Comment Sparty On (Score 1) 377
I guess this gives new meaning to the school's slogan "Go Green".... perhaps "Sparty On" will be replaced with a "Sputtering On"
Comment April Fools? (Score 1) 1
If the sign is still posted tomorrow, I'll take it seriously
Comment Re:RIAA propaganda (Score 1) 539
Unless there was a EULA or some other agreement that restricts the rights of the individual, I don't believe there is any restriction on how many backup copies one may keep of a file. Laws restrict the rights of the individual, laws don't give rights... we are endowed by our creator with inalienable rights and among these are the right to "transfer to any devices [we] own" and "make a thousand personal backup copies."
Comment Re:As I and many others pointed out yesterday (Score 1) 539
The license to play it isn't affected by this, it's simply where the file is stored. Playing it in front of an audience, from the cloud or disk is a violation. Storing it on CD, USB Key or the cloud shouldn't be...
however, ultimately it will boil down to legal issue that will be interesting to watch being sorted out.
Submission + - Tesla Sues BBC's Top Gear For Libel (allcarselectric.com) 3
thecarchik writes: About two years ago BBC's Top Gear aired a test drive of the then relatively new Tesla Roadster. In the particular episode, Tesla Roadsters are depicted as suffering several critical “breakdowns” during track driving. Host Jeremy Clarkson concludes the episode by saying that in the real world the Roadster "doesn’t seem to work"
Tesla claims that the breakdowns were staged, making most of Top Gear'(TM)s remarks about the Roadster untrue. Tesla also states that it can prove Top Gear’s tests were falsified due to the recordings of its cars’ onboard data-loggers.
What's Tesla asking for in the lawsuit? Tesla simply wants Top Gear to stop rebroadcasting the particular episode and to correct the record.
Tesla claims that the breakdowns were staged, making most of Top Gear'(TM)s remarks about the Roadster untrue. Tesla also states that it can prove Top Gear’s tests were falsified due to the recordings of its cars’ onboard data-loggers.
What's Tesla asking for in the lawsuit? Tesla simply wants Top Gear to stop rebroadcasting the particular episode and to correct the record.
Submission + - Spam Drops 1/3 After Rustock Botnet Gets Crushed (securityweek.com)
wiredmikey writes: The Rustock Botnet was sending as many as 13.82 Billion spam emails each day before being taken down early this month by an effort headed by Microsoft in cooperation with authorities and the legal system.
According to Symantec’s March 2011 MessageLabs Intelligence Report, the Rustock botnet had been responsible for an average of 28.5% of global spam sent from all botnets in March.
Following the takedown, when the Rustock botnet was no longer cranking out spam by the billions, global spam volumes fell by one-third. For reference, toward the end of 2010, Rustock had been responsible for as much as 47.5% of all spam, sending approximately 44.1 billion e-mails per day, according to MessageLabs stats.
Since then, Bagle, a botnet that wasn’t even on MessageLabs’ top ten spam-sending botnets at the end of 2010, has taken over from Rustock as the most active spam-sending botnet this year.....
According to Symantec’s March 2011 MessageLabs Intelligence Report, the Rustock botnet had been responsible for an average of 28.5% of global spam sent from all botnets in March.
Following the takedown, when the Rustock botnet was no longer cranking out spam by the billions, global spam volumes fell by one-third. For reference, toward the end of 2010, Rustock had been responsible for as much as 47.5% of all spam, sending approximately 44.1 billion e-mails per day, according to MessageLabs stats.
Since then, Bagle, a botnet that wasn’t even on MessageLabs’ top ten spam-sending botnets at the end of 2010, has taken over from Rustock as the most active spam-sending botnet this year.....
Comment Re:It's cloud-based alright (Score 1) 222
If they limit the number of devices that access it, and only provide music that you purchase on that account... I think generic accounts would be pretty limited.
