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United States

Submission + - Eating Fish Into Extinction (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by
reporter
reporter writes: "According to a report just published by "The Washington Post", the human population is eating the bluefin tuna (and other fish) into extinction. In 1950, humankind extracted 400,000 tons of tuna; by 2004, the global catch had increased to 4 million tons. "[The] tuna fishing fleet is now far larger — in some cases 70 percent larger — than is needed for a sustainable catch. The consequences have been severe, especially for bluefin tuna. The total population of southern bluefin has been reduced to about 8 percent of levels before industrial fishing took off in the 1950s."

The report implies that human overpopulation (with far too many mouths) are forcing fish into extinction. When India and China reach a first-world standard of living, they will further endanger already dangerously low levels of fish stocks. There are too many people and not enough resources — fish, fresh water, etc. What will we do about overpopulation?"
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Death of the Beige Box?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It's been a while since I've built my last computer. For the most part, little has changed: you pick out the hardware, make sure it's compatible and will perform well for your needs and you build it. However, I can't seem to find a normal looking case anymore. Everything in every store I've been in (and I've been to a lot) fits into one of two categories: total crap or totally tricked out. The total crap is made out of paper thin metal and can barely support itself in a static situation, let alone if any force is applied to it. The tricked out cases have blue LED's, huge ventilation systems and clear covers. No offense to those who like that kind of stuff, but I don't. Where in the world can I find a serious, professional looking computer case that has at least some semblance of build quality and doesn't cost a small fortune?
Announcements

Submission + - Wikileaks releases Guantanmo "bible" (wikileaks.org)

Submitted by James Hardine
James Hardine writes: Wikileaks has released the Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) standard operating procedures (SOP) for Camp Delta (Guantanamo Bay). This is the primary document for the operation of Guantanamo bay, including the securing and treatment of detainees. The document is extensive and includes, in addition to its text various forms, identity cards and even burial diagrams. It is signed by Major Miller, who Donald Rumsfeld later sent to Abu Ghraib with instructions to "Gitmoize it". The document is the subject of an ongoing legal action between the ACLU, who has been trying to obtain the document and the Department of Defense, who has "witheld it in full". ACLU 0. DoD 0. Wikileaks 1
Privacy

Submission + - UK to imprison for inability to decrypt data

Submitted by mrbluze
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.
The Courts

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

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
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"."
Supercomputing

Submission + - Scientists breakthrough for future chip wiring (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by Arashtamere
Arashtamere writes: Scottish and German scientists have discovered an important insight into the behaviour of tiny wires on a nanoscale, which may significantly impact on the way computers are wired in the future. "Researchers from the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering and Electronics carried out tests to show how tiny wires — 1,000 times thinner than a human hair — behave when manipulated. Wires on a nanoscale — measured in millionths of a millimeter — behave quite differently from bigger wires...While this may sound a relatively trivial discovery, it is actually pretty important to the development of computers in the future. Indeed, the practical relevance of the discovery is when the linear scale of microelectronics devices goes down by another factor of 10 sometime in the future." http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;623552665;fp;2;fpid;1
Privacy

Submission + - School taking action against Network freedom 1

Submitted by
Tristan Stillwell
Tristan Stillwell writes: "I am a teenage high school student in the municipality of Bunn, North Carolina.
Today I found out I was suspended from school for ten days for possessing programs that were "capable of doing damage to the private school network". The programs were Firefox Portable and VNC viewer, and BlueJ Java Development Environment. I, an 18 year old high school student, was informed through my aunt, who was called about this disciplinary problem ( Isn't this private information?). I have no chance to appeal this suspension and are being forcefully and permanently removed from my Java(c) Computer Science and US government and Politics courses which I was taking through the state. I will most likely receive grades of ZERO (0) for both classes, thus destroying any chance I ever have of getting into a decent college. I am initially receiving a 10 day suspension, and then possibly a longer suspension pending investigation. Note- the school has found nothing I might have done to potentially cause damage to the network, I was suspended for having the programs- nothing else. I plan to contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation for help with this clearly unfair oppression. The only (thought) crime I have committed is one arousing suspicion, not arriving from action. I will provide further information after I officially receive the suspension."
Movies

Submission + - Sci-Fi Film Recommendations. 6

Submitted by KingRobot
KingRobot writes: I recently got married, and my new wife is a quite the movie buff. So, I've taken to spending a lot more time behind the silver screen than I used to. Anyhow, I'm quite fond of a good Sci-Fi flick now and then, but I seem to have run out of options for anything of quality.

What are your recommendations for a good (perhaps lesser known) Sci-Fi flick? (I've likely already seen most of the cliche ones; Matrix, Star Wars, Serenity, Stargate, Resident Evil, Men in Black, etc.)
Handhelds

Submission + - Broadcom Introduces iPhone's 3G Chip (Probably) (tidbits.com)

Submitted by
Glenn Fleishman
Glenn Fleishman writes: "Broadcom announced their new 3G Phone on a Chip, which is likely what Apple has been waiting for to release a 3G iPhone. The new chip uses High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), the GSM evolution standard, with both the highest downlink (HSPDA) speeds of 7.2 Mbps and uplink (HSUPA) speeds of 5.8 Mbps. These higher-speed networks are just now being deployed in Europe; AT&T still lags on HSDPA rollout in the U.S. at 3.6 Mbps. Broadcom includes Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, FM tuning, FM transmission (for car radios), five-band stereo equalization, and, oh yeah, dual ARM11 processors in this 65-nanometer package, which will run $23 in quantity. Sampling now. I imagine Apple had early test versions given that this laundry list fulfills everything Apple has in the iPhone and would want in a future 3G version."
Graphics

Submission + - New GPLv3 unbiased renderer launched (luxrender.org)

Submitted by zsouthboy
zsouthboy writes: From the site:

"LuxRender is a new, free software rendering system for physically correct, unbiased image synthesis.

It's an authorized fork of the PBRT project, focusing on production rendering and artistic efficiency instead of academic/teaching."

This renderer is similar to Maxwell Render, Fryrender, Indigo Renderer, and others in that it's based on unbiased rendering. It's dissimilar in that it's completely free and GPL code!
Education

Submission + - Grad student suspended after pro-gun-rights e-mail

Submitted by fredklein
fredklein writes: A Minnesota university has suspended one of its graduate students who sent two e-mail messages to school officials supporting gun rights.
"Hamline University also said that master's student Troy Scheffler, who owns a firearm, would be barred from campus and must receive a mandatory "mental health evaluation" after he sent an e-mail message arguing that law-abiding students should be able to carry firearms on campus for self-defense."
When informed that suspending him violated the school's freedom of expression policy, the University changed their tune: Now they claim he's being suspended because of "anonymous allegations" they received, and they can't tell him (or the press) what those allegations are, or who his accusers are. With all the talk of 'Big Brother' throwing people into detention centers without knowing the charges, are we overlooking 'Little Brothers' closer to home?
The Internet

Submission + - Cubans have to dress as tourists to use internet

Submitted by Stony Stevenson
Stony Stevenson writes: When 32-year-old Yoani Sanchez wants to update her blog about daily life in Cuba, she dresses like a tourist and strides confidently into a Havana hotel, greeting the staff in German. That is because Cubans like Sanchez are not authorised to use hotel Internet connections, which are reserved for foreigners.

She and a handful of other independent bloggers are opening up a crack in the government's tight control over media and information to give the rest of the world a glimpse of life in a one-party, Communist state. But they face many difficulties. Costs are highly prohibitive (US$6 per hour for Internet access or the equivalent of a fortnight's pay for the average Cuban) and less than 2 percent of the population have access to the internet.

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