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Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft opens personal health record site (cnn.com)

Submitted by
sunday-sunnyday
sunday-sunnyday writes: "Microsoft launches HealthVault.com site People can manage their personal health and medical information online Privacy advocates concerned patients' confidential records will not be protected Many people still consider private medical information too sensitive to put online"
Patents

Submission + - Competitive Patent Intelligence hints at Gphone (informationweek.com)

Submitted by
Balwant Rawat
Balwant Rawat writes: "Ever wondered what Google has been up to lately? How about Yahoo!, Microsoft, IBM or other high tech companies? Many professionals, companies and organizations frequently have the same questions about their key competitors. However, since this information is proprietary and highly confidential, there is almost no likelihood of getting these answers directly from the companies.

Since these leading edge companies are constantly innovating and creating barriers for their competitors, they are also continuously filing patent applications and getting many — if not most — of these granted. Hence, searching through databases, such as those provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which contain recently published patent applications and granted patents, is one way of gaining an insight into the strategic direction of these companies.
Companies try to keep their strategies secret for as long as possible. Especially in the technology sector, where changes and innovations take place very fast, preventing competitors from knowing about their future products and services can be critical.

Evalueserve, a global research and analytics firm, recently used a combination of IP search techniques and found, for example, that as much as 88 percent of Google's US patent portfolio may not be uncovered by simply searching traditional databases. In addition, Evalueserve has discovered several interesting patent applications, which provide hints that Google may be in the process of developing its own Google Phone. Finally, the patent applications Evalueserve has tracked also suggest that Google might be targeting the TV and video games markets and may be developing a device that can facilitate supermarket shopping with mobile phones.

Evalueserve research shows that traditional search techniques that only use databases such as the USPTO database, which comprises granted patents and published applications, for analysing a company's patent portfolio may not be sufficient.

Evalueserve suggests the following complementary techniques:
  One technique is searching through patent-assignment databases, some of which
are freely available while others are provided by Intellectual Property (IP) database vendors as licenses. For example, a complementary search within the USPTO
patent-assignment database can yield some of the missing ownership information,
especially if the granted patents and published applications were filed by one entity and later acquired by another.

  Another technique is checking accuracy by using complementary databases, e.g.,
by correlating Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filing information with USPTO filing
information.

  Yet another technique is performing inventor-based searches along with assignee based searches which often yield more meaningful results. This technique really
works well because there are many published applications for which ownership
information may not have been recorded earlier.

By using a combination of the techniques mentioned above, firms such as Evalueserve can provide clients with a more holistic view of a company's IP activities and innovation efforts. This information is more valuable than ever in today's fast-paced world of innovation.

About Evalueserve: Evalueserve provides custom research and analytics services to over 1000 corporations and other organizations in the following five areas: Intellectual Property, Market Research, Business Research, Financial/Investment Research, Data Analytics and Modelling. Executives from IBM and McKinsey founded Evalueserve in December 2000, and it has completed over 13,000 projects till date for its globally dispersed client base. Approximately one thousand of these research engagements have focused on emerging markets including India, China, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Evalueserve currently has over 2,100 professionals in the following four research and analytics' centres: Delhi-Gurgaon, India; Shanghai, China; Santiago-Valparaiso, Chile; and New York, USA.

Additionally, a team of 50 client engagement managers is located in all major technology,business, and financial centres globally — from Silicon Valley to Sydney. For more details, please visit http://www.evalueserve.com./"
The Courts

Submission + - RIAA Complaint Dismissed as "Boilerplate"

