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United States

Government funds new computer forensic institute

Submitted by Quincy
Quincy writes "The DHS and Secret Service are setting up a new computer forensic institute in Alabama. Set to open in mid-2008, the new National Computer Forensic Institute will be able to train over 900 law enforcement officers per year. 'It will initially be staffed by 18 Secret Service agents and will feature classrooms, a forensic laboratory, an evidence vault, and server rooms. Courses will be offered in the investigation of electronic crimes, network intrusion investigation, and computer forensics.'"
Music

A way to break the major label monopoly?

Submitted by
Roger
Roger writes "Who-is-roger.com is the homepage of a project intended to break the grip of major labels on the music industry and put power back in the hands of musicians. The idea is simple: use video sites like Youtube and Metacafe along with word of mouth advertising to promote the project while using online distribution channels like Myspace, iTunes, and Cafepress to sell the songs and merchandise. The videos tell a coherent storyline, with each one broken into an introductory video blog segment followed by a narrative video pertaining to the song. This keeps out all of the middlemen (managers, labels, etc.) and allows earned revenue to go toward ongoing recording and production expenses. Every penny the project makes goes to someone involved in the creative process, not to some label executive who is more concerned with the bottom line than good art. You can find their most recent video here. The songs are available for purchase on their home website, under the heading "Songs.""
Networking

The IT Daylight saving checklist

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes "A two-year-old federal law moves expands Daylight Saving Time by a month, starting this year. For humans, it means resetting clocks on a different weekend twice a year, but for computer systems it means upgrades that could cause headaches as the March 11 deadline approaches. Whether you're up to speed or in panic mode, here's a checklist of what you should be doing to prepare. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/030107-dst-s lides.html"
Patents

Orphan 70-Year-Old Plane Data = 'Trade Secrets'?

Submitted by Anonymous Flyboy Coward
Anonymous Flyboy Coward writes "The Experimental Aircraft Association is taking on the Federal Aviation Administration, which has denied a FOIA request for access to construction data to the owner of 70+ year old antique Fairchild F45 aircraft. The FAA sided with a company that was formed in 1990 (and which didn't even know the airplane type existed until the FAA's inquiry) that claims it "owns" the design and manufacturing data to the aircraft, calling the data a "trade secret". The company failed to register with the FAA (as required by law) yet the FAA is standing by it's assertion that they "own" this data, which was turned over to the public domain in the 1950s. Many vintage aircraft owners face a Catch-22 situation: they are required by law to perform maintenance to the manufacturer's specs, but much of this data is unavailable because the FAA refuses to release it without the data's owner's permission... even if there is no such owner. The decision in this case will likely have wide-ranging implications on FOIA requests, as well as affect whether historical antique aircraft will remain flyable or lost forever to a pointless bureaucratic death. The full story is available here."
Power

Sanyo blamed in Lenovo battery recall

Submitted by ukhackster
ukhackster writes "Those overheating laptop batteries are back. Lenovo is recalling 205,000 "extended" batteries which shipped with its ThinkPad machines, or were bought as replacements.

Slashdot readers will doubtless remember the flak which Sony attracted last year, after it was blamed for exploding Dell notebooks and several massive recalls. This time, the batteries were made by Sanyo. Could this be the start of another recall franzy?"

Promptness is its own reward, if one lives by the clock instead of the sword.