Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Privacy

Submission + - Identity Thief Apprehended by Victim

Submitted by
ewhac
ewhac writes: "Karen Lodrick was entering her sixth month of hell dealing with the repercussions of having her identity stolen and used to loot her accounts. But while she was waiting for a beverage, there standing in line was the woman who appeared on Wells Fargo security video emptying her accounts. What followed was a 45 minute chase through San Francisco streets that ended with the thief being taken into custody by police."
Privacy

Submission + - IBM loses tapes with former employees' data (ibm.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I was an intern with IBM ten years ago and just today received a letter informing me that tapes containing my and other former employees' data (including social security numbers) were lost on February 23, 2007 while being transported by a vendor. IBM is offering free membership with the ID TheftSmart Enhanced Identity Theft Restoration and Continuous Credit Monitoring program from Kroll Inc for one year for everyone affected. It just goes to show that no matter how long it's been, your personal information in someone else's hands is never safe.

The full text of the letter can be found here.
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - IT ads from the past: From the quaint to the weird (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
PetManimal
PetManimal writes: "Computerworld has dug up some funny IT advertising gems from decades past. The highlights include "The Personal Mainframe", Elvira hawking engineering software, and an image of the earliest screenless "briefcase portables." Strange to think that people not only took these technologies so seriously, but also paid big bucks for gear that seems positively primitive now."
Communications

Submission + - LA wants 911 callers to be able to send pics (mercurynews.com)

Submitted by
mikesd81
mikesd81 writes: "San Jose Mercury News reports the Police Commission on Tuesday approved a proposal to buy a software program that would allow witnesses with cell phone cameras to take pictures of accident and crime scenes and transmit the images to 911 call centers.

When a witness dials 911 to report an incident and has taken cell phone pictures of the scene, a dispatcher can send a text message to the caller requesting the image. The caller replies to the message with the images attached, according to software maker PowerPhone Inc. of Madison, Conn. "It seems like a good way to make our city safer and help law enforcement officials know about the crime scene," said City Council President Eric Garcetti, who introduced a motion in April asking the city to implement the program. The cost of the program hasn't been determined, but Garcetti estimated it will be "in the hundreds of thousands range." "If it saves a life, if it helps prevent a crime from occurring, then it's a price well worth it," Garcetti said."
Quickies

Submission + - Weapon found in Whale blubber from the 1800's (cnn.com)

Submitted by LABarr
LABarr writes: AP and CNN are carrying this story. "A 50-ton bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt — more than a century ago. Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3½-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old. The bomb lance fragment, lodged in a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder blade, was likely manufactured in New Bedford, on the southeast coast of Massachusetts, a major whaling center at that time. It was probably shot at the whale from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890." One tough whale...
Censorship

Submission + - Law students sue anonymous message board posters (wsj.com)

Submitted by
The Xoxo Reader
The Xoxo Reader writes: "The Wall Street Journal reports that two female students at Yale Law School have filed suit for defamation and infliction of emotional distress against an administrator and several anonymous posters (identified only by their pseudoynms) at the popular law student discussion board AutoAdmit (a.k.a. Xoxohth). One of the claims is that the posters have violated copyright laws by reposting pictures of the women without their permission. Since AutoAdmit's administrators have previously said that they do not retain IP logs of posters, it is unclear how the plaintiffs will ultimately be able to identify the actual people behind the pseudonyms named in the complaint. Apparently, one method was to post the summons on the message board itself and ask the posters to step forward. The controversy leading to this lawsuit was previously discussed on Slashdot here."
NASA

Submission + - NASA Chief attacked for Global Warming Stance (npr.org)

Submitted by
bagsc
bagsc writes: "NASA Administrator Michael Griffin did an interview for NPR's Science Friday, saying "I have no doubt that ... a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with." Then, the media attacks. Sure, he's a political appointee, and NASA released a study this week that the Earth is within 1.8 degrees of the safe maximum standard. But aren't government Administrators supposed to say when they don't have good policy options to implement, or should we just spend on anything (like corn ethanol) to make people feel better until we analyze the options better?"
NASA

Submission + - NASA Chief: Who says global warming is bad?

