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Politics

Submission + - Facebook Billionaire Gives Money to Legalize Pot

Submitted by Aldenissin
Aldenissin writes: Dustin Moskovitz confirmed that he has recently given (an additional) $50,000 in support of Proposition 19, which is seeking to legalize marijuana in California this November. He had previously donated $20,000 to supporters of the act, which would allow people 21 years old or older to possess, cultivate or transport cannabis for personal use and would permit local governments to regulate and tax commercial production and sale of the substance. Asked for a comment as to why he’s backing the legalization of marijuana, Moskovitz just sent this statement:

“More than any other initiative out there, Prop 19 will stabilize our national security and bolster our state economy. It will alleviate unnecessary overcrowding of non-violent offenders in our state jails, which in turn will help California residents.”

An irony here is about a month ago Facebook refused to take FireDogLake’s ‘Just Say Now’ pro-cannabis law reform ads
The Courts

Submission + - "Investors beware" of record companies say (fool.com)

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: ""Investors beware" of "Sony (NYSE: SNE), BMG, Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG), Vivendi Universal, and EMI", says the Motley Fool investment web site. In an article entitled "We're All Thieves to the RIAA", a Motley Fool columnist, referring to the RIAA's pronouncement in early December in Atlantic v. Howell, that the copies which Mr. Howell had copied from his cd's to mp3's in a 'shared files folder' on his computer were "unauthorized", writer Alyce Lomax said "a good sign of a dying industry that investors might want to avoid is when it would rather litigate than innovate, signaling a potential destroyer of value.""
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft to Push Silverlight via Redesigned Site (neosmart.net)

Submitted by Marilyn M.
Marilyn M. writes: It looks like Microsoft is getting desperate about the dismal rates of Silverlight adoption by consumers and developers since its release earlier this year. According to NeoSmart Technologies, Microsoft is preparing a fully Silverlight-powered redesign of their website, doing away with most HTML pages entirely. With over 60 million unique users visiting Microsoft.com a month, Microsoft's last-ditch effort might be what it takes to breathe some life back into Silverlight.
Movies

Submission + - LG & Netflix Team Up to Offer D/L Movies on TV (wsj.com)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "It might seem like they've come full circle, but the movie injection method has gone from TV to through mail to online download to TV on demand. And Netflix & LG are betting it's going to be a hit and they bet you want to buy yet another device for your home theater. The article astutely notes: "The partnership between Netflix, Los Gatos, Calif., and South Korea's LG represents another gamble by technology companies that video from the Internet, which is commonly downloaded to personal computers, will go mainstream when users can easily access it from TV sets. So far, Internet television products such as Apple Inc.'s Apple TV have largely been unsuccessful, stymied by a poor selection of videos, complexity of use and other shortcomings.""
Censorship

Submission + - Russia to go all Cyrillic for DNS? (guardian.co.uk) 1

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The Guardian reports that the Kremlin may start an alternate top-level domain: .rf. According to the story, .ru in Cyrillic translates to .py, the top-level domain for Paraguay, which the Russian government feels leads to confusion. This is similar to a move by China, which has their own .net and .com top-level domains in their native character set along with .cn, .com, and .net in ASCII. Will .ru go the way of .su? Will this new top-level domain make it more difficult for phishers and spammers and scammers? Will this give the Russian government more control over the registration process and ultimately lead to censorship?
Software

Submission + - Linux devicemaker sued in first U.S. test of GPL

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: For the first time in the U.S., a company is being taken to court for a GPL violation. The Software Freedom Law Center has sued Monsoon Multimedia over alleged GPL violations in the Hava, a place- and time-shifting TV recorder similar to the SlingBox. Interestingly, Monsoon Multimedia is run by a highly experienced international lawyer named Graham Radstone. According to his corporate biography, Radstone has an MA in Law from the University of Cambridge, England, and held the top legal spot at an unnamed "$1 billion private multinational company." He also reportedly held top management positions with Philip Morris, Pfizer, and DHL. Sounds like the makings of a good old legal donnybrook ahead.
Communications

