Raven737 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Porn industry looking for fix for piracy problem (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Hedgehog on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @03:37PM

Hedgehog writes: Piracy has the porn industry up in arms, and they appear to be hard up for solutions to the problem. The increased popularity of BitTorrent and other p2p networks has made profits harder to come by for the industry. 'With sales tanking quickly over the past several years in favor of free alternatives, the industry is now trying to figure out ways to stay afloat. Piccionelli estimates that no more than 15 or 20 percent of the porn in the wild is legitimate — for an estimated $50 billion industry, that could mean a lot in lost sales, although it is highly debatable whether many of those downloading XXX features on their P2P network of choice would have purchased those titles instead.' At least they're not looking at DRM: 'Noting something that Hollywood still has yet to acknowledge: "I worry about [the producers] coming up with DRM or technological solutions, because they're not going to work."'

Submission + - eBay Seller Files Federal Lawsuit Against Autodesk (aecnews.com)

Submitted by

New10k

on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @03:35PM

New10k writes: "Tim Vernor is an eBay seller (happyhourcollectables) with over 10,000 positive reviews. He specializes in comic books but sells most everything. He got thrown off eBay after Autodesk filed complaints against him for reselling Autodesk software. He has responded by filing a federal lawsuit alleging fraudulent use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He has already passed the federal court's "is this guy a wacko?" test and the suit is official — Autodesk has 30 days to respond. Details at AECnews (http://aecnews.com/news/2007/09/10/2377.aspx)."

Submission + - PCWorld refuse hardware repair due to Linux. 10

Submitted by

Tikka

on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @11:43AM

Tikka writes: "Today I visit PC World (London, UK) because my 5 months old laptop has developed a manufacturing fault, the hinge to the display has started to crack the plastic casing.
Anyone in the know, will know that this is due to the joint inside and this means that ultimately the screen will separate from the keyboard in time.

Repair was refused, because I have Gentoo Linux on my laptop — Replacing the Windows Vista that was pre-installed.

PC World have said that this has void my warranty and there is nothing they will do for me, I spoke to a manager who said that he has been told to refuse any repairs if the operating system has been changed.

I feel this has really gone against my statutory rights and will do everything I can to fight it, I will review comments for your advice."

Submission + - Saltwater can burn when exposed to radio waves (post-gazette.com)

Submitted by

realwx

on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @11:13AM

realwx writes: "An Erie man who wanted to desalinate water has accidentally discovered saltwater can burn, as long as the saltwater is exposed to radio frequencies. "The radio frequency actually weakens bonds holding together the constituents of salt water — sodium chloride, hydrogen and oxygen — and releases the hydrogen, which, once ignited, burns continuously when exposed to the RF energy field. Mr. Kanzius said an independent source measured the flame's temperature, which exceeds 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, reflecting an enormous energy output. While Mr. Kanzius was demonstrating how his generator heated nanoparticles, someone noted condensation inside the test tube and suggested he try using his equipment to desalinate water. So, Mr. Kanzius said, he put sea water in a test tube, then trained his machine on it, producing an unexpected spark. In time he and laboratory owners struck a match and ignited the water, which continued burning as long as it remained in the radio-frequency field.""

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