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Submission + - What Would Have Entered the Public Domain Tomorrow (duke.edu)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "Casino Royale, Marilyn Monroe’s Playboy cover, The Adventures of Augie March, the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Crick & Watson’s Nature article decoding the double helix, Disney’s Peter Pan, The Crucible"... "How ironic that Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, with its book burning firemen, was published in 1953 and would once have been entering the public domain on January 1, 2010. To quote James Boyle, "Bradbury’s firemen at least set fire to their own culture out of deep ideological commitment, vile though it may have been. We have set fire to our cultural record for no reason; even if we had wanted retrospectively to enrich the tiny number of beneficiaries whose work keeps commercial value beyond 56 years, we could have done so without these effects. The ironies are almost too painful to contemplate."

Submission + - How do I shut down fraud sites? 2

Submitted by someone_with_too_much_time
someone_with_too_much_time writes: I've been wondering how to report and shut down fraud sites. Besides the usual, there's a lot of sites in what I've determined is a network centered on an organization called MeetSafer, which props up sites all claiming to do a "sex offender registry and criminal background check" by ... you guessed it, credit card number. I'd ignore them but... they're major pitch is that they "keep you safe" by "verifying" that your Craigslist hookup isn't going to murder you, and I have a personal problem with putting people in danger via false sense of security. By experimentation (with a ShopSafe BAC card given a $2 limit) I found that they use an erotic payment gateway to accept the card, and attempt to sign users up for porn sites immediately. They purport to be backed by the National Sex Offender and Criminal Organization Database certifying body; both the entire MeetSafer network and NSOCO hide their WhoIs data behind Moniker, a WhoIs privacy service. The question is, how do I report this to the FBI, DA, or... I can't tell who cares, much less how to tell them.
Google

Submission + - 'Nexus One' Is First Google's Android Phone (wiseandroid.com)

Submitted by xchg
xchg writes: It's still not called the "Google Phone", but the Nexus One — to be made by HTC — is as close as I think we're going to get. The WSJ cites sources familiar with Google's plans and says that Google has designed this handset and plans to sell it directly to consumers, unlocked.
Google

Submission + - Microsoft vs Google: Pot, Kettle, Black (stuff.co.nz) 1

Submitted by Master Moose
Master Moose writes: So it would appear that Microsoft is funding an Anti-Google lobby group because they feel that Google's practices are anti-competitive and they are looking to grow in the Asia-Pacific region

Is this vindication for the Microsoft haters? Is Google that bad? Is there a lesser of the two evils?
Privacy

Submission + - Secret Copyright Treaty Timeline Shows Global DMCA (dipity.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Michael Geist, a leading critic of the ACTA secret copyright treaty, has produced a new interactive timeline that traces its development. The timeline includes links to leaked documents, videos, and public interest group letters that should increasing concern with a deal that could lead to a global three-strikes and you're out policy.

Submission + - Hollywood Sets $10 Billion Box Office Record (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by kamikazearun
kamikazearun writes: Claims by the MPAA that illegal downloads are killing the industry and causing billions in losses are once again being shredded. In 2009, the leading Hollywood studios made more films and generated more revenue than ever before, and for the first time in history the domestic box office grosses will surpass $10 billion.

Submission + - Microsoft Encroaching on Spanish Schools... Again (linux-magazine.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft had lost the single Windows booting option in school computers in Spain some time ago. But now they are getting back: The Spanish Government announced in a surprising move that an agreement with Microsoft has been signed to give out laptops to primary schoolchildren next year.
Hardware

Submission + - Laptop fire kills five

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Folks, be careful if you leave your laptop charging overnight. Authorities have determined that a fatal fire in Staffanstorp, Sweden, three months ago was likely caused by an overheating laptop battery. Apparently, the vents were blocked by a blanket which eventually caught fire. A mother and her four children perished in the blaze. Translated story here. (Before you bring up the Darwin Award, please consider the age of the likely culprit: nine years.)
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft eOpen site down for nearly a week so far (microsoft.com)

