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Submission + - Do Not Call Registry gets wake-up call (networkworld.com) 2

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "If you signed up for the federal or your state's Do Not Call Registry a few years ago, you might want to thing about refreshing it. Pennsylvanians this week got a wake up call, so to speak from the state's Attorney General Tom Corbett who kicked off a public awareness campaign designed to remind people what many have forgotten or never knew — that the 2002 law set registrations to expire after five years. That is of course unless you want to start hearing from those telemarketers as you sit down to dinner. Corbett said about 2 million people signed up in the immediate aftermath of the law taking effect and those who do not act by Sept. 15 will have their numbers dropped from the registry on Nov. 1. The Pennsylvania action is a reminder that the National Do Not Call Registry has a five year life span as well. The Federal Trade Commission is set to being a nation campaign in Spring 2008 to remind all US citizens to refresh their federal Do Not Call Registry standing. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18066"
Music

Submission + - Eminem Sues Apple for iTunes Sales (macworld.co.uk)

Submitted by puk
puk writes: MacWorld UK is reporting that Eminem's publisher is suing Apple, alleging that his publisher did not have the right to authorize Apple's online sales of digital versions of Eminem's music through the iTunes Music Store and that therefore Apple is violating Eminem's copyright by doing so.

Of course, if this turns out to be the case, Universal may also be on the hook for the damages, if indirectly. Looks like another more case of trying to figure out whether old contracts authorize new activities...
Upgrades

Submission + - Dell blocks installation of standard components 1

Submitted by
Loh Phat
Loh Phat writes: "Hardware vendors voiding warranties or not providing support is a standard caveat across the industry, but yesterday Dell showed that withholding a $5 part is more important that future sales or bad press.

Our company purchased a Dell PowerEdge 3250 (Dual CPU Itanium) less than two years ago (still under warranty BTW) for cross platform development (yes, our customers demand support for that platform). So we purchased a unit with a single drive in a two drive system.

Its spec sheet specifies U320 SCSI drive support — a standard. See for yourself http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedg e/en/3250_specs.pdf

So when we wanted to add storage we purchased a standard U320 compatible drive and went to install it, however when we pulled the hot-swap drive sled out we noticed that it lacked mounting facilities for the drive; it curiously didn't match the existing sled in the occupied bay. They are 99% identical except for the lack of facility to actually attach a drive.

During a call to Dell "support" it seems that a year ago (a year after we bought the server and before the warranty expires) they stopped selling the drive sled capable of mounting a drive as a separate component — you can only get them, wait for it, attached to a Dell SCSI drive.

So it seems that it's OK to advertise the compatibility with industry-standard components, you just can't use them. With no pre-sales caveat that you will not be allowed to install anything standard unless it comes from Dell. Funny, the drive sled has its own part number H7206 but Dell *refused* to sell it to me.

The term "bait-and-switch" comes to mind. I'm all for caveat emptor, but a full declaration of terms is not unreasonable.

I don't mind having the freedom to be denied service or support of using non-vendor supplied parts (well, I do actually but I least know that before I buy) but in this case I'm physically prevented from doing so after the purchase.

So the question remains: are there grounds to file an anti-trust or some other complaint with the State regarding this deceptive business practice?

Regardless, they're now off the vendor list (actually I inherited the server as I would have selected another vendor in the first place). Good forward thinking there guys."
Google

Submission + - Is Google Evil?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Absolutely! Their motto is just a marketing ploy!
Yes, but just since the IPO.
Almost; just a few more stories to go...
Not really, but heading that route.
Never! I love the Google!
Editorial

Submission + - Good Service -- Bad Software (humanized.com)

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "Open source software is generally painful to setup and maintain. And it's likely to stay that way because it's open source. Of course, I could hire someone to set it up for me. That's what the service-oriented market is all about. I can get my software for free, try it out, and pay someone for support when I run into trouble. But there's something nagging... setting up sendmail (or qmail, or any of the half-dozen email solutions I've tried) shouldn't be as hard as it is. Why, over the numerous years — as it's been worked on by a brilliant body of hackers — has it remained so obtuse? Read more..."
Biotech

Submission + - Warnings from the FDA for two diabetes drugs (dogflu.ca)

Submitted by firesquirt
firesquirt writes: From an article at dogflu. http://www.dogflu.ca/06102007/21/black_box_warning s_for_diabetes_drugs The FDA has sent letters to the makers of two popular diabetes drugs Avandia and Actos, requesting that they be given black box warnings due to a link between them and congestive heart failure The FDA has sent letters to the makers of two popular diabetes drugs Avandia and Actos, requesting that they be given black box warnings due to a link between them and congestive heart failure It is being reported that two diabetes drugs have received black box warnings from the FDA due to an increased risk of congestive heart failure in diabetics who take them. The drugs that will receive black box warnings are Avandia made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Actos which is made by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach stated that the FDA had sent letters to the makers of the two drugs, requesting that black box warnings be added to their labels. The warnings are meant to "more prominently address the risks of congestive heart failure associated with the use of these drugs in certain patients." The black box warnings are in response to recent studies that were made public that showed that Avandia use put a patient at a 43% increase of having a heart attack, and an increased risk of congestive heart failure. "Avandia is a case study of the need for reform of our drug safety laws," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. "FDA needs the will, the resources and the authority to be a more effective watchdog of drug safety."
Intel

Submission + - Free Rootkit with Every New Intel Machine

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Have you ever wondered about the security of Intel's active management technology (AMT) or your Intel vpro desktop? Security expert Peter Guttman has and he considers it a way to get a free rootkit on every Intel machine. See here for the details.
Software

Submission + - Beryl and Compiz are merging (beryl-project.org)

Submitted by firesquirt
firesquirt writes: From the Beryl-project website http://www.beryl-project.org/ Beryl and Compiz (at least the plugins part of compiz) are now merging, in the hope of a better future. No name has been decided yet but there's a vote going on. The forums are currently at http://www.opencompositing.org/ and everyone currently using Beryl should check it in the next days or weeks to find information about the new merged project (setup instructions, etc) when they are available.
GUI

Submission + - What are the best Video Glasses for under $500

Submitted by
freedom_india
freedom_india writes: "I use my iPod Video to view movies during the long haul flights, and also at home when the remote is snatched from me.

