Month: November 2017

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"We have an ongoing dialogue with a lot of tech companies in a variety of different areas," he recently told Politico Pro. "There [are] some areas where they are cooperative with us. But on this particular issue of encryption, the tech companies are moving in the opposite direction. They’re moving in favor of more and more warrant-proof encryption."

Peter Biddle speaks at the ETech conference in 2007. (credit: Scott Beale)

It's Thanksgiving week in the US, and most of our staff is focused on a morning coffee or Black Friday list rather than office work. As such, we're resurfacing this story of four Microsoft engineers who predicted the downfall of DRM more than a decade ahead of its time (their paper turned 15 this month). This story originally ran on November 30, 2012, and it appears unchanged below.

Can digital rights management technology stop the unauthorized spread of copyrighted content? Ten years ago this month, four engineers argued that it can't, forever changing how the world thinks about piracy. Their paper, "The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution" (available as a .doc here) was presented at a security conference in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2002.

By itself, the paper's clever and provocative argument likely would have earned it a broad readership. But the really remarkable thing about the paper is who wrote it: four engineers at Microsoft whose work many expected to be at the foundation of Microsoft's future DRM schemes. The paper's lead author told Ars that the paper's pessimistic view of Hollywood's beloved copy protection schemes almost got him fired. But ten years later, its predictions have proved impressively accurate.

Enlarge (credit: Tesla)

Steve Levine, an Axios journalist who wrote a whole book about battery technologies, wrote a few days ago that "experts estimate that the Semi could be $300,000." MIT Technology Review speculated that the Semi would cost even more: $400,000.

So a lot of people were surprised on Thursday when Tesla posted estimated prices for its Semi product. According to the company, a low-end truck with a 300 mile range will cost around $150,000, while you'll be able to get a range of 500 miles for $180,000. A premium "Founders Series" truck will cost $200,000.

That's more than the $120,000 cost of a typical conventional truck. But Tesla says that its truck will deliver $200,000 in fuel and maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle. If that's true, paying an extra $30,000 to $60,000 for the truck would be a bargain.

Enlarge / The whey and cricket definitely stand out. (credit: Beth Mole)

If I could, I’d eat baked goods for every meal. And if there’s one time of year to try to get away with this, it’s the holidays. Festively seasoned cakes, breads, pastries, and cookies abound. That said, there’s one baked good that usually doesn’t make the cut: muffins. In fact, I kind of loathe muffins.

But, it is the holidays—‘tis the season to be jolly and all. I felt like I should give muffins another shot. So, I set out to try to make them suck less. I was generally successful, I think. Though, thanks to my lovely editor, Eric Bangeman, the journey to redeem muffins involved eating powdered insects. He meant well (at least I hope he did), but it was definitely a step backwards for the baked goods.

First, my beef with muffins: basically, they have so much potential to be great but generally fail miserably. They’re easy to make, can be packed with pretty much any flavoring or ingredients imaginable, and have the potential to be delicious. Better yet, they’re portable and easy to eat—perfect for breakfast. They fit right in the palm of your hand so you can mindlessly shove one toward your face while running to work or plopping at your desk. They also look like they should be good for you in some way. They could be the perfect breakfast baked good.