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

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
The Internet

Senate Discusses Third Pipe Using 700MHz Spectrum 78

Posted by Zonk from the stevens-confused-between-pipes-and-tubes dept.
Freebird writes "The US Senate Commerce Committee held hearings on the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction today, and much of the discussion centered around Frontline Wireless' proposal to create a commercial wireless broadband network that would also be used for public safety. 'Under Frontline's proposal, the FCC would auction off 10 MHz from the commercially available spectrum and offer that to the highest bidder. The winner would also be given (free) 12 MHz out of the 24 MHz currently allotted to public safety.' Some senators were skeptical, especially Ted Stevens of Alaska who had a 'long and testy interchange' with Frontline CEO James Barksdale. 'He seemed to be zeroing on criticisms that the Frontline proposal was simply a way for a new company to get a huge discount on a prime chunk of spectrum by playing the "public safety" card.'"
Censorship

Submission + - Law students sue anonymous message board posters (wsj.com)

Submitted by
The Xoxo Reader
The Xoxo Reader writes: "The Wall Street Journal reports that two female students at Yale Law School have filed suit for defamation and infliction of emotional distress against an administrator and several anonymous posters (identified only by their pseudoynms) at the popular law student discussion board AutoAdmit (a.k.a. Xoxohth). One of the claims is that the posters have violated copyright laws by reposting pictures of the women without their permission. Since AutoAdmit's administrators have previously said that they do not retain IP logs of posters, it is unclear how the plaintiffs will ultimately be able to identify the actual people behind the pseudonyms named in the complaint. Apparently, one method was to post the summons on the message board itself and ask the posters to step forward. The controversy leading to this lawsuit was previously discussed on Slashdot here."
United States

Navy Now Mandated To Consider FOSS As an Option 205

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the still-spending-$600-on-a-keyboard dept.
lisah writes "In a memorandum handed down from Department of the Navy CIO John Carey this week, the Navy is now mandated to consider open source solutions when making new software acquisitions. According John Weathersby, executive director of the Open Source Software Institute, this is the first in a series of documents that will also address 'development and distribution issues regarding open source within Navy IT environments.'"
The Internet

Canadian MP Calls For ISP Licenses, Content Blocks 273

Posted by CowboyNeal from the fun-time-over dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A member of Canada's ruling Conservative party has pledged to "clean up" the Internet with new bill that would mandate ISP licensing, know-your-subscriber rules, and allow the government to order ISPs to block content. ISPs that fail to block would faces possible jail time for the company's directors and officers."
Wii

WiiHelms Go on Sale 100

Posted by CmdrTaco from the so-very-advanced dept.
SlashRating©
$slashrating
slashdottit! tm
eldavojohn writes "ThinkGeek (Owned by same parent corporation as Slashdot) has recently started selling WiiHelms which allows the user to effortlessly play the Wii without tirelessly moving their arms around. An added foot pedal controls the A, B button pushing to minimize activity. According to the article, "After extensive scientific study it was found that manipulating muscles in your neck for 10 minutes uses 64% less energy than waving your arms about like a lunatic." Indeed, after watching the demonstration video, I myself will order four or five — I'm sick of flailing my arms around like a chump. Don't forget to check out ThinkGeek's other offerings today including inhalable caffeine sticks, the 8-bit tie and the most amazing T-shirt ever."
Microsoft

Submission + - Remotely attack Windows thru your cursor?

Submitted by millerjl
millerjl writes: Welcome to the brave new world where animated cursors can execute remote code in windows. Microsoft released Security Advisory 935423 today announcing the issue. Oh, there is no patch at this time. Microsoft's official recommendation at this time: "Do not visit untrusted websites or view unsolicited email". And yes, Vista along with all the rest are vulnerable according to this SecurityFocus article.
Wireless Networking

British Military Deploys Skynet 172

Posted by CowboyNeal from the have-you-seen-sarah-connor dept.
rowleyrw writes "The BBC are reporting, 'The British military is set to take one of its most significant steps into the digital age with the launch of the first Skynet 5 satellite. The spacecraft will deliver secure, high-bandwidth communications for UK and "friendly" forces across the globe.' It's not yet the Skynet of Terminator, but how long before it becomes self aware?"
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Slashdot in a sci-fi book