Submitted by
mauriceh
mauriceh writes: "Since last Monday, Dec. 7th, the Microsoft eOpen license website has been mostly "Down for Maintenance".
When we do not see this message, we still do not see most of the normal functionality.
As this is Microsoft's main channel for managing and installing licenses for products such as Server, and fo open License products for business,
this makes the company effectively "closed for business" !
Attempts to connect to:
  https://eopen.microsoft.com/
Are redirected to:
https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/servicecenter/sitemaintenance.html
For those who wish to activate Microsoft Business Solutions software need to obtain Software Registration keys,
and these also can not be obtained, as the site:
http://www.microsoft.com/BusinessSolutions/MBSRegistration
does not resolve, instead one gets a Microsoft Search page when we attempt to go to the Registration Keys site!
Telephone calls to their support numbers for the licensing program yield either busy signals, or a message saying one should "call back later!!"

Submission + - Are sat-nav systems becoming info overload? (economist.com)

Submitted by curtS
curtS writes: The Economist's tech editor reviews the ever-more-detailed assist of mobile GPS devices, and wonders if the attention-sucking visual complexity isn't more trouble than it's worth. He contrasts the simplicity of London's Underground map (not directionally accurate but visually easy to understand) and his own habit of dimming the display and using the audio commands for guidance.
Transportation

Submission + - Homicide Rate Strong Predictor of Traffic Deaths

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "According to a new analysis of government data, states with high homicide rates also tend to have higher rates of traffic deaths than other states, not because more killers are taking the wheel or more drivers are using their vehicles as murder weapons, but because some populations are more violent and aggressive than others, and that this aggression leads both to dangerous driving and to a higher murder rate. Michael Sivak, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, analyzed the disparity in traffic fatality rates per distance driven throughout the United States found that seven factors accounted for 71 percent of the variance in traffic fatality rates: homicide rates, proportion of male drivers, proportion of older drivers, number of alcohol-related liver failures (as a proxy for intoxicated driving), density of physicians, seat-belt use rate and income. The strongest predictor of the traffic fatality rates was the homicide rate, which is used in the study as a proxy for aggression. "This is consistent with the notion that social aspects of human interactions play an important role in traffic safety," says Sivak. "While it is important to note that this result should not be interpreted as implying that a significant fraction of traffic fatalities are homicides, it does suggest that the same aggressive tendencies that contribute to homicides also demonstrate themselves, to a certain degree, in interpersonal behaviors on the road.""
Microsoft

Submission + - Class Action Could Resolve Microsoft Tax Dispute (horsesass.org) 1

Submitted by wataxpayer
wataxpayer writes: Amanda Congdon's recent report on Microsoft indicates that Bill Gates & Co. apparently pay more tax in Ireland than in its home state of Washington. Ireland's 12.5% corporate tax rate makes it Europe's Nevada (minus the monkey, pigs and lipstick). Meanwhile, more than 3,000 Washingtonians pay the tax Microsoft is evading. Not only is this anti-competitive but it's a great basis for a class action suit based on uneven enforcement of Washington tax law. It could also provide a basis for a federal equal protection claim against the state.

Submission + - DIY book scanner (wired.com)

Submitted by azoblue
azoblue writes: Daniel Reetz did not want to lug around heavy textbooks, so he built a book scanner to create digital copies.
Games

Submission + - Financial woes put Earth No More on hold (plaza.fi)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: English summary

Since this is breaking news, here’s a brief summary of what went down for any potential foreign readers. As proud as we were to be the first in the world to reveal Recoil Games back in 2007, we are now sad to report on their difficulties.

Earth No More, the supposedly 2009 FPS from Finnish development company Recoil Games, originally funded by Radar Group/3D Realms, has been put on hold indefinitely. Extremely reliable sources have informed eDome that the game has been ”put to sleep” for the time being and Recoil will focus on smaller games they can turn around quickly. The quoted reason was financial difficulties, as the company needs money to simply sustain itself. No mention has been made on what the team will work on next or when development on Earth No More will continue.

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