How To Frame a Printer For Copyright Infringement

Posted by timothy on Thursday June 05, @02:34PM
from the point-the-finger-point-it-well dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Have you ever wondered what it takes to get 'caught' for copyright infringement on the Internet? Surprisingly, actual infringement is not required. The New York Times reports that researchers from the computer science department at the University of Washington have just released a study that examines how enforcement agencies monitor P2P networks and what it takes to receive a complaint today. Without downloading or sharing a single file, their study attracted more than 400 copyright infringement complaints. Even more disturbing is their discovery that illegal P2P participation can be easily spoofed; the researchers managed to frame innocent desktop machines and even several university printers, all of which received bogus complaints."

[+] court, internet (tagging beta)

Bike stealing lessons?

by Josh Loposer
Jun 5th 2008 @ 12:06PM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation, Fitness

Three of the biggest fears that cyclists have to face as they make their carbon-conscious commutes are bad weather, getting mowed down by a motorist, and returning to the bike rack after work to find that your bike has been stolen. It's enough to ruin your entire workweek. Not only did someone choose to violate that special bond between you and your wheels, but now you're going to have to find a new source of locomotion.

To combat the problem, some groups like StreetFilms are working on educating bikers to do a more thorough job when locking up their bikes. Others, like Dutch cyclists lobby group Fietsersbond, are busy teaching cyclists how to steal bikes. The idea is that by understanding how easy it is to steal a bike, riders will become more conscientious in their bike-locking techniques.

Bikes are the most common form of transportation in the Netherlands and about 700,000 of them get stolen each year. Because most people do a poor job locking up, cities like Amsterdam are a gold mine for petty thieves. The Fietsersbond class actually includes a lock-picking lesson from a "specialist."

Hmm. I say, you might as well take the course. Then, if someone steals your bike, at least you know how to boost someone else's so you can get home. Just kidding, anyone who's seen the neo-realist classic Bicycle Thieves understands the existential crisis that can ensue after a man's bike gets stolen. Actually, wasn't that also the topic of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure?

Nutritional Supplement Could Improve Clinical Situation Of ICU Patients

ScienceDaily (Jun. 5, 2008) — UGR News Scientists from the University of Granada and the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital have found out that some critical patients could improve their oxide stress and, consequently, their clinical situation by taking a simple exogenous antioxidant treatment through food. This study suggests that the oxide stress increase during patients stays in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is due to the low levels of antioxidant food consumption.

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Your burger can kill you

by Kelly Leahy
Jun 5th 2008 @ 10:02AM

Filed under: Food, News

One of the arguments for eating organic meat is that the overuse of antibiotics in cattle can lead to new strains of bacteria resistant to innoculation and therefor more dangerous for the consumer. Several years ago, England made a connection between the use of antibiotics on livestock and a "superbug" affecting people and animals alike. On this side of the Atlantic, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a report about the rise of drug-resistant bacteria directly linked to what gets pumped into the bloodstream of our livestock.

Antibiotics are so commonly used in conventional cattle because of overcrowding which can allow disease to spread rapidly. They are also mixed with feed to promote growth. Some of these antibiotics are the same medications given to humans which further diminishes their effectiveness for us. The CDC found that the need for so many antibodies lessens when conditions are sanitary.

These studies are great arguments for organic, free range cattle (and also vegetarianism as someone is bound to point out in the comments). American eating culture is not going to change overnight. There is no way the entire country is going to give up their hamburgers without struggle. However, moving to smarter, cleaner ways to raising cattle is the best answer.

If you would like to read more about conventional farming and its effect on humans, read Patrick's post about recent findings from the Pew Charitable Trust.

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Public Funding Impacts Progress Of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2008) — Bolstered by supportive policies and public research dollars, the United Kingdom, Israel, China, Singapore and Australia are producing unusually large shares of human embryonic stem cell research, according to a report from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the June 2008 issue Cell Stem Cell.

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Neurologically Impaired Mice Improve After Receiving Human Stem Cells

ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2008) — Scientists report a dramatic success in what may be the first documented rescue of a congenital brain disorder by transplantation of human neural stem cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, may lead the way to new strategies for treating certain hereditary and perinatal neurological disorders.

