Comment Re:There is nothing wrong with forcasts. (Score 1) 376
If we don't vote, the wrong lizard might get in!
Comment Beyond herd immunity (Score 1) 616
I am not an expert in communicable diseases or genetics, so maybe I am wrong about this, but another issue that I haven't seen brought up much is that anti-vaccination groups endanger not just the small number of people who rely on herd immunity due to medical issues that prevent them from getting vaccinations, but also those of us who already have vaccinations. If nearly eradicated diseases spread through groups of unvaccinated people, it provides more opportunities for the disease to mutate into a form from which our current vaccinations do not protect.
Should a person who happens to be immune to the effects of Ebola yet is still contagious be allowed to walk around New York as they please because it is their right not to get it treated?
DOJ Often Used Cell Tower Impersonating Devices Without Explicit Warrants 146
Via the EFF comes news that, during a case involving the use of a Stingray device, the DOJ revealed that it was standard practice to use the devices without explicitly requesting permission in warrants. "When Rigmaiden filed a motion to suppress the Stingray evidence as a warrantless search in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the government responded that this order was a search warrant that authorized the government to use the Stingray. Together with the ACLU of Northern California and the ACLU, we filed an amicus brief in support of Rigmaiden, noting that this 'order' wasn't a search warrant because it was directed towards Verizon, made no mention of an IMSI catcher or Stingray and didn't authorize the government — rather than Verizon — to do anything. Plus to the extent it captured loads of information from other people not suspected of criminal activity it was a 'general warrant,' the precise evil the Fourth Amendment was designed to prevent. ... The emails make clear that U.S. Attorneys in the Northern California were using Stingrays but not informing magistrates of what exactly they were doing. And once the judges got wind of what was actually going on, they were none too pleased:"
Google Pledges Not To Sue Any Open Source Projects Using Their Patents 153
sfcrazy writes "Google has announced the Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge. In the pledge Google says that they will not sue any user, distributor, or developer of Open Source software on specified patents, unless first attacked. Under this pledge, Google is starting off with 10 patents relating to MapReduce, a computing model for processing large data sets first developed at Google. Google says that over time they intend to expand the set of Google's patents covered by the pledge to other technologies."
This is in addition to the Open Invention Network, and their general work toward reforming the patent system. The patents covered in the OPN will be free to use in Free/Open Source software for the life of the patent, even if Google should transfer ownership to another party. Read the text of the pledge. It appears that interaction with non-copyleft licenses (MIT/BSD/Apache) is a bit weird: if you create a non-free fork it appears you are no longer covered under the pledge.
Comment All hype... (Score 4, Funny) 83
I looked at a few pics, but they didn't look any better than the monitor I'm already using.
Submission + - 3D Printed bones cut cost of surgery operations (bbc.co.uk)
Tasha26 writes: A trainee surgeon, Mark Frame, has figured out how to save UK's NHS thousands of pounds by taking advantage of 3D-printer technology. Success in orthopaedic operations relies on surgeons having an accurate 3D model of the area where the operation will take place. Such models take time to produce and cost upto £1200 ($1915). Mark, a self-confessed "technology geek," used open source OsiriX software to convert CT scans into files which are readable by the 3D printers at Shapeways, a company in the Netherlands. Within a week they produced & delivered the first plastic 3D model of a child's forearm at a cost of £77 ($123). Mark has written a free guide so that other surgeons can make their own bones which is being considered for publication by the World Journal of Science and Technology. He's also contactable via twitter: @3Dbones
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Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.
