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Software

Submission + - N.Y. Times to data mine customers for profit.

pilsner.urquell writes: The Village Voiceis running this story:

Having Won a Pulitzer for Exposing Data Mining, Times Now Eager to Do Its Own Data Mining.

Barely a year after their reporters won a Pulitzer prize for exposing data mining of ordinary citizens by a government spy agency, New York Times officials had some exciting news for stockholders last week: The Times company plans to do its own data mining of ordinary citizens, in the name of online profits.
Censorship

Own Your Own 128-Bit Integer 477

Byte Swapper writes "After all the fuss over the AACS trying to censor a certain 128-bit number that now has something over two million hits on Google, the folks at Freedom to Tinker would like to point out that you too can own your own integer. They've set up a script that will generate a random number, encrypt a copyrighted haiku with it, and then deed the number back to you. You won't get a copyright on the number or the haiku, but your number has become an illegal circumvention device under the DMCA, such that anyone subject to US law caught distributing it can be punished under the DMCA's anti-trafficking section, for which the DMCA's Safe Harbor provisions do not apply. So F9090211749D5BE341D8C5565663C088 is truly mine now, and you can pry it out of my cold, dead fingers!"
Data Storage

Submission + - Ignore the THUNKing sound from the floppy division

The Bastard writes: An article in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Business Journal reports that Imation is shutting down their floppy disk division.

"Diskettes have been a significant portion of our product portfolio for more than two decades, but they are now only a small, rapidly declining part of the market and they are nearing their end of life," said Subodh Kulkarni, vice president of research and development and manufacturing for Imation, in a press statement.
The sad thing isn't that the floppy division is shutting down; it's that hardly anyone will notice the passing of this once essential component of computing. Slackware 1.0 distro anyone?
Moon

Submission + - Mooninite Fallout: Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act

theantipop writes: Ars Technica has a story about the Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act, a bill introduced recently by the Senate. The bill aims to "amend the federal criminal code to include a number of new clauses meant to up the ante on wasting government resources. The amendments include extensions to the prohibitions on the spread of false information and mailing threats, increases to maximum prison terms, and allowances for civil suits so that local and federal governments can attempt to recoup expenses related to an incident." This is undoubtedly a result of the Great Mooninite Scare of 2007.
Privacy

Submission + - Last chance to tell DHS "no" to national I

cnet-declan writes: "If you don't like the idea of a federalized ID card, you have only have a few hours left to let Homeland Security know your thoughts. That's because the deadline to file comments on the Real ID Act is 5pm ET on Tuesday. Probably the best place to do that is a Web site created by an ad hoc alliance called the Privacy Coalition (they oppose the idea, but if you're a big Real ID fan you can use their site to send adoring comments too). Alternatively, Homeland Security has finally seen fit to give us an email address that you can use to submit comments on the Real ID Act. Send email to oscomments@dhs.gov with "Docket No. DHS-2006-0030" in the Subject: line. Here's some background on what the Feds are planning."
The Media

Submission + - Time of use rates and solar power

mdsolar writes: "The LA Time is running a story about how California is seeing a big drop off in applications for rebates for solar power systems. It seems that to get a rebate you have to also switch to a time of use rate with your utility. The math is not working out, especially for smaller systems that don't fully cover use during peak hours and so people are deciding not to go with solar. From the article:

The difference between peak and off-peak rates is particularly large in the 11 counties of Central, coastal and Southern California, where Edison provides electricity service to 13 million customers.
Edison charges summer time-of-use rates that range from 29.7 to 35.9 cents per kilowatt-hour between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. It drops to a range of 16.3 to 18.6 cents per kilowatt-hour from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays and all weekend days and holidays, according to documents filed with the PUC.
There is likely an optimal system size that reduces consumer costs, but with things in flux you'd want some flexibility in your system."
Movies

Submission + - Holllywood Trying to Starve Canadian Pirates

KenAndCorey writes: "From an article on the CTV News web site, Warner Brothers has decided it won't be giving Canadians previews of its summer blockbusters.

Citing a failure by the government of Canada to make illegal the recording of movies directly from the screen by camcorder, the studio will not issue advance screenings of such audience pleasers like "Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix" and "Ocean's 13."
This is total crap, as we already know that the Canadian Movie Piracy Claim is Mostly Fiction. But as is the norm in Canada, we try to make it sound like it's not as bad as it may first appear. Douglas Frith of the Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association says,

We're not looking at the individuals who go in for fun to camcord a film in a theatre. It's organized crime. People are going in, they get paid between $5,000 to $7,000 for a very good copy of a film."
Well, not yet, anyway."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - How Does QuickPick Work?

