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UbuntuDupe (970646)

UbuntuDupe
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UbuntuDupe (970646)

  Hardware: 'Mind Gaming' Could Enter Market This Year 2008-03-22 09:57

Posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday March 22, @09:57AM
from the yeah-right-it-will dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In an adapted version of the Harry Potter video game, players lift boulders and throw lightning bolts using only their minds. Just as physical movement changed the interface of gaming with Nintendo's Wii, the power of the mind may be the next big thing in video games. And it may come soon. Emotiv, a company based in San Francisco, says its mind-control headsets will be on shelves later this year, along with a host of novel "biofeedback" games developed by its partners. Several other companies — including EmSense in Monterey, California; NeuroSky in San Jose, California; and Hitachi in Tokyo — are also developing technology to detect players brainwaves and use them in next-gen video games."
Submitted by mack on Sunday February 10, @04:24PM
mack writes "It's begun.

As promised three weeks ago, more than 200 people with signs, many in masks, are massed right now outside the Scientology mothership in Hollywood, protesting against the COS.

Chants of "We are Anonymous!", signs proclaiming, "Scientology kills!", black bandannas and V-for-Vendetta masks seem to be the order of the day, though there were a few hockey and politician masks in the mix too ... See photos."
http://blogging.la/archives/2008/02/anonymous_pickets_the_scientol.phtml
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 [+] submission, politics, internet

  Police database used to harass family[->] 2008-02-10 11:59 Bonker

Submitted by Bonker on Sunday February 10, @11:59AM
Bonker writes "A police officer in DeKalb County, Georgia, used a Georgia Crime Information Center computer to retrieve personal information about a woman dating her separated husband. She then created a flyer with the woman's picture entitled 'Homewrecker' and mailed it to the woman's family, neighbors, and others. Despite the fact that using the computer system for personal reasons is a crime, the officer, Teresa Shover, a 13-year veteran, receive a five week suspension."
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/15256835/detail.html
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 [+] submission, privacy

  An inconvenient study? 2007-12-11 19:20 lego_boy_aus

Submitted by lego_boy_aus on Tuesday December 11, @07:20PM
lego_boy_aus writes "
Climate scientists at the University of Rochester, the University of Alabama, and the University of Virginia report that observed patterns of temperature changes ('fingerprints' ) over the last thirty years are not in accord with what greenhouse models predict and can better be explained by natural factors, such as solar variability...

The report is published in the December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society...

Lead author David Douglass said: "The observed pattern of warming, comparing surface and atmospheric temperature trends, does not show the characteristic fingerprint associated with greenhouse warming. The inescapable conclusion is that the human contribution is not significant and that observed increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases make only a negligible contribution to climate warming."

Co-author John Christy said: "Satellite data and independent balloon data agree that atmospheric warming trends do not exceed those of the surface. Greenhouse models, on the other hand, demand that atmospheric trend values be 2-3 times greater. We have good reason, therefore, to believe that current climate models greatly overestimate the effects of greenhouse gases. Satellite observations suggest that GH models ignore negative feedbacks, produced by clouds and by water vapor, that diminish the warming effects of carbon dioxide."

Particularly in view of the current Bali talks, this would have to be an "incovenient study".

The Abstract for this is available on the website."
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 [+] submission, science, editorial

  Russian scambot passes Turing Test? 2007-12-11 18:18 UbuntuDupe

Submitted by UbuntuDupe on Tuesday December 11, @06:18PM
UbuntuDupe writes "CNet reports that a chatterbot has been extracting personal information by pretending to flirt in Russian chatrooms — information that could be used for identity theft. Apparently, its flirting is realistic enough to make people want to share that information, as if it were a real human flirter. From the article:

A program that can mimic online flirtation and then extract personal information from its unsuspecting conversation partners is making the rounds in Russian chat forums, according to security software firm PC Tools.

The artificial intelligence of CyberLover's automated chats is good enough that victims have a tough time distinguishing the "bot" from a real potential suitor, PC Tools said. The software can work quickly too, establishing up to 10 relationships in 30 minutes, PC Tools said. It compiles a report on every person it meets complete with name, contact information, and photos.

"As a tool that can be used by hackers to conduct identity fraud, CyberLover demonstrates an unprecedented level of social engineering," PC Tools senior malware analyst Sergei Shevchenko said in a statement.
Via Marginal Revolution."
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 [+] submission, it, hardhack

  Supreme Court upholds White House faith program[->] 2007-06-25 12:04 The Spoonman

Submitted by The Spoonman on Monday June 25 2007, @12:04PM
The Spoonman writes "In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court struck a blow against freedom of religion (which implies freedom FROM religion) in the U.S. The conservatively stacked court stated "taxpayers did not have "standing" to challenge in court the discretionary spending authority of the executive branch for its Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives." So much for "of the people, by the people, for the people"."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/25/faith.based.office.scotus/index.html
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 [+] submission, politics, court
Submitted by Lucas123 on Thursday June 14 2007, @11:22AM
Lucas123 writes "Japanese researchers discovered that a cockroach's olfactory senses are sharp and they have memories like that of a dog. When the scientists exposed the filthy, disgusting roaches to an odor while feeding them sugar, and then later gave them a whiff of the odor without the food, the bugs drooled. Another set of cockroaches that weren't exposed to the odor when they ate, did nothing when they were exposed to the same smell later. '"Understanding the brain mechanism of learning in insects can help us to understand the functionings in the human brain. There are many, many common characteristics,"' one scientist said in a telephone interview with Reuters."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19208079/
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 [+] submission, science, education
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Submitted by pasha2891 on Thursday June 14 2007, @10:31AM
pasha2891 writes "Finkelstein, son of holocaust survivors and outspoken critic of oppressive Israeli policy in Palestine, has come under attack from detractors like Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who seeks to silence critics of Israel and has successfully interfered in internal DePaul tenure processes. Despite being in the midst of their hectic finals-week and upcoming graduation, student leaders are currently sacrificing their time by occupying the Executive Offices of DePaul University indefinitely until their demands for the tenure of Professors Finkelstein and Larudee are met. Link to protest site."
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 [+] submission, politics, enlightenment
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  Church of England Chastises Sony[->] 2007-06-09 11:53 eldavojohn

