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Hi-def video podcasts for Apple TV
Earlier today, The Washington Post announced the release of hi-def video podcasts, specially formatted for the Apple TV [iTunes link]. They're encoded at 720p, and include some of their most popular writers. The Washington Post is the first news outlet to specifically target the Apple TV, and their Managing Editor of Multimedia had this to say on Tuesday:"High-definition is the future of video; we have moved beyond standard definition to provide viewers with a higher standard. We knew we needed to evolve past web video to remain a relevant, innovative news source."We agree! Afterall, isn't this the year of HD? Oh wait, that was 2005.[Via MacDailyNews]
Chinese clinic treats teen internet addicts with hypnosis, shock therapy
Normally we don't really like covering this whole theory of "internet addiction," mainly because it makes us nervous about the 12+ hours we spend online each and every day, but a recent look by the Washington Post at one of those clinics for PC-lovin' teens is interesting enough to warrant a mention. As we've seen before, China -- never one of the more progressive countries when it comes to encouraging online participation -- has followed several other East Asian countries in attempting to diagnose and cure netizens and gamers of their "unhealthy" dependence on computers, but what we didn't know were some of the rather extreme methods used to achieve this. According to the Post, one clinic in the Beijing suburb of Daxing keeps some of its 12 to 17-year-old patients locked in rooms with barred windows for most of the day, treating them with a combination of counseling, medication, and military-style discipline. While some residents clearly have no need for such a facility -- one young man who only surfed four to five hours a week said he came to Daxing to "get away from my parents" -- there do seem to be more hardcore cases of lonely individuals spending all their free time online at the expense of their careers and social lives. At the Daxing clinic, these troubled teens whose "souls are gone to the online world" are housed together on the third floor of the building, where they are subjected to hypnosis and even mild shock therapy in an attempt to rid them of their love of surfing. It's not really clear from the article what the success rate is for veterans of the clinic, but we imagine many of them find the conditions so distasteful that they swear off technology altogether simply for fear of being sent back. As for you, since no one will be sending you to internet rehab anytime soon, just continue reading all of the posts on this page while occasionally glancing over at and clicking on the bright, colorful ads.[Via Smart Mobs]
Washington Post: Wii comes to Thanksgiving, PS3 locked up
Following the thrashing the New York Times gave the PS3, it was only a matter of time before the Washington Post chimed in with their verdict on the new systems. The Washington Post's Mike Musgrove invited a bunch of people over to play both systems. Most hadn't even heard of the Wii and were looking forward to playing the PS3. Turned out the Wii "was the hit of the party."Musgrove gets Washington Post readers up to speed on what the Wii is and keeps going on, and on, and on about it. Eventually when he gets around to talking about the PS3 he writes, "Most of my friends who picked up the PS3's controller ended up frustrated. The typical game for the system requires players to have memorized where all the buttons are, and it's much harder to just pick up a controller and have a good time. Some of the verdicts they offered are unprintable." Ouch. Of course, the PS3 did dominate in the graphics department, however Musgrove points out you have to be pretty sharp to tell the difference between a PS3 and an Xbox 360 game at this point. He also referred to PS3's online sign-up process as a "vale of tears."It all culminates with Musgrove taking the Wii to his girlfriend's family's house for Thanksgiving because "it's just darn fun" and locking away the PS3 in an "undisclosed location, where it is being guarded by ninjas and feral dogs." A game system being locked away rather then being played, sounds like a sad life for a console.
SecureWorks admits to falsifying MacBook wireless hack
[Update: To his credit, David Maynor did in fact state at the beginning and end of this video that he's using a 3rd party card and drivers in order to enable this exploit. It was later comments from David Maynor and Jon "Johnny Cache" Ellch, as well as the disclaimer SecureWorks posted, that prompted me to claim they 'admitted' to 'falsifying' this hack. While these parties might not have outright lied about what's going on here (a debate that raged back at the time), they weren't exactly clear on any of it either. I have written a new post clarifying some key points of this situation that will hopeful set this straight.]Remember those hackers in the Washington Post story who claimed to have hacked a MacBook's wireless drivers to gain control of it? Then remember the follow-up story where the author, Brian Krebs basically, um, how shall I say: 'slightly falsified' his way through backing up the original story with excuses that the flaw does exist in Apple's drivers, but Apple 'leaned' on them not to publicize this so they decided to use a 3rd party card? Finally, remember how, in the original article, David Maynor, one of the hackers, is quoted saying "We're not picking specifically on Macs here, but if you watch those 'Get a Mac' commercials enough, it eventually makes you want to stab one of those users in the eye with a lit cigarette or something." Boy, that sure doesn't betray any sense of 'I am going to lie, cheat and steal to prove whatever I want' bitterness, does it?Sounds like SecureWorks, the company who sponsored all this Mac hackery, is finally fessing up to their falsification and admitting that they, in fact, did not find the flaw in Apple's drivers, and that they used a 3rd party card and software to facilitate the exploit. As icing on the cake part of a 'responsible disclosure policy,' they aren't releasing the name of the manufacturer of said 3rd party magic hacking tools. Three cheers for truth (and discretion) in journalism.Now let's make one thing clear: we at TUAW aren't advocates of the 'Macs are flawless! Long live the prefection that is Apple!' philosophy that naysayers of this experiment are coming under fire for. We are, however, advocates of finding true vulnerabilities on the quest to make the Mac even more solid and secure. The problem here is that this experiment was not one of those quests for truth - it was a quest for, in the words of Mr. Colbert: truthiness. We're genuinely sorry you're annoyed by the commercials, Mr. Maynor (believe me: not everyone loves them), but that's why some genius some time ago invented the ability to change TV channels. Give that remote a whirl some time - it might make your life (and ours) a whole lot easier.Thanks NotVeryPC
Legends of Jazz series hits PBS-HD
The Washington Post did a nice writeup Friday on this new PBS series. We know from our comments how much everybody enjoys their productions and this looks to be another quality one. Host Ramsey Lewis highlights a different theme and talks to some of the world's best musicians in each half hour segment, all produced in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound.I first heard about this series last fall when it was supposed to air, but didn't know what had happened to it. If you're at all a fan of the music or maybe even if you're not yet, go to the official website and find out when it is airing in your area, it is definitely worth catching.