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Pac-Man Roomba created with 448 LEDs

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 6:31AM

We were beginning to wonder if the Roomba hacking community had been sucked dry of ideas, but leave it to longjie0723 to give us hope yet. This Roomba hacker (yeah, he also rigged his up for Wiimote control) managed to solder 448 yellow LEDs onto a board and program said devices to move in such a way that a Pac-Man-type image is seen. C'mon, who hasn't dreamed of having that ghost-inhaler work his magic on those forsaken floors? Check the video after the jump.

[Via Hack N Mod]

World's largest 3D display revealed in 4D spacetime

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 5:52AM

Ooo, ahhh, you feeling that 3D display on your 2D panel? You should, it's the world's largest 3D LCD panel from VMJ measuring in at 65-inches. The stereoscopic panel developed with support from VisuMotion features a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 6-ms refresh, 120-degree viewing angle, and DVI and RGB inputs. Best of all, no goofy 3D glasses of any type are required thanks to the incorporation of Sharp's Parallax Barrier viewing technology. Priced at ¥3.15 million (about $30k) when it starts advertising CosaNostra Pizza around Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong.

[Via Akihabara News and Impress]

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DARPA's Nano Air Vehicle program puts UAVs on a diet

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 4:56AM

It's not like DARPA hasn't been trying to miniaturize unmanned aerial vehicles already, but its Nano Air Vehicle program is yet another attempt to find tiny, ultra-lightweight devices that could theoretically "perform indoor and outdoor military missions." More specifically, it's looking for something less than 7.5-centimeters and under 10-grams, and the overriding goal is to "explore novel, bio-inspired, conventional and unconventional configurations to provide the warfighter with unprecedented capability for urban mission operations." Reportedly, AeroVironment already has an idea in mind for such a drone (pictured), but as these type things always go, we've no idea how soon we'll see critters like these take to the skies with a thumb-sized American flag plastered on the side.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Data Retention Proven to Change Citizen Behavior

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 04, @10:04PM
from the I-always-feel-like-somebody's-watching-me dept.

G'Quann writes "A new survey shows that data retention laws indeed do influence the behavior of citizens (at least in Germany). 11% had already abstained from using phone, cell phone or e-mail in certain occasions and 52% would not use phone or e-mail for confidential contacts. This is the perfect argument against the standard 'I have nothing to hide' argumentation. Surveillance is not only bad because someone might discover some embarrassment. It changes people. 11% at least."

Synthetic Molecules Hold Promise For New Family Of Anti-cancer Drugs

ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2008) — Synthetic molecules designed by two Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have succeeded in reducing and even eliminating the growth of human malignant tissues in mice, while having no toxic effects on normal tissue.

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Brief, Intense Exercise Can Benefit The Heart, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2008) — Short bursts of high intensity sprints--known to benefit muscle and improve exercise performance--can improve the function and structure of blood vessels, in particular arteries that deliver blood to our muscles and heart, according to new research from McMaster University.

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Weather, Stomach Bugs And Climate Change: Refining The Model

ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2008) — Monitoring extreme weather, such as periods of high temperature, is one way to predict the timing and intensity of infectious diseases like cryptosporidiosis, an intestinal disease that causes upset stomach and diarrhea. Two public health researchers have created a model that takes into account weather and other factors that affect the number of people who will fall ill during an outbreak. With this model they show that the risk of weather-sensitive diseases may increase with climate variability or even gradual climate change. Better understanding of the ways in which climate can affect disease will help researchers forecast infectious disease outbreaks and design early warning systems.

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JetBlue expands in-flight connectivity options on BetaBlue aircraft

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 3:28PM

During our time on JetBlue's BetaBlue aircraft, we came away mildly impressed with what was available. Thankfully, the airline isn't resting on its laurels, and has today announced expanded services for those lucky enough to secure a seat on the connected Airbus A320. By utilizing LiveTV's Kiteline platform, patrons can now check their Gmail, AOL Mail, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail from the comfort of their seat, and just in case you get bored with that, a "customized in-flight version of Amazon.com" will also be accessible. Yeah, we're talking really minor updates here, but at least the whole gamut of what's available is still totally free. Gratis and airlines just don't go together these days, so it's certainly a welcome change.

