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Submission + - How To Request Better ATI Linux Support

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @07:10PM

An anonymous reader writes: Michael Larabel, the editor of Phoronix, has outlined some strategies for contacting ATI's partners (OEM/ODM/AIBs) to seek ATI Linux fglrx driver improvements. He states that contacting ATI or AMD directly is the "wrong approach". He also states "I know for certain that at least one major OEM would like to see improved Linux support but is afraid that the Windows support would then be at risk." Michael also cites examples from the past where Lenovo had sought after improved Linux display drivers, which resulted in several new features last year. His statements on how to achieved improved driver support for the binary blob can be found on his blog.

Submission + - Sony's PS3 gives gamers a shot at at saving lives

Submitted by SonyGA on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @06:58PM

SonyGA writes: Sony is giving gamers a chance to use the power of their new PlayStation 3 video game consoles to save lives — as well as to slay virtual soldiers, enemies, aliens and dragons.

IBM Asks Court To Declare Linux Non-Infringing 133

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @06:56PM from the decisive dept.

A Cyclic Graph writes "We finally have a redacted version of IBM's Reply Memorandum in Support of Summary Judgment on Counterclaim 10 in SCO v. IBM. In short, IBM is asking the Court to declare that Linux doesn't infringe upon any of SCO's purported intellectual property. This document is the last word on that matter until the Court either declares there to be no doubt that Linux is free of infringement, or decides that that issue has to be decided by the jury. In their brief, IBM points out that SCO puts forth a convoluted set of non-answers referencing each other to disguise it's inability to answer IBM. Their set of cross-references is so complex that Groklaw readers graphed the claims to make what little sense of them they could."

Submission + - Myspace Gets Duped by Vloggers

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @06:26PM

An anonymous reader writes: Showering With Keyboard (thumbnail here)

If that your attention you aren't alone. Myspace viewers got a surprise today when they clicked on one of the top videos on the myspace homepage. Someone called "friendsofaib" posted the video to myspace, and it immediately went clear to the top. The problem? it's actually an advertisement for a vlog called Alive in Baghdad.

MIT Drops DRM-Laden Journal Subscription 141

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @05:54PM from the whose-intellectual-property? dept.

Gibbs-Duhem writes with news that MIT has dropped its subscription to the Society of Automotive Engineers' web-based database of technical papers over the issue of DRM. The SAE refuses to allow any online access except through an Adobe DRM plugin that limits use and does not run on Linux or Unix. Also, the SAE refuses to let its papers even be indexed on any site but their own. SAE's use of DRM is peculiar to say the least, as they get their content for free from the researchers who actually do the work. And those researchers have choices as to where they send their work, and some of the MIT faculty are pretty vocal about it. From the MIT Library News: "'It's a step backwards,' says Professor Wai Cheng, SAE fellow and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, who feels strongly enough about the implications of DRM that he has asked to be added to the agenda of the upcoming SAE Publication Board meeting in April, when he will address this topic."

Submission + - What is Next Generation Data Center?

Submitted by

porkrind

on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @05:45PM

porkrind writes: "So apparently, while I wasn't looking, someone coined YABW (Yet Another BuzzWord) — "Next Generation Data Center" which sounds kind of like a web 2.0 wannabe. And hey, it must be real, because there's now a conference by the same name. Not to mention an essay contest giving away $5K. All kidding aside, is it real? What exactly does it mean? From my brief readings, there's some talk about virtualization and... not much else, except for the usual fluff from HP, Cisco and others. What the hell is it? Is it just virtual appliances?"

Submission + - Microsoft gives in to the EU

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @05:44PM

An anonymous reader writes: Redmond Developer News reports that Microsoft has given in to EU threats of further fines and opened up a whole host of protocols, including the Exchange protocol, under a licence.

http://reddevnews.com/news/devnews/article.aspx?ed itorialsid=192

It doesn't say what the licence will look like though.

Submission + - Raytheon builds polymorphic computer

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @05:35PM

An anonymous reader writes: Raytheon have built a CPU for the DoD that can change architectures depending on what it's being used for. FTFA:

Dubbed MONARCH (Morphable Networked Micro-Architecture) and developed to address the large data volume of sensor systems as well as their signal and data processing throughput requirements, it is the most adaptable processor ever built for the Department of Defense, reducing the number of processor types required. It performs as a single system on a chip, resulting in a significant reduction of the number of processors required for computing systems, and it performs in an array of chips for teraflop throughput.
Insert Beowolf Cluster joke here.

