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Submission + - California regulator seeks to shut down 'learn to code' bootcamps (venturebeat.com)

Submitted by cultiv8
cultiv8 writes: The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE), a unit in the California Department of Consumer Affairs charged with licensing and regulating postsecondary education in California, is arguing that 'learn to code' bootcamps fall under its jurisdiction and are subject to regulation. In mid-January, BPPE sent cease and desist letters to Hackbright Academy, Hack Reactor, App Academy, Zipfian Academy, and others. Unless they comply, these organizations face imminent closure and a hefty $50,000 fine. A BPPE spokesperson said these organizations have two weeks to start coming into compliance.

Submission + - Judge rules BitTorrent cases must be tried separately (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by PhrostyMcByte
PhrostyMcByte writes: TorrentFreak reports that Iowa Judge Stephanie Rose recently put a thorn in the plans of copyright holders hoping to file cheap mass-doe lawsuits against alleged pirates. Rejecting all but one Doe for such a lawsuit, Rose's order mentions that the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate the five Does in the case were a part of the same "transaction" needed to be tried together, with an uncommon understanding of BitTorrent showing that "...even in all five cases where Doe defendants allegedly have “hit dates” on the same day and close in time, there is no showing that the earlier defendants were still connected to the Internet and actively distributing data through the BitTorrent client at the same time as the later defendants."

Submission + - Hockney's iPad: A Painter Tries to Change the Way We See (xconomy.com)

Submitted by waderoush
waderoush writes: At age 76, British painter David Hockney is still exploring new ways to capture the world as our eyes really see it. He's suspicious of photography and its constraints — 'it’s all right if you don’t mind looking at the world from the point of view of a paralyzed Cyclops, for a split second,' he has said. And yet he's an avid early adopter of newer technologies such as iPad sketching software and high-definition video, if they'll help him explode old notions about the business of reducing three dimensions to two. Hockney 'chooses to work in video and in digital media, rather than just watercolor or acrylic, because those tools are better for forcing the viewer to think about the problems of depth and point of view,' argues this review of the just-completed show 'David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition' in San Francisco.

Submission + - Canadian government trucking generations of scientific data to the dump (thestar.com)

Submitted by sandbagger
sandbagger writes: Canada's scientific libraries are literally being taken to the dump. The norther nation's scientific community has been up in arms over the holidays as local scientific libraries and records offices were closed and their shelves — some of which contained century old data — emptied into dumpsters. Stephen Harper's Tory government is claiming that the documents have been digitized. Where the Hell do we protest?

Submission + - US appeals court strikes down net neutrality (msn.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: The FCC did not have the legal authority to enact 2011 regulations requiring Internet providers to treat all traffic the same, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court has struck down the government's latest effort to require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, meaning mobile carriers and other broadband providers may reach agreements for faster access to specific content crossing their networks.

The Federal Communications Commission's open Internet rules, passed in late 2010, require internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally and give consumers equal access to all lawful content, a principle known as net neutrality.

But the FCC lacked legal authority to enact the regulations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Tuesday, siding with Verizon Communications Inc that challenged the rules.

Verizon has argued the rules violated the company's right to free speech and stripped control of what its networks transmit and how.

"Even though the commission has general authority to regulate in this arena, it may not impose requirements that contravene express statutory mandates," Judge David Tatel said.

The FCC has classified broadband providers as information service providers as opposed to telecommunications service providers and that distinction created a legal hurdle for the FCC to impose the net neutrality rules.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday said the agency was considering "all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans."

The FCC could appeal the ruling to the full appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Or it could attempt to rewrite the regulations to clear up its authority over broadband providers — a move urged by consumer advocacy groups.

Supporters of the rules worry that without FCC's rules, internet providers such as Verizon or Comcast Corp would be free to charge websites for faster access to their content or slow down or even block access to particular sites.

"That's just not the way the internet has worked until now," Matt Wood, policy director at public interest group Free Press, told Reuters.

But opponents say the rules inhibit investments, represent government meddling in free Internet and are not necessary to ensure open access to the Internet.

