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Government

Submission + - License plate readers: Little concern for privacy (washingtonpost.com) 4

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: More than 250 cameras in Washington DC and its suburbs scan license plates in real time. It's a program that's quietly expanded beyond what anyone had imagined even a few years ago.

Some jurisdictions store the information in a large networked database; others retain it only in the memory of each individual reader's computer, then delete it after several weeks as new data overwrite it.

A George Mason University study last year found that 37 percent of large police agencies in the United States now use license plate reader technology and that a significant number of other agencies planned to have it by the end of 2011. But the survey found that fewer than 30 percent of the agencies using the tool had researched any legal implications.

With virtually no public debate, police agencies have begun storing the information from the cameras, building databases that document the travels of millions of vehicles.
Australia

Submission + - New motion simulator is one hell of a ride (deakin.edu.au)

Submitted by
Jimbob-Aussie
Jimbob-Aussie writes: "Developed for next generation fighter pilot training, Deakin Universities Universal Motion Simulator was launched last week in Geelong, Australia. Billed as the next big thing in flight, the system developed by researchers from the Centre for Intelligent Systems Research (CISR) have leveraged work undertaken in Germany and added realistic haptic flight control hardware. This hardware allows a pilot to 'feel' the forces in the control hardware that a pilot would feel when pulling up to 6 G's. Significantly more cost effective than traditional Stewart Platform based simulators, the system can put the test pilot in some quite intimidating positions, including upside down with continuous aileron rolls possible. Looks like a fun ride!"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft to back Kinect-based startups (techworld.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "Microsoft has announced a program designed to help 10 developers or startups launch businesses around products for Kinect, the controller that senses motion and voice. Developers with Kinect applications for the Xbox or Windows are invited to apply to the Kinect Accelerator program, even though Microsoft does not yet allow the sale of products based on Kinect for Windows."
Censorship

Submission + - ICE Returns hackers domain To Owners (activepolitic.com)

Submitted by bs0d3
bs0d3 writes: Many of the critics of operation in our sites, claim that it's impossible for a domain owner to get his domain back. Today it has happened; after a seizure not too long ago, ICE has returned a domain called virtualhackers.net to its original owners. The seizure occurred after one of the users of the site had posted people's credit card numbers and social security numbers. The domain owners contacted ICE and relinquished the account information of the person who did post that information. As the database was seized, ICE no doubt retains the private information of site users who had nothing to do with this incident.
The Internet

Submission + - Petition Calls for Making Net Access Inalienable R (whitehouse.gov)

Submitted by
CelticWhisper
CelticWhisper writes: "Targeted at stopping SOPA, a petition has been started at the White House's "We The People" page calling for a Constitutional amendment that would render internet access an inalienable right. Other countries have already adopted such classification for internet access.

Excerpt from petition text reads: "The United States Government is actively attempting to pass legislation to censor Internet. There are numerous campaigns against this Act, but we need to do more than just prevent SOPA from passing. Otherwise, future Acts of similar nature will oppress our rights."

Is calling for a Constitutional amendment to guarantee this too extreme, or is the Internet sufficiently entrenched in modern life that access to it should be guaranteed by the Constitution?"
Privacy

Submission + - Biometrics for ALL Afghans given to U.S. (nytimes.com)

Submitted by wisebabo
wisebabo writes: I just noticed that not only are ALL Afghans going to have their biometric data (fingerprints and iris scans) recorded but:

"Gathering the data does not stop at Afghanistan’s borders, however, since the military shares all of the biometrics it collects with the United States Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security through interconnected databases."

Talk about "know thine enemy" (or I guess, for now, friend!).

I wonder if the U.S. has a similar deal with the Indian govt. (which is doing the same thing). Or, if they don't, are they planning to hack the database and get it for themselves (I'm sure it'd fit on a single terabyte HD). Does this foretell the near future when the U.S. govt. (and by extension, Chinese hackers) have the biometrics of almost everyone alive?

I really hope Facebook doesn't get this!
Microsoft

Submission + - Apple vs Microsoft for the novice user (criten.org)

Submitted by criten
criten writes: I'm submitting a shameless self promotion for a blog I've just written that compares Apple & Microsoft solutions for the novice user. The article compares both products in a number of areas including servicing, warranties, software, cost & recycling. The conclusion is that they're virtually the same product with Apple solutions costing much more.

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