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Submission + - Bloggers Not Journalists, Federal Judge Rules (infoworld.com)

Submitted by squideatingdough
squideatingdough writes: On InfoWorld, Robert X. Cringely covers a recent case of a blogger accused of libel and defamation. The federal judge ruled that journalists warrant more protection from libel suits than bloggers, but it is obvious from the article that bloggers' rights can vary by state, depending on the "shield laws" in force.

Submission + - An App to Renegotiate EULAs? (justia.com)

Submitted by squideatingdough
squideatingdough writes: On Justia, Anita Ramasastry provides a very interesting take on how to possibly fight back against unreasonable terms made in End User Licensing Agreements (EULAs). A recent example, reported earlier in Slashdot, being when Sony amended its terms of use for accessing online games. Have any Slashdot users successfully used any of the techniques mentioned in this article? And are there even other options not mentioned in this article?

Submission + - Using Apps to Change Terms of Use in EULAs? (justia.com)

Submitted by squideatingdough
squideatingdough writes: A very interesting take on ways to possibly fight back against unreasonable terms made in End User Licensing Agreements (EULAs). A recent example, reported earlier in Slashdot, being when Sony amended its terms of use for accessing online games. Have any Slashdot users successfully used any of the techniques mentioned in this article? And are there even other options not mentioned?

Submission + - Lead Generation Sites Challenge Google (nytimes.com)

Submitted by squideatingdough
squideatingdough writes: The NY Times consumer advocate, "The Haggler," has a very interesting story on how lead generation sites are making it difficult to find a service provider that is locally-based. It pays to be cautious when choosing firms from an on-line search.
Science

Submission + - Japanese Reactor Doomed? (cringely.com)

Submitted by squideatingdough
squideatingdough writes: Robert X. Cringely posts an interesting analysis of the state of one of Japan's nuclear reactors affected by the earthquake, saying that the assistance offered by the U.S. government hints that the reactor is most likely never to be used again.

Submission + - Facebook -- Less Private (Again)

Submitted by squideatingdough
squideatingdough writes: I don't have my phone number posted on Facebook, but several of my friends do. It appears that Facebook is now posting that information publicly. Can any Slashdotters confirm that this is (yet again) another privacy gaffe by the Facebook crew?
United States

Submission + - ASCAP Declares War on Free Culture, EFF (zeropaid.com)

Submitted by Andorin
Andorin writes: According to Drew Wilson at ZeroPaid and Cory Doctorow, the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), a US organization that aims to collect royalties for its members for the use of their copyrighted works, has began soliciting donations to fight key organizations of the free culture movement, such as Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Public Knowledge. According to a letter received by ASCAP member Mike Rugnetta, "Many forces including Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation and technology companies with deep pockets are mobilizing to promote “Copyleft” in order to undermine our “Copyright.” They say they are advocates of consumer rights, but the truth in these groups simply do not want to pay for the use of our music. Their mission is to spread the word that our music should be free." (Part 1 and part 2 of the letter.) The collecting agency is asking that its professional members donate to its Legislative Fund for the Arts, which appears to be a lobbying campaign meant to convince Congress that artists should not have the choice of licensing their works under a copyleft license.
Medicine

Submission + - Warning: 3D Hazardous to Your Health (audioholics.com)

Submitted by SchlimpyChicken
SchlimpyChicken writes: Turns out 3D television can be inherently dangerous to your developing children — and adults as well. There's a malaise in children that can prevent full stereopsis (depth perception) from developing, called strabismus, or lazy-eye. It is an abnormal alignment of the eyes in which the eyes do not focus on the same object — kind of like when you watch a 3D movie. As a result, depth perception is compromised. Acting on a hunch, the guys over at Audioholics contacted Mark Pesce, who worked with Sega on its VR Headset over 15 years ago — you know, the headset that never made it to market. As it turns out, back then Sega uncovered serious health risks involved with children consuming 3D and quickly buried the reports — and the project. Unfortunately, the exact same dangers exist in today's 3D, and the electronics, movie and gaming industries seem to be ignoring this and pushing ahead with a technology. If fully realized, 3D just might affect the vision of millions of children and, according to the latest research, many adults, across the country.
Censorship

Submission + - scientology snaps up domains

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In an ongoing effort to intimidate some high level defectors, one of Scientology's corporations, Religious Technology Center, has been grabbing domains with the names of specific critics. Speculation is that searches for critical information about Scientology will be redirected to RTC sites with anti-critic information. The acquisition of domains with private individuals' names also raises legal questions about identity theft and harassment.
Story at:
http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/A_list_of_2,070_Scientology_cult_domain_names_registered_to_domains@scientology.net
http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/david-miscavige-wants-to-be-like-mike/

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