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Google

Google StreetView Is In Your Driveway 439

hermit_crab writes "Janet and George McKee are the neighbors of the Borings, who we discussed yesterday as the couple suing Google over StreetView. The McKees own a house that is featured in a much more intrusive set of Google StreetView images. 'The Google car continued past the steps leading to the McKees's front door and came to a stop outside the house's three-car garage (and next to the family's trampoline and portable basketball rim). Taking photos all the time, the Google vehicle was squarely on private property, a fact that presumably should have been apparent when the gravel path became paved.' Unlike the Borings, the McKees have not announced intentions to sue Google, nor have they requested to have the images removed."
Medicine

Alligator Blood May Be Source of New Antibiotics 265

esocid writes "Biochemists from McNeese State University have described how proteins in gator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics to help fight infections associated with diabetic ulcers and severe burns. This new class of drug could also crack so-called 'superbugs' that are resistant to conventional medication. Previous studies have showed alligators have an unusually strong immune system; unlike humans, alligator immune systems can defend against microorganisms such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria without having prior exposure to them. Scientists believe that this is an evolutionary adaptation to promote quick wound healing, as alligators are often injured during fierce territorial battles."
Privacy

EU Recommends Slashing Search Data Retention 93

Wayland writes "The European Union's Article 29 Working Group has completed its PDF report on data protection and search engines. The group recommends that search engines only be allowed to hold onto search data for six months. 'To hang onto data for longer, search engine operators will need to show that such data is "strictly necessary" to offer the service. Google and others have long said that they need to retain data in order to refine search results, prevent click fraud, and launch new services like spell check (which, in Google's case, was built from user search data). In addition, the data that is kept will need to be guarded more closely. The working group concluded that IP addresses could be used to identify individuals; if not by the search engine itself, then by law enforcement or after a subpoena.'"

Feed Engadget: Dvorak tries a Mac... he likes it! (engadget.com)

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

As most everyone reading this no doubt knows, John Dvorak hasn't exactly shown much love to Macs (and all things Apple) over the years. Mac fanboys may now want to brace themselves, however, as it seems Dvorak has had a change of heart -- sorta. While he still has "no plans to move to the Mac platform for my personal use," Dvorak has apparently been using a Mac for the past few months and, shockingly, admits to liking it. Of course, he isn't quite exuberant in his praise, calling the system he's been using (an iMac) "not half bad," adding that "it's very quiet, and it performs as well as the PC on general office applications." He also found that "the interface is slicker," and that he didn't get the feeling that the computer was going to " start acting weird because of some virus, spyware, or endless Firefox loading procedure." But other than that, he says, he "cannot see much of a difference between the Mac and PC." He even apparently found doing some things on the Mac, like burning CDs, "convoluted." Despite that, he says he has taken to recommending Macs to friends and neighbors, although we somehow suspect he won't go so far as to recommend an iPhone anytime soon.

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