Comment Re: The airport was bombed the day after we left. (Score 1) 929
You must have visited Israel a long time ago, as I can't really remember when was the last time Ben Gurion Airport was bombed. Probably way before my time...
Comment Re:The Real Question (Score 1) 139
The Ministry of Communication regards such malpractices with an unfavorite eye:
Communications Ministry spokesman Dr. Yechiel Shabi said in response, "The research materials relayed to us paint a picture which arouses the need for thorough examination. After we become familiar with the study's findings, we shall consider the need for interference, supervision or regulation of the matter."
The MoC declared their commitment for the principle of Network Neutrality after a previous case of VoIP blocking by one of the cellular operator in Israel. However, beyond declarations actions are yet to be seen.
Submission + - Israeli ISPs caught interfering P2P traffic (ynetnews.com)
Fuzzzy writes: For a long time, many people have suspected that Israeli ISPs are blocking or delaying P2P traffic. However, no hard evidence was provided, and the ISPs denied any interference. Today Ynetnews published a comprehensive research which for the first time proves those suspicions. Using Glasnost and switzerland, evidences for deliberate delays and DPI were found. From TFA:
Since 2007 Ynet has received complaints according to which Israeli ISPs block P2P traffic. Those were brought to the media and were dismissed by the ISPs.
Our findings were that there is direct and deliberate interference in P2P traffic by at least two out of the three major ISPs and that this interference exists by both P2P caching and P2P blocking.
Submission + - P2P Bandwidth Throttling in Israel (2jk.org)
stenWolf writes: Turns out that despite denials, major ISPs in Israel are throttling P2P bandwidth unlawfully.
Submission + - 'Flowers for Algernon' Becoming a Reality
Ponca City, We love you writes: "The Telegraph reports that scientists have created the world's cleverest rat, able to remember objects for three times longer than other rats and better at finding its way through mazes, by modifying a single gene in a technique they believe one day could be used to boost human brainpower. The rat, named Hobbie-J, was injected with genetic material when it was an embryo to boost the NR2B gene which controls memory. “Hobbie-J can remember information for longer. It’s the equivalent of me giving you a telephone number and somehow you remembering it for an hour," says Dr Joe Z Tsien, who led the experiment at the Medical College of Georgia. “Our study provides a solid basis for the rationale that the NR2B gene is critical to enhancing memory. That gene could be used for memory-enhancing drugs.” The success brings hope for future dementia patients, as it is thought the gene enhancement could one day be used in a drug treatment for human brain disorders. However mega-memory could be a major burden says Neuroscientist Guosong Liu. "The danger of extending memory in healthy people could be considerable," Liu says. "There is a reason we forget. We are supposed to leave our bad experiences behind, so they do not haunt us.""
Comment The Israeli census (Score 1) 303
The Israeli census is freely available everywhere... It's a shame that the same people who are in charged for the census fiasco, are those are will be in charged for securing the biometric database.
Submission + - Israel to establish a biometric database (ynet.co.il)
An anonymous reader writes: The Israeli Knesset passed today a biometric bill to establish a biometric database for all Israeli citizens.
The first two-years are trial period in which participation will be voluntary. However, during that period citizens who will not provide their biometric details will be denied of smart ID cards and biometric passports. After the pilot succeeds, the biometric database will become mandatory, making Israel the first democratic country to have a mandatory biometric database for its citizens.
Submission + - Israeli Knesset approves Biometric Database law (ynetnews.com)
Lord Duran writes: The Israeli Knesset approved a bill tonight that will require every Israeli citizen to submit a visual scan of their face and a biometric scan of their fingerprints to a national database. I, for one, fail to see how this is anything but evil. TFA mentions the Israeli census was breached — I'd like to point out, for comparison, that it's still freely available on your peer-to-peer file sharing network of choice.
Comment Diseases never prevented long distance travels (Score 3, Insightful) 177
The conquistadors at the 15th century were able to travel long distances on ships full of diseases, and yet conquered and eliminated the native civilizations of America. Diseases may be a difficulty, but they won't prevent space travel.
Comment Re:Three Levels And Beyond (Score 1) 264
My guess for Ring -3 is some kind of microcode manipulation inside the CPU. Probably persistent too.
Comment Hardware workaround (Score 1) 655
I know, the coordination is not what it used to be, and it's not that easy to swap cassettes that fast nowadays. Luckily, one good thing came out of MS Word---the magical Cut & Paste mechanism---which can help you to continue to enjoy your favorite games on your favorite minicomputer...
A. Record the loader on a new cassette.
B. Open the loader cassette, and cut the magnetic tape after the location of the generic loader.
C. Open the game cassette, and carefully paste the tape of the generic loader just before the game tape starts.
D. Et voilà, you have a new loader to your Atari game.
A. Record the loader on a new cassette.
B. Open the loader cassette, and cut the magnetic tape after the location of the generic loader.
C. Open the game cassette, and carefully paste the tape of the generic loader just before the game tape starts.
D. Et voilà, you have a new loader to your Atari game.
Persistence Pays Off With Israel's First Windows Refund 84
As Niv Lilian reports at Ynet News, Haifa (and the Haifa Linux Club)'s Zvi Devir just preferred to run Linux rather than the pre-installed Windows on his newly bought Dell computer, and didn't want to pay for the unwanted Windows system. Now Devir has prevailed, after a fight in Israeli small-claims court, to become the first Israeli to obtain a Windows refund (also in Hebrew), winning the $137 that Windows added to the cost of his machine and escaping the nondisclosure agreement that Dell had wanted him to abide by as a condition. Perhaps others will follow his lead. Update: 12/03 23:02 GMT by T : Zvi Devir wrote with an update: "BTW, the settlement was out of court, before any court sessions took place."
Microsoft's Annual Report Reveals OSS Mistakes 348
mjasay writes "Microsoft's most recent annual report suggests that the company is increasingly coming to grips with open source, yet also seems determined to perpetuate myths about open source that poorly serve it and its shareholders. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has suggested before that 'free software means no free soda' for Microsoft employees; but this is perhaps the first time that Microsoft has managed to enshrine its ignorance in a public document. In the annual report, Microsoft makes two primary false claims about open source: 1) Open source companies don't invest in research and development and instead largely free-ride on Microsoft's patents and copyrights; and 2) Open source projects don't innovate and instead mimic Microsoft's products. Perhaps Microsoft has forgotten its own 'innovative' past copying of markets and technologies created by Apple and others. But at least Microsoft gets one thing right: 'To the extent open source software gains increasing market acceptance, our sales, revenue and operating margins may decline.'"
