There comes a time in every geek’s life where he needs to put his foot down. This geek has crossed that point, and the dirty sneaker is headed fast towards the anti-static carpeting.

Splogs must stop. what is a splog? Spam-Blog.

Spammers have stolen the forbidden fruit, robbed the innocence, and plagued the last sterile spot on the internet. Ok, I’m going a bit far here, but I am one passionate blogger. I for one, feel violated. I for two, feel angry. I for three, feel the need to blog about this!

According to Ken Young of vnunet.com, Phlog, Vlog, and Zlog are all predicted mutations of the word blog. Too bad they beat you to ‘vlog’ Ken, ever hear of a video-log? Sheesh.

(a real splog, cross between a clog and slipper.)

I love this one: it turns out that Sony’s DRM Rootkit that’s been getting people up-in-arms the past few days can actually be used to combat the process scanning software deployed by World of Warcraft maker Blizzard Entertainment. As it turns out, the rootkit can be used to hide your WoW application, making it undetectable by the anti-cheating software developed by Blizzard (cheesily nicknamed “The Warden”).

Sony’s copy protection software apparently hides the app by adding the prefix “$sys$” to file names (complicated, I know), giving those with illegal copies of World of Warcraft a ingenious new way of providing more time to get their game on without having to hide their tracks. As an aside, I don’t really understand why people hack subscription-based games; any time you’re online for an extended period of time you continually increase your chances of being caught. Given the quantity of time these people likely spend playing the game, you’d think they’d reach a point where they realize that they’re better off paying, but go figure.

Bottom line: So, [name of company releasing spyware/DRM software], see what happens when you release secret apps? See?

[Cheers to BoingBoing]

First of the major networks, that is – starting next Monday you’ll be able to watch NBC Nightly News each night as a webcast, available after 10 pm EST.

No info on the format, but we’ll see how many enterprising souls get the gloriously superficial, infographic-laden newscasts on their video iPods ≤5 minutes after they’re available. Nothing more to see here, people. Keep moving.

As far as I’m concerned, most casemods can be described using three words: Clear plastic. Lights. Amateurish jobs exposing frankenstein innards riddled with LEDs and tubing snaking throughout, I generally throw them into the category of “simple people entertained by pretty lights.”

No more.

As you can see in the image of the left, there are people out there who take case modding to the extreme. As far as I’m concerned, in this instance it’s art. Seriously, this Borg PC is phenomenal. Start Trek: TNG afficionados rejoice, but also people with an appreciation for any lovingly crafted piece of tech geek art.

Red Herring reports today on an exclusive partnership between underdog web browser Opera and Thales, a company specializing in in-flight entertainment systems. As part of the agreement, Opera’s browser will be included in Thales’ TopSeries system currently being used by some 15 airlines. Key to the partnership, which will run for a year, is likely Opera’s internationalization features, which make globalization much simpler because of the software’s support for multiple languages. As RH points out, this partnership is a clear indication of Opera’s desire to move beyond the traditional (i.e. home or office) market, moving into embedded devices as a source of additional revenue. Considering the fact that Opera’s basically been a perennial “also ran” in the browser wars (out since 1995, it still commands an estimated 1 percent of the market). According to the article, nearly two-thirds of the company’s revenue already comes from embedded devices, and with its recent decision to offer the product for free, this path is likely a clear indicator of the way things are going for the company. With the ongoing proliferation of mobile devices able to browse the web, I can’t help but agree with Opera’s decision to place a high level of emphasis on this, but when the day is done I still enjoy my computer and a screen bigger than 2.5 inches. Then again, I’m sure there’s plenty of room for both.

If you enjoy your daily dose of our Live Digitally web site almost as much as we enjoy bringing it to you, it’s now your chance to vote. Don’t worry, you can nominate up to five of your favorite technology websites. Needless to say, this would be a big boost to us, as well as a great honor. Thanks so much for your support!

Vote here.

It’s times like these that i validate those psychos who show up to the office with two M-16’s taped together and a grenade launcher under each arm.

