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Social Networks

Submission + - Analyst, 15, creates storm after trashing Twitter (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "A 15-year-old schoolboy has become an overnight sensation after writing a report on teenagers' media habits for analysts Morgan Stanley. Intern Matthew Robson was asked to write a report about his friends' use of technology during his work experience stint with the firm's media analysts. The report was so good the firm decided to publish it, and it generated "five or six" times more interest than Morgan Stanley's regular reports. The schoolboy poured scorn on Twitter, claiming that teenagers "realise that no one is viewing their profile, so their tweets are pointless". He also claimed games consoles are replacing mobile phones as the way to chat with friends."
Businesses

Submission + - Company Poses as You on Online Dating Services (typepad.com)

Submitted by
Joe Tracy
Joe Tracy writes: "A new company has launched that has their dating experts pose as you on online dating services. This includes answering emails, fostering relationships, and arranging first dates. All you have to do is show up for the date. What's next, a company that sends a representative on a date for you to make sure they meet your expectations? This is one strange story and one of those likely to get a lot of publicity because it's so unbelievable. The story is here."
Privacy

Submission + - GPS, Cars, and Big Brother (mcclatchydc.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Apparently, since gas consumption is going down and fuel efficient cars are going up, the government is looking into a new form of taxing us to create revenue for transportation projects. This new system is a "by the mile tax" requiring GPS in cars so it can track the mileage http://www.mcclatchydc.com/nation/story/71078.html. Once a month the data gets uploaded to a billing center and you are conveniently taxed. http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1299981.html. Not only will they have all your information, and possibly credit card info for all you automatic payees. They now can see, where your car has been as well.
Linux Business

Submission + - Linux Netbooks: 3 paths to a bright future (tech-no-media.com)

Submitted by
erlik
erlik writes: "Last week I made a summary of the current state of the Linux netbook market. Today I will show you that Linux netbooks are at a crossroad. They can reach a bright future and a significant market presence through 3 different paths: the smartbook path, the cheap path and the power path. I will explain how each path will lead the Linux netbook to market dominance in a specific niche. Complete story"
Music

Submission + - RIAA Victory Over Usenet In Copyright Case

Submitted by ozydingo
ozydingo writes: The RIAA scored a victory in a decision on a copyright case that the RIAA filed on October 12, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer ruled in favor of the music industry on all its main theories: that Usenet.com is guilty of direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement. In addition, and perhaps most important for future cases, Baer said that Usenet.com can't claim protection under the Sony Betamax decision stating that companies can't be held liable of contributory infringement if the device is "capable of significant non-infringing uses." Bear noted that Usenet.com differed from Sony in that the sale of a Betamax recorder was a one-time done deal, while Usenet.com's interaction with its users was ongoing relationship. The RIAA stated in a brief note 'We're pleased that the court recognized not just that Usenet.com directly infringed the record companies' copyrights but also took action against the defendants for their egregious litigation misconduct.'
Security

Submission + - UK launches dedicated cyber agency (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by Jack Spine
Jack Spine writes: The UK government is launching an office dedicated to cyber attack and defence. The Office of Cyber Security will focus on protecting Britain's IT infrastructure, and will be similar to the US Cyber Command model. While the Pentagon Cyber Command will be lead by the NSA, the UK Cyber Security Operations Centre, which will coordinate UK cyber efforts, will be based at GCHQ in Cheltenham.
IBM

Submission + - How IBM Plans to Win Jeopardy! (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by wjousts
wjousts writes: Technology Review is reporting on IBM's plans to take on Trebek at his own game. The "Watson" computer system uses natural-language processing techniques to break down questions into their structural components and then search it's database for relevant answers. A televised matchup with Trebek is planned for next year.

Damn you Trebek!
Earth

Submission + - Paint the World White to Fight Global Warming 2

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Dr. Steven Chu, the Nobel prize-winning physicist appointed by President Obama as Energy Secretary, wants to paint the world white and said at the opening of the St James's Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium that by lightening paved surfaces and roofs to the color of cement, it would be possible to cut carbon emissions by as much as taking all the world's cars off the roads for 11 years. Pale surfaces reflect up to 80 per cent of the sunlight that falls on them, compared with about 20 per cent for dark ones, which is why roofs and walls in hot countries are often whitewashed. An increase in pale surfaces would help to contain climate change both by reflecting more solar radiation into space and by reducing the amount of energy needed to keep buildings cool by air-conditioning. Since 2005 California has required all flat roofs on commercial buildings to be white and Georgia and Florida give incentives to owners who install white or light-colored roofs. Put another way, boosting how much urban rooftops reflect would be a one-time carbon-offset equivalent to preventing 44 billion tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. For the first time, we're equating the value of reflective roof surfaces and CO2 reduction," says Dr. Hashem Akbari. "This does not make the problem of global warming go away. But we can buy ourselves some time.""
Portables (Apple)

Apple's New MacBooks Have Built-In Copy Protection 821

Posted by timothy from the presumption-from-on-high dept.
raque writes "Appleinsider is reporting that the new MacBooks/MacBookPros have built-in copy protection. Quote: 'Apple's new MacBook lines include a form of digital copy protection that will prevent protected media, such as DRM-infused iTunes movies, from playing back on devices that aren't compliant with the new priority protection measures.' Ars Technica is also reporting on the issue. Is this the deal they had to make to get NBC back? Is this a deal breaker for Apple or will fans just ignore it to get their hands on the pretty new machines? Is this a new opportunity for Linux? And what happened to Jobs not liking DRM?"
Businesses

In AU, Dodgy Dell Deal Faces Consumer Backlash 173

Posted by kdawson from the you-advertised-it-now-honor-it dept.
Ben Seberry writes "It appears Dell has been caught red-faced by yet another pricing mistake on their Australian website. Many customers thought they had spotted a fantastic deal when they came across a 55%-off offer. Dell later denied that this was a valid special and telephoned customers to offer them a choice of the standard price, or a cancelled order. Dell's senior manager of corporate communication came out and apologized for the mistake, promising processes would be reviewed to prevent it from happening again. In the days after the original 'incorrectly priced' offer was fixed, Dell made a different error leading to an even cheaper price being advertised. This time, on many user forums and blogs, users are debating Australian contract law as it applies to this matter — it is not as clear-cut as many originally believed."

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