Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Even More Interesting... (Score 1) 391

by Aoreias (#36562158) Attached to: LulzSec Document Dump Shows Cops' Fear of iPhones
So if the phone is lawfully taken as evidence, the police shouldn't be able to employ ways to prevent you from tampering with it?

As private citizens we do certainly have an expectation of privacy, with the realization that right can be abridged with DUE PROCESS of law. Are you saying that if I'm caught on the phone after a bank heist, the police shouldn't be able to see who I called from that phone?

This is one part of the article that I don't have any problems with the cops' behavior.
Android

Google Sued For Tracking Users' Locations 266

Posted by Soulskill from the privacy-headlines-autoconvert-to-lawsuits-now dept.
RedEaredSlider writes "Two Android phone users are suing Google for $50 million in the wake of revelations that their phones might be tracking their locations. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on April 27, is seeking class-action status. The plaintiffs, Julie Brown and Kayla Molaski, are residents of Oakland County. The two say in the suit that Google's privacy policy did not say that the phones broadcast their location information. Further, they say Google knew that most users would not understand that the privacy policy would allow for Google to track users' locations." Apple was sued for their location tracking last week. According to Boy Genius Report, iOS tracking will be addressed in version 4.3.3, which is due out within a couple weeks.

Comment Re:Have to punch it in at the gas stations now (Score 1) 461

by Aoreias (#35171444) Attached to: Court Says California Stores Can't Ask Customers For ZIP Codes
Last time I filled my car up with gas I've put in the wrong ZIP code, and been forced to take my card to the attendant. I suspect that they actually check it, but if its after hours and no attendant is available would rather have the sale than send you to a different gas station. They probably assume (correctly) that you'd rather take the 30 seconds and take it inside than get back in your car and drive somewhere else.
Movies

3D Cinema Doesn't Work and Never Will 436

Posted by timothy from the tell-that-to-seth-rogan dept.
circletimessquare writes "Walter Murch, one of the most technically knowledgeable film editors and sound designers in the film industry today, argues, via Rogert Ebert's journal in the Chicago Sun-Times, that 3D cinema can't work, ever. Not just today's technology, but even theoretically. Nothing but true holographic images will do. The crux of his argument is simple: 600 million years of evolution has designed eyes that focus and converge in parallel, at the same distance. Look far away at a mountain, and your eyes focus and converge far away, at the same distance. Look closely at a book, and your eyes focus and converge close, at the same distance. But the problem is that 3D cinema technology asks our eyes to converge at one distance, and focus at another, in order for the illusion to work, and this becomes very taxing, if not downright debilitating, and even, for the eyes of the very young, potentially developmentally dangerous. Other problems (but these may be fixable) include the dimness of the image, and the fact that the image tends to 'gather in,' even on Imax screens, ruining the immersive experience."
Graphics

Nvidia Unveils New Mid-Range GeForce Graphics Card 158

Posted by timothy from the waiting-for-shills-to-plug-their-versions dept.
crookedvulture writes "Nvidia has uncorked another mid-range graphics card, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti. Every tech site on the web seems to have coverage of this new $250 offering, and The Tech Report's review will tell you all you need to know about the various flavors available, including how their performance compares to cards from 2-3 years ago. Interestingly, the review concludes that pretty much any modern mid-range graphics card offers smooth frame rates while playing the latest games at the common desktop resolution of 1920x1080. You may want to pay closer attention to power consumption and noise levels when selecting a new card."
The Military

Military Appoints General To Direct Cyber Warfare 132

Posted by timothy from the barry-corbin-not-available dept.
An anonymous reader writes news from The Guardian, excerpting: "The US military has appointed its first senior general to direct cyber warfare – despite fears that the move marks another stage in the militarisation of cyberspace. The newly promoted four-star general, Keith Alexander, takes charge of the Pentagon's ambitious and controversial new Cyber Command, designed to conduct virtual combat across the world's computer networks. He was appointed on Friday afternoon in a low-key ceremony at Fort Meade, in Maryland."
Microsoft

Microsoft Facing Class-Action Suit Over Xbox Live Points 107

Posted by Soulskill from the demo-suit-is-free dept.
An anonymous reader tips news that a lawyer in Pennsylvania has filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging that the company's handling of Xbox Live transactions is, in some cases, fraudulent. "Samuel Lassoff, of Horsham, PA, said an invoice he received earlier this month from Microsoft included charges for purchases he couldn't complete due to a balky download system — and he claimed it wasn't an accident. Microsoft 'engaged in a scheme to unjustly enrich itself through their fraudulent handling' of his account, Lassoff charged in papers filed earlier this week in US District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania. ... 'Microsoft breached that contract by collecting revenues for digital goods and services which were not provided,' Lassoff said in his lawsuit."
Earth

Researchers Pooh-Pooh Algae-Based Biofuel 238

Posted by timothy from the feed-it-pooh-pooh-undies dept.
Julie188 writes "Researchers from the University of Virginia have found that current algae biofuel production methods consume more energy, have higher greenhouse gas emissions and use more water than other biofuel sources, such as switchgrass, canola and corn. The researchers suggest these problems can be overcome by situating algae production ponds behind wastewater treatment facilities to capture phosphorous and nitrogen — essential algae nutrients that otherwise need to come from petroleum."
Image