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The decision many lawyers had been expecting — that the RIAA's "boilerplate" complaint fails to state a claim for relief under the Copyright Act — has indeed come down, but from an unlikely source. While the legal community has been looking towards a Manhattan case, Elektra v. Barker, for guidance, a case in which amicus briefs had been submitted by various industry groups and the US Department of Justice (see case file, and from Warner v. Cassin, a similar motion in the same Court's Westchester division, the decision instead came from Senior District Court Judge Rudi M. Brewster of the US District Court for the Southern District of California, in a decision denying a default judgment (i.e. the defendant had not even appeared in the action). Judge Brewster not only denied the default judgment motion but dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim. Echoing the words of Judge Karas at the oral argument in Barker , Judge Brewster held (pdf) that "Plaintiff here must present at least some facts to show the plausibility of their allegations of copyright infringement against the Defendant. However, other than the bare conclusory statement that on "information and belief" Defendant has downloaded, distributed and/or made available for distribution to the public copyrighted works, Plaintiffs have presented no facts that would indicate that this allegation is anything more than speculation. The complaint is simply a boilerplate listing of the elements of copyright infringement without any facts pertaining specifically to the instant Defendant. The Court therefore finds that the complaint fails to sufficiently state a claim upon which relief can be granted and entry of default judgment is not warranted.""

Comment Re:LiveCD DSL linux or Mac OSX Simple Finder (Score 1) 366

by gti_guy (#20464423) Attached to: Bulletproof Tool For Golden Age Browsing?
What about the substandard plugin support for Linux browsers compared to OS X browsers? Yeah, yeah... I know there are work arounds and work-almost-alikes, but who wants to maintain that? After all, in this case, the computer is acting like an information appliance. I don't want to re-engine my blender just to get it to work the way I want. I buy the one that *fits* my needs. Same goes here.
The Media

Submission + - NBCU wants the internet "filtered"

Submitted by yet another steve
yet another steve writes: NBC/Universal wants far more than filtering of material uploaded to YouTube. They want broadband providers (ISPs) themselves to be required to filter internet content. Putting aside the obvious technical reasons why it won't work, the idea of mandatory filtering by your provider of everything you send and receive on the internet sounds a lot like... China. Killing freedom on the net to protect the sitcom.

This seems dangerous, intrusive and unprecedented... and I'm a little surprised it hasn't received more attention.

Check out: http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1019
and http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9745325-7.html?ta g=blog.2

Honestly, I haven't found a single source that seems to understand the gravity of the precedent. People are outraged that a corporation in a broadcast it controlled censored some words (not defending that act, btw), but this is the idea that EVERY packet you send and receive will be required to be monitored and FILTERED. It seems an unbelieveable proposal no matter what the intent.

They do this in China, right?
Security

Submission + - Find Out What Car Anyone Owns With Progressive.com

Submitted by I Ride A Segway
I Ride A Segway writes: Thanks to Progressive.com, all you need is a name and an address, and you can find out what car(s) that person owns. Sounds amusing at first, until you realize that what amounts to convenience for Progressive's potential customers could also be considered a rather big privacy concern for others. Innocently looking up your friends and neighbors and that guy you hated in High School is one thing; Using it to stalk politicians, celebrities, and other people in the public eye is quite another. Either for criminal intent or just plain embarassment, information as simple as that (public record not withstanding) can be easilly misused....Incidentally, Al Gore apparently still drives a hybrid. :)
Privacy

Submission + - ATT + NSA = Busted? (msn.com)

Submitted by
DynaSoar
DynaSoar writes: ""In 2003, Room 641A of a large telecommunications building in downtown San Francisco was filled with powerful data-mining equipment for a "special job" by the National Security Agency, according to a former AT&T technician. It was fed by fiber-optic cables that siphoned copies of e-mails and other online traffic from one of the largest Internet hubs in the United States, the former employee says in court filings." The article elaborates on the nature of the system in San Francisco (and others elsewhere) and the whistleblower's part in things. The Justice Department wants the case dismissed because it claims it can't defend itself without revealing state secrets. It also claims that the real issue is whether this was done in accordance with the constitution. Sadly, that may be true."
The Internet

Submission + - falseflagnews.com Vanished ----- Fight Censorship

Submitted by one0them
one0them writes: Try the site: http://falseflagnews.com/
Look at the cache: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:byGdoSLdKU8J: falseflagnews.com/+falseflagnews&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd= 1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

