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======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* German Photog Wants to Shoot Buildings Excluded From Street View
* Legal Analysis of Oracle v. Google
* NASA Set To Launch Solar NanoSail Into Space
* RIAA Wants 'Net Neutrality' To Include Filtering
* Trojan-Infected Computer Linked To 2008 Spanair Crash
* Will Amazon Put Advertisements In eBooks?
* Apple Patents Remotely Disabling Jailbroken Phones
* Gmail Video Chat Now Available On Linux
* Ray Kurzweil Responds To PZ Myers
* Introducing JITB — a Flash Player Built On the JVM
* The Moon Is Shrinking Like a Wrinkled Apple
* NCsoft Sued For Making <em>Lineage II</em> 'Too Addictive'
* Sorting Algorithms — Boring Until You Add Sound
* <em>Star Wars</em> Fans Look For Love In Alderaan Places
* Steam Prompts OS X Graphics Update
* The Many Faces of 3G
* Canon Abandons SED TV Hopes
* Medieval Copy Protection
* Researchers Zero In On Protein That Destroys HIV
* Building a Traffic Radar System To Catch Reckless Drivers?
* Military Personnel Weigh In On Being Taliban In <em>Medal of Honor</em>
* 'Exploding Lake' Provides Electricity For Rwanda
* Patent Office Ramps Up Patent Approvals
* <em>Portal</em> On the Booklist At Wabash College
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| German Photog Wants to Shoot Buildings Excluded From Street View |
| from the irregular-shoot-'em-up dept. |
| posted by timothy on Thursday August 19, @22:44 (Censorship) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/08/19/2358239/German-Photog-Wants-to-Shoot-Buildings-Excl|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
crf00 writes with this report [0]excerpted from Blogoscoped: "'Spiegel
reports that German photographer and IT consultant [1]Jens Best wants to
personally take snapshots of all those (German) buildings which people
asked Google Street View to remove. He then wants to add those photos to
Picasa, including GPS coordinates, and in turn re-connect them with
Google Maps. Jens believes that for the internet 'we must apply the same
rules as we do in the real world. Our right to take panoramic snapshots,
for instance, or to take photographs in public spaces, both base laws
which determine that one may photograph those things that are visible
from public streets and places.' Jens says that for his belief in the
right of photographing in public places, as last resort he's even willing
to go to jail. Spiegel says Jens already found over 200 people who want
to help out in this project and look for removed locations in Google
Street View, as there's no official list of such places published by
Google."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/19/2358239
Links:
0. http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2010-08-19-n16.htm
1. http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/0,1518,712426,00.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Legal Analysis of Oracle v. Google |
| from the not-to-be-confused-with-a-free-market dept. |
| posted by timothy on Friday August 20, @01:54 (Google) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/0436209/Legal-Analysis-of-Oracle-v-Google |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Martin Heller provides an [1]in-depth
analysis of Oracle's legal argument against Google, a suit that includes
seven alleged counts of software process patent infringement and one
count of copyright infringement. 'Oracle's desired relief is drastic: not
just permanent injunctions, but destruction of all copies that violate
copyright (thus, wiping all Android devices), plus triple damages and
legal costs. Also, it demands a jury trial,' Heller writes, and while
this amounts mainly to saber-rattling, the [2]Supreme Court's recent
Bilski ruling did not completely invalidate software process patents
despite their shaky ground due to prior art."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/0436209
Links:
0. http://www.infoworld.com/
1. http://infoworld.com/t/intellectual-property/oracles-android-lawsuit-pandoras-box-serious-evils-359
2. http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/court-patent-ruling-leaves-software-patents-intact-603
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NASA Set To Launch Solar NanoSail Into Space |
| from the solar-powers-activate dept. |
| posted by timothy on Friday August 20, @05:00 (NASA) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/0350249/NASA-Set-To-Launch-Solar-NanoSail-Into-|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Earlier this year the Japanese space agency
[0]successfully deployed and used a solar sail to propel its
[1]spacecraft Ikaros, and now [2]NASA announced plans this week for its
own solar sail mission. This fall it will launch the [3]NanoSail-D into
orbit 400 miles up with a Minotaur IV rocket. Once deployed, it will
orbit for 17 weeks, proving the technology and allowing astronomers to
snap lots of photos."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/0350249
Links:
0. http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/07/16/2317241/Ikaros-Spacecraft-Successfully-Propelled-In-Space
1. http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/04/28/159204/Japan-To-Launch-Solar-Sail-Spacecraft-Ikaros
2. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/10-109.html
3. http://inhabitat.com/2010/08/19/nasa-set-to-launch-solar-nanosail-into-space/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| RIAA Wants 'Net Neutrality' To Include Filtering |
