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Privacy

Submission + - School taking action against Network freedom 1

Submitted by
Tristan Stillwell
Tristan Stillwell writes: "I am a teenage high school student in the municipality of Bunn, North Carolina.
Today I found out I was suspended from school for ten days for possessing programs that were "capable of doing damage to the private school network". The programs were Firefox Portable and VNC viewer, and BlueJ Java Development Environment. I, an 18 year old high school student, was informed through my aunt, who was called about this disciplinary problem ( Isn't this private information?). I have no chance to appeal this suspension and are being forcefully and permanently removed from my Java(c) Computer Science and US government and Politics courses which I was taking through the state. I will most likely receive grades of ZERO (0) for both classes, thus destroying any chance I ever have of getting into a decent college. I am initially receiving a 10 day suspension, and then possibly a longer suspension pending investigation. Note- the school has found nothing I might have done to potentially cause damage to the network, I was suspended for having the programs- nothing else. I plan to contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation for help with this clearly unfair oppression. The only (thought) crime I have committed is one arousing suspicion, not arriving from action. I will provide further information after I officially receive the suspension."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - XKCD 'Dream Girl' Meetup (remote.net)

Submitted by
Fireflymantis
Fireflymantis writes: "In yet another example of Randall Munroe, author of the popular webcomic XKCD manipulating reality. A large meetup in boston was spurred today due to one of his comic strips which turned a small park in Boston into a bustling center of geekdom. Check out the photos and smile.

Everything went smooth, no velociraptor attacks occured (though there was one there, it seemed to be just want to dance), and it goes to show that sometimes wanting something actually can make it real."
Security

Submission + - Federal Agent's Raid Homes for Modchips (physorg.com)

Submitted by Lunatrik
Lunatrik writes: Invoking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, Federal Custom's Agents have raided over 30 homes and businesses looking to confiscate so-called 'mod chips', or other devices that allow the playback of pirated video games. This raises an important question: Are legitimate backup copies of a piece of software you own illegal under the DMCA?
The Internet

Submission + - Disney to Buy Club Penguin for $350 million (centernetworks.com)

Submitted by babooo404
babooo404 writes: Disney has announced plans to acquire Club Penguin for $350 million in cash plus another potential $350 million if certain revenue targets are met. Founded by three Canadian fathers in late 2005, Club Penguin has quickly rocketed to prominence by offering kids the ability to customize their own virtual penguin in an online community. Armed with their penguin avatars, kids can chat with friends, play games and earn coins to buy items such as furnishings for their igloo home.
Microsoft

Submission + - Thwart the Three Biggest Internet Threats (remote.net)

Submitted by
Fireflymantis
Fireflymantis writes: "An interesting look at the three biggest Internet threats of 2007 and how to protect yourself from them. Presented by the MSN network, we find that the greatest web danger is nothing other than IE itself:

Internet Explorer heads the list of top Internet security attack targets in the most recent joint report of the FBI and security organization SANS Institute.
When recommending automatic updating to make IE and Windows safer, the MSN presented guide has this to say:

If you trust Microsoft implicitly, Download updates for me. Let me choose when to install them if you trust the company a little bit, or Notify me but don't automatically download or install them to play it safest.
Very interesting as it is on MSN, but openly makes hits against IE, ActiveX, and the integrity of Microsoft."
Music

Submission + - Harvard Law Prof Urges University to Fight RIAA

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Distinguished Harvard University Law School Professor Charles Nesson has called upon Harvard University to fight back against the RIAA and stand up for its students: "Students and faculty use the Internet to gather and share knowledge now more than ever....Yet "new deterrence and education initiatives" from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) threaten access to this vibrant resource. The RIAA has already requested that universities serve as conduits for more than 1,200 "pre-litigation letters." Seeking to outsource its enforcement costs, the RIAA asks universities to point fingers at their students, to filter their Internet access, and to pass along notices of claimed copyright infringement. But these responses distort the University's educational mission....... One can easily understand why the RIAA wants help from universities in facilitating its enforcement actions against students who download copyrighted music without paying for it. It is easier to litigate against change than to change with it. If the RIAA saw a better way to protect its existing business, it would not be threatening our students, forcing our librarians and administrators to be copyright police, and flooding our courts with lawsuits against relatively defenseless families without lawyers or ready means to pay. We can even understand the attraction of using lawsuits to shore up an aging business model rather than engaging with disruptive technologies and the risks that new business models entail...... But mere understanding is no reason for a university to voluntarily assist the RIAA with its threatening and abusive tactics. Instead, we should be assisting our students both by explaining the law and by resisting the subpoenas that the RIAA serves upon us. We should be deploying our clinical legal student training programs to defend our targeted students......""
Unix

Submission + - UNIX Command Line in One Sentence

Submitted by CowGirl
CowGirl writes: Speaking UNIX is simply a matter of building a sentence. An executable is a verb, output is a noun, and the shell operator is a conjunction. Virtually all non-trivial problems require you to filter good data from bad. Discover the many UNIX command line utilities that use regular expressions to discern the relevant from the irrelevant.
PHP

Submission + - Any good ideas for suggesting usernames?