I find it disturbing that a site which claimed that rogue agents in the government carry out terrorist attacks would be replaced by a blank page. the fact that there is a server at the site serving up blank pages is suspicious. I can see only three possibility's for why it would do that: either it was hacked and all of the articles were deleted and the index page was replaced with a blank, or it was hacked, and a dummy computer was set up on the same ip address, or a backbone [possibly level3] has some sophisticated software for routing calls to FFN to another server while lying about the ip addresses in the traceroute.

any of those three explainations says that somebody somewhere has something to hide, and the people at FFN are exposing it. if anyone can get there page then please post your traceroute.

this is my traceroute
1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms my computer
2 402 ms 191 ms 191 ms my other computer
3 188 ms 191 ms 191 ms my isp
4 2321 ms 191 ms 178 ms my isp
5 196 ms 191 ms 191 ms at-0-1-0-000.br1.ash1.va.gnaps.NET [199.232.44.225]
6 197 ms 203 ms 191 ms GigabitEthernet4-0.GW5.IAD8.ALTER.NET [157.130.47.97]
7 197 ms 201 ms 191 ms 0.so-5-1-0.XL1.IAD8.ALTER.NET [152.63.36.54]
8 197 ms 191 ms 191 ms 0.so-6-0-0.BR1.IAD8.ALTER.NET [152.63.32.157]
9 197 ms 203 ms 203 ms 4.68.127.25
10 197 ms 203 ms 191 ms vlan69.csw1.Washington1.Level3.net [4.68.17.62]

11 208 ms 191 ms 203 ms ae-62-62.ebr2.Washington1.Level3.net [4.69.134.145]
12 221 ms 215 ms 215 ms ae-2.ebr3.Chicago1.Level3.net [4.69.132.69]
13 209 ms 227 ms 203 ms ae-78.ebr2.Chicago1.Level3.net [4.69.134.61]
14 209 ms 215 ms 215 ms ae-23-54.car3.Chicago1.Level3.net [4.68.101.103]

15 209 ms 215 ms 213 ms xe-0-3-0.cr2.ord1.us.scnet.net [4.71.100.26]
16 207 ms 215 ms 215 ms v54.ar1.ord1.us.scnet.net [216.246.95.142]
17 209 ms 203 ms 203 ms gige0-2.1000M.aggr407-1.ord1.reflected.net [66.254.102.50]
18 209 ms 203 ms 203 ms 66.254.97.64

Trace complete.
Security

Submission + - Bush and National Security (kutv.com)

Submitted by
Efialtis
Efialtis writes: "With all the controversy caused by earlier national security attempts by the Bush Administration, these next ones make me wonder just what will happen next? Loose more freedoms? Become something of a WWII era Germany?
Bush Tells Congress To Approve New Spy Law
"President Wants A Bill That Modernizes Ability To Eavesdrop On Foreigners", but if we are eavesdropping on foreigners, and those foreigners are communicating with citizens, then aren't we eavesdropping on citizens? Isn't this just a way around the problems with his previous plan; redirection away from the real issue?
Bush Signs Homeland Security Bill
To put it simply...this bill:
  • "Authorizes more than $4 billion for four years for rail, transit and bus security.
  • Requires the screening of all container ships in foreign ports within five years, but give the Homeland Security secretary authority to delay implementation.
  • Establishes a new electronic travel authorization system to improve security for visitors from countries participating in the visa waiver program.
  • Strengthens a board that oversees privacy and civil liberties issues.
  • Establishes a voluntary certification program to assess whether private entities comply with voluntary preparedness standards.
  • Requires the president and Congress to disclose total spending requested and approved for the intelligence community.
  • Provides civil immunity to those who, in good faith, report suspicious activities that threaten the safety and security of passengers on a transportation system or that could be an act of terrorism.
  • Requires the president to confirm that Pakistan is making progress combatting al Qaeda and Taliban elements within its boarders before the United States provides aid to the country."
"
Privacy

Submission + - Recording a judge for YouTube is a felony?

