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Do Not Call Listings to Expire in 2008 247

Posted by Zonk on Friday September 21, 2007 @01:39PM from the we-have-forgotten dept.

Ant writes "Yahoo! News report that the cherished dinner hour void of telemarketers could vanish next year for millions of people when phone numbers begin dropping off the national/United States (U.S.)'s Do Not Call list. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversees the list, says there is a simple fix. But some lawmakers think it is a hassle to expect people to re-register their phone numbers every five years. Numbers placed on the registry, begun in June 2003, are valid for five years. For the millions of people who signed onto the list in its early days, their numbers will automatically drop off beginning next June if they do not enroll again."

Submission + - RIAA Targets New Colleges, Still Avoids Harvard

Submitted by

NewYorkCountryLawyer

on Friday September 21, 2007 @11:02AM

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Billboard reports that the RIAA has filed its eighth round of "early settlement" letters to twenty-two colleges. Continuing its practice of avoiding Harvard, the RIAA's new round does not include any letters to that institution, where certain law professors have counseled resistance to the RIAA and told the RIAA to "take a hike". The unlucky institutions on the receiving end of the 403 new letters include Arizona State University (35 pre-litigation settlement letters), Carnegie Mellon University (13), Cornell University (19), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (30), Michigan State University (16), North Dakota State University (17), Purdue University — West Lafayette and Calumet campuses (49), University of California — Santa Barbara (13), University of Connecticut (17), University of Maryland — College Park (23), University of Massachusetts — Amherst and Boston campuses (52), University of Nebraska — Lincoln (13), University of Pennsylvania (31), University of Pittsburgh (14), University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, Stevens Point, Stout and Whitewater campuses (62)."

Less Than 2 Percent of UK Companies Have Upgraded Windows 200

Posted by Zonk on Friday September 21, 2007 @10:12AM from the just-not-that-interesting dept.

Rob writes "Computer Business Review is reporting that less than 2% of UK-based firms have already upgraded all their desktops to Windows Vista. Just shy of 5% said that they have begun a Windows Vista desktop upgrade program. 6.5% said they will upgrade in the next 6 months; 12.6% in the next 12 months; 13% in the next 18 months; and 18% in the next two years. That means that within two years from now, only 56% of survey respondents say they will have upgraded their firm's desktops to Windows Vista. 'In terms of retail sales of Vista in a box, Ballmer said he believes most of that up-tick is concentrated in the first few months of the software going on sale. He doubted that this would carry over into Microsoft's fiscal 2008, which began in July 2007. Analyst estimates for fiscal 2008 growth in Microsoft's client business unit, which includes Vista, is around the 9% mark. Ballmer said that analysts should consider that rather than creating huge spurts of new growth "a new Windows release is primarily a chance to sustain the revenue we have".'"

Submission + - Antarctic ice sheet melt accelerating 1

Submitted by OriginalArlen on Friday September 21, 2007 @09:00AM

OriginalArlen writes: The rapidly diminishing extent of Arctic sea-ice has been widely covered here and elsewhere. Now NASA scientists using satellite data have published a paper in 'Science' demonstrating increased melting around the margins (mostly) of the Antarctic ice sheet. This is potentially much more serious, as the margins act as barriers, preventing the much larger land-borne ice-sheets sliding off the continent into the sea — causing a catastrophic 4-6m rise in sea-levels.

Submission + - Virgin Mobile cites Creative Commons in defense (google.com)

Submitted by Dachannien on Friday September 21, 2007 @04:13AM

Dachannien writes: The AP reports that Dallas teenager Alison Chang was photographed flashing the peace sign at a church event, and the photo was later posted on Flickr by the photographer, church youth counselor Justin Wong. Imagine her surprise when the photo appeared on billboards and web ads touting Virgin Mobile Australia's text messaging service with the taglines "Dump your pen friend" and "Free text virgin to virgin" appearing near her image. Chang and Wong are suing Virgin Mobile Pty Ltd., Virgin Mobile USA, and Creative Commons Corporation for libel, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement. For its part, Virgin Mobile stated its belief that the photos, published on Flickr under a Creative Commons license, were used in compliance with that license, although it's not clear how they complied the attribution requirement on a billboard or banner ad.

