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Why Bite the Google Hand That Feeds You? 192

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the traffic-is-bad dept.
Techdirt pointed out that not long ago, John Byrne, ex-editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com and now CEO of newly founded C-Change Media, decided to tackle the problem of why publications seem to be so vehemently opposed to Google being a part of their business process. While there aren't any earth-shattering revelations, it is a great, succinct description of the problem. "I received several solid answers from followers of this blog, including Frymaster who immediately took sides in the ongoing war between Traditional Media and Google. Wrote Frymaster: 'I reject out-of-hand the assertion that Google is profiting from others' content. Rather, I say that Google profits from connecting users to content. It is a service that most web publishers appreciate greatly. Google, unlike any other search engine ever, goes to great pains to deliver the least-skewed results possible. Google is constantly on the hunt for people who game their system. That's why they succeed. There is a direct connection between Google's user-centric, community-oriented approach and their financial success.'"

Submission + - Torrent to eliminate ISP's throttling (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by vintagepc
vintagepc writes: TorrentFreak reports that a redesign of the popular BitTorrent protocol allows clients to detect network congestion and automatically adjust the transfer rates, eliminating the interference with other Internet-enabled applications' traffic.
In theory, the protocol senses congestion based on the time it takes for a packet to reach its destination, and by intelligent adjustments, should reduce network traffic without causing a major impact on download speeds and times. As said by Simon Morris (from TFA), “The throttling that matters most is actually not so much the download but rather the upload – as bandwidth is normally much lower UP than DOWN, the up-link will almost always get congested before the down-link does,”
Furthermore, the revision is designed to eliminate the need for ISPs to deal with problems caused by excessive BitTorrent traffic on their networks, thereby saving them money and support costs. Apparently, the v2.0b client using this protocol is already being used widely, and no major problems have been reported.

Submission + - Apple says booting OS X makes an unauthorized copy 9

Submitted by recoiledsnake
recoiledsnake writes: Groklaw has an extensive look at the latest developments in the Psystar vs. Apple story. There's a nice picture illustrating the accusation by Apple that Psystar makes three unauthorized copies of OS X. The most interesting however, is the last copy. From Apple's brief: "Finally, every time Psystar turns on any of the Psystar computers running Mac OS X, which it does before shipping each computer, Psystar necessarily makes a separate modified copy of Mac OS X in Random Access Memory, or RAM. This is the third unlawful copy." Psystar's response: "Copying a computer program into RAM as a result of installing and running that program is precisely the copying that Section 117 provides does not constitute copyright infringement for an owner of a computer program. As the Ninth Circuit explained, permitting copies like this was Section 117’s purpose." Is Apple seriously arguing that installing a third party program and booting OS X results in copyright infringement due to making a derivative work and an unauthorized copy?
Government

Submission + - 1,600 are suggested daily for FBI's list (washingtonpost.com) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The ever-churning list is said to contain more than 400,000 unique names and over 1 million entries. The committee was told that over that same period, officials asked each day that 600 names be removed and 4,800 records be modified. Fewer than 5 percent of the people on the list are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Nine percent of those on the terrorism list, the FBI said, are also on the government's "no fly" list.

The very last paragraph is also quite informative.
Google

Submission + - Google Maps shows Chinese Nuclear Sub Prototype (fas.org)

Submitted by
mytrip
mytrip writes: "An image of what could be one of China's new nuclear ballistic missile submarines is available on the Google Maps and Google Earth satellite-image site, a defense blogger claimed Tuesday. The satellite picture was discovered by Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists, and announced Tuesday on his blog. Kristensen believes the picture, taken by the Quickbird satellite late last year, reveals China's new Jin-class, or Type 094, nuclear ballistic missile sub. The new sub class is approximately 35 feet longer than its predecessor, the Xia-class, also known as Type 092, according to two images Kristensen compares on the blog. The Jin-class sub has an extended midsection that houses 12 missile tubes and part of the reactor compartment, Kristensen explains."

Feed Science Daily: Waging War On The Deadliest Superbug (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed
It infiltrates hospitals as microscopic spores. Its defenses are so strong it can resist most antibiotics. And it kills three times as many people every year as MRSA. But scientists at the University of Nottingham are amassing an arsenal of weapons in preparation for counter offensive against the most deadly of hospital superbugs.

Feed Engadget: NASA drops $19m on Russian toilets for American asstronauts (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

So apparently NASA has agreed to purchase toilet technology from the Russian company RSC Energia for the tidy sum of $19 million, to be delivered to the ISS in 2008 in preparation for a crew upsizing from three to six members. The previous system required that urine tanks be transfered to cargo ships and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere, but the new toilets operate like a waste treatment center on Earth, collecting and reconstituting urine as drinking water -- an unpleasant concept for a number of our readers, but a welcome relief for thirsty astronauts. The toilets are similar to normal models, though they employ leg restraints and thigh bars to hold the "user" in place, and high-powered fans to suck, um... waste into the commode. The system will be installed on the American side of the station, while the Russian-side will remain as is, resulting in extremely long lines to use the "good" bathroom.

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

Submission + - MediaDefender denies entrapment accusations (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Ortega-Starfire
Ortega-Starfire writes: On slashdot we saw a previous mention of MediaDefender setting up a site to catch movie pirates. Arstechnica covers the response from MediaDefender, which basically states the entire thing was a mistake and was only an internal site they forgot to password protect, and that they were not using this with the **AA. On a side note, if anyone here still has a copy of the download, the Ars team has expressed an interest in looking at it! Send it to them if you can!

Feed Engadget: Energy saving power-strip cuts the waste (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

French designer Gilles Belley has come up with an ingenious concept for power distribution and conservation, simply called the "Energy Saving Adaptor". The system uses modular plugs which link together to form a power-strip of connectors, these hang from the side of a desk (where they can be added or taken away as necessary), and each module monitors the energy status of a single device and displays that information via blue LED lights on the surface. When a connected device goes into "standby" mode, the lights alert the user, and within three minutes the module automatically shuts down, thus conserving otherwise wasted energy. Additionally, these modules look roughly a thousand times better than the power-strips we've all been buying at the dollar store, which never hurts. No word yet on when or if these will be made commercially available.

[Via Akihabaranews]

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

Submission + - Upcoming Film Based on Arthur C. Clarke Story

Submitted by SoyChemist
SoyChemist writes: The Wired Science blog has production stills and a story about a side project that several Industrial Light and Magic employees have been working on. They are producing the short story Maelstrom II as an independent film. The entire thing was shot in front of a bluescreen so that all of the sets and props will be CGI. The lone actor, Chuck Marra, plays a guy that hitches a ride on an electromagnetically launched freight capsule from the moon to earth. When the nuclear reactor that powers the catapult fails, he is thrown into space, but not far enough to escape lunar gravity — leading to an Apollo 13 style rescue mission. The original story was written by Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be taught how not to. So it is with the great programmers.

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