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Google

Google Blurring Sensitive Map Information 411

Posted by kdawson from the blurring-the-nukes dept.
Cyphoid writes "While viewing my school (the University of Massachusetts Lowell) with Google Maps, I noticed that a select portion of the campus was pixelated: the operational nuclear research facility on campus. Curious, I attempted to view the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It too was pixelated. What or who is compelling Google to smudge out these images selectively? Will all satellite images of facilities that the government deems 'sensitive' soon be subject to censoring?" Not surprisingly, the same areas are blurred in Google Earth. But how about images from satellites operated by other nations, such as SPOT or Sovinformsputnik?
Education

Professors To Ban Students From Citing Wikipedia 507

Posted by Zonk from the we-have-these-things-called-books dept.
Inisheer writes "History professors at Middlebury College are tired of having all their students submit the same bad information on term papers. The culprit: Wikipedia — the user-created encyclopedia that's full of great stuff, and also full of inaccuracies. Now the the entire History department has voted to ban students from citing it as a resource. An outright ban was considered, but dropped because enforcement seemed impossible. Other professors at the school agree, but note that they're also enthusiastic contributors to Wikipedia. The article discusses the valuable role that Wikipedia can play, while also pointed out the need for critical and primary sources in college-level research." What role, if any, do you think Wikipedia should play in education?
The Internet

Chinese Official Vows to "Purify" the Net 321

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the good-luck-with-that dept.
Sleeping Kirby writes to tell us China's Communist party leader, Hu Jintao today announced the intent to leverage the economic potential of the web while seeking to "purify the internet environment". He proposes to do this by maintaining "the initiative in opinion" on the internet and to "'raise the level guidance on the internet," thus civilizing and purifying the internet environment.
Music

Submission + - Democrats Propose Mandatory DRM for Podcasts

Submitted by Knytefall
Knytefall writes: Joe Biden, Dianne Feinstein, and two GOP senators are sponsoring a bill called the PERFORM Act that would require podcasts with music and satellite radio to be locked-up with music industry-approved DRM software, according to a Cnet report and a statement from Sen. Feinstein's office. "All audio services — Webcasters included — would be obligated to implement "reasonably available and economically reasonable" copy-protection technology aimed at preventing "music theft" and restricting automatic recording." Do you really want the RIAA designing software and hardware?
Communications

Inside the iPhone — 3G, ARM, OS X, 3rd Partyware 318

Posted by kdawson from the informed-speculation dept.
DECS writes "After heading off the top ten myths of the iPhone, Daniel Eran of RoughlyDrafted has written a series of articles looking 'Inside the iPhone,' exploring (1) why Apple didn't target faster 3G networks, (2) a substantiated look at how the iPhone is indeed running OS X (contrary to reports that it isn't), and (3) what it means to users and developers, and how ARM is involved, in Mac OS X, ARM, and iPod OS X, and why the supposedly 'closed' system Apple describes for the iPhone won't preclude third party development."

Second Life Mogul Challenges Press Freedom 416

Posted by Zonk from the can't-take-a-joke dept.
An anonymous reader tipped us to a post on ZDNet about some disturbing freedom of the press issues in Second Life. Content mogul Anshe Chung is filing DMCA complaints with organizations that post screenshots of her content, citing an infringement of copyright. From the article: "The issue has surfaced after the avatar Anshe Chung (real name Ailin Graef) was attacked by animated flying penises during a virtual interview with CNET news, conducted in their Second Life bureau last month. A video of the attack surfaced on YouTube, and was then taken town after Anshe Chung Studios filed a DMCA complaint. The Sydney Morning Herald and the blog BoingBoing have also received similar notices."
Businesses

AT&T Offering Merger Concessions 98

Posted by CowboyNeal from the speeding-things-along dept.
TheFarmerInTheDell writes that AT&T is offering concessions to make their merger with SBC happen as fast as possible. From the article: "AT&T filed a letter of commitment with the [Federal Communications Commission] Thursday night that adds a number of new conditions to the deal, including a promise to observe 'network neutrality' principles, an offer of affordable stand-alone digital subscriber line service and divestment of some wireless spectrum."

Microsoft Formally Releases Robotics Software 173

Posted by Zonk from the i-am-the-atomic-microsoft-robot-please-give-my-best-wishes-to-everybody dept.
futuresheet writes "Microsoft formally released its robotics software yesterday, giving would-be robot builders a new tool to make them do the things they do. The license for the software is $399, and the 'standard' Pioneer P3DX robot that's made for home use is $40,000. Just the same, if you want to give it a try, it is downloadable for free for non-commercial use, and includes a simulator to try things out on your computer." From the article: "It represents a new effort for the company that has Chairman Bill Gates raving about potential growth in a robotics industry that's already worth an estimated $11 billion a year or more. '[A]s I look at the trends that are now starting to converge, I can envision a future in which robotic devices will become a nearly ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives,' Gates writes in the January issue of Scientific American. Microsoft is not making robots. Its Robotics Studio is software designed to program the devices to collect data from an array of sensors and perform all manner of functions."
Movies

Submission + - World's first jail sentence for BitTorrent piracy

Submitted by
Rob T Firefly
Rob T Firefly writes: "Hong Kong newspaper The Standard reports on what seems to be the world's first case of a BitTorrent movie pirate being sent to jail. After losing his appeal against a November 2005 conviction, Chan Nai-ming, a 38-year-old BitTorrent user known as "Big Crook," has begun serving a prison sentence for making the films "Daredevil," "Miss Congeniality," and "Red Planet" available for download via BitTorrent. His appeal was based on the fact that he did not profit from the piracy.

