blamanj writes "According to a story on Boing-Boing, the French courts have banned DRM copy-protection on DVDs, because it is a consumer right to make a backup or to change formats (in this case, to VHS). Original story (in French) is also available."

Today, read the continuation of Larry Sanger's account of the early history of Nupedia and Wikipedia (below), in which Sanger talks about the difficulties of governance in a large, free-wheeling project, some final attempts to save Nupedia, and how he came to resign from the organization. (And if you missed it, you might want to start with yesterday's installment.)

Larry Sanger was one of the moving forces behind the pioneering Nupedia project. That makes him one of the people to thank for Wikipedia, which has been enjoying more and more visibility of late. Sanger has prepared a lengthy, informative account of the early history of Nupedia and Wikipedia, including some cogent observations on project management, online legitimacy, dealing with trolls, and other hazards of running a large, collaborative project over the Internet. As Sanger writes, "A virtually identical version of this memoir is due to appear this summer in Open Sources 2.0, published by O'Reilly and edited by Chris DiBona, Danese Cooper, and Mark Stone. The volume is to be a successor to Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution (1999)." Read on below for the story (continued tomorrow). Update: 04/20 19:19 GMT by T : Here's a link to the continuation of Sanger's memoir.

In an editorial entitled Will Anybody Care That You Liked Gaming Before It Was Cool?, GameGirlAdvance editor ClockworkGrue discusses aspects of PSP Glamour, and what it means when gaming devices become sex symbols. From the article: "It's great that gaming can be trendy, and that the 300 pound guy on the train the other day and Paris Hilton are both PSP owners. Maybe now there'll be some demand for game-related clothing that breaks the basement-casual standard?" Update: 04/15 11:13 GMT by Z : To fix broken link.

jvm writes "Are negative reader reviews of the Sony PlayStation Portable (like this one) being yanked from GameFAQs? Some have certainly been removed, and Kyle Orland of the Video Game Ombudsman investigates: one of the reviews which was taken down, an interview with the author of the review, and a subsequent anonymous email purportedly by the person who took the review down. The review's author then responds that the justifications are questionable. Accompanying this is a discussion of the handling of reader-submitted reviews." Update: 04/16 04:53 GMT by Z : Many thanks to CJayC for setting the record straight in the comments below.

An anonymous reader writes "The MSN Encarta program manager announced that readers of Microsoft's encyclopedia articles can now edit articles in a Wikipedia-like fashion. Once submitted, edits are reviewed by Encarta staff members for accuracy, readability, and proofreading before being incorporated into the article." From the post: "To support this program, we've hired some new research editors. Their job will be to help you out with things like fact-checking, syntax, and editorial style. Every writer can use a good editor, and we see no reason that community contributors deserve any less." J adds: This won't be a big surprise, but "Your submissions to Encarta must be your own work" and "you grant Microsoft permission to use, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, modify, translate and reformat your Submission."

FuzzyGuru writes "Hot on the heels of the 'Most Important Ever' MySQL reaching Beta status, Microsoft is finally taking the Linux plunge. Microsoft has decided to release a version of MSSQL2005 for Linux, Unix and XBox." From the article: "We thought it was important to address the Linux/Unix marketplace, providing a key database for their use on that platform as applications are developed and deployed...In addition, with the Xbox development opportunities, it's clear that SQL Server is the database platform that can now be used in the full customer lifecycle - from business-related applications support to consumer and gaming applications, the full line of SQL Server offerings will be available to support those needs."

With the looming launch of Sony's handheld console, X-Play has a series of articles comparing and contrasting the new and shiny portable gaming consoles. The articles are broken into three parts, The PSP vs. the DS, The DS vs. the PSP, and The Final Verdict. From the final article: "Are two screens better than one? Are graphics all that matter? In this third and final edition of my Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS editorial, I'll compare each handheld bit-by-bit and determine which of the two is worth your hard-earned cash."

Eurogamer.com has an editorial discussing the "HD Future", as revealed in the Microsoft Keynote at GDC. In the article, author Kristan Reed argues that while the crispness of the HD Living Room would be welcome, "using it as a hook to hang next gen console gaming on is misleading to say the least, and there are more than a few barriers to entry for the masses."

Jonathan writes "Some editorials were posted on the web the last few days about GNOME and its apparent lack of interest on user feedback, especially when GNOME pitches itself to follow a 'users first philosophy' in their press releases. OSNews started with an editorial about market research or lack thereof, Expert-Zone posted another one on how OSS must learn to take responsibility on its great success."

