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Comment linking exception? (Score 1) 504

by NAR8789 (#32169958) Attached to: Can Employer Usurp Copyright On GPL-Derived Work?
Did he modify the libraries he's using? Is he sure it's actually GPL and not LGPL or even MIT or BSD? And in particular that there isn't a reasonable linking exception? My impression from the summary is that he's merely linking said FOSS libraries, and my (much less founded) impression from casual observation is that using FOSS libraries is usually ok so long as any modifications made to the libraries and redistributed are done so following any viral licenses that might apply.
GNU is Not Unix

Can Employer Usurp Copyright On GPL-Derived Work? 504

Posted by kdawson from the tangled-web dept.
An anonymous reader writes "I am a recent graduate, and I've been working on my own on a project that uses GPL-licensed libraries. Later a university department hired me, on a part-time basis, to develop this project into a solution that they needed. The project's size increased over time and soliciting help from the open source community seemed like the obvious thing to do. However, when I suggested this, my boss was not interested, and it was made clear to me that the department's position was that copyright of the whole thing belonged to them. Indeed, by default work created for an employer belongs to the employer, so I may have gotten myself in the same trap discussed here years ago. Even though I want to release my code to the public I don't know whether I have the legal right to do so. I did start the project on my own. And, since no written or verbal agreement was ever made to transfer copyright over to my employer, I question whether they can claim that they now own the extended version of the project. Also, the whole project relies on GPL libraries, and without those libraries it would be useless. Can they still claim copyright and prevent me from publishing the source code even though it is derived from GPL software?" Some early commenters on the submission pointed out that it matters whether the libraries were licensed under the LGPL vs. the GPL.
Media

YouTube, Now In Text Mode! 102

Posted by CmdrTaco from the squeezing-the-pipes dept.
techmuse writes "YouTube has introduced a new, higher-resolution text mode for video. The new text mode is far more efficient than their previous high-end, high-definition offering, and should bring entirely new levels of realism to streaming web video!"
Image

Disputed Island Disappears Into Sea 460

Posted by samzenpus from the say-hi-to-atlantis dept.
RawJoe writes "India and Bangladesh have argued for almost 30 years over control of a tiny island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have ended the argument for them: the island's gone. From the article: 'New Moore Island, in the Sunderbans, has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said. "What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming," said Hazra.'"

Comment Re:Yes, they are. (Score 2, Informative) 321

by NAR8789 (#31080904) Attached to: A "Never Reboot" Service For Linux

Actually, if I'm not mistaken ksplice already is completely free and open source. They operate kind of like Red Hat--what you're paying for is support. From what I can tell though, there's one crucial difference--ksplice can't function without support. Now in either case you are free to provide your own support, but I think the task of providing ksplice patches is just nontrivial enough (due to the nature of the problem, not ksplice's design), that the economies here significantly favor everyone paying one company to do it, rather than anyone trying to do it themselves.
Communications

First Room-Temperature Germanium Laser Completed 80

Posted by timothy from the please-keep-your-comments-germanium dept.
eldavojohn writes "MIT researchers have built and demonstrated the first room-temperature germanium laser that can produce light at wavelengths suited for communication. This achievement has two parts: '[U]nlike the materials typically used in lasers, germanium is easy to incorporate into existing processes for manufacturing silicon chips. So the result could prove an important step toward computers that move data — and maybe even perform calculations — using light instead of electricity. But more fundamentally, the researchers have shown that, contrary to prior belief, a class of materials called indirect-band-gap semiconductors can yield practical lasers.' While these are only the initial steps in what may become optical computing devices, the article paints it as very promising. The painful details will be published in the journal Optics Letters."
GUI

IDEs With VIM Text Editing Capability? 193

Posted by timothy from the one-keybinding-to-rule-them-all dept.
An anonymous reader writes "I am currently looking to move from text editing with vim to a full fledged IDE with gdb integration, integrated command line, etc. Extending VIM with these capabilities is a mortal sin, so I am looking for a linux based GUI IDE. I do not want to give up the efficient text editing capabilities of VIM though. How do I have my cake and eat it too?"
Security

Malware Found Hidden In Screensaver On Gnome-Look 611

Posted by timothy from the sudo-you-know-what-you're-sudoing dept.
AndGodSed writes "OMG! UBUNTU! Reports the following: 'Malware has been found hidden inside an innocuous 'waterfall' screensaver .deb file made available on popular artwork sharing site Gnome-Look.org. The .deb file installs a script with elevated privileges designed to perform a DDoS attack as well as keep itself updated via downloads. The dodgy screensaver in question has since been removed from gnome-look, and this incident was a very basic, if potentially successful, attempt.'" A similar report at Digitizor.com says that similar malware was also found in a theme called Ninja Black. For those affected, both sites also provide instruction on cleansing your system.
Biotech

Super Strength Substance Approaching Human Trials 425

Posted by kdawson from the radioactive-spider-bite dept.
kkleiner writes "You may remember Liam Hoekstra, the baby apparently born without the myostatin gene, and consequently sporting 40% more skeletal muscle than his peers. Using gene therapy, NCH scientists have been able to get follistatin (a myostatin blocker) to promote phenomenal muscle growth in macaque monkeys. NCH is now working with the FDA to perform the preliminary steps necessary for a human clinical trial. Is this the prelude to a super-strength gene therapy for all of us?"
Movies

Zombies As American Zeitgeist Proxies 263

Posted by kdawson from the look-what-plan-9-started dept.
blackbearnh writes "No doubt, there will be more than a few brain-munching glassy-eyed zombies showing up on the typical doorstep tonight, demanding brains, brains, brains, or at least some Milk Duds. But according to this essay over on Forbes.com, zombies are more than just the trendy monster on the block, they are to Americans what Godzilla is to Japanese: a personification of our fear of science and technology. 'It seems you can't throw a half-eaten cerebrum these days without hitting a posse of zombies brought to life by some kind of biological mishap (28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Planet Terror, Quarantine). Like Godzilla, zombies keep up with the times, always ready to mirror whatever aspect of science and technology people feel most uncertain about at the moment.'"
NASA

NASA Downgrades Asteroid-Earth Collision Risk 244

Posted by timothy from the elephant-detector-working-fine dept.
coondoggie writes "NASA scientists have recalculated the path of a large asteroid known as Apophis and now say it has only a very slim chance of banging into Earth.. The Apophis asteroid is approximately the size of two-and-a-half football fields, and updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter on April 13, 2036 for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a million, NASA stated."

Comment Re:Touchscreens... (Score 1) 134

by NAR8789 (#29531179) Attached to: The World's First Four-screen Laptop

Why throw hardware at a software problem?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiling_window_manager

Now, don't jump down my throat just yet. Yes, I realize these are not for most people, but your "minimize" idea reminded me of dwm and xmonad's default tiling behavior. While replacing standard window managers with things like dwm and xmonad wouldn't be acceptable, perhaps standard window managers should be extended with faculties that allow easy tiling when desired. Supplying this particular need with hardware seems... silly.

On the other hand, given that the extra screens are touchscreens there are other advantages. I would not object to my laptop being a giant DS, but I'm a sucker fo gimmicks.

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