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======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* On Transitioning To an Asian-Style MMO, Such As <em>Aion</em>
* Australian ISPs Soon To Become Copyright Cops
* Battlestar Galactica Feature Film Confirmed
* US Tests System To Evade Foreign Web Censorship
* Firefox Plugin Liberates Paywalled Court Records
* How To Stop Businesses Storing SSNs Indefinitely?
* Danish FreeBSD Dev. Sues Lenovo Over "Microsoft Tax"
* Digsby IM Client Quietly Installs Badware
* Dell Says High Linux Netbook Returns a "Non-Issue"
* NASA's Cashflow Problem Puts Moon Trip In Doubt
* Domain Tasting "Officially Dead" Thanks to Cancellation Policy
* Genetic Mutation Enables Less Sleep
* Team Aims To Create Pure Evil AI
* Twitter Used To Control Botnet Machines
* Netscape Founder Backs New Browser
* Iowa Aims to Establish International Video Game Hall of Fame
* Major Carriers Shun Broadband Stimulus
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| On Transitioning To an Asian-Style MMO, Such As <em>Aion</em> |
| from the mixing-real-culture-with-virtual-culture dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Thursday August 13, @23:09 (PC Games (Game|
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/0226201 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]A. Harvey writes "Ten Ton Hammer has an interesting article about
[1]the transition to Asian-style MMO games, specifically Aion. 'In many
ways, the West is catching up to the East in terms of gaming. Per capita
gaming ... and broadband proliferation is markedly higher in Asian
markets. Gaming is much more social in the East as well; many players
gather together in internet cafes to spend their game time with each
other. Another surprising difference in most Asian-based games is that
most functions of game control are mouse based.' I think the author hit
the nail on the head that Aion will be a big success in North America and
will introduce a lot of players to games with an Eastern feel."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/0226201
Links:
0. mailto:hypotensive@ymail.com
1. http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/72442
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Australian ISPs Soon To Become Copyright Cops |
| from the classic-multitasking dept. |
| posted by timothy on Friday August 14, @02:11 (The Internet) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/0346249 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
srjh writes "In the Australian Federal Government's latest assault on the
internet, draft legislation has been released that allows network
operators to intercept communications [0]to ensure that their networks
are being 'appropriately used.' Such legislation is particularly
important given the [1]interference of Communications Minister Stephen
Conroy in a recent copyright lawsuit against iiNet, one of the largest
ISPs in the country. Conroy called prominent filtering opponent iiNet's
inaction over copyright infringement 'stunning,' whereas iiNet claimed
that it would be illegal under current Australian law to intercept its
users' downloads. While this latest legislation appears to be a
concession of that point, the government is said to be [2]watching the
case closely and along with attempts to introduce a [3]three-strikes law
in Australia, it appears the law will be changed if the government
dislikes the outcome of the case. The [4]internet villain of the year
just continues to earn his title."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/0346249
Links:
0. http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86819/australian-law-proposal-to-turn-isps-into-copyright-cops/
1. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/141300,conroy-uses-iinet-case-to-sidestep-net-filter-issue.aspx
2. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25886904-15306,00.html
3. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/07/15/1251201/Australia-Considering-P2P-Three-Strikes-Law?from=rss
4. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/conroy-named-internet-villain-of-the-year-20090713-di8q.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Battlestar Galactica Feature Film Confirmed |
| from the more-grace-park-please dept. |
| posted by timothy on Friday August 14, @05:15 (Sci-Fi) |
| http://entertainment.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/0326248|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Dave Knott writes "Entertainment Weekly reports that Univeral Pictures
has [1]confirmed rumours of a Battlestar Galactica feature film. Directed
by Bryan Singer, and co-produced by original series creator Glen Larson,
the new movie will not be related to the recently concluded SyFy Network
series. Rather, it will be a 'complete re-imagining of the sci-fi lore
that was invented by Larson back in the 70s.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/0326248
Links:
0. http://www.cs.unc.edu/~knott
1. http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/08/13/bryan-singer-battlestar-galactica-movie
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| US Tests System To Evade Foreign Web Censorship |
| from the worthy-objective dept. |
| posted by timothy on Friday August 14, @08:12 (Censorship) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/0426247 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]D1gital_Prob3 excerpts from a Reuters story that says "The US
government is [1]covertly testing technology in China and Iran that lets
residents break through screens set up by their governments to limit
access to news on the Internet. The 'feed over email' (FOE) system
delivers news, podcasts and data via technology that evades web-screening
protocols of restrictive regimes, said Ken Berman, head of IT at the US
government's Broadcasting Board of Governors, which is testing the
