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The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Birth of the Apple Store

Submitted by Gammu
Gammu writes: During the mid-nineties, Mac users were prone to dealing with poorly-trained and ill-maintained Mac sections in big box computers and electronics stores. These environments did not foster customer loyalty nor did they help differentiate the Mac user-experience from Windows. After Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he began a concerted campaign to help sales by improving the presentation of Macs. This campaign culminated with the development and introduction of the Apple Stores in 2001.
HP

Submission + - HP Violated GPL?

Submitted by ericrost
ericrost writes: When the SCO case was at its peak, HP was offering indemnity to its customers. If you read through the conditions:

"not use or modify the source code".

As a company distributing Linux, isn't that in direct violation of the terms of the GPL?

https://h30201.www3.hp.com/Default.asp
Democrats

Submission + - Diane Feinstein vs. The First Amendment

Submitted by CodeBuster
CodeBuster writes: United Press International reports that, "U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., said Sunday she is "looking at" the possibility of reviving the fairness doctrine for U.S. broadcasters. Feinstein, speaking on "Fox News Sunday" with Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said talk radio in particular has presented a one-sided view of immigration reform legislation being considered by the Senate. U.S. talk radio is dominated by conservative voices."
Music

Submission + - The day the music died (or NOT?)

Submitted by RetroGeek
RetroGeek writes: "On March 2, 2007 the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased Internet radio's royalty burden between 300 and 1200 percent and thereby jeopardized the industry's future." And this was at the behest of the RIAA. From the wbesite: "CALL YOUR SENATORS AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW TO ASK THEM TO CO-SPONSOR THE INTERNET RADIO EQUALITY ACT, S. 1353 IN THE SENATE AND H.R. 2060 IN THE HOUSE!". So all you Slashdotters in the US of A, go to The SaveNetRadio Coalition, follow the links, and contact your representative.
Businesses

Submission + - FDA Considering Allowing Fake Chocolate

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "First, they replaced our cane sugar with icky, fattening high-fructose corn syrup. Now, the "great American chocolate bar" may soon be made of fake fillers so big candy companies can shave more profit off the cocoa bean.

This New York Times Op-Ed (registration maybe required) describes how "Industrial confectioners have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to be able to replace cocoa butter with cheaper fats and still call the resulting product 'chocolate.' The reason: the substitution would allow them to use fewer beans and to sell off the butter for cosmetics and such."

The issue is not whether it would be legal for them to make it this way... this is America — they can do what they want. The issue is whether it would be legal for them to package the fake chocolate AS chocolate (and not something like "diluted chocolate substitute — contains 10% actual chocolate") so that consumers wouldn't know the difference (before tasting it). Kids would ultimately be eating this stuff. Could Corporate America really go so far just to squeeze more out of a buck?"
Music

Submission + - Apple now third biggest music retailer (mcox.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The most recent report from the NPD Group shows that Apple has surpassed Amazon.com to become the third largest music seller, behind only Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Apple is the sole digital-only seller on the list with 10% of all music sales. Also interesting is that this follows on the tail of EMI beginning to sell DRM-free music downloads. Sales of Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head are up 115%, while sales of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon are up a whooping 272% since EMI dropped the DRM.
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - 7400 people sign <NO>OOXML petition over wee (noooxml.org)

Submitted by
pieterh
pieterh writes: "The FFII's <NO>OOXML site reports: "Microsoft is currently trying to make the ISO National Bodies believe that its Office Open XML (OOXML) format is a good standard. This website discusses why this broken proprietary standard should never be accepted by ISO. A decision by each National Standardisation Body in each country will happen somewhere during the holidays of July or August. Written comments should be sent before the end of June in most countries." Since Friday 22nd June, a petition to ask national members of ISO to vote "NO" has already raised 7,400 signatures."
Security

Submission + - Warez veteran 'bandido' gets four years in prison (pressesc.com)

