Back to newsletter listDate:
Tue, March 04, 2008 11:26:52 PMFrom:
slashdot@slashdot.org
Subject:
[Slashdot] Stories for 2008-03-05
======================================================================
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======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Industry Group Sponsors College Course To Create Fake Blog
* Building an IT Infrastructure Around Mars
* IE8 Will Be Standards-Compliant By Default
* Dealing With a GPL Violation?
* Daylight Saving Time Wastes Energy
* Identity Theft Rates Among Top Banks
* Obituary For the Sony Trinitron
* Sun Hires Two Key Python Developers
* Aging Security Vulnerability Still Allows PC Takeover
* OLPC Mesh Networking Tester Explains How It Works
* Experiment Shows Traffic 'Shock Waves' Cause Jams
* Iran May Shut Down Internet During Election
* PHP Optimized for Windows Server 2008
* Bill Allows Teachers to Contradict Evolution
* Google Street a Slice of Dystopian Future?
* D&D Co-Creator Gary Gygax Has Passed Away
* Lessons from the HD Format War
* 'Death Star' Aimed at Earth
* AMD's Hybrid Graphics Unveiled, Tested
* DARPA Fractionated Spacecraft Program Starts
* Facebook Scrabble Rip-off Capitalizes on Mattel's Lethargy
* Should RIAA Investigators Have to Disclose Evidence?
* Probe Captures Avalanche on Mars
* Domains Blocked By US Treasury 'Blacklist'
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| Industry Group Sponsors College Course To Create Fake Blog |
| from the paid-me-to-do-it dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Monday March 03, @19:17 (Education) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/03/2328232 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Scott Jaschik writes "At Hunter College, professors are debating the
ethics of a course in which an [1]industry group paid for a class to
develop a fake student who would write a fake blog to discourage other
students from buying knockoff products. The controversy involves both
commercial interference with academic freedom and the ethics of 'guerilla
marketing.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/03/2328232
Links:
0. mailto:scott.jaschik@insidehighered.com
1. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/03/03/hunter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Building an IT Infrastructure Around Mars |
| from the set-the-timeouts-really-long dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Monday March 03, @20:03 (Mars) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/03/2342255 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]bfwebster writes "Space.com has an article talking about the
[1]efforts to observe the arrival of the Phoenix lander on Mars this
coming May using current Mars orbiters. This community will likely be
intrigued to see the ways in which NASA is using existing landers and
orbiters to prepare for, and then monitor, that landing. This includes
using the landers Spirit and Opportunity to simulate transmissions from
Phoenix as a testing procedure in advance of the actual landing; using
the Odyssey orbiter as a high-speed data transmission link from Phoenix
to Earth during the landing; and using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
and Mars Express orbiter as backup data stores for Phoenix data
transmissions during the descent. How long until we get a terabyte
solid-state dataserver (running IPv6, natch) in orbit around Mars?"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/03/2342255
Links:
0. mailto:bwebster@bfwa.com
1. http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080303-mars-orbiter-eyes.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| IE8 Will Be Standards-Compliant By Default |
| from the browsers-on-acid dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Monday March 03, @21:51 (Internet Explorer) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/0114203 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
A number of readers wrote in to make sure we know about Microsoft's
change of heart regarding IE8. The new version of the dominant browser
will [0]render in full standards mode by default. Developers wishing to
use quirks mode for IE6- and IE7-compatible rendering will have to opt in
explicitly. We've previously discussed IE8's render mode a [1]few
[2]times. Perhaps [3]Opera's complaint to the EU or the [4]EU's record
antitrust fine had something to do with Redmond's about-face.