system. The news feeds are sent through email accounts including those
operated by Google, Microsoft's Hotmail, and Yahoo. 'We have people
testing it in China and Iran,' said Berman, whose agency runs Voice of
America. He provided few details on the new system, which is in the early
stages of testing. He said some secrecy was important to avoid detection
by the two governments."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/0426247
Links:
0. http://www.tjpowell.com/
1. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE57C5OQ20090813
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Firefox Plugin Liberates Paywalled Court Records |
| from the free-as-in-beer dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Friday August 14, @09:01 (The Almighty Buck)|
| http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1158247 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Timothy B. Lee writes "If you want to access federal court records,
you're often forced to use [1]PACER, a cumbersome, paywalled Web site run
by the federal judiciary. My colleagues and I at Princeton's Center for
IT Policy have released a new [2]Firefox extension called RECAP that
allows users to automatically upload the documents they download from
PACER into a public archive hosted by the Internet Archive. It also saves
users money by automatically notifying them if a document they're
searching for is available for free from the public archive. Over time,
we hope to build a comprehensive, free repository of federal court
records that's available to everyone."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1158247
Links:
0. http://timothyblee.com/
1. http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/
2. https://www.recapthelaw.org/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How To Stop Businesses Storing SSNs Indefinitely? |
| from the not-so-secret dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Friday August 14, @09:51 (Privacy) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1233208 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]The Angry Mick writes "My wife and I recently moved, and during the
course of providing change-of-address information to the many companies
we do business with, I asked each if they were storing a full Social
Security number in their databases, and if so, could they remove it or
replace it with an alternate identifier. Neither the experience nor the
results were particularly enjoyable. On the positive end of the spectrum,
some companies were more than willing to make a change, even offering
suggestions for a suitable alternate such as a driver's license number.
In the middle were companies that made things a little more difficult,
requiring several steps up the management tree before speaking to someone
with some actual authority to address the issue. Then there was DirectTV.
This company not only flatly refused to consider the suggestion, but also
informed me that even if I were to discontinue service with them, they
still intended to keep my full SSN on file indefinitely. There is no
logical reason for them to do this, and I'm not keen on the idea of being
left vulnerable to identity theft should they have experience any
security breaches at any future point in my life. So, my questions to the
Slashdot community are: Has anyone else tried getting your SSN replaced
or removed in corporate databases, and what were your experiences? And
short of Armageddon, is there any way to force a company to erase your
SSNs after you cease doing business with them, or is this a job for a
lawyer or regulatory body?"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1233208
Links:
0. mailto:the.angry.mick@gmail.com
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Danish FreeBSD Dev. Sues Lenovo Over "Microsoft Tax" |
| from the cracks-in-the-dam dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Friday August 14, @10:43 (The Courts) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1324238 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Handbrewer writes "The FreeBSD developer Poul-Henning Kamp (phk) has
[0]sued Lenovo in Denmark (Google translation, [1]original here) over
their refusal to refund the Windows Vista Business license, even though
he declined the EULA during installation. Lenovo argues that they sell
the computer as a full product, and that they cannot refund it partially,
such as the power supply or the OS even if people intend to use a
different one. This seems to be contrary to [2]previous [3]rulings in the
EU where Acer and HP has been forced to refund the 'Microsoft tax.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1324238
Links:
0. http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fphk.freebsd.dk%2FMicrosoftSkat%2F&sl=da&tl=en
1. http://phk.freebsd.dk/MicrosoftSkat/
2. http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/96581
3. http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/98106
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Digsby IM Client Quietly Installs Badware |
| from the pushing-the-envelope-and-the-bounds-of-good-taste dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Friday August 14, @11:32 (Privacy) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/147233 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "IM company Digsby has quietly included
malware in an update to their client software that [0]utilizes users'
computing power and bandwidth while idle for a quick buck. When
questioned, developers at Digsby claim that they have done no wrong and
that users should not complain because the client software is 'free.'"
The money-making distributed computing software is in addition to six
"crapware" apps that users must refuse during installation. The terms of
service that no one ever reads does describe the CPU- and
bandwidth-robbing moneymaker, and its off switch is located behind the
"Support Digsby" menu item.
