Comment Typo in title... (Score 1) 674
It should read 'Australia to TRY to Block BitTorrent'.
Comment Re:Steve Jobs is dead! (Score 1) 286
Those poor souls. That must have been totally in the thrall of Jobs' Reality Distortion Field.
Submission + - Unlimited gall to cost Verizon $1 million (networkworld.com)
netbuzz writes: Unlimited really means unlimited, even in advertising. So says the New York State Attorney General's Office in squeezing a $1 million settlement out of Verizon Wireless for disconnecting 13,000 of its customers who had the temerity to believe that the unlimited service they were promised came with unlimited service. Verizon's statement explaining the settlement is a gem, too.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/20981
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/20981
Submission + - Vista vs. the Gibbon 4
ricegf writes: If you had 7 computers running various versions of Windows and Linux, on which machine would you choose to do most of your work? Rupert Goodwins describes his experience thus: 'So here's the funny thing. I've used Windows since 1.0. I've lived through the bad times of Windows/386 and ME, and the good times of NT 3.51 and 2K. I know XP if not backwards, then with a degree of familiarity that only middle-aged co-dependents can afford each other. Then how come I'm so much more at home with Ubuntu than Vista?'
Submission + - Journalist Test Drives The Pain Ray Gun (dailymail.co.uk)
Fantastic Lad writes: This machine has the ability to inflict limitless, unbearable pain. When turned on, Raytheon's 'Silent Guardian' emits an invisible, focused beam of radiation — similar to the microwaves in a domestic cooker — that are tuned to a precise frequency to stimulate human nerve endings. It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile. Because the beam penetrates skin only to a depth of 1/64th of an inch, it cannot, says Raytheon, cause visible, permanent injury. The demo model looks like a small speaker. (Image) With practical application is just around the corner, I wonder if anybody at that trade show was selling Faraday body suits. . ?
Submission + - Canadian Bureaucrats Don't "Think Different
owlgorithm writes: Apple's new store in Montreal has three parking meters in front, and in their ever-conscious attempt to improve design, they offered to reimburse the city for the parking meters and their revenue if they would remove them. Answer: No, because "We've never done it before, so we can't."
Submission + - PCWorld refuse hardware repair due to Linux. 10
Tikka writes: "Today I visit PC World (London, UK) because my 5 months old laptop has developed a manufacturing fault, the hinge to the display has started to crack the plastic casing.
Anyone in the know, will know that this is due to the joint inside and this means that ultimately the screen will separate from the keyboard in time.
Repair was refused, because I have Gentoo Linux on my laptop — Replacing the Windows Vista that was pre-installed.
PC World have said that this has void my warranty and there is nothing they will do for me, I spoke to a manager who said that he has been told to refuse any repairs if the operating system has been changed.
I feel this has really gone against my statutory rights and will do everything I can to fight it, I will review comments for your advice."
Anyone in the know, will know that this is due to the joint inside and this means that ultimately the screen will separate from the keyboard in time.
Repair was refused, because I have Gentoo Linux on my laptop — Replacing the Windows Vista that was pre-installed.
PC World have said that this has void my warranty and there is nothing they will do for me, I spoke to a manager who said that he has been told to refuse any repairs if the operating system has been changed.
I feel this has really gone against my statutory rights and will do everything I can to fight it, I will review comments for your advice."
Submission + - Smaller and more lightweight software is better?
An anonymous reader writes: I prefer software that takes as little hardrive space and RAM as possible. I can't stand bloated software like iTunes, as compared to Foobar or classic Winamp; or Windows Media Player, as compared to VLC or Media Player Classic. What are some of your favorite applications which are virtually bloat-free?
