Comment Re:Human nature (Score 2, Funny) 155
Ummm, isn't it named Spirit, not Sprite? Are you sure you were really involved with this project when they were "still being built"?
Submission + - EFF Wins New DMCA Exceptions (eff.org)
rdnetto writes: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) won three critical exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anticircumvention provisions today, carving out new legal protections for consumers who modify their cell phones and artists who remix videos — people who, until now, could have been sued for their non-infringing or fair use activities.
Submission + - 16 Years Jail For Videotaping Police? (mclu.org)
krou writes: The ACLU of Maryland is defending Anthony Graber, who potentially faces sixteen years in prison if found guilty of violating state wiretap laws because he recorded video of an officer drawing a gun during a traffic stop. ... Once [the Maryland State Police] learned of the video on YouTube, Graber's parents house was raided, searched, and four of his computers were confiscated. Graber was arrested, booked and jailed. Their actions are a calculated method of intimidation. Another person has since been similarly charged under the same statute. The wiretap law being used to charge Anthony Graber is intended to protect private communication between two parties. According to David Rocah, the ACLU attorney handling Mr. Graber's case, "To charge Graber with violating the law, you would have to conclude that a police officer on a public road, wearing a badge and a uniform, performing his official duty, pulling someone over, somehow has a right to privacy when it comes to the conversation he has with the motorist."
Comment Re:Why do the vendors have a say? (Score 1) 640
I think you need to check your facts when it comes to possible submarine patents related to MPEG: MPEG-2 FAQ
Q: Are all MPEG-2 essential patents included? A: No assurance is or can be made that the License includes every essential patent. The purpose of the License is to offer a convenient licensing alternative to everyone on the same terms and to include as much essential intellectual property as possible for their convenience. Participation in the License is voluntary on the part of essential patent holders, however.
So each implementer is still on the hook if a new patent holder pops up.
Comment Re:This may be a little offtopic but... (Score 3, Funny) 93
Why did you have the cat push it off the desk? Were you too lazy to do it yourself?
Submission + - Is Tux moonlighting? Or did he get laid off? (prblogs.org)
hsjones writes: "So this evening I'm driving by a convenience store in Gainesville, Florida, when my daughter Guinevere (now 6 yrs. old) suddenly blurts out, "Hey! That store has a Novell penguin!" I figured it was just some picture of a penguin that maybe kinda looked like the Novell Tux that used to sit on my desk. We love penguins (who doesn't?) — especially Linux penguins — so I backed up to investigate. My jaw dropped. It was Tux! Not just sorta-kinda Tux, but the real, official Larry Ewing-drawn Tux, faithfully reproduced — four times! — in roughly 2.5 foot treatments on the walls above the beverage coolers and "Beer Cave"."
Comment Re:Rather interesting line at end of article... (Score 1) 313
But what if the OS was on one disk and all the user data was on a 2nd disk. And that 2nd disk was the one that was 100% wiped?
Comment Re:Abroad? (Score 1) 386
I went to Sweden as an exchange student through ISEP (International Student Exchange Program). I attended the University of Karlstad. I ended up liking it so much there that I ended up staying for four years, I even finished by degrees there.
Here are some of the current Computer Science classes being taught in English
Submission + - Hans Reiser up for trial
An anonymous reader writes: According to German IT news site http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/86524 , Hans Reiser will soon be up for trial.
The content of the link, Babelfished and slightly polished, reads as follows:
The namesake and creator of the file systems ReiserFS and Reiser4, Hans Reiser, will probably have to appear in front of a California court shortly, due to the accusation of murder. Reiser has been behind bars since the middle of October 2006, after his wife Nina at the end of of Septembers living in separation disappeared without trace. In house and car of the Linux programmer traces of his wife's blood were found.
Although the police could not find a corpse, the judge found that there are sufficient reasons to believe that Reiser must have been at least involved in the disappearing of his wife. For example is still missing the passenger seat of Reisers car, which was removed short time after Nina Reisers disappearing. Reisers lawyer assumes now within the next 90 days officially accusation is raised against its mandator.
The content of the link, Babelfished and slightly polished, reads as follows:
The namesake and creator of the file systems ReiserFS and Reiser4, Hans Reiser, will probably have to appear in front of a California court shortly, due to the accusation of murder. Reiser has been behind bars since the middle of October 2006, after his wife Nina at the end of of Septembers living in separation disappeared without trace. In house and car of the Linux programmer traces of his wife's blood were found.
Although the police could not find a corpse, the judge found that there are sufficient reasons to believe that Reiser must have been at least involved in the disappearing of his wife. For example is still missing the passenger seat of Reisers car, which was removed short time after Nina Reisers disappearing. Reisers lawyer assumes now within the next 90 days officially accusation is raised against its mandator.
Submission + - Bill Gates Offers U.S. Border Firewall
Scott Ott writes: "by Scott Ott
(2007-03-08) — Microsoft founder Bill Gates, alarmed that immigration curbs sparked by terrorism threats limit access to talented tech workers from overseas, today said his firm will work with the U.S. government to install "a virtual firewall at the borders that would let the good geeks in and keep the malicious geeks out."
READ THE REST AT http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2509"
READ THE REST AT http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2509"
Submission + - Xbox Live feaures free HD Southpark Episode
goombah99 writes: Xbox live and comedy central have teamed up to bring you Southpark in HD format. The announcement seems untinged by a sense of the absurd. Yes folks Southpark in such crystal clarity you can see the felt.
Submission + - Paul Allen Flips!
WED Fan writes: "Paul Allen has a new hardware venture, smaller than a laptop, larger than a blackberry. According to the Seattle P-I, the vision is to replace the laptop for most everyday use, such as office applications, email, and web surfing.
But at a $2000 price tag, this could be a little bit out of the range of many users. The product will launch on the FlipStart in the not to distant future."
"Really, FlipStart gives you everything that your laptop does," said Robin Budd, senior director with FlipStart Labs, a Seattle-based subsidiary of Allen's Vulcan Inc. "We're not promoting the idea that you would do CAD design on it, but for Office applications and most of what people do with their laptops, it's great."
But at a $2000 price tag, this could be a little bit out of the range of many users. The product will launch on the FlipStart in the not to distant future."
Submission + - Vista upgrades still causing pain
s31523 writes: "Vista has been out for some time now, and it has many people asking "Should I upgrade?" BBC business editor Tim Weber details his experience as the "Vista Trap". The consensus seems to be, as the article says, "Wait for half a year until the driver issues are settled and then buy a new PC". I find it somewhat ironic that the numerous issues that people have with Vista, driver problems, software compatibility, lack of support, etc. are all akin to the problems people mention when getting a Linux Distro working right."
Submission + - Will the US have to conduct more nuclear tests?
Matthew Sparkes writes: "The US has selected the design for a controversial new nuclear warhead to replace the Cold War era weapons currently deployed in its submarines. However, critics say the existing bombs are good enough, and that developing new warheads gives entirely the wrong message at a time when the US is trying to control nuclear proliferation. Questions also remain about whether or not the new warhead will require nuclear tests."
