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GNU is Not Unix

MS-Funded Study Attacks GPL3 Draft Process 206

Posted by kdawson from the academic-astroturf dept.
QCMBR writes "A new Microsoft-funded study by a Harvard Business School professor concludes that developers don't want extensive patent licensing requirements in the GPL3. There are significant problems with the study, however, especially given the very small sample size. 'Although 332 emails were sent to various developers, only 34 agreed to participate in the survey — an 11 percent response rate. Of the 34 developers who responded, many of them are associated with projects like Apache and PostgreSQL that don't even use the GPL.' Ars points out that the GPL3 draft editing and review process is highly transparent and inclusive 'to an extent that makes MacCormack's claims of under-representation seem difficult to accept given the small sample size of the study and the number of respondents who contribute to non-GPL projects.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - MS Wants to Identify All Web Surfers, All the Time

Submitted by Moochman
Moochman writes: New Scientist reports on a technology Microsoft is developing to identify users based on their browsing habits. Quote: "The software could get its raw information from a number of sources, including a new type of 'cookie' program that records the pages visited. Alternatively, it could use your PC's own cache of web pages, or proxy servers could maintain records of sites visited. So far it can only guess gender and age with any accuracy," but the aim is to be able to identify name, occupation and location as well. On a related note, The Inq reports on Microsoft's plans to widen the use of its identity-verification technology CardSpace, which is built into Windows Vista and available as an add-on to XP. It's being envisioned as an identity solution for the entire internet: says Kim Cameron, pioneer of the technology, "We feel it has to solve all use cases." (Aha, so the anonymous use cases, too, eh?) One might ask, with all of this user-identification information on hand, how long will it be until the Feds come knocking on Microsoft's door asking for help? They already have.
Privacy

Site Claims to Reveal 'Tattle-tales' 565

Posted by Zonk from the true-capitalism-in-action dept.
Dekortage writes "Have you ever ratted somebody out? If it was a legal case, you might end up on Who's A Rat, an online database of police informants and undercover agents, identified through various publicly-available documents such as court briefings. The data-mined information is now available online at a price. As reported in the New York Times, 'The site says it has identified 4,300 informers and 400 undercover agents, many of them from documents obtained from court files available on the Internet.' Understandably, U.S. judges and law enforcement agents are upset, although defense lawyers seem to like the idea. Where do you draw the line between legal transparency and secrecy?"
Microsoft

Microsoft Will Not Sue Over Linux Patents 291

Posted by Zonk from the what's-with-the-saber-rattling-then dept.
San Muel writes "In an official statement, Microsoft has said it has no immediate plans to sue after alleging patent infringements by open-source vendors for the time being. The company goes on to say that, essentially, it could have done that any time in the last three years if it wanted to. So what's the purpose of these bold announcements? '[John McCreesh, OpenOffice.org marketing project lead] added that while Microsoft may not have plans to sue, it could be using the threat of litigation to try to encourage corporate customers to move to those open-source product vendors with whom it had signed licensing agreements, such as Novell. "Microsoft has spent time and money accumulating patents. Maybe it has started using that armory to move corporate customers to open-source software that Microsoft approves of."'"
Movies

Submission + - Warner Brothers Pulls Canadian Previews

Submitted by florescent_beige
florescent_beige writes: Reuters and others are reporting that Warner Brothers is canceling movie previews in Canadian theaters, starting with Ocean's Thirteen.

Darcy Antonellis, Warner Brothers VP of worldwide anti-piracy operations, said "Within the first week of a film's release, you can almost be certain that somewhere out there a Canadian copy will show up."

Recently, the International Intellectual Property Association (IIPA) placed Canada on it's Priority Watch List, along with the likes of Argentina, China, Russia, Turkey, and Venezuela.

