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Comment Re:Valid release (Score 3, Insightful) 158

Rulings like this are what will kill the internet.

Do you understand the difference between the Internet and the Web? Do you understand that the Internet has far, far more uses than Youtube, and that the latter is a very minor aspect of what makes the Internet useful?

That aside, your statement is grand hyperbole. Even if every insignificant actor in every insignificant film distributed on the Web rose up and successfully demanded the removal of every film, the Internet and the Web would be no less useful than it is now.

Google

Spanish Media Group Wants Gov't Help To Keep Google News In Spain 191

English-language site The Spain Report reports that Google's response to mandated payments for linking to and excerpting from Spanish news media sources — namely, shutting down Google News in Spain — doesn't sit well with Spanish Newspaper Publishers' Association, which issued a statement [Thursday] night saying that Google News was "not just the closure of another service given its dominant market position," recognising that Google's decision "will undoubtedly have a negative impact on citizens and Spanish businesses. Given the dominant position of Google (which in Spain controls almost all of the searches in the market and is an authentic gateway to the Internet), AEDE requires the intervention of Spanish and community authorities, and competition authorities, to effectively protect the rights of citizens and companies." Irene Lanzaco, a spokeswoman for AEDE, told The Spain Report by telephone that "we're not asking Google to take a step backwards, we've always been open to negotiations with Google" but, she said: "Google has not taken a neutral stance. Of course they are free to close their business, but one thing is the closure of Google News and quite another the positioning in the general index." Asked if the newspaper publishers' association had received any complaints from its members since Wednesday's announcement by Google, Mrs. Lanzaco refused to specify, but said: "Spanish publishers talk to AEDE constantly."

Comment Re:Fire all the officers? (Score 5, Insightful) 515

Well, if a crime had been committed....

Even if no *other* crime had been committed, the officers involved should be charged with:

1) Vandalism.
2) Unlawful destruction of private property.
3) Assault.
4) Battery.

All of which may be possible, and for which the normal protections police enjoy while performing their duties may not apply, because the officer was acting outside the scope of his lawful duties.

Displays

The Case For Flipping Your Monitor From Landscape to Portrait 567

Molly McHugh writes The vast majority of computer-related tasks see no benefit from a screen that is longer than it is tall. Sure, video playback and gaming are some key exceptions, but if you watch Netflix on your TV instead of your computer monitor and you're not into PC gaming, that long, wide display is doing nothing but hampering your experience. Let's flip it. No, seriously. Let's flip it sideways.

Comment Re:Looks like the mismatch nailed me (Score 1, Insightful) 163

Basically, I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but got shot in the leg.

You were wearing the a bulletproof vest produced by the same designer who made the Emperor's new clothes.

The Flu vaccine is no more effective than random chance, but it's a huge money maker for the pharmaceutical industry.

Australia

Australian Target Stores Ban GTA V For Depictions of Violence Against Women 310

MojoKid writes "There's no such thing as an official Grand Theft Auto game until there's been a bit of controversy leading to its removal from at least one set of store shelves. It's a right of passage for the GTA series, if you will, and GTA V just earned its place among the franchise's previous titles by ruffling feathers in Australia, leading to its ousting from Target stores. At issue this time around is the "game's depictions of violence against women." Jim Cooper, general manager of corporate affairs for Target, explained that customers have voiced a "significant level of concern about the game's content." Separate reports say Target Australia received a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures demanding the game be removed. According to the petition, the game gives players plenty of "incentive is to commit sexual violence against women, then abuse or kill them to proceed or get 'health' points."
Technology

The Fastest Camera Ever Made Captures 100 Billion Frames Per Second 122

Jason Koebler writes A new imaging technique is able to capture images at 100 billion frames per second—fast enough to watch light interact with objects, which could eventually lead to new cloaking technologies. The camera was developed by a team at Washington University in St. Louis—for the team's first tests, it was able to visualize laser pulse reflections, photons racing through air and through resin, and "faster-than-light propagation of non-information." It can also be used in conjunction with telescopes and to image optical and quantum communications, according to lead researcher Liang Gao.

