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Senate Bill Could Make It Illegal To Upload Lip-Synced Videos 239

An anonymous reader writes "According to Copyright lawyer Ben Sidbury, Senate bill 978 could make it a criminal act for someone to lip sync to a song and post the said video on Youtube, even if credits are given. 'The way the statute is written... It would now criminalize anybody that performs a copyrighted work, which is essentially nowadays any song under the sun. In theory at least, the record companies or the Department of Justice could go after a 9-year old or a 12 year old or a 30 year old for publicly performing a song.' said Sidbury."
Google

Apple Adding "Do-Not-Track" To Safari 126

bonch writes "The latest developer preview of OS X Lion includes a 'do not track' privacy feature in Safari, the latest browser to do so following Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The feature complies with a privacy system backed by the FTC that allows users to declare that they do not wish to be tracked by online advertisers. This leaves Google Chrome as the last prominent browser not to support the feature. As an online advertiser themselves, Google states that they 'will continue to be involved closely' with industry discussions about compliance with the do-not-track system."

Comment Re:Prothero (Score 1) 1276

I love the comparison between Glen Beck and the character Lewis Prothero from V for Vendetta!

Watching Prothero's news casts in the movies are eerily similar to Glen Beck's show. The use of strong emotional speeches to invoke fear within their viewers to cause blind acceptance is crucial to their success. The fear they cause stops people from questioning authority :(


***Benjamin Franklin was often quoted as saying "it is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority."***

Submission + - Electric Vehicles? No. How about a better engine? (xconomy.com)

hlovy writes: Don Runkle has a bit of news for everyone. It’s engines, not batteries, that will make automobiles cleaner and more efficient. “We unabashedly say that we have the best solution,” says Runkle, the CEO of Allen Park, MI-based engine developer EcoMotors International.

The startup, which brought in $23 million in Series B financing this summer from Menlo Park, CA-based Khosla Ventures and Seattle billionaire Bill Gates, has designed an opposing piston, opposing cylinder engine that users fewer parts than traditional motors do and generates more power from each stroke of the engine, CEO Runkle says. He says the “opoc” engine is smaller, lighter, and less expensive than the motors already out there, and a more viable option than switching automobile fleets over to electrical power.

Comment Re:Fuck You (Score 2, Insightful) 474

The amount of IT knowledge it takes to get a job in most help desk positions is minimal. Most companies cycle through so many people frustrated with their unrewarding careers that the management is happy as long as the first tier can clear browser cache. Hell, they're happy if someone is answering the phone in a friendly manner... all of the troubleshooting steps these days are put into "Knowledge Bases" in which their 'trained' technicians follow the step by step procedures to try and fix the issue. The REAL Tech support isn't reached until the 2nd or 3rd level normally... and still at that point some of the idiots sneak through the filters and make it into the upper tiers

Comment Re:Squeegee kid (Score 1) 269

It was a martian. You see about a billion years ago, the Martian civilization discovered the secret of consiousness. Eventually the robots they created displaced them, and then when the planet's resources were depleted, they left for the stars leaving behind some curators. These curators are not really consious, their robotic creators ensured this so that they would be reliable in their task of preserving their martian heritage, but sometimes they do act in ways that are, almost uncannily lifelike.

This was the case here. The Martian curator bots find the rovers interesting, or rather, they find their controllers interesting. They periodically dust the solar panels so that they will be able to keep roving. They are curious as to what they are doing, maybe even appreciative that someone has visited to appreciate what they have devoted the past eon to preserving. For them, watching us look is most gratifying. They really ache to communicate with us and show us all the Martian history in their underground vaults, but because of their programming to remain inconspicuous, they can't. Still, they are helpful when they can be and not give themselves away.

+1 Awesome

Mars

Mars Winds Clean Spirit's Solar Panels Again 269

Titoxd writes "In a blast from the past, NASA reports that Spirit's solar panels have received a much-needed cleaning courtesy of the Red Planet. The report states, 'The cleaning boosts Spirit's daily energy supply by about 30 watt-hours, to about 240 watt-hours from 210 watt-hours. The rover uses about 180 watt-hours per day for basic survival and communications, so this increase roughly doubles the amount of discretionary power for activities such as driving and using instruments.'"
Portables

Submission + - First full review of new Asus Eee PC 900

An anonymous reader writes: After months of rumours, the new 8.9in screen Eee PC is out in the open and the first review is online. As well as the larger screen you get 1GB RAM, 20GB Storage and a multitouch tochpad. It costs more than the old Eee PC, but it definitely sounds like it's worth the extra cash. http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2008/04/16/Asus-Eee-PC-900/p1

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