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Sun, June 22, 2008 11:31:56 PMFrom:
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Subject:
[Slashdot] Stories for 2008-06-23
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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Digital Models Not Subject To Copyright
* A Cautionary Tale of Open Source Social Technologies
* Twilight Hack Defeats Wii Menu Update 3.3
* Montreal's Public Bikes To Use Web, RFID, Solar
* Enforcing the GPL On Software Companies?
* Return of the '70s Microsoft Weirdos
* Fingerprints Recoverable From Cleaned Metal
* TV and Movies On YouTube?
* SSL Encryption Coming To The Pirate Bay
* Blogger Launches 'Google Bomb' At McCain
* NASA Launches Satellite To Monitor Oceans
* Galaxy Zoo Produces a Rare Specimen
* Atari Tries To Supress Bad Reviews, Claims Piracy
* Georgia's New State Health Plan Is Google
* Non-Compete Pacts Called Bad For Tech Innovation
* Water Ice On Mars
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| Digital Models Not Subject To Copyright |
| from the but-this-is-a-supermodel dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday June 21, @20:41 (The Courts) |
| http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/21/203240 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
MonsterMagnet writes "The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has
[0]affirmed (PDF) a ruling that a plain, unadorned wireframe model of a
Toyota vehicle is [1]not a creative expression protected under copyright
law. The court analogized the wire-frame models to photographs: the owner
of an object does not have a copyright in all images of the object, but a
photographer may have a limited copyright over a particular image based
on artistic choices such as costumery, lighting, posing, etc. Thus, the
modelers could only copyright any 'incremental contribution' they made to
Toyota's vehicles; in the case of plain models, there was nothing new to
protect. This could be a two-edged sword ?€? companies that produce goods
may not be able to stop modelers from imaging those products, but
modelers may not be able to prevent others from copying their work."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/21/203240
Links:
0. http://ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/06/06-4222.pdf
1. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_9630368
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A Cautionary Tale of Open Source Social Technologies |
| from the careful-what-you-let-go-viral dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday June 21, @22:27 (Social Networks) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/21/2046214 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]eweekhickins writes "The 'country' drop-down menu on one
organization's donations pages omits Israel as a country and includes
'Palestine.' Among other things, this means that Israelis can't donate to
the organization from these pages; it also presents the risk of a PR
nightmare for the organization. This EWeek story cautions that while
basic Web 2.0 technologies combined with open source can be incredibly
powerful and productive, they can also lead to [1]disastrous results for
an organization that isn't paying close enough attention."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/21/2046214
Links:
0. http://blogs.eweek.com/epiphanies/
1. http://blogs.eweek.com/epiphanies/content/machinations/the_trojan_social_opensource_dropdown.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Twilight Hack Defeats Wii Menu Update 3.3 |
| from the say-goodnight-gracie dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @00:10 (Wii (Games)) |
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/0226232 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Croakyvoice writes "Only days after Nintendo shipped [0]Wii Menu 3.3,
which stopped the Twilight Hack from working, the team lead by Bushing
brought out a [1]new version of the [2]Homebrew enabling hack for the
Nintendo Wii using the Zelda Game and a hacked save game."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/0226232
Links:
0. http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/18/1848201&tid=222
1. http://wii-news.dcemu.co.uk/twilight-hack-v0-1beta1-117546.html
2. http://hackmii.com/2008/06/twilight-hack-v01beta1
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Montreal's Public Bikes To Use Web, RFID, Solar |
| from the all-the-green-words dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @02:52 (Transportation) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/030232 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Ian Lamont writes "Montreal is preparing to [1]launch a Web- and
RFID-enabled public bike system that allows residents and visitors to
rent bicycles at special depots scattered throughout the city. Using a
Web site, riders can check out a real-time inventory of available
bicycles at the depot locations. At the depots, a solar-powered base
station will process credit cards or member cards. The bike docks use
RFID, and the system is supposedly [2]easy to install and maintain. A
pilot program will [3]launch in September with four bike depots."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/030232
Links:
0. http://www.thestandard.com/people/i-lamont550036
1. http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/06/21/montreal-launches-public-bike-system
2. http://www.publicbikesystem.com/?page_id=8&lang=en
3. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=852a8f76-38e0-47e1-847f-7219ec819010
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Enforcing the GPL On Software Companies? |
| from the four-words-software-freedom-law-center dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @05:34 (GNU is Not Unix) |
| http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/0241258 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Piranhaa writes "I currently use an IPTV box that runs software by
Minerva Networks. When you ssh into the box, you are greeted with a
BusyBox v1.00 (ash) shell. It's clearly running a flavor of Linux (uname
-apm outputs: Linux minerva_10_0_3_99 2.4.30-tango2-2.7.144.0 #29 Wed Mar
16 16:16:16 CET 2005 mips unknown). However, when you look at their Web
site there is no publicly available source code. Since the GPL in both
BusyBox and the Linux kernel require that anyone using and distributing
the binaries of this software make source available to everyone, what
would one do in order to enforce this? I've personally emailed Minerva
and left voicemails with no reply."