"Today's decision will not change consumers' ability to access and use the Internet as they do now," Randal Milch, Verizon's general counsel and executive vice president for public policy, said in a statement.

"Verizon has been and remains committed to the open Internet which provides consumers with competitive choices and unblocked access to lawful websites and content when, where, and how they want. This will not change in light of the court's decision," Milch said.

Similarly, the Broadband for America coalition representing various internet service providers and CTIA, the wireless industry association, pledged commitments to an open Internet.

Major content providers Netflix Inc and Google Inc who may face new hurdle referred inquiries to the Internet Association representing them.

"The Internet Association supports enforceable rules that ensure an open Internet, free from government control or discriminatory, anticompetitive actions by gatekeepers," the group's President and CEO Michael Beckerman said.

Facing strong resistance from Republicans, Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pledged to help FCC redraft its rules to regain authority over broadband providers.

Submission + - Spy Cam Found in American Airlines Lavatory (nbcnews.com)

Submitted by mreed911
mreed911 writes: Someone staring at the ceiling while "doing their business" in a lavatory on an American Airlines 767 from New York to San Francisco noticed something that didn't belong — a spy cam. Apparently some flash-drive/cam combo, the object was simply taped to the ceiling. No reports as to whether anyone on the plane claimed ownership, but the plane was diverted to Kansas City, evacuated and searched. So far, NBC News is the only one reporting the story.

Submission + - Snowden Says His Mission Is Accomplished 5

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Edward Snowden met with reporters from the Washington Post for fourteen hours and in his first interview since June reflected at length about surveillance, democracy and the meaning of the documents he exposed. “For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission’s already accomplished. I already won,” says Snowden. ““All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed. That is a milestone we left a long time ago. Right now, all we are looking at are stretch goals.” Snowden says that the NSA’s business is “information dominance,” the use of other people’s secrets to shape events. But Snowden upended the agency on its own turf. “You recognize that you’re going in blind, that there’s no model,” says Snowden, acknowledging that he had no way to know whether the public would share his views. “But when you weigh that against the alternative, which is not to act, you realize that some analysis is better than no analysis. Because even if your analysis proves to be wrong, the marketplace of ideas will bear that out." Snowden succeeded because the NSA, accustomed to watching without being watched, faces scrutiny it has not endured since the 1970s, or perhaps ever and says people who accuse him of disloyalty mistake his purpose. “I am not trying to bring down the NSA, I am working to improve the NSA. I am still working for the NSA right now. They are the only ones who don’t realize it.” Snowden also said he is confident he did not expose secret documents to Chinese intelligence in Hong Kong and he did not bring them to Russia. “There’s nothing on it,” Snowden said, turning his laptop screen toward his visitor. “My hard drive is completely blank.” Snowden says " there is no evidence at all for the claim that I have loyalties to Russia or China or any country other than the United States." “If I defected at all,” says Snowden, “I defected from the government to the public.”

Submission + - Chinese spacecraft lands on moon

Submitted by niftydude
niftydude writes: A Chinese spacecraft has landed on the moon in the first "soft landing" since 1976.

The event, broadcast live on Chinese TV, means the country has joined the US and the former Soviet Union in managing to accomplish such a feat.

The Chang'e 3, named after a lunar goddess in traditional Chinese mythology, is carrying the solar-powered Yutu, or Jade Rabbit rover, which will dig and conduct geological surveys. The mission is expected to last three months.

Submission + - Newly Discovered Greenhouse Gas is 7,000 Times More Powerful Than CO2

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Suzanne Goldenberg writes at The Guardian that researchers at the University of Toronto's department of chemistry have identified a newly discovered greenhouse gas, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), in use by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century, that is 7,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth. "We claim that PFTBA has the highest radiative efficiency of any molecule detected in the atmosphere to date," says Angela Hong. Concentrations of PFTBA in the atmosphere are low – 0.18 parts per trillion in the Toronto area – compared to 400 parts per million for carbon dioxide but PFTBA is long-lived. There are no known processes that would destroy or remove PFTBA in the lower atmosphere so it has a very long lifetime, possibly hundreds of years, and is destroyed in the upper atmosphere. ""It is so much less than carbon dioxide, but the important thing is on a per molecule basis, it is very very effective in interacting with heat from the Earth." PFTBA has been in use since the mid-20th century for various applications in electrical equipment, such as transistors and capacitors. "PFTBA is just one example of an industrial chemical that is produced but there are no policies that control its production, use or emission," says Hong. "It is not being regulated by any type of climate policy."

