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Submission + - South Korean activists to drop The Interview into North by balloon (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The CBC reports that:

A South Korean activist said Wednesday that he will launch balloons carrying DVDs of Sony's The Interview toward North Korea to try to break down a personality cult built around dictator Kim Jong-un.

Activist Park Sang-hak said he will start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with the movie by balloon in North Korea as early as late January. Park, a North Korean defector, said he's partnering with the U.S.-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USB memory sticks of the movie with Korean subtitles.

Submission + - South Korean Activist to Drop "The Interview" in North Korea Using Balloons

Submitted by Siddharth Srinivas
Siddharth Srinivas writes: Park Sang Hak a North Korean democracy activist said he will start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with Sony's "The Interview" by balloon in North Korea as early as late January. He's partnering with the U.S.-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USB memory sticks of the movie with Korean subtitles.
Sony has not released any official response about the drop.

Submission + - Did North Korea Really Attack Sony? 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Many security experts remain skeptical of North Korea's incolvment in the recent Sony hacks. Schneier writes: "Clues in the hackers' attack code seem to point in all directions at once. The FBI points to reused code from previous attacks associated with North Korea, as well as similarities in the networks used to launch the attacks. Korean language in the code also suggests a Korean origin, though not necessarily a North Korean one, since North Koreans use a unique dialect. However you read it, this sort of evidence is circumstantial at best. It's easy to fake, and it's even easier to interpret it incorrectly. In general, it's a situation that rapidly devolves into storytelling, where analysts pick bits and pieces of the "evidence" to suit the narrative they already have worked out in their heads."

Submission + - Sony to release The Interview online today; Apple won't play ball (bbc.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The BBC writes (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30599836):
"Sony Pictures is to distribute its film The Interview online, after a cyber-attack and a row over its release. The film will be offered on a dedicated website — seetheinterview.com — as well as via Google and Microsoft services."

Notably absent among the services to provide The Interview is Apple. The New York Times reports (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/business/media/sonys-the-interview-will-come-to-some-theaters-after-all.html):
"According to people briefed on the matter, Sony had in recent days asked the White House for help in lining up a single technology partner — Apple, which operates iTunes — but the tech company was not interested, at least not on a speedy time table. An Apple spokesman declined to comment. "

Comment If only the cop had a camera in Ferguson... (Score 3, Interesting) 368

by Bueller_007 (#48666875) Attached to: Study: Police Body-Cams Reduce Unacceptable Use of Force

Yes, if only the cop had a camera during the Michael Brown stop, then I suppose his killing would have looked more like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Don't forget, the cops in that case knew they were being filmed. Here's another case where cops disgracefully killed someone when they knew they were on film. He had a weapon, but was at such a distance that he posed no threat at all ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?... ) And another one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Any time that cops are in a store, they know they're being filmed on security cameras. Here's another "heroic" action by the cops, committing what any sane human would consider to be murder while they know that they are being filmed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

And of course don't expect some of the footage not to go "missing" ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/... ), and don't expect the footage to even be released ( http://www.citylab.com/crime/2... ). And even if it goes to a grand jury, don't expect the District Attorney not to knowingly put a liar on the stand and throw the case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Obviously this is all anecdotal and not "scientific" compared with the study in the summary, but it should be clear that this problem of police violence is not going to be completely solved until the cultures of "shoot first and ask questions later" and "protect each other" within law enforcement are changed.

Submission + - US cinemas to screen "The Interview" on Christmas Day (bbc.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Sony Pictures has announced that The Interview will be given a limited theatrical release in the US on Christmas Day. The move comes just a week after the company cancelled its release after suffering a devastating cyber attack. Two cinemas in Atlanta and Austin have already revealed screenings.

Submission + - Citizenfour producers sued for aiding Snowden (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "A retired naval officer in Kansas has filed a suit against the producers of the Oscar-tipped documentary, director Laura Poitras and the Weinstein Company for ‘profiteering’ from the ‘theft and misuse’ of documents leaked by Edward Snowden"

Submission + - US will no longer prosecute medical marijuana users in legal states (latimes.com) 1

Submitted by melchoir55
melchoir55 writes: The LA times is reporting that Congress has ended the federal government's prohibition on medical marijuana, in states where that behavior is legal. Though the Obama administration already asserted it would not prosecute such offenses, there was the possibility that the next administration would have a different opinion. This position is now codified in law.