Submitted by eldavojohn on Saturday June 09 2007, @11:53AM
eldavojohn writes "The game "Resistance: Fall of Man" has been called sick & sacreligious by the Church of England due to a point in the game in which rival gunmen kill hundreds inside Manchester cathedral. The Church of England said that Sony did not ask for permission to use the cathedral in their game and demanded an apology. The bishop of Manchester is quoted as saying, "It is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem. For a global manufacturer to recreate one of our great cathedrals with photorealistic quality and then encourage people to have gunbattles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible." A representative for Sony said a formal letter of apology will be sent Monday."
http://www.physorg.com/news100601847.html
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 [+] submission, games, censorship, dupe
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Journal by eldavojohn on Saturday June 09 2007, @11:25AM
At the risk of referring you to SomethingAwful, there is an article that drew my interest in that it points out a problem with Wikipedia. Although the beloved open encyclopedia has overcome many problems of graffiti and defamation, there are subtler problems with it--like the fact that the entry on Modern Warfare pales in comparison to the entry on Lightsaber Combat. But it doesn't end there, the article offers up quite a few examples of what seem to be obvious inconsistencies between two articles where the former should ideally be more thoroughly explored than the latter. Most of this is for your enjoyment, however, as this topic is often merely a matter of perspective.
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 [+] journal, humor

  14-yr-old girl's self portrait stolen for porn DVD 2007-05-28 16:08 titaniumdoughnut

Submitted by titaniumdoughnut on Monday May 28 2007, @04:08PM
titaniumdoughnut writes "14 year old girl's self portrait stolen from Flickr and used as cover for porn DVD "Body Magic." TVX Films refuses to acknowledge infringement, claiming to have purchased the image from an unknown stock company and business partner of 25 years, and later blames girl (now 17) for putting her photo on Flickr in the first place. U.S. lawyers requesting £50,000 to take up case.

From TVX Films agent: "I'M SURE BY THE END OF THE MONTH YOUR FACE WILL BE HISTORY ... WE HAVE FURTHER CHECKED OUT YOUR NAME AND ITS NOT LIKE IT'S A HOUSE WHOLE NAME. ACTUALLY, REMOVING YOUR IMAGE WILL HELP IMPROVE THE SELL OF THE DVD..... SO FAR IT BOMBED ... AS FOR COMPSENSATION;YOUR SILLY!"

The DVD continues to be sold and marketed with the photo in question attached. DVD info claims that all models featured are over 18."
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 [+] submission, privacy
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  Why SCO Does Not Own the Unix Copyrights 2007-05-28 14:46 ColonelZen

Submitted by ColonelZen on Monday May 28 2007, @02:46PM
ColonelZen writes "Should anyone still be following the mad adventures of SCOX I have written about recent developments in Why SCO Does Not Own the Unix Copyrights Recent declarations have shown that there were sound business reasons why Novell did not want to tranfer the Unix copyrights to Santa Cruz and so Caldera, now SCOX does not own them. — TWZ"
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 [+] submission, linux, caldera
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Submitted by Agent2592 on Monday May 28 2007, @02:20PM
Agent2592 writes "Here is a very interesting article on a study about hard drive failure. Notable from the article: -Hard drive failure rate is much higher that what the vendors suggest -SCSI/FC discs ("server class"), contrary to common perception DO NOT have a significant advantage over PATA/SATA ("desktop class") when it comes to failure rate. -Operating temperature and failure rate DO NOT have a significant correlation. In other words discs kept at a lower operating temperature fail just as much. (RAPID & frequent temperature change do have an impact) -There is NO reliable predictor of failure. (SMART included)"
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 [+] submission, hardware, slashdot
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Submitted by theodp on Monday May 28 2007, @01:21PM
theodp writes "Speaking as avatar 'Simon Pete Raymaker' until repeated crashes forced him back into the real world, NASA Director Simon Pete Worden announced that the Ames Research Center has launched an island in Second Life, which will allow the public to take part in future missions to Mars. 'This is not your father's space program,' Worden said. NASA joins other government agencies that have jumped on the Second Life bandwagon, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health and its National Library of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation. No word if the efforts are funded by real or virtual tax dollars."
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 [+] submission, space
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  Rejected WiiPlay Games - Comedy Video 2007-05-28 12:10 Anonymous Coward

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2007, @12:10PM
An anonymous reader writes "Short comedy video about the games Nintendo decided not to include in WiiPlay, complete with 3D Miis doing a variety of silly things."
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 [+] submission, games, wii
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