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Submission + - EU to ban leaded solder--Concern over tin whiskers (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
MollyB
MollyB writes: "A story on Yahoo notes: "First noticed in the 1940's, tin whiskers, or splinters have been known to cause circuit problems, especially on tin solder. From the article, "Now some electronics makers worry the destruction will be more widespread, and the dollar amounts more draining, as the European Union and governments around the world enact laws to eliminate the best-known defense — lead — from electronic devices. "The EU's decision was irresponsible and not based on sound science," said Joe Smetana, a principal engineer and tin whisker expert with French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA. "We're solving a problem that isn't and creating a bunch of new ones." Further on, the controversy boils down to banning toxic metals outright, or using lead (for instance) -based solder sparingly to vastly reduce the potential for damage: "Trouble arises when the whiskers bridge separate parts of increasingly miniaturized circuit boards. They also can flake off and interfere with sensitive optics.""
Music

Submission + - RIAA loses counterclaim lawsuit (blogspot.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: This is the case in which the Court had sustained 5 of the 6 counterclaims interposed by Ms. Del Cid.

The court sustained defendant's counterclaims for

-trespass to defendant's personal property based on the RIAA's having accessed files on Ms. Del Cid's computer without her permission,
-violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act based on the RIAA's unauthorized intrusion into defendant's computer,
-violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act,
-a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, and
-conspiracy to commit extortion, since defendant sufficiently alleged "a peculiar power of coercion possessed by Plaintiffs [by] virtue of their combination, which an individual alone would not possess".
Novell

Submission + - Sun refuses LGPL code for Openoffice; Novell forks (gnome.org) 1

Submitted by TRS-80
TRS-80 writes: Kohei Yoshida wrote a long post on the history of Calc Solver, an optimization solver module for the Calc component of OpenOffice.org. After three years of jumping through Sun's hoops on his own time, Sun says it will duplicate the work because Kohei doesn't want to sign over ownership of the code. Adding insult to injury, Sun then invites him join this duplication. Because of Sun's refusal to accept LPGL extensions in the upstream code, Michael Meeks (who recently talked about Sun's OO.o community failings, and ODF and OOXML) has announced ooo-build (previously just for build fixes) is now a formal fork of OpenOffice to be located at http://go-oo.org/. Will Sun admit it's being a control freak or continue with pointless duplication?
United States

Submission + - Texas Lawmakers Steal Votes (youtube.com) 4

Submitted by
absentmindedjwc
absentmindedjwc writes: "It appears lawmakers in Texas frequently walk around the house floor casting votes for members who are not at their seat. Some members are seen on video casting as many as 4 votes. One member goes on camera to justify this practice as necessary in order to allow fellow house members time for lunch and personal time.

Watch the video and determine for yourself if you think these people are doing this as a "favor" for their colleagues, or if they might just be stealing votes."
Privacy

Telecom Companies Seek Retroactive Immunity 177

Posted by Zonk from the covering-their-butts-while-they-still-can dept.
kidcharles writes "Newsweek reports that a secretive lobbying campaign has been launched by telecommunications companies who are seeking retroactive immunity from private lawsuits over their cooperation with the NSA in the so-called 'terrorist surveillance program.' Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has claimed that lawsuits could 'bankrupt these companies.' The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a lawsuit against AT&T over their cooperation in the domestic spying program. EFF legal director Cindy Cohen said of the lobbying campaign, 'They are trying to completely immunize this [the surveillance program] from any kind of judicial review. I find it a little shocking that Congress would participate in the covering up of what has been going on.'"

Feed Engadget: Steve Wozniak engaged to Kathy Griffin? (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We wouldn't bet the farm on this being true -- after all, it's a celebrity rumor -- but Us Magazine has it that Apple's Steve Wozniak may be engaged to loudmouth Kathy Griffin. Apparently, Kathy was spotted rocking "what appeared to be an engagement ring" at the Emmys, and when questioned about it, she simply stated that she doesn't "kiss and tell." Of course, Kathy has made known that the two are in some sort of relationship, but whether she's well on her way to becoming Woz's wife (or if she's the elusive genius behind Apple's next cash cow) remains to be seen.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Privacy

Submission + - MIT student arrested for wearing breadboard

Submitted by
gillbates
gillbates writes: "An MIT student was arrested at Logan Airport for wearing a solderless breadboard, which officials described as a "fake bomb". According to authorities, "Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force." The article doesn't say that she made any threats or otherwise indicated that it was a bomb. I can't help but wonder what implications this has for those of us who must routinely fly with prototype electronic devices (such as those en route to CES)."
Security

Submission + - student arrested wearing hoax device at airport 1

Submitted by SuperBanana
SuperBanana writes: According to a report by the Boston Globe, Star Simpson was nearly shot by Logan Airport police who thought she was armed with a bomb. She approached an airline employee wearing a prototyping board with electronic components, crudely attached to the front of her sweatshirt and holding "putty" in her hand. She asked about an incoming flight, and did not respond when asked about the device. Armed police responded. Her actions seem purposefully designed to elicit a reaction from airport security- or this is further proof of the poor judgment of Boston area college students.
Security

Submission + - MIT Student arrested at Airport for LED Art (google.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: An MIT student was arrested today at Logan Airport because she "had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing" when talking to a staffer at an information booth. She was visiting the airport to greet an arriving friend. She was wearing the shirt at a Career Fair earlier to stand out, and apparently didn't change before entering the airport. The police believed the object was a bomb and she was surrounded by a group of officers with submachine guns. Didn't the city learn its lesson from the Aqua Teen Hunger Scare?
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - MIT Student Arrested for "Bomb Art"

Submitted by Damocles the Elder
Damocles the Elder writes: Apparently Boston remains a place where you shouldn't show off your computer parts. According to a pair of local news outlets, an MIT student was arrested for wearing what's being called "fake bomb art" in a Boston airport. FTA:

Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport. "She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used...[s]he's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."
Space

Submission + - Do You Need a Permit to Land on the Moon? (slate.com) 4

Submitted by
Billosaur
Billosaur writes: "With the recent announcement of Google's X-prize for a successful private landing of a robot on the Moon, someone has asked the Explainer at Slate.com if permission is required to land something on the Moon? Turns out that while there is no authority that regulates landing objects on another world, getting there does require the permission of the national government from where the launch takes place. This is in accordance with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, signed by 91 nations, which regulates the uses of outer space by the nations of Earth. Specifically, Article VI enjoins: "The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty." Start your paperwork!"
The Internet

Submission + - Creative Commons Sued (techdirt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A Texas family has sued Creative Commons after their teenaged daughter's photo was used in an ad campaign for Virgin Mobile Australia. The photo had been taken by the girl's youth counselor, who put it on Flickr, and chose a CC Attribution license, which allows for commercial use. Virgin did, in fact, attribute the photo to the photographer, fulfilling the terms of the license, but the family is still suing Virgin Mobile Australia and Creative Commons. Since the guy chose the CC license, it's difficult to see how they can now sue CC.

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