| from the we-make-the-rules dept. |
| posted by timothy on Friday August 20, @08:04 (Censorship) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/0410205/RIAA-Wants-Net-Neutrality-To-Include-Filter|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The RIAA is now worried
about the FCC's rulemaking concerning Net Neutrality. Specifically,
they're worried that the rules might make it difficult for ISPs to filter
out copyright infringement and child pornography, so they [1]want to make
sure that spying on and filtering internet traffic is okay, so long as
it's being done for a good reason, even if it doesn't work correctly and
blocks non-infringing content. Incidentally, the RIAA has some
justification to lump child pornography and copyright infringement: after
all, people might infringe upon the original cover art for the album
'Virgin Killer,' which featured a naked under-aged girl in a way that
[2]some consider pornographic. The copyright on it belongs to RCA
Records."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/0410205
Links:
0. http://www.savetheinternet.com/
1. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/08/riaa-googleverizon-deal-needs-yet-another-gaping-loophole.ars
2. http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/web/wikipedia-added-to-child-pornography-blacklist/2008/12/08/1228584723764.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Trojan-Infected Computer Linked To 2008 Spanair Crash |
| from the blue-screen-of-literal-death dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @08:49 (Transportation) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/126225/Trojan-Infected-Computer-Linked-To-2008-Spa|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Two years ago, Spanair flight JK-5022 crashed
shortly after takeoff in Madrid, killing 154 of its 172 passengers and
crew. El Pais online newspaper reports that the ground computer
responsible for triggering an alarm after three failures are reported in
a plane failed to do so. [0]The computer was infected with trojans
(Google translation of [1]Spanish original)."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/126225
Links:
0. http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elpais.com%2Farticulo%2Fespana%2Fordenador%2FSpanair%2Fanotaba%2Ffallos%2Faviones%2Ftenia%2Fvirus%2Felpepuesp%2F20100820elpepinac_11%2FTes&sl=es&tl=en
1. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/ordenador/Spanair/anotaba/fallos/aviones/tenia/virus/elpepuesp/20100820elpepinac_11/Tes
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Will Amazon Put Advertisements In eBooks? |
| from the do-not-want dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @09:35 (Books) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/136218/Will-Amazon-Put-Advertisements-In-eBooks |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
destinyland writes "A book editor at Houghton Mifflin argues ebook
advertising is '[0]coming soon to a book near you.' (Paywalled unless you
[1]go through Google.) Amazon has filed a patent for advertisements on
the Kindle, and the book editor joins with a business professor in the
Wall Street Journal to make the case for advertisements in ebooks. Book
sales haven't increased over the last decade, and profits are being
squeezed even lower by ebooks. According to another industry analyst,
Amazon [2]is being pressured to make ebook sales more profitable for
publishers, partly because Apple offers them more lucrative terms in
Apple's iBookstore. One technology blog notes that Amazon's preference
[3]seems to be keeping book prices low, and wonders whether consumers
would accept advertising if it meant that new ebooks were then free.
Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren has confused the issue even more by publishing
[4]a 'shoppable' children's storybook online, prompting a [5]fierce
reaction from one blog: 'I hope it's the last. Books are one of the last
refuges in our world from the constant cry by advertisers to spend money
and fill our lives with unnecessary things.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/136218
Links:
0. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435243350910792.html
1. http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=site%3Awsj.com+%22Get+Ready+for+Ads+in+Books%22
2. http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/08/17/ipad.book.deals.helping.amazon.turn.profit/
3. http://meandmykindle.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/will-amazon-put-ads-in-your-ebooks/
4. http://www.ralphlauren.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=4357818&camp=KidsStorybook_NYTimes
5. http://www.teleread.com/2010/08/19/a-protest-against-the-commercialization-of-ebooks-by-michael-pastore/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Apple Patents Remotely Disabling Jailbroken Phones |
| from the trying-to-put-the-break-in-jailbreak dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @10:19 (Cellphones) |
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1410217/Apple-Patents-Remotely-Disabling-Jailbrok|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Apple yesterday [0]applied for a patent to
allow [1]remotely disabling electronic devices when 'unauthorized usage'
is detected. The patent application covers using the camera to take
pictures of the unauthorized user and using GPS to determine location,
and it involves ascertaining whether the phone has been hacked or
jailbroken, using those as criteria for detecting 'suspicious behavior.'
