mh101 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Singer Keith Urban sues Keith Urban over Web site

Submitted by Ec|ipse on Tuesday February 06, 2007 @10:09PM

Ec|ipse writes: Yahoo is running a story about Country singer Keith Urban who has filed a lawsuit against a painter of the same name, claiming that the lesser known Keith Urban's Web site infringes trademark and cyber-squatting laws. The singer, 39, wants the other Web site to be shut down and its domain name transferred to his ownership. He also seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The only thing I know about Keith Urban is that he's married to Nicole Kidman. Doesn't mean he's more popular, just means he's "the guy who married Nicole Kidman after that shorter guy left her".

Submission + - Steve Jobs 'Apple would drop DRM in a heartbeat'

Submitted by

Dhrakar

on Tuesday February 06, 2007 @08:56PM

Dhrakar writes: "Apple has posted a truly fascinating open letter from Steve jobs on its website: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic In it Apple lists the reasons why the cannot license FairPlay and also calls on folks who do not like DRM to take it up with the music companies "Convincing [music companies] to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly"."

Submission + - music "artist" Keith Urban sues artist Kei

Submitted by someone reading cnn on Tuesday February 06, 2007 @08:55PM

someone reading cnn writes: The country singer Keith Urban has decided it best to sue Keith Urban the oil painter. Apparently music artist Keith Urban is offended that another soul with his name would dare try to sell his work online with the cleverly named website keithurban.com. From the Article: "Keith Urban, the country singer, has filed a lawsuit against Keith Urban, the painter from New Jersey, claiming the painter's Web site violates federal trademark laws. The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, says Keith D. Urban of Wayne, New Jersey, is using his keithurban.com domain in a deceptive manner and for commercial purposes."

Submission + - Open letter from Steve Jobs regarding DRM

Submitted by on Tuesday February 06, 2007 @08:00PM

An anonymous reader writes: Apple has posted an online open letter from Steve Jobs regarding his thoughts on DRM and where we are headed. In it, Steve sees three choices on where we go from here. Either things continue as they are with each vendor using DRM to protect against music piracy, Apple opens its DRM to all competitors (and attempts to deal with the ensuing headaches resulting from the likely compromise of the DRM that would eventually follow), or the big 4 labels endorse selling music online without copy protection. Jobs also notes that approximately 22 billion songs were sold last year — 2 billion with online DRM, and 20 billion with no DRM on the standard CD format. He goes on to say that Apple would welcome getting rid of all DRM should the record labels allow it. Is this just a PR move by Apple or an indication of where they would like to see online music sales go in the future?

Submission + - The Beginning of the end for Jack Thompson?

Submitted by Buzzsaw5 on Saturday February 03, 2007 @08:58PM

Buzzsaw5 writes: Looks like anti video game activist and jackleg lawyer Jack Thompson's unscrupulous actions in his crusade to bring down Take-Two (publisher of the Grand Theft Auto game series), and anyone who disagrees with him, may have finally caught up to him. As reported at GamePolitics, Thompson "faces a disciplinary hearing before a referee appointed by the Florida Supreme Court. The pending judicial review follows a recent recommendation by the Florida Bar that five counts of professional misconduct against Thompson should proceed to the state's high court for action. If the charges are eventually upheld, Thompson could face disciplinary action up to and including disbarment." Thompson has assured GP that the Florida bar is in more trouble than he is (presumably for daring to sully his prophetic image). The sad thing is that regardless of the beat down he's facing, clueless and/or sensationalist media outlets and activists will continue to give credence to Jack Thompson's inanity, slander and outright lies. Don't expect Thompson to go down without a fierce fight, as he will do anything to remain relevant.

Submission + - IBM assures the future of Moore's Law

Submitted by Teilo on Tuesday January 30, 2007 @01:36AM

Teilo writes: Moore's Law is safe once again, as IBM announces a major breakthrough in the fabrication of IC transistors. The new method allows a critical component of the transistor to be replaced with a new material that will allow for smaller, faster, and lower-powered transistors. Even better news: The new process can be integrated into the existing fabrication lines without retooling.

Submission + - Cancer cure Ignored due to not being profitable

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 30, 2007 @01:02AM

An anonymous reader writes: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10971-cheap- safe-drug-kills-most-cancers.html It sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their "immortality". The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders and so is known to be relatively safe. It also has no patent, meaning it could be manufactured for a fraction of the cost of newly developed drugs. Evangelos Michelakis of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and his colleagues tested DCA on human cells cultured outside the body and found that it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells, but not healthy cells. Tumours in rats deliberately infected with human cancer also shrank drastically when they were fed DCA-laced water for several weeks. DCA attacks a unique feature of cancer cells: the fact that they make their energy throughout the main body of the cell, rather than in distinct organelles called mitochondria. This process, called glycolysis, is inefficient and uses up vast amounts of sugar. [.........]