Submission + - Bitcoin Thefts Surge, DDoS Hackers Take Millions (informationweek.com)

Submitted by CowboyRobot
CowboyRobot writes: In November, Denmark-based Bitcoin Internet Payment System suffered a DDoS attack. Unfortunately for users of the company's free online wallets for storing bitcoins, the DDoS attack was merely a smokescreen for a digital heist that quickly drained numerous wallets, netting the attackers a reported 1,295 bitcoins — worth nearly $1 million — and leaving wallet users with little chance that they'd ever see their money again. Given the potential spoils from a successful online heist, related attacks are becoming more common. But not all bitcoin heists have been executed via hack attacks or malware. For example, a China-based bitcoin exchange called GBL launched in May. Almost 1,000 people used the service to deposit bitcoins worth about $4.1 million. But the exchange was revealed to be an elaborate scam after whoever launched the site shut it down on October 26 and absconded with the funds. The warnings are all the same: "Don't trust any online wallet.", "Find alternative storage solutions as soon as possible.", and "You don't have to keep your Bitcoins online with someone else. You can store your Bitcoins yourself, encrypted and offline."

Submission + - US Working to Kill UN Privacy Resolutions (foreignpolicy.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The United States and its key intelligence allies are quietly working behind the scenes to kneecap a mounting movement in the United Nations to promote a universal human right to online privacy, according to diplomatic sources and an internal American government document obtained by The Cable.

American representatives have made it clear that they won't tolerate such checks on their global surveillance network.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How do you protect your privacy these days? Or do you? 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The NSA snoops traffic and has backdoors in encryption algorithms. Law enforcement agencies are operating surveillance drones domestically (not to mention traffic cameras and satellites). Commercial entities like Google, Facebook and Amazon have vast data on your internet behavior. The average Joe has sophisticated video-shooting and sharing technology in his pocket, meaning your image can be spread anywhere anytime. Your private health, financial, etc. data is protected by under-funded IT organizations which are not under your control. Is privacy even a valid consideration anymore, or is it simply obsolete? If you think you can maintain your privacy, how do you go about it?

Submission + - Users ID'ed through typing, mouse movements (scmagazine.com.au)

Submitted by mask.of.sanity
mask.of.sanity writes: Users can be identified with a half percent margin of error based on the way they type. The research work has been spun into an application that could continuously authenticate users, rather than just relying on passwords, and could lock accounts if another person jumped on the computer. Researchers are now integrating mouse movements and clicks, and mobile touch patterns into the work.

Submission + - Google is Flying High and Polluting the Air with Government-Bought Fuel (theblaze.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: While touting green technology, and lobbying the federal government on environmental policy, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt have put 3.4 million miles on their private jets in recent years, polluting the atmosphere with 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide. Their trips, according to flight log data, included single-day jaunts and brief corporate meetings, but also what appear to be hundreds of exotic vacation destinations.

Since 2007, the private airplane fleet owned by Google execs has been housed in a hangar at NASA’s Ames Research Center just outside Google’s Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. The taxpayer-funded hangars are intended for aircraft performing scientific research to assist NASA, but it appears that Google’s jets perform very little actual scientific research (unless calculating the circumference of Mai Tai umbrellas on the beaches of Babelthuap somehow qualifies).

In addition to the publicly subsidized hangar space, Google received another money saving perk courtesy of U.S. taxpayers: Millions of dollars’ worth of jet fuel at below-market prices from NASA and the Department of Defense. Google officials spent an estimated $29 million on jet fuel at the facility, roughly $10 million less than what they would have paid on the open market.

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