Submitted by stillsix
stillsix writes: I've seen these around, but not impressed by what I see. I'm trying to build a script for suggesting alternative usernames when the user has requested one that already exists. The code is easy, but the logic requires a little more creativity than I have right now. I need 5 suggestions. I've seen the following: 1) original username request + 2 digits (boring) 2) add "the" + original username request (not bad) 3) original request only backwards (clever) 4) the city they entered + original request (not sure what they would look like) 5) original request in pig latin (might be fun) Any other bright ideas? Thought this would be a fun topic to discuss. Not looking to scarf anyone's prized solutions to this problem. But if you put one down I might ask if I can use that idea. Thanks.
Media

Submission + - Desktop Nexus Goes Live!

Submitted by
Harry Maugans
Harry Maugans writes: "Are you tired of searching Google Images for your wallpapers, sorting through odd sizes and inaccurate images? A new startup called Desktop Nexus aims to fix that. From the article:

If someone uploads a 1024×768 wallpaper, Desktop Nexus will automatically resize and remaster that wallpaper for another visitor who requests it in say, 1600×1200. It then goes a step farther and will show an AJAX script to allow any user to instantly crop (interactive) or stretch the wallpaper to create a widescreen version for anyone who requests it... so essentially one wallpaper of any size is uploaded, and Desktop Nexus will make it available to anyone with any resolution... completely bypassing previous limitations of wallpaper sharing, standard aspect ratio or widescreen.
Finally no more scouring the web for 2560x1600 resolution versions of Ubuntu wallpapers. With the community at it's foundation, meta-moderation allows members to choose which wallpapers are high enough quality to be added to the galleries, and which deserve to be deleted. AJAX and RSS enhance the site's functionality, and tagging brings wallpapers together. The next Flickr or YouTube? It may be too early to say, however this site does have a lot of potential."
Censorship

Submission + - Digg.com Attempts to Supress HD-DVD Revolt

Submitted by
fieryprophet
fieryprophet writes: "An astonishing number of HD-DVD encryption key releated stories have gone MIA, in many cases along with the digger who submitted it. As a result, many in the digg community are becoming disillusioned with the "democratic" news site and retaliating in clever and inventive ways. Search digg for HD-DVD song lyrics, coffee mugs, shirts, and more for a taste of the rebellion."

Feed Cocoa, But Not Tea, May Lower Blood Pressure (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed
Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking tea may not, according to an analysis of previously published research. Compounds known as polyphenols or flavonoids in fruits and vegetables are thought to contribute to their beneficial effects on blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
Google

Submission + - Google admits using Sohu database for Pinyin

Submitted by
prostoalex
prostoalex writes: "A few days ago a Chinese company Sohu.com alleged Google improperly tapped its database for its Pinyin IME product, stirring controversy on Slashdot whether two databases were similar just due to normal research process. Today Google admitted that its new product for Chinese market "was built leveraging some non-Google database resources": "The dictionaries used with both software from Google and Sohu shared several common mistakes, where Chinese characters were matched with the wrong Pinyin equivalents. In addition, both dictionaries listed the names of engineers who had developed Sohu's Sogou Pinyin IME.""
Privacy

Submission + - Man Has 24/7 Video Feed of His Life

Submitted by statemachine
statemachine writes: For almost a month now, "lifecaster" Justin Kan has been broadcasting his life via an Internet feed 24/7. Mostly, it's been mundane, as a lot of the time Justin's camera is looking at the same thing, but you do get to see him go outside, go on dates, and even go to the bathroom. It hasn't been all fun and games, since he's been pranked by viewers who have called 9-1-1 using his phone number causing the police to show up at his apartment with guns drawn. However, not everyone enjoys being on camera as he has been stood up for dates. The video quality is good for what it is, and the connection is a bit wonky because it's a wireless data card (sometimes video freezes for minutes at a time), but I still find it interesting enough for those random idle periods.

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