Comment Re:futile struggle (Score 1) 262
Hate speech occupies the middle ground in terms of protection, it seems.
Colleges Struggling With the Digital Bathroom Wall 262
theodp writes "Back in the day, anonymous character assassination was confined to permanent marker scrawl in bathroom stalls. But now, thanks to sites like the student-run CollegeACB.com (ACB=Anonymous Confession Board), which can get hundreds of thousands of hits on a good day, TIME reports that anonymous slander is going viral on campus. Even the most elite universities — normally the land of the politically correct — have been struggling with the problem of anonymous gossip sites and their very un-PC posts, which an Amherst dean likens to 'the worst of junior high.' If he thinks things are bad now, wait until the kids start getting creative with Google Sidewiki."
Obama Wants Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned 670
schwit1 writes "The Obama administration is seeking to reverse a federal appeals court decision that dramatically narrows the government’s search-and-seizure powers in the digital age. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Justice Department officials are asking the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its August ruling that federal prosecutors went too far when seizing 104 professional baseball players’ drug results when they had a warrant for just 10. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
Google's Reach Hits Your Tivo 98
accido writes "As reported by The LA Times, Google has now decided to expand its marketing and data collection to include what you watch on your Tivo. The data collected would help Google, who sells TV ads, show who watches which commercials and who skips right over them. The article outlines how this could be bad for networks that cash in whether you watch the ad or not. Does this mean fewer commercials for viewers? Not likely, but one can hope."
Comment As of today, CNET == cracked.com, Slashdot == Digg (Score 2, Informative) 219
This just felt like one of those cracked.com articles all over digg, instead of a slashdot-worthy article. Sorry.
Comment Re:Fedora Server Hammered (of course) (Score 4, Informative) 236
Or grab a torrent! http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/
NASA, European Space Agency Want To Go To Mars 129
coondoggie writes "NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are aiming to cooperate on all manner of robotic orbiters, landers and exploration devices for a future trip to Mars. Specifically, NASA and ESA recently agreed to consider the establishment of a new joint initiative to define and implement their scientific, programmatic, and technological goals for the exploration of Mars. The program would focus on several launch opportunities with landers and orbiters conducting astrobiological, geological, geophysical, climatological, and other high-priority investigations and aiming at returning samples from Mars in the mid-2020s."
Intel and AMD Settle Antitrust, Patent Lawsuits 165
Kohenkatz writes "Intel has agreed to pay $1.25 billion to AMD. In return, AMD will drop its lawsuits about patent and antitrust complaints. The two companies released this joint statement: 'While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development.' The press release also says, 'Under terms of the agreement, AMD and Intel obtain patent rights from a new 5-year cross license agreement,' and that 'Intel and AMD will give up any claims of breach from the previous license agreement.'"
Microsoft Responds To "Like OS X" Comment 505
Z80xxc! writes "After a comment by a Microsoft employee claiming in an interview that 'what we [Microsoft] have tried to do with Windows 7... is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics,' the Windows 7 team has issued an official rebuttal, saying that the comment came from an employee who was 'not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7,' and that it was 'inaccurate and uninformed.'"
Comment Re:Saving Money...yeah. (Score 1) 697
That's the most detail I've heard yet - thanks for the reply and the link.
Comment Re:Saving Money...yeah. (Score 1) 697
Apologies, since this is extremely extremely offtopic and I deserve to be downmodded for it...
If you're feeling really generous, can you give me some basic specs on your i7 machine and offer a sense of what the battery life has been like while web surfing, etc? I have read many reviews, but none that I trust so much as another Slashdot user (sounds ridiculous, I know, but I'm not a manufacturer paying you for this review). I would be very grateful!
Singer In Grocery Store Ordered To Pay Royalties 645
yog writes "An assistant at a grocery store in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, was ordered by the Performing Right Society (PRS) to obtain a performer's license and to pay royalties because she was informally singing popular songs while stocking groceries. The PRS later backed down and apologized. This after the same store had turned off the radio after a warning from the PRS. We have entered an era where music is no longer an art for all to enjoy, but rather a form of private property that must be regulated and taxed like alcohol. 'Music to the ears' has become 'dollars in the bank'."
Comment Re:Damned sure glad... (Score 1) 176
I didn't say, "This won't happen because we passed GINA." Instead, I pointed out that there is legislation that intends to deal with this problem. That is, I stated that the legislation was passed to address this problem, not that I felt that the legislation would 100% effective, which would be a different point entirely.
Certainly, I share your concern that insurance companies will always attempt to find loopholes so long as there is a profit motive to do so.
Comment Re:Not sequencing (Score 4, Informative) 176
Anonymous coward is correct. This is genotyping, which is orders of magnitude less resource-intensive than gene sequencing.
Genotyping | sequencing || driving down the highway | Lewis and Clark's journey
Sequencing is pathfinding (they are not doing this). Genotyping is exploring the path that you already know is there (this is what they are doing). On the sequencing front, there is currently a 1000 genomes project - a massive collaboration of worldwide importance due to its difficulty and expense. On the other hand, genotyping 100,000 people is done all the time (heart attack GWAS, etc). The two concepts are enormously different.
Comment Re:Damned sure glad... (Score 5, Informative) 176
This is why we passed GINA: http://www.genome.gov/24519851
