Comment Re:Another link in a long chain. (Score 1) 140
No, they're talking about activating the game at the point of sale, probably in addition to all the arcane DRM techniques they use.
Comment Another link in a long chain. (Score 3, Insightful) 140
"In order for benefit denial to work, the EMA would presumably require the three major consoles to have some sort of activation verification function to ensure that games were legally purchased.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what they already do? I remember the original Xbox had a challenge response function signed with 2048bit RSA specifically designed to verify if the game was legitimate (regardless of homebrew implications). I fail to see how this generates anything except another spot for something to go wrong (ever have the cashier forget to give you change? Now have him forget to activate your $60 game).
Honestly, the best thing to combat piracy is to release better quality games. I'm looking at you EA (a.k.a. carbon copy gaming).
Mystery of the Missing Sunspots, Solved? 99
PRB_Ohio writes "The sun is in the middle of a century long solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why.
The gist is that there is a 'jet stream' like phenomenon about 7,000km below the surface of the sun. The streams migrate slowly from the poles to the equator and when a jet stream reaches the critical latitude of 22 degrees, new-cycle sunspots begin to appear.
Scientists at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona, used a technique called helioseismology to track and analyze the streams."
Climate Change Bill Includes IP Protections 236
moogsynth writes "Buried in section 329 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (H.R. 2410), voted in recently, are measures to oppose any global climate change treaty that weakens the IP rights in the green tech of American companies. Peter Zura's patent blog notes that 'the vote comes in anticipation of the upcoming negotiations in December as part of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. ... Previously, there was sufficient chatter in international circles on compulsory licenses, IP seizures, and the outright abolition of patents on low-carbon technology, that Congress felt it necessary to clarify the US's IP position up front.'"
Comment Re:Waiting for bribes (Score 1) 221
[A]lmost everybody runs pirated software in Russia.
[citation needed]
Comment Call me crazy (Score 1) 1
I think I surprised even myself when I decided Windows 7 will be the first OS I seriously consider purchasing legitimately (after a few months of having the final version in the wild to work out the nastiest and easiest to spot bugs)
Comment Re:From the Article: (Score 5, Funny) 122
I read slashdot to stay informed of current events in the tech world, and I want the articles to which it links to have factual accuracy and to be researched. This accusation sounds a lot like the wrong person twittered the right thing and now the people involved are knocking some sense into us.
Submission + - Windows 7 gets Offical. (engadget.com) 1
LabRat007 writes: From our friends at Endgadet
...
It looks like the Windows 7 release date just got official.
"We knew good and well the next iteration of Windows would be generally available this fall, but now we've a date to circle in our datebooks: October 22nd. Yep, the fourth Thursday in the tenth month of this year will mark the first date in which you — the general consumer — can purchase Win7, which gives you plenty of time to figure out which of the 94 variants will suit you best. Have fun!"
"We knew good and well the next iteration of Windows would be generally available this fall, but now we've a date to circle in our datebooks: October 22nd. Yep, the fourth Thursday in the tenth month of this year will mark the first date in which you — the general consumer — can purchase Win7, which gives you plenty of time to figure out which of the 94 variants will suit you best. Have fun!"
Comment From the Article: (Score 3, Insightful) 122
This all leaves us in the same place we were in Februaryâ"with a slew of accusations, a handful of denials, and zero evidence.
That's what happens when you believe rumors.
Last.fm Strongly Denies Sharing Data With RIAA 122
bonch writes "Last.fm and CBS vehemently deny sharing any user data with the RIAA, contrary to previous reports. One anonymous party calls it 'irresponsible journalism,' and Last.fm goes so far as to suggest it is a target of slander. Carla Duckworth of the RIAA confirmed, 'We've made no such request for this information.'"
Submission + - Norwegian court rules: Indexing sites not legal 1
geirendre writes: The court of Norways capitol "Oslo Tingrett" have ruled that indexing internet sites without prior consent from the owner to be illegal.
Link to original article (in Norwegian)
http://www.digi.no/814900/forbudt-aa-indeksere-uten-lov
The court states that "indexing a site is copying content" and thus violates copyright laws.
In other words, what Google (and other search engines) does when it indexes sites, is illegal.
Comment Re:Where's the sting, oh thy sword? (Score 1) 204
Yeah, and unfortunately their case seems a bit flimsy:
MediaSentry violated the Pen Register Act when they recorded the TCP/IP packets that included the IP address of the sender. It is a misdemeanor under 18 U.S.C. Â 3121(a) to install or use a pen register or trap and trace device.
If this passed, it would make programs like Ethereal et al. more in a legal grey area than they are now.
Comment Where's the sting, oh thy sword? (Score 5, Insightful) 204
It's lovely to see that illegally obtained evidence is still illegitimate in the courts. Kinda gives you a warm feeling inside.
ASUS Designs Monster Dual-GTX285 4GB Graphics Card 212
suraj.sun writes to mention that ASUS has just designed their own monster graphics card based on the GeForce GTX 295. While the card retains the GeForce GTX 295 name, same device ID, and remains compatible with existing NVIDIA drivers, ASUS has made a couple of modifications to call its own. "the company used two G200-350-B3 graphics processors, the same ones that make the GeForce GTX 285. The GPUs have all the 240 shader processors enabled, and also have the complete 512-bit GDDR3 memory interface enabled. This dual-PCB monstrosity holds 32 memory chips, and 4 GB of total memory (each GPU accesses 2 GB of it). Apart from these, each GPU system uses the same exact clock speeds as the GeForce GTX 285: 648/1476/2400 MHz (core/shader/memory)."
Fluorescent Monkeys Cast Light On Human Disease 174
Hugh Pickens writes "BBC reports that a team of Japanese scientists has integrated a new gene for green fluorescent protein into the common marmoset, causing them to glow green under ultraviolet light, creating second-generation, glow-in-the-dark monkeys in what could be a powerful new tool in human disease research. Though primates modified to generate a glowing protein have been created before, these are the first to keep the change in their bloodlines. If a fluorescent protein gene can be introduced into the monkey genome and passed onto future generations, other genes could be too opening up a world of possibilities for medical research, such as the generation of specific monkey colonies containing genetic defects that mirror human diseases aiding efforts to cure such diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. However many people are likely to find the routine use of monkeys in medical research far less acceptable than that of rodents, drawing action from animal rights activists. 'I'm worried that these steps are being taken without any overall public discussion about whether we want to go down that road. We may find ourselves gradually drifting towards the genetic engineering of human beings,' says Dr David King, from the group Human Genetics Alert. '"Slippery slope" is a quite inadequate description of the process, because it doesn't happen passively. People push it forward.'"
