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Censorship

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

Submitted by FutureDomain
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 + - Starbucks: Now You Can Buy Your Latte with Your Ph (wordpress.com)

Submitted by cybracorp
cybracorp writes: RFID technology is hitting every kind of retailer out there. We have heard of it making big waves in the apparel industry, but people haven’t really been able to see the perks of RFID in their every day lives. That’s all about to change, especially if you are a coffee drinker.
Data Storage

Submission + - Bacteria as storage (computerworld.com)

Submitted by mjoseff
mjoseff writes: Chinese students are exploring storing data in bacteria. If biostorage and bioencryption (http://news.discovery.com/tech/bacteria-work-as-hard-drives-110110.html) are being explored what's next?
Censorship

Submission + - Tunisia: The West Censors The Web, So We Can Too (techdirt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: While part of the reason for the regime change in Tunisia was government censorship, it appears the new government still wants to censor the internet — and is defending that plan by pointing out that Europe and the US censor the web too in their own ways, with blacklists and copyright takedowns. Perhaps the US and the EU should stop just talking about internet freedoms and actually live up to those ideals directly.
Security

Submission + - Conficker Group: We failed to curb infections (threatpost.com)

Submitted by chicksdaddy
chicksdaddy writes: A new report from the Conficker Working Group concludes that coordinated efforts to stomp out the botnet were a mixed bag: helping to thwart the worm's efforts to register Web domains that it used to spread, while failing to stamp out infections on Windows computers, Threatpost reports. The "lessons learned" report released this month analyzes the fruits of a two year-old effort by a consortium of security firms, ISPs and top level domain (TLD) operators to battle variants of the Conficker worm. The group became a model of how to respond to and slow the spread of fast-moving, modern malware. However, the Conficker Working Group said it largely failed in its efforts to disinfect computers and eliminate the threat of the botnet. Millions of Conficker infected PCs remain. A larger, more permanent private-public partnership may be needed to focus on a "long term battle," rather than ad-hoc efforts to quash specific threats, the report concluded.

Submission + - The ghost towns of China (dailymail.co.uk) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: These satellite images show sprawling cities built in remote parts of China that have been left completely abandoned, sometimes years after their construction.

Elaborate public buildings and open spaces are completely unused, with the exception of a few government vehicles near communist authority offices.

Some estimates put the number of empty homes at as many as 64 million, with up to 20 new cities being built every year in the country's vast swathes of free land.

The photographs have emerged as a Chinese government think tank warns that the country's real estate bubble is getting worse, with property prices in major cities overvalued by as much as 70 per cent.
Music

Submission + - An album in a month - The 2011 RPM Challenge (rpmchallenge.com) 1

Submitted by janap
janap writes: In January of 2008, I discovered the RPM Challenge through an article on Slashdot. What I read was this: "Record a whole album in the month of February. Just do it!" — Yea right, as if I'm able to do that...

But, in dire need of a creative kick in the butt, I decided to throw myself at the chance to prove myself, to myself. I came out at the other end of it a changed man, and I've been back for more of the same every year since. The sense of accomplishment that this little artificial deadline you impose upon yourself carries with it upon completion is incredible, and has to be experienced. By you? Yes, why not? Anyone can come up with an excuse to say no, so don't. Remember — this doesn't have to be "the" album, all it takes is "an" album. And there's a great community of peers to draw experience from, in blogs and boards at the site. Welcome!

Comment For medical purposes (Score 1) 260

by janap (#29882183) Attached to: Asus Releases Desktop-Sized Supercomputer

From TFA: "Computers able to perform at such high speeds can be used in a variety of ways, including scientific research, image manipulation, engineering modeling or for medical purposes."

Medical purposes? Really? OK, so I vote this is a better solution than a shot in the arm against the pig sniffles. Give them away for free, government sponsored!
Censorship

Submission + - Facebook rejects common email address (jana.se)

Submitted by
janap
janap writes: "I was attempting to sign up for a Facebook account, as a lot of my friends already signed up, and they were asking me to also join in. But as I was trying to enter my information, I got repeatedly rejected. The reason was that my email address wasn't "valid". Well, like a lot of people I run my own personal domain, and the address I was entering was info@mypersonal.domain. I wrote and complained to their support, and got this for a reply: "Hi Xxxx, Unfortunately we do not support email addresses with generic prefixes like the email you have listed (i.e. info@, webmaster@ etc.). You will need to use a personal email address that does not contain this type of prefix. Since email addresses of this nature are typically used for organizations and businesses, we do not allow them to be used for personal Facebook accounts. There are no exceptions to this rule. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this policy may have caused you. Thanks for contacting Facebook, Xxxxx Customer Support Representative Facebook" Well, I genuinely use this address as my main email account. It's easy for people to remember, as the domain name is the same as my first name. Of course it's not a problem for me to use any other account name, but it's a nuiscance. After you join Facebook, I'm told your email address is stuck with you, it can never change. And who are they to choose which email address I can and cannot have? For now, I'm giving Facebook a big miss. The nerve."

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