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Communications

Cell Phone Jamming on the Rise 942

Posted by CmdrTaco from the jerks-ruin-it-for-everyone dept.
netbuzz writes "It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone either, as the number of inconsiderate dolts who yammer away oblivious to the disruptions their yapping is causing those around them continues to rise. Pocket-sized cell jammers are becoming a hot item, while proprietors of restaurants and the like look to defend themselves as well. Yes it's illegal, but given that the rudeness is pretty close to criminal as well, it's unlikely to stop any time soon."
Security

Submission + - Datacenter robbed for the 4th time in 2 years (theregister.co.uk) 1

Submitted by
mariushm
mariushm writes: "The CIHost datacenter was attacked by armed intruders for the fourth times in two years.

According to a letter C I Host officials sent customers, "at least two masked intruders entered the suite after cutting into the reinforced walls with a power saw, [...]

During the robbery, C I Host's night manager was repeatedly tazered and struck with a blunt instrument. After violently attacking the manager, the intruders stole equipment belonging to C I Host and its customers."

To aggravate the situation, C I Host representatives needed several days to admit the most recent breach, according to several customers who said they lost equipment, all the while reporting the problems as "router failures"."
The Courts

Submission + - U.of Oregon Says No to RIAA; ID no good

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The University of Oregon has filed a motion to quash the RIAA's subpoena for information on student identities, in what is believed to be the first such motion made by the university itself, rather than by the students, and the first instance of a State Attorney General bringing a motion to quash an RIAA subpoena. The motion (pdf) explains that it is impossible to identify the alleged infringers from the information the RIAA has presented: "Five of the seventeen John Does accessed the content in question from double occupancy dorm rooms at the University. With regard to these Does, the University is able to identify only the room where the content was accessed and whether or not the computer used was a Macintosh or a PC.... The University cannot determine whether the content in question accessed by one occupant as opposed to another, or whether it was accessed instead by a visitor. Two of the seventeen John Does accessed the content in question from single occupancy dorm rooms....No login or personally identifiable information, i.e. authentication, was used by the Does to access the university's network because none is required. The University cannot determine whether the content was accessed by the room occupant or visitor. Nine of the seventeen John Does accessed the content in question from the University's wireless network or a similar system called the "HDSL Circuit." These systems do record a user name associated with the access. For these John Does, the University can determine the identity of the individual who bas been assigned the user name, however, it is unable to determine whether the content was accessed by the individual assigned that user name or by someone else using the computer associated with the user name. In the case of sixteen of the seventeen John Does, .... it is not possible for the University to identify the alleged infringers without conducting interviews and a forensic investigation of the computers likely involved." The AG's motion further argues (pdf) that "Plaintiffs' subpoena is unduly burdensome and overbroad. It seeks information that the University does not readily possess. In order to attempt to comply with the subpoena, the University would be forced to undertake an investigation to create discovery for Plaintiffs — an obligation not imposed by Rule 45. As the University is unable to identify the alleged infringers with any accuracy, it cannot comply with its federal obligation to notify students potentially affected by the subpoena." One commentator has likened the AG's argument to saying, in effect, that the RIAA's evidence is "rubbish"."
Windows

Pimp Your XP 272

Posted by kdawson from the old-dogs dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Ezinearticles.com has up an interesting article on how you can improve Windows XP to mimic and even surpass Vista — at least some of its new features. Several of the suggestions cost money and others are free. From improving the user interface with Stardock to mimicking new security features with open source software such as Sudown, the article discusses many ways that die-hard XP users can enhance their environment without moving to Vista."
Spam

Submission + - Does SPF really work?

Submitted by
Intelopment
Intelopment writes: "My Domain name has recently been used a lot as the REPLY field by some inconsiderate spammer and my ISP has suggested that I consider using the Open SPF service (http://openspf.org/) as a way to stop spammers from using my domain name for their REPLY field. From what I can tell it requires the receiving mail server to actually participate in the SPF service, which is where I get my doubts. Does anyone have any experience with this service? Does it work? Are many ISPs using openSFP?"
Censorship

Own Your Own 128-Bit Integer 477

Posted by kdawson from the anyone-can-play dept.
Byte Swapper writes "After all the fuss over the AACS trying to censor a certain 128-bit number that now has something over two million hits on Google, the folks at Freedom to Tinker would like to point out that you too can own your own integer. They've set up a script that will generate a random number, encrypt a copyrighted haiku with it, and then deed the number back to you. You won't get a copyright on the number or the haiku, but your number has become an illegal circumvention device under the DMCA, such that anyone subject to US law caught distributing it can be punished under the DMCA's anti-trafficking section, for which the DMCA's Safe Harbor provisions do not apply. So F9090211749D5BE341D8C5565663C088 is truly mine now, and you can pry it out of my cold, dead fingers!"

