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Businesses

AT&T Offering Merger Concessions 98

Posted by CowboyNeal from the speeding-things-along dept.
TheFarmerInTheDell writes that AT&T is offering concessions to make their merger with SBC happen as fast as possible. From the article: "AT&T filed a letter of commitment with the [Federal Communications Commission] Thursday night that adds a number of new conditions to the deal, including a promise to observe 'network neutrality' principles, an offer of affordable stand-alone digital subscriber line service and divestment of some wireless spectrum."

Microsoft Formally Releases Robotics Software 173

Posted by Zonk from the i-am-the-atomic-microsoft-robot-please-give-my-best-wishes-to-everybody dept.
futuresheet writes "Microsoft formally released its robotics software yesterday, giving would-be robot builders a new tool to make them do the things they do. The license for the software is $399, and the 'standard' Pioneer P3DX robot that's made for home use is $40,000. Just the same, if you want to give it a try, it is downloadable for free for non-commercial use, and includes a simulator to try things out on your computer." From the article: "It represents a new effort for the company that has Chairman Bill Gates raving about potential growth in a robotics industry that's already worth an estimated $11 billion a year or more. '[A]s I look at the trends that are now starting to converge, I can envision a future in which robotic devices will become a nearly ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives,' Gates writes in the January issue of Scientific American. Microsoft is not making robots. Its Robotics Studio is software designed to program the devices to collect data from an array of sensors and perform all manner of functions."
Movies

Submission + - World's first jail sentence for BitTorrent piracy

Submitted by
Rob T Firefly
Rob T Firefly writes: "Hong Kong newspaper The Standard reports on what seems to be the world's first case of a BitTorrent movie pirate being sent to jail. After losing his appeal against a November 2005 conviction, Chan Nai-ming, a 38-year-old BitTorrent user known as "Big Crook," has begun serving a prison sentence for making the films "Daredevil," "Miss Congeniality," and "Red Planet" available for download via BitTorrent. His appeal was based on the fact that he did not profit from the piracy.

From the article:
[Appeals Judge] Beeson noted [convicting magistrate] MacIntosh, in handing out the sentence, was fully aware of the noncommercial nature of the case, but measured the seriousness of the case by the harm done to the moviemakers — not by the gain made by the offender. Chan, and those in the chatroom, "were aware of the possible criminal implications of uploading films to the system," Beeson wrote.

She also noted the sentence was already drastically reduced, from a maximum of four years, to three months, in order "to reflect the novelty of the conviction."
"
Security

Submission + - How safe are electronic medical records?

Submitted by Austerlitz28
Austerlitz28 writes: With the Bush administration pushing health care organizations, insurers, and U.S. citizens to get behind the computerization of medical records, it's time to take a closer look at the risks of going digital. In this story, Baseline explains how electronic medical records can put innocent people at risk to identity theft.
http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2069952 ,00.asp

From the story: "People whose health records are stolen and falsified may get the wrong medical treatment, find their insurance exhausted or become uninsurable, says Pam Dixon, executive director of World Privacy Forum and author of a report, Medical Identity Theft: The Information Crime that Can Kill You. Medical ID theft "can affect your health and well-being," she warns.

The World Privacy Forum says 500,000 people may be victims of medical identity theft, based on numbers reported by the Federal Trade Commission in 2003. And the problem may worsen, especially as more and more health-care providers move from paper to electronic records, Dixon says."
Math

Submission + - New rules outlaw melting pennies, nickels

Submitted by
ealbers
ealbers writes: " USA Today is reporting that the treasury department would liek to remind people that melting pennies and nickels for profit is illegal. Currently a pennies metal is worth 1.12 cents! (12% profit) And a Nickel is 6.99 cents or 39% profit! The FED needs to stop printing so much money, soon it will be cheap to wallpaper your walls with dollar bills (currently $9.60/sq foot)"
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Complete Tron Costume Forsale on Ebay!

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "A Complete hero costume from Tron is now up for sale on Ebay!

Link to Auction This complete costume consists of a full-length body suit, a helmet, corresponding left and right shoulder armor and forearm plates and a pair of boots. The special detailing on the helmet and armor were hand-applied to resemble electronic circuits. The costume pieces are attributed to a number of different leading characters/actors which are noted inside the pieces: "Cindy", "Flynn", "Bruce" and "BB" . Very few of these costumes survived production due to their fragile nature. The helmet is especially rare, as it still retains its back neck protector. This is believed to be one of the most complete Tron costumes in existence."

Biotech

Submission + - Rare mutation in boy leads to perfect pain-killer

Submitted by
mrcgran
mrcgran writes: "Scientists of the University of Cambridge, after studying a rare genetic mutation in a gene called SCN9A in three Pakistani families whose members were unable to feel any pain at all, are announcing the discovery of a neurotransmitter protein that is being touted as the perfect target for powerful new classes of analgesics and cronic pain therapies. Their results can potentially lead to a complete elimination of pain with no side effects, even in extreme conditions such as heavy injuries, surgery, cancer and arthritis. The paper was published online yesterday in Nature. You may prefer to read the story, the editor's summary or the paper abstract.

