IRONY: Warner Bros. Sued for Pirating Anti-Pirating Technology

In 2003, a company named Medien Patent Verwaltung showed Warner Bros. their technology to mark films in a way capable of tracing a pirated copy back to its origin theater. And allegedly, WB has been using the tech since…without paying.

MPV has a patent on their technology and is suing with that in hand. Interestingly enough, WB has a patent on some sort of “Motion Picture and Anti-Piracy Coding” as well.

While the courts will need to decide whether or not MPV’s claim is true, the entertainment value from the accusation itself is enough to justify all the pangs of international patent law. [Gizmodo via HollywoodReporter via Escapist via Slashdot]

Spot Metering… Expose Yourself [photography]

Have you ever been frustrated that the subject in your photo is either hidden in the shadows or overexposed like snow on a bright sunny day?

You check your camera’s metering and it reads a perfect 0 EV. You reshoot the scene but again, your subject matter is still incorrectly exposed. One solution to this common problem is Spot Metering.

It is a technique under-utilised by many photographers. This feature gives the photographer control over exactly which portion of the frame the meter should use to determine proper exposure. [read]

Apple Under Investigation by Justice Dept. for Antitrust Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — The Justice Department is examining Apple’s tactics in the market for digital music, and its staff members have talked to major music labels and Internet music companies, according to several people briefed on the conversations.

The antitrust inquiry is in the early stages, these people say, and the conversations have revolved broadly around the dynamics of selling music online.

But people briefed on the inquiries also said investigators had asked in particular about recent allegations that Apple used its dominant market position to persuade music labels to refuse to give the online retailer Amazon.com exclusive access to music about to be released.

All these people spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the delicacy of the matter. Representatives from Apple and Amazon declined to comment. Gina Talamona, a deputy director at the Justice Department, also declined to comment. [read]

Blue Sky SAT 8 Compact Midfield Monitor, SUB 212 Subwoofer Monitoring System

As the owner of a mid-sized project studio, I’ve always used nearfield monitors for mixing and kept oversized consumer speakers (or even small PA speakers) in the rear of my large control room for clients who wish to track without headphones, or to “hype” my clients with loud playback.

However, I’ve always had a yen for some midfield monitors to expand my mixing palette, better fill the room, and further inspire performers.

In my use, I have found the SAT 8 threeway powered midfield monitor with SUB 212 powered subwoofer from Blue Sky was what I was longing for. They have proven to be very useful for my large control room environment — yet the transition was quite difficult or, should I say, educational.

Dave Smith Mopho Keyboard Analog Synth is Now Shipping

Half Moon Bay, Calif. /Music Industry Newswire/ — Dave Smith Instruments has released a keyboard version of Mopho, DSI’s popular desktop synthesizer module. The Mopho Keyboard is a monophonic synthesizer with an all-analog signal path, an expanded user interface, and a full-sized, semi-weighted keyboard action. From a functional perspective, the Mopho Keyboard does not do anything radically different. It is what most players desire and expect from an analog mono synth. DSI’s goal was ambitious in other ways, though.

“It goes without saying that it had to sound good, but we’ve also managed to create a very portable, very playable instrument without sacrificing the performance features people want. And we did it without compromising and resorting to things like smaller, cheaper keys,” said founder Dave Smith. [read]

Facebook beefs up privacy with three big changes

Facing a fierce public backlash over privacy issues, Facebook worked to reverse its tarnished image Wednesday, offering three big changes to how users can manage their privacy. At a press event, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company would “simplify” privacy controls starting with a redesigned privacy settings page.

“We’ve focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications,” he wrote on the official Facebook blog.

These new controls, outlined below, will be rolled out to users starting today, but will take possibly weeks for all users to see them, according to Zuckerberg. The image below is Facebook’s revamped privacy settings page that the company says will help people take control over how they share their personal information. [read]

Eight tips for photographing panoramas [slideshow]

One of the cooler benefits that going digital has brought to photography is being able to make a panorama easily. In the old days, if you wanted to take a panorama photo, you needed a special camera, or you had to tape together a set of pictures. (That’s right: You’d use sticky strips of tape to connect a bunch of photos that didn’t quite go together.) Today, of course, perfectly joined panoramas are easy to create using your favorite photo stitching tools such as DoubleTake or the Photomerge feature in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. [read]

Sony's Flexible OLED is Thinner Than a Strand of Hair

One of the main advantages of OLED is that it can be flexible—so flexible, in fact, that it can be wrapped around a pencil. Taking 2007′s .3mm prototype Sony’s made a new one just 80μm-thick.

That’s about ten times the size of a red blood cell, or just a tiny bit thinner than a single hair. The whole OLED measures 4.1-inches in size, and has a 432 x 240 resolution and a contrast ratio of under 1,000:1. [read]

Watch the Space Shuttle Launch from Every Angle [video]

The NASA  agency’s TV crew is endowed with hundreds of cameras, used to film each launch from every imaginable vantage point. This video released today by NASA capitalizes on its footage of the recent (and perhaps last) launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

8 Reasons To Switch To Windows 7 (If You Haven't Already)

Recently, CNET reported that Windows 7 has captured ten percent of the personal computer market. That means, now, 1 in 10 computers worldwide runs on Windows 7.

There are no doubts about the fact that Windows 7 was received with open arms by not only the average computer user, but also by people who jump on every opportunity of criticizing Microsoft. The company drew a lot of flak for Vista, and a huge number of PC users were so frustrated that they went back to XP. But Windows 7 changed the game altogether.

Being a user of Windows 7 for the last few months, I have personally found it to be a great improvement to its predecessors. If you are still contemplating a switch to Windows 7 and have some doubts in mind then this article aims to clear the air. [read]