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Software

Submission + - Fast language translation software gets $17M push (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: Raytheon's BBN Technologies this week got a $17 million contract to finish a five-year project that will result in a software system that can transcribe, translate and distill large volumes of speech and text in multiple languages — all with more than 90% accuracy.
Privacy

Submission + - States launch joint probe of Google Wi-Fi snooping (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: As many as 30 states could join an investigation into Google's collection of personal information from unprotected wireless networks, Connecticut's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, said on Monday. Google's response was similar to what it said earlier this month. 'It was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we didn't break any U.S. laws,' a company spokesman said in an e-mail. 'We're working with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns.' Google already faces investigations by privacy authorities in several European countries, including the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Last week, the French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) said its investigation had concluded that Google had snatched passwords and extracts of e-mail messages from the air. In the U.S., Google faces multiple civil lawsuits, and the company has been asked for more information from several congressmen as a preliminary step to a legislative hearing. Google has asked that the lawsuits be consolidated and moved to a California federal court's jurisdiction.
The Media

Submission + - Photoshopped Cover is BFD to Lance Armstrong 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong appears on the cover of the July issue of Outside Magazine in a T-shirt emblazoned with the message "38. BFD" Translation: "I'm 38. Big fat deal" but when Armstrong posed for the cover, the shirt was blank — and apparently no one told Armstrong that the words were being digitally added until he obtained a finished copy. "Just saw the cover of the new Outside mag w/ yours truly on it," Armstrong said via Twitter. "Nice photoshop on a plain t-shirt guys. That's some lame [expletive]." Outside Magazine claims that they wanted to create a provocative image and make a bold statement about Armstrong's age and his chances in this year's Tour de France and that they had a line on the cover that the photo was not Armstrong's real T-shirt. "Outside's editors apparently thought they could have it both ways — a real celebrity they really shot, but doing something they probably couldn't have persuaded him to do. It's so clever, it's stupid," writes Jeff Bercovici. "Why would any star who aspires to control his own image — and that's all of them — ever pose for this magazine again?""
Power

Submission + - Europe to Import Sahara Solar Power Within 5 Years (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: If just one percent of the Saharan Desert were covered in concentrating solar panels it would create enough energy to power the entire world. That’s a powerful number, and the European Union has decided to jump on their proximity to the Sahara in order to reap some benefits from the untapped solar energy beaming down on Northern Africa. Just yesterday, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger announced that Europe will start importing solar energy from the Sahara within the next five years. It is estimated that the initiative will cost $400 billion Euros. If the EU decides to scale it up — the initiative will power a large part of Europe but not all of it — they’d only need to cover .3% of the desert with solar panels to power the entire continent.
IT

Submission + - Confessions of a Cloud Skeptic (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "InfoWorld's Matt Prigge argues that it is high time to count 'cloud computing' among history's most prominent IT snake oils — technical trends fraught with "transformational" sales pitches that fell far short. 'After a couple of years of obsessive coverage by trade rags and analyst firms, I think "the cloud" has jumped the shark,' Prigge writes. 'We've been inundated by stories declaring that cloud infrastructure will mark the end of cap ex for IT — and almost as many articles labeling the cloud as an unreliable, underpowered security nightmare. When I first started hearing rumblings about cloud infrastructure a few years ago, I actually thought I might have missed some huge technological development. It didn't take me long to figure out that at a very basic level, cloud infrastructure isn't new at all. It's the marketing and spin that's new.'"
Television

Submission + - Adobe Flash update pushed out with 280 page EULA

Submitted by ciscoguy01
ciscoguy01 writes: Adobe sent me a popup today with a flash player update to 10.1.
I always update flash right away because of all the exploits and how flash in general behaves horribly.
This update required me to agree to an EULA that was 280 pages in every language you can imagine:
http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/pdfs/PlatformClients_PC_WWEULA_Combined_20100108_1657.pdf
It goes on and on about it being a binding agreement and all.
Special care is taken in section 4 to prohibit use of flash in any set top box or media player.
AFAIK all media online (youtube, hulu) plays with flash.
Why would Adobe ask users of their "free" software to agree to all these terms?
Is Adobe's real goal to get license agreements out of media player manufacturers?
Is there a reliable replacement for Adobe Flash Player, maybe open source?
Idle

Submission + - ThinkGeek in potential trademark violation (boingboing.net)

Submitted by Blackdognight
Blackdognight writes: BoingBoing is reporting that the National Pork Board has filed a formal cease and desist order against ThinkGeek based on the phrasing of their recent April fools product "radiant Foarms Canned Unicorn Meat." Apparently ThinkGeek's use of the tag line "the new white meat." was a little too close to the Pork Board's "the other white meat" trademark. ThinkGeek's response is wonderful: http://www.thinkgeek.com/blog/2010/06/officially-our-bestever-cease.html
GNU is Not Unix

Submission + - This Mac devotee is moving to Linux

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: While Steve is busy adding new restrictions to iDevices and app store everyday, one Mac fan seeking real freedom of choice in a technology ecosystem where Apple exerting more and more control. From the article — I'm not religious about technology. My strategy is to use what works best, period. This is why, for more than a decade, I've been using a Mac as my primary computer (and had been using Macs for some of my work long before that). Apple's personal computers continue to be the best combination of hardware and software on the market today. So why am I about to migrate to Linux (aka GNU/Linux)? Because Apple is pushing me away, and because I value some principles, perhaps almost religiously, that affect other decisions.
This proves that Wozniak was the freedom guy and Steve was all about keeping users under his control.

