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Is Assembly Programming Still Relevant, Today? 676

Posted by Cliff from the mov-eax,1 dept.
intelinsight asks: "Consider the following question given the current software development needs, and also the claims of the Assembly lovers for it being a language that gives one insights of the internal working of a computer. How relevant or useful is it to learn Assembly programming language in the current era? "
Windows

Surprise, Windows Listed as Most Secure OS 499

Posted by Zonk from the opposite-day dept.
david_g17 writes "According to a Symantec study reported by Information Week, Microsoft has the most secure operating system amongst its commercial competitors. The report only covered the last 6 months of vulnerabilities and patch releases, but the results place Microsoft operating systems above Mac OS X and Red Hat. According to the article, 'The report found that Microsoft Windows had the fewest number of patches and the shortest average patch development time of the five operating systems it monitored in the last six months of 2006.' The article continues to mention the metrics used in the study (quantity and severity of vulnerabilities as well as the amount of time one must wait for the patch to be released)."
Microsoft

EU Official Labels Microsoft's Behavior Unacceptable 290

Posted by Zonk from the i-thought-he-who-had-the-gold-makes-the-rules dept.
InfoWorldMike writes "EU commissioner Neelie Kroes has lashed out at Microsoft in comments to European parliamentarians Thursday, saying it is 'unacceptable' that the company continues to gain market share using tactics that were outlawed in the Commission's 2004 antitrust ruling against the software vendor. 'Three years later Microsoft still hasn't complied with the main demand imposed by the European antitrust ruling: that the company share interoperability information inside Windows at a reasonable price to allow rival makers of workgroup servers to build products that work properly with PCs running Windows.'"
Google

Congress Must Make Clear Copyright Laws 179

Posted by Zonk from the definite-change-of-pace dept.
WSJdpatton writes "WSJ's Walt Mossberg takes a look at what's wrong with the DMCA and DRM given the recent lawsuit brought against Google's YouTube by media giant Viacom — 'Under fair use, as most nonlawyers have understood it, you could quote this sentence in another publication without permission, though you'd need the permission of the newspaper to reprint the entire column or a large part of it. A two-minute portion of a 30-minute TV show seems like the same thing to me. But why should I have to guess about that? What consumers need is real clarity on the whole issue of what is or isn't permissible use of the digital content they have legally obtained. And that can come only from Congress. Congress is the real villain here, for having failed to pass a modern copyright law that protects average consumers, not just big content companies.'"
Quickies

Submission + - The Science of a Very Beautiful Sunrise or Sunset

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In his excellent paper " The Colors of Twilight and Sunset ," Stephen F. Corfidi, a Lead Forecaster with the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, explains why "some parts of the world enjoy more beautiful sunsets than others, and why do they favor certain months? What are the ingredients for truly memorable sunrises and sunsets?" (Hint: Lots of clean air.)
Businesses

Submission + - The Automotive X PRIZE

Submitted by BoredStiff
BoredStiff writes: The NPR show OnPoint (you can listen online with Real Alternative) had a show about the first successor to the Space X-PRIZE called the Automotive X-PRIZE, and it's the next big competition coming down the road offering a $25 million dollar prize to the builder of the first commercially-viable 100 mile per gallon car. The goal of the competition is to stimulate automotive technology breakthroughs that will allow for the design and manufacturing of super-efficient cars that radically reduce oil consumption, harmful emissions, and have and mainstream appeal.
Education

Submission + - Purdue University decides not to follow UW-Madison

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: I attend Purdue University and apparently, they will be bowing to the RIAA not soon after another Big 10 school spat in their face (University of Wisconsin). Every student has been sent the following email:

Some users of the Purdue University Internet network this week will begin receiving notices of threatened legal action from the Recording Industry Association of America.

In a stepped-up effort to enforce music copyright, the association is harvesting Internet addresses of computers that allegedly offered music for others to download illegally. It then is sending emails to Internet service providers and asking that the emails be forwarded to these computer users.
The notices offer the option of paying a settlement fee or facing legal action.

Purdue University, as an Internet service provider, will forward these emails to the user of the specified address when the user can be accurately identified. While the university will do its best to deliver these notices to the proper individuals, it is not responsible for the accuracy of the identification or address to which such notices are sent.

It will be up to each recipient to decide how to respond to these notices.
All users of Purdue IT resources are ultimately responsible for their own conduct and for responding to any notification received from a copyright owner. Should an individual choose not to pay the settlement, the RIAA may ask Purdue for its logs for the purpose of pursuing legal action. The next step would be for RIAA to file a request to subpoena the name of the computer owner. The university will at all times honor valid subpoenas.

Purdue does not generally monitor the content of Internet transmissions.
The university, however, can match computers to the addresses they use when connecting to the Internet.

Information on your legal obligations and methods to protect yourself can be found at:
http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue/copyright.cfm

Individuals with questions regarding the settlement notice should contact legal counsel of their own choosing for advice.

