mikkl666 writes "A couple from Pittsburgh has sued Google because a photo of their house appeared on Google Street View. They are demanding in excess of $25,000 to make up for the 'mental suffering' and the diminished value of their home. Their street is apparently marked with a 'Private Road' sign, and they claim that putting a photo of their property online is an 'intentional and/or grossly reckless invasion' of their privacy. Google, on the other hand, claims that this lawsuit is pointless since anyone can ask them to have pictures removed without legal action. We've previously discussed some of the privacy concerns surrounding Street View."
This tiny bit in this DSL Reports post about baby Bell, Qwest, caught my eye. A recent announcement that the company s CFO has decided to resign also included a quiet statement that business is slowing... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 1:00 pm
This tiny bit in this DSL Reports post about baby Bell, Qwest, caught my eye. A recent announcement that the company s CFO has decided to resign also included a quiet statement that business is slowing... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 12:57 pm
fuck new york Originally uploaded by stentorsrevenge. Last night The Gotham Gal and I met some friends at Webster Hall and saw Jens Lekman put on a great show. As my friend Steve said, "Jens is this generation's... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 12:42 pm
An anonymous reader writes "IEEE Spectrum reports that noted encryption pioneer Prof. Martin Hellman has a new passion; estimating the risk of our current nuclear weapons policies. His web site, Defusing the Nuclear Threat, asks the question, 'How risky are nuclear weapons? Amazingly, no one seems to know.' Hellman therefore did a preliminary analysis and found the risk to be 'equivalent to having your home surrounded by thousands of nuclear power plants.' The web site and a related statement therefore urgently call for more detailed studies to either confirm or correct his startling conclusion. The statement has been signed by seven notable individuals including former NSA Director Adm. Bobby R. Inman and two Nobel Laureates."
Companies need to advise their colleagues to be more discreet - and use alternative forms of communication when discussing sensitive information. New research commissioned by Vodafone UK has found that... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:11 am
By Christina Burke, Victoria Advocate, Texas Apr. 6--The swimming pool at the YMCA of the Golden Crescent on Colorado Street will be closed until further notice because of a chemical spill Saturday morning, said Sean Muirhead, housekeeper and massage therapist there. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Cindy Hoedel, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Apr. 6--After the floral devastation caused by last year's late freeze, I'm ready for a rose revival. So far, weather conditions are promising for a spectacular display. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Elisabeth Rosenthal Depending on your point of view, Szczepan Master is either an incorrigible Luddite or a visionary. A small farmer, proud of his pure, high-quality products, he works his land the way Polish farmers have for centuries. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By June Arney, The Baltimore Sun Apr. 6--As a Towson elementary school student, Keith Bowers took a field trip to Columbia during the 1960s to watch the town being built and to walk on one of the trails that wind beneath an overpass. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Bradley Olson and Laura Smitherman, The Baltimore Sun Apr. 6--The General Assembly passed Maryland's $31.2 billion budget yesterday, capping a hectic day of debates and votes as lawmakers sought to put the finishing touches on a crush of legislation before they adjourn tomorrow. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Bill Graham, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Apr. 6--Mother Nature's spring show is late this year. "I think from what I've been hearing, we're a week to 10 days behind schedule," said horticulture expert Dennis Patton. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
China wants to renegotiate with Taiwan a twice-rejected donation of two giant pandas, a token of Beijing's quest to unify with the island, an official newspaper reported Friday. President-elect Ma Ying-jeou has indicated that he would accept the animals. Originally published by Reuters. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Ihosvani Rodriguez, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Apr. 6--HOLLYWOOD -- An environmental firm recently took a close look underneath a former city landfill and concluded what many had suspected: Building a park or a new development at the 32-acre site would not be safe. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Kevin Cary, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Apr. 6--The debate over the future of Lake Davidson won't be settled for at least another few months. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Elisa Crouch, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Apr. 6--A snowy winter and a soggy start to spring haven't kept crews from building bridges, ripping out trees and tearing up roadway, keeping the Highway 40 (Interstate 64) project on track. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio Apr. 6----St. John the Baptist Class of 1956 will reunite June 4 and is looking for lost classmates. Contact John Drapcho at 330-773-3409 or Emery Serdinak at 330-699-4346. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Chris Emery, The Baltimore Sun Apr. 6--When the paper trail that Raymond A. Winbush followed in search of his African roots ended at a slave-holding Kentucky plantation, he turned to a combination of modern technologies: genetic testing and online social networking. It worked. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Mara Rose Williams, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Apr. 6--An e-mail scam focusing on colleges struck Kansas State University. Before the campus could be warned, 35 K-Staters had fallen prey. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Jennifer Mooney Piedra, The Miami Herald Apr. 6--A daughter lashes out at strangers criticizing her mother's role in her best friend's murder. A man defends the war in Iraq, just days after his soldier wife was killed there. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By David Giffels, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio Apr. 6--There are lots of good reasons to walk in a city. I can think of 321 of them right now, which, at the time of this writing, is the number of pennies it would take to put one gallon of gas in my car. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Jeff Leeds and Brad Stone In the latest effort by the ailing music industry to bolster its declining prospects, three of the industry's four major companies have struck a deal with the social-networking site MySpace to start a music Web site. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Belleville News-Democrat, Ill. Apr. 6--EAST ST. LOUIS A 17-year-old East St. Louis man was charged Saturday with home invasion in connection with forced entry at gunpoint Monday of the Pennsylvania Avenue home of an 84-year-old man. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Josh Hafenbrack, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Apr. 6--TALLAHASSEE -- Will Anderson's first foray into politics didn't come via a letter to the editor or a campus flier. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Lucas123 writes "Broadband over powerline (BPL) provider Velchip is heading up a project that will offer 60 million very unique network users an unlimited high speed Internet connection of 224Mbps at a cost of only around RM5 ($1.58) per user per month. That's the cheapest, fastest internet connection in the world. The network is slated for use in the $14 billion 'Smart Mosque' project, which will be rolled out over three years in Indonesia and will link together 400,000 mosques. To add some perspective, in the US Verizon FiOS currently offers up to 30 Mbps downloads and 5 Mbps uploads starting at $42.99 a month. BPL modems use existing electrical power lines to deliver high speed Internet access and data transmission."
From the intro to Armageddon in Retrospect, the first collection of previously unpublished works by author Kurt Vonnegut since his death: The unhappiest times in his life were those months and sometimes... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 10:04 am
Here are some of the highlights from the week's Web Tech action on ReadWriteWeb. This week we brought you 'The Definitive List of the Top Twitter Clients', we explained why Seesmic + Twhirl is a Vision... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 9:53 am
The Government has ditched plans to use satellite tracking to keep tabs on sex offenders. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) officials said the project had been shelved until... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 9:47 am
MPs should try to win back their reputation as the first-choice place to send petitions by allowing them to be submitted online, a report said. Demands posted on the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 9:47 am
They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. Fascinating insight... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 9:17 am
Kate sez, "I just finished a cross-stitch inspired by the famous Alfred Bester book The Demolished Man. I am a PhD student in cognitive science, so I couldn't resist turning the Greek symbol for 'psi' and logic symbol for negation (the tilde) into decorative details! I hope you like it. I made it for my husband who has inspired me towards post WWII science fiction."
Link
(Thanks, Kate!)
Kate sez, "I just finished a cross-stitch inspired by the famous Alfred Bester book The Demolished Man. I am a PhD student in cognitive science, so I couldn't resist turning the Greek symbol for 'psi'... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 8:35 am
Further proof that physical fitness has gotten less and less fun over the ages: this Popular Science article from August, 1931:
One of the newest of exercising devices is a mechanism that somewhat resembles a hobbyhorse without rockers. Seated in its saddle and operating this odd contrivance, the user can exercise and develop all the principle muscles of his body. A pair of pedals work a crankshaft device which imparts an up and down motion to the saddle similar to that experienced in riding a horse at a trot. Assuming different positions on the machine while working it develops legs, back, stomach, or neck muscles. The machine is designed for the use of invalids as well as for those who wish to reduce with the aid of scientific exercise.