Submitted by Let's Kiosk
Let's Kiosk writes: A Florida woman faces three felony charges after covertly videotaping a judge she once dated and then posting a clip on YouTube. In the video, the judge is on an island popular with swimmer and boaters and comments on the "nice breasticals" of woman nearby, according to the article in The Palm Beach Post. The woman is charged with one count of intercepting oral communications and two counts of publishing those communications. The circuit's chief judge comments: "Judges like everyone else are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, especially when they are out of the courthouse not performing judicial duties." But how much privacy can anyone expect at the beach?
United States

Submission + - Judge rules against NSA wiretapping (theregister.com)

Submitted by
bl8n8r
bl8n8r writes: "The Bush administration's attempts to change US wiretapping laws has apparently been biotchslapped in the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) secret court. FTFA: "Mike McConnell this spring began urging Congress to pass an emergency "fix" that would clarify and specifically grant the NSA authority to tap switches based in the United States without review by the FISA court". There has been, for some reason, a push within the Republican circle to persuade congress to rush through an expanded evesdropping measure before August recess (end of the week). So, how does this affect the elephant-in-the-living-room at the San Francisco switching center. in downtown USA?"
Censorship

Submission + - Q&A: Can a Pedophile Be Law-Abiding? (msn.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Jack McClellan blogs openly about where best to meet girls under the age of 12. The local authorities are watching him, warily. Should just talking about such matters be enough to get him locked up?
Privacy

Submission + - Privacy Isn't Dead, or At Least It Shouldn't Be (sciam.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Scientific American sits down with Carnegie Mellon computer scientist Latanya Sweeney to discuss online privacy. After a brief discussion of the importance of privacy in society (and a few paragraphs on her life) Latanya Sweeny, who heads the Data Privacy Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, talks about just how easy it is to identify people through publicly available information. From the article: "[Earlier in my career] I had learned that if I had the date of birth, gender and a five-digit zip code of a person, I could identify 87 percent of the people in the United States. So even if you don't give me your social security number, I can find out who you are nearly nine out of 10 times."
Businesses

Submission + - DO NOT GO TO FreeCreditReport.Com (blogspot.com) 1

Submitted by
JagsLive
JagsLive writes: "here's a story from digg about warning folks to stay away from mis-leading "freecreditreport.com" http://digg.com/business_finance/DO_NOT_GO_TO_Free CreditReport_Com " Yes, yes, we've all seen the commercials. The lovely jingle.. free credit report dot com! Well the site is not lovely. I signed up for that one day. I thought I was signing up for the once-a-year free credit report that all people are legally granted. I figured this because the same credit agencies who keep track of scores and reports are the same people who get paid when you sign up to FreeCreditReport.com Sure, when you sign up they do ask for your credit card information; but I assumed this was just one of the steps that they used to check identities. I was wrong. What they don't tell you is that after a brief trial period with the program they call "Triple Advantage" they then charge around $30.00 a month. Sure, I called. I told them how it's bull, that they fool people by saying "free" credit report. Even more; they don't let you quit until after your trial is over — it dosen't make any sense. If you ARE looking for your annual free credit report that is required by law (because of how often credit report mistakes happen) then the website you want to go to, and oddly enough is run by the same credit agencies, is AnnualCreditReport.com " https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/helpabout"
Censorship

Submission + - NYC man Arrested for Reciting First Amendment

Submitted by CWRUisTakingMyMoney
CWRUisTakingMyMoney writes: 'Reverend Billy' — a cross between a street-corner preacher and an Elvis impersonator (but blond) — was arrested on harassment charges last week while reciting the First Amendment through a megaphone in Manhattan's Union Square. Have we reached the point where we can't even (rather uniquely) recite from our own Constitution without being arrested or shouted down?

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