Submission + - "Industry Standard" and Stacking Trays

Submitted by

Rimbo

on Monday April 09, 2007 @08:10PM

Rimbo writes: "Suppose there's a place in the food court with a tray cart, the kind with the spring-loaded top that's shaped to fit a tray, designed for the storing of food court trays. Right above it, a helpful sign reads, "Trays," with an arrow pointing where the trays should be. Right next to that, there's a hooded trash can with seven trays stacked on top of it. For the sake of example, suppose the height of the trays just reaches the height of the tray cart, so there's no extra lifting or dropping involved to put a tray on either spot. What percentage of the population puts their trays with the others, on top of the trash can?"

Submission + - Sunspots reach 1000 year peak

Submitted by rlp on Monday April 09, 2007 @07:54PM

rlp writes: Researchers at the Institute for Astronomy in Zurich are reporting that solar sunspot activity is at a 1000 year peak. Records of sunspots have been kept since 1610. The period between 1645 and 1715 (known as the Maunder Minimum) was a period of very few sunspots. Researchers extended the record by measuring isotopes of beryllium (created by cosmic rays) in Greenland ice cores. Based on observations and ice core records, we are now at a sunspot peak exceeding solar activity for any time in the past thousand years.

Submission + - Celebrating the HP-35 calculator with a new model

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 09, 2007 @07:25PM

An anonymous reader writes: Hewlett-Packard last week announced a contest whereby HP-35 fans create and submit videos of their favorite calculator memories. HP will choose the best videos and you can win a 50-inch, high-def plasma TV. But everyone wins, because HP this summer will debut a special new calculator model. The details aren't announced, however, it's likely to be a 35th anniversary edition of some sort. This was covered in Computerworld's new vintage technology blog.

Feed Scientists Identify Protein Key To Breast Cancer Spread, Potential New Drug Targ (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed on Monday April 09, 2007 @07:13PM

Researchers have identified a protein that they say is key to helping a quarter of all breast cancers spread. The finding could be a potential target for new drugs aimed at stopping or slowing the growth and progression of breast cancer.

Submission + - Researchers Demonstrate 'Nano Generators'

Submitted by

scott3778

on Monday April 09, 2007 @06:42PM

scott3778 writes: "Here's an article that details a new prototype 'nano generator' which uses everything from ultrasonic waves to blood flow in order to generate electricity. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2112539 ,00.asp"

Submission + - Perens Lashes Out at Claims GPL 3 Brings Legal Ris

Submitted by stormcoder on Monday April 09, 2007 @06:28PM

stormcoder writes: Open-source developer and evangelist Bruce Perens has scathingly dismissed claims by a lawyer for the Association for Competitive Technology that the latest draft of Version 3 of the GNU General Public License brings legal risks.

Submission + - Hacking Bluetooth With a USB Stick

Submitted by ancientribe on Monday April 09, 2007 @06:12PM

ancientribe writes: If there's one thing that has precluded hackers and researchers from cracking Bluetooth, it's been the $10,000 price tag of the sniffer tools involved to do so. But look out: European researchers have now broken that price barrier with a prototype hacking tool based on a $30 Bluetooth USB dongle. The USB-based sniffer tool lets you eavesdrop on a Bluetooth communication session, and teamed up with other tools, access encrypted data on Bluetooth devices.

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=121 111&WT.svl=news1_4

Submission + - ScummVM Ported to Nintendo Wii

Submitted by Croakyvoice on Monday April 09, 2007 @06:04PM

Croakyvoice writes: Rodolfo Portillo has released a port of ScummVM for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube. ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games like Simon the Sorcerer, Broken Sword and Flight of the Amazon Queen. You will have to use SD Load to run this on your console.

Submission + - 2006 Annual Canadian UFO Report now out

Submitted by trelayne on Monday April 09, 2007 @06:03PM

trelayne writes: The 2006 Annual Report, which is compiled from various sources (including the Department Of National Defense and Transport Canada) attempts to scientifically categorize and analyze (for trends, etc.) Canadian UFO sightings and encounters. Among the most notable cases: An Air Canada Pilot encountering a fast moving light in front of his/her Boeing 767, automatically triggering its Tactical Collision Avoidance System; A man driving along a highway saw three orbs perform various maneuvers, including flying right by car.

According to the study, 2006 saw the third highest number of sightings since 1989 when the reports began. The provinces with the highest number of sightings included Ontario and British Columbia.

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