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Government

Lawmakers Intent On Approving SOPA, PIPA 513

Posted by timothy from the no-business-like-show-business dept.
snydeq writes "U.S. Congress appears likely to move forward with SOPA and PIPA, despite widespread opposition, IDGNS reports. The U.S. Senate is expected to begin floor debate on PIPA shortly after senators return to D.C. on Jan. 23, and supporters appear to have the votes to override a threatened filibuster. Some opponents of the bills hold out hope: 'We're optimistic that if members really understood the Internet architecture and cybersecurity measures, they would not support SOPA as written. Instead, members who are really committed to combatting online piracy would look for effective ways to do that without compromising cybersecurity or the open architecture of the Internet,' said a CCIA spokesperson. Others remain doubtful that Congress will come to this understanding."
Books

Submission + - Libraries Release Most-Censored Books List (ala.org)

Submitted by destinyland
destinyland writes: The American Library Association released this year's list of the most-frequently censored books. (Included in the top 10 are two best-selling novels — Twilight and The Hunger Games — as well as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.) The annual list celebrates "the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment," according to the library association, highlighting "the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship..." And interestingly, 7 of the 10 most-censored books are now available on Amazon's Kindle — more than twice as many as last year.
Censorship

Submission + - ACTA to be signed this Weekend (activepolitic.com) 1

Submitted by bs0d3
bs0d3 writes: Since US negotiators on ACTA were pushing for some of the toughest language on DRM, Internet disconnections, and more, they had to climb down in the face of international resistance and public pressure. The new ACTA light will be signed in Japan this comming weekend. The milder ACTA won't be treated like a treaty—which requires Senate ratification in the US—but like an "executive agreement" that cannot alter US law. The US is sending Ambassador Miriam Sapiro, the deputy US Trade Representative, to Tokyo this weekend to sign the final document
Cloud

Submission + - Facebook Fixes Cookie Behavior After Logging Out

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Over the weekend, self-proclaimed hacker Nik Cubrilovic accused Facebook of tracking its users even if they log out of the social network. The company responded by denying the claims and offering an explanation as to why its cookies behave the way they do. Now, Cubrilovic says Facebook has made changes to the logout process, and detailed what each cookie is responsible for.
First Person Shooters (Games)

An FPS Minus the Shooting 172

Posted by Soulskill from the are-you-a-cooper-or-a-geraldo dept.
phaedrus5001 writes "Ars has a story about a first person shooter under development that involves no shooting on the part of the player; at least, no shooting bullets. The game, Warco, has the player in the role of a war correspondent. The object is to immerse yourself in missions and firefights in order to document what happens. From the article: 'Players will experience the process of filming conflicts, going into dangerous situations armed with nothing but a camera. They will then edit the footage into a compelling news story.' While it's an interesting and different concept, it should be even more interesting to see if the developers can actually convince a publisher to release the project."
Science

Modern Humans Bred With Evolutionary Predecessors In Africa 160

Posted by Soulskill from the how-you-doin dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Based on a new analysis of old skulls, it now appears that modern humans may have interbred with some earlier hominid species, suggesting that human evolution took a more complex path than previously thought. The study opines that modern humans lived side by side with the older species. Paleontologists disagree over the meaning of the findings, or whether they have any substantial significance at all."
Education

Simple Virus For Teaching? 366

Posted by samzenpus from the my-first-malware dept.
ed1023 writes "Currently I am teaching a 101 class on computers. It is more of a 'demystifying the black box' type of class. The current topic is computer viruses; I am looking for a virus with which I can infect the lab computers (only connected to local network, no outside network connection) that would be easy for the students to remove by hand. Can the Slashdot community point me in any directions? Is there an executable out there that would work, or do I try to write one myself, or is there one that is written that I can compile myself?"
First Person Shooters (Games)

Duke Nukem Forever Not Dead? (Yes, This Again) 195

Posted by Soulskill from the you-didn't-think-it-was-over-did-you? dept.
kaychoro writes "There may be hope for Duke Nukem Forever (again). 'Jon St. John, better known as the voice of Duke Nukem, said some interesting words during a panel discussion at the Music and Games Festival (MAGFest) that took place January 1 – 4 in Alexandria, Virginia, according to Pixel Enemy. Answering a question from the crowd regarding DNF, St. John said: "... let me go ahead and tell you right now that I'm not allowed to talk about Duke Nukem Forever. No, no, don't be disappointed, read between the lines — why am I not allowed to talk about it?"'"
Microsoft

When Software Leaks (and What Really Goes Down) 179

Posted by timothy from the buzz-and-critique dept.
Bryant writes "The Windows community is somewhat notorious for leaks from upcoming versions of Windows (obligatory link to this guy since that's most of what he does), and while the official PR word from Microsoft and many other companies with regards to leaks is a simple 'no comment,' no one has really gotten a candid, inside look at the various things that go down when word, screenshots, or builds of upcoming software leak. I managed to get some time with a senior Microsoft employee for the sake of discussing leaks, and the conclusions reached (leaks heavily affect communication, not so much the product schedule) as well as what these guys actually have to deal with whenever someone leaks a build, breaks an embargo, etc. may actually be a surprise given what most companies try to instill in the public mind."
Hardware Hacking

World's Only Diesel-Electric Honda Insight 687

Posted by timothy from the something-like-that-I'd-drive-even-more dept.
Jake Staub writes "Just replaced the gasoline engine in a Honda Insight with a Diesel engine. On a 3,000 mile cross-country shakedown journey the car averaged 92mpg over 1,800 miles. Around a very hilly town in Northwest Washington, the car is averaging 78mpg. These mileage averages are without the electric side of the vehicle fully functional. With a bit more tinkering on the electric side and through a slight gearing change through tire size, it is anticipated that the car will likely average 100mpg. The build for the car has been documented on the web site and is as close to open source as my time allows. The car was built by two guys in a garage in Southern Maryland. If we can do it I don't see any reason why major auto manufacturers can't do it since we used their parts."
Earth

A Sixth Region In the Magnetosphere 69

Posted by timothy from the difracting-imposed-distinctions dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "As you probably know, Earth's magnetosphere, 'the invisible bubble of magnetic fields and electrically charged particles that surrounds and protects the planet from the periodically lethal radiation of the solar wind,' was discovered in 1958. Until now, it was believed to comprise five regions, including the ionosphere or the Van Allen radiation belts. Now, a US research team has discovered a sixth region, called the warm plasma cloak."

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