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Privacy

Submission + - Google to help you plan the perfect day

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Discussing plans to increase user tracking, Google CEO Eric Schmidt complains to the Financial Times that that company "cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don't know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google's expansion." According to Schmidt, the company's "goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?'" Thank Uni!
Movies

Submission + - MPAA Trumpets Spiderman 3 Camcording Crackdown

Submitted by ZDRuX
ZDRuX writes: (From Michael Geist's website) Jon Healey of the LA Times points to a joint rellease [pdf] from the MPAA and the National Association of Theatre Owners trumpeting their success in stopping the camcording of Spiderman 3. The release notes that the industry stopped 31 camcording attempts worldwide, which it credits with helping lead to the movie's record opening. Healey focuses on the economic side of the story — he rightly says camcording is wrong, but also wonders about the actual box office impact of camcording.

Canadians will find the release interesting since it lists the various countries where Spiderman 3 camcording was stopped. Given the recent hysteria about Canadian camcording, one would expect a sizable percentage of the 31 incidents would be traced back to Canada. In actual fact, the industry says there were nine incidents in the U.S. (including theatres in California, Florida, Indiana, NY, and Texas) along with 22 other incidents in Argentina, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Not one Canadian incident is mentioned in the release.
Patents

Submission + - WotC Patents the CSG

Submitted by
rtrifts
rtrifts writes: "Wizards of the Coast Patents the CSG

Wizards of the Coast, publisher of the CCG Magic: The Gathering and the uber icon of Geekdom, the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons, that the US Patent and Trademark office has granted WotC . The CSG takes the collectible card game consept to a new level, by allowing customers to make miniature game models out of styrene cards. While WotC's patent was filed first, most people would think that Wizkids popularized the CSG game with Pirates of the Spanish Main. The announcement seems rather well timed, given that Wizkids is set to roll out a to make miniatures X-Wings next month — to compete with both WotC's existing Star Wars minis game and their new Transformers CSG. Looks like a big bowl of patent litigation is about to be served up, fresh and steaming."
Businesses

Submission + - 8 Years For IP Theft

Submitted by nick_davison
nick_davison writes: So you though a several thousand dollar settlement is harsh for copying and distributing some music? The BBC reports that Joya Williams, 42, from Atlanta has just been sentenced to 8 years in jail for copying and trying to distribute a recipe — in this case, Coca Cola's. District Judge J Owen Forrester said in sentencing, "This is the kind of offence that cannot be tolerated in our society."
Music

Submission + - Trent Reznor Vs the Music Labels

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "While it may not seem pertinent to Slashdot, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, had a frank interview in which he described his pained relationship with his label and record label executives. Reznor complained about his band's latest album, Year Zero, that hasn't sold too well but is still on everyone's iPod. Reznor explains that he asked an executive why the album cost (AUS) $10 more than any other album and got a reply that his fans are loyal so the label knows they'll buy anything at any price. You can imagine that Reznor's reply was not a happy one. One of the more interesting quotes involves Reznor explaining how he would like to release his next album, "If I could do what I want right now, I would put out my next album, you could download it from my site at as high a bit-rate as you want, pay $4 through PayPal." Reminds me of what Stephen King tried years ago. Trent Reznor's interview is an interesting tale from someone on the other side of the RIAA war machine."
Security

Submission + - Next Time You WarDrive? Buy A Latte'

Submitted by mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: Some people need to really understand where the legal system stands on open Wi-Fi networks. Routinely when driving around we find oodles of open access points, and this is far from a big city we live in. But, don't assume when you find an open hotspot that you can do whatever you like. A Michigan man got stuck with 40 hours of community service and a $400 fine for Wi-Fi access from a parking lot. http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/next-time-y ou-wardrive-buy-a-latte.html?Itemid=60
Education

Submission + - Three Recent Studies: Olive Oil's Impact on Cancer

Submitted by
Kelly Martinez
Kelly Martinez writes: "As reported in Agroinformación.com, three recent studies in Spain document the positive effect of virgin olive oil on overall human wellbeing especially relating to cancer and aging:

1 — 'Olive oil consumption blocks the generation of cancerous tissue' -
The consumption of olive oil blocks the generation of oncogenic (cancerous) tissue, as explained at the first 'Worldwide Nutrition Congress' held in Barcelona by Angel Gil, an expert in the Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Granada.

In this recent study, over 40% of rats fed sunflower oil died of tumors, as opposed to olive oil fed rats that scarcely produced any deaths at all. Whereas sunflower oil and animal fat promoted the creation of the three main food related cancers, olive oil reduced the creation of these cancerous tumors.

While noting that this does not mean that the consumer of sunflower oil has a greater risk of developing cancer than those who consume olive oil, according to Gil, there is an influence. This is confirmed by the greater longevity of people living in the Mediterranean rim countries.