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/0114203
Links:
0. http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/03/microsoft-s-interoperability-principles-and-ie8.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage
1. http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/22/1837244&tid=113
2. http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/23/1740228&tid=113
3. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/13/1524233&tid=123
4. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/27/1152208&tid=98
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Dealing With a GPL Violation? |
| from the enforcing-it dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Monday March 03, @23:41 (GNU is Not Unix) |
| http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/0023245 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Sortova writes "For many years now I've been maintaining [1]OpenNMS, a
free and open source network management framework published under the
GPL. A couple of years ago it [2]came to our attention that a company
called [3]Cittio was using OpenNMS as part of their proprietary and
commercial network management application. I talked with Jamie Lerner,
the Cittio founder, and he assured me that Cittio was [4]abiding by the
GPL. However, we were recently contacted by a potential client who was
also considering Cittio's Watchtower, and it [5]appears that they are not
disclosing that they are using GPL'd code or at least not in the clear
and concise fashion [6]required by the GPL, including the offer of source
code for all of the code they are including and any changes being made to
that code. Since the copyright for OpenNMS is held by a number of
commercial companies, the Software Freedom Law Center is not able to help
us defend or even investigate a potential violation. I was curious if
anyone here on Slashdot had experienced anything similar or has any
advice?"
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/0023245
Links:
0. http://blogs.opennms.org/
1. http://www.opennms.org/
2. http://blogs.opennms.org/?p=57
3. http://www.cittio.com/
4. http://blogs.opennms.org/?p=54
5. http://blogs.opennms.org/?p=171
6. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html#TOC3
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Daylight Saving Time Wastes Energy |
| from the back-to-nature's-clock dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 04, @01:27 (Government) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/0241218 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "With the time approaching when we'll be
changing our clocks again, the Wall Street Journal is running a timely
article on a study done by a UC-Santa Barbara economics professor and a
Ph.D. student. The study unambiguously concludes that Daylight Saving
Time not only doesn't save any energy, it actually [0]wastes energy and
costs more. The study used energy company records from Indiana before and
after that state mandated DST for all of its counties, and calculated
that the switch cost Indiana citizens $8.6M per year. 'I've never had a
paper with such a clear and unambiguous finding as this,' the professor
said."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/0241218
Links:
0. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120406767043794825-UOLcfJA8x9Gw9ozbCz77MiLmtaE_20080327.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Identity Theft Rates Among Top Banks |
| from the naming-names dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 04, @03:38 (Security) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/0258234 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Consumers, regulators, and businesses lack
objective tools to compare the incidence of identity theft across
financial institutions and without such tools, consumers cannot 'vote
with their feet' and choose safer institutions. Now a study by Chris
Hoofnagle has [1]analyzed 88,000 complaints submitted by victims to the
FTC over a three month period in 2006 and found that Bank of America
ranked highest of all firms in the study, with an average of 1,117
incidents over a three-month period. AT&T had 763 incidents, followed by
Sprint Nextel, JP Morgan, Chase and its Chase and Bank One, and Capital
One. When the estimated events are divided by the total deposits, the
data show that HSBC, Washington Mutual, and Bank of America have the
highest rates of identity theft. Hoofnagle said lending institutions
should publicly report information about identity theft events such as
the rate of identity theft; the form of identity theft attempted; whether
it was a mortgage loan or credit card; and the amount of loss suffered as
a result. would help consumers choose safer financial institutions. The
[2]full study(PDF) is available from the Berkeley Center for Law and
Technology."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/0258234
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/ranking-corporate-america-on-identity-theft/?ref=technology
2. http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=bclt
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Obituary For the Sony Trinitron |
| from the chrome-parts-shining-in-the-sun dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 04, @05:49 (Sony) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/0313248 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader sends us to Gizmodo where, to honor the passing from
production of the Sony Trinitron, they've done a [0]timeline on the
development of television. "After 280 millions tubes sold, Trinitron will
be officially dead this month. Few Sony inventions have had the same
gravitational pull as their Trinitron display technology... Trinitron
became synonym of the best quality TV sets and computer monitors in the
p***t... Sony became the king of TV, with more than 100 million sets
sold by 1994, to later fall under the weight of plasma and LCD
technologies."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/0313248
Links:
0. http://gizmodo.com/363191/sony-trinitron-timeline-shows-why-it-will-live-forever-in-our-hearts/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sun Hires Two Key Python Developers |
| from the money-where-their-mouth-is dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 04, @08:02 (Sun Microsystems) |
| http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/0345213 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
sspringer writes to let us know about Sun's continuing push to support
scripting languages other than Java on its Java virtual machine. [0]Sun
just hired two key Python developers: Ted Leung, a long-time Python
developer at the Open Source Applications Foundation, and Frank
Wierzbicki, who is lead implementer of the Jython project. They will both
work on Jython, which enables Python to run on the JVM. Last month Sun's
CEO said the company wants to "take the J off the JVM and just make it a
VM."