Submission + - eBay Bans its Chairman's Competition

Submitted by

theodp

on Tuesday January 30, 2007 @01:00AM

theodp writes: "A day after news broke that eBay was delisting all virtual property auctions, the auctioneer announced that it was specifically exempting Linden Lab's Second Life from the ban. Linden Labs is backed by Pierre Omidyar, who is also eBay's Founder and Chairman. So does this pass the Conflict of Interest smell test? eBay seems to think so."

Submission + - Ultimate anti-burglary alarm: FOG and LIGHT wall

Submitted by

aariasp

on Tuesday January 30, 2007 @12:32AM

aariasp writes: "Burglars can clean out a surprising amount of merchandise or property with a Smash and Grab, where they target specific items, and run way before the Police has time to arrive. A typical high-end computer setup costs $10,000 + and two guys can take it in 3 minutes. FlashFog is a pretty extreme technology that neutralizes burglars by filling the whole room with incredibly thick fog while making it glow with a 1500W of plasma strobe light. The fog makes a loud hizzing sound as it comes out. The smallest model pumps 117 cubic feet of pea-soup dense fog per second, easily filling an average room in about 30 seconds. Plasma converts electricity much more effectevely into light than incandencent lights bulbs do, therefore the 1500 watt, 12 pulse per second light creates a blinding effect that multiplies the apparent density of the fog, keep the eyes in constant shock and immediatedly upon break in show that the owner has an extreme security system. The fog looks like a rollling cloud. The vast majority of burglars run right away, but those who stay risk getting caught, as the Police is dispatched normally. The fog is stable for 45 minutes and leaves absolutely no residue, and its non toxic. It is activated by the installed alarm. To see an article recently published: http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News &file=article&sid=976 www.flashfogsecurity.com"

Submission + - New Duke Nukem Forever screenshot released

Submitted by Datamonstar on Monday January 29, 2007 @11:56PM

Datamonstar writes: Gametrailers.com reports a confirmation of sorts for the existence of Duke Nukem Forever. According to the article:

"In what almost feels like a sick joke, the guys at 3D Realms have appeared out of the ether to reaffirm the existence of the vaporware that is Duke Nukem Forever."
The picture's authenticity was confirmed "After finding an image of Duke on a Gameasutra jobs posting for a programmer at 3D Realms, members of the Shacknews messageboards discussed its authenticity until George Broussard, co-creator of the franchise, popped up to verify it as an in-game image." The article is quick to admit that "The screenshot offers little in terms of information. It simply shows Duke in typical fashion: grimacing behind a pair of sunglasses while holding some pistols." But it also states "It took 'em 10 years to make this screenshot, so you'd better appreciate it." If this event is any indication at all, it would seem that the game's production is still moving (somewhat) forward after all.

Submission + - The Top 10 Improvements In Windows Vista

Submitted by digihome on Monday January 29, 2007 @08:53PM

digihome writes: From the bet-you-didn't-think-they-could-find-ten department: Now that Windows Vista is really here, CRN.com chooses the top 10 reasons that it beats Windows XP. See for yourself. http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingn ews.jhtml?articleId=197000653

Submission + - Windows Vista Slower Than XP In Gaming Benchmarks

Submitted by

bonch

on Monday January 29, 2007 @08:06PM

bonch writes: "Techgage benchmarks show that Windows XP beats Vista in gaming benchmarks. Tests included Half-Life 2, Quake IV, and 3D Mark and showed a framerate drop in Vista using finalized NVidia drivers. The primary conclusion is that Vista is not an operating system for gamers at this point in time."

How eBay Sellers Fix Auctions 556

Posted by Hemos on Monday January 29, 2007 @10:44AM from the the-accussed-hereby-stand dept.

Boj writes "The Times online is carrying stories on fraud carried out on eBay using shill bidding. Citing eBay's changes to security as aiding the shill bidders and this fraud: "Last November eBay changed its rules to conceal bidders' identity — making it even more difficult for customers to see whether sellers are bidding on their own lots.""

New Molecules for a Faster Internet 94

Posted by Zonk on Friday January 05, 2007 @11:26PM from the just-think-all-of-the-internets-could-benefit dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "An international team of researchers has discovered a new generation of optical molecules which interact 50% more strongly with light than any molecules ever tested. These organic molecules, known as chromophores, have been theorized by physicists at Washington State University, synthesized by chemists in China and tested for their actual optical properties by chemists in Belgium. But if they're excellent candidates for being used in optical technologies such as optical switches and Internet connections, these new materials should not be used before several years — if ever. Read more for additional details and a picture of the physicist who broke a law he established in 1999."

DieHard, the Software 230

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday January 01, 2007 @09:24PM from the yippie-ki-yay-and-other-flying-quotes dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "No, it's not another movie sequel. DieHard is a piece of software which helps programs to run correctly and protects them from a range of security vulnerabilities. It has been developed by computer scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst — and Microsoft. DieHard prevents crashes and hacker attacks by focusing on memory. Our computers have thousands times more memory than 20 years ago. Still, programmers are privileging speed and efficiency over security, which leads to the famous "buffer overflows" which are exploited by hackers."

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