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Comments: 16 +-   Once Again, US DoJ Opposes Google Book Search on Friday February 05, @08:57AM

Posted by kdawson on Friday February 05, @08:57AM
from the no-so-fast-there-cappy dept.
court
angry tapir and severa other readers passed along the news that the US Department of Justice has come out against the revised agreement to settle copyright lawsuits brought against Google by authors and publishers. This is a major blow to Google's efforts to build a massive digital-books marketplace and library. From the DoJ filing (PDF): "...the [Amended Settlement Agreement] suffers from the same core problem as the original agreement: it is an attempt to use the class action mechanism to implement forward-looking business arrangements that go far beyond the dispute before the Court in this litigation. As a consequence, the ASA purports to grant legal rights that are difficult to square with the core principle of the Copyright Act that copyright owners generally control whether and how to exploit their works during the term of copyright. Those rights, in turn, confer significant and possibly anticompetitive advantages on a single entity — Google."
Read More... 16 comments story

Comments: 49 +-   Routine DNA Tests For Newborns Mean Looming Privacy Problems on Friday February 05, @08:13AM

Posted by timothy on Friday February 05, @08:13AM
from the let's-just-size-you-for-your-uniform dept.
privacy
pogopop77 writes "CNN has an interesting story about how newborn babies in the United States are routinely screened for a panel of genetic diseases. Since the testing is mandated by the government, it's often done without the parents' consent. However, many states store that DNA information indefinitely, and even make it available to researchers with little or no privacy safeguards. Sometimes even the names are attached! Here is information on state-by-state policies (PDF) of the handling of the DNA information."
Read More... 49 comments story

Comments: 50 +-   GameStop, Other Retailers Subpoenaed Over Credit Card Information Sharing on Friday February 05, @06:26AM

Posted by Soulskill on Friday February 05, @06:26AM
from the you-can-trust-us dept.
business
New York State's Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has subpoenaed a number of online retailers, including GameStop, Barnes & Noble, Ticketmaster and Staples, over the way they pass information to marketing firms while processing transactions. MSNBC explains the scenario thus: "You're on the site of a well-know retailer and you make a purchase. As soon as you complete the transaction a pop-up window appears. It offers a discount on your next purchase. Click on the ad and you are automatically redirected to another company's site where you are signed up for a buying club, travel club or credit card protection service. The yearly cost is usually $100 to $145. Here's where things really get smarmy. Even though you did not give that second company any account information, they will bill the credit or debit card number you used to make the original purchase. You didn't have to provide your account number because the 'trusted' retailer gave it to them for a cut of the action." While there is no law preventing this sort of behavior, Cuomo hopes the investigation will pressure these companies to change their ways, or at least inform customers when their information might be shared.
Read More... 50 comments story

Comments: 49 +-   First Room-Temperature Germanium Laser Completed on Friday February 05, @05:04AM

Posted by timothy on Friday February 05, @05:04AM
from the please-keep-your-comments-germanium dept.
communications
eldavojohn writes "MIT researchers have built and demonstrated the first room-temperature germanium laser that can produce light at wavelengths suited for communication. This achievement has two parts: '[U]nlike the materials typically used in lasers, germanium is easy to incorporate into existing processes for manufacturing silicon chips. So the result could prove an important step toward computers that move data — and maybe even perform calculations — using light instead of electricity. But more fundamentally, the researchers have shown that, contrary to prior belief, a class of materials called indirect-band-gap semiconductors can yield practical lasers.' While these are only the initial steps in what may become optical computing devices, the article paints it as very promising. The painful details will be published in the journal Optics Letters."
Read More... 49 comments story

Comments: 47 +-   Fallout: New Vegas Coming This Fall, Trailer Released on Friday February 05, @03:24AM

Posted by Soulskill on Friday February 05, @03:24AM
from the out-is-still-falling dept.
rpg
Bethesda announced today that Fallout: New Vegas is scheduled for release sometime this fall, and they released a trailer as well. Details are scant yet on the official site, but they had this to say: "Experience all the sights and sounds of fabulous New Vegas, brought to you by Vault-Tec, America's First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation. Explore the treacherous wastes of the Great Southwest from the safety and comfort of your very own vault: Meet new people, confront terrifying creatures, and arm yourself with the latest high-tech weaponry as you make a name for yourself on a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland. A word of warning, however — while Vault-Tec engineers have prepared for every contingency,* in Vegas, fortunes can change in an instant. Enjoy your stay. (* Should not be construed as a legally-binding claim.)"
Read More... 47 comments story

