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Television

Submission + - FCC Planning Rules to Open Cable Market (nytimes.com)

Submitted by quanticle
quanticle writes: According to the New York Times, the FCC is planning to unveil new regulations for the cable market that will lower barriers to entry for independent programmers.

The rules would be aimed at stopping the growth of existing cable giants like Comcast and Time Warner, while seeking to encourage more small companies to get into the field. Also, earlier this month, the FCC struck down the practice of having exclusive contracts between cable providers and apartment owners.

All in all, this looks like a welcome infusion of competition into an otherwise stagnant market. The impact that this will have on the network neutrality debate is unclear.

Feed Techdirt: We Knew FiOS Was Fast, But Why Is It Always Setting People's Homes On Fire? (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
We've had a few stories now about Verizon FiOS (its fiber optic broadband offering) installs that resulted in fires and damaged properties. While Verizon's PR folks have focused an awful lot of effort on convincing reporters that where there's smoke there isn't necessarily fire, perhaps the company should put a few more resources towards both preventing fires and fixing things up for those whose property was destroyed by install-related fires. Broadband Reports points us to yet another FiOS-related fire (which the reporter at Network World is now calling FiOS: Fire is Our Speciality), where Verizon promised to help the family impacted by paying for their living expenses and reimbursing them for destroyed property. The only problem? That bill came to $58,000, and Verizon only wants to pay $1,800 of it. The family has now decided to take the matter to court. You would think, given the negative publicity over the previous fires, that Verizon would know to pay up and apologize, rather than try to stiff the folks whose house they set on fire.

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Security

Submission + - Hackers Exploit SafeDisc DRM in Windows XP

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: InfoWorld has a story on how hackers are taking advantage of a privilege escalation bug in the SafeDisc DRM that ships with Windows XP and Server 2003. What I wonder is why did Microsoft include this more subtle DRM at all, and can't users simply remove the secdrv.sys file and avoid what could be a slimy patch/secret DRM upgrade?

Read: http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/06/Hackers-exploiting-bug-in-DRM-shipped-with-Windows_1.html
Data Storage

Submission + - Macbook Users Warned of Faulty Hard Drives (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by TruffleShuffler
TruffleShuffler writes: A U.K. data recovery firm has warned Apple Macbook users that they risk potential data loss due to a design flaw on certain hard drives. Retrodata says they have come across "many dozens" of failures affecting Seagate 2.5 inch SATA drives, commonly found in laptops such as the MacBook or MacBook Pro. Apple desktops that use laptop-oriented components, like the Mac Mini, are also potentially at risk. The company's managing director, Duncan Clarke, said "The read/write heads are detaching from the arm and ploughing deep gouges into the magnetic platter, the damage is mostly on the inner tracks, but some scratches are on the outer track (track 0), and once that happens, the drive is normally beyond repair." http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1523800412;fp;16;fpid;1
Software

Submission + - Open source gaining traction in US government (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by Bergkamp10
Bergkamp10 writes: According to a survey by the US Federal Open Source Alliance, more than half of all US government executives have rolled out open-source software at their agencies, and 71 percent believe their agency can benefit from open-source software. The top reasons for embracing open-source software were the ability to access advanced security capabilities and customize open-source applications, and a trend toward consolidated data centers. The top reason for not adopting open-source software was organizational reluctance to change from the status quo. Another major concern was a lack of consistent standards in open-source products. Fifty-five percent of respondents said their agencies have been involved or are currently involved in an open-source implementation, while 29 percent of respondents who haven't adopted open-source software plan to do so in the next six to 12 months. (http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1714765802;fp;16;fpid;1)
Windows

Submission + - Dutch parliament questions windows pre-install

Submitted by spatialguy
spatialguy writes: Dutch members of parliament are questioning the minister of economic affairs of the pre-install of windows on all commercially available personal computers. The Socialist party says this is bad for the free choice of consumers and that other OSes have a economical disadvantage. They stipulate it is hard to get a cash refund when people do not want to use the pre-installed OS. Microsoft reacted with a statement that there is a procedure to get a cash refund. The member of parliament Arde Gerkens states that a better option would be if Windows is available as a separate option. People buying computers in non-specialized shops, like supermarkets, will have a very difficult time to obtain a refund in the case the do not use the pre-installed OS. The article is in a dutch: http://www.nu.nl/news/1299808/52/SP_stelt_kamervragen_over_meeleveren_Windows.html
The Courts

