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Censorship

Chinese Firm Helps Iran Spy On Citizens 98

Posted by timothy from the they're-like-the-bluecoat-of-china dept.
New submitter politkal excerpts from a report at Reuters: "A Chinese telecommunications equipment company has sold Iran's largest telecom firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and internet communications, interviews and contract documents show. The system was part of a 98.6 million euro ($130.6 million) contract for networking equipment supplied by Shenzhen, China-based ZTE Corp to the Telecommunication Co of Iran (TCI), according to the documents. Government-controlled TCI has a near monopoly on Iran's landline telephone services and much of Iran's internet traffic is required to flow through its network. ... Human rights groups say they have documented numerous cases in which the Iranian government tracked down and arrested critics by monitoring their telephone calls or internet activities. Iran this month set up a Supreme Council of Cyberspace, headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said it would protect 'against internet evils,' according to Iranian state television."
Microsoft

Microsoft Patent Monetizes Your TV Remote 234

Posted by Soulskill from the you-will-pay-in-all-the-ways-you-are-able dept.
theodp writes "Microsoft, reports GeekWire, is seeking a patent on monetizing the buttons of your TV remote. In its application for a patent on 'Control-based Content Pricing,' Microsoft explains how one can jack up the cable bill of those who dare fast-forward past a diaper commercial or replay a sports highlight. From the patent application: 'If a user initiates a navigation control input to advance past (e.g., skip over) an advertisement, the cost of a requested on-demand movie may be increased. Similarly, if a user initiates a replay of a sporting event, the user may be charged for the replay control input and for each subsequent view control input.'"
Encryption

NSA Building US's Biggest Spy Center 279

Posted by Soulskill from the you-can-trust-us dept.
New submitter AstroPhilosopher writes "The National Security Agency is building a complex to monitor and store 'all' communications in a million-square-foot facility. One of its secret roles? Code-breaking your private, personal information. Everybody's a target. Quoting Wired: 'Breaking into those complex mathematical shells like the AES is one of the key reasons for the construction going on in Bluffdale. That kind of cryptanalysis requires two major ingredients: super-fast computers to conduct brute-force attacks on encrypted messages and a massive number of those messages for the computers to analyze. The more messages from a given target, the more likely it is for the computers to detect telltale patterns, and Bluffdale will be able to hold a great many messages. "We questioned it one time," says another source, a senior intelligence manager who was also involved with the planning. "Why were we building this NSA facility? And, boy, they rolled out all the old guys—the crypto guys." According to the official, these experts told then-director of national intelligence Dennis Blair, "You’ve got to build this thing because we just don’t have the capability of doing the code-breaking." It was a candid admission.'"
Crime

Stolen iPad's Reported Location Not Enough To Warrant Search, Say Dutch Police 619

Posted by timothy from the oh-that's-hardly-specific-enough dept.
lbalbalba writes "A location message sent from a stolen iPad by an anti-theft application turns out to be insufficient evidence to issue a search warrant for the Dutch authorities. A Dutch man reported his iPad as stolen to the Dutch authorities last month. Despite the fact that the rightful owner was able to locate his iPad within hours of the theft, thanks to the anti-theft application he had installed, the Dutch authorities did not issue a warrant to perform a search. According to the prosecutors, a search warrant is 'a very heavy measure,' that should only be used when there is 'sufficient suspicion.' The theft report by the owner was viewed as 'no objective evidence' in the case."

Submission + - iPad 3 Confirmed New Features

Submitted by Robert Bowles
Robert Bowles writes: According to a very reliable source, in the deep know, iPad 3 will have hundreds of eyes and tentacles. The ancient informant, from beyond the stars, also states mortals gazing upon the new iPad will be driven insane.
Programming

Computer Programmers Only the 5th Most Sleep Deprived Profession 204

Posted by Soulskill from the it's-the-sun's-fault-for-coming-out-before-noon dept.
garthsundem writes "As described in the NY Times Economix blog, the mattress chain Sleepy's analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey to find the ten most sleep deprived professions. In order, they are: Home Health Aides, Lawyer, Police Officers, Doctors/Paramedics, Tie: (Economists, Social Workers, Computer Programmers), Financial Analysts, Plant Operators (undefined, but we assume 'factory' and not 'Audrey II'), and Secretaries."

Comment Surprised? (Score 1) 5

by Robert Bowles (#39218219) Attached to: 1st Amendment is Gone: Bill makes protest illegal

For decades, Republicans and Democrats have been voting to gradually erode "other peoples' freedoms". Freedoms that "nobody really needs", minor yet reasonable restrictions for the greater good, compromise lauded as a virtue as we're asked to give up just a little more, ...

That is the sound of inevitability, the only logical outcome given the inputs to the system. It's too late to unspill the milk. That anyone is surprised utterly stuns me. The writing on the wall was written by our own hands.

Comment Re:YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZgk1c (Score 1) 1127

by Robert Bowles (#39111165) Attached to: Hunters Shoot Down Drone of Animal Rights Group

A few points - The videographer commented that he thought he heard 22 fire (I understand 22LR isn't uncommon on pigeon hunts). A falling 22 calibre 40 grain bullet can maim someone. There were people in front and behind him (along the road) who he accused of shooting at the drone, so the line of fire probably wasn't safe.
Again, In the video, a human finger is pretty clearly pointing at the prop damage, and that doesn't grok.

Comment YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZgk1c (Score 2) 1127

by Robert Bowles (#39109001) Attached to: Hunters Shoot Down Drone of Animal Rights Group

I posted this to YouTube, trying not to be provocative, but the post vanished.

Clearly, the fact that folks were shooting up into the air is damn reckless. The fact that they were trying to willfully destroy your property is flat out illegal.

My issue is with the footage at 02:15. It appears that you're trying to indicate the prop damage is what took the drone down. The likelihood of two hits on that single tiny prop area is highly improbable. Moreover, I've seen drone crashes and the prop damage is more consistent with a crash into the brush.

Help me out here. I've watched this a dozen times and I'm trying to believe you. What did I miss? Did the impossible happen?
The Internet

Avoiding Red Lights By Booking Ahead 299

Posted by Soulskill from the might-get-bumped-if-they-overbook dept.
RedEaredSlider writes "Peter Stone, associate professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin, has presented an idea at the AAAS meeting today for managing intersections: a computer in a car calls ahead to the nearest intersection it is headed towards, and says it will arrive at a given time. The intersection checks to see if anyone else is arriving then, and if the slot is open, it tells the car to proceed. If it isn't, it tells the car that the car remains responsible for slowing down or stopping. He says that even with only a few connected cars, the system still works, even if the benefits are still only to those who have the connected vehicles."
Government

Obama Orders Federal Agencies To Digitize All Records 186

Posted by Soulskill from the welcome-to-the-90s dept.
Lucas123 writes "President Obama this week issued a directive to all federal agencies to upgrade records management processes from paper-based systems that have been around since President Truman's administration to electronic records systems with Web 2.0 capabilities. Agencies have four months to come up with plans to improve their records keeping. Part of the directive is to have the National Archives and Records Administration store all long-term records and oversee electronic records management efforts in other agencies. Unfortunately, NARA doesn't have a stellar record itself (PDF) in rolling out electronic records projects. Earlier this year, due to cost overruns and project mismanagement, NARA announced it was ending a 10-year effort to create an electronic records archive."

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