sfalc - Slashdot User

Submission + - Pirate Bay faces block over child porn

Submitted by mernil on Saturday July 07, 2007 @01:54AM

mernil writes: The Local reports: "File sharing site The Pirate Bay could be shut down, after Swedish police alleged that it is possible to access child pornography via the site. The Pirate Bay denies the charge, while the Pirate Party described the police's strategy as "a scandalous abuse of power". "After complaints from the public we have been able to establish that there is child pornography on Pirate Bay," wrote the head of the National Criminal Investigation Department's IT crimes unit Stefan Kronkvist in a statement.

BBC Chooses Microsoft DRM Platform 384

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday June 26, 2007 @11:41AM from the unpopular-with-the-penguins dept.

bazorg writes "The BBC has chosen Microsoft's DRM technology to limit the viewing of content downloaded from their website. These downloads would allow viewers to catch up on shows that were broadcast on the previous 7 days; they would be compatible only with Windows Media Player and a new product called 'iPlayer'. This iPlayer is not yet available for platforms other than MS Windows, which caused the Open Source Consortium (OSC) to file a complaint to national and EU authorities. 'The BBC aims to make its content as widely available as possible and has always taken a platform agnostic approach to its internet services. It is not possible to put an exact timeframe on when BBC iPlayer will be available for Mac users. However, we are working to ensure this happens as soon as possible and the BBC Trust will be monitoring progress on a six monthly basis.'"

Apple and AT&T Announce iPhone Service Plans 538

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday June 26, 2007 @10:24AM from the they're-going-to-zing-you dept.

daveschroeder writes "Apple and AT&T today announced service plans for iPhone, 4 days before its release in the US at 6pm local time on Friday, June 29. The plans are $59.99/mo for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes, and $99.99 for 1350 minutes, and all include unlimited data, 200 SMS messages, rollover minutes, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Any other standard AT&T service plan may also be used. A two year service plan is required, with a $175 cancellation fee if terminated early. In addition, activations are done via iTunes, so only the hardware is purchased in the store. Interestingly, activation of a contract via iTunes is required to enable the iPod/syncing functionality of the phone as well. (It will remain to be seen whether there are workarounds for this for those who only want the iPod functionality of iPhone, and whether the iPhone is easily unlockable for those who wish to try it on alternate carriers, and so on.)"

Comment Oddities in the Swedish law (Score 3, Informative) 299

by sfalc on Friday June 22, 2007 @05:23PM (#19614093) Attached to: It's Hard To Run a Blog In Sweden

It's all because of foolish requirements in the fifth and sixth section of the "Lag om ansvar för elektroniska anslagstavlor " , approximately translated, The Electronic bulletin board responsibility act.

Which states that the provider is responsible for the comments if they obviously contains either illegal content (hate speech, child pornography, calls for riots) or
illegally republished copyrighted content (i.e a very blatant copyright violation).

And even if you didn't have the time to check all the comments or if you missed something, you are responsible, since you have been negligent ( sixth section).

However even if he had been covered by the Freedom of the Press part of the Swedish constitution he would have been under investigation anyway, since hate speech is exempt.

He will probably receive a small fine and that's the end of it.

Submission + - Flash Player 9 with no sound playing

Submitted by wessman on Sunday February 25, 2007 @03:10PM

wessman writes: Ever since installing Adobe Flash Player v9.x, I have been unable to hear the audio in any Flash-enabled websites. Kind of annoying when you are visiting a band website that has a Flash developed music player in the header and you cannot hear the music! The video plays fine, just no audio. And all other audio on my PC works fine. Searching Google and Adobe, I've found other users experiencing this same bug on various O/S and browser combinations. I have Windows XP Pro (w/ no SP2) w/ IE6 or Firefox 2. I've tried the various registry fixes and reinstalls suggested to no avail. Help!

Submission + - What's In A Twinkie?

Submitted by

ctwxman

on Sunday February 25, 2007 @02:26PM

ctwxman writes: "I grew up on Devil Dogs. Alas, there's no Devil Dog book, but now there is one about Twinkies — nature's perfect food thanks to the miracle of modern science and advanced chemistry! "Why is it you can bake a cake at home with as few as six ingredients, but Twinkies require 39? And why do many of them seem to bear so little resemblance to actual food?" Pure goodness doesn't come easy. Steve Ettlinger is the author of "Twinkie, Deconstructed," the definitive Twinkie story... even without the official help of the keepers of the Twinkie secret. It's all summarized on MSNBC. Before clicking, make sure you have a glass of milk handy."

Slashdot Top Deals