Further proof that physical fitness has gotten less and less fun over the ages: this Popular Science article from August, 1931: One of the newest of exercising devices is a mechanism that somewhat resembles... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 8:30 am
An anonymous reader writes "Science Daily reports on scientific findings from the ESA's Venus Express probe. The device, which is even now orbiting Earth's sister planet, is feeding back data hinting at Venus' origins. Initially, the probe has found, the planet evolved far too quickly. As a result Venus' liquid oceans were boiled away. With those gone, the planet's development stalled and ceased. 'They may have started out looking very much the same,' said Professor Taylor, 'but increasingly we have evidence that Venus lost most of its water and Earth lost most of its atmospheric carbon dioxide ... The interesting thing is that the physics is the same in both cases. The great achievement of Venus Express is that it is putting the climatic behaviour of both planets into a common framework of understanding.'"
By Sundquist, Robin Sheriff's Office Takes Internet Safety Education Very Seriously Send family photos of little Lisas birthday party to Grandmom hundreds of miles away, find a long lost high school buddy located in time to invite him to me 25 year class reunion, a young chess enthusiast plays an online game with his "cyber" buddy and finally makes "checkmate". Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 6 Apr 2008 | 8:00 am
Baggage handlers at Heathrow's Terminal 5 are sorting passengers' luggage by hand after the system was hit by further technical problems. A software glitch on the 4.3... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 7:53 am
It may launch a proxy war and lower its offer if a deal isn't reached in three weeks, the CEO says in a letter. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Family and friends lay to rest Pfc. George Delgado of Palmdale, killed in Iraq with three other soldiers. The... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Devices in 400 Denver cars will measure lead-footed use of the gas and brake pedals and other fuel-burning maneuvers. The aim: to cut greenhouse gas emissions. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
azuredrake writes "NCSoft's City of Heroes has just announced that in-game ads are being added to the game, provided by an advertising firm Double Fusion. However, unlike in many games, the ads being brought to CoH have been defined as 'always optional'. The publishers see the ads as a purely additional revenue stream, not as something that will ever allow advertisers to affect game content. Commentary is available at Gamasutra. Is making advertisement volunteer-based a viable way to get around cynicism? The tone of these ads seems to be 'check them out to help the game'. Are there any sites or services in which you'd voluntarily look at ads to lend a hand? "
The charged and complex debate over how to slow down global warming has become a lot more complicated. Most of the focus in the last few years has centered on imposing caps on greenhouse gas emissions... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 5:37 am
An anonymous reader writes "A successful docking of the Automated Transfer Vehicle dubbed 'Jules Verne' occurred earlier this week. The first of its kind, the crewless ship reached orbit and lightly touched up against the international space station on Thursday. By now astronauts on the ISS will have opened its doors and begun air circulation in preparation of offloading the nearly 7.5 tons of fuel, oxygen, food, clothing and equipment they need to survive. The EU Space Agency sees this as a historic journey for the program: 'The Jules Verne, named after the visionary French science fiction author, is the first of a new class of station supply ships called Automatic Transfer Vehicles. The craft was built by the nations of the European Space Agency as one of Europe's major contributions to the international station. "The docking of the A.T.V. is a new and spectacular step in the demonstration of European capabilities on the international scene of space exploration," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general of the European Space Agency.'"
SAN FRANCISCO They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. A growing... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 3:36 am
Microsoft warned the board of Yahoo on Saturday that if a merger agreement was not completed in the next three weeks, Microsoft would make its offer directly to Yahoo shareholders, probably at a lower... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 3:36 am
HEMPSTEAD THE Town of Hempstead deploys park officials in a fleet of electric cars to patrol its beaches and parks. A windmill atop a landfill-turned-recreation area circulates water in a nearby pond... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 3:36 am
HOUSTON David had only a slingshot. Texans fighting big coal have Robert Redford. A year after an uproar over pollution forced a turnaround in plans for 19 new coal-fired power plants around the state,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 3:36 am
MANAUS, Brazil Some wore traditional headdresses, and some traveled by riverboat or canoe. But the dozens of forest peoples who descended on this capital of Amazonas State last week had a common goal... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 3:36 am
SEATTLE The cashiers chorus has long fallen on deaf ears among the sustainability set here. Paper or plastic? Neither is of course the greenest answer. Soon, however, neither may be the cheapest answer,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 3:36 am
The Soyuz rocket due to take South Korea's first astronaut into space was rolled out of its hangar on Sunday as dawn broke over the steppes surrounding Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Apr 2008 | 2:08 am
LiveFreeOrDieInTheGo writes "Dell intends to scale back its build-to-order service model, while increasing sales of prepackaged systems. The goal: $3B USD savings by 2011. The downside: customers expect Dell to build-to-order. The deeper downside: Dell will outsource more production and assembly."
