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Comment Re:gone (Score 1) 1093

"Except, the burden of proof is not on the skeptics" Actually that is completely wrong. A theory has been proposed that supposedly endangers us all. Evidence is presented. If they are wrong, there is little damage in implementing the solutions provided, and may even ultimately save us money. However, failing to act could be disasterous. "Hey Harry, I think letting the collant run out of the Reactor chamber would be bad" "Oh Geoge, you're just being an alarmist. Can you prove it is disasterous every single time?" The problem is that you can only disprove the sceptics by letting it happen, and by then it is too late. Even if the global temperature rise IS natural, and by some freak of nature, all of the pollution and CO2 we spew out has nothing to do with the excelleration, a rise in temperature is bad for us. This is simple logic. So, even IF all of these scientists are wrong, we still need to do something.

Comment It was HIS fault.... (Score 1) 902

If people become too much of a jerk, start telling their manager that you can't keep going over there to fix things "they" broke. Doesn't matter if they did. If managers think their employees are loosing time becasue they are mucking with their computer, they tend to get upset. It used to work well for me when I was doing helpdesk many years ago. I was treated like crap by the engineers until I started bring ing their managers into the process. Once the manager knew the person was costing the company money, things changed.
Software

Submission + - If Real loses, who will the MPAA chose next? (telestream.net)

Jeromey writes: While searching for software updates I was directed to Telestream.net for the latest version of Flip4Mac. While on their site I noticed that they sell an application called Drive-in (http://www.telestream.net/drive-in/overview.htm). From the site:

"Drive-in is an innovative application that allows you to store your personal DVD movie collection on your Mac. Using Drive-in you can quickly create an image of a DVD disc on your laptop or home entertainment system. The image preserves the quality, navigation and special features of the original DVD and can be played using Apple's DVD Player or Front Row."

and from the FAQs:

"Is Drive-in legal?
Under license by the DVD CCA and DVD FLLC, Drive-in creates an image that is an exact duplicate of the information that is on the owner's original DVD disc, thus preserving original content protection. In addition, Drive-in locks the software to the owner's computer and locks the images to the software. Drive-in allows users to play movie images on computers that they own, but it does not allow users to share their images with others."

How is this software any different than Real's?

If Real loses in court, do you think companies like Telestream will quietly pull their apps offline and pretend they didn't exist, or wait until they are sued by the MPAA? I know there are a lot of DVD ripping programs out there, but Telestream is a very large software/hardware company. Can large companies afford to invest in developing these kinds of legally murky apps?

Security

Submission + - Phony TCP Retransmissions Can Hide Secret Messages 2

Hugh Pickens writes: "New Scientist reports that a team of steganographers at the Institute of Telecommunications in Warsaw, Poland have figured out how to send hidden messages using the internet's transmission control protocol (TCP) using a method that might help people in totalitarian regimes avoid censorship. Web, file transfer, email and peer-to-peer networks all use TCP, which ensures that data packets are received securely by making the sender wait until the receiver returns a "got it" message. If no such acknowledgement arrives (on average 1 in 1000 packets gets lost or corrupted), the sender's computer sends the packet again in a system known as TCP's retransmission mechanism. The new steganographic system, dubbed retransmission steganography (RSTEG), relies on the sender and receiver using software that deliberately asks for retransmission even when email data packets are received successfully. "The receiver intentionally signals that a loss has occurred," says Wojciech Mazurczyk. "The sender then retransmits the packet but with some secret data inserted in it." Could a careful eavesdropper spot that RSTEG is being used because the first sent packet is different from the one containing the secret message? As long as the system is not over-used, apparently not, because if a packet is corrupted the original packet and the retransmitted one will differ from each other anyway, masking the use of RSTEG."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft hit with $200 million patent verdict (cnet.com)

Mike writes: "CNET reports that i4i, a Toronto-based firm, has been awarded US$200 million in damages from Microsoft in a patent infringement case. A Texas jury ruled that the custom XML tagging features of Word 2003 and Word 2007 infringed on an i4i patent. Although a Microsoft representative said the company was "disappointed" by the verdict and would seek to have it reversed, it's likely that the veridict will stand."
The Courts

Submission + - Church of Scientology on trial in France (theage.com.au)

Anonymous Coward writes: "A trial opened in Paris that could spell the end of the controversial Church of Scientology in France. Seven senior French officials of the church, as well as its French headquarters — the Church of Scientology-Celebrity Centre — and the headquarters' bookshop went on trial on charges of organised fraud and operating a pharmacy without a licence. A conviction on the charges could lead to a fine of up to 5 million euros ($A8.95 million) and, more importantly, the dissolution of the church in France. The case is based on complaints filed by two women in December 1998 and July 1999."
Communications

