14693916
submission
kfogel writes:
Just a note: Code for America applications are due in two weeks (Aug 15). It's kind of an amazing opportunity: spend 2011 working with other CfA Fellows helping host cities develop modern, open, web-friendly IT infrastructure. The fellowships are paid, and the program includes travel, health insurance, career opportunities, etc. It's not just for coders, either — they're also looking for people with system administration and deployment skills, documentation and community engagement background, and even civic IT procurement and contracting experience. Slashdotters who want to do some good and get plugged into open government work, this is your chance.
14002472
submission
kfogel writes:
Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona, is using a copyright "cease-and-desist" letter to stop her opponent, incumbent Harry Reid (currently majority leader in the U.S. Senate), from reposting old versions of her campaign website. The old pages are politically sensitive because Angle campaigned from the far right in the primary, but is now toning that down for the general election. One can understand why a politician might want to de-emphasize certain positions after the primary, but using copyright law to censor your opponent from displaying your past positions? Mmmmmm. Shutting down the wayback machine... not gonna work.
The C&D letter is here. (It also accuses the Reid campaign of intending to impersonate Angle's campaign, which seems doubtful, but who knows?)
13781152
submission
kfogel writes:
The Supreme Court of the U.S. has released its decision in Bilski v. Kappos — it's an affirmation, but still a messy decision that doesn't go as far as we'd like in striking down business method patents. The Software Freedom Law Center has a great response up. Says SFLC chairman Eben Moglen: "The confusion and uncertainty behind today's ruling guarantees that the issues involved in Bilski v. Kappos will have to return to the Supreme Court after much money has been wasted and much innovation obstructed."
10374474
submission
kfogel writes:
As described in a Slashdot article from last week, scientists were using dead pigs to investigate floating bodies in the ocean. An article on National Geographic's web site discussed this practice... but then apparently National Geographic silently removed all mention of it, leaving us only with the tantalizing evidence preserved in the Google hit previews. Why the dead pig coverup? Who is National Geographic protecting?
8124812
submission
kfogel writes:
GNU Emacs, one of the oldest continuously developed free software projects around, has switched from CVS to Bazaar. Emacs's first first recorded version-control commits date from August, 1985. Eight years later, in 1993, it moved to CVS. Sixteen years later, it is switching to Bazaar, its first time in a decentralized version control system. If this pattern holds, GNU Emacs will be in Bazaar for at least thirty-two years...
