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Submission + - Newly Declassified Window Film Keeps Out Hackers, (sciam.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A newly declassified window film from CPFilms Inc. (Solutia Inc.) will give war drivers a run for their money. As printed in a recent issue of Scientific American: Once manufactured under an exclusive contract with the U.S. government, this recently declassified window film is now available to the public. But don't expect to see it on store shelves anytime soon. Currently, it's only available directly from the manufacturer, and at prices that will likely make it prohibitive for all but the wealthiest home owners. The two-millimeter-thick coating can block Wi-Fi signals, cell phone transmissions, even the near-infrared, yet is almost transparent, making it no more intrusive than conventional window treatments. It can keep signals in (preventing attempts to spy on electronic communications) or out, minimizing radio interference and even the fabled electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generated by a nuclear blast.
United States

Submission + - Thompson to Join GOP Contest (kiplinger.com)

Submitted by
David Greenspan
David Greenspan writes: "Later this month Senator and actor Fred Thompson, (from Law and Order and other tv shows) will officially announce that he is running for President of the United States on the GOP ticket. "The former senator and actor has hired his production staff, orchestrated the advance publicity and carefully worked his audience, which is desperate for a star to lead the GOP out of its funk." Kiplinger"
Games

Submission + - Xbox 360 Failure Rate Way Higher Than Expected

Submitted by maeveth
maeveth writes: Xbox 360. Most successful console of this generation, if you judge by number of units sold worldwide and number of available games and exclusives. That said, though, it's looking like it might also be the least reliable console of its generation as well. Microsoft says the failure rate is 3-5%. However, a DailyTech poll of retailers that sell the Xbox 360 and with it an option to purchase an extended warranty shows the real figures might be closer to 30-33%. (Compare that with the Nintendo Wii, which the same retailers gave a failure rate of less than 1%.) Hey, Redmond, you listening to this?
Software

Submission + - Edge Magazine Compiles List of Top 100 Video Games

Submitted by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo
Mordok-DestroyerOfWo writes: According to the BBC, Edge Magazine has compiled a list of the top 100 video games of all time. The top 10 are rather surprising in that most of the games were released a decade or more ago. Is it possible that with all of the focus on life-like graphics and animation so pervasive on the next-gen consoles, developers have forgotten what it takes to make a game enjoyable to play? Cue the Duke Nuke'em Forever jokes in 5...4...3...2...
Microsoft

Microsoft Doesn't Care About Destroying Linux 330

Posted by CmdrTaco from the to-busy-drinking-baby-blood-i-think dept.
techie writes "A latest column on MadPenguin.org suggests that Microsoft may not be really interested in killing Linux for mainstream users. It's after something else, and it's getting its way already. Read on to find out what it is. The author states, "Love it or hate it, Microsoft's IP attacks will continue, Linux user numbers will continue to grow and broad spectrum adoption throughout the rest of the world will grow and flourish. Microsoft's not interested in destroying Linux in the slightest. Why would they? it's been a fantastic vehicle for them to land a firmer grip on the corporations throughout the US."
Portables (Games)

Submission + - DS 'Brain Game' Banned in UK (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
janitorj
janitorj writes: "According to this BBC article, the Nintendo DS puzzler 'MindQuiz' was banned from UK shelves. The woman in the story, whose father and son both had Cerebral Palsy, contacted a BBC radio program to report that she "was shocked when she had performed poorly at one part of the game and it rated her efforts in a manner derogatory to the disabled.""
It's funny. Laugh.

