Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
User Journal

Journal Journal: LCD woes

Journal by xtascox
Well I spent the past hour and a half tearing a Dell e193fp apart hoping to solve the overheating issue. Well inside I found there were holes drilled for venting purposes but I guess they thought it was a good idea to cover them with a plastic shield. So I made a nice cut out of it for the vent, sealed everything back up and voila! I am now enjoying a 19" LCD over my previous 2 17" CRT's which one was too dark and the other was too blurry. Sweet.
The Courts

Submission + - RIAA ups ante, argues MP3's from CD's unauthorized (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "In an Arizona case against a defendant who has no legal representation, Atlantic v. Howell, the RIAA is now arguing — contrary to its lawyers' statements to the United States Supreme Court in 2005 MGM v. Grokster — that the defendant's ripping of personal MP3 copies onto his computer is a copyright infringement. At page 15 of its brief (pdf) it states the following: "It is undisputed that Defendant possessed unauthorized copies....Virtually all of the sound recordings .... are in the ".mp3" format for his and his wife's use.....Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs' recordings into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies....""
Linux Business

Submission + - Linux is about to take over the low end of PCs (desktoplinux.com) 3

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Desktop Linux has a recent commentary on the inevitable growth of Linux on the cheaper end of the desktop market. According to the article, the availability of under-$500 usable hardware, combined with free a operating system, free desktop office products, and free or cheap "Software as a service" online applications, opens a new market in which Microsoft cannot compete. "Microsoft will fight this trend tooth and nail. It will cut prices to the point where it'll be bleeding ink on some of its product lines. And Windows XP is going to stick around much longer than Microsoft ever wanted it to. Still, it won't be enough. By attacking from the bottom, where Microsoft can no longer successfully compete, Linux will finally cut itself a large slice of the desktop market pie."
Software

Submission + - Nokia claims Ogg format is "proprietary" 2

Submitted by a nona maus
a nona maus writes: Several months ago the WHATWG workgroup of the W3C decided to include Ogg/Theora+Vorbis as the recommended baseline video codec standard for HTML5, against Apple's aggressive protest. Now, Nokia seems to be seeking a reversal of that decision: they have released a position paper calling Ogg "proprietary" and citing the importance of DRM support. Nokia has historically responded to questions about Ogg on their internet tablets with strange and inconsistent answers, along with hand waving about their legal department. This latest step is enough to really make you wonder what they are really up to.
The Internet

Submission + - Honeybees prompt faster Internet server technology (networkworld.com) 1

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "Honeybee intelligence can be used to improve the speed and efficiency of Internet servers by up to 25% according to Georgia Institute of Technology researchers.Honeybees somehow manage to efficiently collect a lot of nectar with limited resources and no central command. Such swarm intelligence of these amazingly organized bees can also be used to improve the efficiency of Internet servers faced with similar challenges. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22045"
Privacy

Submission + - Japan to start fingerprinting foreigners again

Submitted by
rabiddeity
rabiddeity writes: "If you're planning to visit Japan sometime in the near future, you may want to reconsider. Last year, Japan's parliament passed a measure requiring foreigners to submit their fingerprints when entering the country. The measures, which apply to all foreigners over 16 regardless of visa status, take effect tomorrow. The worst part: the fingerprints are stored in a national database for an "unspecified time", and will be made available to both domestic police and foreign governments."
Privacy

Submission + - Mixed news on Wiretapping from 9th Circuit USCoA

Submitted by abb3w
abb3w writes: The bad news: the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Al-Haramain lawyers may not submit into evidence their recollections of the top secret document handed to them detailing the warrantless electronic scrutiny they received. "Once properly invoked and judicially blessed, the state secrets privilege is not a half-way proposition." The good news: they have declined to answer and directed the lower court to consider whether "FISA preempts the common law state secrets privilege" with respect to the underlying nature of the program itself... which also keeps alive hopes for the EFF and ACLU to make those responsible answer for their actions.

