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Media

Submission + - Piracy promotes HD downloads past format war (blorge.com)

Submitted by The Scaler
The Scaler writes: The HD format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is at a stalemate; consumers are frustrated and want resolution as to one final HD format to invest in. In all of the havoc is a format that will eventually surpass both HD formats in both cost-effectiveness and efficiency: direct digital downloads. The only community actively embracing the direct download system are pirates. Here's why the industry should embrace direct download services and HD media centers and put the HD disc format war in the history books:
Robotics

Submission + - Microcontroller for the hobbyist? 5

Submitted by
TomTheGeek
TomTheGeek writes: "I'm a programmer that's done some assembly language before and would like to start programming microcontrollers. I've heard about the BASIC Stamps from Parallax, the PIC series from Microchip, the MAKE Controller Kit, and the AVR series from Atmel but they seem to be focused on a development board that is too expensive to dedicate to a single project. Having an expensive development board is fine but I want the microcontroller to be cheap (<$10) enough that I don't have to disassemble my previous project in order to start a new one. I'll be doing the programming in Ubuntu so compatible development tools and drivers are required."
The Media

Submission + - Congress Creates Copyright Cops (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes: "Not satisfied with pitiful potential penalties of $150,000 for infringing upon a $0.99 song, Congress is proposing new copyright cops in the "PRO IP" Act of 2007, specifically the creation of the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER). They also feel that the authorities need the authority to seize any computers used for infringement and to send copyright cops abroad to help other countries enforce US laws. MPAA boss Dan Glickman praised the bill saying that, "films left costs foreign and domestic distributors, retailers and others $18 billion a year," though Ars points out that it allegedly costs the studios only $6 billion. However, even with the support of most of the top members of the House Judiciary Committee, the bill may require more work before it passes: USIPER needs a cooler acronym that doesn't sound like a combination of usurper and Lucifer."
Censorship

Submission + - Egyptian Blogger Silenced by YouTube

Submitted by
Frosty Piss
Frosty Piss writes: "A Egyptian human rights activist has been muzzled after YouTube and Yahoo! shut down accounts belonging to the award-winning blogger. Cairo-based Wael Abbas regularly writes and posts video about police brutality, torture and sexual harassment in Egypt. One of the videos — of an Egyptian bus driver being sodomized with a stick by a police officer — was used as evidence to convict two officers of brutality, a rare occurrence in a country where human-rights groups say torture is rampant. YouTube said the decision to remove Abbas' videos had nothing to do with the Egyptian government, but was rather an internal decision."
Security

Submission + - Surveillance cameras find atomic chemist's killer (chicagotribune.com)

Submitted by GlobalEcho
GlobalEcho writes: When a chemist was murdered in Chicago last week, police had few leads, until they reviewed the tape on nearby surveillance cameras. Cameras have been reviled for intruding on the privacy of the public, but it would seem there is a case to be made for having at least a few of them around, perhaps just enough of them (as here) to catch the stupid criminals (which is most of them).
Announcements

Submission + - New super efficient LEDs developed (compoundsemi.com)

Submitted by WileyC
WileyC writes: A prototype of a new LED from LED Lighting Fixtures, Inc. just kicked the butt of current LEDs in energy efficiency (not to mention making fluorescents and incandescents look completely outdated). From the press release:

LLF's latest prototype fixture operates using less than 15 percent of the power of standard 65-watt incandescent bulbs and 50 percent of the power of compact fluorescent bulbs, while delivering equivalent warm white light as measured in lumens. The company's LED fixtures produce virtually no heat and can provide 50,000 hours of light, as compared to the average 2,000 hours provided by conventional 65-watt bulbs.
According to the article this makes them 35% more efficient than current LEDs on the market.
Google

Submission + - Google purges thousands of suspected malware sites (itnews.com.au) 1

Submitted by
Stony Stevenson
Stony Stevenson writes: "In response to a concerted effort by cyber criminals to infect the computers of Google users with malware and make them unwitting partners in crime, Google has apparently purged tens of thousands of malicious Web pages from its index. Alex Eckelberry, CEO of Sunbelt Software, noted that many search results on Google led to malicious Web pages that expose visitors to exploits that can compromise vulnerable systems. Sunbelt published a list of search terms that returned malicious pages, the result of search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns by cyber criminals to get their pages prominently ranked in Google — Sunbelt refers to this as "SEO poisoning."