Submission + - Chemical Infofuses Communicate Without Electricity (technologyreview.com)

Al writes: "Researchers at Harvard and Tufts University have developed a way to encode messages without using electricity. David Walt, professor of chemistry at Tufts and Harvard's George Whitesides developed "infofuses" that can transmit information simply by burning. The fuses--metallic salts depositing on a nitrocellulose strand--emit pulses of infrared and visible light of different colors whose sequence encodes information. They were developed in response to a call from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for technologies to allow soldiers stranded without a power source to communicate. In the first demonstration of the idea, they used the infofuses to transmit the message "LOOK MOM NO ELECTRICITY.""
Sony

Submission + - Sony CEO proposes "Guardrails for the Internet (huffingtonpost.com) 4

testadicazzo writes: "Micheal Lynton, the guy who said " I'm a guy who doesn't see anything good having come from the Internet. Period. "has posted an editorial at the Huffington Post entitled Guardrails for the Internet , in which he defends his comment, and suggests that just as the interstate system needs guardrails, so too does the information superhighway. The following is pretty indicative of the article:

Internet users have become used to getting things when they want it and how they want it, and those of us in the entertainment business want to meet that kind of demand as efficiently and effectively as possible. But what has happened online is that if it is 'beyond store hours' and the shop is closed, a lot of people just smash the window and steal what they want. Freedom without restraint is chaos, and if we don't figure out some way to prevent online chaos, the quantity, quality and availability of the kinds of entertainment, literature, art and scholarship we need to have a healthy, vibrant culture will suffer.

"

Comment Re:Duh. (Score 1) 1601

That's great as long as there are consequences for reporting lies, and halve-truths. The problem has become that no one even gets a hand slapped when they don't research, or even make up, stories and report lies or rumors. You want to use the public airwaves? Sure, but you can't lie to the people while doing it. Combine this with government pressuring reports on what they can and can't report and we have fascism.

Comment Re:Duh. (Score 1) 1601

Just because you are a conservative, doesn't mean you are a neo-con. The Fox is biased, NOT towards liberals, but towards the neo-con agenda. I am a fiscal conservative, but a social liberal. You would think I would love Fox for the fiscal side. However, the recent and administration and Fox news are NOT conservatives. They have spent money, hand-over-fist for pork, wars and personal gain. This is not what a conservative does.

Comment Re:Duh. (Score 1) 1601

The problem with that is that the new is supposed to be a check in this system of checks and balances. That is a major reason for the freedom of the press. They are supposed to be able to investigate and criticize the government. If you bring in "news for ratings" you break the balance. The news is supposed to report...well, the news. Biases will happen, but gross, conscious biases prevent people from getting the facts. The fact that many news organizations wrote positive articles about Obama can be directly abtributed to his charisma and positive message. What I found appalling is the lack of research and fact finding the news has been doing on either side. They should have been digging deep and offering information without an agenda. Fox on the other hand was inventing stories with and obvious bias. They had nothing to back up many of the stories, but headlined them anyway. This is just irresponsible, and if someone were doing it in the liberal direction, it would be just as bad. Even if all news organizations were unbiased, you have to realize that the news will not always be in the direction you like. Putting the number of article for one candidate against the number of the other one without understanding the other factors is simply bad science and is only hurting us as a nation. Remember that the decrease in pirates is the reason for global warming... http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

Comment Re:Two words (Score 1) 3709

So, you are saying we should have elected someone else and let these issues get worse? If you can't fix it all, and instantly, we might as well give up. Many of us know reality and know the first part of getting a plan together is getting the proper people. No, these types of issues will take some time. IT is easier to mess everything up than to fix it. So, are you going to be part of the problem or the solution?
AMD

Submission + - AMD Phenom Processors Debut, Single Chip Quad Core

bigwophh writes: AMD has taken the wraps off their next generation quad-core CPU formerly code-named Barcelona, now known as the Phenom FX, Phenom X4 and Phenox X2 family of processors. Interesting notables are that the chip will have up to 4 HT links and 512KB of L2 cache per core, along with 2MB of shared L3 cache. In addition, word is that the memory controller has been tweaked for higher performance and support for 128-bit SSE instructions has been added as well. With a pair of Phenom quad cores, coupled with the just launched ATI 2000 series graphics, octa-core systems can be configured as well in what AMD is calling their FASN8 platform for enthusiasts.
The Internet

Submission + - US Defense Dept blocking YouTube, MySpace, and 11

mcgrew writes: "On the heels of yesterday's Slashdot storyabout The US military launching its own channel on YouTube, today the Chicago Tribune reports that the Defense Department is blocking YouTube, as well as MySpace and '11 other sites world wide'. From TFA:

The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.

The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.

Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many soldiers and sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"

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