TheGoodSteven - Slashdot User

Submission + - UK to imprison for inability to decrypt data

Submitted by mrbluze on Thursday November 01, 2007 @09:57PM

mrbluze writes: Ars technica has an article describing new laws which come into effect on 1st November in the UK. Up to 2 and 5 years imprisonment can be inflicted on any person who refuses or cannot provide keys or decrypt data as requested by police or military for criminal or anti-terror purposes, respectively. From the article:

The Home Office has steadfastly proclaimed that the law is aimed at catching terrorists, pedophiles, and hardened criminals — all parties which the UK government contends are rather adept at using encryption to cover up their activities.
It refers to a potential problem faced by international bankers who would be wary to bring their encryption keys into the UK. Some how I doubt that is the real problem with the law.

Submission + - Social Networks Are More Popular Than Porn (time.com)

Submitted by

biohack

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @08:40PM

biohack writes: "An analysis of site-visit statistics offered by a TIME columnist points to a surprising reshaping of online landscape. The 18- to 24-year-olds today are apparently too busy chatting with friends to look at online skin.

Currently, for web users over the age of 25, Adult Entertainment still ranks high in popularity, coming in second, after search engines. Not so for 18- to 24-year-olds, for whom social networks rank first, followed by search engines, then web-based e-mail — with porn sites lagging behind in fourth. If you chart the rate of visits to social-networking sites against those to adult sites over the last two years, there appears to be a strong negative correlation (i.e., visits to social networks go up as visits to adult sites go down).
"

Submission + - Walmart gives HD-DVD a boost with a $99 player 1

Submitted by

smoondog

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @08:36PM

smoondog writes: "HD-DVD, the next generation format in a tight battle with rival Blu-Ray, got a huge boost this week with Walmart and K-Mart unveiling new pricing and exclusive advertising campaigns. Walmart is featuring the Toshiba HD-A2 player on Friday (11/2) as a 'secret' sale at $98.97. Additionally, a black Friday ad has the third generation HD-A3 at $169 at Sears, and K-Mart is now HD-DVD exclusive. Dreamworks is rolling out an exclusive Shrek based advertising campaign, and Walmart ads have been showing in primetime all week. Deflating even more from the Blu-Ray camp, Walmart is unveiling new pricing of $14.97 on a library of titles. Although Blu-Ray still maintains the sales lead, it is getting harder to argue with the $300 price difference between the lowest priced players."

Submission + - RIP, Washoe the signing chimp (google.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 01, 2007 @08:00PM

An anonymous reader writes: Washoe the first chimp to be taught American Sign Language has passed away aged 42. She taught us much about communications at a fundamental level and led to endless debate among linguists.

Submission + - Low budget open source VGA compatible video card (mveas.com) 1

Submitted by on Thursday November 01, 2007 @07:01PM

An anonymous reader writes: Seeing how the Open Graphics Project is only making slow progress, a new card is being developed by a few students to get a fast, simple and above all cheap video card out the door. Started just two months ago, they're already nearing completion of the circuit board. It sports a reasonably sized reprogrammable FPGA which should kickstart development of a full-fledged open source video card in the future, and the design currently only costs about a hundred euro.

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

Submitted by

NewYorkCountryLawyer

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @06:12PM

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"."

Submission + - Bill proposes to ban touch screen voting (capitolenews.com)

Submitted by

El Cubano

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @05:36PM

El Cubano writes: "Senator Bill Nelson (R-FL) has proposed a bill which would ban the use of touch-screen voting machines in federal elections. From the announcement:

The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 would require all voting machines to produce a voter-verified paper trail by next year's presidential election and provides up to $1 billion for states to use for new voting equipment. But most importantly, the bill would phase out the use of touch-screen voting machines in federal elections by 2012, a measure Browning said he supports.

This seems like exactly the sort of thing that the Slashdot crowd has been clamoring for. Time to write your congress people and tell then to throw their support behind this bill."

Submission + - Super-magnet sheds light on semiconductors

Submitted by Stony Stevenson on Thursday November 01, 2007 @05:00PM

Stony Stevenson writes: US researchers have demonstrated a revolutionary magnet design that could literally shed new light on nanoscience and semiconductor research. Developed by engineers at Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the Split Florida Helix magnet can direct and scatter laser light at a sample down the centre of the magnet and from four ports on the sides. Due to become fully operational in 2010, the device can generate fields above 25 tesla. The highest-field split magnet in the world currently attains 18 tesla.

Submission + - The Top 10 real life Star Trek inventions (networkworld.com)

Submitted by

coondoggie

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @02:45PM

coondoggie writes: "In the past few months a number of technologies and products that invoke the Star Trek name have been rolled out. MIT was the latest with a tractor beam-like device, but all manner of other new stuff from Star Trek funeral products to healthcare items are also out there. We've gathered up some of the more recent products so you can have a quick look-see. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/21418"

Submission + - Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dies at 92 (go.com)

Submitted by

mytrip

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @02:42PM

mytrip writes: "Paul Tibbets, the pilot and commander of the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, died Thursday. He was 92.

Tibbets' historic mission in the plane Enola Gay, named for his mother, marked the beginning of the end of World War II. It was the first use of a nuclear weapon in wartime. The plane and its crew of 14 dropped the five-ton "Little Boy" bomb on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945"

Submission + - Shell gas station customers can pay by fingerprint 2

Submitted by Carnth on Thursday November 01, 2007 @11:19AM

Carnth writes: The biometric devices, made by a San Francisco-based company called Pay By Touch, are one part of a technological trifecta Shell is rolling out at its gas stations. Customers will be able to initially scan their fingerprints at a kiosk inside the gas station and can link payment information either at the store or online. In addition, gas station attendants are testing hand-held wireless devices that allow full-service customers to pay electronically at their car window. "I think it scares people," said Debbie Britton, a store manager. "They're more confused about the whole system. Some of them say, 'Well, now the FBI can find me.'" Shell said it will not share personal information of Pay By Touch customers with third parties, and it still offers traditional forms of payment for those uncomfortable with the system.

Submission + - Major conflict of interest between Firefox/Google? (news.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 01, 2007 @11:16AM

An anonymous reader writes: The Firefox browser may not be as independent as previously thought. However, the open secret in the tech sector is that at the end of the day, Google calls the shots. When a pro-user security feature in the browser threatens Google's business model, it is the feature that is made to compromise — not the search engine. Google provides real-time updated blacklists for the Firefox Phishing Protection system. However, the company has whitelisted all of its own domain names while at the same time refusing to fix major security vulnerabilities reported to it by respected security researcher Robert "RSnake" Hansen. Can Google be trusted to run the phishing blacklists? Should Firefox go ahead with its plans to use Google's anti-malware blacklists in Firefox 3.0, or should the browser switch to the community-generated PhishTank blacklists? CNET has more on the story...

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