The recent batch of innovations of Video Glasses which allow me to watch a GIANT 70 inch screen via a pair of glasses is appealing! (Imagine watching jenna!)

However with so many products available (myVU, iTheater) http://www.coolbuzz.org/entry/top-10-video-glasses / i can't decide which would be the best to buy under $500 (my budget).

Can you all suggest your experiences and why you bought your video glasses?"
XBox (Games)

Submission + - The Xbox 360 get its own LiveCD

Submitted by eZtaR
eZtaR writes: The guys over at the Free60 project have released a working, gentoo-based linux live cd for the xbox 360. Sporting the gnome desktop and various applications such as Firefox and Evolution, one can pop the CD in and enjoy ones triplecore powerpc doing simpler tasks such as checking up on the latest news here on slashdot. Although it lacks features such as sound and hardware acceleration (which the developers blame on lack of hardware-docs) it's currently working on firmware versions 4532 and 4548, without risking breaking your warranty.
Sony

Submission + - Fatal PSP update & lack of support

Submitted by
Badle
Badle writes: "This is my first article on Slashdot, so please forgive me if its not up to the usual standards..

Anyways, I'm posting to let people know how Sony is still screwing its customers. I have been a fan of Sony electronics for years. My first purchase being one of their Net Mini Disc players back when they were first coming out. I loved how I could rip my CD collection & have 3 or 4 discs with lots of songs on it. My latest purchases now being their PS3 & the PSP.

Sadly my dismay with them comes with the PSP & the PS3.

I was happy to read that I could hook my PSP to the PS3 and download old PS1 games to play on my portable. Having enjoyed many hours of gaming on their systems in the past I was very excited. I hooked my PSP up to the PS3 and proceeded to let the system do its thing updating. This is when everything went wrong. I was about 75% done updating when the unit went black. (and yes my PSP was plugged in at the time) I left it for awhile & went to get some supper. Came back after supper and still no picture. I unplugged the unit, and tried turning it off & on. Still black. I pulled out the battery turned it off & on, then put the battery in (I figured that this would reset the unit, as most electronics when they lock up taking the power away generally fixes the problem) Still nothing. So I searched online at Sony's website for trouble shooting. Their site said to try pulling the battery out & leaving it for awhile. So I did. A day later I popped the battery back in & still nothing. Frustrated I called Sony. Their operator came online & had me try again cycling the power, plugging it in, taking out the battery, & unhooking the power. Nothing. So they say that I need to send my unit in for repair. When I asked them why it doesn't turn on, they said they didn't know, only that my PSP is damaged & that they can fix it for $120. I said WTF?! This is my baby, what about warranty. They had me dig out my receipt and then said nope, your 3 months off warranty, so we will need $120 to repair your PSP. This is when I got upset & asked to speak to a manager. I explained what I had done, hooking my PSP up to the PS3, and they said that it probably died during an update, and that because I am 3 months off warranty I would need to pay $120 to have it fixed. This chokes me up, because my PSP was working fine until I plugged it into their PS3. And following their own instructions (make sure the unit is fully charged, and plugged in before updating) the unit died. As far as I'm concerned I did nothing wrong other than follow their own instructions and ended up with a dead PSP. Yet they still want money from a long time customer. WTF!? Is it me, or does this seem like a defect in their design of the unit & just another way to screw users as they have been doing with their DRM bullsh*t?

Anyways, needless to say I'm not paying them to fix my PSP, I'm probably going to return my PS3, and If I do anything with the PSP I will have a local electronics shop see if they can repair it, as I have heard from friends that for $60 I can get it fixed up with a new motherboard.

Anyone one else who has ran into similar troubles please feel free to comment on how they were treated when talking to Sony. I myself as you can read, am very pissed off at them. If my Sony Net MD, & Trinitron TV weren't so old, I would be taking them back as well."
Security

Submission + - Quantum Cryptography Hacked

Submitted by mrbluze
mrbluze writes: Nature reports on a eavesdropping technique developed by researchers at MIT for intercepting quantum-encrypted messages:

To listen in, the team used a quantum-mechanical principle known as entanglement, which can link together two different traits of a particle. Using an optical setup, the team was able to entangle the transmitted photon's polarization with its momentum. The eavesdropper could then measure the momentum in order to get information about the polarization, without affecting the original polarization.
This stuff is beyond me, but I can't wait to read Slashdot's explanation!
Bug

Submission + - $10,000 Mac hack affects Windows too

Submitted by
taoman1
taoman1 writes: "The bug that helped security researcher Dino Dai Zovi claim a $10,000 prize at last week's CanSecWest security conference affects Windows systems too. That's because the flaw isn't a Safari problem, as orginally reported, it actually lies in the way Apple's QuickTime Media Player works with the Java."

Feed Bob Metcalfe re-evaluates open source (newsforge.com)

From feed by nffeed
Bob Metcalfe may not have invented the Internet, but few people's technical achievements have done more to make it popular and accessible than the father of Ethernet and founder of 3Com. Metcalfe and the open source community got a little bit sideways with each other last century, but that appears to be all in the past now.

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