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Submission + - Univ. of Calif. Launches It'll Get Better Campaign

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In September, Univ. of California President Mark Yudof and Board of Regents Chairwoman Sherry Lansing posted their It Gets Better campaign YouTube video, which carried a message of hope and inclusion. 'At UC,' said Lansing, 'we believe that you have the right to feel good about yourself, to live without fear or harassment and to pursue all of your dreams.' Nice. But just two months later, AggieTV posted a disturbing YouTube video showing passive UC Davis protestors getting pepper-sprayed by campus police. Actions speak louder than words, kids, as a YouTube Doubler of the two videos makes painfully clear. Faced with public outrage over the UC Davis incident and an earlier beatdown at Berkeley, Lansing and Yudof now vow that it'll get better at UC. Which is not too surprising — the success of Lansing's protest-inspiring plan to peddle UC spots to deep-pocketed out-of-state and international students may depend on it.
Encryption

Submission + - Police Encrypt Radios to Tune Out Public 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Police departments around the country are moving to shield their radio communications from the public as cheap, user-friendly technology has made it easy for anyone to use handheld devices to keep tabs on officers responding to crimes and although law enforcement officials say they want to keep criminals from using officers’ internal chatter to evade them, journalists and neighborhood watchdogs say open communications ensures that the public receives information as quickly as possible that can be vital to their safety. “Whereas listeners used to be tied to stationary scanners, new technology has allowed people — and especially criminals — to listen to police communications on a smartphone from anywhere,” says DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier who says that a group of burglars who police believe were following radio communications on their smartphones pulled off more than a dozen crimes before ultimately being arrested. But encryption also makes it harder for neighboring jurisdictions to communicate in times of emergency. "The 9/11 commission concluded America’s number one vulnerability during the attacks was the lack of interoperability communications," writes Vernon Herron, "I spoke to several first responders who were concerned that their efforts to respond and assist at the Pentagon after the attacks were hampered by the lack of interoperability with neighboring jurisdictions.""

Submission + - South Korea blocks late-night adolescent online ga (cnn.com)

Submitted by PolygamousRanchKid
PolygamousRanchKid writes: In its effort to curb game addiction among adolescents, South Korea pulled the plug this weekend on young gamers after midnight by blocking access to game websites, putting a hotly debated law into practice. The new system called the "shutdown law," also referred to as the "Cinderella law," blocks those under the age of 16 from accessing gaming websites after midnight and has fueled heated anger among younger gamers and avid game fans. Critics point out that many teenagers hold gaming accounts created with their parent's personal information, easily providing them with an alternative log-in option.

"You can say someone is an alcoholic if they drink more than three bottles (of liquor) a day, but you can't call them alcoholic because they drink after midnight. It's the same with gaming," Lee Byung-chan, the lawyer who filed the petition on behalf of parents and a young gamer said."From the parents' point of view, it violates their right to educate their children," Lee added. It is for the parents to decide what time they want to allow their children to play games or not, not for the government to exclude them from that process, the argument goes.
Science

Submission + - Cosmic Antimatter Excess Confirmed (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: In 2008, the Italian satellite PAMELA picked up an unusual signal: a spike in antimatter particles whizzing through space. The discovery, controversial at the time, hinted that physicists might be coming close to detecting dark matter, an enigmatic substance thought to account for 85% of the matter in the universe. Now, new data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope confirm the spike.
HP

Submission + - HP announces first ARM-based server (techworld.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "HP has become the first major vendor to announce an ARM-based server. The servers use a 32-bit processor from ARM licensee Calxeda. Calxeda's chip includes an ARM processor and consumes as little as 1.5 watts of power. HP's ARM-based server design packs 288 Calxeda chips into a 4U rack-mount server with shared power, cooling and management infrastructure."
Earth

Submission + - Ikea to Build Micro City in East London (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Inter Ikea Systems, owner of the popular furniture chain, recently announced plans to build an enormous 26-acre, suburb next to London’s Olympic Park. Strand East, located in East London, will include 1,200 homes, a 350-room hotel, 480,000 square feet of offices, as well as shops and restaurants. The site is flanked by canals on two sides, and Ikea hopes to create what it describes as a “mini-Venice,” with water-taxi service and a floating cocktail bar.
Science

Submission + - India to build Thorium reactor (guardian.co.uk) 1

Submitted by slowLearner
slowLearner writes: India will build a working Thorium reactor.
Officials are currently selecting a site for the reactor, which would be the first of its kind, using thorium for the bulk of its fuel instead of uranium – the fuel for conventional reactors. They plan to have the plant up and running by the end of the decade.

Comment Re:Um.... (Score 1) 593

by MBC1977 (#37904990) Attached to: Federal Contractors Are $600 Screwdrivers
Mil-spec gear must undergo a much more rigourous standard than your COTS products. Doesn't matter what you or I personally think about that. Their need for exact precision and specs highly detailed, documented, vetted and verified. Trust me, it is not that simple as your making it.

Comment Re:Legal status of using the Kinect for a PC? (Score 1) 55

by MBC1977 (#37904972) Attached to: Kinect For PCs Early Next Year, Microsoft Eyeing Business Apps
What type of data are we talking about? If we are talking about a user(s) data then, no I don't see that there should be any liability; given that the purchaser should know that the device is capturing bio-metrical data. However, if your talking about data of a particular location - like the layout and / or inventory of a room (that is visible), then maybe a legal issue could arise.

Another possibility I can see for potential legal liability (probably the owner however) is if one was to set these up in there house and invite people over without disclosing that their bio-metrical data was being recorded or something to that fact. Again, this is something that probably will have been hashed out to remove liability from the software developer, but in our increasingly litigious state (I'm using the USA as an example since I live there) one should tread cautiously.

Comment Re:Cornholio (Score 1) 151

by MBC1977 (#37904900) Attached to: Military Labs Develop Caffeinated Jerky and "Zapplesauce"
Oh come they are not that bad. lol The Cajun Rice, Beans and Sausage is actually quite good. lol (better then the chow hall some days). Not mention if you take the Spice Poundcake and the Spiced Apples, you get an Apple-Pie type treat (of course you have to ratfuck about 3 MREs but hey who's counting). hehe

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