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United States

Submission + - SPAM: Art Bell's Wife Denied Entry into US

Submitted by Junior Samples
Junior Samples writes: Airyn Bell, wife of radio talk show legend Art Bell, has been denied a U.S. Visa. Read about their incredible struggle against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). [spam URL stripped]
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Sued Over Vista-To-XP Downgrade Fees 1

Submitted by Krojack
Krojack writes: Suit claims the software maker is profiting from a program that allegedly violates antitrust laws. A Los Angeles computer user has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that fees the software maker and its partners charge for downgrading PCs from Windows Vista to the older XP operating system violate antitrust rules. Emma Alvarado says in court papers that she was forced to pay $59.25 to downgrade a Vista-based Lenovo system she bought last year to XP. Alvarado claims Microsoft is able to impose such fees because of a lack of competition in the PC market.
Television

Submission + - Sky HD Boxes Failing En Mass (trustedreviews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Here's something Sky was trying to keep under wraps...The broadcasting mega-corporate has very quietly begun contacting thousands of its customers to inform them their Sky HD digiboxes have a major design flaw which necessitates urgent replacement. The problem affects Pace made Sky HD units (the outwardly identical Thomson, Samsung and Amstrad models are fine) and causes gradual damage to the device's hard drive which eventually results in complete failure. The scale of the problem is widespread with an insider revealing to me staff were informed of a "high priority secret project" at the start of the week but not what it entailed until yesterday
Image

MIT Creates Class About Soap Operas Screenshot-sm 57

Posted by samzenpus from the stranger-than-fiction dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Wikipedia apparently wasn't enough. There had to be a course on the much needed subject of soap operas at MIT. Here's the Course Description: "The television landscape has changed drastically in the past few years; nowhere is this more prevalent than in the American daytime serial drama, one of the oldest forms of television content. This class examines the history of these "soap operas" and their audiences by focusing on the production, consumption, and media texts of soaps. The class will include discussions of what makes soap operas a unique form, the history of the genre, current experimentation with transmedia storytelling, the online fan community, and comparisons between daytime dramas and primetime serials from 24 to Friday Night Lights, through a study of Procter & Gamble's As the World Turns."" All I really need to know I learned from my evil twin, who fathered my unborn child, who has a extremely rare disease that only one of my many CIA contacts, who is also sleeping with my wife, can cure.

Comment Channel Master CM7000 (Score 1) 479

by Junior Samples (#26555313) Attached to: Most Hackable Coupon-Eligible DTV Converter?

A rep from Channel Master has indicated that they would be releasing firmware enhancements for the CM7000 STB after the coupon program is over. They wouldn't elaborate on what those enhancements would be, but most likely it would be the activation of QAM demodulation mode for cable HD reception. NTSC demodulation is also a possibility, since LPTV stations will continue to use this mode.

Most of the STB chipsets in use support these modes.
The Internet

The Wackiest Technology Tales of 2008 97

Posted by timothy from the hindsight-is-much-better-than-20/20 dept.
coondoggie writes "Despite the daily drumbeat of new and improved hardware or software, the tech industry isn't all bits and bytes. Some interesting things happen along the way too. Like floating data centers, space geekonauts, shape shifting robots and weird bedfellows (like Microsoft and Jerry Seinfeld). What we include here is an example of what we thought were the best, slightly off-center stories of 2008."

Comment Alien Spacecraft Use Element 115 instead of Gold (Score 2, Funny) 465

by Junior Samples (#25806847) Attached to: Anti-Matter Created By Laser At Livermore

According to Robert Lazar, former Area 51 physicist, element 115 is used as fuel generating antimatter in an Annihilation Reactor which powers the craft. http://www.boblazar.com/closed/index.html

Details of Annihilation Reactor operation are here: http://www.boblazar.com/closed/reactor.htm
Image

Identifying People By Odor As Effective As Fingerprinting Screenshot-sm 157

Posted by samzenpus from the can-you-smell-me-now dept.
A study has found that everybody has a unique body odor, like their fingerprints, that could be used as an unique identifier. The study showed that a persons unique odor stayed the same even if they varied their diet with strong smelling foods such as garlic and spices. "These findings indicate that biologically-based odorprints, like fingerprints, could be a reliable way to identify individuals," said Monell chemist Jae Kwak. I would have thought that hundreds of years of dogs tracking people would have proved this, but it's nice to know that science has figured it out officially now.
Image

Dogs To Sniff Out Smokers Screenshot-sm 136

Posted by samzenpus from the what-brand-is-it-lassie dept.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has turned to "tobacco detection canine" teams to sniff out workers sneaking away for a smoke. Careless smoking by workers inside the former Deutsche Bank building is blamed for the Aug. 18, 2007, fire that killed two firefighters. "This is just one part of the project team's multifaceted approach to ensuring that all site regulations are strictly followed and enforced," said LMDC spokesman Mike Murphy.
Transportation

Tesla Motors Shaken Up, Laying Off 491

Posted by kdawson from the i-want-my-i-want-my dept.
tjstork writes "Tesla Motors, the darling of technorati for its high performance electric car, may be about to go belly up. Venture capital is cut off, layoffs are under way, and construction plans are being stretched out. Elon Musk has ousted the CEO and taken the reins, blaming the global credit crunch."
Privacy

Submission + - The Pirate Bay's plans to encrypt the 'net (newteevee.com) 1

Submitted by Keeper Of Keys
Keeper Of Keys writes: According to newteevee.com, The Pirate Bay, those fun- and freedom-loving Swedes, have embarked on a project to encrypt all internet traffic, probably by means of an OS-level wrapper around all network connections, which would fall back to an unencrypted connection when the other end is not similarly equipped. The move has been prompted by a recent change in Swedish law, allowing the authorities to snoop on network traffic.

This will be a boon to filesharers and anyone else concerned about authorities and trade groups' recent moves towards 'policing' network traffic at the ISP level.
Microsoft

Submission + - Pirated XP superior to the real thing (apcmag.com)

Submitted by
KrispyXP
KrispyXP writes: "One of the annoyances with installing a fresh copy of Windows XP these days is that the driver set is six years out of date, and there's been a LOT of new hardware emerge since then. It's one thing to install the latest graphics driver, but it's another to have to set up everything from the chipset to the storage drivers. Now, a pirated distribution of XP has done what Microsoft hasn't: it has brought XP's driver base completely up-to-date, as well as cutting out all the crap Microsoft ships with XP that nobody wants."

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