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Apple: FSF Rattles Tivo Saber At Apple

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 03, @05:32AM
from the interesting-to-try-and-prove-that dept.
GNU is Not Unix
Ohreally_factor takes us back to Friday when both the iPhone and the GPLv3 were released. "This article at Tectonic suggests that Apple's iPhone might run afoul of the GPL. Peter Brown, executive director of the FSF is quoted as saying: 'Today, Steve Jobs and Apple release a product crippled with proprietary software and digital restrictions: crippled, because a device that isn't under the control of its owner works against the interests of its owner. We know that Apple has built its operating system, OS X, and its web browser Safari, using GPL-covered work — it will be interesting to see to what extent the iPhone uses GPLed software.' Might there really be GPLed code in the iPhone? It's well known that OS X built on BSD, which of course uses the BSD license. Webkit is based on KHTML which uses the LGPL."

Science: Newly Declassified Window Film Keeps Out Snoops

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 03, @02:41AM
from the pricey-tinfoil-hat-for-your-house dept.
Windows
An anonymous reader writes to describe a newly declassified window film from CPFilms Inc. that could give war drivers fits. Scientific American has the story, which includes a rather dismissive comment by Bruce Schneier. "Once manufactured under an exclusive contract with the US government, this recently declassified window film is now available to the public. But don't expect to see it on store shelves anytime soon. Currently, it's only available directly from the manufacturer, and at prices that will likely make it prohibitive for all but the wealthiest home owners. The two-millimeter-thick coating can block Wi-Fi signals, cell phone transmissions, even the near-infrared, yet is almost transparent... It can keep signals in (preventing attempts to spy on electronic communications) or out, minimizing radio interference and even the fabled electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast."

Ask Slashdot: Is RIAA's Linares Affidavit Technically Valid?

Posted by kdawson on Monday July 02, @11:51PM
from the helping-out-the-judge dept.
The Courts
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In support of its ex parte, 'John Doe,' discovery applications against college students, the RIAA has been using a declaration by its 'Anti-Piracy' Vice President Carlos Linares (PDF) to show the judge that it has a good copyright infringement case against the 'John Does.' A Boston University student has challenged the validity of Mr. Linares's declaration, and the RIAA is fighting back. Would appreciate the Slashdot community's take on the validity of Mr. Linares's 'science.'"

Your Rights Online: "Show Us the Code" Breaks Its Silence

Posted by kdawson on Monday July 02, @10:31PM
from the getting-out-of-the-kitchen dept.
Patents
DigDuality writes with an explanation of the silence of the Show Us the Code initiative. The push he began — to gather influential sponsors demanding that Steve Ballmer reveal what Linux code he believed to be infringing Microsoft patents — was discussed here last February. "Show Us the Code has been silent since March 23. May came and went — the deadline allotted for calling Ballmer's bluff — but the site gave no update. I now explain the silence. After a scheduled interview with Forbes columnist Dan Lyons didn't happen, and my place of employment falsely accused me of representing that they endorsed my own political goals, I decided it was best to shut my mouth so I would be able to keep paying my bills. I'm glad to see Linus now publicly echoing the sentiments that this site espoused. Maybe someone already accustomed to the limelight will have better luck in challenging Microsoft's FUD machine."

Linux: Slackware 12.0 Released

Posted by kdawson on Monday July 02, @09:08PM
from the that's-two-ahead-of-os-x dept.
Operating Systems
Matt writes "Straight from our good friend and colleague in the fight for quality distributions, Mr. Patrick Volkerding, comes a brand-new and eagerly-awaited release of Slackware, version 12. HAL automount, KDE 3.5.7 and XFCE 4.4.1, Xorg 7.2, 2.6 kernels as far as the eye can see, oodles of updated applications and utilities, and hardware support for just about anything under the sun. Get it here. Enjoy! I know I will."

Politics: Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence

Posted by kdawson on Monday July 02, @07:49PM
from the next-stop-paris dept.
Republicans
An anonymous reader notes that President Bush has decided to commute Scooter Libby's sentence after numerous appeals failed. Libby was convicted in March of obstruction of justice in connection with the Valerie Plame affair. The President's action spares Libby from 30 months behind bars."

Your Rights Online: Allofmp3 Shut Down, Again

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @06:27PM
from the e-roller-coaster dept.
The Internet
studguy1 writes to tell us TorrentFreak is reporting that the Russian government has shut down Allofmp3, the popular online music site. "AllOfMP3 has been a thorn in the side of the RIAA and the US government for years. Last year, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that if Russia wants to join the WTO, they should shut down the pirate music website that is robbing US recording companies of sales."

Hardware: Improved High-Performance Energy Storage

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @05:36PM
from the electrons-in-a-volkswagon dept.
Power
Physicists at the University of North Carolina have developed new improvements for high-energy-density capacitors that can store up to seven times as much energy per unity volume as common capacitors. "The amount of energy that a capacitor can store depends on the insulating material in between the metal surfaces, called a dielectric. A polymer called PVDF has interested physicists as a possible high-performance dielectric. It exists in two forms, polarized or unpolarized. In either case, its structure is mostly frozen-in and changes only slightly when a capacitor is charged up. Mixing a second polymer called CTFE with PVDF results in a material with regions that can change their structure, enabling it to store and release unprecedented amounts of energy."

