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Politics

Submission + - UK to switch off £235m child database (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by wdef
wdef writes: The UK's controversial ContactPoint database is actually being switched off! It's rare that we hear anything this sensible from government about an expensive, privacy-destroying, 'think of the children' solution: (quote)The government argued the system was disproportionate to the problem, so is looking at developing other solutions.(unquote). Perhaps the UK coalition government really is winding back Big Brother, as they had promised to do? Does seem unlikely.
Security

Doom-Like Video Surveillance For Ports In Development 56

Posted by Soulskill from the hurt-me-plenty dept.
oranghutan writes "A research and development group down under is working to develop an advanced video surveillance system for ports around the world that uses video superimposed onto a 3D map. With 16-megapixel high-definition cameras on a distributed (cabled) network and a proprietary system written in a variety of languages (C++, Python, SQL, etc.), the group from NICTA is aiming to allow security teams at the Port of Brisbane — which is 110km long — to monitor shipping movements, cargo and people. By scrolling along a 3D map, the security teams can click on a location and then get a real-time video feed superimposed onto the map. Authorities from around the world with the right permissions can then access the same system. The main difference from regular surveillance systems is the ability to switch views without having to know camera numbers/locations and the one screen view."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Case Study: Brazilian Hotmail users mark as spam wrongly

Journal by madleo

ABSTRACT

This simple case study serves to prove that brazilian Hotmail users are marking messages as SPAM when they just want to remove a message.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM

This problem was identified after we started receiving messages from the Hotmail Junk Mail Reporting program. We noticed that our paid subscribers were taking and accepting job alert email as unsolicited (junk), when they actually pay to receive this kind of message.

Feed Air Force turns 'pain gun' on AP reporter (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We're all quite familiar with the Air Force's so-called 'pain gun' by now -- the millimeter wave weapon that gives targets an unbearable, full-body burning sensation and that may or may not have been recommended for testing on Americans by branch secretary Wynn -- but can you ever really 'know' a crowd control device without seeing it in action? Thankfully the military doesn't think so, which is why the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program held what must have been a fun-filled media day this past January, highlighted by the screams and flight response of AP reporter and curiously-willing guinea pig Elliot Minor. In the video after the break, you'll see Minor react to a brief encounter with the pain gun, and although he doesn't cry and wet himself like some might expect our colleagues in the MSM to do, he does admit that the weapon is "quite effective." Apparently there are some more vids of the Air Force's new toy bringing the pain on the linked site, but the military must be spending a lot more money on hurting people than web hosting, because the first clip hadn't even loaded by the time we finished this post.

[Via Danger Room]

Continue reading Air Force turns 'pain gun' on AP reporter

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Feed LAPD's blinding new flashlights too light to beat suspects (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It's kind of sad when one of the main features being touted by the LAPD about its new flashlights is their inability to provide suspects with a good beating, but after that very public 2004 incident in which a motorist took 11 blows from a heavy 'torch,' we guess the new model's light weight is indeed an important selling point. The 10,000 Pelican 7060's that officers will soon begin carrying -- specifically designed for the department of Rodney King fame -- sport two separate power switches, a no-slip 'grenade grip,' cooling fins on the shaft, and 130 lumen LEDs that are said to be capable of momentarily blinding a non-compliant individual. Sounds like good news for criminals and the falsely-accused, but not so great for the cop in the direct path of a raging meth-head; in those situations, we'd take the cold hard steel of our four D battery MagLite over a wimpy Pelican any day of the week.

[Via The New Zealand Herald]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Feed Mennonites and Photo IDs (schneier.com)

From feed by bsfeed
Mennonites are considering moving to a different state because they don't want their photo taken for their drivers licenses. Many (all?) states had religious exemptions to the photo requirement, but now fewer are. The most interesting paragraph to me is...

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