Submission + - Robust Surface Navigation could replace GPS

Submitted by
GadgetMike
GadgetMike writes: "The Global Positioning System is the only navigation system operational at the time speaking and the world depends on it. The event of something happening to the system could really cause chaos. That's why the United States are trying to develop some alternative technologies which should be unable to fulfill the GPS's tasks in case the last one is unusable. One of them is called the RSN (Robust Surface Navigation) project, developed by the joint forces of some major companies under the lead of the giant Boeing. Link: http://www.gadgetroad.com/design/robust-surface-na vigation-could-be-an-alternative-to-gps/2007/04/20 /"

Feed High school students laser-enable the disabled (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Wearables


The students on the Palo Alto High School InvenTeam arrived at the Stanford Cool Products Expo this year with a new system designed to allow quadriplegics to operate all kinds of gadgets and appliances. The user shakes his head to activate a glasses-mounted laser, which he can then point at sensors embedded in an array of custom triggers placed around the home. So far the team's nailed the basic on/off circuit needed for lights, fans, and a pet food dispenser (which is currently shelling out M&M's to Expo attendees), but the real noise is their plan to extend the system by building a small robot that will perform various tasks. According to the school, team captain Guy Davidson was only kidding a little when he said the team hoped "to have [the user] vacuuming in a few weeks." While this isn't the first time we've seen lasers used to assist the disabled, you gotta wonder what's going to happen to their altruisitic spirit when these kids realize they can also just headmount one of those crazy high-powered laser pointers.

Read - CNET Cool Products Expo video (second item)
Read - Palo Alto High School press release (6MB PDF)

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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!
PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - PS3 Linux performs Real Time Ray Tracing

Submitted by
fistfullast33l
fistfullast33l writes: "A video posted on You Tube shows three PS3s networked together to perform Real Time Ray Tracing. Keep in mind that PS3 Linux runs in a hypervisor, so the RSX graphics chip is not being used at all. Even more impressive, PS3 Fanboy is reporting that Linux also limits the number of SPEs to 6 at once, so not all the horsepower on each of the PS3s is being utilized. According to the You Tube Summary, IBM Cell SDK 2.0 is being used for the IBM Interactive Ray-tracer (iRT). This apparently was done by the same team that presented a tech demo at GDC 2007 of a Linux PS3 rendering a 3 million polygon scene in real time at 1080p resolution."
The Internet

Journal Journal: Purplenova 2.0 - Easy Web Server for Home and Office Release

Journal by ytruq
Via: SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE

"Infinishare Technologies (www.purplenova.com) has announced the release of Purplenova 2.0 - The Easy Web Server which when installed on any PC with an Internet connection allows users to web-host content directly from that PC.

By making content web-accessible with a URL directly from where it resides, Purplenova 2.0 provides an alternative to hosting with Hosting Services, ISPs or Blog sites...
Movies

Submission + - Netflix offers instant online movies

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: If you're the owner of a video rental store, it may be time to start thinking about getting into a different business, according to TECH.BLORGE. Netflix, a US-based online movie rental service, is offering a new feature that allows its subscribers to instantly view movies and TV shows on their PC.

Feed Wired Home 2007 (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
From snap-together panels to off-the-grid AC, green buildings are now sleek, sharp and more energy efficient than ever. Visit seven eco-dwellings from across the country that use the latest technology to blend into their surroundings. From Wired magazine. Chesapeake Bay: Panels stuffed with wires and pipes that are preassembled on a factory floor make high-tech, green building a snap. Colorado Rockies: Computer-controlled climate analysis harmonizes this home's interior with external weather conditions. Brooklyn: An industrail building gets a facelift that includes soy-foam and recycled steel. Los Angeles: With refrigerator panels for walls, this beach house acts like a giant ice box by preventing serious energy loss. Austin: A water-cooled AC system silently cranks up the energy efficiency in the scorching Texas heat. Manhattan: A geothermal pump and styrofoam walls bring natural heating to the Big Apple. Seattle: An irrigation system fed by rainwater and an insulating rooftop garden take advantage of the Pacific Northwest weather.


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