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Comment Re:stupid slashdot 'editors' (Score 4, Informative) 224

by Guanix (#20659789) Attached to: US Register of Copyrights Says DMCA Is 'Working Fine'
"Registrar" would make more sense, but check out this provision of the copyright code (17 U.S.C. 701):

All administrative functions and duties under this title, except as otherwise specified, are the responsibility of the Register of Copyrights as director of the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. The Register of Copyrights, together with the subordinate officers and employees of the Copyright Office, shall be appointed by the Librarian of Congress, and shall act under the Librarian's general direction and supervision.
So it seems that the copyright act itself refers to her as the Register of Copyrights. The Oxford English Dictionary contains this use as "register, n. 2":

a. The keeper of a register; a REGISTRAR. (In common use c 1580-1800.)
United States

Submission + - McCarthyism 2.0?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Register is running an interesting follow up story (previously mentioned on Slashdot) of the bomb scare in Boston this past Wednesday. For those of you who don't know, Boston was brought to a standstill on Wednesday by what amounts to a marketing misunderstanding when people mistook promotional neon signs as bombs. The blogosphere was abuzz with questions of the validity of these "bombs." What is dangerous here is the fact that these two non-American marketing freelancers may ultimately be punished (and possibly deported) when they very likely had no intent, nor even any reason to believe, that this marketing campaign would cause this type of commotion. If there intent was to create a marketing stunt where they designed a number of props that looked like bombs then this is something that should definitely be prosecuted. And, if these gorilla marketing agents knew that they were causing this scare and did not speak up, then this too should be prosecuted. Bomb threats should not be taken lightly, in all likelihood the city of Boston did the right thing. However, in their vigilance, these occasional bomb threat misfires will occur.

What is scarier here are the implications: "The government has ceased with even the formality of asking questions, instead deciding to take the most punitive route possible." Though it is very important that Mayor Menino is "going to take this seriously," this may very well be a situation where the city of Boston feels it has to prosecute-to-the-max because it has egg on its face. Taken a step further, if the government starts prosecuting without being thoughtful first, at what point does one go to jail because their neighbor "felt threatened" over the box of old electronic junk you accidentally left on your curb?
Moon

Submission + - Anti-Scientology Activist Keith Henson Arrested

Submitted by
kulakovich
kulakovich writes: "One of the founders of the L5 Society, Cryonics advocate, and well known anti-Scientology activist Keith Henson, was taken into custody yesterday in Arizona, on an outstanding warrant for picketing a Scientology office back in 2001. There is much concern over his current condition at this time due to medication requirements as well as fear for his well-being. He and his family had been receiving death-threats prior to the arrest. The Extropy Institute immediately set up a Henson Legal Defense Fund on his behalf. Henson is also known for his work with the US Congress on Lunar policy in the early 80s."
Software

Is Computer Programming a Good Job for Retirees? 147

Posted by Cliff from the never-too-old dept.
braindrainbahrain asks: "Ask Slashdot has been rife with career advice lately, so maybe I can get some too. I hit a milestone recently, the big five oh, and the realization of retirement is starting to settle in. The trouble is, I don't want to sit around, play golf, or even travel that much. I work in a technical field, but I have always enjoyed programming. Indeed, I do it as a hobby. I wonder what you readers would think about programming as a post retirement job. It seems well suited for a retiree, one could do contract work for a few months of the year, in some cases work from home even. By way of background, I have worked in hardware engineering for a very long time, and have pursued graduate study almost regularly (two Masters degrees so far). Should I begin preparing for a post-retirement career in computer science?"
Upgrades

Submission + - Vista the iPod Killer

Submitted by JMB
JMB writes: You know how we all thought the Zune was Microsoft's attempt to kill off the iPod? Not so. According to this item on Apple's site all you have to do is upgrade to Vista and your iPod goes ka-boom. From the article: 'Ejecting an iPod from the Windows System Tray using the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature may corrupt your iPod.' Now that's a feature!
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Apples reasons why a Mac is better than Vista.

