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Youtube

Submission + - YouTube adds facial blurring to protect the innocent (or the guilty) (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
kaizendojo
kaizendojo writes: "YouTube has added another feature to its enhancements tool, allowing you to automate the process of blurring out people's faces in your photos. Its makers are quick to add that it's still an emerging technology, and that it may still miss out on faces depending on lighting obstructions and video quality. YouTube cites footage from human rights issues for bringing the idea forward, where identification of those involved could prove dangerous. You'll be able to preview how it looks, and if you choose to include the blurred option, a new copy is made to avoid losing the unedited original."
Government

Submission + - Judge steps down over US 'enemy' comment in Megaupload case (gigaom.com)

Submitted by
vu1986
vu1986 writes: ""On Tuesday, the chief judge of the New Zealand district court that must decide if Dotcom can be extradited announced that Judge David Harvey had surrendered the case and would be replaced. The move comes after reports that Harvey said ”We have met the enemy and he is [the] U.S.” at a recent conference in relation to the current state of copyright law.""

Comment Re:Wait, what? (Score 1) 292

by jblb (#40239857) Attached to: FBI Used FedEx To Sneak Dotcom's Hard Drives Out of NZ

: "Considering that you helped a foreign power conspire to break NZ law, why should we allow you to continue to work in our country?"

To which the answer would be something like : "Because we're a hideously rich gigantic corporation operating out of your lord and master the US, suck it Kiwis."

And while you at it, sign up for that TPP thing already so we can screw you even more

Submission + - Why do programming languages succeed or fail? (berkeley.edu)

Submitted by magicmat
magicmat writes: UC Berkeley EECS graduate researchers Leo Meyerovich and Ari Rabkin have compiled an interesting data set on the sociological aspect behind programming language usage and adoption. "Socio-PLT" is the result: compiling survey results from Berkeley's recent "software engineering" massive online open course, SourceForge, and two years of The Hammer Principle online surveys, they have discovered some interesting phenomenon about what we, as programmers think about our languages, and why we use them. You can head over and explore the data yourself using cool interactive visualizations, and even fill out a survey yourself to have your say.
Facebook

Submission + - Facebook systematically restricting access to fans unless you pay up (tumblr.com)

Submitted by sparkydevil
sparkydevil writes: Today I wanted to post an update to ALL of my 3800 Facebook fans telling them that I had just updated my karaoke business website when I saw the Promote button: For $5 I can increase the "reach" of my posts to 1100 fans, for $10 FB would increase the reach to 2200 fans, for $15 it would increase the reach to 3300 and for $20 I would have the benefit of being able to reach all of my fans. This essentialy confirms what many fan page owners have suspected — that FB has been systematically restricting reach over the past year so that they could "fix" the problem by introducing the promote feature.

This is a slap in the face to people like me who have spent many thousands of dollars getting those fans to sign up to their page — Facebook is effectively restricting access to my own fans unless I pay up. Basically Facebook is saying those fans don't belong to me, but belong to them.

Comment Re:A Kiwi who moved to Canada (Score 1) 357

by jblb (#40226559) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Reasonable Immigration Policy For Highly-Trained Workers?

So how easy would it be for a US developer with mad skillz to emigrate, even temporarily, to NZ to work?

Not too difficult, but easier to down the skilled migrant permanent residency route. Input your details in the points calculator - 140 points means you're selected straightaway. 120 points and IT experience means you'll probably be selected in a few months. Difficult to get a job offer without securing a visa beforehand, and preferably being in the country already too.. Australia is probably easier for a temporary work permit - check out the '457' visa
NASA

Submission + - Intelsat Signs Launch Contract with SpaceX (spacex.com)

Submitted by jamstar7
jamstar7 writes: Following the success of the Falcon9/Dragon resupply test to the ISS comes the following announcement:

Washington, DC / Hawthorne, CA May 29, 2012 — Today, Intelsat, the world's leading provider of satellite services, and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the world's fastest growing space launch company, announced the first commercial contract for the Falcon Heavy rocket.

"SpaceX is very proud to have the confidence of Intelsat, a leader in the satellite communication services industry," said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer. "The Falcon Heavy has more than twice the power of the next largest rocket in the world. With this new vehicle, SpaceX launch systems now cover the entire spectrum of the launch needs for commercial, civil and national security customers."

As of yet, the Falcon Heavy hasn't flown, but all the parts have been tested. Essentially an upgunned Falcon 9 with strapon boosters, the Heavy has lift capability second only to the Saturn 5. Already scheduled for 4 Falcon Heavy launches for the US Air Force this year, the Intelsat contract represents the true dawn of the commercial space age.
NASA

Submission + - Cool space shot: Venus set to cross Sun (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "You likely have been told your entire life not to stare directly at the but for an event happening next month you may want to figure out how to get a peek. NASA said on June 5th, 2012, Venus will pass in front of the sun, "producing a silhouette that no one alive today will likely see again.""
United States

Submission + - Homeland Battlefield Act Portion Found Unconstitutional By New York Judge (huffingtonpost.com)

Submitted by
TheGift73
TheGift73 writes: "NEW YORK — A judge on Wednesday struck down a portion of a law giving the government wide powers to regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists, saying it left journalists, scholars and political activists facing the prospect of indefinite detention for exercising First Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said in a written ruling that a single page of the law has a "chilling impact on First Amendment rights." She cited testimony by journalists that they feared their association with certain individuals overseas could result in their arrest because a provision of the law subjects to indefinite detention anyone who "substantially" or "directly" provides "support" to forces such as al-Qaida or the Taliban. She said the wording was too vague and encouraged Congress to change it.

"An individual could run the risk of substantially supporting or directly supporting an associated force without even being aware that he or she was doing so," the judge said.

She said the law also gave the government authority to move against individuals who engage in political speech with views that "may be extreme and unpopular as measured against views of an average individual."
NASA

Submission + - NASA counts 4,700 potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids (networkworld.com) 1

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "NASA continues to get a better handle on the asteroids buzzing around in space saying today that there are roughly 4,700 potentially hazardous asteroids, or as NASA calls them PHAs.
NASA says these PHAs are a subset of a larger group of near-Earth asteroids but have the closest orbits to Earth's – passing within five million miles (or about eight million kilometers) and are big enough to survive passing through Earth's atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale."

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