2 — Expert corroborates that the consumption of olive oil increases longevity -
According to an investigation reported by Jose Mataix, professor at the University of Granada, the consumption of olive oil increases longevity and helps maintain the body in good working order.
According Professor Mataix: "the animals in this study that consumed (olive oil) lived longer and, through the microscope, we perceive that their structures were better conserved than those that consumed seed oils. Also, the latter (the animals that consumed seed oils) developed more tumors". While noting that the results are not extrapolatable to humans 'a priori', professor Mataix added that "being as the aging mechanisms are similar, it can be deduced that virgin olive oil maintains this correlation both in (the animals) as well as in people"

3 — Olive oil, Good for almost everything, also to prevent cancer -
A new study confirms that (olive oil) contributes to stopping cancer. A scientific team at the Municipal Institute of Investigative Medicine, Barcelona, studied the degrees of oxidization of genetic material in 182 men, 20 — 60 years of age from the north, center and south of Europe.

The study, was published in the January 2007 edition of the FASEB Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Virgin olive oil has a higher content of phenolic compounds than processed olive oil. These phenolic compounds may obstruct the harmful effect of cholesterol on blood vessels. The oxidization of genetic cellular material appears linked to the formation of some forms of cancer.

During two weeks the participants were given a daily dose of 25 ml. of olive. The analysis showed that the excretion of oxidative residue from the DNA and RNA in the urine was higher in the regions of northern Europe when compared to the central southern Europe. These findings uphold the suggestion that the intake of olive oil is beneficial and can reduce the oxidization of DNA.

What can we conclude? — Whereas the flavor enhancing qualities are reason enough for many consumers to include extra virgin olive oil as an integral part of their daily diet. When the documented health benefits are considered, the case for real extra virgin olive oil becomes all the more compelling.

Kelly Martinez — Managing Director Antonio Celentano Extra Virgin Olive Oil
http://www.antoniocelentano.com/
Antonio Celentano Extra Virgin Olive Oil is 100% real extra virgin olive oil extracted from locally grown olives, bottled on site in Córdoba, Spain."
Programming

Submission + - Using Python, Ruby, and Web services

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: You can use your existing code to create service components. Learn how to expose your scripts as SCA components and Web services using the Python, Ruby, and Web services support in Apache Tuscany SCA for C++. Create reusable, composable SCA components that are linked together within composites and exposed and invoked using whichever technologies are most suitable to the system being built.
NASA

Submission + - The 10th Planet: Info-Landscapes for Geobrowsers

Submitted by
vglobe
vglobe writes: "The preview release of the NASA World Wind SDK (May 10) at the JaveOne conference hints at a new generation of browser-integrated geospatial applications. Missing the 10th planet, for example? A group of European researchers from the IDIOM Project shows how to use geobrowsers as generic image rendering engines. They generate "Knowledge Planets" based on large document collections. The peaks of the virtual landscape indicate popular topics, while valleys represent parts of the information space that are usually neglected. The introductory chapter of a new book on Geospatial Web technology is available for download and includes a screenshot of their prototype."
Upgrades

Submission + - Gentoo 2007.0 Released

Submitted by IceByt3
IceByt3 writes: On May 7, 2007 The Gentoo Release Engineering project is pleased to announce the much-delayed release of Gentoo Linux 2007.0, code named "Secret Sauce". This release met with several delays due to an abnormally high number of security vulnerabilities in large packages which had to be rebuilt using the newer, secure versions of the packages. There was also a complete resnapshot done about half-way through the release period due to the release taking so long and the packages becoming stale. You can find out more information about the release in the official press release. To get the new release, grab it from http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/where.xml.
Censorship

Submission + - Top CIA Polygrapher Fails Polygraph After Book

Submitted by
George Maschke
George Maschke writes: "After months of delay by CIA censors, retired CIA polygraph examiner John Sullivan's book, Gatekeeper: Memoirs of a CIA Polygraph Examiner has finally been released. Sullivan, who in April 2007 filed a lawsuit against the CIA, recounts in his epilogue how he — who administered more polygraph examinations than any other person in the Agency's history — himself came to fail a CIA polygraph examination during which he was interrogated about his book! While Sullivan is generally supportive of the CIA's use of polygraphs, the book also includes pointed criticism of some aspects of CIA policy, including a chapter deploring torture as an interrogation technique. (In this regard, see Sullivan's article, "Bush and Torture.")"
Media

Submission + - Last.fm plans revolutionary video service

Submitted by Corey
Corey writes: CNET is reporting the popular Web 2.0 music site Last.fm, is planning to launch a video-on-demand service that dynamically creates a custom video channel for users in the same way it currently does with music. Read/Write Web also cites a recent press release that quotes directors at Last.fm as saying they plan to host every music video ever created. This could well turn out to be the MTV of the Web 2.0 revolution.
Businesses

Submission + - U.S. Lags in Broadband Penetration

Submitted by anthemaniac
anthemaniac writes: The United States is behind and falling behinder in broadband penetration, slipping to 15th in the latest Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report of 30 industrialized nations. Some argue that the nations atop the list are small and easy to wire. Apparently it's not that simple. Competition is higher in those countries, keeping prices down. Denmark leads with 31.9 connections per 100 people. The U.S., where prices are higher, is at 19.6. On the bright side, the U.S. edged out both the Czech Republic and Poland, and far outpaced Mexico's 3.5.

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