From the article:
[Appeals Judge] Beeson noted [convicting magistrate] MacIntosh, in handing out the sentence, was fully aware of the noncommercial nature of the case, but measured the seriousness of the case by the harm done to the moviemakers — not by the gain made by the offender. Chan, and those in the chatroom, "were aware of the possible criminal implications of uploading films to the system," Beeson wrote.

She also noted the sentence was already drastically reduced, from a maximum of four years, to three months, in order "to reflect the novelty of the conviction."
"
Security

Submission + - How safe are electronic medical records?

Submitted by Austerlitz28
Austerlitz28 writes: With the Bush administration pushing health care organizations, insurers, and U.S. citizens to get behind the computerization of medical records, it's time to take a closer look at the risks of going digital. In this story, Baseline explains how electronic medical records can put innocent people at risk to identity theft.
http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2069952 ,00.asp

From the story: "People whose health records are stolen and falsified may get the wrong medical treatment, find their insurance exhausted or become uninsurable, says Pam Dixon, executive director of World Privacy Forum and author of a report, Medical Identity Theft: The Information Crime that Can Kill You. Medical ID theft "can affect your health and well-being," she warns.

The World Privacy Forum says 500,000 people may be victims of medical identity theft, based on numbers reported by the Federal Trade Commission in 2003. And the problem may worsen, especially as more and more health-care providers move from paper to electronic records, Dixon says."
Math

Submission + - New rules outlaw melting pennies, nickels

Submitted by
ealbers
ealbers writes: " USA Today is reporting that the treasury department would liek to remind people that melting pennies and nickels for profit is illegal. Currently a pennies metal is worth 1.12 cents! (12% profit) And a Nickel is 6.99 cents or 39% profit! The FED needs to stop printing so much money, soon it will be cheap to wallpaper your walls with dollar bills (currently $9.60/sq foot)"
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Complete Tron Costume Forsale on Ebay!

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "A Complete hero costume from Tron is now up for sale on Ebay!

Link to Auction This complete costume consists of a full-length body suit, a helmet, corresponding left and right shoulder armor and forearm plates and a pair of boots. The special detailing on the helmet and armor were hand-applied to resemble electronic circuits. The costume pieces are attributed to a number of different leading characters/actors which are noted inside the pieces: "Cindy", "Flynn", "Bruce" and "BB" . Very few of these costumes survived production due to their fragile nature. The helmet is especially rare, as it still retains its back neck protector. This is believed to be one of the most complete Tron costumes in existence."

Biotech

Submission + - Rare mutation in boy leads to perfect pain-killer

Submitted by
mrcgran
mrcgran writes: "Scientists of the University of Cambridge, after studying a rare genetic mutation in a gene called SCN9A in three Pakistani families whose members were unable to feel any pain at all, are announcing the discovery of a neurotransmitter protein that is being touted as the perfect target for powerful new classes of analgesics and cronic pain therapies. Their results can potentially lead to a complete elimination of pain with no side effects, even in extreme conditions such as heavy injuries, surgery, cancer and arthritis. The paper was published online yesterday in Nature. You may prefer to read the story, the editor's summary or the paper abstract.

From the article: "The study began when doctors in northern Pakistan examined a remarkable group of related families in which several individuals seem entirely unaffected by pain. Their attention was first attracted by one member of the clan, a locally famous boy who performed street theatre involving walking on burning coals and stabbing his arms with knives.""
Wii

Submission + - Wii remote Linux driver

Submitted by Espinas217
Espinas217 writes: So you want to play with your Wii and the little penguin? Take a look at this guy's project, they want to join the two worlds and started making drivers for the Wii remote for Linux so you can control your mouse with the wiimote.
From their site:
WiiLi is our long goal: Linux for the Wii. Before WiiLi comes WiiLi Live, a Live CD that turns standard PCs into a media and gaming center designed around the Wii Remote. We're developing on PCs right now, with hopes of porting WiiLi to the Wii later on.
For those of you who don't like to read here is a nice video of the wiimote used to draw in Inkscape
Google

Submission + - Using Google Earth to show the impact of logging

Submitted by tigerquoll
tigerquoll writes: According to the Age newspaper Australian anti-logging groups are using Google Earth to show the impact of forest clearing. At least two groups — the Tasmanian arm of The Wilderness Society and the Victorian Rainforest Network (VRN) — have created Google Earth "overlays", which can be downloaded from their websites.

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