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Submission + - Google and Verizon in Talks to Prioritize Traffic (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: "Google and Verizon are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege... Any agreement between Verizon and Google could also upend the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission to assert its authority over broadband service, which was severely restricted by a federal appeals court decision in April.... People close to the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly about them said an agreement could be reached as soon as next week. If completed, Google, whose Android operating system powers many Verizon wireless phones, would agree not to challenge Verizon’s ability to manage its broadband Internet network as it pleased."

Submission + - Cute Baby Video Wins Battle Against Music Label (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: "Reuters is reporting that a California district court judge has rejected Universal Music Group's 2007 claim that a YouTube video of her toddler dancing to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy" violated their intellectual property rights. With Lenz using fair use as her argument, the judge granted a partial summary judgment in her favor, paving the way for Lenz to collect attorneys fees."
Patents

Submission + - Intellectual Ventures, King among Patent Trolls (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: "The New York Times is running a profile of Intellectual Ventures, the largest company within the category of firms that hold patents, but do not make products. Nathan Myhrvold, leader of Microsoft's technology development in the 1990s and current chief of the company claims the patent world is a vastly underdeveloped market, starved for private capital and too dependent on federal financing for universities and government agencies, which is mainly aimed at scientific discovery anyway. Eventually, he foresees patents being valued as a separate asset class, like real estate or securities. Yet while Mr. Myhrvold is saying one thing, his company’s main activity is quite another, according to Mark Bohannon, general counsel and senior vice president for public policy for the Software and Information Industry Association."

Submission + - 10% of U.S. Energy from Old U.S.S.R. Nukes (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: The New York Times reports that about 10 percent of electricity generated in the United States, comes from fuel from dismantled nuclear bombs, mostly Russian. 'It's a great, easy source' of fuel, said Marina V. Alekseyenkova, an analyst at Renaissance Bank and an expert in the Russian nuclear industry that has profited from the arrangement since the end of the cold war. But if more diluted weapons-grade uranium isn't secured soon, the pipeline could run dry, with ramifications for consumers, as well as some American utilities and their Russian suppliers.'

Submission + - Trojan Kill Switches & the Israeli Attack on S (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: The New York Times reports in this week's Science section that hardware and software trojan kill switches are an increasing concern, and may have already been used. 'A 2007 Israeli Air Force attack on a suspected partly constructed Syrian nuclear reactor led to speculation about why the Syrian air defense system did not respond to the Israeli aircraft. Accounts of the event initially indicated that sophisticated jamming technology was used to blind the radars. Last December, however, a report in an American technical publication, IEEE Spectrum, cited a European industry source in raising the possibility that the Israelis might have used a built-in kill switch to shut down the radars. Separately, an American semiconductor industry executive said in an interview that he had direct knowledge of the operation and that the technology for disabling the radars was supplied by Americans to the Israeli electronic intelligence agency, Unit 8200.'
Mozilla

Submission + - Mozilla reveals plans for Firefox 3.2 (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "Mozilla is planning to include simple-text commands and desktop web apps in the next version of Firefox. Firefox 3.2 will see the company build the Mozilla Labs project, Ubiquity, into the browser, allowing users to type natural language phrases into the browser to perform certain tasks, such as typing "map 10 Downing Street" to instantly see a Google map of that address. It will also include "lightweight theming" for customising the browser design, and elements of another Labs project called Prism, which allows you to turn web apps such as Gmail into pseudo desktop apps which are accessed from the Windows desktop or Start menu. "We're looking for more pure innovation than just incrementally getting better. It's nice to try stuff where we don't know if it's going to work.""
Announcements

Submission + - Unabomber Ted Kaczynsk's Items to be Auctioned

Submitted by
Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: "The writings, books and other possessions of Theodore Kaczynski, the serial killer known as the Unabomber, will be sold in an Internet auction to pay restitution to several of his victims. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected Kaczynski's arguments, filed from federal prison, that the government's sale of his writings violates his freedom of expression. Copies will be given to the University of Michigan, per his wishes."

Comment What's up with Alzheimer's and helmets? (Score 1) 201

by Nrbelex (#22191390) Attached to: Scientists Claim Infrared Helmet Could Reverse Alzheimer's Symptoms
Interesting... similarly... "New technology developed by Emory and Georgia Tech researchers could aid the early identification of people susceptible to Alzheimer's disease. A portable device called Detect may provide an easier, less expensive way to test for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often leads to Alzheimer's. The test could provide potential Alzheimer's patients the chance to slow the disease's progress with medication before serious symptoms set in." Check out the nearly identical picture.
Social Networks

Submission + - Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: "Faced with its second mass protest by members in its short life span, Facebook, the enormously popular social networking Web site, is reining in some aspects of a controversial new advertising program .... Late yesterday the company made an important change, saying that it would not send messages about users' Internet activities without getting explicit approval each time."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft to Pay 240 Million for Stake in Facebook (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: The New York Times is reporting that "Microsoft has won a high-profile technology industry battle with Google and Yahoo to invest in the social networking upstart Facebook. Microsoft will invest $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the company, said Adam Sohn, a director in Microsoft's online services group. The investment values the three-year-old Facebook, which will bring in about $150 million in revenue this year, at $15 billion. "
Linux Business

Submission + - The New York Times: The Next Leap for Linux (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
Nrbelex
Nrbelex writes: "The New York Times is taking a look at the state of Linux. "Linux has always had a reputation of being difficult to install and daunting to use. Most of the popular Windows and Macintosh programs cannot be used on it, and hand-holding — not that you get that much of it with Windows — is rare. But those reasons for rejecting Linux are disappearing." The article discusses major PC makers' newest offers and compares them to their Windows counterparts. "Thanks to open source developers, there are thousands more free programs. An Add/Remove function actually makes finding programs easier with Linux than it is for Mac and Windows." The article concludes stating, "After using the operating system for writing, Web surfing, graphic editing, movie watching and a few other tasks, it is easy to conclude that Linux can be an alternative to the major operating systems. But since common tasks like watching a movie or syncing an iPod require hunting for and installing extra software, Linux is best for technically savvy users or for people whose needs are so basic that they will never need anything other than the bundled software.""
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - iPod as lighting rod? (wsj.com)

Submitted by Bob Wehadababyitsabo
Bob Wehadababyitsabo writes: The Wall Street Journal Health Blog writes about a fascinating medical case involving a jogger, his iPod, and a thunderstorm. "[...] witnesses said the poor guy was thrown eight feet by the electrical discharge. Both his eardrums were ruptured, and his jaw was broken. The first letter [to the New England Journal of Medicine], by doctors who treated the man at the hospital, argued that 'the combination of sweat and metal earphones directed the current to, and through, the patient's head.'" However, a letter in NEJM's Thursday issue disputes the original findings, instead suggesting the iPod earbuds served as a lighting rod, directing electricity away from the patients ears and head and toward his torso. The verdict from the second letter? "A final note on jogging in thunderstorms: much of the very interesting debate that has followed the publication of this case report would perhaps be unnecessary if common sense were as ubiquitous as the iPod."

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