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Music

Submission + - Teen "Pirate" Sues Record Industry

Submitted by wile_e_wonka
wile_e_wonka writes: A 16-year-old boy being sued for online music piracy is fighting back. He has accused the recording industry on Tuesday of violating antitrust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats. In papers responding to a lawsuit filed by five record companies, Robert Santangelo, who was as young as 11 when the alleged piracy occurred, denied ever disseminating music and said it's impossible to prove that he did.
Education

Submission + - Is the US Failing at Math Instruction?

Submitted by Coryoth
Coryoth writes: While US students continue to do well on specific skill and benchmark focussed tests, things look less positive in exams that consider a wider understanding of mathematics and problems solving skills (see, for example, the 2003 PISA study of mathematics and science skills for 15 year olds in OECD countries): the US is slipping behind noticeably. At the same time there is a growing amount of discontent with modern approaches to mathematics instruction in the US. Is the US heading in the wrong direction in how it teaches mathematics?
The Internet

Submission + - Politic in Netherlands Think About Internet Tax

Submitted by
robinvanleeuwen
robinvanleeuwen writes: "Two political parties in the Netherlands are thinking about introducing a
tax for internet that will compensate the music industry for their loss of
income due to illegal downloading.

Nicolien Vroonhoven (member of politic party CDA) says: "In practice you see that
many people who use the internet also illegaly download"

—

Following a bablefish translation of the original dutch article on:
http://www.nu.nl/news/957277/52/PvdA_en_CDA_denken _na_over_heffing_internetabonnement.html

PvdA and CDA thinks Internet subscription after concerning levy read

Spent: 26 January 2007 10.28
Last modified: 26 January 2007 16.45
AMSTERDAM — plate societies would have accept that by means of Internet unpaid music is copied. If financial compensation could would be considered in that case a levy on Internet subscriptions. That says PvdA-Kamerlid Martijn of dam in an interview with NU.nl.

"we must be realistic", thus of dam, Internet spokesman for the PvdA. "it is not fine to hear for muzikanten, but it is a lost fight to copy on Internet to reduce", says of dam.

The plate societies have also reached themselves the conclusion that kopieerbeveiligingen do not work. There needs, as it happens, but the one someone beveiliging to break through and the product stands on Internet. The moment protection or suppression becomes more malignant, directly also technique becomes more malignant exchange music.

The Dutch line organisation for the music industry NVPI made recently confessed that music societies none more use of kopieerbeveiliging on muziek-cd's, because the costs do not even out the results.

Levy

To approach the muzikanten and authors, see of dam a possibility of laying levies on Internet movement. "the chamber was against levies on Mp3-spelers whereas there are also beveiligingen", thus of dam.

As plate societies less molars for beveiliging and DRM, if they accept that there is copied, then can it talk there concerning more compensation by means of levies. The degree of protection and levies is himself in communicating barrels. Of dam it finds more logical than levies lay on Internet movement, then on products.

CDA

CDA also philosophises concerning such a Internet levy. "in practice to see you that many people who Internet uses illegally will download", thus cda-Kamerlid Nicolien of Vroonhoven compared with NU.nl. "condition for such a levy is, however, that people must pay then not also once more for downloading music himself."

The culture spokesman of the cda-fractie recognises that the protection of copyright is a complicated subject. It is difficult there get the finger. Technology goes very fast.

Update of dam emphasise Friday in a response that its party has no concrete plans for Internet levies. It would go for a ' purely hypothetical idea pace '."
Robotics

Submission + - Caterpillars Seen as Model for Better Robots

Submitted by anthemaniac
anthemaniac writes: Barry Trimmer at Tufts University heads a project to develop softer and more flexible robots by using new materials and different paradigms. They're studying the neural circuitry that allows caterpillars to be nimble and flexible with such simple minds. From the story: 'Developing robots with more fluid movements would allow them to climb textured surfaces, crawl along wires, or burrow into confined spaces.' Applications seen in medicine and space, among others.
Biotech

Submission + - Shiny nanoparticles for new sensors

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "Every other week, some scientists say that they have found the perfect sensors to be used to detect environmental pollution or contamination of food products. Today, researchers at UC Davis say they have created luminescent nanoparticles that could also be used for medical diagnostics. These nanoparticles are coated in a shell of europium which emits red light at a very specific wavelength when stimulated with a laser. These nanoparticles, which are inexpensive to make, can also be manipulated with magnets and detected by fluorescence. Read more for additional details and images."
Education

