Comment Where what? (Score 1) 108
WHERE friendsWithSinceDate != '0'
Who would store a numeric timestamp as a varchar? Certainly storing it as a numeric value type would be more appropriate.
Comment Re:so, basically they are saying... (Score 1) 203
Sometimes there are multiple cases which offer similar questions but different facts. If they pick one case that has a lot of complicating factors, where they might not even be able to get to the main question they want to answer because an "easier" solution comes up to get rid of the problem, that's an ineffective use of the court's time. Better to take the case that gets to the heart of the question and ensure that they can actually be effective.
Comment An easily disproven claim (Score 2) 44
I remember checking into the claim of a security change when the claim was first made. It was easily disproven by checking my Facebook E-mail notifications from 2007. Every message that had been identified as a private message was not on my wall, and every message that was on my wall had been identified as a wall post.
Vatican Warns That Internet Promotes Satanism 585
Hugh Pickens writes "The Telegraph reports that the Roman Catholic Church has warned that the internet has fueled a surge in Satanism that has led to a sharp rise in the demand for exorcists. 'The internet makes it much easier than in the past to find information about Satanism. In just a few minutes you can contact Satanist groups and research occultism,' says Carlo Climati, a member of the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome who specializes in the dangers posed to young people by Satanism. Organizers of a six-day conference that has brought together more than 60 Catholic clergy as well as doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers and youth workers, co-sponsored by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments and the Congregation for Clergy, say the rise of Satanism has been dangerously underestimated in recent years."
King Wants To Sell Out Ham Radio 309
An anonymous reader writes "Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has introduced HR 607, the 'Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011,' which has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee (which handles telecommunications legislation). The bill would create a nationwide Public Safety broadband network using the so-called 'D-Block' of spectrum in the 700 MHz range for Public Safety use. But to pay for it, he wants to sell off 420-440 MHz, currently heavily used by the military, satellites and Amateur Radio operators."
Microsoft Makes Chrome Play H.264 Video 535
nk497 writes "Chrome users will be able to play H.264 video — thanks to Microsoft. The software giant today unveiled the Windows Media Player HTML5 Extension for Chrome, which will let users of the Google browser play H.264 video after it was dropped from Chrome over licensing issues. 'At Microsoft we respect that Windows customers want the best experience of the web including the ability to enjoy the widest range of content available on the internet in H.264 format,' said Claudio Caldato, Microsoft interoperability program manager."
Comment Re:No precedential force (Score 1) 775
It should also be noted that Costco only loses this particular defense. The case now resumes back in the District Circuit, where Costco can raise other defenses to Omega's claims. Any of those other defenses could potentially save them, but of course the District Court's rulings on whether those defenses may be used can be appealed to the Ninth Circuit and potentially the Supreme Court again.
And once all of these preliminary matters have been heard, then the actual trial will begin, and whichever side loses can appeal the decision in the case up to the Circuit Court, and even the Supreme Court.
davidh
And once all of these preliminary matters have been heard, then the actual trial will begin, and whichever side loses can appeal the decision in the case up to the Circuit Court, and even the Supreme Court.
davidh
Did an Apple Engineer Invent FB Messages In 2003? 128
theodp writes "Q. How many Facebook engineers does it take in 2010 to duplicate a lone Apple engineer's 2003 effort? A. 15! On Nov. 15th, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Facebook Messages, which uses whatever method of communication is appropriate at the time — e.g., email, IM, SMS. A day later, ex-Apple software engineer Jens Alfke was granted a patent for his 2003 invention of a Method and apparatus for processing electronic messages, which — you guessed it — employs the most appropriate messaging method — e.g., email, IM, SMS — for the job. Citing Apple's lack of passion for social software, Alfke left Apple in 2008. After a layover at Google, Alfke landed at startup Rockmelt, whose still-in-beta 'social web browser' also sports a pretty nifty communications platform."
