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Security

Submission + - Auction site for selling security vulnerabilities (darkreading.com)

Submitted by
talkinsecurity
talkinsecurity writes: "A Swiss research lab has built an eBay-like marketplace where hackers and researchers can sell the security vulnerabilities they discover to the highest bidder. WabiSabiLabi could replace the back-room, secret sites where researchers and hackers used to sell their exploits and replace them with a neat, clean way to make money by finding security flaws. Those who have seen the site say they are concerned about how the buyers will be vetted, and how the marketplace will ensure the flaws aren't found through "illegal" methods. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=128 411&WT.svl=news1_1"
Digital

Submission + - Burned by DRM and MLB (kousenit.com)

Submitted by
kousen
kousen writes: "Back in late 2004, I purchased and downloaded several Major League Baseball game files from mlb.com. The files all have a "wmv" extension. The first time they are played in Windows Media Player (the only media player supported at the time), they are supposed to access a site at MLB.com and acquire a license.

As you may have guessed, I recently tried to play one of those files, and the license site no longer exists. My "backup" of the licenses, acquired at the time, is on an old system I no longer use.

I tried calling the toll free number at MLB. Eventually a manager there told me I need to access their digital download service. He also admitted the service is not only not available, it has not been available all year. Even worse, he wasn't even sure whether or not it will ever be available again, though he suggested I keep checking.

So basically, I'm out of luck, unless someone here has any ideas how I can get around this idiotic DRM issue. Can anyone help me?"
Security

Submission + - Trojan makes small talk as it deletes your HD 1

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: If your computer starts telling you that it's deleting your system files, it's no joke, and it's already too late, your computer has been infected by the BotVoice.A Trojan.

According to PandaLabs, which detected this Trojan, BotVoice.A uses Windows text reader to play the following sentences:

"You have been infected I repeat you have been infected and your system files have been deleted. Sorry. Have a nice day and bye bye."

These comments are repeated over and over again while the Trojan tries to delete the entire content of the computer's hard disk.
Privacy

Submission + - Maine passes net neutrality bill (lawbean.com)

Submitted by
jihadist
jihadist writes: "Maine has become the first state in the union to pass legislation on net neutrality. The resolution, LD 1675, recognizes the importance of full, fair and non-discriminatory access to the Internet and instructs the Public Advocate to study what can be done to protect the rights of Maine internet users. http://www.lawbean.com/2007/06/16/maine-becomes-th e-first-state-to-pass-internet-neutrality-legislat ion/"
Security

Submission + - Red Hat Linux gets top government security rating

Submitted by
zakeria
zakeria writes: "Red Hat Linux has received a new level of security certification that should make the software more appealing to some government agencies. Earlier this month IBM was able to achieve EAL4 Augmented with ALC_FLR.3 certification for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, putting it on a par with Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Trusted Solaris operating system, said Dan Frye, vice president of open systems with IBM."
Linux Business

Submission + - Another Linux Vendor Signs Patent Pact with MS

Submitted by
RLiegh
RLiegh writes: "This article at Yahoo! news talks about the latest in a growing list of patent agreements reached between Microsoft and vendors. In a deal struck between Linspire (nee' "Lindows") and Microsoft, Linspire will be granted license to use True Type Fonts and "various code" that would allow for Linspire users to talk voice on Windows Live Messenger as well as the usual patent protection for Linspires' customers. In return, among other things, Linspire will make Microsoft's search engine the default search on PCs shipped with their OS.

Kevin Carmony, the CEO for Linspire, approached Microsoft a year and a half ago, according to the article."
The Courts

Submission + - Judge Takes Cleaners To The Cleaners - For $54M (komotv.com)

Submitted by IHC Navistar
IHC Navistar writes: Frivolous lawsuits have reached a new low: Roy L. Pearson Jr. is suing a family owned and operated dry cleaning business in Washington, D.C. for losing a pair of his pants. The amount he is asking for: $54 million, which is down from his original asking of $67 million, and has so far rejected three attempts at a settlement. He is also seeking $15,000 for the use of a rental car so he can take his dry cleaning to a different cleaners for the next 10 years. If you are already one who is peeved by such outlandish lawsuits, their is one last twist: Roy L. Pearson is currently an Administrative Law judge for the City of Washington, D.C., and is no longer seeking damages in regards to the pants. The old adage "A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client." couldn't be truer, especially since Pearson is representing himself.

Full Story: http://www.komotv.com/news/national/7965977.html
Linux Business

Submission + - Linspire and MS enter a new major partnership (microsoft.com)

Submitted by
XdevXnull
XdevXnull writes: "Microsoft has put up a page on their website outlining some details of their major new partnership agreement with Linspire. On the surface, it appears to be very much similar to the Novell agreement, but includes some interesting developments for the future of Linspire's eponymous distribution: Ms-compatible voice messaging for Pidgin (formerly gaim), Windows Media 10 (DRM anyone?), True Type font support, enhanced OOo/MS Office interoperability, and Microsoft's Live Search will be the default web search engine. The first three will be available in the commercial version of Linspire 5 with purchase of a "patent SKU".

This latest news will likely raise a lot of controversy, but my guess is that to anyone who would really be upset about these things, the Linspire distribution is largely irrelevant in any case."
Media

Submission + - Ipods make people dress badly.

Submitted by
Whiney Mac Fanboy
Whiney Mac Fanboy writes: "David Hockney, Britain's best-loved living painter has launched an attack on Apple's mp3 player, saying Ipods have combined with a decline in art education to create a "fallow period of painting", where people are more interested in sound than visual awareness — even leading to poor dress sense. He said of the proliferation of iPods:

"We are not in a very visual age," Hockney said. "I think it's all about sound. People plug in their ears and don't look much, whereas for me my eyes are the biggest pleasure.
"
User Journal

Journal Journal: Arete and Agon - Ecology and Greek Personal Development 1

Journal by evought

Of late, particularly in some of the slashdot discussions involving environmental/enviro-economic problems, I find myself making posts like this one, which, though I feel are justified, are getting more argumentative than I want to be. I am getting close to the line between agon, "discerning judgment or evaluation", and krinos, "final or critical judgment" (or, if you prefer, "getting cranky"). I wante
Security

Submission + - Optical tech could make people, aircraft invisible

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "So you thought only Romulans had a cloaking device? Hardly. Purdue researchers using nanotechnology this week have taken a step toward creating an optical cloaking device that could make objects invisible. "How to create a design that works for all colors of visible light at the same time will be a big technical challenge, but we believe it's possible," he said. "It is clearly doable. In principle, this cloak could be arbitrarily large, as large as a person or an aircraft." Two requirements are needed to render an object invisible: Light must not reflect off of the object, and the light must bend around the object so that people would see only the background and not the cloaked object itself, according to researchers. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1334 8"
User Journal

Journal Journal: best 4-1 trick this year

Journal by nocomment

OpenBSD has an emacs-like clone called 'mg'. One of the OpenBSD devs submitted a patch to make it work more like vi. People starting applying the patch (which actually seemed to mostly work) and it took 2 days for people to catch on.

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