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I was reading 'Century Rain' by Alastair Reynolds and was very surprised to see Slashdot mentioned there. Apparently a powerful, technologically advanced human society in the future will be founded by Slashdotters. From the book: "It's all right," Niagara said. "I won't be the least bit offended if you call me a Slasher. You probably regard the term as an insult." "Isn't it?" Auger asked, surprised. "Only if you want it to be." Niagara made a careful gesture, like some religious benediction: a diagonal slice across his chest and a stab to the heart. "A slash and a dot," he said. "I doubt it means anything to you, but this was once the mark of an alliance of progressive thinkers linked together by one of the very first computer networks. The Federation of Polities can trace its existence right back to that fragile collective, in the early decades of the Void Century. It's less a stigma than a mark of community."
XBox (Games)

Submission + - XBOX360 Hypervisor Security Protection hacked

Submitted by
ACTRAiSER
ACTRAiSER writes: "A recent Post on Bugtraq claims the hack of the XBOX360 Security Protection Hypervisor. It includes sample code as well. "We have discovered a vulnerability in the Xbox 360 hypervisor that allows privilege escalation into hypervisor mode. Together with a method to inject data into non-privileged memory areas, this vulnerability allows an attacker with physical access to an Xbox 360 to run arbitrary code such as alternative operating systems with full privileges and full hardware access.""
The Courts