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/0241258
Links:
0. mailto:andrewklaus@gmail.com
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Return of the '70s Microsoft Weirdos |
| from the kodachrome-moments dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @08:17 (Microsoft) |
| http://entertainment.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/0314201|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]theodp writes "On the eve of the company's move from Albuquerque to
Seattle in 1978, a famous photo was taken (in a shopping mall no less) of
the original Microsoft team, looking mighty sharp in their '70s outfits.
Almost 30 years later, as Bill Gates prepares to depart from Microsoft,
the group (looking older, but better) [1]reconvened for a retake."
Discuss this story at:
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/0314201
Links:
0. mailto:theodp@aol.com
1. http://www.newsweek.com/id/142636
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Fingerprints Recoverable From Cleaned Metal |
| from the leaving-a-mark dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 22, @09:19 (Security) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1245243 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
dstates points out a recent article from guardian.co.uk which discusses a
new method by which to recover fingerprints from metal. The method relies
on [0]corrosion caused by sweat and other biological residues on the
metal's surface. Quoting: "The patterns of corrosion remain even after
the surface has been cleaned, heated to 600C or even painted over. This
means that traces of fingerprints stay on the metal long after the
residue from a person's finger has gone. The chemical basis of the change
is not yet clear, but [Dr. John Bond] believes it is corrosion by
chloride ions from the salt in sweat. These produce lines of corrosion
along the ridges of the fingerprint residue. When the metal is heated,
for example in a bomb blast or when a gun is fired, the chemical reaction
actually speeds up and makes the corrosion more pronounced."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1245243
Links:
0. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jun/03/fingerprints.bullets?gusrc=rss
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| TV and Movies On YouTube? |
| from the legally-that-is dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 22, @10:20 (Television) |
| http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1331201 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
CNet is running a story speculating on the [0]potential for full-length
television shows and movies on YouTube. Google has been looking for ways
to improve the popular but unprofitable video-sharing site, including
some [1]experiments with movies that exceed the typical 10-minute limit.
