Panaqqa - Slashdot User

Submission + - EFF Busts Bogus Online Testing Patent (eff.org)

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Friday January 04, 2008 @07:26AM

Panaqqa writes: "It's taking a while, but the EFF's Patent Busting Project is making progress. In the latest news, the USPTO has now officially rejected one of the 10 awful patents targeted, making the world safe again for administering tests over the Internet. This joins the reexamination of a patent on automated remote access of a computer over a network and the revokation of a patent on recording live performances to CD as notable successes for the EFF."

Submission + - Anon. National Security Letter Plaintiff Speaks (newsday.com)

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Tuesday November 06, 2007 @04:56PM

Panaqqa writes: "On Monday, the US government appealed a ruling which struck down a controversial section of The Patriot Act as unconstitutional. The section permitted the FBI to send secret demands to ISPs (called "National Security Letters") for logs and email without first obtaining a judge's approval. The president of the small Plaintiff ISP, identified only as John Doe because of a gag order under the law, said the gag provisions make it "impossible for people ... to discuss their specific concerns with the public, the press and Congress". Given that cases of abuse of Department of Homeland Security data have already surfaced, can anyone give a good reason why these letters should be allowed?"

Submission + - Appeals Court Tosses Out $11M Spamhaus Judgement (wired.com)

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Wednesday September 05, 2007 @07:51AM

Panaqqa writes: "In a not unexpected move, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the $11 million awarded to e360 Insight, and vacated a permanent injunction against Spamhaus requiring them to stop listing e360 Insight as a spammer. The ruling [PDF] does not, however, set aside the default judgement, meaning that Spamhaus has still lost its opportunity to argue the case. Unfortunate, considering a recent CDA 230(c)(2) ruling concerning spyware."

Submission + - Voting Machine Companies Having "Week From Hel

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Saturday August 04, 2007 @09:18AM

Panaqqa writes: "The usual suspects, Diebold leading the pack, must be wondering what else can go wrong. Considering their arrogance in the past, their comeuppance is truly well deserved. The State of California's source code review [PDF] of the Diebold voting system has been released. Additional reports will be made available as the Secretary of State determines that they do not inadvertently disclose security-sensitive information. One wonders what it will take to convince voting machine manufacturers not to do things like hard coding passwords as "12345678". Plenty of additional links can be found here."

Submission + - Patented: Port for a Joystick

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @07:49AM

Panaqqa writes: "It appears that Fenner Investments, a Texas based patent troll, is at it again. This time, they are suing Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo for infringing a patent they hold on joystick ports. Perhaps they felt they needed a "Plan B" now that their lawsuit against Juniper Networks, Nokia, Cisco, Alcatel and Ericsson is not going so well."

Submission + - DNA So Dangerous It Doesn't Exist

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Wednesday January 03, 2007 @09:59PM

Panaqqa writes: "One group of researchers at Boise State University is investigating the theory that there are genome sequences so dangerous they are incompatible with life. Greg Hampikian, a professor of genetics, and his team are comparing all possible short sequences of nucleotides to databases of gene sequences to determine which ones don't exist in nature. The New Scientist reports that the US Department of Defense is interested enough in their work to have awarded them a $1 million grant. I for one am not sure I like the possible directions this research could take."

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