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Hardware

Submission + - Inside the Fake PC Recycling Market (osnews.com) 1

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "OSNews' Howard Fosdick reports on the 'fake recycling market' — one in which companies exploit cheap shipping, inexpensive labor, and a lack of safety and environmental law to export computers and other e-waste to China and Africa where it is 'recycled' with a complete lack of environmental and safety rules. 'This trade has become a thriving business. Companies called "fake recyclers" approach well-meaning organizations — charities, churches, and community organizations — and offer to hold a Recycling Day. The charity provides publicity, legitimacy, and a parking lot for the event. On the designated day, well-meaning residents drop off their old electronics for recycling. The fake recycler picks it up in their trucks, hauls it away for shipping, and makes money by exporting it to Chinese or African "recycling" centers. Nobody's the wiser,' Fosdick writes. Of course, the international community has, in fact, devised a set of rules to control e-waste disposal under the Basel Conventions, but the U.S. — 'the international "bad boy" of computer recycling — is one of four countries that have not ratified and do not adhere to these international agreements."
Idle

Submission + - Doctor Invents "Zero Gravity" Radiation Suit (wfaa.com) 2

Submitted by DrFrasierCrane
DrFrasierCrane writes: You think you feel weighed down when your dentist lays that lead apron on you to take X-rays: how about the doctors who deal with radiation treatments and have to wear those aprons all day long? A Dallas, Texas, doctor has created a "zero gravity" radiation suit for just that problem. From the article: "Physicians are supposed to wear a lead apron during those procedures. It is back-breakingly heavy and doesn't cover the body completely." The zero gravity suit eliminates the weight and the exposed openings.

Submission + - Pixel inventor goes back to the drawing board (wired.com)

Submitted by lawpoop
lawpoop writes: Russell Kirsch, inventor of the square pixel, goes back to the drawing board. In the 1950s, he was part of a team that developed the square pixel. " 'Squares was the logical thing to do,” Kirsch says. “Of course, the logical thing was not the only possibility but we used squares. It was something very foolish that everyone in the world has been suffering from ever since.' Now retired and living in Portland, Oregon, Kirsch recently set out to make amends. Inspired by the mosaic builders of antiquity who constructed scenes of stunning detail with bits of tile, Kirsch has written a program that turns the chunky, clunky squares of a digital image into a smoother picture made of variably shaped pixels."
Technology

Submission + - Bluetooth 4.0 Spec Adopted

Submitted by adeelarshad82
adeelarshad82 writes: The Bluetooth SIG announced the formal adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0, which begins the qualification process for new, low-power devices. Bluetooth 4.0 was formally announced in April, and added a new, ultra-low-power aspect to the short-range personal-area-network technology. According to the SIG, the new 4.0 core specification should allow devices to run on coin-cell batteries for years with a new ultra-low-power duty mode.
Social Networks

Submission + - Twitter throttling hits third-party apps (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by Barence
Barence writes: Twitter's battle to keep the microblogging service from falling over is having a dire affect on third-party Twitter apps. Users of Twitter-related apps such as TweetDeck, Echofon and even Twitter's own mobile software have complained of a lack of updates, after the company imposed strict limits on the number of times third-party apps can access the service. Over the past week, Twitter has reduced the number of API calls from 350 to 175 an hour. At one point last week, that number was temporarily reduced to only 75. A warning on TweetDeck's support page states that users "should allow TweetDeck to ensure you do not run out of calls, although with such a small API limit, your refresh rates will be very slow."
Image

Publishing Company Puts Warning Label on Constitution 676

Posted by samzenpus from the inappropriate-founding-fathers dept.
Wilder Publication is under fire for putting warning labels on copies of historical US documents, including the Constitution. The label warns "This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today." From the article: "The disclaimer goes on to tell parents that they 'might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.'"
Graphics

Sony To Launch First 3D PS3 Games On Friday 151

Posted by Soulskill from the how-about-games-with-a-three-dimensional-story dept.
Stoobalou writes "Sony plans to show off the first 3D PlayStation 3 games in the UK on 10 June, with a retail launch on 11 June. If you were wondering why Sony is shutting down half the PSN today for maintenance, then wonder no more. We reckon the company's simply gearing up for the launch of the PlayStation 3's first stereoscopic 3D games. Unfortunately, many game developers are seemingly indifferent to the 3D revolution at the moment. In fact, EA CEO John Riccitiello reckons that it's going to be a good three years before 3D becomes a standard gaming feature. Riccitiello explained that there's a big difference between converting a game to run in 3D mode and properly developing it to take full advantage of the extra dimension."

Feed '30s Hollywood Cartoon Censorship (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Cartoon Brew highlights how the Hayes Code impacted cartoons in 1939 -- male characters couldn't be effeminate, kids had to behave and Flossie the cow's sexy udders had to be clothed. At Table of Malcontents.


Feed Radio: Anti-Payola Guidelines OK (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
The Future of Music Coalition, working to end payola so independent labels get the same radio play as the majors, announce the FCC and broadcasters agree to its rules. In Listening Post.


Feed Too Much Digital Information (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Researchers conclude that the world generated 161 billion gigabytes of digital info last year. And there's barely enough room to store it all. By the Associated Press.


The Internet

U.S. Senators Pressure Canada on Canadian DMCA 466

Posted by Hemos from the the-creeping-fingers-problem dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. copyright lobby brought out some heavy artillery last week as it continued to pressure Canada to introduce a Canadian DMCA. U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins gave a public talk in which he described Canadian copyright law as the weakest in the G7, while Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge him to bring in movie piracy legislation."

Feed China Nixes More Web Cafes (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Beijing decides that 113,000 internet cafes are enough -- at least until it figures out what this internet freedom stuff is all about. By the Associated Press.


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