Professors To Ban Students From Citing Wikipedia 507

Posted by Zonk from the we-have-these-things-called-books dept.
Inisheer writes "History professors at Middlebury College are tired of having all their students submit the same bad information on term papers. The culprit: Wikipedia — the user-created encyclopedia that's full of great stuff, and also full of inaccuracies. Now the the entire History department has voted to ban students from citing it as a resource. An outright ban was considered, but dropped because enforcement seemed impossible. Other professors at the school agree, but note that they're also enthusiastic contributors to Wikipedia. The article discusses the valuable role that Wikipedia can play, while also pointed out the need for critical and primary sources in college-level research." What role, if any, do you think Wikipedia should play in education?
Microsoft

Submission + - Dell to end XP on Dimensions by Jan. 26, 2007

Submitted by mystictuba
mystictuba writes: I just got an email from my Dell Rep, and it seems that Dell will no longer be selling Inspirons and Dimensions with Windows XP starting Jan 26 2007 (in Canada). While this may not be a big deal to the average home user, small businesses which have standardized on XP and are not ready to migrate to Vista will have to either purchase Latitudes and Optiplexes (significantly more expensive) or find another supplier willing to sell them XP.

I guess we should have expected this, but so soon?
Movies

Submission + - Bypass Netflix 'Watch Now' time limit

Submitted by
vee_anon
vee_anon writes: "I've discovered a method for viewing Netflix 'Watch Now' movies without having it deduct time from your account. Additionally, you can also choose whatever quality video you want to view without being limited to what Netflix determines.

Here is how:
  1. Login to Netflix with IE (or Firefox using the UserAgent spoofer) and goto the Watch Now tab. Choose whatever movie you want and click Play.
  2. After the Netflix movie loads you get the popup box prompting you to accept the license and click play. Don't click play — click Cancel instead.
  3. You will now see this message: "Windows Media Player has experienced an error: MediaError(0)"
  4. Right click on the webpage, somewhere outside of the video player and choose 'View Source' and you should get the source code of the webpage opened in Notepad.
  5. Do a find/search for: var WNPlaylistMovie
    This will be about midway down in the code.
  6. If you scroll to the right, you will start to see the URL's of the actual movie files, in increasing order of their quality. So the first one is the worst quality (about 100MB to download) and keep scrolling to the right and the last one will be the highest quality (about 1.4GB to download)

    The url of the movie will look something like this:http://index.ehub.netflix.com/item?x=U8wlKQQS AYM_Hlg-1Z094oB-wVes8acegEJe01iGIoE5Mpn1O4prcUs_Fs wmVi2X6Ze7rNzN-4i0ky2B0aHrQl4U01uCXZRpnB4 .
  7. Just copy and paste the URL's like this into a new browser window address bar. It will either prompt you to download the files, or open them automatically in Windows Media Player.
  8. If they open in Windows Media Player just accept the license agreement that pops up and then goto File > Save Media As... and you will now be able to save it to your hard drive.
This has been tested will multiple movies and has been verified not to subtract any time from your account if you download them and view them or stream them through Windows Media Player, which leads me to believe the time tracking of the viewing is done through the embedded Netflix Video Player. Also, since these files are DRM'd you will still need to have a valid Netflix account to watch them but it does get you around the quality limitations. Netflix has been notified about this poor system design, but has not responded."
The Courts

Submission + - British Police Identify Killer in Radiation Case

Submitted by
reporter
reporter writes: "According to a story by the Associated Press and a front-page story by "The Guardian", British authorities have identified Andrei Lugovoi to be the murderer who used radioactive pollonium-210 to kill Andrei Litvinenko. The British government will ask Moscow to extradite Lugovoi. "The Guardian" states, "The British government is preparing to demand the extradition of a Russian businessman to stand trial for the poisoning with polonium-210 of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko. Senior Whitehall officials have told the Guardian that a Scotland Yard file on the murder which is about to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service alleges that there is sufficient evidence against Andrei Lugovoi for the CPS to decide whether he should face prosecution.""

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