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Television

Submission + - FCC Weighs Cable TV Compromise, Delays Vote (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "FCC Chairman Kevin Martin delayed a vote on a report that would give the agency more power over the cable television industry, signaling he may lack support to pass the measure._______________ Martin was forced to delay a 9:30 a.m. EST public meeting at which the commissioners were scheduled to vote on the issue. The meeting was postponed to give the five commissioners more time to reach agreement._______________ FCC members are deciding whether to vote later today on requiring cable companies to submit subscriber data for review, Martin said. The commission, which had been set to meet at 11 a.m., may still vote later on the competition report, he said._______________ The draft report, backed by Martin, found cable companies such as leader Comcast Corp. control enough of the pay-TV market to warrant more oversight. More than 70 percent of U.S. households have access to at least 36 cable channels, and more than 70 percent of those homes subscribe to a service, the report showed._______________ ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/27/fcc-weighs-cable-tv-compromise-delays-vote/ )"
Space

Submission + - Astronauts Hooks Up Harmony in Lengthy Spacewalk (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Astronauts spent seven hours in space to finish preparing the International Space Station for its next addition — Europe's first permanent space laboratory, the Columbus laboratory — which is sitting in the cargo bay of space shuttle Atlantis at Cape Canaveral, Florida launch pad — set to lift off on December 6. International Space Station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Daniel Tani completed a 7-hour, 4 minute spacewalk at 11:54 a.m. EST Saturday, continuing the external outfitting of the Harmony node in its new position in front of the US laboratory Destiny. The spacewalkers completed all scheduled tasks, including another look at the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, and did some get-ahead work as well. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/25/astronauts-hooks-up-module-in-lengthy-spacewalk/ )"
Social Networks

Submission + - Facebook Users Complain of New Ad Based Tracking (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Some users of the online hangout Facebook are complaining that its two-week-old marketing program is publicizing their purchases for friends to see. Those users say they never noticed a small box that appears on a corner of their Web browsers following transactions at Fandango, Overstock and other online retailers. The box alerts users that information is about to be shared with Facebook unless they click on "No Thanks." It disappears after about 20 seconds, after which consent is assumed. Users are given a second notice the next time they log on to Facebook, but they can easily miss it if they quickly click away to visit a friend's page or check e-mail. "People should be given much more of a notice, much more of an alert," said Matthew Helfgott, 20, a college student who discovered his girlfriend just bought him black leather gloves from Overstock for Hanukkah. "She said she had no idea (information would be shared). She said it invaded her privacy." ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/25/facebook-users-complain-of-new-tracking/ )"
Space

Submission + - Russia to Build New Spacecraft by 2020 (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Russia has launched a project to create a new generation of spacecraft and boosters, the head of national space administration said on Friday, making clear that they would not appear on orbit before 2020. "A tender to design a new booster and spaceship has been announced," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Roskosmos chief Anatoly Perminov as saying. Leadership in space exploration was an issue of national pride in the Soviet Union, which was the first to launch a satellite and a human into space. Although badly hit in the years of post-Soviet political and economic turmoil, the space sector remains one of a few where Russia remains competitive and on which it pins hopes to diversify its economy heavily reliant on oil and gas exports. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/09/russia-to-build-new-spacecraft-by-2020/ )"
IBM

Submission + - IBM Predicts the End of Advertising as We Know It (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "IBM Global Business Services unveiled its new report, "The End of Advertising as We Know It," forecasting greater disruption for the advertising industry in the next five years than occurred in the previous 50. To examine the factors influencing advertising and explore future scenarios, IBM surveyed more than 2,400 consumers and 80 advertising executives globally. Traditional advertising players risk major revenue declines as budgets shift rapidly to new, interactive formats, which are expected to grow at nearly five times that of traditional advertising. To survive in this new reality, broadcasters must change their mass audience mind-set to cater to niche consumer segments, and distributors need to deliver targeted, interactive advertising for a range of multimedia devices. Advertising agencies must experiment creatively, become brokers of consumer insights, and guide allocation of advertising dollars amid exploding choices. All players must adapt to a world where advertising inventory is increasingly bought and sold in open exchanges vs. traditional channels. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/09/ibm-predicts-the-end-of-advertising-as-we-know-it/ )"
Quickies

Submission + - FTC Announces Crackdown on Do Not Call Violators (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "The Federal Trade Commission today announced a law enforcement crackdown on companies and individuals accused of violating the requirements of the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, resulting in six settlements collectively imposing nearly $7.7 million in civil penalties, along with an additional complaint that will be filed in federal district court. The actions, brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the FTC's behalf, are against companies ranging from adjustable bed seller Craftmatic Industries, Inc. (Craftmatic) to alarm-monitoring provider ADT Security Services (ADT) and lender Ameriquest Mortgage Company (Ameriquest), and bring to 34 the number of cases filed by the FTC to enforce the DNC Rule, which was implemented in 2003. To date, more consumers have put more than 145 million numbers on the Registry, indicating they do not want to receive calls from telemarketers at home. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/07/ftc-announces-law-enforcement-crackdown-on-do-not-call-violators/ )"
Spam

