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Java

Submission + - A Pop-up Window That Doesn't Suck

Submitted by
Dolores Parker
Dolores Parker writes: "Want to add a couple of cool features to your Web site without delving into the world of Web programing? In this case, you might want to give GreyBox a try. It's a tiny (only 22KB) JavaScript-based tool, released under the LGPL, that allows you to add page-in-a-page and gallery features using just a few easy-to-understand lines of code (check GreyBox' Web site for some examples). Read more at Newsforge.com"
Businesses

Submission + - eBay effectively forces new sellers to have PayPal

Submitted by Ezza
Ezza writes: eBay Australia is forcing new sellers "to offer at least one preferred safe payment method of either PayPal or merchant credit card facilities". Given that it is almost impossible (not to mention expensive) for a private individual to have merchant facilities, this means that most new sellers will be forced to have a PayPal account to sell on ebay. See the announcement here — http://www2.ebay.com/aw/au/200701.shtml#2007-01-23 102815
Not only that, but the changes are retrospective — the announcement made on the 23rd Jan will affect sellers who registered after the 17th.
A previous announcement (on the 18th) — while failing to mention the 'safe payment method' change — also banned cross-border trading for sellers who aren't PayPal verified. ie you can't sell on ebay.com if you are registered on ebay.com.au — again mandating the seller have paypal.
I didn't see the word "monopoly" anywhere in the announcements, I guess they forgot.
(Paypal is of course owned by ebay).
Security

Submission + - Defense Witness in "Spyware in school" cas

Submitted by
boyko.at.netqos
boyko.at.netqos writes: "Network Performance Daily offered Mr. Herb Horner, the defense expert witness in the case of Julie Amero, the Connecticut substitute teacher convicted and awaiting sentence for what defense argues was a spyware infection, a chance to speak out on the case. (Tomorrow NPD hopes to have commentary from Detective Mark Lounsbury, who testified for the prosecution at Ms. Amero's trial.)
From the article: 'We asked the prosecution to arrange for the defense to have unfettered access to the internet so that we could reenact the events of October 19, 2004. It was not granted. I went to court with two laptops and a box full of reference material prepared to very clearly illustrate what happened to Julie Amero. But, the prosecution objected because they were not given "full disclosure" of my examination. I was allowed to illustrate two screens, that of the www.hair-styles.org [do not click], and www.new-hair-styles.com [do not click] sites. This was one of the most frustrating experiences of my career, knowing full well that the person is innocent and not being allowed to provide logical proof.'"
Spam

Submission + - Fight spam with Nolisting

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: "Nolisting fights spam by specifying a primary MX that is always unavailable.

"It has been observed that when a domain has both a primary (high priority, low number) and a secondary (low priority, high number) MX record configured in DNS, overall SMTP connections will decrease when the primary MX is unavailable. This decrease is unexpected because RFC 2821 (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) specifies that a client MUST try and retry each MX address in order, and SHOULD try at least two addresses. It turns out that nearly all violators of this specification exist for the purpose of sending spam or viruses. Nolisting takes advantage of this behaviour by configuring a domain's primary MX record to use an IP address that does not have an active service listening on SMTP port 25. RFC-compliant clients will retry delivery to the secondary MX, which is configured to serve the role normally performed by the primary MX (final delivery, transport rerouting, etc.)."
Privacy

Submission + - Wired: "Computer Privacy in Distress"

Submitted by davidwr
davidwr writes: Wired has an interesting editorial on laptop searches and seizures. It raises some interesting issues including: Employee rights against police searches in the workplace, routine vs. non-routine searches at ports of entry, the implications of never deleting files, police use of unrelated data found in a database search; using a single target to get a warrant to seize all information on a computer used by the many "real" targets of law enforcement, and more.
The article ends saying, "Of course, there's a chance that the courts will not recognize the different scope of privacy interests at stake in computer searches, or will not be adept at crafting a rule that gives enough leeway and guidance to law enforcement, while also protecting privacy. At that point, the Constitution may fail us, and we will have to turn to Congress to create rules that are better adapted for the information age."
Censorship

Submission + - The Growing Problem of Censorship in India

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "While it may be easy to find censorship in North Korea and China these days, India's government is traveling down the same path. Much to my surprise, "In November, undercover Indian police in Mumbai were assigned to scan the catwalks at fashion shows in an effort to prevent a repeat of last year's episode in which an Indian model's top slipped to reveal her breasts. India censors banned Paris Hilton's music video "Stars Are Blind" from being shown on television in August, which shows the blond socialite cavorting on a beach in revealing clothes. India last year also tried to ban smoking scenes in films, reasoning that cigarette-wielding Bollywood stars were influencing people to take up the habit." The CEO of Sony's Indian division has been expressing concern that the censorship may spread to games and that these censorship rules are enforced and made randomly."
United States

Submission + - Gonzales denies Americans have habeas rights

Submitted by
TrumpetPower!
TrumpetPower! writes: "This past Thursday, in response to questioning by Senator Arlen Specter (R, PA), US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary committee that ``The Constitution doesn't say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. '' The exchange between Mr. Gonzales and Senator Specter has received virtually no attention from the press; Google News currently has all of a dozen or so stories. Habeas corpus is the right, in America guaranteed by Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, which ensures that people are not unjustly imprisoned and tried."
Censorship

Submission + - Utah's Newest Attempt to Block Pornography

Submitted by gc8005
gc8005 writes: There's something brewing in Utah. A new, non-profit organization called CP80 that wants to segregate Internet content based on IP ports. To a lay person, it sounds plausible, as CP80 describes port segregation like cable TV channels. But unlike the cable system, it's easily bypassed. Even more disturbing are the founders and backers of CP80, which include Ralph Yarro, who was recently fired from his CEO position at Canopy Group (see SCO fiasco), and several venture capital firms. Even Darl McBride has donated to the cause. Why are VCs backing a non-profit anti-pornography organization? What's the real story behind CP80?
Music

