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Submission + - SF Says AdWare Bundled with Gimp Is Intentional (google.com) 5

Submitted by tresf
tresf writes: In response to a Google+ post from the Gimp project claiming that "[Sourceforge] is now distributing an ads-enabled installer of GIMP", Sourceforge had this response:

In cases where a project is no longer actively being maintained, SourceForge has in some cases established a mirror of releases that are hosted elsewhere. This was done for GIMP-Win.

Editor's note: Gimp is actively being maintained and the definition of "mirror" is quite misleading here as a modified binary is no longer a verbatim copy. Download statistics for Gimp on Windows show SourceForge as offering over 1,000 downloads per day of the Gimp software. In an official response to this incident, the official Gimp project team reminds users to use official download methods. Slashdotters may remember the last time news like this surfaced (2013) when the Gimp team decided to move downloads from SourceForge to their own FTP service.

Therefore, we remind you again that GIMP only provides builds for Windows via its official Downloads page.

Note: SourceForge and Slashdot share a corporate parent.

Submission + - SourceForge wraps open source software in adware

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "SourceForge, the code repository site owned by Slashdot Media, has apparently seized control of the account hosting GIMP for Windows on the service, according to e-mails and discussions amongst members of the GIMP community—locking out GIMP's lead Windows developer. And now anyone downloading the Windows version of the open source image editing tool from SourceForge gets the software wrapped in an installer replete with advertisements."

Submission + - Sourceforge re-packaging old software with adware

Submitted by Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi writes: As previously reported here, the Windows installer for the popular GIMP image editing software has been bundled with additional commercial software. What seems most disturbing is that apparently Sourceforge is making these changes to a number of other less-active packages in their site, according to reporting by Ars.

Note: SourceForge and Slashdot share a corporate parent.

Submission + - SourceForge grabs GIMP for Windows account, wraps adware installer

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: SourceForge.net, the code repository site owned by Slashdot Media, has apparently seized control of the account hosting GIMP for Windows on the service, according to e-mails and discussions amongst members of the GIMP community — locking out GIMP's lead Windows developer. And now anyone downloading the Windows version of the open source image editing tool from SourceForge gets the software wrapped in an installer replete with advertisements.

Submission + - Two Programmers Expose Dysfunction and Abuse in the Seattle Police Department (thestranger.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Programmers Eric Rachner and Phil Mocek are now the closest thing Seattle has to a civilian police-oversight board. Through shrewd use of Washington's Public Records Act, the two have acquired hundreds of reports, videos, and 911 calls related to the Seattle Police Department's internal investigations of officer misconduct. Among some of Rachner and Mocek's findings: a total of 1,028 SPD employees (including civilian employees) were investigated between 2010 and 2013. (The current number of total SPD staff is 1,820.) Of the 11 most-investigated employees—one was investigated 18 times during the three-year period—every single one of them is still on the force, according to SPD. In 569 allegations of excessive or inappropriate use of force (arising from 363 incidents), only seven were sustained—meaning 99 percent of cases were dismissed. Exoneration rates were only slightly smaller when looking at all the cases — of the total 2,232 allegations, 284 were sustained. This is partly why the Seattle PD is under a federal consent decree for retraining and oversight. You can check out some of the typically excellent Twitter coverage by Mocek from his #MayDaySea coverage.

Submission + - Defending Privacy Doesn't Pay: Cdn Court Lets Copyright Troll Off the Hook (michaelgeist.ca)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A Canadian court has issued its ruling on the costs in the Voltage — TekSavvy case, a case involving the demand for the names and address of thousands of TekSavvy subscribers by Voltage on copyright infringement grounds. Last year, the court opened the door to TekSavvy disclosing the names and addresses, but also established new safeguards against copyright trolling in Canada. The court awarded only a fraction of the costs sought by TekSavvy, which sends a warning signal to ISPs that getting involved in these cases can lead to significant costs that won't be recouped. That is a bad message for privacy. So is the likely outcome for future cases (should they arise) with subscribers left with fewer notices and information from their ISP given the costs involved and the court's decision to not compensate for those costs.

Submission + - Scientist Says Curiosity May Have Found Fossils on Mars (viralglobalnews.com)

Submitted by mpicpp
mpicpp writes: A scientist named Nora Noffke says she thinks that the Curiosity rover may have found fossils on Mars. Noffke’s findings have been published in the journal Astrobiology. The study theorizes that certain rocks on Mars might have been formed by microbes, Discovery reports.

