Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Privacy

Submission + - The Automotive Black Box Data Dilemma (ieee.org) 3

Submitted by E5Rebel
E5Rebel writes: We all have a right to privacy, but automobile safety systems, which are networked throughout the body of your car, generate a blizzard of data (likely without your knowledge) and store it in a nondescript box the size of a deck of cards. Does the gadget, called an event data recorder (EDR) or Black Box, constitute a threat to privacy. Great article from the IEEE
The Internet

Submission + - Tide Turning on the "Amazon Tax" in Illinois? (digitalproductsreview.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: But in Illinois yesterday, a Cook County Circuit judge ruled against the state of Illinois in it’s attempt to tax online sales from companies not in the state. Judge Robert Lopez Cepero ruled that affiliates do not create enough of a presence in the state to actually tax the out of state company.
Displays

Submission + - MIT Researchers Invent 'Super Glass' (ibtimes.com) 1

Submitted by
redletterdave
redletterdave writes: "On Thursday, researchers at MIT announced a breakthrough in glass-making technology, which basically involves a new way to create surface textures on glass to eliminate all of the drawbacks of glass, including unwanted reflections and glare. The research team wanted to build glass that could be adaptable to any environment: Their "multifunctional" glass is not only crystal clear, but it also causes water droplets to bounce right off its surface, "like tiny rubber balls." The glass is self-cleaning, anti-reflective, and superhydrophobic. The invention has countless applications, including TV screens, as well as smartphone and tablet displays that benefit from the self-cleaning ability of the glass by resisting moisture and contamination by sweat."
Ubuntu

Submission + - Ubuntu 12.04 LTS out - Unity gets a second chance (aboutlinux.info)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: So how does Ubuntu Precise Pangolin (12.04) fare ? I will say exceptionally well. Unity is not the same ugly duckling it was made out to be. In Ubuntu 12.04, it has transformed into a beautiful swan. As Ubuntu 12.04 is a long term release, the Ubuntu team has pulled all stops to make sure the user experience is positive.

Ubuntu 12.04 aka Precise Pangolin is definitely worthy of running on your machine.

Submission + - TSA screeners charged in LA drug trafficking probe (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Duane Eleby, a suspected drug courier, was all set to sneak 10 pounds of cocaine through a security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport last February with the help of a former Transportation Security Administration employee and a screener. Eleby, however, bungled the plan by going to the wrong terminal and was arrested after another TSA screener found the cocaine, which set in motion a series of undercover operations that led to Wednesday's announcement that two former and current TSA employees had been indicted on federal drug trafficking and bribery charges.
Biotech

Avian Flu Researcher Plans to Defy Dutch Ban On Publishing Paper 118

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the coming-to-a-news-stand-near-year dept.
scibri writes "Ron Fouchier, one of the researchers involved in the controversy over whether to publish research on mutant versions of H5N1 bird flu, has said he plans to submit his paper to Science without applying for an export control license as demanded by the Dutch government. Failing to get the license means he could face penalties including up to six years in prison. Whether the paper falls under export-control laws is unclear. The Netherlands implements European Union (EU) legislation on export controls, which require an export permit for 'dual-use' materials and information — those that could have both legitimate and malicious uses — including those relating to dangerous pathogens. But the EU law allows an exception for 'basic scientific research' that is 'not primarily directed towards a specific practical aim or objective,' which Fouchier says should cover his work."
Piracy

Dutch Pirateparty Refuses Order To Take Down Proxy 73

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the copyright-is-so-20th-century dept.
New submitter CAPSLOCK2000 writes "The Dutch Pirateparty has refused an order from BREIN to take down a proxy to The Pirate Bay. Last month BREIN (the distribution-industries paralegal outfit) forced a number of ISPs to block The Pirate Bay; the first site ever blocked in the Netherlands. Immediately people started using proxies at other ISPs to get to TPB. BREIN then threatened a number of those proxies with legal action. As most of these are run by hobbyists without legal or financial means there was little resistance. Now the Dutch Pirateparty has decided to stand up to the intimidation and refuses to take down its proxy. Today they sent their response in style: by uploading it to The Pirate Bay. In translation: 'The Pirateparty disputes your claim and will not comply with your request.'" Via Torrentfreak, Pirate Party chairman Dirk Poot: "There are a plethora of proxy sites on the internet. On almost any them TPB can by reached, even with a single URL. That's not even mentioning the ways you can get to TPB if you're willing to put in more effort than saving a single URL. If this keeps going there will be no Internet left by the time BREIN has achieved its goal of making TPB inaccessible. ... In their self-righteous zealousness they have brought substantial damage to the free and open Internet."

Comment Re:Sigh, slashdot is rather prone to hyperbole (Score 1) 248

for the average education use a $600 dell computer will be more than enough. make exception for the ones to run indesign and sure, they will be more expensive than the others. OBVIOUSLY it doesnt work as a computer to student ratio, but my point was that once you break down what classes use computers and which ones dont, you're looking at considerably less than a 1:2 ratio. i used it arbitrarily to make the point that even with an unlikely...ly high ratio, the budget seems massively inflated. Also, at 1200-1500 it sounds like you're buying one at a time and speccing them to be quite powerful

Comment Re:Sigh, slashdot is rather prone to hyperbole (Score 1) 248

But they dont need one computer per student... so even 1520 per student is quite high. also... even if it was one computer per student, 1520 per computer is quite high. Dell has education discounts, they could easily get well above average computers for ~$600. even at the rate of 1 computer per 2 children (still seems unnecessary) you're looking at $300 per student; thus, this is overbudgeted by 1220/student, or about 80%...
Censorship

Eric Schmidt: UN Treaty a 'Disaster' For the Internet 346

Posted by samzenpus from the it's-the-end-of-the-net-as-we-know-it dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Internet freedom and innovation are at risk of being stifled by a new United Nations treaty that aims to bring in more regulation, Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has warned. In a question-and-answer session at Mobile World Congress 2012 on Tuesday, Schmidt said handing over control of things such as naming and DNS to the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) would divide the internet, allowing it to be further broken into pieces regulated in different ways. 'That would be a disaster... To some, the openness and interoperability is one of the greatest achievements of mankind in our lifetime. Do not give that up easily. You will regret it. You will hate it, because all of a sudden all that freedom, all that flexibility, you'll find it shipped away for one good reason after another,' Schmidt said. 'I cannot be more emphatic. Be very, very careful about moves which seem logical, but have the effect of balkanising the internet,' he added, urging everyone to strongly resist the moves."

Slashdot Top Deals

Never trust a computer you can't repair yourself.

Close