Thrilling Thursday?

Ok, it's not thrilling at all. The weather however improved. It's stuffy in the apartment but it's much cooler outside that earlier in the week. I vacuumed, refreshed kitty's catnip and checked the mail. Yes, dear readers, we got ads. Scintillating stuff.

I realized I missed VMars this week. I'll have to catch it online. Tonight its "Ugly Betty" but I'll probably watch it online at a later date.

Premier cable network HBO's chief technology officer (Wired) says DRM (Digital Rights Management) should be called something else. DRM is why you can't burn playable DVDs of the films and tv shows you buy on iTunes. It's why some online content providers only support Windows as Microsoft's DRM scheme for Windows Media Player clips is not available on Macs much less any other platform. DRM is why Microsoft's Zune is incompatible with its own Plays-for-Sure technology.

Digital Consumer Enablement, would more accurately describe technology that allows consumers "to use content in ways they haven't before," such as enjoying TV shows and movies on portable video players like iPods. "I don't want to use the term DRM any longer," said Zitter, who added that content-protection technology could enable various new applications for cable operators.

Riiiiiiiight, Bob. He also says while it's technically possible for them to disable analog output, FCC rules don't give them that authority. Disabling analog output would mean requiring "secure digital connection" for consumers.

Make no mistake about it, this is an important statement from one of America's leading entertainment providers (The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Oz). Ever since people could record to tape, the entertainment industry has cried foul. How dare you time-shift without paying us extra!