Submission + - U.of Oregon Says No to RIAA; ID no good

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The University of Oregon has filed a motion to quash the RIAA's subpoena for information on student identities, in what is believed to be the first such motion made by the university itself, rather than by the students, and the first instance of a State Attorney General bringing a motion to quash an RIAA subpoena. The motion (pdf) explains that it is impossible to identify the alleged infringers from the information the RIAA has presented: "Five of the seventeen John Does accessed the content in question from double occupancy dorm rooms at the University. With regard to these Does, the University is able to identify only the room where the content was accessed and whether or not the computer used was a Macintosh or a PC.... The University cannot determine whether the content in question accessed by one occupant as opposed to another, or whether it was accessed instead by a visitor. Two of the seventeen John Does accessed the content in question from single occupancy dorm rooms....No login or personally identifiable information, i.e. authentication, was used by the Does to access the university's network because none is required. The University cannot determine whether the content was accessed by the room occupant or visitor. Nine of the seventeen John Does accessed the content in question from the University's wireless network or a similar system called the "HDSL Circuit." These systems do record a user name associated with the access. For these John Does, the University can determine the identity of the individual who bas been assigned the user name, however, it is unable to determine whether the content was accessed by the individual assigned that user name or by someone else using the computer associated with the user name. In the case of sixteen of the seventeen John Does, .... it is not possible for the University to identify the alleged infringers without conducting interviews and a forensic investigation of the computers likely involved." The AG's motion further argues (pdf) that "Plaintiffs' subpoena is unduly burdensome and overbroad. It seeks information that the University does not readily possess. In order to attempt to comply with the subpoena, the University would be forced to undertake an investigation to create discovery for Plaintiffs — an obligation not imposed by Rule 45. As the University is unable to identify the alleged infringers with any accuracy, it cannot comply with its federal obligation to notify students potentially affected by the subpoena." One commentator has likened the AG's argument to saying, in effect, that the RIAA's evidence is "rubbish"."
Security

Submission + - MSFT and NSA have backdoored your phone ... (securiteam.com)

Submitted by isbeen
isbeen writes: According to a recent post on Bugtraq, researchers have posted information regarding an agreement between the NSA and MSFT which provides backdoors to microsoft products, including phones running the windows mobile platform, where they can apparently tap and monitor phones.

From the original post:

"According to the post National Security Agency has access both stand-alone systems and networks running Microsoft products.

The post states the following: "This includes wireless wiretapping of "smart phones" running Microsoft Mobile. Microsoft remote administrative privileges allow "backdooring" into Microsoft operating systems via IP/TCP ports 1024 through 1030.

According to the Cryptome's source this is typically triggered when devices visit Microsoft Update servers.

Cryptome.org: http://cryptome.org/nsa-ip-update11.htm

SecuriTeam Blogs: http://blogs.securiteam.com/?p=1028
The Courts

Submission + - Rochester judge holds RIAA evidence insufficient

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Judge David G. Larimer, presiding in Rochester, New York, has denied an RIAA application for default judgment on the ground that the RIAA's evidence was insufficient, in that it contained no details of actual downloads or distributions, and no sufficient evidence that defendant was in fact Kazaa user "heavyjeffmc@KaZaA". The decision (pdf) concluded that "there are significant issues of fact regarding the identification of the defendant from his alleged "online media distribution system" username". (In case you're unfamiliar with the term "online media distribution system", that's because it is a term the RIAA coined 4 years ago to describe p2p file sharing accounts in its lawsuits; the term is not known to have been used by anyone else anywhere else.) In August a similar RIAA default judgment motion was denied on the ground that the pleadings failed to allege sufficient factual details supporting a claim of copyright infringement, in a San Diego, California, case, Interscope v. Rodriguez."
Communications

Submission + - Apple Imposes New Limits on IPhone Sales (myway.com)

Submitted by solitas
solitas writes: SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Apple Inc. (AAPL) no longer accepts cash for iPhone purchases and now limits sales of the cell phone to two per person in a move to stop people from reselling them.

The new policy started Thursday, said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. Before then, there was no cash restriction and the purchase limit was five per person.

"We're requiring a credit or debit card for payment to discourage unauthorized resellers."

I can see a purchase limit, but whatever happened to "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"?
Censorship

Submission + - What NASA won't tell you about air safety. 6

Submitted by rabble
rabble writes: According to a report out of Washington, DC's WTOP, NASA wants to avoid telling you about how unsafe you are when you fly. According to the article, when an $8.5M safety study of about 24,000 pilots indicated an alarming number of near collisions and runway incidents, NASA refused to release the results. The article quotes one congressman as saying "There is a faint odor about it all." A friend of mine who is a general aviation pilot responded to the article by saying "It's scary but no surprise to those of us who fly."

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