From the article: "The study began when doctors in northern Pakistan examined a remarkable group of related families in which several individuals seem entirely unaffected by pain. Their attention was first attracted by one member of the clan, a locally famous boy who performed street theatre involving walking on burning coals and stabbing his arms with knives.""
Wii

Submission + - Wii remote Linux driver

Submitted by Espinas217
Espinas217 writes: So you want to play with your Wii and the little penguin? Take a look at this guy's project, they want to join the two worlds and started making drivers for the Wii remote for Linux so you can control your mouse with the wiimote.
From their site:
WiiLi is our long goal: Linux for the Wii. Before WiiLi comes WiiLi Live, a Live CD that turns standard PCs into a media and gaming center designed around the Wii Remote. We're developing on PCs right now, with hopes of porting WiiLi to the Wii later on.
For those of you who don't like to read here is a nice video of the wiimote used to draw in Inkscape
Google

Submission + - Using Google Earth to show the impact of logging

Submitted by tigerquoll
tigerquoll writes: According to the Age newspaper Australian anti-logging groups are using Google Earth to show the impact of forest clearing. At least two groups — the Tasmanian arm of The Wilderness Society and the Victorian Rainforest Network (VRN) — have created Google Earth "overlays", which can be downloaded from their websites.
Google

Google Patents the Design of Search Results Page 114

Posted by kdawson from the look-and-feel dept.
prostoalex writes "ZDNet is reporting that USPTO issued a patent to Google, Inc. for 'ornamental design for a graphical user interface'. This is not, as ZDNet points out, a software patent (which is usually issued as a utility patent), but a design patent, which governs the look and feel of the product and prevents others from directly copying it." Ironic, given Google's recent slip-up of copying a Yahoo page. In news on the flipside, Google has launched a patent search service (in beta).
The Almighty Buck

Google Offers Innovative Stock Option Scheme 84

Posted by kdawson from the sweat-equity dept.
PreacherTom writes "In a bid to breathe new life into scandal-tainted stock options, Google plans to give employees a novel method of cashing in their options. The search giant will let employees sell their vested stock options to selected financial institutions in an auction marketplace it's setting up with Morgan Stanley. In the last year, employees and employers have been 'punished' by the IRS with new rules requiring options to show up as an expense on the bottom line. This has caused companies to tone down the granting of options. Google's move could once more significantly change compensation for employees in many industries, including tech." The new plan is intended only for Google employees, not executives. Google's motive is not saving money but rather continuing to retain employees with stock incentives in the face of considerable price volatility.
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Taxing Virtual Gaming Assets

Submitted by
rijit
rijit writes: "Daniel Terdiman over at Cnet News.com reports the IRS will likely start taxing in game assets. Quote: "That's because game publishers may well in the not too distant future have to send the forms — which individuals receive when earning nonemployee income from companies or institutions — to virtual world players engaging in transactions for valuable items like Ultima Online castles, EverQuest weapons or Second Life currency, even when those players don't convert the assets into cash." Read the Full article at: Cnet News.com:IRS taxation of online game virtual assets inevitable"
Books

Submission + - Case Studies on FOSS for Development

Submitted by
capikul
capikul writes: "Over the last few years, as Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has matured and become more widely accepted, many projects have been carried out that attempt to make use of FOSS to help bring about socio-economic development and empower people in developing countries or regions. Some of these projects are highlighted in this compilation of 14 FOSS case studies from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. The benefits obtained and challenges encountered, as well as valuable lessons learned are also highlighted. With the publication of this compilation, it is hoped that there will be greater awareness of the ability of FOSS to empower and help poorer and less developed communities.

This compilation of free and open source software (FOSS) case studies is a joint initiative of UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (http://www.apdip.net), the International Open Source Network (http://www.iosn.net), the International Development Research Centre (http://www.idrc.ca) of Canada, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (http://www.unesco.org)."
Software

Software Used To Predict Who Might Kill 361

Posted by kdawson from the three-psychics-in-a-pool dept.
eldavojohn writes "Richard Berk, a University of Pennsylvania criminologist, has worked with authorities to develop a software tool that predicts who will commit homicide. I could not find any papers published on this topic by Berk, nor any site stating what specific Bayesian / decision tree algorithm / neural net is being implemented." From the article: "The tool works by plugging 30 to 40 variables into a computerized checklist, which in turn produces a score associated with future lethality. 'You can imagine the indicators that might incline someone toward violence: youth; having committed a serious crime at an early age; being a man rather than a woman, and so on. Each, by itself, probably isn't going to make a person pull the trigger. But put them all together and you've got a perfect storm of forces for violence,' Berk said. Asked which, if any, indicators stood out as reliable predicators of homicide, Berk pointed to one in particular: youthful exposure to violence." The software is to enter clinical trials next spring in the Philadelphia probation department. Its intent is to serve as a kind of triage: to let probation caseworkers concentrate most of their effort on the former offenders most likely to be most dangerous.

Feed Blip Festival: 8-Bit Is Enough (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Fans and DJs celebrate music made from tweaked Game Boys and other circuit-bent gear. No blipper-than-thou scensters can spoil the dance party. In Table of Malcontents.


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