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United States

Submission + - Running trail mistaken for bioterrorism threat (msn.com)

Submitted by feuerfalke
feuerfalke writes: A flour-and-chalk trail marked out by Daniel Salchow and his sister Dorothee for their running club, the Hash House Harriers, sparked fears and evacuations Thursday night, and now the siblings are finding themselves in deep trouble with New Haven police. Police were called after they were spotted sprinkling "powder" in the parking lot of an IKEA furniture store, which was later evacuated. The "powder" was, in fact, flour, which the siblings have used plenty of times before, all across the country, to mark trails for their club. The Salchow siblings are now facing felony charges, and New Haven police seek "restitution" for the resources wasted in their mistake. This sounds familiar...
Microsoft

Submission + - Vista prevents users from playing high-def content (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
jbrodkin
jbrodkin writes: "The restrictive content protection rules in Windows Vista still prevent users from playing high-definition content, more than half a year after the operating system's release, researcher Peter Gutmann said at USENIX this week. The specifications are intended to protect Hollywood copyrights, but even home movies can be blacked out by Vista because camcorders are increasingly becoming capable of shooting in HD. And that's not the only problem: Vista content protection requires so much extra encryption that system performance is being harmed significantly, Gutmann says. Since Vista lacks numerous security features that could protect users from online attacks, Gutmann wonders why Microsoft seems more intent on protecting the rights of Hollywood than the rights of its customers."
Wii

Submission + - Wii Update Kills off Freeloader/SD Media Launcher

Submitted by
Croakyvoice
Croakyvoice writes: "The latest firmware update for the Nintendo Wii has dealt users a double blow, Gamesindustry report that Freeloader which enables you to play import Gamecube titles on the Nintendo Wii is now unusable, Wii-News have also revealed that the SD Media Launcher which is a way of legally playing Gamecube homebrew on the Wii has also suffered the same fate. Nintendo have responded by saying that because it isn't an official product approved by Nintendo, there was nothing it could do."
Sony

Submission + - SOE Fires CS Executives - Ships CS to India

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Its no great secret that SOE and other game companies utilize the Indian outsource model to handle QA and CS functions. We have it on good word that SOE has decided to take any last smidgen of decency and throw it to the wind by opting to send their entire support organization to India and more specifically the IEnergizer group out of Delhi. By releiving their VP of CS in San Diego this week the deal seems final. In an era when most companies are pulling back their operations from across the globe because of poor quality mainly due to employee churn and general lack of game acumen it seems the Smed and Co. are trying to eeck out the last penny. One would think that with all the new titles on SOEs roster they might actually want to take care fo their paying customers and give them high quality support?? Hello is anyone listening...a quick perusal of the boards will tell you exactly whats going on.....Can you spell S U R V E Y...? I used to play SOE games but since the adoption of the outsourcers it became just unbearable. My requests would be bounced around like a stripper on Friday night... 3 or 4 times until it finally landed in the queue of an domestically based CSR. Now even that ray of hope has been clouded out. Kudos Smed........
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - ICE cracks down on mod chips (ice.gov) 1

Submitted by rifter
rifter writes: Today US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) led a massive raid over 16 states in order to arrest people who were allegedly engaged in the importation, installation, sale, and distribution of mod chips and swap discs for Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's XBOX and XBOX 360, and Nintendo's Wii.

I did not find a link to the CNN story but the talking heads there were claiming that just having or installing a mod chip was a felony punishable by 5 years in jail and a $500,000 fine, presumably due to the claim that these activities violate the DMCA, as stated on ICE's site. The best news of all is that there is more to come. ICE says this is part of an expanding program of IP enforcement. As they say:

"Illicit devices like the ones targeted today are created with one purpose in mind, subverting copyright protections," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These crimes cost legitimate businesses billions of dollars annually and facilitate multiple other layers of criminality, such as smuggling, software piracy and money laundering."

Obviously the many legitimate reasons for using the MOD chips (backups, foreign titles, etc.) are ignored here. So remember, kids, when you mod your Xbox the terrorists win! I guess it's a good thing for the US arm of Hezbollah they focus on fake Viagra and cigarettes. Dealing in modchips might get them caught more often.
Windows

Submission + - Vista Work-Around Highlights Security Flaws (pcworld.com)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "A simple trick has netted some developers the ability to load unsigned drivers by simply registering a tool that loads its own unsigned driver and allows any unsigned code to be placed as a driver in the kernel. And the tool is freely available. Probably more damaging that releasing this tool into the wild is what one of the developers had to say. He anonymously commented about this particular security feature of Vista and that it "doesn't prevent malware, it just prohibits freedom to choose. A signed file uniquely identifies the company that developed that file, but when companies can be created and registered in jurisdictions known for protecting the privacy of company founders and directors you have to ask what does driver signing actually represent? While driver signing certificates can be revoked, new certificates, with enough money, can be created faster than it takes to change a file's signature. If this is indeed the case, then it is the hobbyists and home user that end up paying the cost.""
Books

Submission + - Are Amazon's book recommendations getting spammy? (weberbooks.com)

Submitted by
Steve1960
Steve1960 writes: "Amazon sells millions of books by recommending new ones bought by customers with buying histories similar to yours. This "collaborative filtering" process is supposedly Amazon's crown jewel. But in a bid to increase its profits, it seems Amazon is allowing publishers to buy their way into the recommendation engine, resulting in millions of "spam" recommendations. Perhaps even more disturbing, some of the recommended books are printed by fly-by-night companies who don't even hold the copyright for the books. Read more: http://www.weberbooks.com/2007/07/are-amazons-book -recommendations.html"
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Apple sued over iPhone nonreplaceable batteries

Submitted by
UnknowingFool
UnknowingFool writes: "A customer name Jose Trujillo has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple over the iPhone batteries. According to the suit, Apple did not disclose that the batteries of the iPhone were not user-replaceable. Also the plaintiff alleges that the battery will need to replaced every year. When a battery needs to be replaced, the customer will be without a phone for several days unless the customer pays $29.95 for a loaner phone service. Lastly, the plaintiff alleges that the battery information was difficult to find on Apple's website.

