Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Comment Re:Even worse than the game.. (Score 1) 96

No, and now they've inflicted a similar system on FFXI users whom were none too pleased. Before we could pay automatically on a monthly basis, now we're forced to manually add Crysta in amounts that don't sync very well with the actual bill and some of the 3rd party billing options have rather shady backgrounds.
Displays

Oblong's g-speak Brings "Minority Report" Interface To Life 221

Posted by timothy from the staged-mock-up-or-real-time-control? dept.
tracheopterix writes "Oblong Industries, a startup based in LA has unveiled g-speak, an operational version of the notable interface from Minority Report. One of Oblong's founders served as science and technology adviser for the film; the interface was an extension of his doctoral work at the MIT Media Lab. Oblong calls g-speak a 'spatial operating environment' and adds that 'the SOE's combination of gestural i/o, recombinant networking, and real-world pixels brings the first major step in computer interface since 1984.'" The video shown on Oblong's front page is an impressive demo.

Feed Techdirt: FBI Apparently Believes That Court Orders Are For Suckers (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
Wired's invaluable Ryan Singel has been panning for gold in the muddy stream of FBI e-mails and other documents recently obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation under a Freedom of Information Act request, and has already hit a couple of intriguing nuggets, such as overeager agents' willingness to bypass court-order requirements when seeking cell phone records. The documents reveal how this caused tension and dispute even within the Bureau.

One e-mail, from a tech specialist in the FBI's Minneapolis office, complained that other agents would even pose as that specialist when calling telecom carriers, hoping to persuade them to turn over cell records without a judge's order. The cell information would apparently then be used as part of a high-tech tracking program that allowed agents to pinpoint a cell user's location.

Equally intriguing is the report that the Bureau's national-security wiretapping software recorded almost 28 million "session" intercepts in 2006. While it's not clear precisely what counts as a "session," this is obviously vastly more than the 2,176 FISA warrants (pdf) obtained by the government that year, at least some of which only covered physical searches. Unless terror suspects talk on the phone far more than the average teenager, the discrepancy hints that each warrant may have covered a very large number of individuals.

Julian Sanchez is an expert at the Techdirt Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Julian Sanchez and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.



Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Comment More info (Score 1) 2

by RalphtheDwarf (#21711300) Attached to: FFXI accounts jacked by trojan keylogger
It is important to note that Square-Enix has absolutely no method of retrieving a stolen account, while almost all other MMO's have some methods in place. Thus anyone who lost an account due to this hack is completely screwed at the moment.

Also worth mentioning is that this is not the first time a fan site has been compromised resulting in hacked accounts. Several years ago, Allakhazam was infected with the fucksnow trojan.

Ironically, Allakhazam.com has a message from SE posted on its' front page regarding the recent hackings, but it's basically a "we know about it, and it sucks to be you" message. http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/sdetail.html?story=11667

Official statement from Square Enix:

We have received reports that a popular third-party FINAL FANTASY XI website had been infecting customers with malicious software. Our Legal team immediately contacted the hosting site of the offending third-party website and had the site taken down until the issue could be addressed. While the website main page has had the offending code removed, we strongly recommend that our community be careful when they visit any website concerning FINAL FANTASY XI that is not endorsed by Square Enix. While we have no control over these third-party websites, we urge that the community contact us immediately if any similar incidents arise in the future.

We also suggest that our customers read up on precautionary measures they can take to ensure the safety of their information online.

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/polnews/news10343.shtml
Windows

Submission + - The pros of upgrading from Vista to XP! (dotnet.org.za) 4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A reviewer takes on the daunting task of upgrading [sic] from Vista to XP, and gives a very nice breakdown of the Pros and Cons (yes, there are a couple...;)
Microsoft

