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United States

The End of Tax-Free Internet Shopping? 784

Posted by timothy from the awaiting-a-60-cent-refund-check dept.
Mordok-DestroyerOfWo writes "If a little-known but influential alliance of state politicians, large retailers, and tax collectors have their way, the days of tax-free Internet shopping may be nearly over. A bill expected to be introduced in the US Congress as early as Monday would rewrite the ground rules for mail order and Internet sales by eliminating what its supporters view as a 'loophole' that, in many cases, allows Americans to shop over the Internet without paying sales taxes."
Google

Submission + - Google Brain Search (google.com)

Submitted by
TheUnFounded
TheUnFounded writes: "Not sure if you forgot to brush your teeth this morning? Don't know why you're getting those strange looks? Google Brain Search uses Cadie technology to index your brain, thus improving the speed and accuracy of memory retrieval."
Biotech

Florida Lab Gets Pregnant 149

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the also-no-one-has-heard-from-them-in-days dept.
Synthetic Biology, a relatively new field, is seeking to find out what happened to a bunch of chemicals to make them capable of supporting a metabolism, replicating, and evolution. A Florida lab is showing some of the most promising advancements in this direction with their AEGIS (Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System) experiment. "AEGIS is not self-sustaining, at least not yet, and with 12 DNA building blocks -- as opposed to the usual four -- there's little chance it will be confused with natural life. Still, Benner is encouraged by the results. 'It's evolving. It's doing what we designed it to do,' said Benner, a biochemist with the Gainesville, Fla.-based Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution. In addition to providing an example of how alien life might be cobbled together, synthetic biology has a broad array of uses on the home front."
Cellphones

(Useful) Stupid BlackBerry Tricks? 238

Posted by kdawson from the maze-of-twisty-stupid-tricks dept.
Wolfger writes "Continuing the recent (useful) stupid theme: I've recently become a BlackBerry user, and I'm in love with the obvious(?) tricks, such as installing MidpSSH to access my home box remotely. But I'd like to know what more experienced Crackberry addicts can share."
Government

President Signs Law Creating Copyright Czar 555

Posted by kdawson from the ip-con dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "President Bush has signed the EIPRA (AKA the PRO-IP Act) and created a cabinet-level post of 'Copyright Czar,' on par with the current 'Drug Czar,' in spite of prior misgivings about the bill. They did at least get rid of provisions that would have had the DOJ take over the RIAA's unpopular litigation campaign. Still, the final legislation (PDF) creates new classes of felony criminal copyright infringement, adds civil forfeiture provisions that incorporate by reference parts of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, and directs the Copyright Czar to lobby foreign governments to adopt stronger IP laws. At this point, our best hope would appear to be to hope that someone sensible like Laurence Lessig or William Patry gets appointed."
The Courts

Submission + - Universal can be sued for DMCA abuse

Submitted by UnknowingFool
UnknowingFool writes: California Judge Jeremy Fogel has ruled that the Universal Music can be sued for filing an improper DMCA takedown notice. The story began in Feb. 2007 when Stephanie Lenz posted a 29 second Youtube video of her toddler laughing and dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" (heard somewhat indistinctly in the background). Universal sent a DMCA takedown notice four months later to Youtube which complied. Mrs. Lenz then filed a lawsuit with the Electronic Frontier Foundation for DMCA abuse as the video was an obvious example of Fair Use and Universal should have known it. Incidentally the DMCA provides a provision for lawsuits against DMCA abuse. Among the rejected arguments that Universal made why the lawsuit should be dismissed:
  • Fair Use is not a sufficient defense in copyright infringement
  • The DMCA does not require a copyright holder to determine if alleged material falls under Fair Use
  • There is no "self-evident" Fair Use.
  • It could not have been Fair Use as a video showing a toddler dancing would undermine the market of videos showing toddlers dancing.
  • It was not a DMCA notice as it had a disclaimer saying it wasn't a DMCA notice. (Although it followed the procedure of a DMCA takedown and was sent to the DMCA takedown email address at Youtube.)

One of the things the Universal admitted to ABC News:

Prince believes it is wrong for YouTube, or any other user-generated site, to appropriate his music without his consent. That position has nothing to do with any particular video that uses his songs. It's simply a matter of principle. And legally, he has the right to have his music removed. We support him and this important principle. That's why, over the last few months, we have asked YouTube to remove thousands of different videos that use Prince music without his permission
Businesses

Submission + - Black Friday crowds spend an estimated $20 billion (cnn.com)

Submitted by dexr0420
dexr0420 writes: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Worried retailers and mall operators breathed a sigh of relief after the 2007 holiday shopping marathon off to a robust start Friday. According to the first early sales estimate, MasterCard Advisors retail analyst Michael McNamara expects Black Friday sales to hit $20 billion. MasterCard Advisors tracks spending made on credit and debit cards as well as cash and check transactions.
User Journal

Submission + - Blood groups 'can be converted'

Submitted by mrneutron2004
mrneutron2004 writes: When someone is in need of blood, there sometimes isn't enough available. Motor vehicle accidents and major trauma can damage vital organs, leading to blood loss, and then shock. If blood can be given in a timely manner, it can give doctors the time they need to perform surgery and correct internal injuries. However, finding the right blood type to avoid rejection is a problem, thus patients are given 0- a universal blood type. With more blood available using this new technique, countless lives may be saved. For those against blood transfusions (Jehovah Witnesses), they are even working on "fake" blood. Scientists have developed a way of converting one blood group into another. The technique potentially enables blood from groups A, B and AB to be converted into group O negative, which can be safely transplanted into any patient. http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/blood-group s-can-be-converted.html?Itemid=60

Is Computer Science Still Worth It? 434

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the was-it-ever dept.
prostoalex writes "Is it a good idea to go into Computer Science? Yes, there are certainly pending labor shortages as Indian companies outsource to the United States, but speakers of Stanford Computer Forum generally agree that it's a good career choice. From the article: 'To ensure job security, students must learn business, communication and interpersonal skills, Vardi recommended. The personal touch will become as important as technological expertise, he said. "There are jobs galore," agreed Suzanne Bigas, assistant director of the Stanford Computer Forum.'"

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