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Submission + - HDCP Master Key Possibly Leaked

Submitted by Vertana
Vertana writes: HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection and is used by content providers to secure digital works on the connection between digital displays. It does this by encrypting the stream of data between two digital connections (ie an HDMI to HDMI connection) and having the destination (your monitor) decode it and display the data. This has caused older displays that do not come equipped with HDCP to display high definition content (such as Blu-Ray movies) even if they have the digital ports required. In order to fight this issue, someone has now leaked the alleged HDCP Master Key. This is being discussed here and here.

Submission + - Escaping ions explain the mystery of Venus (cosmosmagazine.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The difference in the escape velocities of ions may help to explain why Venus isn’t more like Earth, scientists say, and it may come down to a planet’s core.
Education

Submission + - Second Bachelor's in Engineering? 1

Submitted by CrunchyCookie
CrunchyCookie writes: Dear /.,

Having spent a good 50 hours reading local discussion threads in the hopes of absorbing the immense wisdom of the Slashdot community, I know this might've been asked before, but... what do y'all think about the idea of going back to college at age 30 to pursue engineering? It's a question I've been struggling with since this recession began (yep, that long), but despite all the reading/research I do, I still don't feel like I know enough about your world to form an answer.

First, a little background about my predicament. I graduated 8 long years ago from UC Riverside with a BS in Business Administration, and basically didn't enjoy a minute of it. In addition to the low caliber student body and teaching quality, most material in the major struck me as boring and/or a load of crap (think marketing). After two years of post-grad temp-hopping, 2004 came around and I somehow sort of achieved my dream of becoming an automotive journalist (which combined my two passions, analytical essay writing and cars). But my experience with the few employers in the field left me less than satisfied (it's either no byline, lame salary, or no creative freedom). Coupled with the fact that auto writing is a niche-within-a-niche that will only shrink further as time marches on, my practical side tells me it would be dumb to rely on. Sadly, my degree hasn't worked out to be the safety net I'd hoped, judging by the 500+ resumes I've spammed the world with since 2008, almost ZERO of which led to interviews (writing jobs, tech writing jobs, financial/data analyst jobs, market research jobs... no bites all around). Even adjusting for recessionary times, that's pathetic, and a good indication that I'm in for a lifetime of being discriminated up the ass if I keep trying to fight it alone with such petty credentials.

Naturally, that points me towards more education. I've ruled out B-school and law school: MBA just doesn't appeal to me, and while law does (the logic, justice, and philosophy aspects are cool), I've read enough articles about the epidemic JD oversupply to know the market is saturated. Plus, on top of tuition that's on the far side of ridiculous, both paths seem to lead to spending 70-hour workweeks to make fat $$$$ at the expense of doing enjoyable work — not really in line with my values.

See, I'm just a guy who wants an average income ($60K's fine) to do something, well, INTERESTING, since meaningful work equals a meaningful life. There's only one [set of] field[s] I can think of that seems to potentially provide that: engineering. My attraction's based on a lot of things. First, math/science-based stuff seems to be the only way to make a living doing something a human being could potentially enjoy (unlike equally practical fields like, say, accounting). Other pros: surrounded by smart people, no need for social skills, comes closest to being a pure meritocracy, 40-hour weeks with no dress code, get to live in my native Bay Area (Palo Alto boy here), and usually doing work whose effect on the world is net positive (I'm no humanitarian, but still).

I'm also drawn to it because I fit the profile. While I'm not a classic nerd or some math superpimp, I'm a lot of things engineers supposedly are: logical, analytical, rational, introverted, perfectionistic, obsessive, always looking to optimize efficiency, pretty good at math, enjoyed physics back in K-12, Trekkie, Digger...

But are these are good enough reasons to go for it? I don't even know what I'd really want to engineer (Blu-Ray players? Stereos? Bridges? The next Digg?), so I don't have any inherent specific motivation at the moment. Heck, I don't even know enough to choose between EE or CS (haven't totally ruled out Mech or Civil either), and I've heard many Slashdotters say engineering is something you need to have known you were born to do since age 7 (taking apart toys, programming in your spare time, etc.)

