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Censorship

Submission + - TSA Filtering Public Plane Crash Documentation?

Submitted by Cutriss
Cutriss writes: AP is reporting allegations that the US Transportation Security Administration is reportedly screening documentation concerning the crash of Comair Flight 5191 in August 2006. The agency states that it has no role in the investigation of the crash itself, but apparently is concerned about sensitive information about airport operations becoming public. The documentation review has slowed the investigation process and also delayed the pending lawsuits filed by families of the victims, and when the documentation is finally released to the court, it will be given with redactions in place. The crash was determined to be caused by a variety of human errors contributing to the pilots' use of a runway too short to support the plane's takeoff, so the involvement of the TSA has raised eyebrows amongst some.
Announcements

Submission + - EU to change definition of "open standard"

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The EU is considering to change the definition of "open standards". It has a consultation process that is not publicized at all. Please submit opinions in favor of open standards, or else we will suddenly wake up to having lost a very important battle. On the form, ask for the use of open standards, as defined by the European Interoperability Framework for pan-European eGovernment Services (Version 1.0, 2004, page 9) for all information, be it in documents, video, sounds, etc. published on the websites of the European Commission. 34
Power

Submission + - The Argument Against Renewable Energy (newscientist.com)

Submitted by
InvisblePinkUnicorn
InvisblePinkUnicorn writes: "Biologist and climate expert Jesse Ausubel looks at the downsides of renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind, and biomass, and argues in favor of nuclear power as the most environmentally friendly. He calls renewable sources 'boutique fuels' that 'look attractive when they are quite small. But if we start producing renewable energy on a large scale, the fallout is going to be horrible.' In order to minimize the 'rape of nature', the best energy solution is 'increased efficiency, natural gas with carbon capture, and nuclear power.' For comparison, a 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant would produce the same amount of energy as 1,000 square miles of farmland used for biomass or 60 square miles of solar panels. Using wind turbines to meet the US electricity demands would require 300,000 square miles of land — about the size of Texas. The journal article abstract is also available."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Voracious Jumbo Squid Invade California (go.com)

Submitted by
starglider29a
starglider29a writes: "Jumbo squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 110 pounds are invading central California waters and preying on local anchovy, hake and other commercial fish populations, according to a study published Tuesday.

"Having a new, voracious predator set up shop here in California may be yet another thing for fishermen to compete with," said the study's co-author, Stanford University researcher Louis Zeidberg. "That said, if a squid saw a human they would jet the other way."

The jumbo squid used to be found only in the Pacific Ocean's warmest stretches near the equator. In the last 16 years, it has expanded its territory throughout California waters, and squid have even been found in the icy waters off Alaska, Zeidberg said.

starglider29a says: This would be YA 'look, climate change' article, were it not for the fact that the Squid Expert is named Zeidberg! ROFLCAKES!"
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Google exec bashes neckties

Submitted by MsManhattan
MsManhattan writes: The necktie 'constricts circulation to the brain' and 'acts as decorative camouflage for the business suit, designed to shield the middle-aged male physique, with its shrinking shoulders and protruding paunch, from feeling sufficiently self-conscious to hit the gym,' wrote Google's global privacy counsel in a letter to the Financial Times. The exec, Peter Fleischer, was responding to an article in the paper's fashion section that advocated the tie as appropriate business attire. Fleischer suggested that the T-shirt is actually a better option in business, explaining: 'Wouldn't you like to know whether your business partners are fit? Why should you trust a man in business if he abuses his own body?' Casual attire, he added, could also lead to increased creativity.
Television

Submission + - BBC Trust backs calls for Linux iPlayer (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by AnotherDaveB
AnotherDaveB writes: The BBC Trust had a useful and constructive meeting with the Open Source Consortium. The meeting provided an opportunity to hear the OSC's concerns and explain what action the trust has taken to ensure that the new BBC iPlayer becomes platform neutral as soon as possible. Officials reiterated that the BBC Trust is fully committed to users of both the Linux and Mac operating systems having full use of the BBC iPlayer. However, the trust is aware that achieving this is dependent on the actions of third parties outside the BBC's control. It was a condition of approval for the BBC's on-demand services that platform neutrality be achieved within a reasonable period.
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Did you ever have sex in the office? 1

Submitted by
fons
fons writes: "Did you ever have sex in the office?
- No
- Solo sex in the toilet
- Sex with coworker(s) in copyroom
- Sex with coworker(s) in boardroom
- Sex with coworker(s) in CEO's office
- Invited partner to office for sex
- Watched CowboyNEal having sex"
Slashdot.org

Journal Journal: Firehose Interaction: Missing One Thing 2

Journal by blavallee
It would be nice if a firehose submission would automatically minimize after a vote is placed.

Hopefully this shows up in the firehose. But, it is not meant to be a story!
I like the new feel, its just missing that one little touch.

I tend to expand a submission, read the content, place my vote, then minimize the submission before moving on to the next one.
Handhelds

Submission + - Study suggests electrosensitivity is psychological (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
hcdejong
hcdejong writes: "The BBC reports on a recent study into the short-term health effects of electromagnetic radiation from e.g. cell phone towers.

The study conducted double-blind tests and concluded: " Short-term exposure to a typical GSM base station-like signal did not affect well-being or physiological functions in sensitive or control individuals. Sensitive individuals reported elevated levels of arousal when exposed to a UMTS signal. Further analysis, however, indicated that this difference was likely to be due to the effect of order of exposure rather than the exposure itself. "

During these tests, the people who claim to be electrosensitive were unable to distinguish between signal on/off. But when they thought the signal was on they reported more distress. They also had measurably sweatier skin and higher blood pressure, suggesting the problem has a psychological basis.