Submission + - NJ Spammer Gets Two Years Jail for AOL Spam Scam (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Nov 02, '07 — A New Jersey man was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Friday for helping send "spam" e-mails to more than 1.2 million America Online subscribers. Todd Moeller, 28, was sentenced 27 months in prison in a federal court in New York after he was caught making a deal with a government informant to send junk e-mails — known as spam — advertising a computer security program in return for 50 percent of the profits, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/03/nj-spammer-gets-two-years-jail-for-aol-spam-scam/ )"
Quickies

Submission + - ICANN Elects Peter Dengate-Thrush as New Chairman (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Peter Dengate Thrush, a New Zealand lawyer, has been elected unanimously as the new Chairman of the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. "I am delighted that my colleagues have placed their confidence in me for this challenging and important role," Dengate Thrush said. Peter practices civil litigation, specializing in intellectual property, competition, and Internet law. He has been involved in ICANN since its inception. As a member of the Boston Working Group, he provided comment in 1998 on the early drafts of the ICANN bylaws, and he co-chaired one of the pre-formation meetings of the Intellectual Property Constituency in Wellington, New Zealand. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/02/icann-elects-peter-dengate-thrush-to-replace-vint-cerf/ )"
Quickies

Submission + - ICANN Investigates Insider Domain Name Snatching (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "ICANN, the Internet's key oversight agency, is investigating suspicions that insider information is being used to snatch desired domain names before an individual or business can register them. The Security and Stability Advisory Committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers termed the practice "domain name front running" and likened it to a stock broker buying or selling shares ahead of a client's trade, in anticipation of a movement in price. In the case of Internet addresses, many people who see a domain name available the first time they check find it already taken by the time they return to buy it. That has led to suspicions that someone with access to search requests has been using the information to gauge interest in a domain name. ( http://techluver.com/2007/10/24/icann-investigates-insider-domain-name-snatching/ )"
Handhelds

Submission + - Turned Off iPhone Gets $4800 Bill from AT&T (theinquirer.net)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "theInquirer reports ( http://theinquirer.net/?article=42235 ) " A HUMAN called Jay Levy says he has been stung by Apple's iPhone pact with AT&T after he took an Iphone on a Mediterranean cruise. They didn't use their phones, but when they got back they had a 54-page monthly bill of nearly $4,800 from AT&T Wireless. The problem was that their three Iphones were racking up a bill for data charges using foreign phone charges. The Iphone regularly updates e-mail, even while it's off, so that all the messages will be available when the user turns it on. ""
Quickies

Submission + - at&t's Class Arbitra. Waiver Ruled Unconsciona (consumerist.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Consumerist reports, " Like many many companies, Cingular has a little thing in their contracts saying that if you use their service, you void your right to a class action lawsuit and instead have to go through "mandatory binding arbitration," which is basically an extra-judicial corporate court exempt from many of the basic rules and laws and procedures and rights of real court. Well, today, that clause was ruled "unconscionable" by the 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals. Therefore, lawsuits can proceed against Cingular and go to real court, not monkey court. Hooray! ""

Comment what Carl Sagan & many others dreamt of (Score 1) 460

by Tech.Luver (#20201089) Attached to: Why We Need to Expand into Space
The quote, "We are a way for the universe to know itself", if I remember correctly is of Sagan's.

And yes, it would be a natural extention of what we did 50K years ago, to spread out from Africa to Europe, Asia & other continents.

Also if we are to survive we have to explore other Galaxies without DRM, RIAA, steve jobs Oops that last one gonna get me tons of hatemails...lol
Quickies

Submission + - FCC says 'no' to cheap rural Internet (theinquirer.net)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "theinquirer reports, " THE FCC has rejected plans to use spare capacity in the broadcast spectrum to provide cheap, fast, Internet access to remote areas of the country. A consortium of practically unknown technology companies including Microsoft, Google, Dell, Intel, HP and Philips have been told that their plan could cause interference to TV broadcasts. The FCC claims that the proposed system 'cannot reliably detect' spare capacity and rejected the scheme that could have brought fast Web access to rural areas badly served by existing transport mechanisms."
Quickies

Submission + - Second Life & WoW Plagued by Terrorists,Jihadi (theinquirer.net)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "theinquirer reports, " AUSSIE SECURITY experts claim that Second Life and online games such as World of Warcraft are being used to train terrorists. Apparently there are three jihadi terrorists registered and two elite jihadist terrorist groups in Second Life and they use the site for recruiting and training. This is on top of the Second Life Liberation Army.""
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Smart Teens Don't Have Sex...hmm Now I know :) (gnxp.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Gene Expression reports, " Tyler Cowen quotes from a new study testing the relationship between grades and delayed sexual activity. Last December I passed a paper along to Razib showing that high-school age adolescents with higher IQs and extremely low IQs were less likely to have had first intercourse than those with average to below average intelligence. (i.e. for males with IQs under 70, 63.3% were still virgins, for those with IQs between 70-90 only 50.2% were virgin, 58.6% were virgins with IQs between 90-110, and 70.3% with IQs over 110 were virgins) In fact, a more detailed study from 2000 is devoted strictly to this topic, and finds the same thing: Smart Teens Don't Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either). ""

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