Coverage at CNET, the NYTimes, and elsewhere; PDF of ruling here.
Censorship

Submission + - Viacom Wants Industry Wide Copyright Filter (pcworld.com)

Submitted by slashqwerty
slashqwerty writes: Unsatisfied with the proprietary copyright filter Google recently unveiled, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman has called for an industry standard to filter copyrighted material. Mr. Dauman has the backing of Microsoft, Disney, and Universal. "They reflect the fact that there ought to be a filtering system in place on the part of technology companies," he noted. "Most responsible companies have followed that path. What no one wants is a proprietary system that benefits one company. It is a big drain to a company like ours to have to deal with incompatible systems." How would an industry standard impact freedom of speech and in particular censorship on the internet? How would it affect small, independent web sites?
User Journal

Journal SPAM: Harmless? Tasered to Death - No Charges Against Brownshirts 2

Journal by Jeremiah Cornelius

In Gwinnett County, Georgia, an un-edited police videotape shows 31-year-old Deacon Frederick Williams being struck with a TASER five times in 43 seconds, just 4 minutes after being led into the jail.

He was handcuffed behind his back and in leg restraints, following an epileptic seizure at his home; an ambulance was called by his wife and son, but the police arrived first. His last words were: "Don't kill me, man. Don't kill me."
The Courts

Submission + - Listening to the radio at work? Prepare to be sued

Submitted by MLCT
MLCT writes: The Performing Rights Society, one of the UK's royalties collecting societies, has taken a Scottish car servicing company to court because the employees are alleged to have been listening to the radio at work, allowing the music to be "heard by colleagues and customers". The PRS are thus seeking £200,000 in damages for the "performances of the music" which they claim equates to copyright infringement. The judge, Lord Emslie, has ruled that the case can continue to hearing evidence, commenting that the key point to note was that music was "audibly 'blaring' from employee's radios". Where do the extents of a "public performance" end? Radios on in cabs? Sitting in my house with the window open listening to the breakfast show?
Privacy

Submission + - Microsoft's Ballmer: Google Reads Your Mail 5

Submitted by Anonymous
Anonymous writes: A piece of video has emerged in which Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says of Google, "they read your mail and we don't." Evidently, it was part of a lengthy discussion on the future of the software business model, and whether advertising could support free consumer software. Ballmer said it doesn't work, at least when it comes to email.

Feed Engadget: Microsoft's new Zunes: officially in 80, 8, and 4GB sizes (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We love a good non-mystery around here, and Microsoft's new Zunes are about as un-mysterious as they get. But we also love a good product refresh, and now that the cat's officially out of the bag we can really dig into the new Zunes, which definitely have a lot going for them. There's plenty to cover, so here's what you need to know.

Hard drive Zunes
  • It's called the Zune 80 and, shockingly enough, it has 80GB of storage.
  • It will sell for $250 (with "premium" headphones).
  • Available only in black (to start).
  • Screen size has increased to 3.2-inches (from 3-inches).
  • Dimensions are 61.1 x 108.2 x 12.9mm (2.4 x 4.25 x 0.5-inches), some 1/3rd smaller than the classic Zune.
  • The classic Zune will now be known as the Zune 30 -- it's not going anywhere. More on that in a sec.
New flash Zunes
  • Zune 8 and Zune 4 are the names for the 8 and 4GB flash based models.
  • These will sell for $200 and $150 respectively.
  • Both will be available in pink, green, black, and red.
  • It will feature a 1.8-inch screen (compare to the nano's 2-inch screen).
  • Dimensions are 41.4 x 91.5 x 8.5mm (1.6 x 3.6 x 0.33-inches) -- compare to the new iPod nano, at 69.8 x 52.3 x 6.5mm (2.75 x 2.0 x 0.26-inches).
Everything else
  • New Zunes ship in November, date not yet announced.
  • All Zunes (including the Zune 30) will have a new, redesigned interface and feature parity. In other words, early Zune 30 adopters will have all the same software features as new Zune 80, 8, and 4 users.
  • Additional native video codecs for h.264 and MPEG-4 -- users no longer need transcode those file types to WMV.
  • WiFi sync to host computer.
  • Podcast support! (Sorry, no over the air downloads -- sync only.) Podcasts can also be shared via WiFi.
  • The 3x3 song sharing DRM has had its three day restriction removed, but users can still only play files three times.
Official press images, etc. coming shortly, don't wander far!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Submission + - Indiana Jones Gets Robbed!!

Submitted by
HotChk101
HotChk101 writes: "Over 2000 production stills, plenty of sensitive paperwork including a complete production budget breakdown, possibly the script from Indiana Jones 4 and multiple computers were stolen from Steven Spielberg's Universal Studio office. The thief started contacting multiple entertainment websites including TMZ.com and offering the stolen goods for a sum of $2000.00. There are a lot more details and you can read the full story by clicking here! Read the full story to find out what happened to the thief!!!"

Slashdot Top Deals

My computer can beat up your computer. - Karl Lehenbauer

Close