Submission + - Air Force set to fly ocean wave riding energy tech (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: Air Force researchers will next summer test out a unique wave-powered system that could harness the ocean for limitless power. Known as a cycloidal wave energy converter, the system is based on the large propellers typically used on ferries and tugboats that can remove energy from any flow perpendicular to the propeller shaft; using what researchers called lift-based instead of drag-based energy conversion to shaft power.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft's embarrassing problem with the future (infoworld.com)

Submitted by GMGruman
GMGruman writes: Microsoft's reputation as the Borg of tech companies may not be so deserved after all. It certainly doesn't seem able to adapt to or assimilate the three major trends in technology: mobile computing, the cloud, and desktop virtualization, notes InfoWorld blogger Eric Knorr. By 2011, it'll have five (!) mobile OSes; its Office for Web is a dismal failure, and its desktop virtualization moves seem awfully slow.
Networking

Submission + - IEEE 802.3ba Standard Released (net-security.org) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: EEE announced the ratification of IEEE 802.3ba 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s Ethernet, a new standard governing 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Ethernet operations. An amendment to the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard, IEEE 802.3ba, the first standard ever to simultaneously specify two new Ethernet speeds, paves the way for the next generation of high-rate server connectivity and core switching. The new standard will act as the catalyst needed for unlocking innovation across the greater Ethernet ecosystem. IEEE 802.3ba is expected to trigger further expansion of the 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet family of technologies by driving new development efforts, as well as providing new aggregation speeds that will enable 10 Gb/s Ethernet network deployments.

Submission + - Is HTC in violation of the GPL?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: It has been almost 3 weeks since the HTC EVO 4G officially went on sale on June 4th and a month since it was available to Google IO attendees, yet, HTC has yet to release their modified linux kernel source code as required by the license (GPL V2) of the Linux kernel in the Android operating system. Requesting the source code through HTC only garners this response:

"Thank you for providing us with the request for the sourc code for your EVO 4G, to which I understand you are entitled. I also understand that in the legal information of the phone it says to contact Customer Service with this request, although that is not entirely correct. From Technical Support, we can only pass along your request to the appropriate department, and as they do have your request it will be posted. This is not a gambit of any sort nor a desire to keep anything from our users; as to why it is not available yet, I do not know, nor do my supervisors. If we at Technical Support did have access to either send out the code or post it on the website, I would be more than happy to do so as I understand that you are anxious for it and I would love to be able to provide it. The request has been made to the appropriate department, and when the code is posted it will be available at developer.htc.com. I apologize that it is not available at this very moment, and I thank you for your patience in this matter. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us again."

Does the source have to be released at the same time as the product or is there a grace period? What responsibility do the retailers (Sprint, Best Buy, Radio Shack) share in the responsibility to ensure HTC complies with the GPL?
Open Source

Submission + - Who owns the code? (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by nk497
nk497 writes: Web app developer Kevin Partner is turning to open source after having some difficulty deciding who owns the code he creates for his clients. "The intellectual property rights to code I write for clients under contract remains with my company even after the client has paid, but in practice I’m happy to agree with the client to hand over the source so they can change developers if they wish: this might include a formal transfer of ownership of the unique parts of the code, or simple agreement to share ownership. What isn’t fair is for the client to benefit from my library code via reduced costs, then also expect to own that code." Now, he's turning to open source, hoping that will solve at least some of the problem. "For all my new projects, the client won't get exclusive ownership of the framework or library code because they'll be open source, but will be free to use them any way they wish without referring to the original developer. That should lance this particularly troublesome boil."

Submission + - New Air Conditioner Process cuts energy use 50-90% (nrel.gov) 2

Submitted by necro81
necro81 writes: The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has announced that it has developed a new method for air conditioning that reduces energy use by 50-90%. The DEVap system cools air using evaporative cooling, which is not new, but combines the process with a liquid dessicant for pulling the water vapor out of the cooled air stream. The liquid dessicant, a very strong aqueous solution of lithium chloride or sodium chloride, is separated from the air stream by a permeable hydrophobic membrane. Heat is later used to evaporate water vapor back out — heat that can come from a variety of sources such as solar or natural gas. The dessicants are, compared to typical refrigerants like HCFCs, relatively safe for the environment.
Crime

Submission + - Higher tech, lower crime (skunkpost.com)

Submitted by crimeandpunishment
crimeandpunishment writes: High tech means low crime in a New Jersey city that has used an arsenel of advanced technology to sharply lower one of the highest crime rates in the nation. And now East Orange is poised to become the first city in the country to take high tech crime fighting to a whole new level....suveillance cameras with sensors that can be programmed to identify crimes as they unfold.

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