Tyler Durden wrote: >You think that's bad? > >I know someone who was offerred $1,000 a night to play lead trumpet for >Streisand. When he heard that a major requirement was that he was not to >"lock eyes onto Streisand" (ie, look at her), he declined the offer. Who cares? That's a private transaction. Neurosis is not criminal. You can hire Streisand to sing on the condition that she keeps her nose up your ass, so long as its a mutually consensual transaction. But you can't use the threat of violence (ie law) to coerce photogs publishing what anyone can see. *That* is the point.

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RE: No Fly List Inquiry (fwd)
by J.A. Terranson 31 May '03

31 May '03

I'm sure some of you will find the carefully worded response from TSA interesting :-) -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin(a)mfn.org ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 10:02:40 -0400 From: TSA-Contact Center <TSAContactCenter.TsaContactCenter(a)dhs.gov> To: J.A. Terranson <measl(a)mfn.org> Subject: RE: No Fly List Inquiry Thank you for your email message. For national security reasons, the No-Fly List is not available to the public. The release of such information could endanger intelligence sources both in this country and abroad. In addition, please note that the airlines will not give a boarding pass to individuals who are on the No-Fly List. Therefore, if you have a boarding pass, you are not on the No-Fly List. TSA Contact Center -----Original Message----- From: J.A. Terranson [mailto:measl@mfn.org] Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 9:46 PM To: TellTSA Subject: No Fly List Inquiry Please advise if I am on either the no-fly or selectee lists. Thanks! -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin(a)mfn.org

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The Register When is e-money not e-money? When it stays on your phone. (fwd)
by Jim Choate 31 May '03

31 May '03

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/30962.html -- ____________________________________________________________________ We are all interested in the future for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. Criswell, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" ravage(a)ssz.com jchoate(a)open-forge.org www.ssz.com www.open-forge.org --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: Brinworld: Streisand sues amateur coastal photographer at californiacoastline.org
by Tyler Durden 30 May '03

30 May '03

Tim May wrote... "The second irony is that just today I took my first flying lesson..." Ah. Preparing to hand-deliver that "hoped for" DC nuke, eh? Well, at least you'd be putting your money where your mouth is for a change. -TD >From: Tim May <timcmay(a)got.net> >To: cypherpunks(a)lne.com >Subject: Re: Brinworld: Streisand sues amateur coastal photographer at >californiacoastline.org >Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 14:30:05 -0700 > >A couple of ironies here... > >On Friday, May 30, 2003, at 01:46 PM, Major Variola (ret) wrote: > >>Barbra Streisand has filed a lawsuit against an amateur photographer, >>claiming he is violating her privacy by displaying a picture of her >>bluff-top Malibu estate on a Web site designed to document erosion and >>excessive development along California's 1,150-mile coastline. >> >>The lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Santa Monica, besides seeking $10 >>million in damages, asks retired software engineer Kenneth Adelman to >>remove the image of Streisand's mansion from the 12,000 photos he has >>posted on http://www.californiacoastline.org. Adelman and his wife, >>Gabrielle, have been snapping pictures for months from their helicopter >>to show the splendors of the coastline and what they consider >>environmental threats. > >Adelman is a resident of the same small town I live in, Corralitos. He has >gained a lot of justifiable fame for his clever idea of digitally >photographing, with accurate GPS readings, the entire California coastline. >One can imagine all sorts of uses, including doing image comparisons, >calculations of rates of sand movement, vegetation changes (e.g., in sand >dunes), and, of course, various kinds of economic development. > >The second irony is that just today I took my first flying lesson, in a >Diamond Katana composite/carbon single-prop plane. I took off from the >Watsonville Airport, which is, I assume, the home airport of Adelman. > >(I don't know if I'll continue all the way with flying, but I have a second >lesson coming up in a few days.) > >--Tim May >"Ben Franklin warned us that those who would trade liberty for a little bit >of temporary security deserve neither. This is the path we are now racing >down, with American flags fluttering."-- Tim May, on events following >9/11/2001 _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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Re: Brinworld: Streisand sues amateur coastal photographer at californiacoastline.org
by Tyler Durden 30 May '03

