Comment Re:Cheating? (Score 1) 693
According to your analogy, you are implying that Microsoft did something illegal. If Microsoft's actions are illegal, then I agree with you. However, I don't see any mention of law breaking.
Comment Cheating? (Score 4, Insightful) 693
And why is that cheating? Sounds like simple observance in an effort to get improve results.
Comment Speculative? (Score 1) 648
"Gov. Steve Beshear said he does not believe the incentives would violate the principle of church-state separation
You are speculating on a couple of the most important pieces of the article. Perhaps this story conflicts with your beliefs and is clouding the objectivity of your post.
Comment Re:DMCA notice coming (Score 1) 275
This might be even more simple. The device itself has a free cellular connection. If you hack the device to gain access to the connection then you aren't stealing unless you agreed not to do that.
If you aquire a nook and do not sign or agree to any EULA that prohibits you from opening the device and using the internet connection then there is no stealing happening. If you do that and the carriers aren't happy then it is their fault. If they don't like it, but you agreed to a EULA or something else that prohibited it, then it's not their fault.
Comment Re:and this changes what? (Score 1) 184
You got the idea, while preaching means that are diametrically opposed to accomplishing it. Ideas are indeed the foundation of civilization, but it's the spread of ideas and their widespread application that induces civilization, not ideas locked up and caged and available only at arbitrary cost from their progenitor. Ownership is a fundamental aspect of individual freedom, but ownership of ideas damages societal freedom.
Copyrights and patents stifle progress and act as a brake against innovation that leads to further "upgrades" of civilization. When use of an idea that can improve my life requires a fee, I'm less likely to use it. Taken to its ultimate end, every idea that can improve my life requires a fee. How then do I live?
Submission + - Fossilized Bacteria May Point to Life on Mars (foxnews.com)
jdelisle writes: NASA scientists have produced the most compelling evidence yet that bacterial life exists on Mars. Microscopic worm-like structures have been found in a Martian meteorite that hit the Earth 13,000 years ago. According to NASA, these structures are almost certainly fossilized bacteria.
"This is very strong evidence of life on Mars" said David Mackay, a senior scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
The so-called bio-morphs are embedded beneath the surface layers of the rock, suggesting that they were already present when the meteorite arrived, rather than being the result of subsequent contamination by Earthly bacteria.
"This is very strong evidence of life on Mars" said David Mackay, a senior scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
The so-called bio-morphs are embedded beneath the surface layers of the rock, suggesting that they were already present when the meteorite arrived, rather than being the result of subsequent contamination by Earthly bacteria.
Submission + - FCC Moves On Net Neutrality (nextgov.com)
suitablegirl writes: Today's Federal Register includes an official notice from the FCC that it is proposing a rule that would "preserve the open Internet." Net Neutrality has been a hot topic in recent days; two weeks ago a White House official spoke out in favor of the concept and took a shot at the broadband industry.
Speaking at a telecom policy conference last week, Deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin compared censorship in China — where President Obama's recent comments on open Internet values were blocked from Chinese Web sites — to the need for net neutrality rules so as to prevent corporations from acting as gatekeepers of information and speech.
Speaking at a telecom policy conference last week, Deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin compared censorship in China — where President Obama's recent comments on open Internet values were blocked from Chinese Web sites — to the need for net neutrality rules so as to prevent corporations from acting as gatekeepers of information and speech.
Submission + - Consumer group to challenge Facebook terms (theregister.co.uk)
jogrim writes: Consumer group preps legal challenge to Facebook terms. Getting poked all the way from Norway.
Submission + - SPAM: FTC slams spam gang boss with $15M fine
coondoggie writes: Whether or not anyone actually ever gets this money remains to be seen but at the behest of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has ordered the mastermind of what was a vast international spam network to pay $15.15 million in a default judgment for his role in running the operation which sent out billions of junk e-mails. The anti-spam organization Spamhaus Project called Atikinson's crew the largest spam gang in the world which at one point may have accounted for as much as one-third of the world's spam. The group's specialty was pushing male-enhancement pills, prescription drugs, and weight-loss pills, the FTC stated.
[spam URL stripped]
Link to Original Source
[spam URL stripped]
Link to Original Source
Submission + - India hanging up on 25 million cellphones 1
jvillain writes: India is about to pull the plug so to speak on 25 million cell phones in the name of fighting terrorism.
Submission + - Concrete Cloth Makes Durable Disaster Shelters (inhabitat.com)
MikeChino writes: When a disaster strikes, it’s often difficult to get shelters up in time for displaced residents. Enter Concrete Cloth, a durable new waterproof building material made of cement sandwiched between fabric. The cloth can be molded into any shape when bonded with water, and it takes just two hours to set. Since the cloth has a life span of 10 years, it can be used in situations where displacement is prolonged, and the material's durability also makes it ideal for military use.
Submission + - Dell Defect Turns 2.2GHz CPU into 100MHz CPU (chambana.net)
jtavares2 writes: In what is being dubbed as Throttlegate, scours of users on many message boards have been complaining about inexplicably aggressive throttling policies on their Dell Latitude E6500 and E6400 laptops which cause its CPUs to be throttled to less than 5% of its theoretical maximum even while in room temperatures! In many cases, the issue can triggered just by playing a video or performing some other trivial, but CPU intensive, task. After being banned from the Dell Forums for revealing "non-public information", one user went so far as to write and publish a 59-page report explaining and diagnosing the throttling problem in incredible detail. Dell seems to be silent on the issue, but many users are hoping for a formal recall.
Submission + - Harvard: Computers Don't Save Hospitals Money (computerworld.com)
Lucas123 writes: Researchers at Harvard Medical School pored over survey data from more than 4,000 "wired" hospitals and determined that computerization of those facilities not only didn't save them a dime, but the technology didn't improve administrative efficiency. The study also showed most of the IT systems were aimed improving efficiency for hospital management not doctors, nurses and medical technicians. "For 45 years or so, people have been claiming computers are going to save vast amounts of money and that the payoff was just around the corner. So the first thing we need to do is stop claiming things there's no evidence for. It's based on vaporware and [hasn't been] shown to exist or shown to be true," said Dr. David Himmelstein, the study's lead author.
Submission + - Pub fined for illegal downloads over Wi-Fi (pcpro.co.uk) 1
atilla filiz writes: A pub has reportedly been fined £8,000 after a customer downloaded copyrighted material on its Wi-Fi connection. ...
Legal experts are baffled by the ruling. Internet law professor Lilian Edwards, of Sheffield Law School, told ZDNet that companies that operate a public Wi-Fi hotspot should "not be responsible in theory" for users' illegal downloads under "existing substantive copyright law".
Legal experts are baffled by the ruling. Internet law professor Lilian Edwards, of Sheffield Law School, told ZDNet that companies that operate a public Wi-Fi hotspot should "not be responsible in theory" for users' illegal downloads under "existing substantive copyright law".
Submission + - US Congressman Announces Plans to Probe Wikileaks (newsday.com) 1
eldavojohn writes: Congressman Peter King (Republican — New York) is calling for a probe into Wikileaks with regards to the half million 9/11 pager messages published recently. He has announced plans involving his Washington staff conducting a preliminary investigation under the premise that this action 'raises security issues.' A word of caution, Congressman King has been known to make inflammatory and unpopular statements.