The patent would allow the carrier or any other 'authorized' party to
disable or restrict the functionality of the device. Is this Apple's
latest tool to thwart jailbreaking?"
Discuss this story at:
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1410217
Links:
0. http://www.patentvest.com/console/reports/docs/app/20100207721.html
1. http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/08/apple-considering-identification-of-unauthorized-ios-users.ars
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Gmail Video Chat Now Available On Linux |
| from the time-to-trim-your-beard dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @11:03 (Communications) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1415242/Gmail-Video-Chat-Now-Available-On-Linux |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
borfast writes "If you use Gmail on Linux, you may have wondered when you
would be able to use the voice and video chat that Windows and Mac users
have enjoyed for quite some time. The wait is finally over; Google
yesterday [0]announced video support for Linux browsers. Now if only
[1]Pidgin could provide solid video chat functionality in their
client..." According to the [2]brief announcement on the Google blog,
"Voice and video chat for Linux supports Ubuntu and other Debian-based
Linux distributions, and RPM support will be coming soon."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1415242
Links:
0. http://digitizor.com/2010/08/20/gmail-video-chat-linux/
1. http://developer.pidgin.im/ticket/34
2. http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/use-linux-now-you-can-video-chat-too.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ray Kurzweil Responds To PZ Myers |
| from the dem's-fightin'-woids dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @11:27 (News) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1429203/Ray-Kurzweil-Responds-To-PZ-Myers |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
On Tuesday we discussed a [0]scathing critique of Ray Kurzweil's
understanding of the brain written by PZ Myers. Reader Amara notes that
[1]Kurzweil has now responded on his blog. Quoting: "Myers, who
apparently based his second-hand comments on erroneous press reports (he
wasn't at my talk), [claims] that my thesis is that we will
reverse-engineer the brain from the genome. This is not at all what I
said in my presentation to the Singularity Summit. I explicitly said that
our quest to understand the principles of operation of the brain is based
on many types of studies ��� from detailed molecular studies of individual
neurons, to scans of neural connection patterns, to studies of the
function of neural clusters, and many other approaches. I did not present
studying the genome as even part of the strategy for reverse-engineering
the brain."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1429203
Links:
0. http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/08/17/1536233/Ray-Kurzweil-Does-Not-Understand-the-Brain
1. http://www.kurzweilai.net/ray-kurzweil-responds-to-ray-kurzweil-does-not-understand-the-brain
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Introducing JITB — a Flash Player Built On the JVM |
| from the stay-as-long-as-you-like dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @11:49 (Java) |
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1439207/Introducing-JITB-mdash-a-Flash-Playe|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]MBCook writes "Joa Ebert has [1]started working on a new program
called JITB. Announced in a talk at [2]FITC San Fran, it's a Flash player
written to use the Java JVM to run ActionScript, and in a simple graphics
test case (making 1 million calls to flash.geom.Point) was 30x faster
than Adobe's Flash player. There is an impressive [3]demo video on
YouTube showing the point test."
