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Submission + - Winamp purchased by Radionomy (cnet.com)

Submitted by Major Blud
Major Blud writes: CNet is reporting that Radionomy has purchased both Winamp and Shoutcast from AOL for an undisclosed sum. Radionomy CEO Alexandre Saboundjian said in a statement. "Its role is clear in the future evolution of online media — we plan to make the player ubiquitous, developing new functionalities dedicated to desktop, mobile, car systems, connected devices, and all other platforms."

Submission + - Incandescent Bulbs Get a Reprieve (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A new budget deal reached today by the U.S. Congress walks back the energy efficiency standards that would have forced the phase out of incandescent bulbs. 'These ideas were first enacted during the Bush administration, via the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Incandescent bulbs were unable to meet the standards, so they would eventually be forced off the market in favor of LEDs and compact fluorescent bulbs. But Republicans have since soured on the bill, viewing it as an intrusion on the market and attempting to identify it with President Obama. Recent Congresses have tried many times to repeal the standards, but these have all been blocked. However, U.S. budgets are often used as a vehicle to get policies enacted that couldn't pass otherwise, since having an actual budget is considered too valuable to hold up over relatively minor disputes. The repeal of these standards got attached to the budget and will be passed into law with it.'

Submission + - US appeals court strikes down net neutrality (msn.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: The FCC did not have the legal authority to enact 2011 regulations requiring Internet providers to treat all traffic the same, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court has struck down the government's latest effort to require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, meaning mobile carriers and other broadband providers may reach agreements for faster access to specific content crossing their networks.

The Federal Communications Commission's open Internet rules, passed in late 2010, require internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally and give consumers equal access to all lawful content, a principle known as net neutrality.

But the FCC lacked legal authority to enact the regulations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Tuesday, siding with Verizon Communications Inc that challenged the rules.

Verizon has argued the rules violated the company's right to free speech and stripped control of what its networks transmit and how.

"Even though the commission has general authority to regulate in this arena, it may not impose requirements that contravene express statutory mandates," Judge David Tatel said.

The FCC has classified broadband providers as information service providers as opposed to telecommunications service providers and that distinction created a legal hurdle for the FCC to impose the net neutrality rules.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday said the agency was considering "all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans."

The FCC could appeal the ruling to the full appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Or it could attempt to rewrite the regulations to clear up its authority over broadband providers — a move urged by consumer advocacy groups.

Supporters of the rules worry that without FCC's rules, internet providers such as Verizon or Comcast Corp would be free to charge websites for faster access to their content or slow down or even block access to particular sites.

"That's just not the way the internet has worked until now," Matt Wood, policy director at public interest group Free Press, told Reuters.

But opponents say the rules inhibit investments, represent government meddling in free Internet and are not necessary to ensure open access to the Internet.

"Today's decision will not change consumers' ability to access and use the Internet as they do now," Randal Milch, Verizon's general counsel and executive vice president for public policy, said in a statement.

"Verizon has been and remains committed to the open Internet which provides consumers with competitive choices and unblocked access to lawful websites and content when, where, and how they want. This will not change in light of the court's decision," Milch said.

Similarly, the Broadband for America coalition representing various internet service providers and CTIA, the wireless industry association, pledged commitments to an open Internet.

Major content providers Netflix Inc and Google Inc who may face new hurdle referred inquiries to the Internet Association representing them.

"The Internet Association supports enforceable rules that ensure an open Internet, free from government control or discriminatory, anticompetitive actions by gatekeepers," the group's President and CEO Michael Beckerman said.

Facing strong resistance from Republicans, Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pledged to help FCC redraft its rules to regain authority over broadband providers.

Submission + - NSA Phone Program Likely Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules (huffingtonpost.com) 3

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency's phone surveillance program is likely unconstitutional, Politico reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon said that the agency's controversial program, first unveiled by former government contractor Edward Snowden earlier this year, appears to violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which states that the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval,” Leon wrote in the ruling.

The federal ruling came down after activist Larry Klayman filed a lawsuit in June over the program. The suit claimed that the NSA's surveillance “violates the U.S. Constitution and also federal laws, including, but not limited to, the outrageous breach of privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the due process rights of American citizens."

Comment Re:Rule #1 (Score 5, Informative) 894

by Major Blud (#45694793) Attached to: How the Lessons of Columbine Saved Lives At Arapahoe High School

I think you're the one to misread the constitution:

"the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"

This was clarified in District of Columbia v. Heller:

"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#District_of_Columbia_v._Heller

Comment Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score 5, Informative) 280

by Major Blud (#44158935) Attached to: Microsoft To Shut Down TechNet Subscription Service

Some of us like to create test labs that will outlast the 30-180 day expiration date associated with MS evaluation periods (such as with SQL Server or BizTalk). An MSDN susbscription is more expensive than TechNet by the order of several magnitude.

I'm not sure what's going on with MS these days. They release a monstrosity of a desktop OS (Win8), a sub-par hermaphrodite laptop/tablet to go with it (Surface), and they are now giving their loyal developers the finger.

Comment Re:Jupiter Tape? (Score 1) 621

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Fuchs#Second_World_War It wasn't actually that long. Although the general public didn't find out until after the fact, the information had already been leaked to several world governments. When Truman first hinted to Stalin that such a weapon was being developed, Stalin already knew about it and wasn't at all surprised.

Comment Re:It's a complete game changer (Score 2) 121

I'm a Type 1 who's been wearing a pump for the past 6 years. I also have the relatively new real-time glucose monitoring attachment.

I haven't read through the fine details of the article, but if the nanoparticles are somehow able to determine when to release insulin without intervention, that would be a definite benefit over the current pump technology. As it stands right now, the real-time monitoring only tells you that your blood-sugar levels are high, and requires manual intervention to make corrections. The sensors are also wildly inaccurate, and require that the user still check their blood-sugar on a regular basis for calibration. I quit using the sensors for that reason (since I still end up checking my blood sugar 6-10 times daily anyways, there's no point).

FWIW, the pump is a huge improvement over old-school syringe injections. Having insulin delivered in small quantities throughout the day has improved my blood-sugar levels considerably. Using a pump has also made the entire process much more convenient; I don't need to cary syringes and insulin bottles with me when I go out to eat at a restaurant, and I'm less worried about blood sugar spikes while I'm sleeping.

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