Submission + - Steve Jobs has passed away at 56 (apple.com)
frdmfghtr writes: Apple's website, as well as others, are reporting that Steve Jobs died Monday.
Submission Summary: 0 pending, 67 declined, 14 accepted (81 total, 17.28% accepted)
Submission + - UK PM proposes banning social media (cnn.com)
frdmfghtr writes: CNN is running a story where the UK PM is proposing banning social media "when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality." FTA: "Free speech is central to our democracy, but so is public safety and security," said Ivan Lewis, the shadow secretary of culture in the House of Commons, according to London's Guardian newspaper. "We support the government's decision to undertake a review of whether measures are necessary to prevent the abuse of social media by those who organize and participate in criminal activities."
and
"Open-Web and free-speech advocates immediately objected to Cameron's language.
"It may be tempting to smother that kind of speech when a government feels it is under siege, as Britain seems to feel that it is," wrote Matthew Ingram of tech blog GigaOm. "But doing this represents nothing less than an attack on the entire concept of freedom of speech, and that has some frightening consequences for any democracy.""
and
"Open-Web and free-speech advocates immediately objected to Cameron's language.
"It may be tempting to smother that kind of speech when a government feels it is under siege, as Britain seems to feel that it is," wrote Matthew Ingram of tech blog GigaOm. "But doing this represents nothing less than an attack on the entire concept of freedom of speech, and that has some frightening consequences for any democracy.""
Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Using other site's login IDs 3
frdmfghtr writes: I recently was going to post a comment on a discussion board, but first I had to log in. No big deal, except my options were to use a Facebook, Twitter, OpenID, Yahoo, GMail, or AOL login. There was no option for a site-specific user ID.
Why is there a trend to go to unified login IDs? While I can see the convenience in having a single ID and password for multiple sites, it also becomes a single point of failure. Besides, isn't having different passwords for different sites basic security common sense?
Why is there a trend to go to unified login IDs? While I can see the convenience in having a single ID and password for multiple sites, it also becomes a single point of failure. Besides, isn't having different passwords for different sites basic security common sense?
Submission + - Boxee drops Hulu support
frdmfghtr writes: According to a boxee blog entry, Hulu will no longer be supported. From the post: "two weeks ago Hulu called and told us their content partners were asking them to remove Hulu from boxee. we tried (many times) to plead the case for keeping Hulu on boxee, but on Friday of this week, in good faith, we will be removing it. you can see their blog post about the issues they are facing." Reading the hulu blog post, the only "issue" I see facing hulu is that content providers have (once again) shot themselves in the foot, switching off a media conduit they should have been promoting.
Submission + - Apple falls victim to Social Engineering
frdmfghtr writes: Macblogz is posting an article on a Finnish programmer (no, not Linus) that had his Apple Developer Account compromised due to an anonymous password request sent to Apple. Here is the victim's blog entry about the incident.
Submission + - Global Copyright Police in the Works
frdmfghtr writes: 9to5Mac is reporting on a new treaty amongst G8 nations that would turn customs officials into "Copyrigt Police.". FTA: "Officials will be able to levy fines or seize goods even in the absence of any complaints by rights holders. And searches will be allowed even without a lawyer present. And ISPs will be forced to hand over personal information on any alleged copyright infringers — no actual proof will be required. And, to make it even more Orwellian, ACTA will be unaccountable to any existing trade organisation, effectively meaning the RIAA and other such bodies will run a public/private international police force with the right to search, fine and confiscate property without any accountability. Local Canadian privacy advocates point out that governments have been privately negotiating these new proposals without consultation, and that the proposals revealed yesterday only surfaced due to the application of freedom of information type laws."
Submission + - Breaking encryption using frozen DRAM chips
frdmfghtr writes: Popular Science is running a story where Princeton researchers have discovered how to crack encryption software by freezing memory chips. FTA: "...if you cool the chip rapidly, that data doesn't fade away for several minutes or longer. That's long enough to pull out the chip and drop it in another computer, then run a key-finder program that within minutes can easily crack the code." The Princeton group has a web page with the original paper, and FAQ site.
Submission + - Violating US Copyright Sanctioned in Antigua
frdmfghtr writes: Reuters is reporting that Antigua, in a WTO ruling, can lift US copyright on films and music. FTA: "A World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration panel granted Antigua's request to levy trade sanctions on U.S. intellectual property, for instance by lifting copyright on films and music to sell it themselves, prompting concern from Washington.
The WTO panel said Antigua was entitled to compensation of $21 million a year from the United States for being shut out of the U.S. online gambling market."
Submission + - MIcrosoft Launches Ads On MSN Mobile
frdmfghtr writes: InformationWeek is reporting that the MSN Mobile website will start placing banner and text ads on mobile browsers. FTA: "The software giant claims that the introduction of mobile ads will enhance the experience for customers: "Microsoft is continuing to make significant investments in the MSN Mobile portal. By incorporating advertising on MSN Mobile, we are allowing advertisers to extend their existing campaigns from PCs to games and now to mobile phones, further delivering on our vision to extend advertising across multiple platforms and devices," said Joanne Bradford, MSN's corporate VP and chief media officer, in a statement." There you have it folks — evidence that the advertisers are the customers, not the end users.
Submission + - Adobe and Yahoo test ads in PDF files 1
frdmfghtr writes: Adobe and Yahoo! are experimenting with ads in PDF documents. FTA: "The text-based ads are displayed in a panel adjacent to the content with no moving or flashing elements. Each time the PDF is viewed, ads are matched by Yahoo to the content." Next up: AdBlock Plus for PDF?
Submission + - Delaware firm sues electronics industry 1
frdmfghtr writes: In what appears to be a ver bold move, A Delaware firm named AutoText Technologies "claims that Apple and virtually all of the US electronics industry is infringing on a patent for the concept of a computer-based transcription device" and of course, has filed a lawsuit against over 20 manufacturers, including Apple, HP, Nintendo, and even wireless service providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile. Note that the patent was issued in 1994.
Submission + - Justice Dept re-opens wiretapping investigation
frdmfghtr writes: In a surprising change, the White House has "cleared the way for the Justice Department to restart an investigation into the government's no-warrant electronic surveillance program.". FTA: "We recently received the necessary security clearances and are now able to proceed with our investigation," [H. Marshall] Jarrett said in the letter he wrote to five members of the House, including Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat from New York.
Submission + - Working iPod encased in clear resin
frdmfghtr writes: iPods have been seen as artistic in their design — here's an example of an iPod as embedded art: a fully working iPod encased in clear resin. Also read about it at TUAW.com
Submission + - IEEE Spectrum: The Slashdot Supremacy
frdmfghtr writes: Our very own CmdrTaco has made the cover of November's IEEE Spectrum magazine. The article talks about the evolution of Slashdot, the Slashdot Effect, and even takes a light jab at Digg ("People on Digg "have the feeling that they are the ones determining what goes on the main page, and administrators on the site are all too happy to let that delusion persist," he says. "[But] stories randomly disappear. Obviously there are higher powers at work.""). It's a good read, although it makes a somewhat disturbing revelation: " It's midmorning at Slashdot as Malda bounds into his office. There's a doll of Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on his desk and a lamp filled with marbles. Anime posters cover the wall. When his cellphone rings with the presumably ironic ringtone of Britney Spears's "Baby One More Time," Malda taps the mute button. He has work to do."
Submission + - Zucker-"Apple has destroyed the music business
frdmfghtr writes: This is according to a blog at Jupiter Research. Zucker made this statement at an event organized by the Newhouse School of Public Communications. According to Zucker, Apple's resistance to flexible pricing has "destroyed the music business."
