Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
The Courts

Slot Machine with Bad Software Sends Players To Jail 647

Posted by Zonk from the can't-you-see-the-code dept.
dcollins writes "Previous discussions here have turned into debates over who is liable for faulty software: the programmers, the publisher, etc. Yahoo has a new option: perhaps the users are criminally liable for using the software. From the AP: 'Prosecutors are considering criminal charges against casino gamblers who won big on a slot machine that had been installed with faulty software ... A decision on whether to bring criminal charges could come in a couple of weeks, said John Colin, chief deputy prosecutor for Harrison County. He said 'criminal intent' may be involved when people play a machine they know is faulty.' Would your average user be able to distinguish 'faulty software' from 'lucky'?"
Censorship

Senate Committee Passes FCC Indecency Bill 507

Posted by Zonk from the they-thought-of-the-children dept.
An anonymous reader writes "US Senate Commerce Committee today passed a bill that would allow the FCC to fine broadcasters for slip of the tongue expletives, negating a ruling by federal appeals court in New York that commission's policy on 'fleeting expletives' is arbitrary and capricious. 'A mandate by Congress that a "fleeting expletive" can now be found indecent will create a vast chilling effect on broadcast speech, the advocacy group Center for Democracy and Technology claims. CDT points out that prior to this bill and the FCC's policy change, the FCC exercised discretion in determining which utterances were indecent, and consistently found that one-time uses of curse words were not indecent.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - MS Wants to Identify All Web Surfers, All the Time

Submitted by Moochman
Moochman writes: New Scientist reports on a technology Microsoft is developing to identify users based on their browsing habits. Quote: "The software could get its raw information from a number of sources, including a new type of 'cookie' program that records the pages visited. Alternatively, it could use your PC's own cache of web pages, or proxy servers could maintain records of sites visited. So far it can only guess gender and age with any accuracy," but the aim is to be able to identify name, occupation and location as well. On a related note, The Inq reports on Microsoft's plans to widen the use of its identity-verification technology CardSpace, which is built into Windows Vista and available as an add-on to XP. It's being envisioned as an identity solution for the entire internet: says Kim Cameron, pioneer of the technology, "We feel it has to solve all use cases." (Aha, so the anonymous use cases, too, eh?) One might ask, with all of this user-identification information on hand, how long will it be until the Feds come knocking on Microsoft's door asking for help? They already have.
Education

Submission + - Student in court over suspension for youtube video

Submitted by
kozmonaut
kozmonaut writes: "A "model student" is in court this week over 40-day suspension for posting a mocking in-class video of "Mongzilla", a high school english teacher. The student is arguing he had First Amendment rights to publish the video, though it was filmed without permission in the classroom. The judge says she will have a decision by the end of the day. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/316618_youtube 22.html"
The Internet

Spyware Still Cheating Merchants 82

Posted by CmdrTaco from the players-still-be-hatin dept.
Jamie found an interesting story about how Spyware is still on the move. It talks about how Spyware vendors are trying to clean up their image, but still doing fishy things. It breaks down several common types of spyware and some analysis of each.
United States

Justice Department Promises Stronger Copyright Punishments 322

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the dancing-the-big-business-polka dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has stated that the Justice department will be getting even harder on copyright infringement, targeting repeat offenders. The new 'Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007' is headed for Congress promising to 'hit criminals in their wallets' hoping to ensure that any 'ill-gotten gains' are forfeited.

Slashdot Top Deals

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced -- even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it. -- John Keats

Close