  1. Technically Apple did not disclose that battery situation but it was widely reported before the iPhone was launched. Perhaps the customer did not read any reviews or has been living in a cave the last six months.
  2. The iPhone battery implementation is no different than the iPod battery implementation. Perhaps the customer has never used an iPod.
  3. The iPhone has been out less than a month. The return period on the iPhone is 14 days for a full refund unless the box has been opened which will cost 10%. So rather than return his iPhone in the first 2 weeks and take a $60 maximum charge, the customer sued instead.
  4. Since the iPhone is new, how can the plaintiff (or Apple) know how long the battery will actually last? Apple estimates that the iPhone battery life will retain 80% charge after 400 charges. Where is the plaintiff getting his information?
"
The Internet

Submission + - MySpace sends music piracy to all-time high (blorge.com)

Submitted by Squirrels
Squirrels writes: Many believe (foolishly) that large social networking site MySpace, which allows users and artists to play their favorite songs on their pages, keeps users from downloading what they can go to MySpace and hear. Not so; in fact a recent survey by Entertainment Media Research revealed that nearly half of all social networking site users partake in illegal downloading of music.
Mozilla

Submission + - Thunderbird to Leave Mozilla Foundation

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: MozillaZine is reporting that Mozilla Thunderbird is to move to a 'new separate organizational setting' as the Mozilla Foundation focuses more and more on Mozilla Firefox. Citing a blog post by Chief Lizard Wrangler Mitchell Baker, MozillaZine outlines the three possibilities for Thunderbird that are being considered: 'one is to create a entirely new non-profit, which would offer maximum independence for Thunderbird but is organisationally complex. A second option is to create a new subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation for Thunderbird, which would keep the Mozilla Foundation involved but may mean that Thunderbird continues to be neglected in favour of Firefox. A final option is to recast Thunderbird as community project, similar to SeaMonkey, and set up a small independent services and consulting company to continue development. However, there are concerns over how the Thunderbird product, project and company would interact'. Lead Thunderbird developer Scott MacGregor favours the third option.
Privacy

Submission + - Dell catching on to the "No Trial ware" sc (dell.com)

Submitted by
certain death
certain death writes: "It looks like Dell is finally catching on to the fact that people do NOT want a bunch of "Trial Ware" on new PCs. They are now offering a PC named "Vostro" that comes stripped of the crapware and with either Windows XP or Vista installed. The initial config is a bit short on memory, coming with only 512 megs, but it seems they are listening to people now. This may be in response to the fact that Wal-Mart has started providing low cost computers with only OpenOffice installed, and no Trial software. The base model starts at $399.00 and comes with a 19" LCD. This is still a bit more than the Wal-Mart model, but perhaps better quality hardware. That remains to be seen.

From the Dell advertisement:

You spoke. We listened. Introducing Dell Vostro — not just a new line of small business PCs, but a commitment to do more for your small business. They're powerful, completely customizable and backed by dedicated small business-trained technicians. Right now, get a Vostro 200 Mini Tower powered by an Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor and complete with a 19-inch monitor for just $399. But hurry — this offer ends today!"
Supercomputing

Submission + - BlueGene/L ranked 1st in top500 for the 4th time

Submitted by paleshadows
paleshadows writes: The top500 list ranks the top 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world. It is published semiannually since 1993. The new list indicates that, for the fourth straight time, IBM's BlueGene/L of LLNL claimed the No. 1 spot at ~281 TerFlops per second. But while the No. 1 is still unchallenged, the list shows a lot of shuffling and the largest turnover among list entries in the history of the top500 project. This graph enumerates the number of systems each vendor has within the list, indicating that IBM is the dominant player, but that HP rapidly closes the gap. Of the top 10, the first 8 are situated in the U.S., while No. 9 and 10 are populated by Spain and Germany, respectively. Japan's first entry is at No. 14 with the EarthSimulator, which ranked first until 2004 when it was knocked off the top by the first blue BlueGene/L system.
Businesses

Submission + - (92 mpg) fuel economy

Submitted by NoPhD
NoPhD writes: Honda's new Accord 2.2 i-CTDi Sport has this week set no fewer than 19 world speed records and achieved 3.07 litres / 100 km (92 mpg) fuel economy to boot. Amongst the speed records set, which were all achieved in Production Car Class B (2000 — 2500 cc), were 133.04 mph (1 mile flying start), 84.25 mph (1 mile standing start) and an average speed of 130.38 mph over a 24-hour endurance period. These records were all set at Papenburg high-speed oval test track in north-west Germany on 1 and 2 May, and are all subject to FIA ratification. See More Here
Printer

Submission + - CUPS Purchased by Apple Inc. (cups.org)

Submitted by Rick Richardson
Rick Richardson writes: CUPS Purchased by Apple Inc.

In February of 2007, Apple Inc. acquired ownership the CUPS source code and hired me (Michael R Sweet), the creator of CUPS.

CUPS will still be released under the existing GPL2/LGPL2 licensing terms, and I will continue to develop and support CUPS at Apple.

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