Incorporating a system similar to [2]Hulu could draw the interest of more
advertisers. "[Mark Cuban] wrote that Hulu is crushing YouTube in revenue
per video and revenue per user primarily because 'Hulu has the right to
sell advertising in and around every single video on its site,' Cuban
wrote. 'It can package and sell any way that might make its customers
happy.' YouTube doesn't have the same luxury because it can advertise
only 'on the small percentage of videos on its site that it has a
licensing deal with.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1331201
Links:
0. http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9972086-7.html?tag=nefd.lede
1. http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/17/technology/youtube_long_videos.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008061804
2. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/29/1937248&tid=188
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SSL Encryption Coming To The Pirate Bay |
| from the privacy-arms-race dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 22, @11:20 (Privacy) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1438234 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The Pirate Bay, in response to Sweden's new
wiretapping law, will [0]start offering SSL encryption to its user base
this week. Although copyright issues really have little to do with
national security, The Pirate Bay knows its [1]population is uneasy with
the [2]recent legal change. The encryption will mostly benefit Swedish
users living under the current law. Since The Pirate Bay and its servers
are not hosted in Sweden, the additional security offered to outside
users could be comparatively minimal."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1438234
Links:
0. http://www.slyck.com/story1691_SSL_Encrpytion_Coming_to_The_Pirate_Bay
1. http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/17/0126243&tid=158
2. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/18/2044243&tid=158
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Blogger Launches 'Google Bomb' At McCain |
| from the everyone-needs-a-hobby dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 22, @12:22 (Google) |
| http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1534234 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]hhavensteincw writes "A liberal blogger has [1]launched a 'Google
bomb' project aimed at boosting Google search results for nine news
articles showing Sen. John McCain in a negative light. The Computerworld
article notes: 'Chris Bowers, managing editor of the progressive blog
OpenLeft, is launching the Google bombs by encouraging bloggers to embed
Web links to the nine news stories about McCain in their blogs, which
helps raise their ranking in Google search results. Bowers is reprising a
[2]similar Google bombing effort he undertook in 2006 against 52
different congressional candidates. "Obviously, it is manipulating, but
search engines are not public forums and unless you act to use them for
your own benefit, your opponent's information is going to get out there,"
Bowers said.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1534234
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com/
1. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9101218&intsrc=hm_list
2. http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/26/1713213&tid=217
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NASA Launches Satellite To Monitor Oceans |
| from the space-post-coast-to-coast dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 22, @13:25 (NASA) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1628203 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
On Friday, NASA launched the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2
satellite into orbit to begin a detailed study of ocean currents,
sea-surface height, and surface topology. Scientists hope to use the data
gathered by Jason 2 in order to [0]better understand weather patterns and
global warming. Further details about the [1]mission objectives (PDF) are
also available. Quoting NASA's press release: "Combining ocean current
and heat storage data is key to understanding global climate variations.
OSTM/Jason 2's expected lifetime of at least three years will extend into
the next decade the continuous record of these data started in 1992 by
NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, or
CNES, with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The data collection was continued
by the two agencies on Jason 1 in 2001. Compared with Jason 1
measurements, OSTM/Jason 2 will have substantially increased accuracy and
provide data to within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of coastlines, nearly 50
percent closer to shore than in the past."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1628203
Links:
0. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ostm/news/ostm-20080620.html
1. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/228260main_jason-2.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Galaxy Zoo Produces a Rare Specimen |
| from the hanny's-voorwerp dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @14:33 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1757215 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
We discussed the [0]Galaxy Zoo project soon after it launched last
summer. Science News is now [1]following [2]developments about an odd
celestial object that is fueling a lot of excitement among astronomers
around the world. In August a Dutch schoolteacher named Hanny, in the
process of characterizing galaxy images, noticed a peculiar object and
posted a query about it on the Galaxy Zoo blog. She called it a
"Voorwerp," which Science News says is Dutch for "thing" but which Google
translates as "subject." Hanny's Voorwerp emits mostly green light (the
earlier report said blue). The best guess astronomers have now is that
the Voorwerp is emitting "ghost light," i.e. it is "lit by the
ultraviolet light and X-rays from a quasar that has vanished in the last
100,000 years," to quote astronomer Bill Keel. "As far as we can tell,
it's an unprecedented thing," Keel added. Researchers are scrambling to
book time on the Hubble and other major telescopes to get a closer look.
[2] Voorwerp
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1757215
Links:
0. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/14/1934237&tid=160
1. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33403/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Galaxy_Zoos_blue_mystery_(part_I)
2. http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33436/title/Galaxy_Zoos_blue_mystery_(part_2)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Atari Tries To Supress Bad Reviews, Claims Piracy |
| from the such-small-portions-too dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @15:42 (Censorship) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1855204 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]im_thatoneguy sends in an account up at Shacknews about Atari's
actions to get early reviews of its upcoming game Alone In the Dark
[1]pulled from Web sites in Europe. Atari sued the German site 4Players,
alleging piracy, and also cancelled an advertising deal on the site,
after a pre-release review gave the game only 68%. 4Players posted a
[2]commentary ([3]translation) alleging that Atari is doing this bcause
the review is unfavorable. Shacknews reports that Atari has also demanded
that both Gamer.no and GameReactor remove early reviews ?€? both reviews
gave the game a score of 3/10. Kotaku [4]editorializes: "[Does Atari]
fear that, because these outlets may have received copies of the game
'early' (i.e. from pirated copies), that they're somehow reviewing
incomplete code, which could affect their opinion of the game? Maybe.
