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Comment Re:Debt-backed economies.... (Score 2) 159

by tukang (#44568541) Attached to: Is Europe's Recession Really Over?

We will never send real resources backwards in time in order to "repay" public debts.

Who said anything about sending resources back in time? We'll send our resources to our creditors and as the debt and interest increase future generations will have to send more of it to our creditors than we do now. You seem to think that increased spending leads to increased output but that's debatable and even if you do get an increase in output you can't guarantee that it will be domestic output.

Submission + - What are the next Big Space Life Questions? (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: Getting NASA's astrobiology community to agree on a set of specific future space life exploration goals must be like herding cats — there are over 500 members, but the group is currently trying to do just that by defining the most important questions it want to focus on for the 2014 Strategic Plan.

Submission + - How should I wean myself off of Google services?

Submitted by grahamsaa
grahamsaa writes: My primary e-mail account is with gmail, and has been for years. I catch up with remote friends and family by using Google chat (within gmail). I have an Android phone and tablet, and am generally happy with them. Unfortunately, due to Google's cooperation with the NSA and other agencies, I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable with my dependency on their services.

I do have a riseup.net e-mail account, but their webmail interface (squirrelmail) isn't nearly as polished as gmail's is (I can't fault them for this — Riseup is small and funded entirely on donations — but giving up some of gmail's features will be difficult). I'm not opposed to setting up my own mail server and I'm experienced enough with Linux to do this, but that presents the some of the same problems. In addition to that, it will take time to update my contacts with new address information, and surely some people will slip through the cracks, probably resulting in complete loss of communication.

Getting away from Google on mobile platforms is even more difficult. Google Now already knows where I live and work, what sports teams I follow, etc. Occasionally I rely on GPS to get around, which works very well, but it also leaks my location data to Google Maps. I need to use a smartphone for work (and my employer pays for my phone), but there don't seem to be any good alternatives to Android. iOS is locked down, and no better from a privacy perspective, and Windows Mobile (or whatever they're calling it these days) is no better.

I'm not interested in switching away from insecure / monitored services because I'm engaged in anything illegal, or because I have anything "to hide" per se. . . I just think that Google already knows too much about me. Switching to a search engine like Duckduckgo is easy enough, but getting away from other services looks like it's going to be very cumbersome. I ditched Facebook years ago and haven't looked back, but I expect this transition to be far more difficult.

Has anyone done this successfully? What services / applications work well? What do you recommend?

Submission + - 9-digit numbers copyrighted and DMCA notice issued (chillingeffects.org) 2

Submitted by Taco Cowboy
Taco Cowboy writes: The American Bankers Association claims that it has copyrighted 9-digit numbers

An individual whose website is offering a searchable list of American banks' routing numbers receives a DMCA notice from the American Bankers' Association, claiming copyright in those numbers

Greg Thatcher runs a website that provides a variety of information and services. One of those is, or was, an alphabetized list of the routing numbers associated with American banks. If you've ever had to make a wire transfer, or set up on-line payments from your bank account, you've used one of these numbers, each of which is unique to a particular bank. It's the other long number on your checks that isn't your account number

Thatcher got these routing numbers from a federal government website , as in fact anyone still can. He first began providing them on his website in 2005

Given that the numbers are available from the Federal Reserve, it was therefore to Thatcher's great surprise when he received this DMCA notice

Sent by a law firm representing the American Bankers Association, ("ABA") the letter requested that Thatcher remove the numbers from his website because they were violating the copyright in those numbers held by the ABA

A search of the U.S. Copyright Office records reveals that the ABA does indeed have a registered copyright in what is described as the key to the routing numbers, with the most recent entry at 2012 ( http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=57&ti=51,57&Search_Arg=routing%20numbers&Search_Code=FT*&CNT=25&PID=ps_HRgBR2Rg-OnuCuOTD6EM6T2_i&SEQ=20130627164332 )

More information at https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130621/13594123566/american-bankers-association-claims-routing-numbers-are-copyrighted.shtml

Submission + - The Reviews for the First Lab Grown Burger Aren't Bad (vice.com)

Submitted by Daniel_Stuckey
Daniel_Stuckey writes: According to the immediate reactions of the guinea pigs, the six-figure burger wasn't bad, but could have used some ketchup.

The tasting was presented as a livestreamed special by Maastricht University, which is home to Dr. Mark Post, the researcher who's led the lab-grown meat effort. Joining him to taste the small patty, which was prepared by chef Richard McGeown on a set resembling an infomercial, were food scientist Hanni Rützler and author Josh Schonwald.

Submission + - Google SPDY vs WebSocket Protocol (blogspot.com)

Submitted by kumarudaya
kumarudaya writes: The core of the web is HTTP protocol. It was designed to transfer text. Now it's over used. So it's not scaling well. Google SPDY and WebSocket are 2 complementary protocols to fix the broken pieces in HTTP as simply rip and replace HTTP is not an easy solution.

Submission + - Kubuntu opens up for donations (muktware.com)

Submitted by sfcrazy
sfcrazy writes: KDE-based Ubuntu flavor Kubuntu is now open for outside donations. The distribution was earlier funded by Canonical, but then as the company shifted focus towards mobile platform. Jonathan Riddell the lead Kubuntu developer who was hired by Canonical to develop Kubuntu was reassigned to other projects. Jonathan quit Canonical and joined Blue Systems, which funds other GNU/Linux based systems such as Linux Mint, to continue his work on Kubuntu. Now Kubuntu team is opening up for external donations to allow the team to invest more resources on making Kubuntu better.

