Comment Re:exactly! (Score 1) 156
I believe that was the third book, 2061 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2061:_Odyssey_Three
Submission + - In the new Canada, the web browses you (nationalpost.com)
psema4 writes: "FTA: "This fall, legislatures in both Canada and the U.S. are set to vote on bills that would force private Internet service providers (ISPs) to store information about their customers, in order to allow the government to spy on its citizens."
The most disturbing part to my mind is that, in Canada "The so-called 'lawful access' legislation would force ISPs to disclose customer information to the government on demand and without obtaining a warrant."
The "West" is increasingly becoming the very thing our forefathers fought to protect us from — for our own safety, of course."
The most disturbing part to my mind is that, in Canada "The so-called 'lawful access' legislation would force ISPs to disclose customer information to the government on demand and without obtaining a warrant."
The "West" is increasingly becoming the very thing our forefathers fought to protect us from — for our own safety, of course."
Submission + - Airport body scanners useless: German police (google.com)
OverTheGeicoE writes: The German government just finished a 10-month test of millimeter-wave body scanners made by L3 Communications. It appears they are not happy with the results. The devices raise false alarms 7 times out of 10, and are confused by layered clothing, boots, zippers, pleats, and even incorrect posture. Australia recently started a trial, and the second person in at the Sydney airport set off the alarm repeatedly due to sweaty armpits.
Back in the US, TSA is trying software upgrades to address privacy concerns. Upgraded scanners will show only outlines to TSA staff, not naked images. Upgrades are being rolled out for millimeter-wave scanners now, and will be tested on X-ray scanners starting "in the fall." (The German and Australian scanners already had this technology, it appears.)
Back in the US, TSA is trying software upgrades to address privacy concerns. Upgraded scanners will show only outlines to TSA staff, not naked images. Upgrades are being rolled out for millimeter-wave scanners now, and will be tested on X-ray scanners starting "in the fall." (The German and Australian scanners already had this technology, it appears.)
Back in the US, TSA is trying software upgrades to address privacy concerns. Upgraded scanners will show only outlines to TSA staff, not naked images. Upgrades are being rolled out for millimeter-wave scanners now, and will be tested on X-ray scanners starting "in the fall." (The German and Australian scanners already had this technology, it appears.)
Back in the US, TSA is trying software upgrades to address privacy concerns. Upgraded scanners will show only outlines to TSA staff, not naked images. Upgrades are being rolled out for millimeter-wave scanners now, and will be tested on X-ray scanners starting "in the fall." (The German and Australian scanners already had this technology, it appears.)
Submission + - Artists Want To Get Paid Multiple Times (techdirt.com)
An anonymous reader writes: It appears that a large organization representing artists is pushing once again for an artist resale right, in which any time anyone resold a piece of artwork they had bought, they'd have to give some of the proceeds back to the original artist. While supporters of this concept claim it will help artists, basic economics shows that it will harm artists by making it less profitable to invest in artists.
Submission + - Bethesda tells Minecraft creator: cease and desist (gamepron.com) 1
dotarray writes: While most people from Bethesda and id Software are at QuakeCon this weekend, it seems that at least one of them has stayed back at the office, buried under a pile of paperwork.
How do we know this? A tweet from Minecraft creator Notch, who has just received a message from the company’s law team, claiming his new game infringes on their upcoming game.
How do we know this? A tweet from Minecraft creator Notch, who has just received a message from the company’s law team, claiming his new game infringes on their upcoming game.
Submission + - What Todays' Coders Don't Know And Why It Matters (itworld.com) 1
jfruhlinger writes: "Today's programmers have much more advanced languages and more forgiving hardware to play with — but it seems that many have forgotten some of the lessons that their predecessors picked up in a more resource-constrained era. Newer programmers are less adept at identifying hardware constraints and errors, thorough specifications developed before coding, and low-level skills like programming in assembly language. You never know when a seemingly obsolete skill will come in handy: for instance, Web developers who cut their teeth in the days of 14.4 Kbps modems have a leg up in writing apps for laggy wireless networks."
Submission + - SETI funds the ATA (for now) (setistars.org)
Ransak writes: "It looks as if SETI has met it's short term funding goal to restart the Allen Telescope Array. Is long term crowd sourcing the future of pure research projects?"
Submission + - Online Parody Cartoon Targeted for Prosecution (kirotv.com)
SeattleGameboy writes: It seems that Renton (suburb of Seattle) police needs remedial course on US Constitution.
