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Input Devices

Man Physically Assaulted At McDonald's For Wearing Digital Eye Glasses 1198

Posted by Soulskill from the i-don't-think-he's-lovin'-it dept.
RockoW writes "Steve Mann, a long-time researcher of computer vision systems, (i.e. Augmented reality, Digital Eyeglass) had an incident at a McDonald's in Paris, France. He was assaulted by three men during his visit to get food with his family. They had a problem with his digital eye glasses and tried to take them off his head. 'The eyeglass is permanently attached and does not come off my skull without special tools.' The men also tore up Mann's documentation and a letter from his doctor explaining the device's use. Fortunately, the rough treatment of the device caused it to keep recent images in its memory, instead of quickly overwriting them, so Dr. Mann has pictures of the men who assaulted him."
Power

Mimicking Photosynthesis To Split Water 257

Posted by kdawson from the just-add-volts-and-put-it-in-the-sun dept.
plantsdoitsocanwe writes "An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis, paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The breakthrough could revolutionize the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen — touted as the clean, green fuel of the future — cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale." This was a laboratory demonstration only and the researchers say they need to bring up the efficiency.
The Internet

Canadians Battling Proposed Canadian DMCA 202

Posted by kdawson from the leave-us-a-commons-eh dept.
An anonymous reader writes "CTV reports on how Canadians are fighting back against the Canadian DMCA. Led by Michael Geist, the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group is nearing 90,000 members. There are local chapters, a YouTube contest, wikis, and people writing letters and organizing rallies against the copyright bill. Geist said, 'When you get tens of thousands of Canadians speaking out like this, there's big political risk for any political party who chooses to ignore it.'"

Comment Read a general introduction to Unix (Score 3, Informative) 184

by Ivan Raikov (#18806909) Attached to: Learning More About Linux?
First of all, you should have in mind that Linux is just a kernel, and what you are probably more interested in are all the userland programs that comprise your typical Linux distribution. I think it is best to start with a general Unix introductory text, because the fundamental principles have not changed in 25 years, and it is much better to understand the core Unix system utilities and how they plug together to accomplish complex tasks, rather than waste time with all the modern Windows-like interfaces that are fashionable in Linux distributions today.

There is one "classic" Unix introduction book that I can strongly recommend, and that you can probably buy used for a dollar: Exploring the Unix System by Stephen Kochan and Patrick Wood. Make sure to get the paperback edition that is about 400 pages. Also, apparently the authors are going to release an updated version of that book -- check http://www.kochan-wood.com for updates.

Once you learn the fundamentals of Unix systems, then you would be ready to learn the modern tools available in Linux distributions. Remember that is much more important to learn the principles and philosophy that Unix was built upon, rather than attempting to memorize arcane details.
The Internet

Google 'Toilet ISP' Gag Not Without Precedent 110

Posted by Zonk from the oh-the-halcyon-dot-com-days dept.
1sockchuck writes "Yesterday, Google's annual April Fools' joke featured Google TiSP, a free home wireless broadband service that connected via a 'commode-based router' and runs fiber cabling through the sewer system. This is actually not without precedent. Back in the dot-com boom, delivering broadband through sewers was the focus of CityNet Telecom, which raised $375 million in funding from major VC and private equity firms in 2000 and 2001. The company used remote-controlled robots to lay fiber through sewer lines and actually created sewer-based networks in Albuquerque and Indianapolis before merging with Universal Access in 2003."
Science

Architect Claims to Solve Pyramid Secret 209

Posted by Zonk from the that's-one-way-to-do-it dept.
Alreadybutnotyet writes "A French architect claimed Friday to have uncovered the mystery about how Egypt's Great Pyramid of Khufu was built — with use of a spiral ramp to hoist huge stone blocks into place. The construction of the Great Pyramid 4,500 years ago by Khufu, a ruler also known as Cheops, has long befuddled scientists as to how its 3 million stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each were lifted into place. 'The most widespread theory had been that an outer ramp had been used by the Egyptians, who left few traces to help archeologists and other scientists decode the secret to the construction. Houdin said he had taken into account the copper and stone tools available at the time, the granite and limestone blocks, the location of the pyramid and the strength and knowledge of the workers.'"
Privacy

Can Outing an Anonymous Blogger be Justified? 197

Posted by CowboyNeal from the scruples-be-damned dept.
netbuzz writes "Absolutely, depending on the circumstances, yet a Florida newspaper's attempt to unmask 'a political group hiding behind the name of a fictitious person' has sparked outrage in some circles. Part of the reason for that outrage is that the paper posted to its Web site a surveillance video of the blogger visiting its advertising department, a tactic the editor says he now regrets. What's really at issue here is the right to publish anonymously vs. the right to remain anonymous. The former exists, the latter does not."
Music

iTunes Staffers Becomes Music's New Gatekeepers 79

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the are-you-the-keymaster dept.
WSJdpatton writes to mention The Wall Street Journal has a look at how Apple is shaking up the world of music retailing. "Apple -- now one of the largest sellers of music in the U.S. -- offers home-page placement in exchange for things such as exclusive access to new songs, special discount pricing or additional material such as interviews with stars. Most other big retailers, digital and physical, also seek exclusive offerings, but Apple is especially aggressive and has outsize clout when it comes to the slightly out-of-mainstream music it often emphasizes."

Natural Language Processing for State Security 132

Posted by Zonk from the your-ipod-can-tell-what-you-mean dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "Obviously, computers can't have an opinion. What computers are very good at, though, is scanning through text to deduct human opinions from factual information. This branch of natural-language processing (NLP) is called 'information extraction' and is used for sorting facts and opinions for Homeland Security. Right now, a consortium of three universities is for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which doesn't have enough in-house expertise in NLP. Read more for additional references and a diagram showing how information extraction is used."

GPL Successfully Defended in German Court 210

Posted by Zonk from the penguin-shoots-penguins-scores dept.
Philip Bailey writes "The GPL Violations Project, based in Germany, have won (subject to appeal) a court case against D-Link, who had allegedly distributed parts of the Linux kernel in a product in a way which contravened the GPL. D-Link had claimed that the GPL was not 'legally binding' but have now agreed to cease and desist, and refrain from distributing the infringing product, a network attached storage device. Expenses, including legal expenses, were received by the plaintiffs; they did not request any damages, consistent with their policy. They have previously won a number of out of court settlements against other companies. Slashdot has previously mentioned the GPL Violations Project."

FOSS Is Not Free if It's Not Free From Complexity 523

Posted by Hemos from the pomp-and-circumstance dept.
A reader writes:"This article argues that freedom from complexity is an essential part of the first FOSS freedom - the freedom to run a program. Freedom to run means nothing if the exercise of such right excludes people who do not possess high technical knowledge or advanced skills sets. Without the guarantee of "ease of use", the freedom to run FOSS for most users is a hollow promise. " (My own bias ensues here): I think that there are some valuable points in here; what good is a good if it cannot be used, but OTOH this argument seems simplistic.

Comment Fearsome legalese (Score 1) 581

by tregoweth (#9544274) Attached to: Beastie Boys Respond to DRM Claims
If you decide to buy the actual CD, read the legalese on the back:

This product is provided AS IS without any express or implied warranties. Although this product is intented to play on most CD players and operate on most personal computers running Windows 95 (or higher) or Macintosh OS systems 7.5.5 (or higher) that have CD ROM drives and Quicktime software version 5.0 or higher (not included) Capitol Records is not liable if it does not or if it damages any CD players, computers, peripherals or data. Capitol Records will have no liability for consequential, punitive, or other damages or to refund the purchase price for this product. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. If any part of this Disclaimer and Limitation is unenforceable, all other parts will remain enforceable. Visit capitolrecords.com to download the latest version of Quicktime software for your computer. 'Enhanced CD' is a certification mark of the RIAA.


Almost makes me want to distribute illegal copies purely out of spite. (Note to RIAA: Almost!)

Comment Re:Phonorecords for Financial Gain? (Score 2, Informative) 1000

by knifegirl (#5174527) Attached to: P2P File Sharing Could Cost You A Bundle
Exactly what is a Phonorecord?

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, "A phonorecord is the physical object in which works of authorship are embodied. The word 'phonorecord' includes cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, 45 r. p. m. disks, as well as other formats." (Quoted from their "Copyright Basics" brochure.)

It's not an old-fashioned term for a record album. It's a lawyer-conceived future-friendly term for the embodiment of any recorded sound format, including ones we haven't dreamed of yet. The meat of the matter as it pertains to P2P file-sharing seems to be that copying any of these formats, currently existing or barely imaginable, to distribute electronically, in expectation of receiving copies of other copyright material, is now considered to be criminal infringement of copyright, and punishable.

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