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Wikipedia

Submission + - Wikimedia UK's chair banned...from Wikipedia (telegraph.co.uk) 3

Larry Sanger writes: "The Chair of Wikimedia UK, a £1 million charity independent of the Wikimedia Foundation, was banned 11 days ago, for allegedly posting bondage porn of himself and otherwise violating Wikipedia policies. So he was removed as head of WMUK, right? Er, no. On July 26, their Board declared their "united" support of Van Haeften. So the chair of Wikipedia's UK £1 million charity is not permitted to edit Wikipedia. The Chair of the UK's Wikipedia charity is not permitted to edit Wikipedia. So this immediately became a big scandal, right? Er, no. Wikipedia routinely gets a pass for its many foibles. The first mainstream story to appear about it came out just this morning in the Telegraph. More background here."

Comment Toothbrush (Score 1) 3

Without the image filter (something all other major sites have) if you search on Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons for normal, everyday items such as' necklace', 'toothbrush' or, in French, 'homework' (devoir) you get as your top or second hit, porn. Children are encouraged to use these resources. Teens are often admin on these sites, cataloging and categorizing the porn. Yech.
Wikipedia

Submission + - What should we do about Wikipedia's porn problem? (larrysanger.org) 3

Larry Sanger writes: "In 2011, the Wikimedia Board committed to installing a "controversial content" filter even weaker than Google's SafeSearch, as proposed by the "2010 Wikimedia Study of Controversial Content." Since then, after growing opposition by some Wikipedians, some board members have made it clear that they do not expect this filter to be finished and installed. Nevertheless, as TFA makes clear, Wikipedia continues to host an enormous amount of extremely gross porn and other material most parents don't want their kids stumbling across. And this content is some of the website's most-accessed. Nevertheless, children remain some of Wikipedia's heaviest users. Jimmy Wales has recently reiterated his support for such a filter, but no work is being done on it, and the Foundation has not yet issued any statement about whether they intend to continue work on it."
Earth

Submission + - Chinese Dragon Explores .67 Leagues Under the Sea

Hugh Pickens writes: "Earlier this summer when three Chinese scientists descended to a depth of more than 0.6 leagues under the sea in a craft the size of a small truck and planted their nation’s flag on the dark seabed at 3,759 meters, they signaled Beijing's intention to take the lead in exploring remote and inaccessible parts of the ocean floor which are rich in oil, minerals and other resources that the Chinese would like to mine. "They're in it for a penny and a pound," says Dr. Don Walsh, a pioneer of deep-ocean diving. "It's a very deliberate program." The global seabed is littered with what experts say is trillions of dollars' worth of mineral nodules as well as many objects of intelligence value: undersea cables carrying diplomatic communications, lost nuclear arms, sunken submarines and hundreds of warheads left over from missile tests. The small craft that made the trip — named Jiaolong, after a mythical sea dragon — is meant to go as deep as 7,000 meters, or 4.35 miles, edging out the current global leader but China is moving cautiously, its dives going deeper in increments. "They're being very cautious," Walsh adds. "They respect what they don't know and are working hard to learn."""

Comment This has massive implications (Score 1) 1

The social commentary site 'People of Wal-Mart' will have a sudden increase in page hits. Smileys will become omnipresent on the Web - no, wait... Muscle shirts, ball caps, and spandex pants will become stylish again. Google Trends will report 'beef franks' as the hottest topic. Linux will be ported to CB radios.

Comment Support (Score 1) 1

The entering wedge for these devices is in the enterprise, so the models being produced are priced for large businesses and government purchase. They include support contracts. These don't make any money if you have to keep fixing them, so the devices tend to be under-featured and over-engineered. If you can develop a consumer market for these, they would rapidly drop in price, but PCs are such a commodity that you'd be better off developing a thin client wrapped around a PC form factor. Google's new Chrome OS embedded in the upcoming netbooks is such a development.

Submission + - Where are the Cheap Thin Clients? 1

Darren Ginter writes: I am compelled by many aspects of desktop virtualization with one exception: the cost of the thin clients, which typically exceed that of a traditional box. I understand all of the benefits of desktop virtualization (and the downsides, thanks) but I'm very hung up on spending more for less. While there are some sub-$200 products out there, they all seem to cut corners (give me non-vaporware that will drive a 22" LCD at full resolution). I can PXE boot a home brew Atom-based thin client for $130 but I'd prefer to be able to buy something assembled. Am I missing something here?
The Media

Debating "Deletionism" At Wikipedia 484

Ian Lamont writes "In a strange turn of events, the Wikipedia entry for Deletionpedia — an online archive of deleted Wikipedia articles — is now being considered for deletion. The entry for Deletionpedia was created shortly after the publication of an Industry Standard article and a discussion on Slashdot this week. Almost immediately, it was nominated for deletion, which has sparked a running debate about the importance of the Wikipedia entry, Deletionpedia, and the sources that reference it. For the time being, you can read the current version of the Deletionpedia entry, while the Wikipedia editors carry on the debate."
Biotech

Possible Monogamy Gene Found In People 440

Calopteryx sends in a New Scientist summary of research from Sweden pointing toward the existence of a gene that influences monogamy in men. (The article doesn't mention women, and the study subjects were all men at least 5 years into a heterosexual relationship.) "There has been speculation about the role of the hormone vasopressin in humans ever since we discovered that variations in where receptors for the hormone are expressed makes prairie voles strictly monogamous but meadow voles promiscuous; vasopressin is related to the 'cuddle chemical' oxytocin. Now it seems variations in a section of the gene coding for a vasopressin receptor in people help to determine whether men are serial commitment-phobes or devoted husbands."
Government

Terror Watchlist "Crippled By Technical Flaws" 324

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The database used by the government to generate lists like the No-Fly List is 'crippled by technical flaws,' according to the chairman of a House technology oversight subcommittee. And the upgrade may be worse than the original. Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) says that 'if actually deployed, [the upgrade] will leave our country more vulnerable than the existing yet flawed system in operation today.' It seems that the current database doesn't have any easy way to do plain-text matching, forcing users to enter SQL queries. That might not sound so bad until you learn that the database contains 463 poorly indexed tables. How long until there's a terrorist named Robert'); DROP DATABASE; —?"
Power

Intel Claims an Advance In Wireless Power 327

Many readers are sending in coverage of a demo at Intel's developer forum of a wirelessly powered 60-watt bulb. The NYTimes gives background on Intel's improvement to the 'wireless resonant energy link' technology pioneered at MIT, where researchers achieved 50% efficiency of power transmitted several meters via magnetic fields. Intel reached 75% efficiency. Now they just have to make those coils a lot smaller.
The Courts

Fair Use Must Be Considered In DMCA Notices 189

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "US District Judge Jeremy Fogel has ruled that an 'allegation that a copyright owner acted in bad faith by issuing a takedown notice without proper consideration of the fair use doctrine thus is sufficient to state a misrepresentation claim,' which paves the way for a lawsuit against Universal Music over a ridiculous DMCA Takedown notice they filed. One can only hope that this ruling will some day be used against those who file misguided copyright complaints against computer printers. Those lawyers who rely upon buggy infringement detection programs to do their thinking for them — programs which are incapable of making subjective considerations like fair use — might want to think again before rubber stamping computer-generated DMCA Takedown notices."

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