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Games

Valve Boss Expects Apple To Challenge Game Consoles 197

Posted by Soulskill from the yeah-but-please-don't dept.
Speaking at a panel during the WTIA TechNW conference, Valve CEO Gabe Newell had some interesting things to say about his expectations for the console business. Quoting: "The living room is the domain of the consoles, and its ability to exist independently from the other platforms is gone, Newell said. Newell expects Apple to disrupt the living room platform with a new product that will challenge consoles, although he doesn't have any particular knowledge of that new product. 'I suspect Apple will launch a living room product that redefines people's expectations really strongly and the notion of a separate console platform will disappear,' he said. Newell reiterated his concerns about a closed model being the 'wrong philosophical approach' but one that people will emulate because of the success of Apple and Xbox Live."

Comment Re:More too this story methinks (Score 1) 597

by Dr Damage I (#31952972) Attached to: Seattle Hacker Catches Cops Who Hid Arrest Tapes

"This is exactly my point; how is this not being deliberately truculent"

There is nothing wrong with refusing to identify oneself unless doing so is illegal. In this case, refusing to identify oneself is not illegal. The job of the police is not to combat random truculence, but to prevent crime/arrest those people who commit crimes.

"short of just letting this guy get off scot free, is there anything that the police could legally have done?"

You only get off scot free if you've done something wrong. He did nothing wrong. He therefore did not get away with anything.

Not only is there nothing the police legally could have done, there is nothing the police legally should have done. Apart, that is, from nothing. Which is what they should have done.

Comment Re:Obstruction of justice (Score 1) 597

by Hognoxious (#31952860) Attached to: Seattle Hacker Catches Cops Who Hid Arrest Tapes

Nonesense, did you even read what you linked to?

In proceedings against any person for the offence of failing to produce a licence [F35 and its counterpart] it shall be a defence for him to show that--
(a)
within seven days after the production of his licence [F35 and its counterpart] was required he produced [F36 them] in person at a police station that was specified by him at the time [F37 their] production was required
Communications

Asterisk Vishing Attacks "Endemic" 141

Posted by Soulskill from the enter-your-ssn-if-you-concur dept.
Ian Lamont writes "Remember the report last year that the FBI was concerned about a 'vishing' exploit relating to the Asterisk IP PBX software? Digium played down the report, noting that it was based on a bug that had already been patched, but now the company's open-source community director says that attacks on Asterisk installations are 'endemic.' There have been dozens of reported vishing attacks in recent weeks, says the article: 'The victims typically bank with smaller regional institutions, which typically have fewer resources to detect scams. Scammers hack into phone systems and then call victims, playing prerecorded messages that say there has been a billing error or warn them that the bank account has been suspended because of suspicious activity. If the worried customer enters his account number and ATM password, the bad guys use that information to make fake debit cards and empty their victim's bank accounts.'"
Programming

Submission + - Making Sense of Revision-control Systems

Submitted by ChelleChelle
ChelleChelle writes: During the past half-decade there has been an explosion of creativity in revision-control software, complicating the task of determining which tool to use to track and manage the complexity of a project as it evolves. Today leaders of teams are faced with a bewildering array of choices ranging from Subversion to the more popular Git and Mercurial. It is important to keep in mind that whether distributed or centralized, all revision-control systems come with a complicated set of tradeoffs. Each tool emphasizes a distinct approach to working and collaboration, which in turn influences how the team works. So how exactly do you go about finding the best match between tool and team? This article sets out to answer this question.
Networking

Submission + - FCC declares Net Neutrality will be enforced

Submitted by
Unequivocal
Unequivocal writes: "FCC's Chairman Genachowski told Congress today that the "Federal Communications Commission plans to keep the Internet free of increased user fees based on heavy Web traffic and slow downloads. Julius Genachowski, the FCC chairman, told The Hill that his agency will support "net neutrality" and go after anyone who violates its tenets. "One thing I would say so that there is no confusion out there is that this FCC will support net neutrality and will enforce any violation of net neutrality principles," Genachowski said when asked what he could do in his position to keep the Internet fair, free and open to all Americans. The statement by Genachowski comes as the commission remains locked in litigation with Comcast. The cable provider is appealing a court decision by challenging the FCC's authority to penalize the company for limiting Web traffic to its consumers."

It looks like the good guys win, unless the appeals court rules against the FCC.."
Government

Submission + - UK ISPs Angry With Proposed New File Sharing Laws

Submitted by mindbrane
mindbrane writes: Once in a while a sidebar will throw a lot of light on a difficult problem. The BBC has a short piece on British ISPs anger over proposed new laws governing file sharing in the UK. Proposed new laws would include cutting repeat offenders off from the Internet. Response suggests such tactics would fail. "UK ISP Talk Talk said the recommendations were likely to "breach fundamental rights" and would not work. ...Virgin said that "persuasion not coercion" was key in the fight to crack down on the estimated six million file-sharers in the UK. ...TalkTalk's director of regulation Andrew Heaney told the BBC News the ISP was as keen as anyone to clamp down on illegal file-sharers. ..."This is best done by making sure there are legal alternatives and educating people, writing letters to alleged file-sharers and, if necessary, taking them to court."" Another interesting bit suggested "internet service providers (ISPs) are obliged to take action against repeat infringers and suggests that the cost of tracking down persistent pirates be shared 50:50 between ISPs and rights holders.", and, seconded by right holders... "The proposal has been welcomed by the BPI, which represents the recorded music industry in Britain." I fear an unholy alliance is in the making.
The Courts

Apple Believes Someone Is Behind Psystar 606

Posted by CmdrTaco from the put-on-your-foil-hats dept.
rgraham writes "From the article on Growler: 'Apple apparently believes that somebody else is behind Psystar, which might help to explain why a major law firm would take on what seems like a fly-by-night's case; also why Psystar has been so bold in continuing to sell its products. I knew this thing felt funny. As Alice in Wonderland might put it, "It gets interestinger and interestinger."'"
Programming

Python 3.0 Released 357

Posted by samzenpus from the break-out-the-cigars dept.
licorna writes "The 3.0 version of Python (also known as Python3k and Python3000) just got released few hours ago. It's the first ever intentionally backwards-incompatible Python release."
The Military

NSA Takes On West Point In Security Exercise 140

Posted by Soulskill from the with-friends-like-these dept.
Wired is running a story about a recent security exercise in which the NSA attacked networks set up by various US military academies. The Army's network scored the highest, put together using Linux and FreeBSD by cadets at West Point. Quoting: "Even with a solid network design and passable software choices, there was an element of intuitiveness required to defend against the NSA, especially once it became clear the agency was using minor, and perhaps somewhat obvious, attacks to screen for sneakier, more serious ones. 'One of the challenges was when they see a scan, deciding if this is it, or if it's a cover,' says [instructor Eric] Dean. Spotting 'cover' attacks meant thinking like the NSA -- something Dean says the cadets did quite well. 'I was surprised at their creativity.' Legal limitations were a surprising obstacle to a realistic exercise. Ideally, the teams would be allowed to attack other schools' networks while also defending their own. But only the NSA, with its arsenal of waivers, loopholes, special authorizations (and heaven knows what else) is allowed to take down a U.S. network."
Television

Space History Footage In HD 92

Posted by kdawson from the godspeed-john-glenn dept.
The Discovery Channel has done a deal with NASA to enhance old film footage from the space program up to the standards of HD. Discovery will air, in HD, a 6-part special called "When We Left Earth," beginning June 8. Judging by the trailer it should be pretty spectacular, a good introduction to the wonders of space exploration for a new generation. After the show airs, NASA gets the improved footage for their archives.

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