Pessimists could, however, be forgiven for thinking it's a convenient
excuse for Atari to attack negative reviews of the only game they're
releasing in 2008 that has any chance of making them some money."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1855204
Links:
0. mailto:im.thatoneguy@gmail.com
1. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53249
2. http://www.4players.de/4players.php/kommentar/Spielkultur/1803943/58/index.html
3. http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.4players.de%2F4players.php%2Fkommentar%2FSpielkultur%2F1803943%2F58%2Findex.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=de&ie=UTF-
4. http://kotaku.com/5018149/legal-mess-over-euro-alone-in-the-dark-reviews-%5Bupdate%5D
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Georgia's New State Health Plan Is Google |
| from the step-away-from-the-computer-screen dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @16:51 (Google) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/1912244 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]theodp writes "In yet another case of [1]life imitating Dilbert, the
State of Georgia has issued a press release touting how helpful Google
products will be in [2]getting Georgians to go outdoors. According to the
release and a [3]follow-up Yo-State-So-Fat Official Google Blog post,
this includes AdWords, Analytics, Maps, Earth, Picasa, Gadgets and a
branded YouTube channel for the GO Georgia initiative 'We're thrilled
that Google has joined us in the effort to help everyone in the state
lead a healthier life,' said Sally Winchester, a manager for Georgia
State Parks & Historic Sites. 'At Google, we are committed to helping our
employees lead healthy lives,' added Maureen Schumacher, a Google
regional sales director. 'We are very excited that Google products will
be used as part of this effort to improve the health and well-being of
all Georgians.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/1912244
Links:
0. mailto:theodp@aol.com
1. http://www.dilbert.com/fast/2007-02-18/
2. http://www.gastateparks.org/net/content/go.aspx?s=158960.0.0.5
3. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/get-outdoors-with-go-georgia.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Non-Compete Pacts Called Bad For Tech Innovation |
| from the we-know-we-know dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @17:57 (Businesses) |
| http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/2125252 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]carusoj writes in with NetworkWorld reporting from a panel at Harvard
last week. It concluded that employee non-compete agreements have
[1]stifled tech startup development in Massachusetts, where the pacts are
aggressively enforced, but failed to hold back the tech industry boom in
states like California, where they are [2]mostly unenforceable. We've
[3]discussed [4]non-competes [5]often here in the past; Techdirt [6]made
much the same point a year and a half back.
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/2125252
Links:
0. http://www.networkworld.com/
1. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/062008-non-compete-pacts-called-bad-for.html
2. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/bpc/16600-16607.html
3. http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/08/006234&tid=187
4. http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/11/2141259&tid=187
5. http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/02/28/0840203&tid=99
6. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/06/1423214&tid=187
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Water Ice On Mars |
| from the not-wet dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Sunday June 22, @19:07 (Mars) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/22/2135223 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
cathector sends along a story from SpaceWeather.com on the [0]discovery
of water ice on Mars. "Scientists have figured out the mysterious white
substance unearthed by NASA's Phoenix lander on Mars. It's frozen water.
The breakthrough came last week when Phoenix's stereo camera caught the
substance in the act of disappearing. Bathed in martian sunlight for four
days, the white substance sublimated ?€? i.e., it transformed from solid to
gas without passing through the liquid state. This is how water behaves
on Mars.... Some readers have asked, how do we know the white substance
is not frozen CO2 (dry ice) instead of frozen water? Answer: Phoenix's
landing site is too warm for dry ice. The average daily temperature is
about -70 F while dry ice requires temperatures lower than about -109 F."
The [1]animated GIF showing the ice sublimating is pretty nice too.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/06/22/2135223
Links:
0. http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=22&month=06&year=2008
1. http://spaceweather.com/swpod2008/22jun08/ice_gone_blink1.gif
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