Maybe I’m being too dramatic, but Sony has really touched a nerve this time. Engadget reports that Mark’s Sysinternals Bloc has uncovered some malware/adaware/spyware of Sony Music. That’s right. Sony. Sony’s CDs will not play on most CD-ROM’s, unless you use their bundled player. Apparently installing this player also installs a hidden program that hog system resources, is poorly written, and was more pain than a root canal without novocain to uninstall.

DRM isn’t the answer, lower prices and an easy means of distribution is. While Sony spends man hrs coding and covering up junk like this, they could be researching more efficient means to get the music to the people, for a small cost. If I didn’t have hot coffee in my had, I’d show those Sony exec’s a thing or two. But hot coffee can cause 3rd degree burns, at least I think it can.

So you’re a tough guy, right? You’re the one they’re talking to in those “Built Ford Tough” commercials, keen on getting yourself the biggest, baddest set of wheels able to swill gas like a kid guzzling soda tackle the toughest terrain out there. Seriously, though; today Ford announced a partnership with California Custom Sport Trucks to produce a special version of its Super Duty pickup, available next year.

Targeted at construction contractors, the modded truck will come outfitted with a touchscreen PC running Windows XP Pro, broadband wireless capability and digital camera connectivity (PCMCIA/CompactFlash slots). No sweet specs for you hardware geeks (it’s meant to process invoices, people!) – 4GB of flash memory, 256MB RAM, 1 GHz Crusoe processor. Still, mobile ‘net is tasty, no matter how you slice it. Hacker community, prepare thyselves (and cheers to someone who buys one of these pickups just to have a tablet pc to play with).

Props to Sprint for a few news items: yesterday they became the first U.S. company to offer music downloads over a cellular network, besting the Apple/Motorola ROKR’s circuitous “iTunes-to-pc-to-phone” route. Puh-leeze. The dilly: at launch, subscribers have access to some 250k songs from the stables of EMI, Sony/BMG, Warner and Vivendi’s Universal; for $2.50 you get two copies of the song (read: a tinny phone version and one for your PC). Downloads are available to those with EV-DO phones (i.e. those with wireless broadband), which at the moment are only Samsung’s MM-A940 and Sanyo’s MM-9000 phones. With the record labels continually fighting with Steve Jobs over iTunes’ $.99 song price, I’m sure some execs are smiling about Sprint charging $2.50 for a single song (get real – the phone version doesn’t count). With a very small user base and a pricing structure 2.5x greater than the market leader, this has some hurdles to overcome, but Sprint is the first one out there. Check this review of the Sprint Music Store (Laptop Magazine) for more. Their rating? 3/5 stars.

Second morsel: speaking of EV-DO, Sprint’s getting serious about competing with Verizon, offering several data plans that, I must admit, are very tempting. Where’s my PPC-6700, you ask? Puh-leeze. Mere details! Plans are as follows:

• $15/month gets you the basic Power Vision Access Pack, including an unlimited supply of tasty EV-DO and streaming news and music.
• $20/month for the Power Vision Plus Pack, which includes unlimited messaging and Sprint TV (content from ABC, Fox News/Sports, etc.).
• $25/month for the Power Vision Ultimate Pack includes everything above plus more channels.

I’m waiting for the Power Vision Super Duper Better Than Anything Else Pack! Damn marketing jargon. Yeesh.

The Internet is more than just a place to blog your own personal rants. It has also become the place for hard facts and information when you know how to find it. Problem is, there is just so much out there that it is becoming increasingly difficult to sift through the mud. The post on Wikipedia just a few days ago gets right to the point (although I have a personal hard-on for Wikipedia, the point is well taken).

But there is another field where people go online (almost exclusively) to get information. If you aren’t logging in to get an encyclopedic definition, you are probably getting directions to the airport, party restaurant etc.

But just like online encyclopedias you can’t just take the first site that comes up as the holy grail of online maps. There are tons of mapping services from Google to Mapquest and Yahoo. So what works best? Cartography, a blog dedicated to maps has just finished a 9 part series analyzing which mapping systems work the best under different circumstances. Enjoy and happy traveling.