Sincerely,

Gerry McCartney
Interim Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Purdue University

Thomas B. Robinson
Vice President for Student Services
Purdue University
Television

NBC, News Corp Join to Create YouTube Clone 126

Posted by Zonk from the we're-taking-our-ball-and-going-home dept.
Brett writes "It's official: NBC Universal and News Corp have announced their plans to create a video sharing site of their own. The joint venture will features both TV and movie shows in full length, including episodes of '24,' 'My Name is Earl,' and movies like 'Borat.' The plan is to also syndicate content on other portals like MSN, MySpace, and Yahoo! It's unclear how YouTube's previous deal with NBC relates to this, but it's clear that the major players are now shunning YouTube."
The Media

Submission + - Blogger, lemming-like press botch Edwards news

Submitted by
netbuzz
netbuzz writes: "A blogger's ill-fated reliance on a single "reliable" source was compounded earlier today by countless news outlets — many brand-name — that ran with the erroneous contention that John Edwards would be suspending his presidential campaign in light of his wife's new battle with cancer. All everyone had to do was wait another half-hour to hear the truth from John and Elizabeth Edwards. The campaign will go on. ... Lesson learned? Don't bet on it.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1277 7"
Sci-Fi

Submission + - France opens secret UFO files covering 50 years

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: France became the first country to open its files on UFOs Thursday when the national space agency unveiled a website documenting more than 1,600 sightings spanning five decades. Here's an interesting tidbit from the article: A phalanx of beefy security guards formed a barrier in front of the space agency (CNES) headquarters where the announcement was made, "to screen out uninvited UFOlogists," an official explained. Website at: http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/
Television

Submission + - HDfury - HDMI to RGB Converter Released

Submitted by Croakyvoice
Croakyvoice writes: DCEmu have an article about a HDMI to RGB converter that will help those with TVs or Monitors that can display HD but have no HDMI Socket." HDfury is a revolutionnary product that allows you to use in full resolution (1080p) any HDMI/DVI device on PC monitor, video projector or older HDTV/Plasma that are without a HDMI entry!
.HDfury is a tiny external addon card/adapter that you can hook up on any RGB display through its SUB-D HD15 Female Input.
Music

College Demands RIAA Pay Up For Wasting Its Time 261

Posted by Zonk from the me-next-me-next dept.
An anonymous reader writes "We've already seen the University of Wisconsin tell the RIAA to go away, but the University of Nebaska has gone one step further: it's asking the RIAA to pay up for wasting its time with the silly demand to push students into paying up. The spokesperson for the University also notes that since they constantly rotate IP addresses and have no need to hang onto that information for very long, they simply cannot help the RIAA. They have no clue who was attached to which IP address at the time the RIAA is complaining about."
Music

CD Music Sales Down 20% In Q1 2007 544

Posted by kdawson from the RIP-CD dept.
prostoalex writes "Music sales are not just falling, they're plummeting — by as much as 20% when you compare January-March 2007 with the 2006 numbers. The revenue numbers are actually worse, since CD prices are under pressure. The Wall Street Journal lists many factors contributing to the rapid decline: 800 fewer retail outlets (Tower Records' demise alone closed 89); increasingly negative attitude towards CD sales from big-box retailers (Best Buy now dedicates less floor space to CDs in favor of better-selling items); and file sharing, among others. Songs are being traded at a rate about 17 times the iTunes Store's recent rate of sales. Diminishing CD sales means that you don't have to sell as many to get on the charts. The 'Dreamgirls' movie soundtrack recently hit #1 by selling 60,000 CDs in a week, a number that wouldn't have made the top 30 in 2005."
The Internet

Maker of Anti-Clinton Video Outed, Loses Job 401

Posted by kdawson from the on-his-own-time dept.
Raul654 writes "Philip de Vellis, the author of the anti-Hilary Clinton viral video was outed yesterday on the Huffington Post. The company he worked for, Blue State Digital — a Democratic Internet strategy company that does work for Barack Obama — has now fired him as a result. Said Vellis: 'I made the "Vote Different" ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process.'"
Communications

ISPs Fight To Keep Broadband Gaps Secret 170

Posted by kdawson from the where-their-bread-is-buttered dept.
Aaron writes "Broadband Reports notes how Maryland was working on a law that would force ISPs to show exactly where they offer service and at what speed. The goal was to help map coverage gaps, since FCC broadband data is worthless for this purpose. Cable and phone company lobbyists have scuttled the plan, convincing state leaders the plan would bring 'competitive harm,' 'stifle innovation,' and even close local coffee shops. Of course the real reason is they don't want the public to know what criteria they use to determine the financial viability of your neighborhood — as they cherry-pick only the most lucrative areas for next-generation services. The Center for Public Integrity is trying to obtain the unreleased raw FCC penetration data, but these companies are also fighting this tooth and nail."

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