Submission + - RIAA Letter to Presidents

Submitted by
JM
JM writes: "The RIAA Letter

RIAA
February 28, 2007
Dear University President:
This week the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of its member
labels, is initiating a new process for lawsuits against computer users who engage in illegal
file-trafficking of copyrighted content on peer-to-peer (P2P) systems. In the current round
of such lawsuits, four hundred of these legal actions are directed at college and university
students around the country.
Why have we felt compelled to escalate our deterrence and education efforts? For three
years, we have gone to extraordinary lengths to address the problem of online music theft on
campuses. We have met personally with many university administrators. We have provided
both instructional material and educational resources, including an orientation video
(campusdownloading.com) to help deter illegal downloading. We have worked
collaboratively and productively through organizations like the Joint Committee of the
Higher Education and Entertainment Communities. Our member companies have
transformed how they do business — licensing innovative services that provide free or
heavily discounted legal music to college fans. We have informed schools of effective
network technologies and partnership opportunities with legitimate services. We have
stepped up our notice program to alert schools and students of infringing activity. And, of
course, we have as a last resort brought suit against individual file-traffickers.
All of this has yielded noteworthy progress and we are grateful for the proactive work of
many institutions. Unfortunately, the piracy problem on campuses remains extensive and
unacceptable, and compromises the music industry's ability to invest in new music.
We do not take this step lightly and wish it were not necessary. We will continue to do all
we can to encourage our fans to enjoy music legally, both on campus and more broadly by
the general public.
There is a reasonable role that campus administrators can play:
  facilitate our new deterrence program by forwarding pre-lawsuit letters so that
students and others with access to the network can settle claims at a lower cost and
before they turn into lawsuits of public record; and
  implement programs and technological solutions that significantly reduce piracy and
therefore the likelihood that students will be sued or receive DMCA notices.
2
A concerted, comprehensive and complementary approach CAN make a difference and
advance everyone's interests.
We are attaching a summary of the important role that universities and colleges play in our
new deterrence program and a summary of the proactive steps schools can take to minimize
students' exposure to lawsuits and DMCA notices. Given the number of people at your
university who may be involved in this issue, we would greatly appreciate your passing this
letter on to the appropriate parties, including such officials as the General Counsel, the Chief
Information Officer, and the Dean of Student Affairs.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give us in addressing the problem of copyright
piracy on college campuses. Your support is critical.
Sincerely,
Cary Sherman
President
3
New Litigation Process For
Forwarding Pre-Litigation Settlement Letters to Students
Our new litigation process will allow individuals we find illegally uploading or downloading
copyrighted works on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network the opportunity to settle claims before
we file a "Doe" suit against them. We have heard repeatedly that individuals who have been
sued want the ability to settle prior to being named in federal court. To accommodate this
interest, we are instituting a new pre-lawsuit settlement option that will allow infringers to
settle at a discounted rate if they do so prior to our filing of a "Doe" suit.
To assist you in extending this option to your students and other subscribers to your school's
Internet service, we will e-mail to you a letter for you to forward to the subscriber. Our email
will also request that you maintain the log files for the relevant individuals while we
attempt to settle the matter with them. The letter to the subscriber will explain that the
subscriber has been identified as illegally distributing copyrighted sound recordings and that
he or she has the opportunity, in advance of a lawsuit being filed, to contact us to resolve the
claims. Whether they want to contact us at that time will be entirely up to them, but, if they
do not, they will not be eligible for a discounted settlement rate. The subscriber will have
only twenty days from the date we send the letter to you to take advantage of the early
settlement option before we initiate a "Doe" lawsuit, so please forward the letters as
expeditiously as possible.
We are hopeful that, by providing early notification to subscribers that have been identified
as infringers, we can greatly diminish the need for litigation. We are also hopeful that the
initiatives we are taking will facilitate a clear process for your subscribers who may be
targeted. Holme Roberts & Owen LLP will continue to serve as our national counsel for
these cases. Your primary contact there, Katheryn Coggon, will also continue to serve in
that role. Should you have any questions about the program or this letter, feel free to contact
Ms. Coggon directly at 303-866-0408 or katheryn.coggon@hro.com.
To avoid any unintended relay of misinformation, the following details may be of
assistance:
  The record companies' representatives can be reached at 913-234-8181 or
info@SettlementInformationLine.com.
  The RIAA has established a website with information about the copyright lawsuits
that should facilitate early settlement. That website is located at
www.p2plawsuits.com.
4
Ways to Prevent/Reduce
Student Exposure to Lawsuits and DMCA Notices
Implement a network technical solution. Products like Red Lambda's cGrid are
promising as effective and comprehensive solutions that maintain the integrity, security, and
legal use of school computing systems without threatening student privacy. Some schools
have used these products to block the use of P2P entirely, realizing that the overwhelming, if
not sole, use of these applications on campus is to illegally download and distribute
copyrighted works. For schools that do not wish to prohibit entirely access to P2P
applications, products such as Audible Magic's CopySense can be used to filter illegal P2P
traffic, again, without impinging on student privacy.
Offer a legitimate online service to give students an inexpensive alternative to stealing.
In fact one such service, Ruckus, is funded through advertising and completely free to users.
When schools increasingly provide their students with amenities like cable TV, there is
simply no reason not to offer them cheap or free legal access to the music they crave.
Take appropriate disciplinary action when students are found to be engaging in
infringing conduct online. This includes stopping and punishing such activity in dorms
and on all Local Area Networks throughout a school's computing system.
Educate students about the do's and don'ts of downloading and copying music and
other copyrighted works. The music industry offers a free campus educational video
available for order at www.campusdownloading.com.

For the PDF: http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home &TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=20643"

Foundation Commissions $50 Million Online Study 70

Posted by kdawson from the participation-gap dept.
PreacherTom writes, "It's not a stretch to say that kids use the Internet to play World of Warcraft and to tweak their MySpace pages. Still, the MacArthur Foundation doesn't think that is quite specific enough. The private, grant-making institution is commissioning a $50 million, five-year study to investigate precisely how and why young people use the Net. $10 million in grants is going to to individuals and organizations to work on projects that stimulate research in digital media. Sign me up."

10 Reasons To Buy a DSLR 657

Posted by kdawson from the through-the-lens dept.
Kurtis writes, "If you're planning on getting a digital camera for yourself this holiday season, here's 10 reasons why you should choose a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera instead of a point-'n'-shoot. DSLR cameras are obviously not perfect for everyone. This article also has a couple of small blurbs about who shouldn't buy a DSLR, and a few things that could be deemed negative aspects of DSLR cameras."

Slashdot Top Deals

One way to make your old car run better is to look up the price of a new model.

Close