Saturn's Rings Formed From Large Moon Destruction 115
Matt_dk writes "The formation of Saturn's rings has been one of the classical if not eternal questions in astronomy. But one researcher has provided a provocative new theory to answer that question. Robin Canup from the Southwest Research Institute has uncovered evidence that the rings came from a large, Titan-sized moon that was destroyed as it spiraled into a young Saturn."
Unions Urging Actors Not To Work On Hobbit Movie 576
lbalbalba writes "Last we heard about The Hobbit, Guillermo Del Toro dropped out, Peter Jackson was unofficially directing and secretly auditioning actors, the movie had yet to be green-lit, and Ian McKellen was getting super-antsy about the whole thing and threatening not to play Gandalf. This shouldn't help the long-gestating movie happen any quicker: Actors guilds including SAG issued actual alerts yesterday against working on any of the Hobbit films, advising their members not to take parts in the non-union production, should they be offered them."
Submission + - DHS Requires Your Travel Plans 72 Hours in Advance (aa.com) 9
corbettw writes: "I haven't seen this anywhere yet. I got an email from American Airlines detailing a new requirement imposed on them by the Department of Homeland Security. Starting November 1, all passengers in the US will have to submit their personal information (including full name, date of birth, and gender) to DHS, through their airline or travel agent, at least 72 hours in advance. This means you can no longer fly anywhere in the US with less than three-days notice. Did your mother have a stroke and you have to rush to be by her side? Too bad. What about that client two states over who needs some facetime or else they'll bolt to your competitor? Kiss them good-bye. Or do you just want to go to Vegas and have a wild weekend on the spur of the moment? Well, maybe next weekend, instead. Don't you feel so much safer now?"
New Email Worm Squirming Through Windows Users' Inboxes 473
Trailrunner7 writes "There appears to be an actual email worm in circulation right now, using the tried-and-true infection method of sending emails containing malicious executables to all of the names in a user's email address book. The worm arrives via emails with the subject line 'Here You Have' or something similar, and the messages contain a link to a site that will download a malicious file to the victim's PC. The malware then drops itself into the Windows directory with a file name of CSRSS.EXE, which is identical to a legitimate Windows file. From there, it's 2001 all over again, as the worm attempts to mail itself to all of the contacts in the victim's Outlook address book."
Submission + - Google Wave to Live On as 'Wave in a Box' (infoworld.com)
snydeq writes: "Google Wave will morph into an application bundle for real-time collaboration, according to a blog post by Google Wave engineer Alex North. 'We will expand upon the 200K lines of code we've already open sourced (detailed at waveprotocol.org) to flesh out the existing example Wave server and Web client into a more complete application or "Wave in a Box,"' North said, adding that the future of the recently flat-lined Google service will be 'defined by your contributions. We hope this project will help the Wave developer community continue to grow and evolve,' he said."
Submission + - 500K Text Messages Reveal Nation's Mood on 9/11 (pbs.org)
tcd004 writes: The PBS NewsHour reports that German researchers analyzed 500,000 text messages sent on Sept. 11, 2001, and created an hour-by-hour psychological profile Americans on that day. The pager text messages, which were posted to Wikileaks in 2009, were analyzed for words that correlated to sadness, anxiety and anger. The results show that words related to anger dominated communications as the day wore on. The study was published in the Journal of Psychological Science.
Submission + - Cheerleader Wins Libel Suit... By Suing Wrong Site (techdirt.com)
An anonymous reader writes: It appears that Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones and her lawyer were so upset by a comment on the site TheDirty.com that they missed the "y" at the end of the name. Instead, they sued the owner of TheDirt.com, whose owner didn't respond to the lawsuit. The end result was a judge awarding $11 million, in part because of the failure to respond. Now, both the owners of TheDirty.com and TheDirt.com are complaining that they're being wrongfully written about in the press — one for not having had any content about Sarah Jones but being told it needs to pay $11 million, and the other for having the content and having the press say it lost a lawsuit, even though no lawsuit was ever actually filed against it.