Pentagon Developed 'Laughing Bullets' 286

Posted by CmdrTaco from the we-must-not-have-a-hysteria-gap dept.
plasmadroid writes "It might sound like a joke, but documents unearthed by New Scientist show that the Pentagon actually funded research into 'non-lethal' bullets that would also hit a target with a dose of laughing gas. That way, they'd not only be stunned but incapacitated by fits of giggles. Another idea was to put stink bombs inside rubber bullets. I guess it would work, but the idea of crowds of rioters giggling uncontrollably while being pelted with rubber bullets is truly bizarre..."
Security

Submission + - Are Contactless Payments Really Secure? (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by
berberine
berberine writes: " As contactless payment systems begin to gain traction across the country, questions are mounting over whether or not the security backing the RF-based technology is sufficiently advanced to prevent account fraud and the theft of personal information. With contactless payment systems about to get even more popular in the United States, there are fears that the wireless technology behind those systems is not secure enough for widespread adoption, despite assurances from Visa, MasterCard, and other major players."
The Internet

A Reprieve for Internet Radio 108

Posted by Zonk from the i-can-keep-getting-my-soundtrack-fix dept.
westlake writes "In the wake of Internet Radio's Day of Silence, SoundExchange has proposed a temporary $2500 cap on advance payments 'per channel/per station.' The Digital Music Association responded immediately in its own press release that it would agree to this, but only if the term for the new arrangement were extended to 2010 — or, preferably, forever. On another front, SoundExchange seems aware in its PR that it will have to concede something more to the non-profit webcaster, if it is to avoid Congressional action."
Communications

Activation Problems in iPhone Paradise 434

Posted by Zonk from the long-wait-short-celebration dept.
Thomas Hawk writes "Unfortunately it appears that some activations of Apple's new iPhone have gone badly. After waiting in line 36 hours I'm still unable to activate my phone. I'm documenting the AT&T circus call by call on my blog. I've had my hold calls dropped, been patched into other users unable to activate their phone instead of AT&T customer service reps, been told that my wife must get a new phone and that the family plan can't work for me. I've been told that the problem is that I'm not putting a new chip into my iPhone in the slot on the left side of my phone when no slot there exists. PR Blogger Steve Rubel has also been documenting his problems on his Twitterstream. According to an unscientific poll being conducted by Engadget about half of the people who bought iPhones have had activation trouble with about 38% of problems still unresolved." Even the folks at MacWorld weren't immune to these issues.
The Internet

Submission + - Net Neutrality dismissed by FTC (for now)

Submitted by Altery
Altery writes: The FTC has issued a report on broadband competition in which the Commission argues that there is no evidence that Net Neutrality laws are needed. Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said that legislators should "proceed with caution" in addressing the issue, adding that there are more questions than answers right now about what will and won't harm consumers. Still, the report made it clear that the FTC is on the lookout for abuse, but generally the report is a big win for the telecoms.
Security

Submission + - Controversial security paper nixed from Black Hat (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "A presentation scheduled for Black Hat USA 2007 that promised to undermine chip-based desktop and laptop security has been suddenly withdrawn without explanation. The briefing, "TPMkit: Breaking the Legend of [Trusted Computing Group's Trusted Platform Module] and Vista (BitLocker)," promised to show how computer security based on trusted platform module (TPM) hardware could be circumvented. "We will be demonstrating how to break TPM," Nitin and Vipin Kumar said in their abstract for their talk that was posted on the Black Hat Web site but was removed overnight Monday. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/062707-black -hat.html"
Sci-Fi

Blade Runner at 25, Why the F/X Still Matter 454

Posted by CmdrTaco from the beware-the-thighs-that-crush dept.
mattnyc99 writes "Today marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's dark vision of the future that changed the future of filmmaking and still stands up today, argues Adam Savage of The MythBusters (and the F/X crews of The Matrix and Star Wars). Between the "lived-in science fiction," pre-CGI master models, futuristic cityscapes and tricked-out cars, don't you agree? And after we got the first official glimpse of him from Indiana Jones 4 this weekend, isn't Harrison Ford still the man?"
Censorship

Submission + - Free Speech Takes a Hit in 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "The Supreme Court tightened limits on student speech Monday, ruling against a high school student and his 14-foot-long 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' banner. Schools may prohibit student expression that can be interpreted as advocating drug use, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a 5-4 ruling. Faring better with litigation was the student's father, who was awarded $200,000 after being fired over his son's legal fight by the company that insures the Juneau schools."

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