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The Courts

Large Hadron Collider Sparks 'Doomsday' Lawsuit 731

Posted by Zonk from the this-looks-like-a-job-for-superman dept.
smooth wombat writes "In what can only be considered a bizarre court case, a former nuclear safety officer and others are suing the U.S. Department of Energy, Fermilab, the National Science Foundation and CERN to stop the use of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) until its safety is reassessed. The plaintiffs cite three possible 'doomsday' scenarios which might occur if the LHC becomes operational: the creation of microscopic black holes which would grow and swallow matter, the creation of strangelets which, if they touch other matter, would convert that matter into strangelets or the creation of magnetic monopoles which could start a chain reaction and convert atoms to other forms of matter. CERN will hold a public open house meeting on April 6 with word having been spread to some researchers to be prepared to answer questions on microscopic black holes and strangelets if asked."
Censorship

China's Battle to Police the Web 171

Posted by Zonk from the losing-battle dept.
What_the_deuce writes "For the first time in years, internet browsers are able to visit the BBC's website. In turn, the BBC turns a lens on the Chinese web-browsing experience, exploring one of the government's strongest methods of controlling the communication and information accessible to the public. 'China does not block content or web pages in this way. Instead the technology deployed by the Chinese government, called Golden Shield, scans data flowing across its section of the net for banned words or web addresses. There are five gateways which connect China to the internet and the filtering happens as data is passed through those ports. When the filtering system spots a banned term it sends instructions to the source server and destination PC to stop the flow of data.'"
Privacy

Submission + - Fitna [the banned film] now online on LiveLeak

Submitted by Qwrk
Qwrk writes: Right-wing politician Geert Wilders released his controversial movie "FITNA" through LiveLeak just an hour ago. The strip managed to get outright condemnation of Muslim world-wide, and even the faint Christian-Orthodoc Dutch Government was inclined to bow under pressure NOT to have the film appear. Google can be your best friend or check http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ee4_1206625795 for yourselves, before the onset of international protests. [Tibet is a far more important issue IMHO...]
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Build a Windows Home Server (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
ThinSkin
ThinSkin writes: "While our important digital information is dangling at the mercy of our local hard drives, protecting that data with a home server isn't such a bad idea. For roughly $800, computer users can build a low-power, 1 terabyte Windows Home Server to ensure that our data doesn't go bump in the night. ExtremeTech has a primer on building this server, outlining which parts to buy, and also taking readers through each installation step. The cost is about the same as the HP MediaSmart Server EX475, though building a system allows PC users more flexibility and full access to the operating system."
Security

Submission + - Researchers: Beware the IE Cache on a Public Termi (eweek.com)

Submitted by
eweekhickins
eweekhickins writes: "If you use IE to access Gmail on public terminals, you may be leaving a lot of sensitive information exposed in the browser's cache. Web application security specialist Cenzic issued an alert for what it argues are vulnerabilities in Gmail and IE that could "severely impact e-mail systems and user privacy." Microsoft has downplayed the risk, insisting this is "not a product vulnerability." Of course it isn't, and the fact that it affects a Google application isn't a concern either."
Businesses

Submission + - In DRM world, customers have no rights (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
iweditor
iweditor writes: "Currently in the U.S., the only laws pertaining to Digital Rights Management (DRM) prohibit attempts to tamper with it. No constraints or responsibilities are placed on copyright holders for making sure their DRM doesn't unfairly deprive legitimate customers of their rights. Warning: this product contains DRM. InfoWorld contributor Ed Foster takes up the cause: Instead of vendors and the politicians who serve them telling us not to touch the DRM, we need to send them a warning of our own — those companies that use DRM do so at their peril."
Windows

Submission + - Review of XP as an upgrade from Vista

Submitted by shewfig
shewfig writes: In a clever review at http://dotnet.org.za/codingsanity/archive/2007/12/14/review-windows-xp.aspx the benefits of upgrading from Vista to XP (speed, stability) are weighed against the "discontinued" features.

Highlights of the review include:
"I notice that the Reliability Report is also gone, again a sore loss, I really enjoyed charting the downward spiral of my Vista reliability"

"I mentioned how much quicker you could start using programs from a boot in XP; I must admit that, appealing though that feature is, you won't actually find it that useful. XP almost never appears to require a reboot [when compared to Vista], so you hardly ever take advantage of a wonderful improvement like that, which otherwise would save you at least 15-20 minutes a day."

"To be honest there is only one conclusion to be made; Microsoft has really outdone themselves in delivering a brand new operating system that really excels in all the areas where Vista was sub-optimal. From my testing, discussions with friends and colleagues, and a review of the material out there on the web there seems to be no doubt whatsoever that that upgrade to XP is well worth the money."

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