Submitted by
antirelic
antirelic writes: "I just got this advertisement from Apple in my email. "It's time to get a Mac. If you're thinking of upgrading to Vista, you'll probably need a new computer. Why not get a Mac? It's simpler, more secure, and way more fun. And it works with the stuff you already have, like printers and cameras. So before you upgrade anything, you owe it to yourself to check out a Mac." Is any of this true? Is a Mac more secure than Vista and really easier to use and more secure?"
Biotech

Submission + - Runner-Up of Man of the Year Jailed For Pedophilia

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Acclaimed geneticist William French Anderson, who was runner-up for Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1995, was sentenced to a 14 year jail term for molesting his assistant's daughter. Prosecutors argued that Anderson began molesting the girl when she was 10. She has since suffered depression and considered suicide. Anderson's lawyers argued that he is too valuable to science and medical research to be put in jail. Many of Anderson's colleagues, including a Nobel Prize winner, have sent letters to the court in support of him. His lawyers will appeal the sentence.
Privacy

Computer's Heat May Unmask Anonymized PCs 146

Posted by Zonk from the i-seee-you dept.
Virtual_Raider writes "Wired is carrying a story about a method developed by security researchers to identify computers hiding behind anonymity services. From the article: 'His victim is the Onion Router, or "Tor" — a sophisticated privacy system that lets users surf the web anonymously. Tor encrypts a user's traffic, and bounces it through multiple servers, so the final destination doesn't know where it came from. Murdoch set up a Tor network at Cambridge to test his technique, which works like this: If an attacker wants to learn the IP address of a hidden server on the Tor network, he'll suddenly request something difficult or intensive from that server. The added load will cause it to warm up.'"

Linux/Mac/Windows File Name Friction 638

Posted by Hemos from the like-doing-it-with-sandpaper dept.
lessthan0 writes "In 1995, Microsoft added long file name support to Windows, allowing more descriptive names than the limited 8.3 DOS format. Mac users scoffed, having had long file names for a decade and because Windows still stored a DOS file name in the background. Linux was born with long file name support four years before it showed up in Windows. Today, long file names are well supported by all three operating systems though key differences remain. "

Notebook with Huge 20 Inch Screen Reviewed 307

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the desktop-replacement-not-laptop dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Trusted reviews has a look at the Acer Aspire 9800. This massive machine has a 20.1" screen, two 120GB hard drives in a RAID 0 array, super-multi DVD burner, analogue and digital TV tuners and an Intel Core Duo dual core CPU. And at over 17lb you can even use it for weight training!"

TV Outside the Box 55

Posted by Zonk from the watching-some-internets dept.
C|Net has a story up looking at ways TV stations are moving online. An event on the subject was held during the annual marketing conference sponsored by the Television Bureau of Advertising. From the article: "For the first time, the conference was devoted to a single topic: the importance of the 'multiplatform'--that is, offering content and advertising not only on local broadcast stations but also online, on cell phones and other wireless devices, through video on demand and video iPods. The sole topic was intended to underscore that 'advertisers and their agencies are increasingly demanding a multiplatform strategy from all their media partners,' said Christopher Rohrs, president of the bureau, in a speech he gave to almost 1,200 attendees to begin the conference. "

Perens Launches 'OpenSourceParking' 167

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the just-bragging-rights dept.
miller60 writes "Open source evangelist Bruce Perens has launched OpenSourceParking, a service designed to boost domain parking on open source software. The project is a response to a large gain by Microsoft in the April Netcraft survey, with Windows' share jumping 5 percent as domain registrar Go Daddy moved 4.5 million parked domains from Linux to Windows Server 2003. To regain that share, Perens is calling on open source users to park undeveloped domains at OpenSourceParking, with the advertising revenue being used to fund political advocacy efforts on behalf of open source software. Parking-for-profit has grown into a significant business in recent years. Despite ambivalence over the value of these sites, Perens appears to believe it merits a focused effort for the open source community."

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