IT: Are Contactless Payments Really Secure?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @04:31PM
from the tin-foil-pants dept.
Security
berberine writes to tell us Ars Technica has a closer look at whether the RFID technology behind many of the up and coming "contactless payment systems" is robust enough to prevent account fraud and the theft of personal information. "Concerns over the security of contactless systems were heightened last week by a Federal Reserve decision that will allow for even more casual, low-cost purchases to be made across the country. In recent years, credit card companies have waived their signature requirements for so-called "small ticket" items in order to get a slice of the action. Visa, for instance, doesn't require your signature for purchases at or below $25."

Apple: iPhone Interest Still Going Strong

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @03:20PM
from the dead-horses-and-flogging dept.
Handhelds
Even though the iPhone has already been released into the wild, the amount of excitement surrounding this device doesn't seem to be subsiding by any measurable degree. Many readers have submitted their favorite reactions to the shiny new gizmo including a BusinessWeek report that suggests the iPhone only costs around $220 to make, a user review from MacScoop, one user's top 10 interface mistakes, a roundup of early security concerns, and details on the hardware behind the phone. Read on for more details.

Apple: Universal Refuses To Renew On iTunes

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @02:29PM
from the don't-be-greedy dept.
Music
UnknowingFool writes "It appears for the moment that Universal will not renew its long term contract with Apple for content on the iTunes store. While the details are not known about the exact nature of the dispute, many speculate that it has to do with Apple's stance on fixed pricing and Apple's refusal to license their DRM. The worse case scenario may include Universal pulling its entire catalog from iTunes. Both sides stand to lose out with 1/3 of of new releases coming from Universal and an estimated 15% of Universal's sales coming from digital downloads. Apple's market share is about 75% of digital downloads, and digital downloads are growing while CD sales are shrinking."

A Look Inside the NCSA

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @01:41PM
from the dave-you-like-your-ncsa-friends-better-than-me-don't-you dept.
Supercomputing
Peter Kern writes "The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is one of the great supercomputing facilities in the world and is home to 'Abe', one of the top 10 supercomputers on the current Top 500 list. TG Daily recently toured the facility and published a stunning report about their computing capabilities (more than 140 teraflops), power requirements (a sustained 1.7 megawatts), enormous 20-ft chillers in four cooling systems and other installations that keep the NCSA online."

Science: What Happened Before the Big Bang?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, @12:53PM
from the why-not-just-invent-a-time-machine dept.
Space
The Bad Astronomer writes to tell us that a recent advance in Loop Quantum Gravity theory appears to allow the mathematics of cosmology to be extended to the time before the Universe underwent the Big Bang. Bad Astronomer also attempts to simplify things a bit with his own explanation of the new discovery.

Linux: Microsoft Doesn't Care About Destroying Linux

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday July 02, @12:02PM
from the to-busy-drinking-baby-blood-i-think dept.
Microsoft
techie writes "A latest column on MadPenguin.org suggests that Microsoft may not be really interested in killing Linux for mainstream users. It's after something else, and it's getting its way already. Read on to find out what it is. The author states, "Love it or hate it, Microsoft's IP attacks will continue, Linux user numbers will continue to grow and broad spectrum adoption throughout the rest of the world will grow and flourish. Microsoft's not interested in destroying Linux in the slightest. Why would they? it's been a fantastic vehicle for them to land a firmer grip on the corporations throughout the US."

Linux: Top Linux Developers Losing the Will To Code?

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday July 02, @11:19AM
from the will-hack-for-food dept.
Programming
E5Rebel noted that Don Marti has a piece that talks about "Core Linux developers are finding themselves managing and checking, rather than coding, as the number of kernel contributors grows and the contributor network becomes more complex."

Your Rights Online: Vista is Watching You

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday July 02, @10:27AM
from the also-up-is-higher-than-down dept.
Privacy
greengrass writes "Are you using Windows Vista? Then you might as well know that the licensed operating system installed on your machine is harvesting a healthy volume of information for Microsoft. In this context, a program such as the Windows Genuine Advantage is the last of your concerns. In fact, in excess of 20 Windows Vista features and services are hard at work collecting and transmitting your personal data to the Redmond company."

Pentagon Developed 'Laughing Bullets'

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday July 02, @09:34AM
from the we-must-not-have-a-hysteria-gap dept.
It's funny. Laugh.
plasmadroid writes "It might sound like a joke, but documents unearthed by New Scientist show that the Pentagon actually funded research into 'non-lethal' bullets that would also hit a target with a dose of laughing gas. That way, they'd not only be stunned but incapacitated by fits of giggles. Another idea was to put stink bombs inside rubber bullets. I guess it would work, but the idea of crowds of rioters giggling uncontrollably while being pelted with rubber bullets is truly bizarre..."

IT: Recognizing Your Own Handwriting As A Password

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday July 02, @08:44AM
from the sounds-suspiciously-like-reading dept.
Security
Gary writes "A new online authentication system called Dynahand could make logging in to websites a little easier. With Dynahand, users simply identify their own handwriting, instead of entering a cryptic password or buying a biometric device to scan their fingerprints. The user's handwriting samples contain only digits, since numerals are harder for an outside party to recognize than letters are. The digits displayed are random, so the handwriting is the only clue to the correct answer."
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