Submission + - Study: Light-Emitting Screens Before Bedtime Disrupt Sleep (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: Tablets and e-readers are more convenient in many ways than paper books, but many people have complained that the physical experience of using them isn't as good. Andnow we have some specific quantification of this fact: a study has shown that people who read text on a tablet before bed don't sleep as well as those who read a traditional book.

Submission + - Republican lawmaker takes stand in favor of teaching "most up-to-date science" (nationaljournal.com)

Submitted by Layzej
Layzej writes: The National Journal reports: Republican state Rep. John Patton will introduce legislation early this week to overturn a statewide ban on a set of K-12 science-education standards that teach the scientific consensus on global warming. The standards were finalized last year by a coalition of scientists and educators. But the guidelines have faced fierce political pushback in states such as Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wyoming. In March, Wyoming Republican Gov. Matt Mead signed legislation blocking the state Board of Education from approving the standards amid uproar over their climate content. Now Rep. Patton is hoping to undo the ban.

Patton is not a climate-change crusader. He believes the climate is changing but says that he does not know how much human activity contributes to that. But Patton says that his personal opinions are irrelevant. "What I believe about global warming doesn't matter. We want students to have access to the most up-to-date science. Kids should have a chance to learn the science," Patton said.

Submission + - Does journal peer review miss best and brightest? (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: A study published today indicates that the scientific peer review system does a reasonable job of predicting the eventual interest in most papers, but it may shoot an air ball when it comes to identifying really game-changing research. Papers that were accepted outright by one of the three elite journals tended to garner more citations than papers that were rejected and then published elsewhere. And papers that were rejected went on to receive fewer citations than papers that were approved by an editor. But there is a serious chink in the armor: All 14 of the most highly cited papers in the study were rejected by the three elite journals, and 12 of those were bounced before they could reach peer review. The finding suggests that unconventional research that falls outside the established lines of thought may be more prone to rejection from top journals.

Submission + - Uber seeking patent on surge pricing (cnn.com)

Submitted by mpicpp
mpicpp writes: Uber is seeking a patent for its "surge pricing," in which riders are sometimes charged exorbitant amounts at times of high demand.
The company submitted a patent application in September 2013. Uber initially had that application rejected by the U.S. Patent Office, but it is appealing that decision.

New guidelines announced by the Patent Office just last week could change the way the office rules on its application, according to a patent expert. The new rules seek to strike more of a balance between rewarding innovators and promoting free commerce, said Michael Messinger, a director at the law firm Sterne Kessler.

The Uber case is the type of case that could show how the Patent Office implements those new guidelines.

The surge pricing is one of the innovations that separates Uber from traditional taxi services, which charge a fixed rate that is generally set by a city's taxi commission. Uber argues the surge prices can attract additional drivers to handle periods of peak demand.

But it came under harsh criticism just last week when it was charging as much as 200 Australian dollars ($165), to passengers who wanted to flee central Sydney as a hostage crisis unfolded in the city. In the face of the criticism for those prices, the company offered refunds and free rides.

Submission + - CatGenie Sells an Automated Cat Litter Box with DRM 1

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Jorge Lopez writes that as a cat lover he's always wanted an automatic cat litter box and finally found one called the CatGenie, a fully automated self-washing litter box connected to water, electricity and the sewer that cleans itself with water and soap. "It’s the Rolls Royce of cat litter boxes, a hefty device that scoops, cleans, and disposes of the waste all on it’s own. It’s completely automated, even senses when a cat poops and cleans up afterwards." But there's trouble in paradise. "Life with the CatGenie was great, but not quite perfect," writes Lopez after discovering that CatGenie uses a smart cartridge that is only available from the manufacturer. "I found that the “Smart” in SmartCartridge is that it has an RFID chip inside of it to keep track of how much solution it has, and once it runs out, well, you can't refill. I honestly did not believe this and tore one of the cartridges apart, and there it was, looking back at me, a tiny chip holding up it’s little metal finger." Fortunately there are some amazing people helping the CatGenie community who have released products like the custom firmware CatGenious and CartridgeGenius which allows you to use whatever solution you want. "The cost savings is great, but isn't the biggest driver for me, it’s mainly the principle that I don't own the device I paid for, and I'm really tired of having cat litter everything in my home."

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