Comments: 136 +-   Lord Lucas Says Record Companies "Blackmail" Users on Friday February 05, @02:02AM

Posted by timothy on Friday February 05, @02:02AM
from the lord-timothy-yields-his-time dept.
money
Kijori writes "Lord Lucas, a member of the UK House of Lords, has accused record companies of blackmailing internet users by accusing people of copyright infringement who have no way to defend themselves. 'You can get away with asking for £500 or £1,000 and be paid on most occasions without any effort having to be made to really establish guilt. It is straightforward legal blackmail.' The issue is that there is no way for people to prove their innocence, since the record company's data is held to be conclusive proof, and home networking equipment does not log who is downloading what. Hopefully, at the very least, the fact that parliament has realised this fact will mean that copyright laws will get a little more sane."
Read More... 136 comments story

Comments: 370 +-   Murdoch Says E-Book Prices Will Kill Paper Books on Thursday February 04, @10:52PM

Posted by timothy on Thursday February 04, @10:52PM
from the moving-companies-are-probably-unhappy-too dept.
books
hrimhari writes "The settlement between Amazon and Macmillian got the attention of a known dinosaur. Consistent to his views, Mr. Murdoch wants to defend his book editors by killing the cheaper solution. '"We don't like the Amazon model of selling everything at $9.99," Murdoch said. "They pay us the wholesale price of $14 or whatever we charge," he said. "But I think it really devalues books, and it hurts all the retailers of the hardcover books.'"
Read More... 370 comments story

Comments: 148 +-   Pluto — a Complex and Changing World on Thursday February 04, @08:57PM

Posted by timothy on Thursday February 04, @08:57PM
from the can-imagine-quite-a-bit dept.
space
astroengine writes "After 4 years of processing the highest resolution photographs the Hubble Space Telescope could muster, we now have the highest resolution view of Pluto's surface ever produced. Most excitingly, these new observations show an active world with seasonal changes altering the dwarf planet's surface. It turns out that this far-flung world has more in common with Earth than we would have ever imagined."
Read More... 148 comments story

Comments: 371 +-   Craig Mundie Wants "Internet Driver's Licenses" on Thursday February 04, @07:50PM

Posted by timothy on Thursday February 04, @07:50PM
from the genuine-advantage dept.
microsoft
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Craig Mundie, Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy Officer, called for the creation of an 'Internet Driver's License' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying, 'If you want to drive a car you have to have a license to say that you are capable of driving a car, the car has to pass a test to say it is fit to drive and you have to have insurance.' Of course, there are quite a few problems with this. For starters, internet use cannot yet cause death or dismemberment like car accidents can; and this would get rid of most of the good of internet anonymity while retaining all of the bad parts, especially in terms of expanding the market for stolen identities. Even though telephone networks have long been used by scammers and spammers/telemarketers, we've never needed a 'Telephone Driver's License.'"
Read More... 371 comments story

Comments: 257 +-   Keep SSH Sessions Active, Or Reconnect? on Thursday February 04, @06:23PM

Posted by timothy on Thursday February 04, @06:23PM
from the lock-your-door-or-carry-your-lunch dept.
security
borjonx writes "Is it safer to log out of an SSH session, and re-establish it later, or just keep the connection open? Like many of you, I use OpenSSH to connect to my Slackware Linux boxes remotely from Linux and WinXP (putty.exe) clients. At home and at work, I wonder if it would be safer to just leave the connection open (my clients are physically secured, the servers limit connections with hosts.allow). Is it more secure to re-establish the connection over an insecure link (big bad internet) where people can sniff that handshaking, or is it more secure to just remain connected? I connect 1 to 4 times per day, most days."
Read More... 257 comments story

Poll I usually fly...
Economy class
Business class
First class
With the luggage
In the pilot's seat
On a chartered jet
I don't fly
On CowboyNeal's carpet
[ Results | Polls ]
Comments:449 | Votes:23546

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