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Submission + - What punishment fits this computer crime?

Submitted by ZosX
ZosX writes: A acquaintance freely admitted that he was using brute force and dictionary attacks to take over yahoo and myspace accounts amongst others as well as causing DDOS and DOS for people with mailbombs and other lame script kiddie attacks. All from his home connection. Seeing as how his computer knowledge is so limited, I decided to investigate into where he read "hacking for dummies" on the web. After googling "how to hack yahoo" it seems there are 15,000 hits and a whole slew of youtube videos, so it seems that yahoo's security must be like a complete sieve at least according to google. If I call the cops he'll go to prison for at least 4-5 years with his record, that is if they even take interest in the case. People have gotten less than that for much worse offenses. He's not attacking corporations, just clueless people who use yaoo. I don't know where his house is (city, yes), but I'm pretty sure I could find out with some searching on google earth given the rough description of the property. This kind of stupid crime really angers me because his actions are that of a completely senseless virtual violence. He was clearly proud of his "savvy" and seemed to derive a sickening amount of pleasure from screwing over someone's myspace account. He doesn't live close, but if I found his address I doubt that I could do much with it from here. I guess I'm asking what would you do slashdot?
Idle

Submission + - Air Canada told to provide nut-free zone

Submitted by JamJam
JamJam writes: Air Canada has been told to create a special "buffer zone" on flights for people who are allergic to nuts. The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that passengers who have nut allergies should be considered disabled and accommodated by the airline. Air Canada has a month to come up with an appropriate section of seats where passengers with nut allergies would be seated. The ruling involved a complaint from Sophia Huyer who has a severe nut allergy and travels frequently. Ms. Huyer once spent 40 minutes in the washroom during a flight while snacks were being served.

Submission + - Full body scanners violate child porn laws. (guardian.co.uk) 2

Submitted by gandhi_2
gandhi_2 writes: The Guardian has a story about an ongoing legal battle over the use of full body scanners in the UK. The Protection of Children Act 1978, includes provisions in which it is illegal to create an indecent image or a "pseudo-image" of a child....which a full body scanner does.
Science

Submission + - Dangerous liaisons (cosmosmagazine.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: From maze-like genitalia and terrifying spikes to ornamental handicaps and disloyal mothers, evolution seems to have found some seriously stupid designs for sex.
Math

Submission + - Which math for programmers? 2

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: It is no news that greatest computer scientists and programmers are/were mathematicians. As a kid 'hacking' if-else programs, I was not aware of the importance of math in programming, but few years later, when I read Engines of logic by Martin Davis I started becoming increasingly more convinced of this. Unfortunately, math doesn't return my love, and prefers me to struggle with it. Now, as the end of the semester approaches, I am faced with a dillema: What math subject to choose next? I have two choices: 'Discreet structures with graph theory' (discrete math; proofs, sets, algorithms and graphs) on one side, and 'Selected math chapters' (math analysis; vectors, euclidian space, differentials) on the other. I'm scared of the second one because it's said to be harder. But contrary to my own opinion, one assistant told me that it would be more useful for a programmer compared to the first subject. Then again, he's not a programmer. That's why I turn to you for help, fellow slashdotters — any advice?
Medicine

Submission + - Mechanism for placebo effect discovered (cosmosmagazine.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A key to understanding the mysterious 'placebo effect' has been unlocked by scientists: placebos may work by blocking pain signals in the spinal cord from reaching the brain.
Privacy

Submission + - Debtors Sue Medical System over Privacy Breach (jsonline.com) 1

Submitted by
BarneyRabble
BarneyRabble writes: "If you go bankrupt in the State of Wisconsin--make sure your ass is covered, literally! Patients who are in
bankruptcy court are finding out their personal medical information is being placed in a public record database
thanks to Aurora Health Care, one of the state's largest health systems. Their electronic medical records not only
disclosed the amount the debtor owed, but what kind of care they recieved, in direct violation of pattent privacy laws.

In a class action lawsuit, the state is suing Aurora for $25,000 per violation."

Submission + - Pirates get competition (peerstop.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Pirates get competition from Peerstop, a company whos aim is to give media producers a peer to peer presence.
By searching google most people would find it difficult to find pirated material. This is because of the sheer magnitude of legitimate material on the web.
With Peer-to-Peer networks its the other way around. It would be difficult to find legitimate material, because of the amount of pirated material available.

By establishing a presence on peer to peer networks media producers can provide legitimate alternatives to the pirated content available on peer to peer networks. One such example would be providing media files that can be unlocked for a fee.

Companies of various sizes can also use it to promote their products, e.g. with Demo software, Movie trailers etc...

Having a peer to peer presence is the logical next step, not having one is like not having a web presence, your competitors (however legitimate they may be) will get there first.

Submission + - How is Probability applied in Computer Science ? 1

Submitted by antisatani
antisatani writes: I loved Discrete Mathematics. I was very good at Probability. However, due to having incompetent teacher, I never could actually dive deep into the subject and learn. I just want to know , how is Probability applied in computer science. Please give some algorithms and programs and links to articles as examples.
AMD

Submission + - Lenovo to use AMD chips in low-end ThinkPads (networkworld.com) 1

Submitted by netbuzz
netbuzz writes: Lenovo is looking beyond long-term partner Intel and beginning to offer budget ThinkPad laptops — starting at under $500 — based on AMD processors, the company announced today. Lenovo's commitment to AMD chips comes only a few weeks after the FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel, accusing the chip maker of illegally using its dominant market position to stifle competition and limit consumer choice.

Submission + - Honesty box: the way to stop the inkjet rot (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by Barence
Barence writes: A company in Britain has found a novel solution to the increasingly problem of home inkjet printers being consigned to landfill. The firm has said that any member of staff can print personal documents on their pool of big refurbished printers, with “honesty boxes” left by the printers for them to drop some change into: a much better “green” approach, than investing in a personal printer with a short life-cycle. Could this work?

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