Comment Re:What if... (Score 1) 574

[What if] Stephen Hawking is not who he claims to be through the electronic speaker box?

Sadly, given the stupidity of the Human race (and Kentucky in particular), I believe you have just started a new conspiracy.

But maybe not. Given the same stupidity of the Human race, it's likely that no one lacking enough brain cells to believe such a thing would know who Stephan Hawking is; given that he isn't moving a ball from one part of a grassy field to another.

Comment Complete Waste of Time (Score 1) 523

Cursive is a complete waste of time. At best, it is barely marginally faster than printing/block writing. Most of the time, cursive writing is significantly slower than printing (especially for those brain-dead connections containing o, a, c, g, h, j, k, u, v, and w) and much less legible.

In practice, the only time I ever write in cursive is when signing my name. In all other cases, it's faster and more legible to write in print. I was brainwashed with the necessity of cursive when I was a kid in the seventies and eighties. But it always seemed so bizarre to focus so heavily on something so less efficient than printing.

Education

Finland Dumps Handwriting In Favor of Typing 523

mikejuk writes It seems incredible that in the 21st century schools are still teaching children to scratch marks on paper. Well in Finland they are taking a step in the direction of the future by giving up teaching handwriting. The Savon Sanomat newspaper reports that from autumn 2016 cursive handwriting will no longer be a compulsory part of the school curriculum. Instead the schools will teach keyboard skills and 'texting'. The idea of teaching proper keyboard skills to children is unquestionably a great idea, the idea of texting is a little more dubious and many will mourn the loss of a traditional skill like cursive writing. So what about a world where cursive writing is forgotten? What do you do when your computer is dead and you need to leave a note? The death of cursive script probably isn't the death of handwriting but the death of doing it quickly and with style. Some no doubt will want to master it just for the sake of it — like driving a stick shift. I know some U.S. schools have done the same; how proficient should kids be with cursive?
Google

Google Should Be Broken Up, Say European MPs 237

An anonymous reader is one of many to send word that the European Parliament has voted 384 to 174 in favor of unbundling search engines from other commercial services in order to ensure competition. "The European Parliament has voted in favor of breaking Google up, as a solution to complaints that it favors is own services in search results. Politicians have no power to enforce a break-up, but the landmark vote sends a clear message to European regulators to get tough on the net giant. US politicians and trade bodies have voiced their dismay at the vote. The ultimate decision will rest with EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager. She has inherited the anti-competitive case lodged by Google's rivals in 2010. Google has around 90% market share for search in Europe. The Commission has never before ordered the break-up of any company, and many believe it is unlikely to do so now. But politicians are desperate to find a solution to the long-running anti-competitive dispute with Google."
United States

DHS Set To Destroy "Einstein" Surveillance Records 71

schwit1 sends word that The Department of Homeland Security plans on disposing of all the records from a 3-year-long surveillance program without letting the public have access to them. The Department of Homeland Security is poised to ditch all records from a controversial network monitoring system called "Einstein" that are at least three years old, but not for security reasons. DHS reasons the files — which include data about traffic to government websites, agency network intrusions and general vulnerabilities — have no research significance. But some security experts say, to the contrary, DHS would be deleting a treasure chest of historical threat data. And privacy experts, who wish the metadata wasn't collected at all, say destroying it could eliminate evidence that the government wide surveillance system does not perform as intended. The National Archives and Records Administration has tentatively approved the disposal plan, pending a public comment period.
EU

The EU Has a Plan To Break Up Google 334

An anonymous reader points out a report at the Financial Times (paywalled) which says the European Parliament is preparing to call for the break-up of Google. According to the draft seen by the FT, a potential solution to ongoing anti-trust concerns with Google is "unbundling search engines from other services." The article notes, "The European parliament has no formal power to split up companies, but has increasing influence on the commission, which initiates all EU legislation. The commission has been investigating concerns over Google’s dominance of online search for five years, with critics arguing that the company’s rankings favour its own services, hitting its rivals’ profits. Unbundling cannot be excluded, said Andreas Schwab, a German MEP who is one of the motion’s backers."

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