Soldiers Bond With Bots, Take Them Fishing 462

Posted by Zonk from the brave-new-world dept.
HarryCaul writes "Soldiers are finding themselves becoming more and more attached to their robotic helpers. During one test of a mine clearing robot, 'every time it found a mine, blew it up and lost a limb, it picked itself up and readjusted to move forward on its remaining legs, continuing to clear a path through the minefield.' The man in charge halted the test, though - 'He just could not stand the pathos of watching the burned, scarred and crippled machine drag itself forward on its last leg. This test, he charged, was inhumane.' Sometimes the soldiers even take their metallic companions fishing. Is there more sympathy for Robot Rights than previously suspected?"

Users Being Migrated To New Version of Hotmail 215

Posted by Zonk from the windows-live-inspires-confidence dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has started work on migrating Hotmail users to a new version after testing the new system on select customers for almost two years. Microsoft stated in the article that more than 20 million users provided feedback to the new-look Hotmail. 'For now, Microsoft will give Hotmail users the option to continue using the old version if they don't want to switch to the upgraded version. However, at some point, everyone will be unilaterally migrated over to Windows Live Hotmail ... New users will be automatically signed up for Windows Live Hotmail but, like any user of the new service, they will get to choose from two user interfaces: a "classic" layout that closely resembles the old Hotmail; or the new interface, which was designed to look like Microsoft's Outlook e-mail and calendaring desktop application.'"
Java

Sun Completes Java Core Tech Open-Sourcing 141

Posted by Zonk from the the-beans-are-gratis dept.
MsManhattan writes "A year after announcing its plans, Sun Microsystems has made almost all of the core technology in Java available as open-source software under the GNU general public license version 2 (GPLv2). However, some of the code remains 'encumbered'; that is, Sun doesn't have sufficient rights to release it under GPLv2, and the company is requesting the open-source community's help in resolving these issues. Rich Sands, community marketing manager for OpenJDK community at Sun, would not say what percentage of Java's 6.5 million lines of code are encumbered, but explained that it is largely Java 2D graphics technology, such as font and graphics rasterizing."
Networking

Internet2 Taken Out by Stray Cigarette 315

Posted by samzenpus from the only-you-can-stop-internet-fires dept.
AlHunt writes "A fire started by a homeless man knocked out service between Boston and New York on the experimental Internet2 network Tuesday night. Authorities say the fire, which also disrupted service on the Red Line subway, started around 8:20 p.m. when a homeless man tossed a lit cigarette. The cigarette landed on a mattress, which ignited and led to a two-alarm fire."
Announcements

Submission + - Ubuntu Feisty Fawn Released!

Submitted by
crhylove
crhylove writes: "Ubuntu Feisty Fawn is out! For those of you not in the know, Ubuntu is aiming to be a full fledged desktop OS based on Debian Gnu/Linux. It is lightweight, fast, pretty, and by default works on most of the hardware out there that people will want to run it on. Included in this release are easy driver installation for commercial (restricted) drivers, Compiz (though turned off by default), Open Office 2.2.0, The Gimp, Gaim (now Pidjin) 2.0.0 beta6, Firefox 2.0, a bunch of great games, and easy codec downloads and installs. I've been running Feisty since about Herd 4, and most of my Windows friends who see it are contemplating switching, and two of them already have (I also installed Beryl, which helps out a lot on the "bling" front)! The latest torrents and such are up at the usual places: http://www.ubuntu.com/"
Windows

Submission + - Only 244 genuine Windows Vista's sold in China

Submitted by
morpheus83
morpheus83 writes: "Whilst Microsoft was bragging about the sales number of their latest OS Windows Vista, few would actually know that they have only managed to sell 244 copies in the whole of China in the first 2 weeks. You heard that right, and that's the number quoted from the headquarters of the Windows Vista chief (90% national volume) distributor in Beijing."

Feed Dell Axim, RIP: 2002 - 2007 (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Handhelds

T'is a sad day for legions of Axim fanboys the world over -- yes, they really do exist, especially among PDA emulation gaming enthusiasts -- as Mobility Site is reporting that Dell has quietly removed the last x51-series models from its retail site, effectively spelling the end of the five-year-old brand as we know it. First released in 2002, the Axims were always considered vanguard devices among Pocket PC users, introducing features such as WiFi, VGA screens, and high-end processors as soon as they became available. It would be great to see Dell carry this tradition over onto an Axim line of smartphones -- 624MHz XScale CPUs plus 640 x 480 displays would be pretty hot indeed -- but for now it seems that the company is concentrating on its other businesses, so if you want to buy a PDA from Dell, it's ironically gotta be Palm or nothing.

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