Peaceful robot / human talks looked to be on the verge of a meltdown in Iowa on Monday. Former president Bill Clinton was treated to barrage of output from a robot seeking for an apology regarding a 1992 comment Bill made concerning rapper Sister Souljah. The robot -- or potentially a human impostor dressed to look like one -- then threw color cards in the air, and was escorted away, but not without a parting shot from Clinton about picking a more environmentally-friendly way to protest. Rumors of the robot shouting "please tase me, humans" as a parting shot are unconfirmed. The video can be found at the read link.

Although it has been a tick since we've heard anything substantial on the proposed Real ID card set to take the place of individual state drivers' licenses, it seems like Maine legislature has had their wheels turning (and fists curled) for a good bit. While a majority of lawmakers have simply given a whimsical thumbs-up to the potentially voyeuristic plan, the folks in Maine seem to think the invasion of privacy (not to mention the $185 million in implementation cost for the state) is downright lame. Shenna Bellows of the Maine Civil Liberties Union derided the presumably RFID-based Real IDs as "a one-stop shop for identity thieves," and it was noted that several other states (like New Hampshire, Georgia, and Montana) just might bust out their true feelings on the matter now that Maine has broken the collective silence. Of course, Maine hasn't completely gone loopy and opted out of the process just yet, as the current protest is simply filed as a "resolution," but backers seem fairly serious in their attempts to "protect the people of Maine from just this sort of dangerous federal mandate." So, what about that iris database you guys are building, hmm?

[Via Wired]

Some folks just don't know when to quit, and apparently, Ruckus Network falls clearly into that category of beings. Looking past the brutal failure at American University and the growing data proving that stipulation-laced music simply doesn't fit in at college campuses across the nation, Ruckus is giving this idea one more go, and this time, it's 100-percent kinda-sorta gratis. While it's not too unusual to hear of indie / unsigned bands being distributed for free, this new deal supposedly offers up "major label bands" without charge to students holding an email address that ends in ".edu." The service will be completely ad-supported, and doesn't require any official "vow of support" from a university itself, and for alumni / faculty registering with their educational email, a $8.95 per month charge will purportedly be levied. The catch, however, is that the "free music" can only be played back on the person's PC, and transferring it to a DAP -- which must support DRM-WMA, by the way -- will run students $4.99 per month. Aside from this music rental fee, the service completely shuns Mac, iPod, and Zune owners, leaving us to wonder just how effective the service could be if the terms were even remotely attractive from the start. Regardless, the rigid service is available now for the few folks interested, but from the looks of things, we doubt it'll reverse the fortunes of Ruckus Network.