drmarcj - Slashdot User

Submission + - Asus stuns Computex with $189 laptop (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by

slashthedot

on Saturday June 09, 2007 @04:05PM

slashthedot writes: "As if Intel's cheap laptop release last month wasn't enough, Asus sprang a surprise during Intel's Computex keynote today with the announcement of a $189 laptop.
The notebook uses a custom-written Linux operating system, measures roughly 120 x 100 x 30mm (WDH) and weighs only 900g, boots in 15 seconds from its solid-state hard disk. Asus chairman Jonney Shih claimed the 3ePC would be available in all areas of the world, not only developing nations.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/114773/asus-stuns-comp utex-with-100-laptop.html"

Sony Sued for Blu-Ray Patent Violation 153

Posted by Zonk on Friday May 25, 2007 @10:23AM from the how-shiny-is-too-shiny dept.

Jaidan writes "According to a Gamespot article, a California-based company named Target Technology is suing Sony over patents it allegedly holds for silver based reflective surfaces. The suit claims that products marketed under the Blu-ray name infringe on a patent it owns for reflective layer materials in optical discs. Target is seeking a permanent injunction preventing Sony from violating its patent rights in the future, as well as damages with interest, multiplied due to what it characterizes as deliberate and willful infringement. ' The patent addresses what Target called a need for specific types of silver-based alloys with the advantages (but not the price) of gold. According to the patent, the alloys are also more resistant to corrosion than pure silver. Target does not specify in its suit whether it believes all of Sony's Blu-ray discs infringe on its patent, or the suit applies to just a portion of the discs manufactured. The patent was filed in April of 2004 and granted in March of 2006.'"

Submission + - Best Buy Accused of Overcharging

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 25, 2007 @10:18AM

An anonymous reader writes: Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has accused Best Buy of overcharging. It is said that, customers would see one price on Best Buy's website, but when they got to the store the salesscum would show them a different internal site from a kiosk. Best Buy denies the charges. Link

Submission + - Finnish court rules CSS "ineffective"

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 25, 2007 @09:21AM

An anonymous reader writes: In an unanimous decision released today, Helsinki District Court ruled that Content Scrambling System (CSS) used in DVD movies is "ineffective". The decision is the first in Europe to interpret new copyright law amendments that ban the circumvention of "effective technological measures".

http://www.turre.com/blog/?p=102

British Traffic Wardens Issued CCTV Head Cameras 410

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday May 23, 2007 @11:54PM from the microphone-shoe-soon-to-come dept.

Rick writes "The Surveillance Society of Great Britain has taken another turn for the worse, as traffic wardens in Eccles, Manchester are being issued with CCTV head sets and given the legal power to impose fines of up to £80 for littering and other anti social behavior"

Submission + - Hack My Son's Computer, Please

Submitted by SafteyInNumbers on Wednesday May 23, 2007 @04:37PM

SafteyInNumbers writes: Can an elderly father give police permission to search a password-protected computer kept in his adult son's bedroom, without probable cause or a warrant? In April, a three judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said yes. This week, the son's attorney, Melissa Harrison, an assistant federal public defender in Kansas City, will ask the court to reconsider the panel's ruling. At stake is whether law enforcement will have any responsibility to respect passwords and other expressions of user privacy when searching devices which contain the most sensitive kinds of private information. In United States v. Andrus (.pdf), agents suspected that the defendant was accessing websites containing child pornography, but after eight months of investigation still did not have sufficient probable cause to get a search warrant. Instead, they decided to drop by the defendant's house for an impromptu conversation. The suspect was not at home. However, his 91-year-old father answered the door in his pajamas, invited the agents in, and eventually gave them permission to enter his son's bedroom and search the hard drive on his son's password-protected computer. The agents used EnCase to perform the search, a common forensic tool programmed to ignore Windows logon passwords. Agents found child pornography on the computer. Without a judge's permission, the search depended on the father's authority to allow police access to his son's computer. On this point, the fact that the son locked his parents out of the computer with a password is critical. http://www.wired.com/politics/law/commentary/circu itcourt/2007/05/circuitcourt_0523 Looks like it's time to dust off those encryption programs.

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