Also, the word on the street about outsourcing and ageism make me hesitant. The outsourcing panic seems to have scared enough people out of the field (circa 2002) to the point where supply and demand are in line again (right?), but ageism seems like an ongoing concern. Articles thrown around here say careers in engineering (and especially CS) die as fast as they do in the NFL, and that most people get their asses booted out by age 40. Given that I'd be 34 when I finished, does that mean I'd only have six years in the field to look forward to?

But still, given that I fit the mold, I'm assuming that if I would find something to like if I did enough exploring, and would do well. Also, I get the feeling that getting the degree could be a wise long-term move even if I don't end up staying in the field for long, since people with tech degrees seem to be at the front of the line for all substantial jobs. Math seems to be the one academic skill rewarded by the real world.

I already talked to UC Davis, who said I'd probably get in if I applied, after spending two years at a CC. Given tuition/books ($2K + $2K + $13K + $13K), plus the opportunity costs of not temp-slaving ($30,000 x 4), I'm looking at a $150,000 journey... yikes. I'd totally go for it if I didn't already have a Bachelor's, but good god that's a steep bill to gain an incremental advantage, especially since I'm still unsure of what I want to do. Still, the increment could be huge.

Sorry this was so long, but I would much appreciate any suggestions on how to tweak, tinker, or engineer my life to improve functionality.
Games

Submission + - Game DLC pricing: Letting customers decide pricing (positech.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: How much should game developers be charging for DLC? It seems that one indie dev has decided to carry out a unique experiment. The latest expansion pack for Gratuitous Space Battles is priced at $5.99, or is it? It turns out there is both a standard ($.5.99) version and a discount version ($2.99). And the difference betwen them is.... nothing. The buyer has been left to make their own decision on whether or not they should pay full price, and send more money to the developer, or treat themselves to a deserved discount. The buy page even lists comparisons of national incomes, average salaries and even the price of sausages to help buyers make up their mind. Will this catch on? Will microsoft start asking us whether or not we should get a discount and trust us to answer honestly?
Businesses

Submission + - Zynga Draws Fire From Ex-Employees (industrygamers.com)

Submitted by Sinner101GR
Sinner101GR writes: Zynga stands as the market leader of a new era of social gaming. With an estimate net worth of $4 billion, the company’s games, including the smash hits Farmville, Zynga Poker, and Frontierville all boast active monthly users in the multi-millions. Unfortunately, Zynga’s meteoric rise has not been without controversy. The company is involved in a class action lawsuit over offer-based ads. Trip Hawkins’ Digital Chocolate is suing Zynga over the use of the Mafia Wars trademark. Hi5 President and CTO, Alex St. John has gone so far as to call the company ‘parasitic’.
Security

Submission + - Hacking Law Doesn't Protect Mail Once it's Read (thinq.co.uk)

Submitted by Stoobalou
Stoobalou writes: Unread spam email enjoys greater protection under UK law than the most confidential messages in your email or voicemail inbox, if you’ve already accessed them.

That was the opinion given by Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates to a hearing of the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee last week.

Yates was receiving a grilling from MPs over the legal protection given to individuals from hacking into voicemail, email and other messaging services in the wake of the controversy surrounding mobile hacking at the News Of The World in 2006, under the editorship of Andy Coulson, now PM David Cameron’s chief spin doctor.

Submission + - Why Twitter's t.co is a game changer (oreilly.com)

Submitted by macslocum
macslocum writes: If Twitter is so inclined, the company could turn the new t.co shortening service into a powerful analytics tool that solves the marketing and tracking issues of off-site engagement.