The study was funded by the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme, a body which is itself funded by industry and government."
Music

Submission + - EFF Backs Mother in Suite Against Universal Music (eff.org)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is being sued by the EFF for forcing Stephanie Lenz's 29-second recording that shows her son hopping and bopping to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy." She reports that she put the video online to share with family & friends and describes this as a legal threat preventing her from sharing precious moments with relatives. The EFF sees this as a blatant disregard of fair use and free speech rights that any citizen holds and is asking a federal court to protect it. Universal, at one point seemed to reach a deal with YouTube, although this apparently was not made with the customer in mind, is Universal's "Take my ball and play elsewhere" attitude permanent? I wonder if the artist himself, Prince, will make a public announcement?"
Privacy

Submission + - Mass Stalking Organized On Facebook

Submitted by
Jack Action
Jack Action writes: "Police in Cambridge, Ontario are investigating a 700-hundred member Facebook group that was dedicated to harassing and posting humiliating photos of a black, apparently homeless woman. Called "Obeeba Sightings" (the name group administers gave to the woman), Facebook members called the woman racist and sexually explict names, and called for her to be run over by a car and put in a trash compactor. In their response to the incident, Cambridge police indicated Facebook cooperated fully with them in their investigation to the point of handing over IP addresses for all those involved in the group; at which point Facebook shut down the group. Police say it is the worst case of online harassment they have ever seen.

Recent research indicates Facebook is homogeneous even by the standards of the internet, and that members of social networks are more likely to "cyber-bully." Is this a sign that cyber-bulling will get worse as social networks make themselves more like-minded and exclusive? Should companies like Facebook be held responsible for the bad behaviour of their members? Or is this just the nature of distance and anonymity on the internet?"
Mozilla

Submission + - Mozilla admits Firefox is flawed just like IE (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by jdelator
jdelator writes: In a public mea culpa, Mozilla Corp.'s chief security officer acknowledged today that Firefox includes the same flaw that the company called a "critical vulnerability" in Internet Explorer during a two-week ruckus over responsibility for a Windows zero-day bug.

"Over the weekend, we learned about a new scenario that identifies ways that Firefox could also be used as the entry point," said Window Snyder of Mozilla. "While browsing with Firefox, a specially crafted URL could potentially be used to send bad data to another application.

"We thought this was just a problem with IE," Snyder continued. "It turns out, it is a problem with Firefox as well."
The Media

Submission + - The Commons Revisited

Submitted by fermion
fermion writes: As a few of you might know, Dr, John H. Lienhard has a radio show called the Engines of our Ingenuity. Todays show, The Commons Revisted, is a wonderful essay on the Internet, Wikipedia, and copyleft. In it he moves from the tragedy of the commons, and one's inability to build a house in, or indeed ride a ATV through, Yellowstone National park, to the need for copyleft to protect to protect our inventions from being absorbed by the greedy. The highlight was a concise explanation of why so many are so afraid of Wikipedia.
The Internet

Submission + - Can you replace a PC with a $99 black box? (wordpress.com)

Submitted by
Mr. Zonbu
Mr. Zonbu writes: "From the introduction to the Mr. Zonbu Blog: http://mrzonbu.wordpress.com/

Hello everyone,

I recently read an article about a new silicon valley company called "Zonbu" who is selling a low cost/low power PC that they are positioning as an environmentally friendly desktop PC replacement. You can find their website here: http://zonbu.com/

Zonbu Mini-PC

I was intrigued. I think the green thing is seriously overplayed, but saving power always helps. In my neck of the woods I pay almost $.40 per kilowatt/hour so I'm probably a bit more motivated than most...

I watched a few YouTube videos, read a few reviews, listened to Chris Prillo prattle on excitedly about it as he unboxed and set up his trial unit (you can watch the video here) and decided to order one to see what all the hype is about.

Now, to be fair, I should mention I work in the broadband business and have exposure to a very wide variety of end users on a daily basis so I probably have a better idea than most about what the average broadband home user does and what hurdles they run in to. In fact, over the past few years I've been involved in a number of initiatives that have resulted in a significant reduction in our call volumes by introducing various solutions to help limit the impact of spyware and viruses on the network. Needless to say, a semi "locked down" but fully functioning Internet ready PC has its appeal.

Like many of you reading this, I also have various family members whose PCs I get called on to support. I was amused to read that Zonbu's founder was motivated to pursue this particular project because he found it difficult to support his father's windows PC (back in France) remotely from the US. It got me thinking, I should try this thing out and see if it really is a viable option. Which then got me thinking... What do I really use my home PC for? But more on that later..

Since this is 2007 and we live in a 24/7 reality TV, blog about it, nothing is private, "google is indexing the contents of your underwear drawer as you read this" world, I thought I might as well throw my hat in the ring and tell you if it really is suitable to replace a low end desktop PC used primarily for Internet access. Besides, if this lady can draw an audience and make a name for herself by being attractive and unpacking electronics at her kitchen table then I can probably at least elicit a few snickers...

What follows in this blog is my experience with the Zonbu, from ordering it, to musings while I await delivery, to installing it and attempting to use it for virtually all my daily computing tasks for at least a month. I'm not going to dissect the hardware (which isn't really unique to Zonbu anyway — more on that later), or analyze the various apps, or get religious about the flavour of linux it runs or the apps available on it natively. I'm going to plug it in, hook it up, and tell you what happens.

Oh, and don't be alarmed if you do come home from a movie Tuesday night and find two college kids in a Google Beetle are rifling through your underwear drawer with a flashlight and a digital camera. I wasn't kidding...

-Mr. Zonbu"

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