Submission + - Facebook Leaves Advertisers Exposed to Hate Speech (newscloud.com) 1
NewsCloud writes: "Does Facebook believe that no publicity is bad publicity? Why else would they leave a group called, "Fuck Islam" open since July 21, 2007 despite more than 53,482 members joining an opposing group called petiton: if "f**k Islam" is not shut down..we r quitting facebook group. Furthermore, advertisers such as Sprint, Verizon, T Mobile, Target, Qwest and French's wouldn't be too happy to learn that they are paying for ads on the "Fuck Islam" group pages.
Shouldn't a startup like Facebook, worth reportedly more than a billion dollars with over a hundred employees be expected to comply with its Terms of Use in less than six weeks?"I'm not advocating a policy against free speech, just strict enforcement of Facebook's own Terms of Use. The group name is clearly vulgar and obscene. Arguably, inflammatory and hateful. Facebook has positioned itself as the darling of the social network world, without the spam, porn and the sex offender problems of MySpace. Yet, this sort of thing isn't new to Facebook (see Facing Up to Facebook Racism and Elder hate groups on facebook. There's even an active group called I hate Iraqis targeting Iraqi refugees fleeing to Jordan.
Submission + - Bad Science (badscience.net)
DocDJ writes: "Ben Goldacre (who writes an excellent article in The Guardian called Bad Science, which regularly demonstrates how poor the mainstream media is at reporting science) points out the flaws in the recent reporting of research which purported to show the evolutionary basis of 'blue for boys, pink for girls'."
Submission + - Separation of Church and Microsoft Needed?
theodp writes: "Last week, the USPTO published a rather odd Microsoft patent application for Content Ratings and Recommendations, which describes how religious-based communities and other 'subcultures' can use the patent-pending process to prevent their members from viewing undesirable television programs and movies."
Submission + - Australian ISPs Reject Calls To Police Their Users
jon_cooper writes: After recent setbacks in the RIAA's lawsuits, AFACT (Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) has decided to try a different approach in Australia and want ISPs to do their dirty work for them. However, Australian ISPs have soundly rejected calls from AFACT to slow down or terminate user accounts that AFACT has determined are being used to distribute copyrighted works. Telstra had this to say, "... we do not believe it is up to the ISPs to be judge, jury and executioner in relation to the issue when the content owners have any number of legal avenues to pursue infringements."
Submission + - "Viacom hit me for infringing my own copyright (blogspot.com) 2
Chris Knight writes: "Long story short: I ran for school board where I live this past fall and created some TV commercials including this one with a "Star Wars" theme. A few months ago VH1 grabbed the commercial from YouTube and featured it in a segment of its show "Web Junk 2.0". Neither VH1 or its parent company Viacom told me they were doing this or asked my permission to use it, but I didn't mind it if they did. It was great to see the commercial was being enjoyed by a far wider audience than I'd expected. I was honored that they chose to use it and thought that Aries Spears's commentary about it was pretty hilarious, so I posted a clip of VH1's segment on YouTube so that I could put it on my blog. This morning I got an e-mail from YouTube saying that the video has been pulled because Viacom is claiming that I'm violating its copyright. Viacom used my video without permission on their commercial television show, and now says that I am infringing on THEIR copyright for showing the clip of the work that Viacom made in violation of my own copyright! Talk about chutzpah! Needless to say, I would like to fight this: not for any kind of monetary compensation, but just for the right to employ my own self-created material per Fair Use."
Submission + - Ultimate Censorship? China and Reincarnation.
michaelcole writes: ":
"China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission"
— http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227400/site/newsweek /
This article is both hilarious and sad, looking at the lengths to which a government will go to regulate thought through censorship. It also goes into some of the more subtle politics of the current 72 year-old Dalai Lama as he thinks about his political and spiritual successor.
The Dalai Lama's response: "he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it's under Chinese control.""
"China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission"
— http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227400/site/newswee
This article is both hilarious and sad, looking at the lengths to which a government will go to regulate thought through censorship. It also goes into some of the more subtle politics of the current 72 year-old Dalai Lama as he thinks about his political and spiritual successor.
The Dalai Lama's response: "he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it's under Chinese control.""
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