Comment Re:It's cloud-based alright (Score 1) 222
Just because Sony may be overly litigious doesn't mean they will be successful. If Amazon secures the cloud based service sufficiently to ensure the identity of the individual, perhaps limiting the number of devices that can connect (eg Netflix streaming) they would simply be providing cloud storage to individuals. How is that any different than generic cloud storage? They could easily link it with AmazonMP3 service to ensure that you own all the music you have on the system. Essentially, music that you buy would be able to be streamed after the initial download... like Pandora from your own music.
Submission + - RIAA lobbyist becomes federal judge, rules on file (arstechnica.com) 1
suraj.sun writes: RIAA lobbyist becomes federal judge, rules on file-sharing cases:
Last week, Washington, DC federal judge Beryl Howell ruled on three mass file-sharing lawsuits. Judges in Texas, West Virginia, and Illinois had all ruled recently that such lawsuits were defective in various ways, but Howell gave her cases the green light; attorneys could use the federal courts to sue thousands of people at once and then issue mass subpoenas to Internet providers.
Beryl Howell isn't the only judge to believe this, but her important ruling is especially interesting because of Howell's previous work: lobbying for the recording industry during the time period when the RIAA was engaged in its own campaign of mass lawsuits against individuals. The news, first reported in a piece at TorrentFreak, nicely illustrates the revolving door between government and industry.
ARS Technica: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/riaa-lobbyist-becomes-federal-judge-rules-on-file-sharing-cases.ars
Last week, Washington, DC federal judge Beryl Howell ruled on three mass file-sharing lawsuits. Judges in Texas, West Virginia, and Illinois had all ruled recently that such lawsuits were defective in various ways, but Howell gave her cases the green light; attorneys could use the federal courts to sue thousands of people at once and then issue mass subpoenas to Internet providers.
Beryl Howell isn't the only judge to believe this, but her important ruling is especially interesting because of Howell's previous work: lobbying for the recording industry during the time period when the RIAA was engaged in its own campaign of mass lawsuits against individuals. The news, first reported in a piece at TorrentFreak, nicely illustrates the revolving door between government and industry.
ARS Technica: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/riaa-lobbyist-becomes-federal-judge-rules-on-file-sharing-cases.ars
Comment I guess someone complained (Score 1) 371
looks like QWest sent a Cease and Desist letter or something... the photo on Picasa has been replaced with an apology.... sorry Mr Corporate Attorney Sir:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_sU7dL3OFMpY/TTeLgGH6COI/AAAAAAAAM-E/lmPuM9IC_b8/QwestSorry.png
New Sunlight Reactor Produces Fuel 269
eldavojohn writes "A new reactor developed by CalTech shows promise for producing renewable fuel from sunlight. The reactor hinges on a metal oxide named Ceria that has very interesting properties at very high temperatures. It exhales oxygen at very high temperatures and inhales oxygen at very low temperatures. From the article, 'Specifically, the inhaled oxygen is stripped off of carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H2O) gas molecules that are pumped into the reactor, producing carbon monoxide (CO) and/or hydrogen gas (H2). H2 can be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells; CO, combined with H2, can be used to create synthetic gas, or "syngas," which is the precursor to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Adding other catalysts to the gas mixture, meanwhile, produces methane. And once the ceria is oxygenated to full capacity, it can be heated back up again, and the cycle can begin anew.' The only other piece of the puzzle is a large sunlight concentrator to raise the temperature to the necessary 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The team is working on modifying and refining the reactor to require a lower temperature to achieve the two-step thermochemical cycle. Another issue is the heat loss which the team claims could be reduced to improve efficiency to 15% or higher. Since CO2 is an input, the possibility exists for coal and power plants to collect CO2 emissions to be used in this process which would effectively allow us to "use the carbon twice." Another idea listed is that a "zero CO2 emissions" is developed along these lines: 'H2O and CO2 would be converted to methane, would fuel electricity-producing power plants that generate more CO2 and H2O, to keep the process going.' The team's work was published last month in Science."
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