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Comment Re:How does he know MS isn't doing anything else? (Score 5, Interesting) 275

Problem is, sending a C&D letter is doubly ineffective:

  • it barely has any effect in keeping potential exploiters from getting access to the vulnerability;
  • someone who cared enough about MS so that they could better themselves is treated like a nuisance (at best).

In fact, compare that to the way the last TLS-related vulnerability was handled; in both cases, a critical flaw is revealed before a fix was ready. In the TLS case, it was handled with forthcoming and transparency. I'm not saying that MS should do the same (MS probably can't); but they would show more respect to Samir, and to all their bing cashback clients, by:

  • Ask Samir to remove most of the "sensible" post information - you know, instead of threaten with litigation from the get-go.
  • Take an official stance on that problem; what's the risk, who's affected, what should be done - instead of leaving bing cashback clients vulnerable to misinformation and abuse.
The Internet

UK Government Abandons Piracy Legislation 155

arcticstoat writes "Following last year's reports of a scheme to 'ban' pirates from the Internet via ISPs in the UK, it looks as though the UK government has now decided to back down on the plan, saying that it hopes it won't have to apply 'the heavy hand of legislation'. The UK's Intellectual Property Minister, David Lammy, said that 'I'm not sure it's actually going to be possible,' as a result of the complexities of enforcing such legislation. Lammy also revealed that he had a different opinion on file sharers than many people in the music industry. He pointed out that there's a big difference between organized counterfeiting gangs and 'younger people not quite buying into the system'. He added that 'we can't have a system where we're talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms. People can rent a room in an hotel and leave with a bar of soap — there's a big difference between leaving with a bar of soap and leaving with the television.'"

Comment Something similar might be legal in France... (Score 1) 931

... under the law for the protection of personal information.

In France, when someone (A) collects any personal information about anyone else (B), then B is legally able to retrieve any information that A may have collected about him, and to request the deletion of such information.

If you say that: A=student, B=teacher, then, the moment the student puts the teacher's name in the notebook, that teacher's gains a right to inspect the student's notebook, and to request deletion of these contents.

A few caveats however:
-I know of no case where a teacher has made an attempt to do that. Hell, that law is not well-understood by many people. And, if that law was enforced, most CIOs would be behind bars.
-I'd wager that the destruction of any way to identify the teacher in question would be enough.
-That is a french law, the US laws about the same matter are quite different.
-The law I am talking about is ultimately about an individual's right to protect his personal information, not about intellectual property like the rest of the article.

Comment Why so sad? (Score 2, Insightful) 439

There are certainly exceptions, but I would wager that most live action adaptations of japanese animation/manga have been failures. Which means the worst case scenario boils down to "Cow Boy Bebop live movie is bad, just like nearly every such adaptation, life goes on."

However, I would have a little hope for this one, because the ambiance of Cow Boy Bebop is kind of a stereotype of "american wild west" (or at least its representation in japanese minds). And Keanu Reeves does not strike me as such a bad choice for Spike; I mean, physically speaking they have the same build, don't they?

So Who's Running Apple Now? 399

An anonymous reader writes "With Steve Jobs stepping down from heading Apple for at least six months who's running the company that he resurrected? This article names the three people who will try to keep things running. But you have to wonder whether they'll have the charisma needed to keep Apple cool..."
Space

Reaction Engines To Fly Reusable Spaceplane 156

RobGoldsmith writes "Reaction Engines have designed a 'reusable spaceplane' to provide inexpensive and reliable access to space. The Star Wars-looking 'Skylon' reusable spaceplane has already been designed and the team are well into engine testing. They have taken some time out from building spaceships to talk about their background, their goals, and their recent engine tests. This article shows new images of their STERN Engine, an experimental rocket motor which explores the flow in Expansion Deflection (ED) nozzles. They also discuss their Sabre air-breathing engine technology. View the Skylon Spaceplane concept, the STERN Engine and much more in this in-depth interview with the team."
Earth

The Environmental Impact of Google Searches 516

paleshadows writes "The Times Online reports that researchers claim that each query submitted to Google has a quantifiable impact. Specifically, two queries performed through a desktop computer generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a cup of tea. From the article: 'While millions of people tap into Google without considering the environment, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 [whereas] boiling a kettle generates about 15g [...] Google is secretive about its energy consumption and carbon footprint. It also refuses to divulge the locations of its data centers. However, with more than 200m Internet searches estimated daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the Internet is provoking concern. A recent report [argues that] the global IT industry generate[s] as much greenhouse gas as the world's airlines — about 2% of global CO2 emissions.'" Google makes an interesting focus for such claims, but similar extrapolations have been done before about, for instance, the energy costs of sending a short email.

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