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/147233
Links:
0. http://lifehacker.com/5336382/digsby-joins-the-dark-side-uses-your-pc-to-make-money
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Dell Says High Linux Netbook Returns a "Non-Issue" |
| from the data-trumping-bluster dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Friday August 14, @12:23 (Microsoft) |
| http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1457257 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Michiel Roos notes that at this week's OpenSource World, a Dell
executive [1]deflated Microsoft's claims that Linux notebooks have return
rates four or five times higher than Windows machines. "Todd Finch, Dell
senior product marketing manager, said the number of Linux returns are
approximately the same as those for Windows netbooks. He categorized the
matter of returns as a 'non-issue.' 'They are making something of
nothing,' he said of Microsoft's claims."
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1457257
Links:
0. http://typofree.org/
1. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/12/dell_reality_linux_windows_netbooks/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NASA's Cashflow Problem Puts Moon Trip In Doubt |
| from the as-for-mars-talk-to-the-hand dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Friday August 14, @13:14 (NASA) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1510258 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
krou writes "According to the Guardian, the Augustine panel is going to
declare that [0]there is simply no money to go back to the moon, and the
next-generation Ares I rocket is likely to be scrapped unless there is
more funding. The $81B Constellation Program's long-term goal of putting
a human on Mars is almost certainly not going to be possible by the
middle of the century. The options outlined by the panel for the future
of NASA 'are to extend the working life of the aging space shuttle fleet
beyond next year's scheduled retirement until 2015, while developing a
cheaper transport to the moon; pressing ahead with Constellation as
quickly as existing funding allows; or creating a new, larger rocket that
would allow exploration of the solar system while bypassing the moon.'
All of this means that NASA won't be back on the moon before the end of
the next decade as hoped, 'or even leaving lower Earth orbit for at least
another two decades.' Another result of the monetary black hole is that
they don't have the '$300m to expand a network of telescopes and meet the
government's target of identifying, by 2020, at least 90% of the giant
space rocks that pose a threat to Earth.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1510258
Links:
0. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/aug/14/nasa-scrap-moon-landing-budget
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Domain Tasting "Officially Dead" Thanks to Cancellation Policy |
| from the plenty-of-other-shady-practices-left dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday August 14, @14:07 (The Internet|
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1516247 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ars Technica is reporting that [0]domain tasting has been all but
eradicated now that the full penalty for excessive cancellations has
taken effect. "In 2008, ICANN decided to act. It allowed domain
registrars to withdraw as many as 10 percent of their total
registrations; they would face penalties for anything above that.
Initially, ICANN adopted a budget that included a charge of $0.20 for
each withdrawal above the limit, which was in effect from June 2008 to
July of this year. Later, it adopted an official policy that raised the
penalty to $6.75, the cost of a .org registration; that took effect in
July 2009. The results have been dramatic. Even under the low-cost budget
provisions, domain withdrawals during the grace period dropped to 16
percent of what they had been prior to its adoption. Once the heavy
penalties took hold, the withdrawal rate dropped to under half a
percent."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1516247
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Genetic Mutation Enables Less Sleep |
| from the i-want-to-be-like-mork dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday August 14, @14:58 (Medicine) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1551239 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]reporter writes to tell us that researchers are claiming to have
discovered a genetic mutation that allows people to [1]manage with much
less sleep. One of the researchers hopes that this could lead to
artificially reducing the amount of sleep required in your average human.