Submission + - MS says Vista compatibility not solved in SP1

Submitted by
Devistater
Devistater writes: "Microsoft says there's no need for businesses to wait for Windows Vista SP1, since "Applications that have compatibility issues with Windows Vista today will most likely continue to have the same issues with Windows Vista with SP1." That is a quote from one of a batch of Microsoft Vista RC SP1 whitepapers dated today, entitled "Enterprise Guidance for Application Compatibility Testing and Windows Vista SP1." In the same document they also state that SP1 may break Vista compatibility, "There is a chance that some applications ultimately will not run on the final version of Windows Vista SP1, even though they run on Windows Vista today.""
Data Storage

Submission + - Crime caused by publicized data about convicts? (latimes.com) 1

Submitted by
nem75
nem75 writes: "What has been highly discussed when the Megan's Law database of sex offenders was introduced seems to have come true in Lakeport, CA. The L.A. times reports about Michael A. Dodele, a convicted rapist, found murdered in a Lakeport trailer park. He moved there after having been released from prison just 35 days before. A 29-year-old construction worker has been arrested who explains that he attacked the suspect to protect his son from child molestation, after he found out on the internet about Dodele being a sex offender convicted of crimes involving minors. Only thing is, the public entry for Dodele in the database was wrong — though he was found guilty of committing crimes against adult women, he was in fact no child molester. Dodele's entry in Megan's Law DB has been removed recently."

Feed Engadget: Comcast to NFL Network: stop coaxing customers away... or else (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It's no secret that Comcast and the NFL Network don't have the rosiest of relationships, and now that Comcast won a ruling (that's being appealed, to no one's shock) over what tier the channel was being placed on, the carrier has shot out a cease and desist letter demanding the network stop persuading customers to switch providers. Reportedly, the note contends that the channel's iwantnflnetwork.com "violates the contract between the network and Comcast," as it coaxes customers to ponder switching with a message reading "Switch to a TV provider that will bring you NFL Network, not hold you hostage." The NFL Network has responded by stating that the arguments are "without merit," and even proclaimed that users dropping Comcast "did not need encouragement from them." Apparently, the cable operator is calling for the network to "confirm in writing" that it has halted its attempts to influence consumers by Friday, but a spokeswomen said she "didn't want to speculate what the company would do if its demands were not met." Ooh, that'll show 'em.

[Thanks, Ryan G.]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
The Courts

Submission + - Rochester judge holds RIAA evidence insufficient

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Judge David G. Larimer, presiding in Rochester, New York, has denied an RIAA application for default judgment on the ground that the RIAA's evidence was insufficient, in that it contained no details of actual downloads or distributions, and no sufficient evidence that defendant was in fact Kazaa user "heavyjeffmc@KaZaA". The decision (pdf) concluded that "there are significant issues of fact regarding the identification of the defendant from his alleged "online media distribution system" username". (In case you're unfamiliar with the term "online media distribution system", that's because it is a term the RIAA coined 4 years ago to describe p2p file sharing accounts in its lawsuits; the term is not known to have been used by anyone else anywhere else.) In August a similar RIAA default judgment motion was denied on the ground that the pleadings failed to allege sufficient factual details supporting a claim of copyright infringement, in a San Diego, California, case, Interscope v. Rodriguez."

Feed Techdirt: New England Patriots Spying On Ticket Resales; Court Forces Stubhub To Hand Over (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
We've heard plenty of stories about organizations trying to ban the resale of tickets to events. It seems a bit silly to tell someone who bought a ticket to a concert or a sporting event that they're not allowed to resell it, but apparently some event organizers feel differently -- especially when the tickets are sold at greater than face value. The New England Patriots apparently are so adamant that people shouldn't be reselling their tickets for profit that they've convinced a court to force ticket resale marketplace StubHub to hand over the names of everyone who resold Patriots tickets for above face value. This seems like a rather large privacy violation -- and it clearly violates Stubhub's own terms of service (which is why the company fought it in court). You could understand being forced to turn over such information in a criminal lawsuit, but this is the New England Patriots requesting and getting the private info of sellers. For a team that just got into some trouble for spying on opposing teams, spying on their fans' private transactions doesn't seem like a step forward.

Slashdot Top Deals

"Now this is a totally brain damaged algorithm. Gag me with a smurfette." -- P. Buhr, Computer Science 354

Close