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/0345213
Links:
0. http://blog.internetnews.com/apatrizio/2008/03/sun-is-continuing-its-acquisit.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Aging Security Vulnerability Still Allows PC Takeover |
| from the there-are-issues-here-and-perhaps-they-should-be-investi|
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @08:44 (Microsoft) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1258210 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Jackson writes "Adam Boileau, a security consultant based in New
Zealand has [1]released a tool that can unlock Windows computers in
seconds without the need for a password. By connecting a Linux machine to
a Firewire port on the target machine, the tool can then modify Windows'
password protection code and render it ineffective. Boileau said he did
not release the tool publicly in 2006 because 'Microsoft was a little
cagey about exactly whether Firewire memory access was a real security
issue or not and we didn't want to cause any real trouble'. But now that
a couple of years have passed and the issue has not resolved, Boileau
decided to [2]release the tool on his website."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1258210
Links:
0. mailto:the.jji.g@gmail.com
1. http://www.theage.com.au/news/security/hack-into-a-windows-pc-no-password-needed/2008/03/04/1204402423638.html
2. http://storm.net.nz/projects/16
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OLPC Mesh Networking Tester Explains How It Works |
| from the who-doesn't-love-a-good-mesh dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @09:25 (Wireless Networking) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1319254 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "James Cameron is an engineer working on the
OLPC project, [0]specifically testing the wireless network capabilities
of the OLPC XO laptop. Cameron lives in a small town called Tooraweenah
in a remote region of the Australian outback. There is little noise in
the spectrum in the area, so it's perfect for testing the wireless
networking capabilities of the XO as it mirrors the kind of rural,
spacious environment the XO is intended to be deployed in. Cameron breaks
down exactly how the OLPC XO's mesh networking works, including the cheap
US$35 solar powered mesh nodes that can be mounted on top of a tree to
further the network's reach. Testing in the Australian outback, Cameron
discovered that the range of the XO could go up to 1.6km 'quite easily'
at 1.5m above ground. 'Assuming a range of 1.6km holds true, (the
mathematical formula for area of a circle) Pi R squared tells us one well
placed mesh node will cover up to eight square kilometers.' The article
also includes numerous pictures of the mesh nodes and testing of the XO."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1319254
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1228527977
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Experiment Shows Traffic 'Shock Waves' Cause Jams |
| from the science-in-the-wheels dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @10:03 (Math) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1333227 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Galactic_grub writes "Japanese researchers recently performed the first
experimental demonstration of a phenomenon that causes a busy freeway to
[0]inexplicably grind to a halt. A team from Nagoya University in Japan
had volunteers drive cars around a small circular track and monitored the
way 'shockwaves' ?€? caused when one driver brakes ?€? are sent back to other
cars, caused jams to occur. Drivers were asked to travel at 30 kmph but
small fluctuations soon appeared, eventually causing several vehicles to
stop completely. Understanding the phenomenon could help devise ways to
avoid the problem. As one researcher comments: 'If they had set up an
experiment with robots driving in a perfect circle, flow breakdown would
not have occurred.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1333227
Links:
0. http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13402-shockwave-traffic-jam-recreated-for-first-time.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Iran May Shut Down Internet During Election |
| from the can't-stop-the-signal-mal dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @10:43 (Censorship) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1447225 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]daveschroeder writes "'The Iranian government might [1]block private
access to the Internet for the general legislative election on March 14,
two Iranian news outlets reported Monday. In 2006, the authorities banned
download speeds on private computers faster than 128 kilobytes per
second. The government also uses sophisticated filtering equipment to
block hundreds of Web sites and blogs that it considers religiously or
politically inappropriate. Many bloggers have been jailed in the past
years, and dozens of Web sites have been shut down.' It would appear that
Iran's own government is more a threat to the nation's internet
connectivity than the [2]fragility of the undersea cable network."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1447225
Links:
0. http://das.doit.wisc.edu/
1. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/03/africa/tehran.php
2. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/08/internet.outage/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PHP Optimized for Windows Server 2008 |
| from the dogs-and-cats-living-together dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @11:22 (Microsoft) |
| http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1452232 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Stony Stevenson writes "It used to be that popular PHP applications would
run more poorly on Windows Server than on a Linux or Unix servers, for
which PHP had been optimized. Specialist in the PHP language Zend
Technologies now says [0]that's no longer the case. The Zend Core
commercially supported form of PHP has been certified by Microsoft as
ready to run 'with performance and stability' on Windows Server 2008,
said Andi Gutmans, co-founder and CTO of Zend. Previously, PHP 'didn't
run as well as it should on Windows,' said Gutmans, despite the fact that
75% to 80% of PHP users were developing on Windows workstations."
