Soulfader - Slashdot User

Submission + - RIAA Wants Agreements to Stay Secret

Submitted by

NewYorkCountryLawyer

on Friday June 29, 2007 @05:10PM

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The RIAA is opposing Ms. Lindor's request for discovery into the agreements among the record company competitors by which they have agreed to settle and prosecute their cases together, by which she seeks to support her Fourth Affirmative Defense (pdf) alleging that "The plaintiffs, who are competitors, are a cartel acting collusively in violation of the antitrust laws and of public policy, by tying their copyrights to each other, collusively litigating and settling all cases together, and by entering into an unlawful agreement among themselves to prosecute and to dispose of all cases in accordance with a uniform agreement, and through common lawyers, thus overreaching the bounds and scope of whatever copyrights they might have. ...As such, they are guilty of misuse of their copyrights.""

Submission + - A commercial look at the GPL (nyud.net)

Submitted by

also-rr

on Friday June 29, 2007 @04:09PM

also-rr writes: "I needed to present a five minute brief on the GPL and what it could offer a company.

My aim was to give a clear idea of the basics of the GPL and why it should be considered for some projects. In particular there is a focus on partnered projects and how the GPL might be used to build a better relationship.

Entitled "The GNU GPL: A Commercial View" I hope it's useful for anyone else that needs to persuade a value-focused audience of the benefits of the GPL.

What changes would you make to put the point across more effectively? What changes need to be made for GPL3?"

Submission + - Are web-developer certifications worth it?

Submitted by

riyley

on Friday June 29, 2007 @04:04PM

riyley writes: "I'm a fairly advanced web developer with some hard experience in HTML, CSS, Javascript, Coldfusion and PHP. Now the HR at my company wants me to prove it in a way they understand, certificate. My boss has asked me to select some solid certifications and i've come up with three providers: W3Schools, BrainBench and ExpertRating.

I would like to know if these companies hold any more weight than the frame around the cert, or if it's a waste of my departments money and time? Is there another company I should look at? I'd prefer that in 3-5 years when i'm ready to move on to another job, that these would still be worth padding my resume with. Is that a pipedream?"

Submission + - Answer People in Online Discussions Visualized (cmu.edu)

Submitted by

Marc Smith

on Friday June 29, 2007 @04:03PM

Marc Smith writes: ""Answer people", the folks who contribute most of the value in the Internet, are a small minority of all online users. Less than 2% of authors in Usenet newsgroups, a recent paper my co-authors and I (Howard T. Welser, Eric Gleave, Danyel Fisher and Marc Smith) have published in the Journal of Social Structure reports, are likely to be the helpful "answer person" type — authors who reply to many other people with brief replies. The paper Visualizing the Signatures of Social Roles in Online Discussion Groups contains social network visualizations of the ties created when authors reply to one another. These images highlight the difference between these helpful folks and other types of contributors. The findings may apply to other threaded discussions (maybe even Slashdot discussions!)."

Submission + - Russia Claims Half of North Pole (eursoc.com)

Submitted by kungfoofairy on Friday June 29, 2007 @03:52PM

kungfoofairy writes: Russia has laid claim to over one million square kilometers of the Artic. This announcement comes on the return of a scientific expedition into the region which found that the Lomonosov Ridge connects to Russia. The area is supposed to have a reserve of 10 billion tons of natural gas and oil. Full story at EUROSOC.com

Submission + - Cell phone stalking: how plausible?

Submitted by

Soulfader

on Friday June 29, 2007 @03:15PM

Soulfader writes: "A story in the local paper caught my eye: Cell Phone Stalkers Still Terrorizing Families. I immediately envisioned a pack of flip phones with loud faceplates and obscene background images demanding money from a Sidekick at knifepoint, but it turns out that a few Tacoma families have been targeted for harassment, apparently through their cell phones: "The stalkers' alleged method involves hijacking mobile phones, turning them into eavesdropping devices and spy cameras and using the phones to send threatening voice mails and text messages — all by remote control." A related story offers vague ideas about how this might be done. I'm asking a wider, more technical audience: how feasible is this, really?

(Most Unfortunate Phrasing Award goes to the police spokesman: "One of our tech guys who should be looking for child porn has spent 50 hours doing nothing but this.")"

Submission + - Hubble sees Night Shining Clouds (nasa.gov)

Submitted by illeism on Friday June 29, 2007 @12:28PM

illeism writes: NASA is reporting an interesting pheonmenon in the upper atmosphere — Night-Shining Clouds.

Very little is known about how these clouds form over the poles, why they are being seen more frequently and at lower latitudes than ever before, or why they have been growing brighter. AIM will observe two complete cloud seasons over both poles, documenting an entire life cycle of the shiny clouds for the first time.
"It is clear that these clouds are changing, a sign that a part of our atmosphere is changing and we do not understand how, why or what it means," stated AIM principal investigator James Russell III of Hampton University, Hampton, Va. "These observations suggest a connection with global change in the lower atmosphere and could represent an early warning that our Earth environment is being changed

Submission + - New York! My kinda' place... I got a permit! (nytimes.com)

Submitted by G4Cube on Friday June 29, 2007 @09:36AM

G4Cube writes: From the NY Times, New York City May Seek Permit and Insurance for Many Kinds of Public Photography... "Some tourists, amateur photographers, even would-be filmmakers hoping to make it big on YouTube could soon be forced to obtain a city permit and $1 million in liability insurance before taking pictures or filming on city property, including sidewalks". If ever a law was made for cops to "thump and trump" anyone, this is one. "Hey buddy. "You got a permit? Yeah, I'm talkin' to you.

Submission + - France

Submitted by

cheap shopping

on Thursday February 08, 2007 @02:25PM

cheap shopping writes: "Washington — The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show."

Submission + - University professor chastised for using Tor

Submitted by

Irongeek_ADC

on Thursday February 08, 2007 @02:15PM

Irongeek_ADC writes: "As reported in the The Chronicle of Higher Education, University IT "professionals" came knocking on Professor Censarini's door asking about why he was using the Tor network. While there they also asked that he not teach his students about it, and said it was likely against university policy. An interesting read that goes to show even Universities are turning big brother."

Submission + - Discuss: Vista versus OSX

Submitted by brelle on Thursday February 08, 2007 @01:48PM

brelle writes: Technology Review has set up a forum, in which two editors have taken sides: one for Vista and one for OSX. Each article presents great arguments and is enlightening to the reader. Here is the piece: Vista vs. OSX? http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18154/ There is a raging discussion going on!

Submission + - DISA plans new top-secret presidential network

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 08, 2007 @01:45PM

An anonymous reader writes: http://www.fcw.com/article97585-02-06-07-Web

The info in this story came from the DISA budget....

The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) has developed a six-year plan budgeted at $35 million to beef up presidential communications with a new top-secret network and multimedia Crisis Management System (CMS) designed to operate in a wide range of fixed locations, on Air Force One and on a new fleet of presidential helicopters.

The WHCA also said it plans to begin research on development of communications systems that can operate in High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) environments. HEMP, generated by a nuclear blast, can knock out most forms of radio communications.

URL has the full story

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