Let's hope Google has done its research and hasn't purged legitimate sites."
Music

Submission + - EMI may cut funding to IFPI, RIAA (arstechnica.com) 1

Submitted by Teen Bainwolf
Teen Bainwolf writes: Big Four record label EMI is reportedly considering a big cut in its funding for the IFPI and RIAA. Each of the labels reportedly contributed over $130 million per year to fund industry trade groups, and EMI apparently believes that money could be better spent elsewhere. 'One of the chief activities of the RIAA is coordinating the Big Four labels' legal campaign, and those thousands of lawsuits have done nothing but generate ill will from record fans, while costing the labels millions of dollars and doing little (if anything) to actually reduce the amount of file-sharing going on. In fact, the RIAA freely admits that the legal campaign is a real money pit, and EMI's new ownership may be very leery of continuing to pour money down that particular rat hole.
IBM

Submission + - IBM sues company selling fake, flammable batteries (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by Bergkamp10
Bergkamp10 writes: A Computerworld article reporting that IBM is suing Shentech for selling laptop batteries that catch on fire and sport allegedly fake IBM logos. IBM apparently followed up on a claim by a customer that an "IBM" laptop battery bought at Shentech caught on fire and damaged his laptop. The customer reported the problem to Lenovo (who license Big Blue's trademark) who subsequently ordered 12 batteries from Shentech and found them all to be fakes. IBM is asking for US$1 million in damages for each dodgy battery sold.
Censorship

Submission + - Turkish Internet Censorship Board starts operation (cnnturk.com)

Submitted by
unity100
unity100 writes: "As of today, the new law on "Preventing 'catalog' crimes on internet" have taken full effect with the Censorship Board starting official duty in Turkey. Law states that access to entire websites that are found with 'objectionable' content can be prevented without court order, only with approval of the board. The catalog crimes are as follows ; 'Crimes against personality of Ataturk on internet', 'Encouraging people to suicide', 'Sexual abuse of children', 'Drug encouragement and providing', 'Providing health-hazard materials', 'Obscenity', 'Prostitution', 'Gambling'. The board members themselves are going to decide whatever falls in any category, especially 'obscenity'. A lot of sites with filesharing content was blocked as soon as the board started operation. Law shuts down even entire sites due to a single 3 word text comment found objectionable. (The news didnt make cnn website yet, its in local cnn affiliate's site)"
Networking

Submission + - Montreal to provide free WiFi access (cyberpresse.ca)

Submitted by dermoth666
dermoth666 writes: Montreal is about to conclude a deal with Ile sans fil, Montreal's free WiFi non-lucrative organization. In a document obtained yesterday by La Presse, Montreal will be offering 200 000$ per year to Ile sans fil to install and maintain 400 access points in parks and public places. The proposal still has to go trough Montreal's executive committee, but if it pass it means Montreal will get totally free wireless access spread across the city. The article is in french only as it seems no english papers have covered this news yet.
Robotics

Submission + - Robots assimilate in cockroach society (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
sufijazz
sufijazz writes: "Scientists have gotten tiny robots to not only integrate into cockroach society but also control it. This experiment in bug peer pressure combined entomology, robotics and the study of ways that complex and even intelligent patterns can arise from simple behavior. Animal behavior research shows that swarms working together can prosper where individuals might fail, and robotics researchers have been experimenting with simple robots that, together, act a little like a swarm.

The BBC also has a video story on this."
Security

Submission + - Dislike a Relative? Turn Them in as a Terrorist! 9

Submitted by Stanislav_J
Stanislav_J writes: A Swedish man who had less than fond feelings for his daughter's hubby, took advantage of the son-in-law's trip to America by reporting him to the FBI as a terrorist. The e-mail, which the father-in-law admits to sending, earned him a libel charge after his poor son-in-law was arrested on his arrival in Florida, handcuffed, interrogated, and placed in a cell for 11 hours before being released.

It's a brief article, but dovetails nicely with the recent Slashdot story about "The War on the Unexpected." That article touched on many examples of well-meaning, but misguided and paranoid citizens reporting innocent activities to the authorities. In the current climate, the potential also exists for maliciously false and far from well-meaning reports made to the Feds about people one simply doesn't care for, or those made merely as a sick prank.

While the man admitted to sending the e-mail to the FBI, he claims he thought no harm would come from it because "he did not think the US authorities would be stupid enough to believe him." To quote the great philosopher Bugs Bunny, 'Nyahh....he don't know us very well, do he?'

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