[Via Jaunted]

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China isn't making any friends lately

by Ellen Slattery
Jun 4th 2008 @ 12:30PM

Filed under: News, Climate Change

First, they were under fire for hosting the Olympics while refusing to give up occupation of Tibet. Then, people were angry because Olympic athletes will have to perform in an unhealthy, polluted environment.

Now they've made a decision that's will undoubtedly prove to be just as unpopular as the former: they plan to build a plant that will turn coal into oil (think of it as a Rumpelstiltskin-type story, but replace Rumpel with greedy Chinese lawmakers).

Called coal-to-liquid (CTL), the process produces tons of nasty greenhouse gases, and raises concerns about how long oil-rich countries can meet our insatiable demand for oil.

And in order to turn the coal into liquid, as Rumpel could tell you, you need a ton of energy, so much of the energy (see: carbon dioxide) is wasted in the process.

Oh - and now CTL is being examined by the U.S. Great.

via [ENN]

Violent tornado season related to climate change?

by Patrick Metzger
Jun 4th 2008 @ 11:30AM

Filed under: News, Climate Change

With an especially violent tornado season underway in the United States, scientists are speculating that the upsurge in the number and power of the deadly storms could be related to a warming climate.

As the number of tornadoes heads towards what National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) record keepers say could be a new record, researchers are using satellite and on-the-ground data to determine if there are possible links between twisters and climate change. Jeffrey Gaffney, a professor at the University of Arkansas and expert in atmospheric chemistry says that ""Basic thought is there's more energy in the atmosphere, more water vapor evaporating and greater likelihood for stronger heating events that lead to stronger thunderstorms - super cells, that can lead to tornado production."

The thunderstorms not only create tornadoes, but can cause flooding, which has reached "100 year" levels in parts of the Midwest this spring.

Gaffney cautions, however, that the relationship with climate change remains only a theory, and notes that the currently available data are "not conclusive." However, the work being done serves to underline the fact that there could be all kinds of side effects to climate change that we haven't even considered yet when calculating costs.

via [Science Daily]

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McAfee Picks the Most Dangerous TLDs

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday June 04, @12:00PM
from the all-fear-dot-vg dept.

CWRUisTakingMyMoney writes "Companies that assign addresses for Web sites appear to be cutting corners on security more when they assign names in certain domains than in others, according to a report to be released Wednesday by antivirus software vendor McAfee Inc. McAfee found the most dangerous domains to navigate to are .hk, .cn, and .info. Of all .hk sites McAfee tested, it flagged 19.2 percent as dangerous or potentially dangerous to visitors; it flagged 11.8 percent of .cn sites and 11.7 percent of .info sites that way. A little more than 5 percent of the sites under the .com domain — the world's most popular — were identified as dangerous."

Kurzweil on the Future

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday June 04, @09:42AM
from the brain-upgrades-now-please dept.

dwrugh writes "With these new tools, [Kurzweil] says, by the 2020s we'll be adding computers to our brains and building machines as smart as ourselves. This serene confidence is not shared by neuroscientists like Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, who discussed future brains with Dr. Kurzweil at the festival. It might be possible to create a thinking, empathetic machine, Dr. Ramachandran said, but it might prove too difficult to reverse-engineer the brain's circuitry because it evolved so haphazardly. "My colleague Francis Crick used to say that God is a hacker, not an engineer," Dr. Ramachandran said. "You can do reverse engineering, but you can't do reverse hacking.""

Rockin' in the gas-free world - Neil Young building electric cars

by Patrick Metzger
Jun 4th 2008 @ 9:05AM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation, Celebrities, News, Activism

Rust never sleeps, and apparently neither does Neil Young. When not touring and recording, the veteran rocker is reportedly putting his time and money into creating an affordable electric car. Young, working with Wichita mechanic Johnathan Goodwin, has spent $120,000 to convert his 1959 Lincoln Continental into a fully battery-powered vehicle.