Submission + - Blogger sued over blog comments (onemansblog.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Adaptive Affinity is sending out threats to bloggers who've said negative things about VistaPrint and Lastminute.com's reward schemes. See http://onemansblog.com/2010/09/04/vistaprint-com-is-threatening-to-sue-me-over-a-blog-comment-really/ for a US example and http://www.consumerdeals.co.uk/news/2010/09/adaptive-affinity-requests-deletion-of-over-190-consumer-comments.html for a UK example
Government

Submission + - EU Surveillance studies disclosed by Pirate Party

Submitted by Spliffster
Spliffster writes: The German pirate Party has disclosed some secret documents on how the EU is planning to monitor citizens. The so called INDECT Documents describe how a seamless surveillance could (or should) be implemented across Europe. The use of CCTV cameras, the internet (social networks) and even the use of UAV's are mentioned as data sources. Two of the nine documents can be downloaded from the German pirate party's Website (PDFs in english).
United Kingdom

Submission + - Government scraps NPfIT's heart (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by ChiefMonkeyGrinder
ChiefMonkeyGrinder writes: NPfIT, said to be the world's biggest civil IT project, has come under the axe as the UK government announced a radical change to the direction for IT in healthcare.
"Ministers said a 'centralised, national approach is no longer required'," reports Mike Simons at Computerworld UK. Simons writes: "The decision will have profound financial and organisational implications in local NHS organisations, and on the suppliers of core NPfIT systems, who may find that their customer base has dried up."
According to Wikipedia, the National Programme for IT was originally expected to cost £2.3 billion over three years. In June 2006, the National Audit Office estimated the cost to be £12.4 billion over 10 years, but since then officials have reportedly estimated the final cost to be as high as £20 billion. This indicates a cost overrun of 440% to 770%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health

Submission + - Europarliament signs declaration against ACTA (europa.eu)

Submitted by
Alioth
Alioth writes: "All is not well with ACTA amongst the members of the European Parliament. Now, 369 members of parliament have signed a declaration against the provisions in ACTA, most significantly against the proposed measures to make ISPs responsible for data that travels over their network, privacy issues, the fact that the ACTA negotiations are being held in secret, and that the ACTA may result in a loss of due process. The declaration is here. There is also a news article in El País about the parliament's declaration (original article in Spanish, and a Google Translation."
Google

Submission + - Android's growing pains (pcpro.co.uk) 2

Submitted by Barence
Barence writes: Android might have overtaken the iPhone in terms of market share, but Google's fledgling mobile OS is having more than its fair share of teething problems, claims PC Pro. There have been reports all year of frustrated Android users waiting for the latest updates to the mobile operating system from either operators or manufacturers. When the upgrades finally arrive, customers complain about glitches and errors. O2 had to pull an update to version 2.2 of Android after users reported it crashed their HTC Desire handsets, and a similar situation arose moving the Dell Streak to version 2.1. “One of the problems is that Google is releasing updates so quickly that developers and manufacturers don't really have a chance to catch up,” said Andreas Constantinou, research director at industry analyst Vision Mobile. Does Google need to take its foot off the Android accelerator?

Comment Re:So ... the War's Back on Then? (Score 1) 336

by myocardialinfarction (#33502106) Attached to: Sony Releases PS3 Firmware Update To Fight Jailbreaks
"Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't think humanity is selfless enough to support a thriving software market on the honor system." just about hits the nail on the head for some areas, especially things seen as trivial and non-critical as games. I'd mod up for that if this were really the place for this sort of discussion and I had any mod points.
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - The price of happiness? $75k researchers say... (chicagotribune.com)

Submitted by SpuriousLogic
SpuriousLogic writes: Does happiness rise with income? In one of the more scientific attempts to answer that question, researchers from Princeton have put a price on happiness. It's about $75,000 in income a year.

They found that not having enough money definitely causes emotional pain and unhappiness. But, after reaching an income of about $75,000 per year, money can't buy happiness. More money can, however, help people view their lives as successful or better.

The study found that people's evaluations of their lives improved steadily with annual income. But the quality of their everyday experiences — their feelings — did not improve above an income of $75,000 a year. As income decreased from $75,000, people reported decreasing happiness and increasing sadness, as well as stress. The study found that being divorced, being sick and other painful experiences have worse effects on a poor person than on a wealthier one.

"More money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain," the authors wrote. "Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals' ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure."

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