Submission + - UK Heat Wave Causes Bird To Transform Natural Stance Into 'Flamingo Swan' (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by Rebecka
Rebecka writes: After weeks of battling unusually warm temperatures in the UK, one flamingo has already adapted to the rapid change in climate.

Multiple onlookers at Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire have captured images of one the centre's 250 famously pink birds adapting its natural stance to mimic that of a swan. According to a report from the Telegraph, the wading animal's adaption has experts baffled and has resulted in the new name for the 52-year-old bird: flamingo swan.

Submission + - Maneuvering Continues for Control of Dell

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Just as Carl Icahn's months-long, high-profile bid for control of Dell seemed to have run its course, came the announcement that Dell's board had postponed a shareholder's vote on the bid from Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners, to take private the company that Dell had started in a University of Texas dorm room twenty nine years ago. The postponement indicated that Dell was not confident that their $24.4 billion ($13.65 per share) deal had the necessary votes. Icahn and his main ally, Southeastern Asset Management, claim that the proposed deal undervalues the company and its upside potential; Icahn's latest proposal is to keep the company public, but to offer $14 per share plus upside warrants, for every share tendered by stockholders. The latest wrinkle is apparent tension within the Dell/Silver Lake team; Silver Lake reportedly feels entitled to the $450 million buyout fee specified in the deal's language, if any alternative bid from Icahn succeeds within a year; Dell and the board feel that Silver Lake would only be entitled to expenses in that case, perhaps amounting to a few tens of millions USD. The Bloomberg story also reports that Michael Dell has at times been unable to reach his Silver Lake counterpart (a longtime friend) on the phone to discuss possibly sweetening the bid.

Submission + - 98 Million Americans Might Have Received Polio Vaccine Contaminated With Cancer (infowars.com)

Submitted by SmartAboutThings
SmartAboutThings writes: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention website curiously mothballed pages admitting that the polio vaccine administered from 1955 to 1963 to over 98 million Americans was contaminated with a primate form of cancer virus. cdclogoOther CDC web pages also referencing the link between the widely-distributed vaccine and cancer have similarly been discarded. The pages are still available through Google’s cache system and at the links below: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/updates/archive/polio_and_cancer_factsheet.htm http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/updates/archive/polio_and_cancer.htm

Submission + - Jailbreak Update iOS For iPhone and iPad Mini (exteen.com)

Submitted by typhon71959
typhon71959 writes: At the time that you have retrieved the info that you need to jailberak your iOS operated system or your iphone it is time to do the jailbreaking process. There are certain restrictions that are used for tags in your iTunes account and this may make it difficult to get the info that you need to do the jailbreaks you need to do. There are many easier ways to do this and the update that you will do will give you a few options. Your iOS system is one that is restricted by the manufacturer in its use of certain third party apps. In order to have an unlimited amount if your jailbreaks will be necessary.





The jail-breaking of a gadget like the iPad or the iPod touch can be quite technical, especially for those that aren't quite tech savvy. Indeed, the procedure requires following some strict instructions, guidelines that while being quite simple, can make the procedure go wrong if they aren't followed perfectly. Not only would it void the warranty on the iPad, but it may also end up bricking the device, making it entirely useless. Moreover, not using the jail-broken properly will put it at risk. One example would be a user that isn't careful about where they download apps, which may result in the download of malware onto the iPad, as highlighted by iPad jailbreak experts.

The jail-breaking of a gadget like the iPad or the iPod touch can be quite technical, especially for those that aren't quite tech savvy. Indeed, the procedure requires following some strict instructions, guidelines that while being quite simple, can make the procedure go wrong if they aren't followed perfectly. Not only would it void the warranty on the iPad, but it may also end up bricking the device, making it entirely useless. Moreover, not using the jail-broken properly will put it at risk. One example would be a user that isn't careful about where they download apps, which may result in the download of malware onto the iPad, as highlighted by iPad jailbreak experts.

Submission + - Texas & Florida vie for private lunar company Golden Spike to move from Col (examiner.com)

Submitted by MarkWhittington
MarkWhittington writes: The Denver Post reported on July 12, 2013 that Texas and Florida, already embroiled in a fight over which state will be the venue for SpaceX’s commercial space port, are now vying to be the site of the headquarters of a company that, while smaller, has much loftier ambitions

Golden Spike, the Boulder, Colorado based company that proposes to start commercial space flights to the moon with paying customers, is being courted by Texas and Florida to leave Colorado and to relocate its headquarters in either state.

Submission + - Microsoft's Cooperation With NSA Either Voluntary, Or Reveals New Legal Tactic (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by holy_calamity
holy_calamity writes: When Microsoft re-engineered its online services to assist NSA surveillance programs, the company was either acting voluntarily, or under a new kind of court order, reports MIT Technology Review. Existing laws were believed to shelter companies from being forced to modify their systems to aid surveillance, but experts say the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court may now have a new interpretation. Microsoft's statement about its cooperation with NSA surveillance doesn't make it clear whether it acted under legal duress, or simply decided that to helping out voluntarily was in its best interest.

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