Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
Cellphones

Is Samsung Blocking Updates To Froyo? 459

Posted by timothy from the my-captivate-weeps-for-froyo dept.
jfruhlinger writes "One of the complaints about Android is its fragmentation; many different versions of the OS are out there in the wild, and often users are held back from upgrading by their hardware or their carrier. But now a disturbing rumor has it that Samsung is strong-arming T-Mobile to prevent an over-the-air upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) for Samsung Vibrant owners. The reason? Samsung wants people to shell out for the new Vibrant 4G — which, other than the fact that it ships running Froyo, is largely identical to the Vibrant." Reader CWmike contributes an informative link if you'd like to know which Android vendors are actually delivering timely upgrades.
Communications

Judge Finds NSA Wiretapping Program Illegal 136

Posted by samzenpus from the time-to-get-a-warrant dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that a federal judge has ruled that the NSA's warrantless surveillance program was illegal, rejecting the Obama administration's effort to keep one of Bush's most disputed counterterrorism policies shrouded in secrecy. Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that the government had violated a 1978 federal statute requiring court approval for domestic surveillance when it intercepted phone calls of Al Haramain, a now-defunct Islamic charity in Oregon, and of two lawyers who were representing it in 2004. Declaring that the plaintiffs had been 'subjected to unlawful surveillance,' the judge said that the government was liable to pay them damages."
Education

College Police Think Using Linux Is Suspicious Behavior 1079

Posted by CmdrTaco from the so-is-your-mom dept.
FutureDomain writes "The Boston College Campus Police have seized the electronics of a computer science student for allegedly sending an email outing another student. The probable cause? The search warrant application states that he is 'a computer science major' and he uses 'two different operating systems for hiding his illegal activity. One is the regular B.C. operating system and the other is a black screen with white font which he uses prompt commands on.' The EFF is currently representing him."

Feed Abusing DMCA Notices To Take Down Content You Don't Like (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
Last year, we wrote about how people were figuring out that they could abuse the DMCA to take down just about any content they don't like -- and apparently the practice is becoming more widespread. Boing Boing notes that Uri Geller has been using the DMCA to take down videos that debunk his "psychic abilities" while Robert Cringely claims that someone (he's not sure who, but it's clearly not the actual copyright holder) has issued a takedown notice of a video of Steve Jobs from Cringely's Triumph of the Nerds documentary. In both cases, it was not the actual copyright holder issuing the takedown notice -- which is illegal. But since the DMCA requires sites to take down content first and ask questions later, the content is quickly removed. This, of course, is not the intended purpose of the DMCA, but since it's apparently so effective, expect to see it happen a lot more frequently.

Feed Air Force turns 'pain gun' on AP reporter (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We're all quite familiar with the Air Force's so-called 'pain gun' by now -- the millimeter wave weapon that gives targets an unbearable, full-body burning sensation and that may or may not have been recommended for testing on Americans by branch secretary Wynn -- but can you ever really 'know' a crowd control device without seeing it in action? Thankfully the military doesn't think so, which is why the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program held what must have been a fun-filled media day this past January, highlighted by the screams and flight response of AP reporter and curiously-willing guinea pig Elliot Minor. In the video after the break, you'll see Minor react to a brief encounter with the pain gun, and although he doesn't cry and wet himself like some might expect our colleagues in the MSM to do, he does admit that the weapon is "quite effective." Apparently there are some more vids of the Air Force's new toy bringing the pain on the linked site, but the military must be spending a lot more money on hurting people than web hosting, because the first clip hadn't even loaded by the time we finished this post.

[Via Danger Room]

Continue reading Air Force turns 'pain gun' on AP reporter

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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

Submission + - Editorial: Compiz and Beryl Merger

Submitted by
invisibastard
invisibastard writes: "Linux Tech Daily has an editorial on the proceeding merger or Compiz and Beryl. LTD believes this is a good thing and the community overall will benefit. What do you think? Will it be possible for these teams to work together? One thing is certain, the 3D desktop space is drawing a lot of attention to Linux."
Biotech

Submission + - Possibly convert all transfusion blood Type O

Submitted by UnanimousCoward
UnanimousCoward writes: The BBC has an article that talks about a submission to Nature Biotechnology (not the current issue) in which scientists claim to have discovered a technique to convert all blood into Type O with the discovery of an enzyme that can strip the A and B antigens. This has implications to transform the stored blood supply into transfusable blood for all. It does not address the RH negative issue, though.

Soft Tissue Discovered In T-Rex Bone 345

Posted by kdawson from the tastes-like-ostrich dept.
kubla2000 writes, "Paleontologists have discovered soft tissue inside the fossilized thigh bone of a T-Rex. The tissue included blood vessels, bone cells, and perhaps even blood cells." From the article: "When paleontologists find fossilized dinosaur bones during a dig, they usually do everything in their power to protect them, using tools like toothbrushes to carefully unearth the bones without inflicting any damage. However, when scientists found a massive Tyrannosaurus rex thigh bone in a remote region of Montana a few months ago, they were forced to break the bone in two in order to fit it into the transport helicopter. This act of necessity revealed a startling surprise: soft tissue that had seemingly resisted fossilization still existed inside the bone. This tissue... was so well preserved that it was still stretchy and flexible."

Sony Addresses PS2 in PS3 Rumour 109

Posted by Zonk from the not-true-maybe-sorta-i-dunno dept.
Gamasutra addresses the rumour floating around saying that every PlayStation 3 will have PS2 hardware included. This is apparently a fast and loose solution to Backwards Compatibility. Sony says 'that news ... is just speculation'. From the article: "According to the report, the article indicates that Sony is looking to this as a temporary solution, and plans to remove the chip from future hardware PlayStation 3 models, once it is able to include a functional PlayStation 2 emulator in its place. Such a redesign would, if true, presumably drive down the console's lofty price."

Errors in Spreadsheets are Pandemic 322

Posted by timothy from the obscure-but-significant dept.
G Roper writes "Studies show that most spreadsheets have critical errors in one percent of their cells, well beyond a permissible level. Here are some news stories about spreadsheet errors. Spreadsheets won't protect a firm from liability when they are audited and spreadsheet errors found: spreadsheets are not secure, provide no audit trail and won't pass HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley auditing. How are Slashdotters coping with the proliferation of spreadsheets in the face of greater legal accountability and auditing?"

Slashdot Top Deals

With all the fancy scientists in the world, why can't they just once build a nuclear balm?

Close