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Submission + - White House Petition to Investigate Dodd for Bribe (whitehouse.gov)

Submitted by
Walkingshark
Walkingshark writes: "Chris Dodd's recent statements complaining that the congressmen the RIAA and MPAA bribed aren't staying bribed has spawned a firestorm of anger on the internet. Among the bits of fallout: a petition on the White Houses "We the People" site to investigate him, the RIAA, and the MPAA for bribery! This petition gained more than 5000 signatures in 24 hours and is still growing.

When the petition reaches 25,000 signatures the White House is obligated to respond to it in an official capacity. At that point, one way or another they will have to go on record either supporting the RIAA and MPAA or pushing them under the bus. Either way, it should be quite enlightening to see what their response is."

Comment Re:Please get the facts straight (Score 1) 426

by bstreiff (#34225484) Attached to: Windows Phone Permanently Modifies MicroSD Cards, Warns Samsung

To exchange the SD card, you have to tore open the phone.

I'm sorry, but just under the battery cover (as on the Samsung Focus) isn't really tearing open the phone, especially when other phones (except those from Apple) have had user-replaceable microSD cards in the same location for years. Samsung made a very poor design decision in this regard, especially if it was aware of this particular Windows 7 'feature'.

But for phones like the HTC 7 Mozart where you have to unscrew and disassemble the whole phone to replace the card, then, yes, I agree; it's 'user-serviceable' only for a very determined class of user who is knowingly violating the warranty and should know what they're in for.
Google

Submission + - Legal Analysis of Oracle v. Google (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "InfoWorld's Martin Heller provides an in-depth analysis of Oracle's legal argument against Google, a suit that includes seven alleged counts of software process patent infringement and one count of copyright infringement. 'Oracle's desired relief is drastic: not just permanent injunctions, but destruction of all copies that violate copyright (thus, wiping all Android devices), plus triple damages and legal costs. Also, it demands a jury trial,' Heller writes, and while this amounts mainly to saber-rattling, the Supreme Court's recent Bilski ruling did not completely invalidate software process patents despite their shaky ground due to prior art. Returning to the Supreme Court on appeal could push SCOTUS to strike down such patents, a very good outcome, but a settlement, either for cash or cross-licensing, 'would open the door for Oracle to go after HTC, Motorola, Samsung, other device manufacturers, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, other carriers, and eventually all large companies known to use Android devices. That would be a disaster for the entire mobile industry,' Heller writes."
Security

Submission + - GSM Decryption Published 3

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The NY Times reports that German encryption expert Karsten Nohl says that he has deciphered and published the 21-year-old GSM algorithm, the secret code used to encrypt most of the world's digital mobile phone calls, in what he called an attempt to expose weaknesses in the security system used by about 3.5 billion of the 4.3 billion wireless connections across the globe. Others have cracked the A5/1 encryption technology used in GSM before, but their results have remained secret. “This shows that existing GSM security is inadequate,” Nohl told about 600 people attending the Chaos Communication Congress. “We are trying to push operators to adopt better security measures for mobile phone calls.” The GSM Association, the industry group based in London that devised the algorithm and represents wireless operators, called Mr. Nohl’s efforts illegal and said they overstated the security threat to wireless calls. “This is theoretically possible but practically unlikely,” says Claire Cranton, a GSM spokeswoman, noting that no one else had broken the code since its adoption. “What he is doing would be illegal in Britain and the United States. To do this while supposedly being concerned about privacy is beyond me.” Simon Bransfield-Garth, the chief executive of Cellcrypt, says Nohl's efforts could put sophisticated mobile interception technology — limited to governments and intelligence agencies — within the reach of any reasonable well-funded criminal organization. “This will reduce the time to break a GSM call from weeks to hours,” Bransfield-Garth says. “We expect as this further develops it will be reduced to minutes.”"
Unix

Submission + - Judge Overturns 2007 Unix Copyright Decision (networkworld.com) 2

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "A federal appeals court has overturned a 2007 decision that Novell owns the Unix code, clearing the way for SCO to pursue a $1 billion copyright infringement case against IBM. In a 54-page decision, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said it was reversing the 2007 summary judgment decision by Judge Dale Kimball of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, which found that Novell was the owner of Unix and UnixWare copyrights. SCO CEO Darl McBride called the decision a "huge validation for SCO.""

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