110415656
submission
Bootsy Collins writes:
ThinkGeek — the 20-year-old 'goods for nerds' retailer I've associated with Slashdot ever since they were both part of the Andover and VA Linux mega-empires — appears to be dramatically scaling back their operations. On July 2, thinkgeek.com will be no more, and instead a "ThinkGeek-curated" selection of products will be for sale through the website of Gamestop, their current owner. They're attempting to clear out all existing inventory, and their rewards program is being shut down, too. On ThinkGeek's website, they're spinning this as a "move"; but it's hard not to feel like yet another symbol of the (somewhat) old days is passing.
34941407
submission
Bootsy Collins writes:
The predominant narrative of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has been that the accident was caused by a one-in-a-million tsunami, an event so unlikely that TEPCO could not reasonably have been expected to plan for it. However, a Parliamentary inquiry in Japan has concluded that this description is flawed — that the disaster was preventable through a reasonable and justifiable level of preparation, and that initial responses were horribly bungled. The inquiry report points a finger at collusion between industry executives and regulators in Japan as well as "the worst conformist conventions of Japanese culture." It also raises the question of whether the failed units at Fukushimi Daiichi were already damaged by the earthquake before the tsunami even hit, going so far as to say that "We cannot rule out the possibility that a small-scale LOCA (loss-of-coolant accident) occurred at the reactor No 1 in particular." This is an explosive question in quake-prone Japan, appearing in the news just as Japan begins to restart reactors that have been shut down nationwide since the disaster.
1877635
submission
Bootsy Collins writes:
Last Wednesday, the Lori Drew "cyberbullying" case ended in three misdemeanor convictions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a 1986 U.S. Federal law intended to address illegally accessing computer systems. The interpretation of the act by the Court to cover violations of website terms of service, a circumstance obviously not considered in the year of the law's formulation and passage, may have profound effects on intersection of the Internet and U.S. law. Referring to an amicus curiae brief filed by online rights organizations and law professors, PJ at Groklaw breaks down the implications of the decision to support her assertion that ". . .unless this case is overturned, it is time to get off the Internet completely, because it will have become too risky to use a computer."
