NuMessiah - Slashdot User

Google SoC accepting applications!

Submitted by

Semi-Anonymous Coward

on Thursday March 15 2007, @09:32AM

Semi-Anonymous Coward writes "Google's very successful Summer of Code, a project where Google funds students to work on Open Source projects, is running again this year. Student applications are now open. This year there is an even wider variety of mentoring organisation, from places like the BBC to OSS Game projects! The applications close on the 24th of March, so you better get cracking."

Germany Rejects Microsoft FAT Patent 162

Posted by kdawson on Thursday March 15 2007, @09:09AM
from the skinny-on-inventiveness dept.

Askmum writes in with news that a German patent court has ruled Microsoft's patent on FAT invalid in that country, finding that it is "not based on inventive activity." Just one of 6,000-odd patents Microsoft has amassed since a 1991 memo from Bill Gates turned around the company's attitude to patents.

EFF Reveals Plot to Cripple European Televison

Submitted by poopie on Tuesday March 13 2007, @07:28PM

poopie writes "From BoingBoing:

EFF has just published a long-awaited, brilliant paper on Europe's proposed digital TV DRM system. ... EFF is the only consumer group admitted to the DRM negotiations — closed door, secretive meetings that you had to pay EU10,000 a year to attend — and then only because it came as the representative of some open source manufacturers. Speaking of which, the DVB spec requires that devices be built to resist end-user modification, which means that open source and free software are right out.

Read the EFF DVB briefing paper Who controls your Television"

Viacom sues Youtube and Google for $1billion

Submitted by

botkiller

on Tuesday March 13 2007, @06:26PM

botkiller writes "Caught this article on MSN, which I don't usually peruse for news, but it stuck out. Apparently Viacom is suing Google and Youtube for one billion dollars, saying that Youtube has shown 160,000 of its videos without permission. From the article: "The lawsuit, the first big attack on the Google-owned video-sharing site, may just be a negotiating ploy. But it could be the first volley in a war between Google and its old-media rivals." More at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dis patch/ViacomSuesYouTube.aspx?GT1=9215"

Tech Veterans Now Investing in Alternative Energy->

From feed by nytfeed on Tuesday March 13 2007, @06:12PM

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have found a new purpose in transforming the $1 trillion domestic energy market.
Link to Original Source

Glow in the dark, in all colors

Submitted by

Matthew Sparkes

on Tuesday March 13 2007, @06:05PM

Matthew Sparkes writes "Glow-in-the-dark materials that shine with the whole range of visible colors, and can even produce white light, have been developed by Japanese researchers. It's claimed that they can be used to provide readable signs without the need for electricity. This could be very useful, as the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), the international authority on lighting, has suggested buildings be fitted with emergency lighting and signs that work without power as standard."

SanDisk follows Intel with SSD Announcement

Submitted by

hoopla

on Tuesday March 13 2007, @06:01PM

hoopla writes "Not to be outdone by Intel'fs announcement yesterday, SanDisk announced the launch of their 32GB flash memory solid state drives. They had some products out before, but these are far cheaper and being more widely pushed to notebook manufacturers. Infoweek talks about the two announcements (in very little detail)."

Billion Dollar Handout To Upgrade TVs 663

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 13 2007, @05:55PM
from the if-we-can-send-a-man-to-the-moon dept.

db32 writes "SFGate has the story of the cutoff date for those rabbit ear antennas that some of us grew up with (Feb. 19, 2009). Now while the story of analog vs. digital TV has been beaten to death, still I think there is something more here. 'The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration... said it is setting aside $990 million to pay for the boxes. Each home can request up to two $40 coupons for a digital-to-analog converter box, which consumer electronics makers such as RCA and LG plan to produce.' Beyond my disdain for most TV to begin with, I am blown away that with all of our current problems — homelessness and crime on the home front, war fighting and terrorism abroad — our government is seriously going to spend this much money on upgrading peoples' televisions."

The end of internet radio?

Submitted by hellopolly on Sunday March 04 2007, @05:14AM

hellopolly writes "According to this article "The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has announced its decision on Internet radio royalty rates, rejecting all of the arguments made by Webcasters and instead adopting the "per play" rate proposal put forth by SoundExchange(a digital music fee collection body created by the RIAA)." Apparently this is between 100-200% of all the revenue that a small independent webcaster can generate. I know I would not have bought quite a few CD's if would not have heard it on Radio Paradise first. So do the record labels really want to drive internet radio out of business?"

It's official: Vista copy protection 100% cracked

Submitted by

Slinky Sausage

on Sunday March 04 2007, @02:00AM

Slinky Sausage writes "There's been a steady stream of 'sort of' cracks for Vista coming out of the piracy groups, but a crack has been released this morning by "Pantheon" which is doesn't avoid Vista's activation — it exploits it! Apparently despite the requirements for everyone including volume licence customers to activate, Microsoft built in the capability for OEM system builders to pre-install copies of Vista without activating it over the internet. The crack works on any Acer, HP, Lenovo, Hewlett Packard or custom machine (as long as you have the BIOS of that machine available)."