"The Renton City Prosecutor wants to send a cartoonist to jail for mocking the police department in a series of animated Internet videos. The "South-Park"-style animations parody everything from officers having sex on duty to certain personnel getting promoted without necessary qualifications. While the city wants to criminalize the cartoons, First Amendment rights advocates say the move is an "extreme abuse of power."
"The Renton City Prosecutor wants to send a cartoonist to jail for mocking the police department in a series of animated Internet videos. The "South-Park"-style animations parody everything from officers having sex on duty to certain personnel getting promoted without necessary qualifications. While the city wants to criminalize the cartoons, First Amendment rights advocates say the move is an "extreme abuse of power."
Comment Re:It's coming (Score 1) 250
Comment Re:PPoC is a joke (Score 4, Informative) 98
Hi Billco. I'm a member of PPCA (PPoC was dropped as the acronym quite some time ago) and would like to address a couple of your concerns;
First, most of the time the IRC channels are full of unstructured discussion - but not always. We have structured meetings on a regular basis as well, something that has improved in the last few months. As we development continues on our meeting bot, it'll get better.
Second, we're a young party in Canada and many of us are not professional fund raisers, political science majors, or lawyers. We don't have a war chest, so throwing around what money we do have isn't something we want to do in a wanton fashion. I'm sure that as we grow and attract those with backgrounds (hint, hint) that include these skills, we'll be able to do the "usual political song-and-dance."
Outside of our core concerns, our "party line" (if you will) is to make sure that we represent local constituents the way they want to be represented. Not promise things we can't deliver.
At first, I was somewhat taken aback by your tone and perspective... A look at the big red warning your about page on fnarg.com help me understand though. Maybe you'd be up to stopping by IRC in the future and looking me up? I'd be happy to discuss your concerns further.
Cheers,
- Scott (PPCA Clerk)
Submission + - Pirate Party to protect citizens from Big Brother (pirateparty.ca)
psema4 writes: "From the press release: "If given a majority government, the Conservatives are promising to ram through a bill that would provide unprecedented systematic interception and monitoring of Canadians’ personal communications. In short, Canada will soon join the growing list of countries subject to invasion of privacy and internet censorship. Therefore, the Pirate Party is preparing to extend the services presently offered to residents of repressive regimes to protect the people affected by the aspiring dictator right here at home."
For every paid account opened, the Pirate Party of Canada will provide a free VPN account to a citizen of a nation with censored internet.
For background on the "Lawful Access" situation in Canada, see Canadian police state legislation needs closer examination.
Disclaimer: I am a member and the Clerk of the Pirate Party of Canada."
For every paid account opened, the Pirate Party of Canada will provide a free VPN account to a citizen of a nation with censored internet.
For background on the "Lawful Access" situation in Canada, see Canadian police state legislation needs closer examination.
Disclaimer: I am a member and the Clerk of the Pirate Party of Canada."
Comment Re:Wrote about this in 2006... (Score 1) 840
Thomas Jefferson said the same thing almost 200 years ago. The US will be an example to the rest of the world of how a free people can prosper and enjoy life, and people around the globe will rise-up and throw-off their shackles.
Unfortunately freedom does not guarantee happiness and it comes in varying degrees; I'm sure there are many U.S. citizens who feel shackled in one form or another.
The only part of the equation he was missing was the use of books, movies, and music as the enticement to make people say, "I want what the US has."
In a way I agree with you, but I'd like to point out that all of your enticement is encumbered "intellectual property".
"I hope we shall take warning from the example and crush in it's birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." - Thomas Jeffersen
Comment Birth of the Anti-Wiki? (Score 1) 323
I just don't understand how they hope to apply this in any kind of sensible way. The whole idea kind of reminds me of a wiki - turned inside out.
Submission + - BSA Admits Canadian Software Piracy Rates A Guess (michaelgeist.ca)
psema4 writes: "Following yesterdays story ("Canada's Conference Board Found Plagiarizing Copyright Report") Michael Geist reports following up with Canadian arm of the Business Software Alliance:
"Yet what the BSA did not disclose is that the 2009 report on Canada were guesses since Canadian firms and users were not surveyed. While the study makes seemingly authoritative claims about the state of Canadian piracy, the reality is that IDC, which conducts the study for BSA, did not bother to survey in Canada. After learning that Sweden was also not surveyed, I asked the Canadian BSA media contact about the approach in Canada.
Comment Additional Information (Score 4, Informative) 232
Additional information has come to light since the original posting. Some interesting blog posts from:
