I keep on dropping linux because it is incomplete I'm sick of hearing the "we couldn't include this program in the OS because it's licensed differently..but you can get it over there for free" crap. This is a prime example of how the concept of IP is stifling and killing creativity. Don't get me wrong i really like the concept of linus but the implementation problems keep me from using it on a regular basis for anything important.

obscurity with secrecy... a key isn't secure because the pins are obscured they key is secure because the combination to flip the pins correctly is secret...someone actively sought to hide that information rather than that information being hard to "decipher" While these cops' jobs may be obscure to assist them with LYING to potential criminals, the fact that all their information is public makes it pointedly NOT secret and --thus in the long run and in the age of the internet --makes the obscurity pointless. Point in fact: it is impossible for police to use true secrecy to hide their identities because they are PUBLIC SERVANTS! The best they can hope for is obscurity and if that fails the next logical step is leave the job...your cover is blown.

First of all she didn't go on military bases. Most/All of her surveillance was done on public roads and property. Second there was only one DEA agent assigned to that task force. No one ever said she put anyone at risk except the people arresting her. None of the information she revealed was confidential OR private at all. All she did was organize it in one place. Whether she intended for them to get hurt or not is unclear and irrelevant. If this task force was really concerned about their safety don't you think they'd be smart enough to evade or deter a soccer mom?!?! The articles on this topic claim that the cops themselves were reading her blog --quite frequently it seems, but no one said anything until google streetview got involved? Seriously if the cops on this task force are really this inept they don't deserve to be cops. You're right this isn't about first amendment rights...unless she was arrested for expressing her views...oh wait. What this comes down to is the constitution and the SCOTUS decisions are on her side and the police have a local city ordinance violation on their side. Are you trying to tell me that a city ordinance trumps first amendment rights in the constitution?

I have two friends who did something similar but not quite as drastic. Both flunked out of college and the like. The never coming out of the room sounds familiar too. Both are still addicted on some level. Funny thing though one is also a pretty heavy pot smoker and the other doesn't do any drugs but their addictive personalities both trigger off of games. The even more ironic part is that the one who does drugs too KNOWS he's addicted to the game and has talked about "cutting back" and such...

Now when people upload video evidence of police officers committing crimes and the cops delete them there are TWO crimes committed. Something tells me that this is not going to replace youtube any time soon.

I remember another brainless MS "spokesperson" claiming that Vista was so secure they'd never need antivirus software... http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/10/0114210 Now after the second patch its so secure no other OS can touch it! Maybe if they beg customers http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/20/0643241 and lie some more people will actually use it.

Its just time to turn off smileys with that nice little checkbox most IMs have these days. smileys are a dumb misnomer anyway. a yellow face w/ a middle finger in the air is not smiley at all

that and it was on digg yesterday 3/31/09... What are WB going to do now sue themselves? I have a feeling that TPB wanted this as an end result all along. They gamed the loopholes in the system long enough to grab the attention of the RIAA and MPAA. Once they "won" in court the media companies had no alternative other than to buy them out to stop them. I hope they asked for a billion.

those three apps are all spyware running as a process. your comp would be rendered completely useless for anything. M$ is really screwing the pooch w/ their new os "models" OS as a service? No thanks I'll stick to xp for another decade.

Because little errors in hex calculations are ok 0x000FA1 is the same as 0x000FAB RIGHT?!?!

That's how we got the BSOD. :P

i've been waiting years for this

it says almost exactly what i said... to quote: ". Whether or not students are aware of it, the NYTimes reports that most universities own inventions created by students that were developed using a 'significant' amount of schools resources. "

railing against light pollution by taking pictures showing how beautiful it is... kind of like raising diabetes awareness by building a giant sugar sculpture.

From the last /. article on this topic, it seems that the universities are arguing that they can patent student ideas because they claim the students are using significant university resources. My advice is to use as few university resources as possible if any at all. Do all your work on your own computer. Don't use the labs, etc. If you don't use their resources then they have no claim to your IP right?