The upgraded auto has already been taken for a successful test drive, and Young is looking to expand outside of his own garage. The next goal of the 60's icon is to bring the technology to mass market and help wean the economy off of its cheap oil addiction. Of course, he's got some competition, with Chevy, Nissan, and others all planning to offer electric vehicles over the next couple of years. Still, a car designed by some guy in Tokyo or Detroit isn't going to be nearly as hip as one with Neil Young's signature on the back bumper.

Cyclone Waste Heat Engine promises power on the cheap

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 6:32AM

Another day, another means of converting waste heat into something decidedly non-wasteful. This one comes to us from the folks at Cyclone, whose self-starting Waste Heat Engine can apparently be powered by virtually any source of waste heat, including exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine, the "direct burning of biomass," or even the waste heat from another Waste Heat Engine. The company is also touting the engine's ability to provide a boost to solar-power generators, with it apparently able to capture heat using inexpensive panels attached to a roof, which Cyclone says could be installed at just 20% of the cost of other systems relying on pricey photovoltaic panels. Of course, there's no word as to what the Waste Heat Engine itself will cost, or when it'll be available, but you can check it out in action in the (auto-playing) video after the break.

Does Antimatter Fall Up Or Down?

Posted by kdawson on Wednesday June 04, @06:01AM
from the answer-is-yes dept.

KentuckyFC writes "There are enough loopholes in the general theory of relativity to allow antimatter to fall up rather than down in a gravitational field. We've never been able to make enough of the stuff to do the experiment. But at the European particle physics laboratory at CERN, where scientists have been refining the technique for making antihydrogen, researchers are designing an experiment called AEGIS that will finally settle the matter. The idea is simple — fire a beam of antihydrogen atoms and watch which way they fall — but the details are fiendish (abstract). The answer should help solve a number of important conundrums such as why there is so little antimatter in our part of the universe and what the value of the cosmological constant is."

New Superconductor Found "Immune To Magnetism"

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday June 03, @03:37PM
from the north-south-it's-all-the-same-to-me dept.

Lisandro sends in news that testing of the new class of superconductors we discussed a while back (compounds of iron, lanthanum, and rare earths) has turned up a major surprise: magnetism doesn't shut off the superconducting state. Magnetic fields represent one of three factors that limit expanded applications for superconductors (the others are current density and temperature dependence.) The research will appear in Nature; here's a preprint (PDF).

Good News In Our DNA: Defects You Can Fix With Vitamins And Minerals

ScienceDaily (Jun. 3, 2008) — As the cost of sequencing a single human genome drops rapidly, with one company predicting a price of $100 per person in five years, soon the only reason not to look at your "personal genome" will be fear of what bad news lies in your genes.

People With Joint Pain Can Really Forecast Thunderstorms

ScienceDaily (Jun. 3, 2008) — The summer brings many thunderstorms to the east coast of the United States, and one of the nation’s leading joint specialists, Javad Parvizi, M.D., Ph.D., of the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, says you should believe your grandmother, friend or co-worker when they tell you it’s going to rain—even if it’s simply because their aching knees, hips, hands or shoulders “say so.”

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Breaking WIND: DOE hearts the wind industry

by Josh Loposer
Jun 3rd 2008 @ 2:00PM

Filed under: News, Polit-eco, Alternative Energy, Climate Change

We know why the DOE has set a target of boosting wind power to 20% of the nation's energy mix by 2030, Monday they revealed the first tidbits about how they plan on doing this. At a press conference yesterday afternoon, the Department of Energy's Alexander Karsner signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' with the heads of the 6 largest turbine manufacturers GE, Siemens, Vestas, Clipper, Suzlon, and Gamesa.

What does this mean exactly? It doesn't really outline a lot of concrete plans -- mainly some government/industry cheerleading -- but still there's a sense that wind power development is going to ramp up significantly. The agreement basically states that the National Laboratories and these turbine companies will share information and work to set industry standards in the areas of turbine reliability, site location, universal grid connection, manufacturing, and workforce. Historic? Maybe, maybe not. With the DOE promising 20% renewable energy by 2020, it's a pretty sure thing that wind will be one of the primary sources of this growth in the near term.