Submitted by
Raver32
Raver32 writes: "The co-leader of one of the oldest and most famous Internet software cracking and warez trading groups was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, US authorities announced today. In one of the first ever extraditions for an intellectual property offense, Hew Raymond Griffiths, a 44-year old British national living in Bateau Bay, Australia, was brought to the United States in February 2007 to face criminal charges in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. Griffiths, known by his nom-de-guerre 'bandido' pleaded guilty on April 20, 2007, before US District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton."
Censorship

Submission + - Free Speech Takes a Hit in 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "The Supreme Court tightened limits on student speech Monday, ruling against a high school student and his 14-foot-long 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' banner. Schools may prohibit student expression that can be interpreted as advocating drug use, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a 5-4 ruling. Faring better with litigation was the student's father, who was awarded $200,000 after being fired over his son's legal fight by the company that insures the Juneau schools."
The Courts

Submission + - YouTube May Not Qualify for DMCA Safe Harbor

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "According to a judge in California, YouTube may not qualify (pdf) for the "safe harbor" protection of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). The "safe harbor" protects an online service provider who follows certain procedures and complies with "takedown" notices, but only if it did not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, if it had the right and ability to control such activity. The Court in Tur v. YouTube, 06-4436 (C.D. CA), denied YouTube's motion for summary judgment of dismisal since it found there was insufficient evidence in the record, pro or con, on the issue of whether YouTube had the right and ability to control the infringing the activity. For the same reason the Court denied (pdf) Mr. Tur's motion for an order determining the defense to be inapplicable."
Education

Submission + - UK Government rules Inteligent Design not Science (theregister.co.uk) 1

Submitted by blane.bramble
blane.bramble writes: The Register is reporting that there is no place in the science curriculum for Inteligent Design and that it can not be taught as science. The UK Government has stated that "The Government is aware that a number of concerns have been raised in the media and elsewhere as to whether creationism and intelligent design have a place in science lessons. The Government is clear that creationism and intelligent design are not part of the science National Curriculum programmes of study and should not be taught as science."
Music

Submission + - Loudness War

Submitted by
Pedro Orleans
Pedro Orleans writes: "Record companies these days are eager to make CDs as loud as possible because they think, with some justification, that this is what most consumers want. In order to get CDs to be consistently loud, they get compressed — essentially this means that the quieter moments are made louder in relation to the louder moments, to make the entire CD a consistent, and high, level of volume, losing all the dynamics. During the compression process, the tops of signals can be cut off, or "clipped." Compress a record too much, and it sounds bad. Make it "clip" even slightly, and it sounds worse. Try googling "loudness war" and there are many links explaining in detail this process that affects the majority of the actual pop/rock music. This video gives is a pretty good explanation."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - How-Not-to-Hire-U.S.-Workers Law Firm Fires Back

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "As Congress calls for a Dept. of Labor investigation into a Pittsburgh law firm after a video showing its attorneys advising employers how to game the immigration system was posted on YouTube by the Programmers Guild, Cohen & Grigsby issued a statement insisting their statements were commandeered and misused, but would not allow CBS to view the original video in its entirety. Cohen & Grigsby has also been advising employers since 2002 that they have nothing to fear if they keep employees in the dark about the existence of DOL-required H-1B Public Access Files. The firm keeps its clients under wraps, but one satisfied customer is Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business, which counts on Cohen & Grigsby to 'draft appropriate letters of support' for H-1B-seeking MBA grads."
Robotics

Submission + - Researchers creates skinlike self-mending material (eebeat.com)

Submitted by eeJones
eeJones writes: This makes a lot of sense for airframes and other applications where structural continuity is of extreme importance and cracks from motion stresses are a risk. Depending on the speed of repair, it may even be useful in alternate-environment enclosures for vaccum, liquid, or other gases. The next generation of self-healing materials, invented by researchers at the University of Illinois, mimics human skin by healing itself time after time. The new materials rely upon embedded, three-dimensional microvascular networks that emulate biological circulatory systems. http://www.eebeat.com/?p=657

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