Facebook Master Password Was "Chuck Norris" Screenshot-sm 319

Posted by samzenpus from the ad-nauseum-roundhouse dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "A Facebook employee has given a tell-all interview with some very interesting things about Facebook's internals. Especially interesting are all the things relating to Facebook privacy. Basically, you don't have any. Nearly everything you've ever done on the site is recorded into a database. While they fire employees for snooping, more than a few have done it. There's an internal system to let them log into anyone's profile, though they have to be able to defend their reason for doing so. And they used to have a master password that could log into any Facebook profile: 'Chuck Norris.' Bruce Schneier might be jealous of that one."
The Military

Aging Nuclear Stockpile Good For Decades To Come 160

Posted by kdawson from the still-go-boom dept.
pickens writes "The NY Times reports that the Jason panel, an independent group of scientists advising the federal government on issues of science and technology, has concluded that the program to refurbish aging nuclear arms is sufficient to guarantee their destructiveness for decades to come, obviating a need for a costly new generation of more reliable warheads, as proposed by former President Bush. Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and other Republicans have argued that concerns are growing over the reliability of the US's aging nuclear stockpile, and that the possible need for new designs means the nation should retain the right to conduct underground tests of new nuclear weapons. The existing warheads were originally designed for relatively short lifetimes and frequent replacement with better models, but such modernization ended after the US quit testing nuclear arms in 1992. All weapons that remain in the arsenal must now undergo a refurbishment process, known as life extension. The Jason panel found no evidence that the accumulated changes from aging and refurbishment posed any threat to weapon destructiveness, and that the 'lifetimes of today's nuclear warheads could be extended for decades, with no anticipated loss of confidence.' But the panel added that federal indifference could undermine the nuclear refurbishment program (as this report from last May illustrates). Quoting the report (PDF): 'The study team is concerned that this expertise is threatened by lack of program stability, perceived lack of mission importance and degradation of the work environment.'"

Comment Re:Doesn't matter. (Score 1) 498

by Aoreias (#26679049) Attached to: Judge Rules WoW Bot Violates DMCA
This ruling may follow the letter of the law in a narrow interpretation, but not the spirit of the law.

Anyone that is already using Glider already has the ability to see any of the encounters in the game. While the purpose of other copyright-circumventing devices is to display content the user hasn't economically paid for, with Glider the user has already paid for seeing all of the content.

The intended purpose of the law was to protect revenue streams of companies by ensuring that users pay for access to copyrightable works. Blizzard is using the law in this instance to protect their revenue stream by preventing other players from quitting the game, not using it to ensure that unauthorized users don't have access.

The real problem is that Blizzard is saying 'This using broke the cheating rule, therefore they were in violation of the EULA, therefore they weren't an authorized user, therefore any attempt to go around that protection is against the law', but glider's primary purpose is to allow cheating.

(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;

Circumventing Warden is not the primary purpose of Glider, but rather is a secondary function in order to allow the primary purpose.
Robotics

Packs of Robots Will Hunt Down Uncooperative Humans 395

Posted by Soulskill from the you've-been-warned dept.
Ostracus writes "The latest request from the Pentagon jars the senses. At least, it did mine. They are looking for contractors to 'develop a software/hardware suite that would enable a multi-robot team, together with a human operator, to search for and detect a non-cooperative human subject. The main research task will involve determining the movements of the robot team through the environment to maximize the opportunity to find the subject ... Typical robots for this type of activity are expected to weigh less than 100 Kg and the team would have three to five robots.'" To be fair, they plan to use the Multi-Robot Pursuit System for less nefarious-sounding purposes as well. They note that the robots would "have potential commercialization within search and rescue, fire fighting, reconnaissance, and automated biological, chemical and radiation sensing with mobile platforms."
Biotech

Super-Light Plastic As Strong as Steel 226

Posted by Zonk from the mini-factory-with-micro-workers dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "A new composite plastic built layer by layer has been created by engineers at the University of Michigan. This plastic is as strong as steel. It has been built the same way as mother-of-pearl, and shows similar strength. Interestingly, this 300-layer plastic has been built with 'strong' nanosheets of clay and a 'fragile' polymer called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), commonly used in paints and glue, which acts as 'Velcro' to envelop the nanoparticles. This new plastic could soon be used to design light but strong armors for soldiers or police officers. The researchers also think this material could be used in biomedical sensors and unmanned aircraft."
Toys

How To Turn a Mini Maglite Into a Laser 605

Posted by samzenpus from the a-thousand-tiny-burn-marks dept.
Lucas123 writes "Using the laser from a DVD burner, this instructional video shows you how to create a hand-held laser that is powerful enough to light a match and pop a balloon. There's some soldering involved and the Maglite's bulb housing needs to be drilled out to fit the new laser diode, but with some basic skill, most people could do this. Just plain cool." Update: 07/09 12:23 GMT by KD : Warning, the device that results from following these instructions will blind you if you look into it.

Slashdot Top Deals

The use of money is all the advantage there is to having money. -- B. Franklin

Close