Mercury - Slashdot User

Submission + - TSA admits you don't need ID to fly, etc. (papersplease.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 09, 2011 @03:15PM

An anonymous reader writes: A man (Phil Mocek) who was arrested for going through airport security without ID, filming the encounter, etc. was acquitted by a jury. In court, the TSA admitted that one does not need ID to fly, that TSA agents to no have arrest authority, and that it was not illegal to film public areas of the airport (Mocek even had written permission from the airport to do so yet was still charged ).

Interesting to note that Mocek did not present a defense, the jury based its decision entirely on testimony from the TSA and police.

Submission + - MPAA Wants Google Off The Internet (techspot.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 09, 2011 @01:09PM

An anonymous reader writes: Over the last few months, Google has received more than 100 copyright infringement warnings from MPAA-affiliated movies studios: most are directed at users of Google's public Wi-Fi service but others are meant for Google employees. The MPAA is thus warning the search giant that it might get disconnected from the Internet. A few of the notices sent to Google are on behalf of Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures for sharing The Fighter and The Green Hornet, respectively.

Submission + - Toyota problems may force electronics changes (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie on Wednesday February 09, 2011 @10:50AM

coondoggie writes: While NASA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration engineers did not find anything wrong with Toyota's auto engineering, the investigation may prompt changes and perhaps new design standards for auto electronics. The NHTSA is now considering a number of new tests for electronic car systems including: Propose rules, by the end of 2011, to require brake override systems, to standardize operation of keyless ignition systems, and to require the installation of event data recorders in all passenger vehicles;

Submission + - IP addresses ‘not enough’ for legal ac (which.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 09, 2011 @08:10AM

An anonymous reader writes: A judgment issued today by Judge Birss in the Patents County Court has derailed the threatening letter-writing activities by legal firms such as ACS:Law in pursuit of illegal file-sharers.

In his judgment, Judge Birss questioned whether IP addresses could be used as sound evidence in identifying someone and accuse them of illegal file-sharing. He reasoned that IP addresses were not enough, citing unsecured home wireless networks and the fact that an IP address doesn’t identify the individual that is alleged to have illegally file-shared.

Submission + - Firefox 4 Beta 10 kills 506 bugs (internetnews.com)

Submitted by darthcamaro on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @10:48AM

darthcamaro writes: After more than 6 months of active development, Firefox developers are still finding and fixing a lot of bugs in Firefox 4. Beta 10 fixes 506 bugs, an improvement from the over 600 fixed in Beta 9. Among the fixes are stability and crashes fixes for Tabs and memory improvements.

Submission + - DOJ Seeks Mandatory Data Retention for ISP's 3

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens

on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @11:16PM

Hugh Pickens writes: "Computerworld reports that in testimony before Congress the US Department of Justice renewed its call for legislation mandating Internet Service Providers (ISP) retain customer usage data for up to two years because law enforcement authorities are coming up empty-handed in their efforts to go after online predators and other criminals because of the unavailability of data relating to their online activities. "There is no doubt among public safety officials that the gaps between providers' retention policies and law enforcement agencies' needs, can be extremely harmful to the agencies' investigations" says Jason Weinstein, deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department adding that data retention is crucial to fighting Internet crimes, especially online child pornography (PDF). Weinstein admits that a data retention policy raises valid privacy concerns however, such concerns need to be addressed and balanced against the need for law enforcement to have access to the data. "Denying law enforcement that evidence prevents law enforcement from identifying those who victimize others online," concludes Weinstein."

Submission + - FCC Sets LTE As Standard For Public Safety Network (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @06:53PM

CWmike writes: The FCC has set Long Term Evolution as the data standard for a nationwide mobile broadband network for public safety agencies that's been on the table for nearly a decade. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, adopted LTE as the common interface for the network, which will use a portion of the 700MHz spectrum. U.S. lawmakers and FCC members have been calling for a nationwide mobile broadband network for police and fire departments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. The agency doesn't typically pick technology standards, but in this case it was needed, said Chairman Julius Genachowski. 'In order to ensure nationwide interoperability for public safety communications there's widespread agreement that a common air interface is desirable and necessary to enable nationwide interoperability, he said. Many of the police and fire departments responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. couldn't talk to each other because they weren't using the same radio equipment on the same spectrum bands. Verizon said at CES that its new LTE service would expand rapidly, to reach 175 cities by the end of the year.