According to Michael Geist, the industry's claims about Canadian movie camcording are exaggerated.
Education

Submission + - Russian Teacher Guilty in Re-Opened MS Piracy Case

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "The highly publicized re-opened case of a Russian school teacher pirating Microsoft software has ended with the verdict being guilty of causing $10,000 in damages. Before we cast stones (again), note that Microsoft had nothing to do with this case: 'Microsoft, however, has said repeatedly it has nothing to do with the charges, which were brought by Russian prosecutors in the Ural Mountains region where Ponosov's school is located. The case "was initiated by Russian authorities under Russian law," the company said in an e-mailed statement after the verdict. "Microsoft neither initiated nor has any plans to bring any action against Mr. Ponosov."' The closing, re-opening & guilty verdict may all have been a result of the United States placing Russia on a piracy watch-list though many people feel the media has turned this into a David Vs Goliath tale with a reprieve on the ending."
Censorship

Student Arrested for Making Videogame Map of School 998

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the obviously-a-terrorist dept.
tanman writes "A student at the Houston-area Clements High School was arrested, sent to an "Alternative Education Center" and banned from graduation after school officials found he created a video game map of his school. School district police arrested the teen and searched his home where they confiscated a hammer as a 'potential weapon'. ' "They decided he was a terroristic threat," said one source close to the district's investigation.' With an upcoming May 12 school board election, this issue has quickly become political, with school board members involved in the appeal accusing each other of pandering to the Chinese community in an attempt to gain votes."
The Media

Submission + - Wikipedia now featuring censoring

Submitted by hkBst
hkBst writes: wired reports wikipedia censoring HD-DVD processing key (http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/05/wikipedia_ locks.html)
The Internet

Canadian DMCA Coming This Spring 153

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the riding-the-band-wagon dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The Canadian government is reportedly ready to introduce copyright reform legislation this spring, provided that no election is called. The new bill would move Canada far closer to the U.S. on copyright, with DMCA-style anti-circumvention legislation that prohibits circumvention of DRM systems and bans software and mod chips that can be used to circumvent such systems."

Feed Vonage Says There Is No Workaround To Verizon's VoIP Patents (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
After a jury sided with Verizon in its patent-infringment case against it, Vonage told customers and investors not to worry, because it was developing a workaround that would allow it to continue operating without infringing upon any of the patents in question. However, the company has now confirmed that there is no such workaround, and it's not certain that one would be feasible, given the breadth of the Verizon patents. It's filing for a permanent stay of the injunction against it, apparently with the hope that the appeals process will work out in its favor. If that move isn't successful, it's going to be awfully hard for the company to stay in business. Seeing the stay denied would be a dream scenario for Verizon, since the patents in question are so broad that it's conceivable it could be impossible to run a landline-replacement VoIP service in the US without infringing upon them -- meaning it could shut down the entire US VoIP industry and the stiff competition it provides the company's traditional phone services. Verizon's not the only company rubbing its hands gleefully, either. The whole VoIP space is so patented up that it's under threat not just from entrenched rivals who would like to see its growth stymied, but by companies that have done little to bring their innovations to market and are looking to make a quick buck.
Mozilla

Submission + - Firefox usage close to 25% in Europe.

Submitted by
donstenk72
donstenk72 writes: "Firefox cannot be stopped: close to 25% of the Europeans use the open source browser, according to the Xiti monitor.

http://www.xitimonitor.com/en-us/browsers-baromete r/firefox-march-2007/index-1-2-3-77.html.

In Slovenia usage tops 40% whilst France, Germany and Finland show a percentage that is much higher than the world average.

Not really a surprise, many Europeans are open to alternatives, particularly when they work well!"
Republicans

Submission + - Shooting Massacre at Virginia Tech

Submitted by
ConcernedStudent
ConcernedStudent writes: "A violent gunman has apparently unleashed a deadly massacre on the famed science and tech campus, Virginia Polytechnic University (better known as Virginia Tech). The first reports of gunshots were received by police around 7:15 A.M. but shooting continued across the campus for hours longer. Over 25 people are now confirmed dead with many more injured. The shooter appears to have either killed himself or to have been killed by responding police officers. The New York Times has posted front page coverage, and the local Roanoke Times has been providing blog-style coverage, updated regularly. NYT Link — http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shootin g.html?hp Roanoke Times Link — http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/breaking/wb/113294 "

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