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1439207
Links:
0. mailto:foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com
1. http://blog.joa-ebert.com/2010/08/19/introducing-jitb/
2. http://www.fitc.ca/events/about/?event=110
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMm893PRDJM&feature=player_embedded
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Moon Is Shrinking Like a Wrinkled Apple |
| from the that's-no-apple dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @12:34 (Moon) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1547232/The-Moon-Is-Shrinking-Like-a-Wrinkled-A|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]astroengine writes "New observations by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter have uncovered a number of previously unknown, recently formed
'lobate scarps' ��� raised cliffs about 9 meters high and several
kilometers long ��� over the lunar surface. These scarps form along thrust
faults where compression forces the moon's crust to rise. Up until now it
was thought these lobate scarps only occurred around the lunar equator,
but the high resolution LRO imagery suggests they are ubiquitous,
regardless of latitude. As the moon is geologically inactive, what could
be creating these features? It would appear the [1]moon's surface is
acting like the skin of an apple surrounding the shrinking, dehydrated
flesh of the fruit; the lunar crust (skin) is wrinkling as the body of
the moon (the flesh) shrinks due to cooling contraction inside the moon's
core."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1547232
Links:
0. http://www.astroengine.com/
1. http://news.discovery.com/space/the-moon-is-shrinking-like-a-wrinkled-apple.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NCsoft Sued For Making <em>Lineage II</em> 'Too Addictive' |
| from the dopamine-farming dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @13:01 (The Courts) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1615211/NCsoft-Sued-For-Making-Lineage-II-Too-Add|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "South Korean MMO game publisher NCsoft is
finding itself facing another lawsuit, this time [0]for making games that
are 'too addictive.' US Lineage II player Craig Smallwood is [1]suing the
publisher for $3 million because he found himself playing Lineage II for
20,000 hours over a period of 5 years. At times, his average play session
would persist for over 11 hours, crippling his life and ability to
function. A federal judge is [2]allowing the court case to go forward
(PDF), stating that the plaintiff has a claim for negligence and gross
negligence against the publisher."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1615211
Links:
0. http://www.massively.com/2010/08/20/ncsoft-sued-for-making-lineage-ii-too-darned-addicting/
1. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/08/lineage11-addiction/
2. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2010/08/smallwoodallegations.pdf
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sorting Algorithms — Boring Until You Add Sound |
| from the bloop-bleep-bloop dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @13:18 (Programming) |
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1656250/Sorting-Algorithms-mdash-Boring-Unti|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Anyone who's ever taken a programming course
or tried to learn how to code out of a book will have come across sorting
algorithms. Bubble, heap, merge ��� there's a long list of methods for
sorting data. The subject matter is fairly dry. Thankfully, someone has
found a way to not only [0]make sorting more interesting, but easier to
remember and understand, too."
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1656250
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| <em>Star Wars</em> Fans Look For Love In Alderaan Places |
| from the I-can-win-your-heart-in-less-than-twelve-parsecs dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Friday August 20, @13:37 (Sci-Fi) |
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1631234/Star-Wars-Fans-Look-For-Love-In-Alderaan-P|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "The Christian Science Monitor reports that
devoted fans at the recent Star Wars Convention V, many dressed as Jedi
knights, stormtroopers, or the indomitable Princess Leia, sat opposite
one another for a series of 3-minute speed dates, in hopes of [1]finding
a connection with a fellow Star Wars enthusiast. 'Over the course of the
three events, due to size and time, we turned away about 600
participants,' says Ryan Glitch. 'Yesterday, this room was packed. We had
to keep shoveling people along.' Meanwhile in the main exhibition hall, a
chapel was set up to allow fans to profess their love and devotion to
each other in the form of commitment ceremonies. 'I've been told that
we've had two commitment ceremonies from people that met at my event,'
says Glitch adding that he saw eight additional couples at the convention
made up of people who had attended his speed dating sessions."
Discuss this story at:
http://idle.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1631234
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0816/Star-Wars-speed-dating-Looking-for-love-in-Alderaan-places
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Steam Prompts OS X Graphics Update |
| from the like-opening-a-valve dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @14:06 (Graphics) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/177250/Steam-Prompts-OS-X-Graphics-Update |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Stoobalou writes "Mac gamers got a massive boost when online gaming hub
Steam [0]started supporting the platform a few months ago. The arrival of
the online service, which allowed Mac-toting gamers to play some of the
same games as their PC brethren, in some cases cross-platform, created a
great deal of debate between the two camps, with the PC crowd pillorying
Mac fans for the relatively poor performance of their expensive hardware.
