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Crime

Robots To Patrol South Korean Prisons 113

Posted by samzenpus from the bribr-the-robot dept.
bukharin writes "As reported by various sites, South Korea is planning a trial of robotic prison guards in Pohang. The idea is that the robots will roll around the prison monitoring conditions inside the cells and communicate back to human guards if they detect a problem such as violence. Apparently the human guards are happy with the idea because they get to do less, especially overnight. And if you were worried about Skynet, you needn't be: according to Prof. Lee Baik-chul of Kyonggi University, who's running the trial, '... the robots are not terminators. Their job is not cracking down on violent prisoners. They are helpers.' Good to know."

Comment Re:the word is failed not futile (Score 1) 261

by prakslash (#37518134) Attached to: HP Spent Over $80M To Get Rid of Its CEOs
Good catch! There is indeed a subtle difference.

A futile effort is one that will not produce a desired result in the future.
A failed effort is one that did not produce a desired result in the past.

Hence, Whitman's 2008 bid was a failed bid. OTOH, Ron Paul's 2012 bid may be characterized (by some) as a futile one.

Comment Re:Do it properly or not at all (Score 1) 288

by prakslash (#37401454) Attached to: NASA Unveils Design for New Space Launch System
OK.. then you do have a beef and it is against the society which thinks that the only worthwhile projects are the ones with economic benefit. You obviously do not agree with this societal thinking.

That's all you had to say, homes. 3/4 ths of your long "Do it properly or don't do it at all" seemed to indicate otherwise.

Comment Re:under penalty of perjury (Score 5, Informative) 155

by prakslash (#37390462) Attached to: Hotfile Sues Warner Bros Over Abuse of Takedown Tool
It is apparent what is happening.

The studios are using the results of simple keyword searches to trigger takedowns. As an example, while claiming to remove files that are copies of the movie "The Box", Warner removed several files related to the alternative cancer treatment book "Cancer: Out Of The Box" Another title deleted by Warner was "The Box that Saved Britain", a production of the BBC, not Warner.

If the studios want Hotfile to spend time and resources to stop aiding in the distribution of the studios' copyrighted content, then it is also the studios' responsibility to spend their own time and resources to correctly identify their copyrighted content.
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Blizzard trademarks Mists of Pandaria (gamepron.com)

Submitted by UgLyPuNk
UgLyPuNk writes: Is Mists of Pandaria the next World of Warcraft expansion? It seems that Blizzard may have let the proverbial Pandaren out of the bag, as it’s revealed the company has registered a brand new trademark.
Television

Submission + - ActiveVideo wins $115M suit against Verizon (cio.com.au)

Submitted by swandives
swandives writes: TV infrastructure company ActiveVideo has won a US$115 million judgment against Verizon Communications for infringement of its patents.

ActiveVideo sells CloudTV, an infrastructure for delivering programming, Web content and applications to any TV set-top box and a variety of other home electronics, such as Blu-ray players. ActiveVideo sued Verizon in May 2010, alleging that the carrier violated four of its patents in the FiOS TV service that runs on Verizon's fiber-to-the-home network.
Government

Submission + - Murdoch's Drone at The Daily Might Be Illegal (forbes.com)

Submitted by nonprofiteer
nonprofiteer writes: The News Corp iPad newspaper has a drone they've been using for news gathering — mainly flying it over disaster zones in N. Dakota and Alabama. However, FAA regulations on drones are mighty restrictive at the moment, and they're not to be used for commercial purposes (tho law enforcement is free to let them fly). FAA now examining Daily's use of its drone. Could set a precedent for how private businesses can use them.

Comment Re:Never 100% safe (Score 1) 132

by prakslash (#35657586) Attached to: Attacking and Defending the Tor Network
The problem with anonymity, of course, is that it can be used for good or for bad.

On the one hand, these researchers are (admirably) trying to circumvent censorship put in place by repressive regimes. Of course, these regimes do not even care about Tor as they do not have the resources to attack it. Tor-Schmor, they will just throw a switch and cut off all internet access, period. On the other hand, we have sophisticated western organizations like the CIA and FBI that are hellbent on breaking Tor for the ostensible purpose of rooting out child porn and terrorism.

Who will win is anybody's guess.

Submission + - Missing: Multi-Channel Analog Audio on Blu-ray Pla (techofthehub.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It seems we have a mystery on our hands. Consumer electronic companies have decided to omit 5.1 or 7.1 analog audio outputs on the latest crop of Blu-ray players? A plot to get us to all buy new home theater receivers?
The Hub @TechoftheHub

Submission + - Edinburgh Scientists Build Greener Carbon Nanotube

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have created a tiny device that improves on existing forms of memory storage, opening the way to fast MP3 players, smartphones and cameras that use much less energy than current models. Usually, an electronic device converts data into signals that are stored as binary code. This latest method uses a tiny mechanical arm to translate the data into electrical signals. This allows for much faster operation and uses much less energy compared to conventional memory storage.

Submission + - Fighting fires with beams of electricity (gizmag.com) 2

Submitted by cylonlover
cylonlover writes: It's certainly an established fact that electricity can cause fires, but a group of Harvard scientists have presented their research on the use of electricity for fighting fires. In a presentation at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Dr. Ludovico Cademartiri told of how they used a unique device to shoot beams of electricity at an open flame over one foot tall. Almost immediately, he said, the flame was extinguished. On a larger scale, such a system would minimize the amount of water that needed to be sprayed into burning buildings, both saving water and limiting water damage to those buildings.
Firefox

Submission + - Firefox 4 and IE9 Begin the Race (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by derGoldstein
derGoldstein writes: ars has a short comparison of how Firefox 4 and IE9 fared since their recent launches: "It's worth noting that neither browser has been rolled out to regular end users via the standard update channels yet—the statistics are based entirely on voluntary downloads by early adopters". Though this information is obviously preliminary, Microsoft gave all non-IE browsers a considerable advantage by not allowing their newest browser to run on Windows XP.

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