30 May '03

You think that's bad? I know someone who was offerred $1,000 a night to play lead trumpet for Streisand. When he heard that a major requirement was that he was not to "lock eyes onto Streisand" (ie, look at her), he declined the offer. -TD >From: "Major Variola (ret)" <mv(a)cdc.gov> >To: "cypherpunks(a)lne.com" <cypherpunks(a)lne.com> >Subject: Brinworld: Streisand sues amateur coastal photographer at >californiacoastline.org >Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 13:46:09 -0700 > >Barbra Streisand has filed a lawsuit against an amateur photographer, >claiming he is violating her privacy by displaying a picture of her >bluff-top Malibu estate on a Web site designed to document erosion and >excessive development along California's 1,150-mile coastline. > >The lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Santa Monica, besides seeking $10 >million in damages, asks retired software engineer Kenneth Adelman to >remove the image of Streisand's mansion from the 12,000 photos he has >posted on http://www.californiacoastline.org. Adelman and his wife, >Gabrielle, have been snapping pictures for months from their helicopter >to show the splendors of the coastline and what they consider >environmental threats. > >"The quality of the photographs is staggering," the lawsuit says, so >anyone with an Internet connection can view the layout of Streisand's >pool, the positioning of her parasols and deck chairs, as well as the >location of her windows, French doors and balconies of her main and >guest houses none of which are visible from the ground outside the >estate. > >The singer and actress has taken steps to shield her private life from >public view and protect her privacy, says the lawsuit, which argues that >the photograph intrudes on her privacy and violates a state law that >targets the prying telephoto lenses of paparazzi. > >But Adelman's lawyer dismissed the lawsuit as one without legal merit >and as an effort to intimidate his client. > >"Mr. Adelman is not a paparazzo. He's not doing this for profit, or >stalking anyone," said his lawyer Richard Kendall. "He is engaged in a >public-interest effort to document the entire coast to preserve it from >degradation. He's not about to carve out exceptions for celebrities who >don't want to be identified as owning coastal land." > >Kendall said the photograph of Streisand's house, which includes two >neighboring houses, does not capture an image of Streisand or any other >person. "There isn't a constitutional right to privacy of the placement >of your parasols and deck chairs on your outside patio," Kendall said. >"The anti-paparazzi statute is designed to prevent trespass and the >stalking of celebrities. He is shooting from a helicopter far offshore, >and the statute does not immunize beachfront mansions from aerial >photographs." > >Streisand's lawyer, John Gatti, said the lawsuit was filed under seal, >which specifically requires that the complaint not be publicly released >until a judge determines whether it should be released or kept private. > >"An important civil right of privacy is involved," Gatti said. "The >lawsuit seeks to establish the extent to which individuals are protected >against technologically enhanced encroachment into their private >property." > >Alonzo Wickers, a 1st Amendment lawyer who represents television >networks and newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, said it will >be difficult for Streisand to prove an intrusion into her privacy or a >violation of the anti-paparazzi law because she does not appear in the >photograph. > >"If it were a picture of her sunbathing topless, they might have a >case," Wickers said. The legal standard, he said, is capturing an image >that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. > >"It's very hard to argue that the appearance of her backyard would be >highly offensive to a reasonable person," he said. "The standard is not >what's offensive to a reclusive celebrity who is highly concerned about >her privacy and security." > >Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, Caltech graduates who retired in their >30s after selling two start-up software companies for $445 million, have >been using digital photography to snap pictures of every inch of the >coastline. > >She flies their helicopter while he leans out the side snapping pictures >in an effort to record images of every cliff, beach, rocky outcropping >and sign of development along the coast. > >Adelman said he takes his pictures from an elevation of 500 feet in >public airspace over the ocean, shooting back toward the shore using a >standard lens, not the enormous telephoto lenses preferred by paparazzi. > >The lawsuit contends that the high resolution of the photographs allows >Web site browsers to click their way to a considerably larger and more >detailed view of Streisand's home. Browsers can also pick out >Streisand's home because the photo includes a caption that identifies it >as "Streisand Estate, Malibu." > >In two letters to Adelman, Streisand's lawyers demanded that he remove >the photograph or face legal consequences, including punitive damages >and attorneys' fees. > >Adelman refused, citing protection under the 1st Amendment to publish >such photographs. > >He said he didn't target Streisand's home and didn't add the caption >below the photograph. He said he made the Web site interactive so that >anyone from the public can add captions to any photo to help identify >various features along the coastline. Someone did, he said. > >He also noted that his Web site does not list Streisand's address, >unlike other Web sites that provide virtual tours and maps of homes of >the stars, including hers. > >Adelman said his project is an effort to establish a photographic record >of the entire coast and that he doesn't want to begin exempting certain >areas. The only place he has yet to photograph is Vandenberg Air Force >Base, which has so far denied him permission to fly by on the grounds >that his photos might pose a security risk. > >Adelman said about 620,000 viewers have inspected the Web site so far, >including university researchers and local, state and federal agencies, >among them the California Coastal Commission and the U.S. Geological >Survey. > >A status conference on the case is set for Aug. 28 before Superior Court >Judge Allan J. Goodman. > >http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-barbra30may30,1,4414970.story?coll=… _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

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