An anonymous reader writes "Though the Redmond software giant may be extending the lifetime of XP on low-end laptops, the end is nigh for the aging OS. That extension makes perfect sense, as recent studies have shown XP is far faster than Vista across a number of platforms. Still, Microsoft is 'sticking to its guns' when it comes to drop-dates for most other uses of the XP operating system. 'There are several dates that apply, but the one you're probably thinking of is the June 30 deadline that Dix referred to. That's the last day when large computer makers -- the Dells, HPs and Lenovos of the world -- will be allowed to preinstall Windows XP on new PCs. It also marks the official end of XP as a retail product.'"
Lemmy Caution writes "Apple, Inc. has filed a suit to prevent New York City's non-profit 'GreeNYC' initiative from using a logo that incorporates an apple in its design. Commentators have noted the substantial differences between the two designs, not to mention the irony of this sort of infringement claim. The city of New York has filed to have the claim rejected, and even possibly the cancellation of Apple's logo in light of the long history of the nickname 'The Big Apple' to describe the city."
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "As first reported by p2pnet, the motion to quash the RIAA's subpoena seeking identities of Boston University students has been granted, at least for the moment. In a 52-page opinion (pdf) the Judge concluded that she could not decide whether or not to quash until she had seen the college's 'Terms of Service Agreement' for internet service. It was only then she could decide what 'expectation of privacy' the students had. She quashed the subpoena calling for the student identities, and told them they could go ahead with a subpoena just for the terms of service agreement. Interestingly the decision was issued on the very same day as the judge in Elektra v. Barker came to some of the same conclusions."
Today, my family rode the carousel in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Usually, the soundtrack is recorded organ and calliope music. But this morning, Abraham, the cool clown who was at the helm, was playing awesomely insane music that reminded me of the Pogues vs. a crazy circus sideshow band. He told us the music was by Gogol Bordello, a Gypsy punk band of Eastern European immigrants now living in New York City. I looked them up online and they're terriric. Oddly, I also read that Gogol Bordello performed with Madonna last year at the London Live Earth concert. Apparently, their live shows are insanely exhilarating musical extravaganzas too. (Live photo from Wikipedia.) Link to Gogol Bordello's site, Link to their MySpace page
One reason election officials around the country give for purchasing touch-screen voting machines is to save money. But a voting integrity group in Maryland find out the 19,000 touch-screen machines their state purchased are wildly more expensive than anyone anticipated.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Saturday urged the Japanese people to join his government's initiative in fighting climate change. He sent the message as he attended... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 5 Apr 2008 | 5:31 pm
Murderous psycho and wannabe musician Charles Manson releases a record under a Creative Commons license. Manson's record, One Mind, gives everybody a glimpse of his musical artistry (as well as his whack-job theories) -- and the Creative Commons license means you're free to share and remix Manson's mad tracks.
Recreational drugs are a ridiculously fun topic for scientific research. They could also be the inspiration for powerful new medications. We are often amazed by the fascinating, and sometimes hilarious, stories that make their way into peer-reviewed journals. Here are some of our faves.
imposing, his silver-haired back sculpted and muscular, his biceps bulging as wide as a wrestler's thighs when he scratched his head. He had a healthy appetite (he'd put away 7 pounds... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 5 Apr 2008 | 4:30 pm
PLYMOUTH, Ind., April 5, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- For all those searching for the best performers in the internet marketing industry, topseos is the perfect source of... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 5 Apr 2008 | 1:37 pm
REDMOND, Wash., April 5, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today sent the following letter to the Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) Board of... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 5 Apr 2008 | 1:27 pm
Today, my family rode the carousel in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Usually, the soundtrack is recorded organ and calliope music. But this morning, Abraham, the cool clown who was at the helm, was playing awesomely insane music that reminded me of the Pogues vs. a crazy circus sideshow band. He told us the music was by Gogol Bordello, a Gypsy punk band of Eastern European immigrants now living in New York City. I looked them up online and they're terriric. Oddly, I also read that Gogol Bordello performed with Madonna last year at the London Live Earth concert. Apparently, their live shows are insanely exhilarating musical extravaganzas too. (Live photo from Wikipedia.)
