7070096
submission
Barence writes:
Apple has filed a patent for an operating system that effectively freezes a computer and forces the user to watch adverts. The patent, which could apply to devices such as the iPhone as well as laptop and desktop computers, describes a system where the "advertisement presentation can in effect 'take over the system' in relevant aspects for a limited time". Apple is investigating various methods of presenting the ads, including as a pane on top of any other pane in the user interface, in a "designated area of a background", or even through the device's speakers. And don't think you can ignore the ads either, because Apple plans to check if you've been watching. "The method can further include determining whether a user pays attention to the advertisement," the patent states.
7069988
submission
The Installer writes:
The founder of a Tibetan literary Web site was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of disclosing state secrets, an overseas monitoring group said Tuesday.
Kunchok Tsephel, 39, was convicted and sentenced Nov. 12 after a closed-door trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Gannan prefecture in southwestern Gansu province, according to reports from Tibet received by Tibetan exiles, said the International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group.
Some of the charges are believed to be related to content posted on his influential Web site, Chodme, or Butter-Lamp, which promotes Tibetan culture, and also for passing on information about last year's anti-government protests.
7056306
story
destinyland writes
"A science writer discovered it's possible to finance your cryogenic preservation using life insurance — and then leave a huge death benefit to your future thawed self. From the article, 'Most in the middle class, if they seriously want it, can afford it now. So by taking the right steps, you can look forward to waking up one bright future morning from cryopreservation the proud owner of a bank account brimming with money!' There's one important caveat: some insist that money 'will have no meaning in a future dominated by advanced molecular manufacturing or other engines of mega-abundance.'"
6835904
story
imbaczek writes
"The SSL 3.0+ and TLS 1.0+ protocols are vulnerable to a set of related attacks which allow a man-in-the-middle (MITM) operating at or below the TCP layer to inject a chosen plaintext prefix into the encrypted data stream, often without detection by either end of the connection. This is possible because an 'authentication gap' exists during the renegotiation process, at which the MitM may splice together disparate TLS connections in a completely standards-compliant way. This represents a serious security defect for many or all protocols which run on top of TLS, including HTTPS."
