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Piracy

UK ISPs Profit From Coughing Up Customer Data 59

Posted by Soulskill from the they-call-it-monetization-of-assets dept.
nk497 writes "ISPs in the UK are charging as much as £120 to hand customer data over to rightsholders looking for proof of piracy, according to the Federation Against Software Theft. While ISPs have to hand over log details for free in criminal cases, they are free to charge in civil cases — and can set the price. 'In 2006, we ran Operation Tracker in which we identified about 130 users who were sharing copies of a security program over the web,' said John Lovelock, chief executive of FAST. 'In the end we got about 100 names out of them, but that cost us £12,000, and that was on top of the investigative costs and the legal fees.'"
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Woman Trademarks Name and Threatens Sites Using It 273

Posted by samzenpus from the keep-my-name-out-of-your-mouth dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Be careful mentioning Dr. Ann De Wees Allen. She's made it clear that she's trademarked her name and using it is 'illegal... without prior written permission.' She even lists out the names of offenders and shows you the cease-and-desist letter she sends them. And, especially don't copy any of the text on her website, because she's using a bit of javascript that will warn you 'Copyright Protect!' if you right click on a link."
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Frustrated Reporter Quits After Slow News Day 178

Posted by samzenpus from the take-this-job-and-shove-it dept.
Norwegian radio journalist Pia Beathe Pedersen quit on the air complaining that her bosses were making her read news on a day when "nothing important has happened." Pedersen claimed that broadcaster NRK put too much pressure on the staff and that she "wanted to be able to eat properly again and be able to breathe," during her nearly two-minute on-air resignation.

Comment Re:Is a company really like a person? (Score 1) 450

by MortimerGraves (#33348526) Attached to: Germany To Grant Privacy At the Workplace

"...act in it's own best interest with no regard to the well being of others".

When people act like this we call them sociopaths.

Symptoms (courtesy of Wiki) include:

        * Persistent lying or stealing
        * Apparent lack of remorse or empathy for others
        * Poor behavioral controls... threats, aggression, and verbal abuse...
        * Recurring difficulties with the law
        * Tendency to violate the boundaries and rights of others

Successful corporations are "people" with antisocial personality disorder, lawyers, and lobbyists.

Comment Re:This sounds like the worst job ever... (Score 1) 364

by MortimerGraves (#32583292) Attached to: Chatroulette Working On Genital Recognition Algorithm

Brilliant! You've just inspired me to present a business case to the company for a development project...

Concept: Pornographic image filtering software that can detect and obscure content of purely prurient nature without false positives obscuring content of artistic value.

I'm going to need several really big graphical displays and to amass a very large library of material for testing and comparative analysis of artistic value... and a private office.

Comment Re:Which VERSION? (Score 1) 714

by MortimerGraves (#32424466) Attached to: Australian Schools To Teach Intelligent Design

#3 may also be called Theistic Evolution.

Although exact definitions of Theistic Evolution do vary the basic idea is that the scientifically identifiable and verifiable process of evolution through mutation and natural selection is the mechanism by which god has caused the current state of life... and leaving abiogenesis aside is completely compatible with #5 (and possibly #4 depending of how much, or how little "guiding" goes on).

While personally agnostic, if I were religious I'd find the idea of a god who created all of the scientific systems we observe at the very beginning of the universe and then let things run to reach this point a far more awe inspiring concept than a young-earth creationist deity who made mud-people 6000 years ago.
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New Hungarian Government OMGs All Gov Sites 59

Posted by samzenpus from the they-forgot-the-ponies dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The new Hungarian government chose to replace the home pages with a 'disclaimer' page on several governmental websites such as ministries or the Foreign Office. The title and the main message is 'OMG,' which is followed by an explanation that the inherited websites 'lack any kind of uniform structure' and this is 'unworthy of Hungary.' Today is the takeover day in most ministries for the new administration."

Comment Re:So... (Score 1) 647

by MortimerGraves (#32285990) Attached to: Australia Air Travelers' Laptops To Be Searched For Porn

And one man's porn is another man's art....

Which lead the additional scenario of:

1) Declaring "Yes, I have porn" on the form.
2) Having Customs search your laptop.
3) Having Customs decide that the artistic nudes on said laptop do NOT constitute porn.
4) Discovering that you have falsified your customs declaration. :)
Microsoft

Microsoft Clears MechWarrior4 Free Launch 131

Posted by Soulskill from the done-and-done dept.
Vamman writes "If you've been following the drama surrounding the free release of MechWarrior4, then you're probably aware that the initial announcement, made last summer, was a bit premature. Now, nearly a year since that announcement was made, MekTek Studios has announced that Microsoft Legal has given clearance for the free release of Mechwarrior4. This move by Microsoft Games couldn't come at a better time for the community, as the owners of MechWarrior are attempting a reboot of the franchise."
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Food Activist's Life Becomes The Life of Brian 165

Posted by samzenpus from the you-are-all-individuals dept.
krou writes "After food activist and author Raj Patel appeared on The Colbert Report to promote his latest book, things seemed to be going well, until he began to get inundated with emails asking if he was 'the world teacher.' In events ripped straight from The Life of Brian, it would seem that Raj Patel's life story ticks all the boxes necessary to fulfill prophecies made by Benjamin Creme, founder of religious sect Share International. After the volume of emails and inquiries got worse, Patel eventually wrote a message on his website stating categorically that he was not the Messiah. Sure enough, 'his denial merely fanned the flames for some believers. In a twist ripped straight from the script of the comedy classic, they said that this disavowal, too, had been prophesied.'"

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