Submission + - SWAT Teams for Copyright Violation

Submitted by BarefootClown
BarefootClown writes: Reasonis reporting that "Last night, a federal SWAT team assisted the RIAA in a raid on the studio of Atlanta musician DJ Drama." Radley Balko writes: "This local news report says the locally famous mixtape DJ is under investigation for piracy. But Drama's supporters say the DJ is a mix artist, not a bootlegger. They say news footage of the raid shows RIAA officials boxing up only recordable CDs filled with mixes, not bootlegs of retail CDs (the local news reporter seems to conflate the two as well)." Is this going to be the new policy for copyright raids?
Power

Submission + - cancel your verizon contract without penalty!

Submitted by
eternal1001
eternal1001 writes: "the following link will get ya to the goods regarding cancelling ones verizon contract without an early termination fee: http://consumerist.com/consumer/cancellations/brea k-your-verizon-contract-without-fee-thanks-to-txt- msg-raise-228495.php it seems that verizon's greed (charging one shiny nickel extra for every received international message) is their own undoing... time to drop them and opt for a provider with no contracts! YAY!!!!!1!one"
Patents

Submission + - Cancer Figher May Not Get Chance Due to No Patent

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: In a recent study, researchers at the University of Alberta Department of Medicine have shown that an existing small, relatively non-toxic non-patented molecule, dichloroacetate (DCA), "causes regression in several cancers, including lung, breast, and brain tumors".
"But there's a catch: the drug isn't patented, and pharmaceutical companies may not be interested in funding further research if the treatment won't make them a profit."
DCA is currently used to treat mitochondrial diseases in children. Mitochondria, which are the metabolic power houses of cells, and which also regulate cell death, are damaged in cancerous cells. This gives the cancerous cells an advantage over normal cells and helps protect them against chemotherapy. DCA seems to be able to correct the damage, something that was not thought possible before, causing tumour growth to slow. It doesn't seem to affect normal cells. It has been tested in test tubes and animal subjects. A link to another site in case of slashdotting.
The Courts

Submission + - FBI Arrests Founders of Payment Processor Neteller

Submitted by
Sound of Silence
Sound of Silence writes: "Eye On Gambling is reporting that two founders of a company which processes Internet gambling transactions were arrested and charged with laundering billions of dollars in gambling proceeds, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The charges against the former Neteller PLC directors, John David Lefebvre, 55, and Stephen Eric Lawrence, 46, both Canadian citizens, were contained in two criminal complaints unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in a statement.

The prosecutor said the men knew when they took their company public that its activities were illegal.

"Blatant violations of U.S. law are not a mere `risk' to be disclosed to prospective investors," Garcia said. "Criminal prosecutions related to online gambling will be pursued even in cases where assets and defendants are positioned outside of the United States."

FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon said the multibillion-dollar online gambling industry was "a colossal criminal enterprise masquerading as legitimate business."

Lefebvre and Lawrence were charged in connection with the creation and operation of an Internet payment services company that facilitated the transfer to billions of dollars of illegal gambling proceeds from U.S. citizens to the owners of overseas Internet gambling companies.

Lefebvre was arrested Monday in Malibu, Calif and was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Tuesday. Lawrence, who resides in Paradise Island, Bahamas, was arrested Monday in the U.S. Virgin Islands and will appear in federal court on Wednesday.

In 1999, the men founded Neteller, which is based in the Isle of Man and is publically traded in the United Kingdom.

The company began processing Internet gambling transactions in approximately July 2000, allowing companies to transfer money from U.S. customers to bank accounts overseas.

Prosecutors cited Neteller's 2005 annual report in saying that Lawrence and Lefebvre enabled the company to provide payment services to more than 80 percent of worldwide gaming merchants.

Lawrence left the company's board of directors in October while Lefebvre left in December 2005, prosecutors said. Together, the men owned as much as 35 percent of the company's outstanding shares.

Garcia noted that the company acknowledged when it went public that U.S. law prohibited people from promoting certain forms of gambling, including Internet gambling and transmmitting funds that are known to have been derived from criminal activity.

Lefebvre and Lawrence also conceded in the company's offering documents that they were risking prosecution by the U.S. government, he said.

Prosecutors said Neteller in 2005 alone processed more than $7.3 billion in financial transactions, 95 percent of which was derived from money transfers involving Internet gambling.

Lawrence and Lefebvre, both charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling, could face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

EOG.com has currently got multiple threads discussing the topic on their posting forums"
Music

Submission + - DRM Isn't Really About Piracy

Submitted by
shadowmage13
shadowmage13 writes: "Hollywood privately admits that DRM is not really about piracy. In a nutshell: DRM's sole purpose is to maximize revenues by minimizing your rights so that they can sell them back to you. You can take action on Digital Restrictions Management on DefectiveByDesign of the Free Software Foundation, Digital Freedom, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation."
Editorial

Submission + - Facebook vs LinkedIn

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As Facebook's millions of college users graduate, will they abandon the social network for something more "professional"? Or alternatively, will Facebook themselves develop features that make it more career orientated so that it can compete directly with vertical offerings such as LinkedIn? That's the question posed by Read/WriteWeb in a post titled "LinkedIn and The Impending Challenge of Facebook". ZDNet's Steve O'Hear responds: "How many professionals would want to associate their social life with their professional life? Especially with a history that includes college. Sure, Facebook users could trawl through and delete embarrassing content and connections, but surely a far better solution would be to keep those two worlds separate in the first place."

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