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The Internet

Submission + - ICANN to Probe Network Solutions (eweek.com)

Submitted by
sjvn
sjvn writes: "Network Solutions is backing off of its domain registering policy in the wake of reports that it was automatically registering domains based on user searches, but they're not backing off all the way and now ICANN is going to take a closer look at Network Solutions' user 'protection' policies.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/ICANN-to-Probe-Network-Solutions-Domain-Registration-Policies/"
Transportation

How We Might Have Scramjets Sooner than Expected 674

Posted by Zonk from the zooom-zippy-fast dept.
loralai writes "Recent breakthroughs in scramjet engines could mean two-hour flights from New York to Tokyo. This technology, decades in the making, could redefine our understanding of air travel and military encounters. 'To put things in context, the world's fastest jet, the Air Force's SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, set a speed record of Mach 3.3 in 1990 when it flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in just over an hour. That's about the limit for jet engines; the fastest fighter planes barely crack Mach 1.6. Scramjets, on the other hand, can theoretically fly as fast as Mach 15--nearly 10,000 mph.'"
The Media

Congress Creates Copyright Cops 533

Posted by Zonk from the story-you-are-about-to-see-is-a-fib-but-its-short dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Not satisfied with pitiful potential penalties of $150,000 for infringing upon a $0.99 song, Congress is proposing new copyright cops in the "'PRO IP' Act of 2007, specifically the creation of the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER). They also feel that the authorities need the authority to seize any computers used for infringement and to send copyright cops abroad to help other countries enforce US laws. MPAA boss Dan Glickman praised the bill saying that, 'films left costs foreign and domestic distributors, retailers and others $18 billion a year,' though Ars points out that it allegedly costs the studios only $6 billion."
Microsoft

Promise of OOXML Oversight By ISO Falls Through 216

Posted by Zonk from the so-it's-only-standard-for-them dept.
640 Comments Are Enough for Anyone writes "Microsoft is going back on one of their promises concerning OOXML. While they originally made assurances that the ISO would take control of the standard if it were approved, Microsoft is now reversing that position and keeping near-full control over OOXML with the ECMA. This is significant because the ECMA is the group that originally rubber-stamped OOXML. It seems unlikely that they will force changes to correct problems with the standard. In Microsoft's new plan, the ISO would only be allowed to publish lists of errata and would be unable to make OOXML compatible with existing ISO standards, while the ECMA would be the one to control any new versions of the standard."
Microsoft

Microsoft Wants OLPC System to Run Windows XP 553

Posted by Zonk from the oh-now-they-want-in dept.
Stony Stevenson passed us a link to an IT News story about Microsoft's recent request that the folks behind the XO laptop redesign it to suit their needs. The company now wants to be able to run Windows XP on the highly-publicized and inexpensive portable. "Microsoft general manager ... Utzschneider says a shrunken version of Windows XP could potentially run on 2 Gbytes of flash memory. The XO, however, can only hold 1 Gbyte. As a result, Microsoft wants the XO's designers to add a slot through which more memory can be added via a secure digital (SD) card, Utzschneider said. Microsoft's renewed interest in participating in OLPC might be viewed by skeptics as an admission that a rival offering for developing markets called Classmate — which uses an Intel processor on Microsoft software — has failed to catch on."
Biotech

Scientists Create Zombie Cockroaches 243

Posted by Zonk from the almost-as-good-as-'them' dept.
Reservoir Hill writes "Zombie insects might sound like a B-movie plot device (quicktime video) but to the emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa), they're a tried and tested way to provide food for their hungry larvae. The wasp relies on cockroaches for its grisly life cycle but unlike many venomous predators, which paralyze their victims before eating them, the wasp's sting leaves the cockroach able to walk, but unable to initiate its own movement. Researchers have discovered that the wasps sting the cockroaches once to subdue them, then administer another, more precise sting right into their victim's brain. The venom works to block a neurotransmitter called octopamine with a similar action to dopamine, which is involved in preparations to execute complex behaviors such as walking. Then the wasp grabs the cockroach's antenna and leads it back to the nest 'like a dog on a leash', says one researcher. The team found that they could restore spontaneous walking behavior in stung cockroaches by giving them a compound that reactivates octopamine receptors in the insects' central nervous system. Researchers were also able to create their own zombies by injecting unstung cockroaches with a compound that blocks the receptors producing a similar effect to that of the venom."
Security

