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Software

Submission + - Software Pirates of the Caribbean

Submitted by Yonatanz
Yonatanz writes: It seems that the government of Trinidad and Tobago's website sells pirated copies of software from big companies like Adobe and Microsoft, as well as small companies like that of the blogger who found out about it.
The host name of the website (foreign.gov.tt) belongs to the government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs so the evidence points that way.
So what is going on? Is software piracy now being sanctioned by governments?

Submission + - Are Apple delibrately hiding negative reviews?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Is Apple hiding negative product reviews in an effort to sell more products? I recently wrote a 5-star review for one product and it appeared immediately. I then wrote a 2-star review which included constructive criticism for another product. It has been several days and that review has never appeared. A colleague wrote a 2-star review for a different product and it too never appeared. I have searched for "Most Recent", but don't see it there. Is Apple doing this deliberately? It sure seems so. Being a developer on the App Store, I'd love to only get good reviews, but I'd rather have it be a fair process across the board. If Apple are hiding negative reviews, wouldn't that be illegal or false marketing?
Businesses

Submission + - The Grapes of Wrath 2.0

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In August, Vanity Fair unveiled their let-them-eat-cake take on The Grapes of Wrath, recreating the original Great Depression scenes, but with Hollywood stars decked out in today's fashion portraying the down-on-their-luck, job-seeking Joads. Now, Gizmodo reports that the Amazon worker fulfilling your Xmas order for a Kindle edition of The Grapes of Wrath might himself be living a kind of updated Tom Joad-like existence, working 10 hours a night and walking 15 miles a day at a seasonal warehouse job in return for $10.50-$11 an hour and a free camping site (guess they ran out of $30 million mansions!).
Idle

Submission + - Mysterical light over Norway (www.nrk.no) 4

Submitted by larpon
larpon writes: A very strange light was observed on the norweigan sky this morning...
Nobody are sure what the light was but so far speculations point in the direction of a Russian nuclear submarine missile launch more on the story here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1234430/Mystery-spiral-blue-light-display-hovers-Norway.html
here:
http://spaceweather.com/
and here a guy who thinks it's likely to be a missile launch:
http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.6847340 (in noweigan)
Music

Submission + - Lightning Crashes, from Musical Tesla Coils (chicagotribune.com)

Submitted by heychris
heychris writes: You've gotta love the Chicago Tribune's story on Tesla Coil hobbyists from the first sentence. "Under a starry Saturday sky behind a Lake Zurich warehouse, three men unload a small flamethrower, electric cabling, neon-tube "light sabers," about 80 pounds of chain mail and two 7-foot devices that look like monster-movie props." So what does one do with 1.6 million (sorry, not 1.21 giga-) watts and a Tesla coil or two? Play 110dB music, of course.
Google

Submission + - Would You Accept Google's Free Netbook? (linuxjournal.com) 2

Submitted by Glyn Moody
Glyn Moody writes: The response to Google's Chromium OS has been rather lukewarm. But supposing it's just part of something much bigger: a netbook computer from Google that would cost absolutely nothing. Because all the apps and data are stored in the cloud, storage requirements would be minimal; screens are getting cheaper, and the emphasis on lean code means that a low-cost processor could be used. Those relatively small hardware costs could then be covered by advertising *in the apps* — after all, they are just Web pages. Interestingly, Google has not only rolled out advertising to more of its services recently, it has also started running AdSense ads in the desktop application Google Earth. Would you accept a free Google netbook — or is the price you would pay in terms of the company knowing even more about what you do on an hour-by-hour basis just too high?

Submission + - Astronomical CSI: sky detectives of history (cosmosmagazine.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: When did Shakespeare actually write King Lear? How "forensic astronomers" are tracking down clues to historical events that are embedded in artworks and literature.

Submission + - Cop Tases 10-Year-Old Girl (thesmokinggun.com)

Submitted by freedomseven
freedomseven writes: An Arkansas cop tasered an unruly 10-year-old girl after her mother called police to report that the child was crying, screaming, and refusing to go to bed. The tased girl, Kiara Medlock, is about 65 pounds and 4' 6", according to her father. Anthony Medlock, a truck driver who does not live with the fifth grader and her mother, provided TSG with a recent photo of his daughter, which can be seen at right. According to the below Ozark Police Department report, when Officer Dustin Bradshaw arrived at the residence last Thursday, he found the girl "screaming, kicking, and resisting every time her mother tried to touch her." Bradshaw added that, "Her mother told me to tase her if I needed to." After Kiara continued to refuse her mother's instructions, the cop concluded that "there was not going to be a peaceful resolution of the issue." Bradshaw warned the girl that she was "going to jail," but the child continued kicking and crying and resisted his attempt to handcuff her. During the tussle, Kiara "struck me with her legs and feet in the groin, reported Bradshaw, who countered with a brief "stun to her back" with his Taser. The child, not surprisingly, "immediately stopped resisting and was placed into handcuffs. She would not walk on her own and I had to carry her to my police car." Kiara was then transported to a youth shelter.
Space

Submission + - Huge meteorite seen over Utah (ksl.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Last night a large meteorite was reported from southern Utah, to southern Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and parts of California

Submission + - Will smartphones save geocaching from suspicion?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Do you want to play golf in Manhattan at lunch (NY Times) Why not? It's just a matter of getting the right smartphone application that uses the accelerometer and GPS to simulate a real game. The holes and clubs are invisible and can't be a danger, at least unless people start thinking you're a bit mad waving your arms around. Location-based computer games are one of the neater applications that only smartphones can provide. Some of the games like virtual golf are sports while some are more like virtual adventure games crossed with scavenger hunts. Maybe these virtual games with invisible goals will stop the police from getting so worried (Wash Post) about geocaching and the unattended packages left in culverts and other odd places?

Submission + - Relative's DNA used to catch thief (thedenverchannel.com)

Submitted by bongey
bongey writes: DNA recovered from a car break-in was used to find suspects with similar DNA. The software used to analyze the DNA would present people with similar DNA,but in this case his brothers DNA was one of the near matches. The near DNA matches created for investigators eventually lead to an arrest and a guilty plea.

Submission + - Rock Band + Girl + Flute (engadget.com)

Submitted by dotslashlycos
dotslashlycos writes: Maybe we're just overreacting to a rhythm video game played with real musical skill, but this one's not to be missed. What we have on hand here is a flute, a rather quirky girl, and a microphone-equipped copy of Rock Band, which accepts aural tones as well as button mashes for input. The result of this eclectic combination is a 98% accuracy score, but how she gets there is the truly awesome part

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