Submitted by guanxi
guanxi writes: In an NPR interview NASA chief Michael Griffin, a rocket scientist, put the reputation of his famous research organization (not to mention the United States) behind this statement: "I have no doubt that ... a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with." I was going to add commentary, but there's little you can add to statements like this one: "To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change. First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown. And second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings." To most people, of course, the words of the head of NASA are authoritative.
Software

Submission + - Microsoft is using Linux for their Servers!

Submitted by jhepoy
jhepoy writes: http://pinoygeek.org/2007/05/27/microsoft-is-using -linux-for-their-servers/ Yahoo.com is a consistent FreeBSD on their servers. Apple.com which is known for OSX as based in Unix is not surprising to see MacOSX and Linux running on their servers. The most surprising part is when I looked for Microsoft.com statistics and found out that they are running Linux on some of their web servers. The irony is that Microsoft is attacking Linux as an insecure OS which can be found on their Get The Facts campaign.
Patents

Submission + - Life Imprisonment for Copyright Infringement

Submitted by
ronadams
ronadams writes: "P. Parameswaran writes in his AFP article:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he proposed comprehensive legislation to Congress Monday against copyright thieves, including raising the maximum penalty to life imprisonment and seizing the illicit profits of offenders.
Nick Ferrel at the Inquirer confirms the reports and adds a few interesting insights of his own. Good to know RIAA is a vital part of the US Government. I must have been asleep when my Government & Law professor glossed over that one."
Media

Submission + - Cinemas use night goggles to nab pirates

Submitted by
fluffman86
fluffman86 writes: "Reuters reports that movie theaters in Malaysia are cracking down on movie piracy by giving military style night vision goggles to ushers. According to the article, after cinema staff seat patrons, they don the NVGs in order to catch people who are recording the film with hand held camcorders. The article also mentions that Malaysia has purchased two DVD sniffing dogs — Lucky and Flo, in order to find large quantities of burned and pirated DVDs. There are some reports that there is a bounty for killing the dogs."
Privacy

Submission + - No charges for chatroom suicide observers

Submitted by
Benjamin Fox
Benjamin Fox writes: "The BBC reports that chatroom participants who apparently "watched" a man commit kill himself will not face charges for the comments made up to and during the suicide. A crown prosecution spokesman said, "We examined all the evidence passed to us by the police and have concluded that none of the comments made in the chatroom amounted to a criminal offense." What could this mean for electronic witnesses of other meatspace crimes and tragedies in the UK?"
Software

Submission + - British Conservative 'Gets it' on OSS

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "George Osborne, the Conservative Shadow Chancellor, seems to "Get it" in surprising depth on the potential of OSS in government IT and in general. He gave a speech http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.stor y.page&obj_id=135408&speeches=1 in which he correctly identifies not only what OSS and community-driven resources are about, but also seems to understand that open standards are _really_ the key to unlocking some of the benefits. Perhaps he is treading carefully, but he's not yet mentioned the corruption and bribery that seems to determine quite a lot of public sector IT spending (Research Machines IT monopoly in UK education, for example) but that may come in time. If this really translates into future Govt policy, we might be seeing the start of a real change in the IT landscape, with some of our favourite software getting the exposure and appreciation it deserves. Why not let Mr. Osborne know that we appreciate his approach, and tell him that he's on the right track. A bit of voter approval of something like this is just what it needs to confirm his position. contact@georgeosborne.co.uk might appreciate a few messages of support!"
The Courts

Submission + - Why the Copyright Office disappoints on Fair Use

Submitted by Paranoid Mandroid
Paranoid Mandroid writes: Ars Technica has an eye-opening article on Fair Use that explains why the Register of Copyrights in the US continually refuses to authorize things like DVD ripping. The reasons are complex, but basically boil down to the fact that the Register agrees with the industry that if you need a backup, you should buy it. Need to rip content? Just buy VHS (no joke). Beyond that, the article discusses the Copyright Office's narrow reading of the Betamax case.
Networking

Submission + - A Linux Computer in Every Garage?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A U.S. government- and industry-led coalition aiming to equip every car and roadside in America with wirelessly connected computers has tapped Linux for the design of a system that aims to lower driver death rates, reduce traffic jams, and media-enable cars. The project, which is under the auspices of the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium (VII-C) and funded by the Department of Transportation (DOT), ten state departments of transportation, and seven vehicle manufacturers, has adopted an Linux and open source strategy, at least at the prototype level.

Slashdot Top Deals

On the eighth day, God created FORTRAN.

Close