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1452232
Links:
0. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/71347,php-optimised-for-windows-server-2008.aspx
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bill Allows Teachers to Contradict Evolution |
| from the legislating-science-is-a-challenge dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @12:01 (Education) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/169238 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Helical writes "In an attempt to defy the newly approved state science
standards, Florida Senator Rhonda Storms has proposed a bill that would
[1]allow teachers to contradict the teaching of evolution. Her bill
states that 'Every public school teacher in the state's K-12 school
system shall have the affirmative right and freedom to objectively
present scientific information relevant to the full range of scientific
views regarding biological and chemical evolution in connection with
teaching any prescribed curriculum regarding chemical or biological
origins.' The bill's main focus is on protecting teachers who want to
adopt alternative teaching plans from sanction, and to allow teachers the
freedom to teach whatever they wish, even if it is in opposition to
current standards."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/169238
Links:
0. mailto:xuihcoatl@gmail.com
1. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/2008/03/will-we-be-hear.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Google Street a Slice of Dystopian Future? |
| from the they-see-you-man dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @12:39 (Google) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1637223 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "According to a recent CNET article, [0]Google
Street View 'is just wrong'. The short piece which makes up part of a
larger feature about 'technology that's just wrong' goes on to explain
that Google Street View is like a scene from George Orwell's terrifying
dystopian vision of 1984 and that it could ultimately change our
behaviour because we'll never know when we're being watched. 'Google?
Aren't they the friendly folk who help me find Web sites, cheat at pub
quizzes, and look at porn? Yes, but since 2006 they're also photographing
the streets of selected world cities and posting the results online for
all to see. It was Jeremy Bentham who developed the idea of the
[1]Panopticon, a system of prison design whereby everybody could be seen
from one central point, with the upshot being that prisoners learnt to
modulate their behaviour ?€? because they never knew if they were being
watched. And that doesn't sound like much fun, does it?'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1637223
Links:
0. http://crave.cnet.co.uk/0,39029477,49295643-9,00.htm
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon#
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| D&D Co-Creator Gary Gygax Has Passed Away |
| from the tip-of-the-hat-roll-of-the-dice dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @13:22 (Role Playing (Games))|
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1750206 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Mearlus writes "In the recent past co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons
Gary Gygax has worked with Troll Lord Games, a small tabletop RPG
publisher. Their forums have up a post noting that [0]Mr. Gygax has
apparently passed away. Gygax was known, along with Dave Arneson, as the
[1]Father of Roleplaying." Saddened [2]reactions from well-known
designers have already begun to appear online. Consider this is an
in-memoriam Ask Slashdot question: How has D&D (and tabletop roleplaying)
touched/improved your life? Update: 03/04 23:16 GMT by [3]Z : With more
time, [4]official announcements have had time to appear. Many sites are
featuring posts on Gygax's impact on gaming, including touching entries
on [5]Salon and [6]CNet.