Submission + - NFL Caught Abusing the DMCA

Submitted by

Implied Oral Consent

on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @05:33PM

Implied Oral Consent writes: "You know how the NFL puts up those notices before every game saying "This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience, and any other use of this telecast or of any pictures, descriptions or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited"? Well, Ars Technica is reporting that Wendy Seltzer thought that that was over-reaching and posted a video of the notice on YouTube. Predictably, the NFL filed a DMCA Take Down notice on the clip. But Ms. Seltzer knows her rights, so she filed a DMCA Counter Notice. This is when the NFL violated the DMCA, by filing another Take Down notice instead of taking the issue to court — their only legitimate option, according to the DMCA. Unfortunately for the NFL, Ms. Seltzer is a law professor, an EFF lawyer, and the founder of Chilling Effects. Oops!"

Submission + - How MediaSentry Poisons P2P

Submitted by

Quid custodiet ipsos custodes?

on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @04:51PM

Quid custodiet ipsos custodes? writes: "Ars Technica has an interesting tour of MediaSentry's operations. MediaSentry, best known for putting fake files on P2P networks, apparently has no less than 60 employees, 2,000 geographically diverse co-located servers, and 9 GBps of bandwidth which it uses to attack P2P networks that serve files it has been hired to protect. They use no less than four different tactics: decoy files, some of which are now advertisements; spoofing results to P2P network search requests; spamming uploaders with download request to eat their bandwidth; and swarming, where they join BitTorrent or similar swarms and serve bogus data to slow or corrupt the downloads. While some of this has been known for a while now, it would be interesting to see how this admission to the details of their operation plays in court. Given that the RIAA has offered little more than screenshots as evidence on infringement, could they not be mistakenly accusing people based on spoofs they paid MediaSentry to create?"

Submission + - Vista: Not just another pretty face

Submitted by Bob_the_Builder on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @04:51PM

Bob_the_Builder writes: An in-depth look at Vista argues that the new OS is far more than a pretty shell slapped on top of the same underlying components. In fact, what's under the hood represents a complete reworking of many OS subsystems, and it will determine the direction of Windows development for the next several generations of the OS. "Even after the false starts and scaled-back plans, Vista is still a huge evolution in the history of the NT platform, and that's not something to be sniffed at. The fundamental changes to the platform are of a scale not seen since the release of NT." Is Vista a bigger deal than many critics have said?

Submission + - How to Turn A Music Lover to Piracy

Submitted by

dugn

on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @04:47PM

dugn writes: "The Consumerist (consumerist.com) is running a story about how a run of the mill (read non-tech-savvy) music lover was pushed to become a pirate. http://consumerist.com/consumer/drm/how-i-became-a -music-pirate-245644.php A simple good piece that shows how the end user experience of DRM is starting to get needed traction in more blogs and mainstream web sites."

Submission + - Thumbprint required to buy a car in Southern CA

Submitted by

saccade.com

on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @04:34PM

saccade.com writes: "Here's an insidious use of biometrics: A southern California car dealership actually refuses to sell you a car unless you submit your thumbprint. From the posting:

The dealership claimed that the fingerprinting was for my protection. To make sure I'm really who I say I am, and haven't just stolen someone's social security number.

But I don't get it. How does that work? No one's checking to make sure the fingerprint I leave matches the one on file with the DMV. There's no forensics expert on staff. And I don't have data on this but I feel pretty certain that any car thief worth his salt probably already has more than one set of prints on file.
...
Dollar Rent-A-Car tried fingerprinting their customers for a while. They gave up after realizing that it had no effect on fraud or theft. Simply, treating your customers like felons is bad for business.

"

Submission + - Will lack of DX10 on XP spur OpenGL development?

Submitted by

Sparr0

on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @04:10PM

Sparr0 writes: "Since Microsoft's announcement that DirectX 10 will not be released for Windows XP, which means no Shader Model 4.0 and no Geometry Shaders, I have been waiting for news of game developers switching to OpenGL in order to get the best graphics on the best hardware on the most popular gaming OS... But there is nary a whisper of such. Will such a shift occur, even if only in small amounts? When? Why not? It is probably safe to say that Unreal Tournament 3 (AKA UT2007) will have OpenGL as an option in Windows, but that is both unsurprising and also a long way off. Ditto for Quake Wars, and most anything else that we already knew was going to have a native Linux clients. But where are all of the other big names with Windows-only offerings? Why haven't we heard from Valve, Blizzard, Sony, or EA, to name a few?"

Residential Wi-Fi Mapping Database Revealed 167

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 20, 2007 @03:54PM from the X-ICBM dept.

Talaria writes "An enormous database of home wifi routers and their locations has been revealed after the Internet Patrol did some digging following AOL's recent announcement of their new "Near Me" service, which allows AIM users to see which of their instant messenger buddies are geographically near them. The database, containing the unique IDs of more than 16 million wireless routers and their locations, has been compiled by AOL partner Skyhook Wireless, which claims to have mapped the majority of residences in the U.S. and Canada."

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