Nominei - Slashdot User

Submission + - EMC's Anti-Hacking Division Gets Hacked (yahoo.com)

Submitted by

Nominei

on Saturday March 19, 2011 @08:36AM

Nominei writes: "The world's biggest maker of data storage computers on Thursday said that its security division has been hacked, and that the intruders compromised a widely used technology for preventing computer break-ins. It is especially troubling because the technology sold by EMC's security division, RSA, plays an important role in making sure unauthorized people aren't allowed to log into heavily guarded networks.

The scope of the attack wasn't immediately known, but the potential fallout could be widespread. RSA's customers include the military, governments, various banks and medical facilities and health insurance outfits."

Submission + - arbitrator bans band from playing their song. (2jk.org)

Submitted by

jonklinger

on Saturday March 19, 2011 @07:00AM

jonklinger writes: "A recent arbitration between two popular Israeli musicians puts the issue of fair use in a whole new perspective.

In 2002, Israeli band Hadag Nachash released an album where one of their songs was either influenced by, or quite similar to, another Israeli classic hit. The artist, Ariel Zilber sought arbitration, claiming they violated his intellectual property rights.

The arbitrator ruled in favour of Zilber and apart from damages issued an injunction prohibiting Hadag Nachash from performing this song in their shows, mandating them to redact their albums from record stores and removing this song from the ACUM (the Israeli equivalent to ASCAP) repertoire."

Submission + - Iran announces unmanned flying saucer (popsci.com)

Submitted by

garymortimer

on Saturday March 19, 2011 @06:40AM

garymortimer writes: "The ship is called Zohal — Saturn in Persian — and is designed for aerial imaging. Zohal has a data downlink and can fly in both indoor and outdoor spaces, according to the Fars News Service. The Daily Mail points out that Fars is a hard-line state-run news service. But with this photo, we can’t help but think of the homophone farce instead."

Submission + - David Rumelhart, neural network pioneer dies (stanford.edu) 1

Submitted by

Dr_Ish

on Saturday March 19, 2011 @01:44AM

Dr_Ish writes: "David Rumelhart, one of the main movers and shakes behind the resurgence of artificial neural network research in the mid-80s has died. There is a brief obituary available at http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/march/david-rumelhart-obit-031711.html. Rumelhart was one of the seminal figures in cognitive science research during the 1980s. His work is still widely cited. He is also the inspiration behind the Rumelhart prize, one of the major awards in the computer science of intelligence. Although in recent years a medical condition had prevented him being an active research contributer, he will still be sorely missed."

Submission + - Digital Media Libraries 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 18, 2011 @09:37PM

An anonymous reader writes: Like many slashdotters, I have several TB of digital media: music, books, movies, tv shows, games, comics, you name it. I've put it all in a few HDs, but handling it all has proven to be less than optimal.
I'm covered when it comes to music, since [pretty much any music player/library manager] allows me to quickly find songs by interpreter, album, genre... For everything else, all I have is a series of hierarchical folder structures, but hierarchies have limitations. I can find Blade Runner easily, but what if I wanted all of Scott Ridley's films? Where is "Good Omens", in the Terry Pratchett folder or in Neil Gaiman's? Furthermore, in a collection with hundreds of similar items, it would help to have some extra clues such as covers (for comic books) or synopsis for TV shows' episodes.
Do you have any software to help you handle digital media libraries? Specialized software (say, something that only work for comics, something else for movies), or generic media libraries? Opensource alternatives are preferred, but commercial software is fine as well.

Submission + - Dutch Court Rules WiFi Hacking Is Now Legal (pcworld.com)

Submitted by

loekessers

on Friday March 18, 2011 @09:16PM

loekessers writes: "Breaking in to an encrypted router and using the WiFi connection is not an criminal offence, a Dutch court ruled. WiFi hackers can not be prosecuted for breaching router security.

The Judge reasoned that the student didn't gain access to the computer connected to the router, but only used the routers internet connection. Under Dutch law breaking in to a computer is forbidden.

A computer in The Netherlands is defined as a machine that is used for three things: the storage, processing and transmission of data. A router can therefore not be described as a computer because it is only used to transfer or process data and not for storing bits and bytes. Hacking a device that is no computer by law is not illegal, and can not be prosecuted, the court concluded.

Original source http://webwereld.nl/nieuws/106024/rechter--wifi-netwerk-van-de-buren-hacken-mag.html"

Submission + - Facebook Wedding Photos Result In Polygamy Arrest

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 18, 2011 @08:58PM

An anonymous reader writes: Police in Michigan have arrested 34-year-old Richard Leon Barton Jr. on charges of polygamy, thanks to incriminating wedding photos on Facebook. The man unfriended his first wife on the social network before marrying his second wife, but unsurprisingly that wasn’t enough.

Submission + - Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage' (npr.org) 2

Submitted by schwit1 on Friday March 18, 2011 @07:16PM

schwit1 writes: This extraordinarily intimate account of the 1967 death of a Russian cosmonaut appears in a new book, Starman, by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, to be published next month. The authors base their narrative principally on revelations from a KGB officer, Venymin Ivanovich Russayev, and previous reporting by Yaroslav Golovanov in Pravda. This version — if it's true — is beyond shocking.

Comment However (Score 1) 44

by Nominei on Thursday March 03, 2011 @07:49AM (#35367160) Attached to: A Look Inside the Bustling Cybercrime Marketplace

Unlike a Middle Eastern bazaar, you can't get fresh fruits and knock-off rolex watches...

Comment Re:The rest of the article says it best (Score 1) 901

by Nominei on Tuesday February 22, 2011 @08:02AM (#35277854) Attached to: German Foreign Office Going Back To Windows

You are probably 100% correct on the politics of this situation. But you talk like hardware developer's are actively trying to shut out access to Linux users. Why would they bother? If it works for Linux, great - more customers! If not, who cares? The majority of people aren't technically savvy enough, or care about computer enough to give a damn. Windows still being dominant in five years is pretty much locked, I think. Sheer momentum from the masses will keep them in the front, even if some killer new device comes out tomorrow that can completely replace computers as we know them! As useful and handy as F/OSS software is, most people don't understand that free can mean great value. They expect free actually means limited, second-rate, and hard to use. Sadly, It doesn't matter what you say, do, or demonstrate - it will stay that way.

Comment Re:Great book (Score 1) 583

by Nominei on Monday February 21, 2011 @09:47AM (#35267174) Attached to: LotR Rewritten From a Mordor Perspective

Okay... I'll tell you again. If there was no copyright, then everyone could simply copy the works of authors and they may not end up being paid for their work. If authors might not be paid for their work, there would be fewer authors. Copyright and patent law are all about making sure the people who did the work are compensated for their work and not ripped off. This helps ensure they will do the work.

Sure, everyone "could" copy. But would they? Being technically minded as I am, I "could" illegally download just about any ebook I want. However, I buy my ebooks, because I have a real reason to buy - the distribution system is convenient, the price is not exorbitant, and I want to support the author so that he can afford to keep writing (and thus later I get to buy a sequel). I tell you what DOESN'T make me buy books - copyright. Copyright has become a sham law that is only observed by those who are already willing to pay for content, and is blatantly ignored by those who wouldn't pay anyway. Tell me this - why is a book written 61 years ago now a legal bogeyman that stifles the distribution of the creative works of a modern author? Copyright was intended to give a modest protection (originally, 14 years) to an author in a time when there was no means to verify authenticity of creative works. Copyright proponents have turned this into lifetime plus 70 years, so that the children and grandchildren of successful authors can be protected from, what, new authors creating derivative works?

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