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1750206
Links:
0. http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4373&mforum=trolllordgames
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax
2. http://montecook.livejournal.com/134416.html
3. http://slashdot.org/~Zonk/
4. http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/report-gary-gyg.html
5. http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2008/03/04/gary_gygax/index.html
6. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9885688-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lessons from the HD Format War |
| from the don't-go-down-the-dark-path-forever-will-it-dominate dep|
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @14:02 (Movies) |
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1741249 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
mlimber writes "The New York Times' Freakonomics blog [0]asks a panel of
experts, 'Is the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray really over? What can
we learn from it?' The panel suggests, among other things, that Sony
achieved a Pyrrhic victory because high def DVDs will be out-moded before
they reap enough profits to make up for what they (and Toshiba) paid out
for both product development and bribes to win the support of content
providers."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1741249
Links:
0. http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/what-are-the-lessons-of-the-blu-rayhd-dvd-battle-a-freakonomics-quorum/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 'Death Star' Aimed at Earth |
| from the don't-destroy-earth-that's-where-i-keep-my-stuff dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @14:41 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1847251 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "A spectacular, rotating binary star system is
a ticking time bomb, ready to throw out [0]a searing beam of high-energy
gamma rays that could lead to a major extinction event ?€? and Earth may be
right in the line of fire. Australian science magazine Cosmos Magazine
reports: 'Though the risk may be remote, there is evidence that gamma ray
bursts have swept over the p***t at various points in Earth's history
with a devastating effect on life. A 2005 study showed that a gamma-ray
burst originating within 6,500 light years of Earth could be enough to
strip away the ozone layer and cause a mass extinction. Researchers led
by Adrian Melott at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, U.S., suggest
that such an event may have been responsible for a mass extinction 443
million years ago, in the late Ordovician period, which wiped out 60 per
cent of life and cooled the p***t.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1847251
Links:
0. http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1878
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| AMD's Hybrid Graphics Unveiled, Tested |
| from the more-than-meets-the-eye dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @15:21 (Graphics) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/1949220 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]ThinSkin writes "The combination of AMD's ATI graphics division and
AMD's CPU division means that AMD often fights a two-front war, directly
competing against Intel in the CPU business as well as Nvidia in
graphics. AMD's Hybrid Graphics technology allows them to fight against
both companies at the same time. Inserting an additional card works the
same as CrossFire, which, like Nvidia's SLI, was only capable by having
two discrete graphics cards installed on a motherboard. ExtremeTech has
put the [1]780G chipset through a series of gaming and synthetic
benchmarks to see just how beneficial this technology is. HotHardware has
[2]a similar rundown on the technology. The results indicate that Hybrid
Graphics aren't yet ideal for the power-hungry gamer, as driver revisions
need to be ironed out at this early stage, but performance looks
promising."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/1949220
Links:
0. http://www.extremetech.com/
1. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2272623,00.asp
2. http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/AMD_780G_Chipset_and_Athlon_X2_4850e_Preview_/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DARPA Fractionated Spacecraft Program Starts |
| from the better-them-than-us dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @16:01 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/200206 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Start buying Cold War nuclear shelters and
piling up the canned food, because Boeing Advanced Systems has started
System F6: 'DARPA's Future, Fast, Flexible, [0]Fractionated, Free-Flying
Spacecraft United by Information Exchange space technology program.' In
other words: multiple, [1]networked specialized spacecraft swarms that
are intelligent enough to perform a single coordinated task together,
like analyzing the crops or deciding to destroy humanity, Skynet-style.
