DRM violates Canadian privacy law

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

The University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic has just released a huge, deep report on the privacy implications of various DRM systems. They examine 16 different systems in depth and conclude that DRM is a grave threat to personal privacy.

Our assessment of the compliance of these DRM applications with PIPEDA led to a number of general findings:

• Fundamental privacy-based criticisms of DRM are well-founded: we observed tracking of usage habits, surfing habits, and technical data.

• Privacy invasive behaviour emerged in surprising places. For example, we observed e-book software profiling individuals. We unexpectedly encountered DoubleClick - an online marketing firm - in a library digital audio book.

• Many organizations take the position that IP addresses do not constitute "personal information" under PIPEDA and therefore can be collected, used and disclosed at will. This interpretation is contrary to Privacy Commissioner findings. IP addresses are collected by a variety of DRM tools, including tracking technologies such as cookies and pixel tags (also known as web bugs, clear gifs, and web beacons).

• Companies using DRM to deliver content often do not adequately document in their privacy policies the DRM-related collection, use and disclosure of personal information. This is particularly so where the DRM originates with a third party supplier.

• Companies using DRM often fail to comply with basic requirements of PIPEDA.

PDF Link (via Michael Geist)

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$130 Zunes -- $10 Woot credit mocks Apple

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

If the $150 white Zune was too rich to Woot, then how does 30GB for $130 sound Zune boy? Yup, $129.99 to be precise, which leaves you with half of the 2 cents required to sound-off in the comments. In a tip of the hat to their customers (and a mocking poke at Apple), Woot's "Emergency Open Letter" offers a $10 Woot credit for anyone who purchased at the higher price. My my, how consumer expectations are changing.

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BenQ launches uber-quiet MP622 / MP622c projectors

from Engadget by Darren Murph

Although BenQ prefers to market its MP622 and MP622c projectors to the suits, we see no reason these bad boys can't be carted home after the nine-to-five for a little fun. Both DLP units sport a 1,024 x 768 (XGA) resolution, a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, ultra-quiet 26dB noise level whilst running in economy mode, and a sexy "midnight black high gloss exterior." The MP622 offers up 2,700 ANSI lumens while the MP622c musters just 2,200, but you'll find VGA / S-Video / composite video inputs on each to compliment the audio in jack and integrated speakers. Word on the street puts these two units on store shelves later this month, with the MP622 ringing up at around $999 and the MP622c costing $849. [Via FarEastGizmos]

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Clever USB: 19-inch Monitor from Samsung Connects to your PC via USB

from Gizmodo by Addy Dugdale

New from Samsung is the CX940UX, a 19-inch monitor that you can connect to your PC via USB. From the Syncmaster range, it's got all sorts of tricks up its sleeve, such as being able to control up to six further monitors linked to your computer. You can forget about needing extra graphics cards or new drivers to manage the multiple screens too, as Samsung claims the CX940UX can do it all itself. There's also a couple of USB ports, so you can use it as a mini hub. Clever, Samsung, very clever. [Samsung]

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WASH CYCLE ATMs Become Handy Tool For Laundering Dirty Cash

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119033266947734601.html?mod=hps_us_pageone

With Small Deposits,
Couriers Outwit Banks;
Bag of Money in Queens

By MARK SCHOOFS
September 21, 2007

At 8:50 a.m. on March 15, 2006, Luis Saavedra and Carlos Roca began going from bank to bank in Queens, New York, depositing cash into accounts held by a network of other people, according to law-enforcement officials. Their deposits never exceeded $2,000. Most ranged from $500 to $1,500.

Around lunchtime, they crossed into Manhattan and worked their way up Third Avenue, then visited two banks on Madison Avenue. By 2:52 p.m., they had placed more than $111,000 into 112 accounts, say the officials, who reconstructed their movements from seized deposit slips.

Confederates in Colombia used ATM cards to withdraw the money in pesos, moving quickly from machine to machine in a withdrawal whirlwind, the officials say. "The organization at its height was moving about $2 million a month," estimates Bridget Brennan, Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City.

Messrs. Saavedra and Roca were arrested in June and charged under state money-laundering laws. Officials say they were moving money for a Colombian drug-trafficking organization that sells cocaine and the club-drug Ecstasy. Prosecutors say the two men engaged in a laundering practice called "microstructuring," a scheme notable for its simplicity. To evade suspicion by banks, they always made small deposits. In Colombia, getting at that money was as easy as pushing buttons on an ATM.

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