The Guardian's excellent gamesblog has an editorial up discussing the role rappers and rap culture has taken in games. From the article: "Following Def Jam Vendetta and more pertinently Def Jam Fight for New York, this is another game that places real-life Hip Hop artists within a fictitious gangland setting. It's an interesting sub-genre, trading in on the mythologies that many rappers build around themselves in their lyrics, album art and endless feuds - fantasies of gun violence, rivalry and retribution."

Andrew Burnes writes "A fellow Internet games journalist will shortly plead guilty in a Connecticut court room for being involved in the warez scene, following his apprehension in April as part of Operation Fastlink. Here is a slice of his email to various press and editorial professionals: 'I am very sorry for what I have done, and after I serve my sentence, I hope I will be able to continue my career in the game industry, and move on with my life. This last year has been incredibly hard for me emotionally, facing the consequences of my bad choices, and I am hopeful for your support, but I'll understand if you want nothing to do with me.'

An anonymous reader writes "The National Library of France is not happy with Google's effort to scan and integrate millions of books into its Web search. Jean-Noel Jeanneney, President of the library, wrote in an editorial that he is concerned Google's initiative to digitalize volumes at five leading libraries will reflect a unipolar worldview dominated by the English language and American culture. Jeanneney is pushing for European libraries to follow in Google's footsteps. Google said it was surprised by Jeanneney's remarks and noted, 'This is a first step for us; we can't do everything at once.'"

An editorial posted on The Adrenaline Vault posits that talented gamers are not always the best reviewers because of the necessity for those with elite skills to care as much as they do about their performance. The best reviewers, on the other hand, are generally somewhat detached from the subject material. From the article: "Spending 50 hours playing an offering when you are focused exclusively on trying to win certainly would yield very different insights than spending the same 50 hours trying to evaluate the title's strengths and weaknesses to help inform the general public about purchasing decisions." Kyle Orland's Video Game Ombudsman has further analysis on this subject.

highcon writes "According to this editorial from SecurityFocus, a recent case of a drug dog which pushed the limits of "reasonable search" may have implications for Internet communications in the U.S. This Supreme Court case establishes a precendent whereby "intelligent" packet filters may be deployed which, while scanning the contents of network traffic indiscriminently, only "bark" at communication indicative of illegal activity."

Mr. Teatime writes "I've interviewed Todd Howard from Bethesda about Fallout 3. It includes an editorial from DarkUnderlord, another staff member on the site. Todd mentions a number of new things, including the fact that they plan to use SPECIAL in Fallout 3." From the interview: "Fallout really set the standard for me on believable people, good dialogue, and character choice and consequence. With Elder Scrolls, we do aim for something enormous, and we simply can't focus on say - 20 to 40 really deep strong characters and just do them."

Kelly McNeill writes "Though Apple computer is known for some of the computing and technology industry's most notable innovations, its not as if the company hasn't also taken its lumps. Thomas Hormby submitted the following editorial contribution to osOpinion/osViews, which supplies us with his top ten list of Apple's (and some of associated partners) most significant flops throughout the company's history."

barryhawkins writes "When sharing with others that I was reviewing an O'Reilly book through their User Group & Professional Association Program, the first question was always the same: 'What book are you reviewing?' After saying the title was Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing, responses ranged from 'What's that?' to 'Well, you won't have any trouble sleeping!' One might think that this list of people included relatives and coworkers who were not attuned to the open source community and its issues. On the contrary, the responses came from those within my circle of acquaintances, which includes software developers, system administrators, and even an intellectual property lawyer. Licensing is not exactly the sort of topic where people slide forward in their seats and ask to be told more. Such is the appeal of software licensing; however, the importance of understanding licensing, particularly within the context of open source development, cannot be overstated." Read on for Hawkins' review.

An Anonymous Reader writes "Gaming Horizon has a nice editorial taking a look at how gamers are poorly stereotyped and pandered to. (SpikeTV awards, anyone?) The writer proposes that gaming media unionize to help fight the stereotypes perpetuated by outsider media and interest groups, perhaps a more "Oscar-style" awards show, and further establishing the ESRB rating system among parents."

Kelly McNeill writes "Robert Cringely has another update to his 'I, Cringely' series. In this piece, Cringely analyzes the business model of the iPod and how it compares it to the age old, marketing 101 'give away the razor and make money on the blades' business model. In his editorial, he demonstrates that Apple one-upped Gillette by making money on both blades and razors. The article is structured in a back and forth dialog with one of his readers who provides a very interesting analysis of the direction that Apple will be going with its rumored movie download store and how it relates to the Mac mini. On the same note, osViews has an editorial about Apple's direction in the movie download business as well, which suggests that there is evidence to suggest that Apple will use satellite networks for its Movie download store."