Submission + - Does the Moon Have Military Value? (yahoo.com) 3

Submitted by MarkWhittington on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @06:30PM

MarkWhittington writes: Despite the fact that under President Barack Obama's space policy, Americans will not be going back to the moon any time soon, discussions are occurring about what if any military value the Earth nearest neighbor has.

Opinions, as can be expected, vary on the subject

Submission + - Where's the beef? (gizmodo.com) 1

Submitted by mschaffer on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @04:44PM

mschaffer writes: Taco Bell's wares are not made with USDA ground beef. According to their bulk container's labels---"which mere customers can't see---they use "Taco Meat Filling". The list of ingredients is gruesome.

Perhaps, Taco Bell needs to "eat their own dog food".

Submission + - US pushes Internet kill switch again (cbsnews.com) 2

Submitted by FutureDomain on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @04:42PM

FutureDomain writes: Stymied last time, US lawmakers are again pushing a bill that would give the President the ability to shut down "critical" portions of the Internet. Unlike last time however, the new bill would prohibit judicial review of the law, which would also prevent challenges to any abuses of it.

Submission + - Verizon: Unlimited data now, or iPhone 5 later? (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruhlinger on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @03:29PM

jfruhlinger writes: Many Verizon customers have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the iPhone; but now that it's here, many may be willing to wait a few months until the probably release of the iPhone 5 this summer. One way Verizon is trying to get these folks to move now: offer unlimited data plans for a limited time.

Submission + - In HTML5 video format war, Vid.ly is Switzerland (networkworld.com)

Submitted by jbrodkin on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @11:05AM

jbrodkin writes: A site called Vid.ly this week is debuting its answer to the emerging battle between Google, Microsoft and others over the future of HTML5 video standards. Startup Encoding.com says its new service is available in beta and allows any video to be displayed on the five major desktop browsers; mobile devices such as the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry; and even gaming devices like the Nintendo DS, Wii and PlayStation Portable. Vid.ly represents an end run around the industry standards war, a war that could otherwise result in videos developed for Chrome that may not work on Internet Explorer, and vice versa. Instead of creating a universal standard for video, the Vid.ly service transcodes a source video into 14 formats and creates a "universal video URL" that can play the video on any type of device. The link essentially points to 14 separate copies of the same video, but for the end user the experience will be seamless. "If an iPad visits [a Vid.ly] url, we'll deliver an H.264 video in 640x480 version," the Vid.ly's beta site claims. "If a Firefox 3.52 browser visits the url we'll deliver the HTML5 video in OggTheora format."

Submission + - Inception, The Social Network, TS3 get Oscar Noms

Submitted by

CmdrTaco

on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @10:55AM

CmdrTaco writes: "Among the Best Picture nominations this year was Inception and The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and Inception. In addition to TS3, the Animation category has How to Train Your Dragon and
The Illusionist. Also getting a nod in documentary was Exit through the Gift Shop which is worth your time if you are into that sort of thing. You'll have to wait a month to find out who the winners are... and to find out what the stars will wear on the red carpet. Or to play the oscar speech drinking game."

Submission + - Microsoft sues TiVo (bloomberg.com) 1

Submitted by doperative on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @10:09AM

doperative writes: "oeWe remain open to resolving this situation through an intellectual property licensing agreement, and we look forward to continued negotiations with TiVo"

Submission + - ACS: Law withdraws pursuing illegal file-sharers (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Necroloth on Tuesday January 25, 2011 @06:56AM

Necroloth writes: As mentioned previously on Slashdot, ACS: Law has been sending out letters to thousands of alleged file-sharers on behalf on it's client, MediaCAT. However, solicitor, Andrew Crossley, has now ceased all work on such cases citing criminal attacks and death threats. Judge Birss doesn't seem to be taken by this and comments "I am getting the impression with every twist and turn since I started looking at these cases that there is a desire to avoid any judicial scrutiny".
Judge Birss is expected to deliver his judgement on the case later in the week... perhaps all is not lost in the British judicial system.

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