UK Government Loses 15 Million Private Records 339

Posted by Zonk from the that's-gotta-hurt dept.
bestweasel writes "The BBC reports that a UK Government department has lost discs with details of 15 million benefit recipients, including names, addresses, date of birth and bank accounts. The head of the department involved, HM Revenue & Customs, has resigned and his resignation 'was accepted because discs had been transported in breach of rules governing data protection' so someone thinks it's not a trivial matter. The Chancellor will try to evade responsibility in the House of Commons at 3.30 GMT. A similar leak of a 'mere' 15,000 records from the same department happened a month or so ago. At that time, they refused to say 'on security grounds' whether the information was encrypted." We just recently talked about Britain's consideration of legal penalties for situations like this. I imagine this incident will weigh on that decision.
Portables

IT's Love-Hate Relationship With Laptops 497

Posted by CowboyNeal from the caucophony-of-pleasure-and-pain dept.
Ian Lamont writes "Are laptops really as great as they're cracked up to be? We love their portability, and we've been charting the steady rise of laptop sales for years. Yet while many of us depend on them for work, our IT departments view them with mixed feelings. IT managers point to wi-fi configuration, complicated authentication procedures, and eight other issues as making their jobs a lot harder. What else is missing from the list of laptop limitations? What would you like to see in the next generation of laptop computers?"
The Courts

National Security Letter Plaintiff Speaks 185

Posted by kdawson from the gagged-but-good dept.
Panaqqa writes "On Monday, the US government appealed a September ruling striking down a controversial section of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional. The section permits the FBI to send secret demands to ISPs (called 'National Security Letters') for logs and email without first obtaining a judge's approval. The ACLU has quoted the president of the small Plaintiff ISP, identified only as John Doe because of a gag order under the law, saying that the gag provisions make it 'impossible for people... to discuss their specific concerns with the public, the press and Congress.'"
Linux Business

What is the Best Way to Start a Paid GPL Project? 231

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the will-food-for-code dept.
pooslinger writes "I know little to nothing about programming but would like to start, fund, and maintain a GPL linux POS application. I see there are a few available with the majority being closed source. I am currently starting a business and really despise the fact that I will have to spend $2-$5k on a proprietary solution. I would like to create an application where you could take a midrange PC, connect inexpensive touchscreens, barcode readers, thermal printers, credit card readers, etc; scan/input inventory; and begin selling. Something like a Debian POS distribution that boots into X and starts a POS terminal. Does something like this exist, am I just trying to reinvent the wheel?" How have other people approached starting a new GPL project, finding talent, and ensuring the code choices best benefit the community?
Sony

Submission + - PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 Delayed 2

Submitted by Dr. Eggman
Dr. Eggman writes: Gamasutra breaks the bad news from over at Midway. Midway states that Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 3 for the PS3 has been delayed into the first quarter of 2008. No official reason has been give as to why the delay, as only CEO David Zucker of Midway has released information. The PC version is still on track for a November release.
Announcements

Submission + - Apple to shut current users out of boot camp

Submitted by aws910
aws910 writes: It looks like Apple is going to shut current boot camp users out when they release OSX 10.5(leopard), according to this article. The boot camp homepage corroborates this, saying(on the right sidebar) "To continue previewing Boot Camp after September 30, click the Download Now button above to install the latest version of Boot Camp Beta. You do not have to reinstall Windows. This new beta license will allow you to continue using Boot Camp until Mac OS X Leopard is available (expected October 2007).". I do respect Apple for this, though... unlike their rival, at least they properly labeled their beta as "beta".
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Apple Hangs Tough On iPhone Bricking

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Two other shoes have dropped in the Apple iPhone bricking controversy. Apple iPhone spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock has responded to InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe's Sunday posting, asserting that " Apple's position has not changed since we issued our statement last week." (The statement is the one is which Apple said unauthorized apps or unlocking "will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable.") In addition, California lawyer Damian Fernandez has launched a Web site through which he's actively soliciting iPhone users to join a suit against Apple.
Operating Systems

Submission + - New Open Source Operating System (not linux) (losethos.com) 1

Submitted by
losethos
losethos writes: "LoseThos version 3.08 has been released. It's an open source, 64-bit, free, PC operating system written from scratch with no GPL or GNU code. It's target demographic is amateur programmers wishing to write games. This version solves the 2 Gig memory limit. x86 chips have a 32-bit limitation on branches and calls in code, even in 64-bit mode. LoseThos separates code from data with this version by allocating from separate heaps. The code heap is limited to 2 Gig, but this should not be a problem, if you think about it, because a million lines of code might have 20 bytes a line and that would only be 20 Meg. Data, such as graphics, are what consume memory. Techically, you need to recompile the kernel to enable this feature. See the help discussion under "memory"."

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