Actually, it could completely change satellites for the better, according
to some experts."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/200206
Links:
0. http://gizmodo.com/363617/boeing-to-design-new-darpas-networked-swarm-spacecrafts/
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractionated_Spacecraft
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Facebook Scrabble Rip-off Capitalizes on Mattel's Lethargy |
| from the missed-a-bit-of-an-opportunity-there dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @16:40 (Social Networks) |
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/204255 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
mlimber writes "The Facebook app Scrabulous was written by two
Scrabble-loving brothers in India, has over 700,000 users, brings in
about $25,000 per month in advertising revenue, and is in flagrant
violation of copyright law. The corporate owners of Scrabble, Hasbro and
Mattel, have [0]threatened legal action against the creators and have
made deals with Electronic Arts and RealNetworks to release official
online versions of the game. But according to an NYTimes article,
'Scrabulous has [1]already brought Scrabble a newfound virtual popularity
that none of the game companies could have anticipated,' and according to
one consultant to the entertainment industry, 'If you're Hasbro or
Mattel, it isn't in your interest to shut this down.' Hasbro's partner
RealNetworks is 'working closely' with the piratical brothers, but Mattel
says that 'settling with the [brothers] would set a bad precedent' for
other board games going online."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/204255
Links:
0. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/16/2019216&tid=123
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/business/02game.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Should RIAA Investigators Have to Disclose Evidence? |
| from the special-rules-for-special-people dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @17:22 (The Courts) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/2136230 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "A technology battle is raging in [1]UMG
v. Lindor, a court case in Brooklyn. The issue at hand is whether the
RIAA's investigator SafeNet now needs to disclose its digital files,
validation methodology, testing procedures, failure rates, software
manuals, protocols, packet logs, source code, and other materials, so
that the validity of its methods can be evaluated by the defense. SafeNet
and the RIAA [2]say no, claiming that the information is 'proprietary and
confidential'. Ms. Lindor [3]says yes, if you're going to testify in
federal court the other side has a right to test your evidence. A [4]list
of what is being sought (pdf) is available online. MediaSentry has
produced 'none of the above'. [5]'Put up or shut up' says one commentator
to SafeNet."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/2136230
Links:
0. http://www.vanfeliu.com/attorneyProfile-Beckerman.
1. http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2007/01/index-of-litigation-documents.html#UMG_v_Lindor
2. http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2008/02/riaa-opposes-mediasentry-responding-to.html
3. http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2008/03/marie-lindor-replies-to-riaa-and.html
4. http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=umg_lindor_080303RBtoMagisMotCompelMediaSentryExCBackupMaterialsList
5. http://www.p2pnet.net/story/15131
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Probe Captures Avalanche on Mars |
| from the not-a-recommended-vacation-spot dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @18:02 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/2144253 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
mdekato writes "MSNBC reports that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has
[0]captured an avalanche on Mars' surface as it happened. Very good still
images show what must have been an awesome sight. 'The full image reveals
features as small as a desk in a strip of terrain 3.7 miles (6
kilometers) wide and more than 10 times that long, at 84 degrees north
latitude. Reddish layers known to be rich in water ice make up the face
of a steep slope more than 2,300 feet (700 meters) tall, running the
length of the image. Mars' north pole is covered by a cap of ice, and it
even snows there. The scientists suspect that more ice than dust probably
makes up the material that fell from the upper portion of the scarp.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/2144253
Links:
0. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23452561/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Domains Blocked By US Treasury 'Blacklist' |
| from the us-law-is-international-law-now dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @18:41 (Censorship) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/2218220 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
yuna49 writes "Adam Liptak of the New York Times reports today about the
plight of a Spanish tour operator [0]whose domain names have been
embargoed by his domain name registrar (eNom). They pulled his domains
after they discovered the tour operator's name on a US Treasury
blacklist. It turns out he packages tours to Cuba largely for European
tourists who can legally travel there, unlike Americans. The article
cites 'a press release issued in December 2004, almost three years before
eNom acted. It said Mr. Marshall's company had helped Americans evade
restrictions on travel to Cuba and was 'a generator of resources that the
Cuban regime uses to oppress its people.' It added that American
companies must not only stop doing business with the company but also
freeze its assets, meaning that eNom did exactly what it was legally
required to do.' The only part of the operator's business in the United
States is his domain name registration; all other aspects of his business
lie outside the United States."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/04/2218220
Links:
0. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/us/04bar.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=liptak&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Copyright 1997-2006 OSTG. All rights reserved.
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