Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Movies

Submission + - 5 Years for a movie?

Submitted by
Thrawn01
Thrawn01 writes: "A good friend of mine has just been convicted of seeding Star Wars episode III and is facing up to 5 years of jail time

I do not condone his actions and agree he should be punished but 5 Years in a federal prison for sharing a 35$ movie with no personal financial gain? Drug dealers that "SELL" drugs get 5 years in prison. So I ask the slashdot community. Why should my friend who has no financial gain from sharing the copyrighted material suffer the same sentence as a drug dealer? Why such a high price for giving away a movie? What is a reasonable penalty for seeding copyrighted material? How can I help my friend and get this law changed?

Thanks."
Power

Submission + - 100% efficient lighting devices?

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "You all know that incandescent light bulbs are terribly inefficient, turning only 5% of the electricity it consumes into light. Fluorescent lamps are better using up to 25% of its energy as light. And solid state lighting devices lose only 50% of the energy they received. But now, researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) claim they've developed organic lighting devices which are 100% efficient. The researchers think it's possible to produce these solid-state lighting devices based on OLED technology at low cost. If this is true, this would be of major benefit to the environment by conserving energy and natural resources. Read more for additional references about these future lighting devices."
Patents

Submission + - New Patent Reform - A Good Thing?

Submitted by
Patent-Monkey
Patent-Monkey writes: "BetaNews reports that new legislation is being proposed by Congress today that promises to "change the very fabric of patent law" by limiting damages to lost economic profit by a company and define an invention on its novel merits without taking credit for prior art. The article also notes that "Open source advocates may appreciate the amplified language that would prohibit any organization from claiming patentability over a concept that was "in public use or sale" (note the distinction) prior to the claim." Something the Peer to Patent project also hopes to help with.

This bill clearly limits the impact of future NTP v RIM style cases, but could also have the potential to allow large companies (e.g. IBM, Microsoft and Google) to copy a number of smaller company's ideas since the damages would be limited to that small company's lost earnings.

Are patent damage limits a good solution? For all of you to answer..."
Enlightenment

Submission + - POLL: How many blades on your razor?

Submitted by
Audent
Audent writes: "Poll topic: How many blades are there on your razor? 1: one 2: two 3: three 4: four 5: five 6: whirling circles of DEATH! 7: I bought the company 8: Cowgirl Neil doesn't shave, you insensitive clod"

Scientists Respond to Gore on Global Warming 1496

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the climatologist-pit-fighting dept.
ArthurDent writes "For quite a while global warming has been presented in the public forum as a universally accepted scientific reality. However, in the light of Al Gore's new film An Inconvenient Truth many climate experts are stepping forward and pointing out that there is no conclusive evidence to support global warming as a phenomenon, much less any particular cause of it."

Slashdot Top Deals

"Engineering without management is art." -- Jeff Johnson

Close