UnanimousCoward writes: A buddy and I had a debate as to how QuickPick (the process with which you let the lottery machine pick your numbers as opposed to picking them yourself) works:
  • I thought that QP tries to generate a set of numbers that hasn't been picked (either manually or automatically). The rational here is that it gives the player some assurance that if he/she wins, he won't have to split it with someone else.
  • He thought it was just a random number generator that didn't look at the existing set of picks.
So I guess I have two questions:
  • Who is right?
  • What algorithm do they/would they use for my scenario?
Biotech

Submission + - RIP dust-to-dust.... hello dust-to-silk

Paul Pareti writes: Seven years ago there was a weird sci-fi short story in the London Magazine. It imagined a project where hybridised silk moths could be genetically instructed to feed on human cadavers instead of mulberry leaf. So they produce an unusually deep colored silk. Now a team of Japanese scientists is reported in the Proceedings of NASUS to have genetically modified silk moths to produce a range of different colors, depending on diet. Not quite eating human flesh yet; but how long is it before cremation is replaced with digestion? And we get to spin our own burial shrouds....
Security

Submission + - Privatization's effect on access to information

Knutsi writes: "The Federation of American Scientists' blog Secrecy News has an interesting entry on how privatization can affect access to research materiall.

Los Alamos National Laboratory will no longer permit historians and other researchers to have access to its archival records because Los Alamos National Security (LANS), the private contractor that now operates the Lab, says it has "no policy in place" that would allow such access.
The blog tells how a Harvard researcher failed to get access that would have been grated in the past. Follow ups, here and here."

Feed Drug Company Sales Visits Influenced Doctors, Study Finds (sciencedaily.com)

Almost half of sales visits by pharmaceutical company representatives advocating the use of the drug gabapentin led to doctors stating that they intended to increase their prescription of the drug or recommend it to colleagues, according to an analysis of a survey completed by the doctors shortly after the visits.

Feed Cortex Area Thinner In Youth With Alzheimer's-related Gene (sciencedaily.com)

A part of the brain first affected by Alzheimer's disease is thinner in youth with a risk gene for the disorder, a brain imaging study has found. A thinner entorhinal cortex may render these youth more susceptible to degenerative changes and mental decline later in life. This learning and memory hub is thinner in youth with the Alzheimer's-releated ApoE4 variant of the apolipoprotein gene, perhaps lowering the threshold for adverse consequences with aging-related tissue loss.

Feed Depression May Trigger Diabetes In Older Adults (sciencedaily.com)

Chronic depression may cause diabetes in older adults, according to a new study. This is the first national study to suggest that depression alone -- and not lifestyle factors like being overweight -- can trigger diabetes in adults 65 and older, a population with a high prevalence of diabetes and depression. A high level of the stress hormone cortisol -- common in people who are depressed and which can decrease insulin sensitivity -- may be triggering the disease.
Biotech

Submission + - Disposable Nano Insulin Pump to Reach Market

An anonymous reader writes: Medgadget is reporting on a new disposable, wearable nano-insulin pump that has the potential to improve the lives of millions of diabetics: The Nanopump, which relies on microfluidic MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) technology, is a breakthrough concept that allows a tiny pump to be mounted on a disposable skin patch to provide continuous insulin infusion. The Nanopump will enable substantial advancements in the availability, treatment efficiency and the quality of life of diabetes patients. The original technology was awarded the Swiss Technology Award in 2006 and this agreement brings it closer to the market. (Press Release)
Education

Submission + - Coffee has more soluble fiber than orange juice

drmirkin writes: "Coffee contains more soluble fiber than orange juice, according to a study from the Instituto del Frío in Spain (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, February 2007). Many people start the day with a glass of orange juice because they believe it is a health food, but it contains the same amount of sugar as a glass of Coca Cola.

Soluble fiber is beneficial because it is not absorbed in the upper intestinal tract. It goes to your colon where bacteria ferment it to form short chain fatty acids that are absorbed through your colon into your bloodstream. The short chain fatty acids travel to the liver to block the formation of cholesterol, and also lower high blood pressure by widening arteries. Better dietary sources of soluble fiber include oatmeal, barley, beans, and many whole fruits and vegetables. More on soluble fiber at http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N233.html

Since fruit juices contain as much sugar and calories as soft drinks, it makes no sense to substitute juices for soft drinks. It's far better to learn to drink water to quench thirst, and get calories, vitamins and other nutrients from solid foods. Researchers at the University of Houston reviewed scientific studies to explain why sugared drinks make people fat (Nutrition Review, April 2006). They concluded that sugared drinks do not fill people up as much as solid food does, so calories in drinks do not suppress appetite as effectively as calories in food."

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