Metallica vs. The Internet, Again

File this story under the “huh?” category. Metallica, who were apparently working on a new album, invited music critics to preview six new tracks and review them. Then, their management asked the music blog Blinded by the Hype to take down their review, even though the reviewer never signed a non-disclosure agreement to preview the songs.

As you probably recall, the band had issues in the past with their music being pirated (or even present) on the Internet. It’s sad to see things haven’t changed for the better. Personally, I won’t be picking up any new Metallica albums for the foreseeable future.

Given all that Metallica has done, said, and been through in the last 20 years, what could they still do that would lead bloggers to ask, "What the hell is wrong with Metallica?" In this case, the answer is fairly pedestrian but still dumb: censor bloggers.

Source: ArsTechnica, Via: Digg

Firefox 3 Nearing Completion, RC3 for Mac Released

The Mozilla foundation released another release candidate today for the Mac version of their Firefox 3 web browser. The update was released to fix a "showstopper" bug that would cause the browser to hang after updating an OS X machine from 10.5.0 to 10.5.3 directly. The new build will go through further testing, and the project's lead developers have stated they are confident correct any remaining problems by the end of the week.

The Windows and Linux versions of RC3 share the same code as RC2, and are completely identical. Although an official release date has yet to be determined, I would expect the final version of the browser to be released in the next week or two.

There's a reason for that, we've learned: Mozilla is preparing a public rebuild of its release candidate for Mac OS X, that addresses a bug uncovered by users. It cropped up as a result of the operating system update process. Specifically, when you set up a Mac with System 10.5.0, then use Apple's update system to upgrade directly to 10.5.3. When that happens, Firefox 3.0 RC2 can hang after it's been made the default browser, and when it's trying to load its plug-in database. Users who upgrade only to System 10.5.2 don't experience the problem.

Source: BetaNews

June 11th Tech Roundup

• MSI MSI P7N Diamond - MADBOXPC
• MSI P45 Diamond - t-break
• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 - APH Networks
• ASUS Rampage Formula - Overclockers Club
• ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP - Hardware Canucks

• MSI RX3870-T2D512E OC - HardwareLogic

• ZEROtherm Zen FZ120 CPU Cooler - Overclockers Club
• ASUS Lion Square CPU Cooler - Virtual-Hideout
• Thermolab Micro & Nano Silencer CPU Coolers - Legit Reviews

• HorsePower 750W - FusionMods

• ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf - ThinkComputers
• Samsung SC-MX10 Digital Camcorder - ThinkComputers
• Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset - BlueTomorrow
• Ultrasone HFI-580 Headphones - Digital Trends
• HardwareLogic Summer Vacation Photo Contest - HardwareLogic