To create her hypothesis, Noffke closely examined photographs taken by Curiosity and compared them to rocks on Earth that have definitely been formed by living organisms. She says the pictures returned by the rover look extremely similar to microbe-created rocks on our own planet. The specific photos Noffke studied were taken in Gale Crater, specifically in the Yellowknife Bay area which houses the Gillespie Lake outcrop. The bottom of the lake and bay, which once contained water, consists of sedimentary sandstone.

While there have been previous papers theorizing that certain rocks prove life on Mars due to the presence of fossils, those have often been debunked. Noffke’s work has been so thorough, though, that even NASA is impressed.

NASA spokesperson Chris McKay explained, “I’ve seen many papers that say ‘Look, here’s a pile of dirt on Mars, and here’s a pile of dirt on Earth. And because they look the same, the same mechanism must have made each pile on the two planets. That’s an easy argument to make, and it’s typically not very convincing. However, Noffke’s paper is the most carefully done analysis of the sort that I’ve seen, which is why it’s the first of its kind published in Astrobiology.”

Submission + - No more Game of Thrones... (torrentfreak.com) 1

Submitted by mitcheli
mitcheli writes: From the "It's-all-fun-and-games-until-lawyers-get-involved" dept.

Police in Sweden carried out a raid in Stockholm today, seizing servers, computers, and other equipment. At the same time The Pirate Bay and several other torrent-related sites disappeared offline. Although no official statement has been made, TF sources confirm action against TPB.
For many years The Pirate Bay has been sailing by the seat of its pants so any downtime is met with concern from its millions of users.

This morning, for the first time in months, The Pirate Bay disappeared offline. A number of concerned users emailed TF for information but at that point technical issues seemed the most likely culprit.

However, over in Sweden authorities have just confirmed that local police carried out a raid in Stockholm this morning as part of an operation to protect intellectual property.

Submission + - Female TV Reporters Decry FHRITP Meme-Bomb

Submitted by Freshly Exhumed
Freshly Exhumed writes: If you’re a TV reporter on a remote feed in a public space, try for some crowd control beforehand because there’s a good chance someone will invade your broadcast with an increasingly prominent, viral meme called FHRITP, which has repeatedly appeared ever since January 4th 2014 when reporter John Cain did not realize that he was being broadcast live and made lewd comments about a missing 20-year-old girl. Cain was quickly fired for his on-air remarks, but they were immortalized just one month later when a hooded man with sunglasses named “Fred” jumped into the middle of a news report, grabbed the microphone and shouted the epithet before running off. Reporters are voicing their outrage, rightly or wrongly perceiving the pranks as overtly sexual harrassment of females. The meme has spread beyond the Internet and live TV, as in the case of this road warning sign.

Submission + - City of Toronto Files Court Injunction on Uber (toronto.ca)

Submitted by Sebolains
Sebolains writes: The city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada has filed a court injunction on Uber Canada Inc. today that requests for all operations in the city to cease. Uber has been operating there since 2012 without a license from the city, and so officials are concerned that Uber's operations pose a risk to both drivers and riders. How quickly this will happen, we don't know, but the city has asked the courts to be expedient in hearing this application.

Comment Re:Dear Canada.... (Score 2) 529

by Dr Caleb (#48205071) Attached to: Shooting At Canadian Parliament

I didn't say any of that. I said, we know how to mete our own form of justice to those that deserve it.

We will not go apeshit. We will not allow our government unrestricted control over every aspect of our lives or violate our laws.

What we will do is find those responsible, and hold them accountable, and very little will stop us until we think this has been accomplished. That is the way we have always done things. (And perhaps burn down the Whitehouse just for shits and giggles on the way home. ;) )

Comment Re:Dear Canada.... (Score 1, Informative) 529

by Dr Caleb (#48204313) Attached to: Shooting At Canadian Parliament
Sorry Lumpy, but this is the second soldier killed on Canadian soil this week by, presumably, an extremist. We only put up with so much, then we go all http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardenne_Abbey_massacreArdenne Abbey on them. As the German SS if that massacre was worth what our soldiers did to them afterward. "No Prisoners" was the chant.

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