"Although the mutation has been identified in only two people, the power
of the research stems from the fact that the shortened sleep effect was
replicated in mouse and fruit-fly studies. As a result, the research now
gives scientists a clearer sense of where to look for genetic traits
linked to sleep patterns."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1551239
Links:
0. http://wsj.com/article/SB124451552193396877.html
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/health/research/14sleep.html?_r=1
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Team Aims To Create Pure Evil AI |
| from the playing-with-fire dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Friday August 14, @15:46 (Technology) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1730223 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
puroresu writes "Scientific American reports on the efforts of Selmer
Bringsjord and his team at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who have
been attempting to develop an [0]AI possessed of an interesting character
trait: pure evil. From the article, 'He and his research team began
developing their computer representation of evil by posing a series of
questions beginning with the basics: name, age, sex, etc., and
progressing to inquiries about this fictional person's beliefs and
motivations. This exercise resulted in "E," a computer character first
created in 2005 to meet the criteria of Bringsjord's working definition
of evil. Whereas the original E was simply a program designed to respond
to questions in a manner consistent with Bringsjord's definition, the
researchers have since given E a physical identity: It's a relatively
young, white man with short black hair and dark stubble on his face.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1730223
Links:
0. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=defining-evil
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Twitter Used To Control Botnet Machines |
| from the it's-all-spam-to-me dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday August 14, @16:35 (Security) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1828248 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]DikSeaCup writes "Arbor Network's Jose Nazario, an expert on botnets,
discovered what looks to be the first reported case of hackers [1]using
Twitter to control botnets. 'Hackers have long used IRC chat rooms to
control botnets, and have continually used clever technologies, such as
peer-to-peer strategies, to counter efforts to track, disrupt and
sometimes decapitate the bots. Perhaps what's surprising then is that
it's taken so long for hackers to take Twitter to the dark side.' The
next step, of course, is to code the tweets in such a way that they
aren't so suspicious."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1828248
Links:
0. http://ericdives.com/
1. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/botnet-tweets/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Netscape Founder Backs New Browser |
| from the making-web-development-harder dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday August 14, @17:27 (Software) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1835247 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]wirelessjb writes to share that after a resounding defeat at the hands
of Microsoft in the first major browser war of the mid 1990s, Marc
Andreessen is looking to have another go at the market by backing a
[1]new startup called "RockMelt." "Mr. Andreessen suggested the new
browser would be different, saying that most other browsers had not kept
pace with the evolution of the Web, which had grown from an array of
static Web pages into a network of complex Web sites and applications.
'There are all kinds of things that you would do differently if you are
building a browser from scratch,' Mr. Andreessen said. [2]RockMelt was
co-founded by Eric Vishria and Tim Howes, both former executives at
Opsware, a company that Mr. Andreessen co-founded and then sold to
Hewlett-Packard in 2007 for about $1.6 billion. Mr. Howes also worked at
Netscape with Mr. Andreessen."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1835247
Links:
0. mailto:jmmail@morch.us
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/technology/internet/14browser.html?_r=1
2. http://rockmelt.com/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Iowa Aims to Establish International Video Game Hall of Fame |
| from the this-is-my-graceland dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday August 14, @18:19 (Games) |
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/1941243 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
eldavojohn writes "Anyone who's seen King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
knows that Ottumwa, Iowa is the [0]Dodge City of video games. Yesterday,
3,500 people showed up to the kick-off speech that announced the intent
to build the [1]International Video Game Hall of Fame right there. Radio
Free Iowa states Ottumwa's desire to become the '[2]video game capital of
the world' and held a Halo 3 and Guitar Hero tournament there yesterday.
Will this town of 25,000 residents secure the title?"
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/1941243
Links:
0. http://kotaku.com/5196471/a-claim-to-fame-in-the-dodge-city-of-video-games
1. http://kotaku.com/5337062/thousands-attend-iowa-hall-of-fame-launch
2. http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=143F9040-5056-B82A-3717883599C5E080
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Major Carriers Shun Broadband Stimulus |
| from the why-risk-their-monopolies dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 14, @19:10 (Networking) |
| http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/14/2233221 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
jmcharry sends word that as the deadline looms for requesting broadband
grants from the $4.7 billion available in stimulus funding, Comcast,
Verizon, and AT&T are [0]conspicuously absent from the list of applicants.
Quoting the Washington Post: "Their reasons are varied. All three say
they are flush with cash, enough to upgrade and expand their broadband
networks on their own. Some say taking money could draw unwanted scrutiny
of business practices and compensation, as seen with automakers and banks
that have taken government bailouts. And privately, some companies are
griping about conditions attached to the money, including a
net-neutrality rule that they say would prevent them from managing
traffic on their networks in the way they want. ... Yet those firms might
be the best positioned to achieve the goal of spreading Internet access
to underserved areas, some experts say." Reader Michael_Curator notes
that while the major carriers may be holding back, there were still
[1]enough applications to slow government servers to a crawl, resulting
in a deadline extension.
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/14/2233221
Links:
0. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/13/AR2009081302433.html?hpid=sec-tech
1. http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/08/broadband_appli.html;jsessionid=PCGFAML5IUQSJQE1GHPCKH4ATMY32JVN
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