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Google

Submission + - Understanding Google's "Googlebomb" Update

Submitted by
nywanna
nywanna writes: "It has been known for a long time that with a little coordination, it is possible to 'bomb' Google's search results (the most famous example of this was "Miserable Failure" which would return a page for George W. Bush). Recently, however, Google rolled out their solution to diffuse Google bombs. Bill Platt looks at the Googlebomb rollout in Dispelling Fears About The GoogleBomb Algorithm Update."

IBM's Chief Architect Says Software is at Dead End 334

Posted by Zonk from the its-da-end-of-da-woild dept.
j2xs writes "In an InformationWeek article entitled 'Where's the Software to Catch Up to Multicore Computing?' the Chief Architect at IBM gives some fairly compelling reasons why your favorite software will soon be rendered deadly slow because of new hardware architectures. Software, she says, just doesn't understand how to do work in parallel to take advantage of 16, 64, 128 cores on new processors. Intel just stated in an SD Times article that 100% of its server processors will be multicore by end of 2007. We will never, ever return to single processor computers. Architect Catherine Crawford goes on to discuss some of the ways developers can harness the 'tiny supercomputers' we'll all have soon, and some of the applications we can apply this brute force to."
HP

Submission + - HP accused of spying on Dell

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: An ex-HP exec claims he was instructed by the company's management to spy on Dell's printer business plans. Karl Kamb, previously HP's vice president of business development and strategy, was named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by HP in 2005. But Kamb, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed a countersuit in US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Math

String Theory Put to the Test 407

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the line-em-up-and-shoot-em-down dept.
secretsather writes to mention that scientists have come up with a definitive test that could prove or disprove string theory. The project is described as "Similar to the well known U.S. particle collider at Fermi Lab, the Large Hadron Collider, scheduled for November 2007, is expected to be the largest, and highest energy particle accelerator in existence; it will use liquid helium cooled superconducting magnets to produce electric fields that will propel particles to near light speeds in a 16.7 mile circular tunnel. They then introduce a new particle into the accelerator, which collides with the existing ones, scattering many other mysterious subatomic particles about."

65% of Americans Spend More Time With Their PC Than SO 291

Posted by CmdrTaco from the can't-talk-now-honey-i'm-clearing-auchindoun dept.
Ant writes "PR Newswire reports that 65 percent of consumers are spending more time with a computer than with their significant other (SO). The "Cyber Stress" study confirmed consumers' growing relationship with technology in their everyday lives. In fact, more than 8 out of 10 Americans (84%) say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were just three years ago."
The Courts

Are DMCA Abuses a Temporary or Permanent Problem? 163

Posted by CmdrTaco from the still-on-the-books dept.
Regular Slashdot contributor Bennett Haselton wrote in with a story about the DMCA. He starts "On January 16, a man named Guntram Graef who invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to ask YouTube to remove a video of giant penises attacking his wife's avatar/character in the virtual community "Second Life", retracted the claim and stated that he now believes the video was not a copyright violation. (He had sent similar notices to BoingBoing and the Sydney Morning Herald just for posting screen shots of the video.) His statements in a C-Net interview suggest that he didn't mean to alienate the anti-censorship community and was probably angry over what he saw as a sexually explicit attack on his wife. But the event sparked renewed debate over the DMCA and what constitutes abuse of it. I sympathize with Graef and I admire him for admitting an error, but I still think the incident shows why the DMCA is a bad law." Hit that link below to read the rest of his story.
Enlightenment

Submission + - University Tuition Being Auctioned on Ebay

Submitted by scvff
scvff writes: Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is auctioning off one years tuition on Ebay. Seriously. Starting February 4, 2007 OWU is opening an Auction on Ebay for tuition, room and board for an academic year at OWU. The winner receives tuition, room, board and applicable fees for next fall and spring at OWU. The winner may take up to 17 credit hours each semester. The person who will attend OWU must meet all admissions standards and apply for all available grants and scholarships. This auction is for tuition, room, and board in the traditional undergraduate program. University Webpage: http://www.okwu.edu/ More Information about the auction: http://community.gospelcom.net/Brix?pageID=20676
Google

Google Antiphishing Site Exposed Private User Data 69

Posted by kdawson from the self-phishing dept.
Juha-Matti Laurio writes "Google has removed a few user names and passwords posted inadvertently to a phishing blacklist it compiles and makes publicly available on the Web. This information was submitted to Google by Firefox users with the browser's internal antiphishing toolbar. This feature, developed in cooperation with Google, enables users to report potential phishing sites to Google's blacklist database. Google has reportedly implemented a new mechanism detecting login data in submitted URLs to prevent sensitive information from getting posted to the list." The article notes that news of this minor lapse may obscure the ongoing problem of sensitive data exposed on the Web and findable via Google and other search services.
Music

Submission + - Coke settle copyright dispute with web animator

Submitted by
Nuskrad
Nuskrad writes: "In a copyright battle that reverses the major corporation vs the little guy pattern that has become common, Coca Cola has agreed to pay compensation to veteran web animator Joel Veitch and his band, 7 seconds of love. Fans in Argentina spotted an advert with a similar animation style and music in December, and several major news channels carried the story in January gaining support for the band. You can see a comparison of the music video and the offending advert here.

Most of the compensation is being donated to charities funding research into premature births and neonatal care, with the rest paying to have the track rerecorded and released for sale."
Spam

MySpace Sues Spam King 118

Posted by Zonk from the why-would-you-call-yourself-spam-king dept.
Harry Maugans writes to mention a lawsuit filed by MySpace against Scott Richter, the 'Spam King'. Filed under California's harsh anti-spam laws, the suit alleges that Richter sent millions of unsolicited 'bulletins' to MySpace users over the past few years. From the article: "The suit is aiming for monetary damages and an injunction that would permanently ban Richter and his affiliates from MySpace. The amount of money sought by MySpace has not been disclosed. Richter was already ordered to pay $7 million in a 2003 lawsuit filed by Microsoft after initially refusing to settle the dispute for $100,000. Microsoft announced in 2005 that it would be using the money from the settlement to fuel further antispam operations."
Announcements

Submission + - Virgin's new linux based flight entertainment

Submitted by
Udi Falkson
Udi Falkson writes: "Red, the Virgin America In-Flight Entertainment system will provide:
  • 9 inch integrated touch screens at every seat
  • Full QWERTY keyboard/game controller to interact with all applications
  • Live TV provided by Dish Network
  • The world's only In Flight Program guide (IPG) for live television
  • Over 25 Hollywood Pay-per-view movies available completely on-demand
  • Email/SMS/instant messaging/chat rooms, providing an airborne social network
  • An audio experience with over 3,000 mp3 tracks — allowing guests to customize their playlists — as well as 20 radio channels.
  • Open source video games (and a future invitation for savvy linux game developers to participate in Red)
  • All aircraft are equipped with wireless access points and are broadband-ready
  • Ability to order food when you want it directly from your seat, and pay by credit card
They have a quicktime video and more information and you can see the same video with flash on Youtube."

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