Comment G+, Anyone? (Score 3, Interesting) 237
I know this happened a while ago, but given the recent events about Google removing users from G+ that were using the service under a pseudonym, this feels really ironic.
Comment Re:Satire is Free Speech (Score 1) 160
When he doesn't get permission, he generally releases it anyway, but for free. (Like "You're Pitiful")
Comment Re:Bzzzt! Bullshit. (Score 1) 144
Not to mention Spotify. Spotify was absolutely huge in Finland- It was replacing TPB before they made the free version lame.
Comment Re:Really? (Score 3, Interesting) 144
Most of the regular services are available in Finland, with the exception of Pandora (However "regular" Pandora is, I don't know). Finland also has Spotify. Given Finland's stance on free speech (We top the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index along with a few other countries, last I checked), I doubt that this kind of censorship will go through. I know, press freedom isn't entirely related to this. But Finland is a lot more liberal about such things than, say, the US.
Pretty much everyone I know here in Finland had moved to Spotify from illegal downloading, until Spotify watered down the free version. Restoring Spotify to its previous state would be far, far more effective than blacklisting TPB.
Submission + - imslp.org Taken Down Thanks to MPA (imslpforums.org)
dsavi writes: The International Music Score Library Project's website imslp.org (A library of public domain scores and recordings of classical music) has been taken down by GoDaddy per a DMCA takedown request from the Music Publisher's Association. According to the MPA, a score of Rachmanioff's Bells is under copyright in the US, while according to IMSLP it is most definitely not. A DMCA counter-notice has been issued to GoDaddy by IMSLP, unfortunately there is a ten-day waiting period before the domain can be restored.
While the imslp.org domain is down, the music library can still be accessed at PetrucciLibrary.org. Anyone who is interested in helping with counter-suing the MPA can email imslproject at yahoo dot ca.
Submission + - Blender 2.5 declared stable (blender.org)
dsavi writes:
The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.57. This is the first stable release of the Blender 2.5 series, representing the culmination of many years of redesign and development work. We name this version "Stable" not only because it's mostly feature complete, but especially thanks to the 1000s of fixes and feature updates we did since the 2.5 beta versions were published. The next 2 months we will keep working on finishing a couple of left-over 2.5 targets and we expect to get feedback and bug reports from users to handle as well. If all goes well, the 2.58 version then can be the final release of the 2.5 series, with a massive amount of new projects to be added for an exciting cycle of 2.6x versions. Target is to release updates every 2 months this year.
Blender 2.5 features (Among many, many other things) a heavily redesigned UI, a Python 3.2 API that has access to every tool and almost all the data in the scene, and a new animation system with the motto "make anything animatable".
Comment Re:Hide what? (Score 1) 294
There has already been controversy on the Blenderartist.org forums and on Blender mailing lists (IIRC). As Ton Roosendaal (Blender Foundation chairman) concludes in the press release Rebranding Blender, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant". It was probably with this in mind that someone submitted this /. story.
Fedora Infrastructure Compromised 115
Trailrunner7 writes "The infrastructure of the Fedora Project was compromised over the weekend and an account belonging to a Fedora contributor was taken over by an attacker. However, Fedora officials said they don't believe that the attacker was able to push any changes to the Fedora package system or make any actual changes to the infrastructure. The attack appears to have targeted one specific user account, which had some high-value privileges. The attacker was able to compromise the account externally, and then had the ability to connect remotely to some Fedora systems. The attacker also changed the account's SSH key, Fedora officials said."
ACS: Law Withdraws Pursuing Illegal File-Sharers 105
Necroloth writes "As mentioned previously on Slashdot, ACS: Law has been sending out letters to thousands of alleged file-sharers on behalf on its client, MediaCAT. However, solicitor Andrew Crossley has now ceased all work on such cases, citing criminal attacks and death threats. Judge Birss doesn't seem to be taken by this, and comments, 'I am getting the impression with every twist and turn since I started looking at these cases that there is a desire to avoid any judicial scrutiny.' Judge Birss is expected to deliver his judgment on the case later in the week... perhaps all is not lost in the British judicial system."
Inception, The Social Network, TS3 Get Oscar Noms 201
Among the Best Picture nominations this year are Inception, The Social Network and Toy Story 3. In addition to TS3, the Animation category has How to Train Your Dragon and The Illusionist. Also getting a nod in documentary was Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is worth your time if you are into that sort of thing. You'll have to wait a month to find out who the winners are... and to find out what the stars will wear on the red carpet. Or to play the Oscar speech drinking game.
Microsoft Sues TiVo 112
doperative notes that "TiVo [is accused] of infringing four patents. Microsoft is asking that TiVo be barred from importing the digital-video recorders, which are primarily made in Mexico and sold in the U.S... The four patents in the ITC case relate to program schedules and selection, controlling the interface, and a way to restrict use of the DVR based on the program’s rating."
Obama Nominates RIAA Lawyer For Solicitor General 463
Xiph1980 writes "President Barack Obama on Monday nominated former Recording Industry Association of America lawyer Donald Verrilli Jr. to serve as the nation's solicitor general. The solicitor general is charged with defending the government before the Supreme Court, and files friend-of-the court briefs in cases in which the government believes there is a significant legal issue. The office also determines which cases it would bring to the Supreme Court for review. Verrilli is best known for leading the recording industry's legal charge against music- and movie-sharing site Grokster. That 2003 case ultimately led to Grokster's demise when the US Supreme Court sided with the RIAA's verdict."
LibreOffice 3.3 Released Today 470
mikejuk writes "Only four months after the formation of the Document Foundation by leading members of the OpenOffice.org community, it has launched LibreOffice 3.3, the first stable release of its alternative Open Source personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Since the fork was announced at the end of September the number of developers 'hacking' LibreOffice has gone from fewer than twenty to well over one hundred, allowing the Document Foundation to make its first release ahead of schedule The split of a large open source office suite comes at a time when it isn't even clear if there is a long term future for office suites at all. What is more puzzling is what the existence of two camps creating such huge codebases for a fundamental application type says about the whole state of open source development at this time. It clearly isn't the idealistic world it tries to present itself as."
Facebook To Make Facebook Credits Mandatory For Games 116
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from TechCrunch:
"Facebook has confirmed that it is indeed making Facebook Credits mandatory for Games, with the rule going into effect on July 1 2011. Facebook says that Credits will be the exclusive way for users to get their 'real money' into a game, but developers are still allowed to keep their own in-game currencies (FarmBucks, FishPoints, whatever). For example, Zynga can charge you 90 Facebook Credits for 75 CityCash in CityVille. ... The company acknowledges that some developers may not be pleased with the news, explaining this is why it is announcing the news five months in advance, so it can 'have an open conversation with developers.' The rule only applies to Canvas games (games that use Facebook Connect aren't affected), and while it's games only at this part, Facebook says that it eventually would like to see all apps using Facebook Credits. It's a move that's been a long time coming — there has been speculation that Facebook would do this for a year now, spurring plenty of angst in the developer community."
'Universal' Memory Aims To Replace Flash/DRAM 125
siliconbits writes "A single 'universal' memory technology that combines the speed of DRAM with the non-volatility and density of flash memory was recently invented at North Carolina State University, according to researchers. The new memory technology, which uses a double floating-gate field-effect-transistor, should enable computers to power down memories not currently being accessed, drastically cutting the energy consumed by computers of all types, from mobile and desktop computers to server farms and data centers, the researchers say."
