Comment Re:nope (Score 3, Informative) 480
Fedora 8's end of life doesn't occur until January 7th, so it would still get timezone updates.
Comment Re:Awesome bar disable? (Score 1) 385
The most useful part of Awesomebar is being able to type "Firefox 3.1" or "3.1 alpha" or "shire" and have this Slashdot story in the top few items. Without the Awesomebar, you'd have to look through the titles and somehow remember that this story was on 'tech.slashdot.org'. This is more useful on forums that insist on long page titles so you can't see the thread's title in the old bar's summary, or even forums that don't include the title at all.
Admittedly, Awesomebar is a horrid name.
How Private Are Sites' Membership Lists? 265
Slashdot contributor Bennett Haselton has written an essay on a subtle privacy issue affecting many websites (including Slashdot!) He says "Suppose your girlfriend called up Match.com and said, "I think my boyfriend
might
be cheating on me. His e-mail address is joeblow - at - aol - dot -
com. Can you
tell me if he's a member?" And Match.com phone support told her, "Why,
yes, he
is a member. You'd better have a talk with him." After you had gotten
over the
guilt of getting caught -- I mean, the guilt of cheating -- would you not
feel like
Match.com had violated your privacy by telling a third party that you were
a member?" Keep reading to see what he's getting at and to decide if and when it's a problem.
RIAA Accused of Extortion & Conspiracy 373
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The defendant in a Tampa, Florida, case, UMG v. Del Cid, has filed counterclaims accusing the RIAA record labels of conspiracy and extortion. The counterclaims (pdf) are for Trespass, Computer Fraud and Abuse (18 USC 1030), Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices (Fla. Stat. 501.201), Civil Extortion (CA Penal Code 519 & 523), and Civil Conspiracy involving (a) use of private investigators without license in violation of Fla. Stat. Chapter 493; (b) unauthorized access to a protected computer system, in interstate commerce, for the purpose of obtaining information in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1030 (a)(2)(C); (c) extortion in violation of Ca. Penal Code 519 and 523; and (d) knowingly collecting an unlawful consumer debt, and using abus[ive] means to do so, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692a et seq. and Fla. Stat. 559.72 et seq."
Guitartabs.com Suspends Under Legal Pressure 348
Music publishers are stepping up their campaign to remove guitar tablature from the Net. Recently Guitartabs.com received a nastygram from lawyers for the National Music Publishers Association and The Music Publishers Association of America. These organizations want to stretch the definition of their intellectual property to include by-ear transcriptions of music. Guitartabs.com is currently not offering tablature while the owner evaluates his legal options.
Some Journals Rejecting Office 2007 Format 474
hormiga writes "Some scholarly journals are rejecting submissions made using new Office 2007 formats. Science and Nature are among publishers unwilling to deal with incompatibilities in the new formats, and recommend using older versions of Office or converting to older formats before submission. The new equation editor is cited as a specific problem. Rob Wier recommends that those publishers consider using ODF instead."
Submission + - The downfall of digg summarized by numbers.
Anonymous Coward writes: "There has been quite a bit of talk going on lately regarding the HDDVD code- Followed by C&D letters from HDDVD lawyers. For the most part, these are being ignored- However, Digg Has chosen to remove all story's containing the code, as well as banning any user who submits such a item. The community fought back, and now the entire homepage is being overrun by HDDVD story's and the site is failing. Is this the expected result from no moderation? Was this Doomed to happen? As of yet- Digg has no official response- However the damage already done is unspoken, with many users returning to age old sites such as slashdot and newcomers like reddit."
Dell to Sell Machines with Ubuntu Pre-Loaded 562
kotj.mf writes "Cnet is reporting that Dell will shortly announce a partnership with Canonical to offer Ubuntu pre-loaded on certain consumer-oriented desktops and notebooks. The announcement comes after a groundswell of support for pre-installed Linux on Dell's IdeaStorm site. 'The company is starting its business by trying to appeal to users of desktop computers. From there, Canonical Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth has said, the company plans to head to the server market, where the real Linux bread and butter can be found. [Dell spokesman Kent] Cook wouldn't comment on whether Dell plans to offer Ubuntu on its servers as well.'."
Italian Phone Taps Spur Encryption Use 176
manekineko2 writes "This article in the NYTimes discusses how a recent rash of high-profile mobile phone taps in Italy is spurring a rush toward software-encrypted phone conversations. Private conversations have been tapped and subsequently leaked to the media and have resulted in disclosures of sensitive takeover discussions, revelations regarding game-fixing in soccer, and the arrest of a prince on charges of providing prostitutes and illegal slot machines. An Italian investigative reporter stated that no one would ever discuss sensitive information on the phone now. As a result, encryption software for mobile phones has moved from the government and military worlds into the mainstream. Are GSM phones in the US ripe for a similar explosion in the use of freely available wiretapping technology, and could this finally be the impetus to for widespread use of software-encrypted communications?"
Microsoft To Open Source Some of Silverlight 204
Kurtz writes with word that Microsoft is about to follow in Adobe's footsteps by releasing the source code to part of its Silverlight technology. The news comes less than a week after Adobe announced plans to open source the Flex SDK. Microsoft is hungry to build the developer base for its rich Internet app tools, if it can.
Submission + - Calls to Close "Copyright Gap", 50 Years T
YouTalkinToMe writes: The BBC is reporting that
Widows and Orphans (ok, just Widows) are calling to increase the term of Copyright in Britain.
From the story: "The widow of skiffle king Lonnie Donegan has warned that the families of dead music stars could face financial hardship when royalty payments end." Mrs. Donegan continued: "It's not even as though they made us rich. People say I must be a millionaire, but, no. The royalties were just enough to get by."
Mrs. Donegan is joined by Sir Cliff and others who will lose Copyright protection on their performances in the near future. Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), the UK broadcast royalties collection society, calls the situation "the Copyright Gap", and is lobbying for "harmonization" with songwriters and photographers, meaning Copyright terms of life plus 70 years.
From the story: "The widow of skiffle king Lonnie Donegan has warned that the families of dead music stars could face financial hardship when royalty payments end." Mrs. Donegan continued: "It's not even as though they made us rich. People say I must be a millionaire, but, no. The royalties were just enough to get by."
Mrs. Donegan is joined by Sir Cliff and others who will lose Copyright protection on their performances in the near future. Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), the UK broadcast royalties collection society, calls the situation "the Copyright Gap", and is lobbying for "harmonization" with songwriters and photographers, meaning Copyright terms of life plus 70 years.