Now it seems that Apple has gotten the message, as they have [1]provided
a graphics update for OS X Snow Leopard which will make progress toward
closing the gap between the two platforms."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/177250
Links:
0. http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/05/12/1831208/Steam-Client-for-Mac-Launches-Linux-Client-On-the-Way
1. http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/8/19/mac-steam-prompts-osx-graphics-update/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Many Faces of 3G |
| from the propaganda-of-the-ether dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @14:51 (Wireless Networking) |
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/189248/The-Many-Faces-of-3G |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Did you ever notice how each new generation
of cell-phone tech gets branded '3G,' and the previous thing is
retroactively downgraded to some lesser number of Gs? An MIT engineer
explains why in this brilliant [0]essay about '3G' over the last 10 years,
showing how the cell carriers have kept offering it and swiping it away
to sell more stuff. He cites numerous [1]Cingular/AT&T and Sprint press
releases showing how the companies have made '3G' into a brand name
ideally suited for amnesiac consumers. Meanwhile, no cell carrier is
foolish enough to sell you bottom-line throughput like an ISP in 1996 ���
[2]you could actually hold them to that (PDF)."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/189248
Links:
0. http://blog.ksplice.com/2010/08/3g-and-me/
1. http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/welcome/index.jsp
2. http://pr.lcs.mit.edu/publications/PR_whitepaper_v2.pdf
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Canon Abandons SED TV Hopes |
| from the upgrade-path-delayed dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @15:37 (Displays) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1817226/Canon-Abandons-SED-TV-Hopes |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]angry tapir writes "Canon has decided to [1]liquidate a subsidiary
developing a flat-panel display technology called SED, effectively
bringing to an end once high hopes that the screens would replace LCD
panels and plasma displays in living room TVs. Development of SED ([2]surface-condition
electron-emitter display) screens began in 1986 at Canon and was joined
in 1999 by Toshiba. SEDs combine elements of both CRT (cathode ray tube)
and LCD (liquid crystal display) technologies. As with CRTs, electrons
hit a phosphor-coated screen to emit light. But instead of being shot
from an electron gun, electrons are drawn out of an emitter through a
slit that is only a few nanometers wide. The result is a picture that is
as bright as a CRT and does not suffer a time lag sometimes seen on LCD
panels with rapidly moving images."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1817226
Links:
0. http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/
1. http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/357585/canon_signals_end_road_sed_tv_dreams/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SED_TV
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Medieval Copy Protection |
| from the thou-shall-write-your-own-book dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Friday August 20, @16:03 (Books) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1621243/Medieval-Copy-Protection |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "In medieval times a 'book curse' was often
included on the inside cover or on the last leaf of a manuscripts,
[0]warning away anyone who might do the book some harm. Here's a
particularly pretty one from Yale's Beinecke MS 214: 'In the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. In the one thousand two
hundred twenty-ninth year from the incarnation of our Lord, Peter, of all
monks the least significant, gave this book to the [Benedictine monastery
of the] most blessed martyr, St. Quentin. If anyone should steal it, let
him know that on the Day of Judgment the most sainted martyr himself will
be the accuser against him before the face of our Lord Jesus Christ.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1621243
Links:
0. http://gotmedieval.blogspot.com/2010/08/medieval-copy-protection.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Researchers Zero In On Protein That Destroys HIV |
| from the discovering-the-crucial-bazooka-protein dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @16:21 (Medicine) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/1958211/Researchers-Zero-In-On-Protein-That-Des|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Julie188 writes with this excerpt from a Loyola University news release:
"Using a $225,000 microscope, researchers have identified the key
components of [0]a protein called TRIM5a that destroys HIV in rhesus
monkeys. The finding could lead to new TRIM5a-based treatments that would
knock out HIV in humans, said senior researcher Edward M. Campbell, PhD,
of Loyola University Health System."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/1958211
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Building a Traffic Radar System To Catch Reckless Drivers? |
| from the bonus-points-if-it-catches-texters dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @17:06 (Crime) |
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/210211/Building-a-Traffic-Radar-System-To-Catch-Rec|
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cbraescu1 writes "I live in a city with a population in the millions
(someplace in the Middle East; the country is not important), and I am
mad as hell. The car traffic is going from bad to worse, and I'm sick of
all the car accidents that keep happening (we have one of the biggest
accident and mortality rates per km of road or per 1,000 vehicles). I
just witnessed a car accident a few hours ago, and in the last few months
I've given first aid at two other car accidents, all happening within 500
meters of each other. Today's victims escaped alive, but the motorcycle
driver who was responsible fled and the police weren't equipped to catch
him. There are laws, but not much willingness to enforce them, and no
traffic lights at all. After speaking with some of my friends, we decided
to take the issue into our own hands: build a traffic radar system able
to capture a vehicle's speed, install it at our own expense, and share
the generated penalties with the city government (all subject of their
approval, of course). We want to start on the main avenue (more than 15
km) and to 'roll' the income from the penalties into covering new streets
(so that perpetrators will basically finance the system). We're not rich
and we will not ask for our money back. We just need to make the system
start and we're confident the penalty fees will cover its spread. So, I'm
asking Slashdot: what would be a workable way to build such a system? It
must withstand drivers claiming the system is cheating, high
temperatures, high levels of humidity, and crappy electricity. Any
suggestions would be appreciated. This is about technology saving lives ���
literally."
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/210211
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| Military Personnel Weigh In On Being Taliban In <em>Medal of Honor</em> |
| from the identity-conflict dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @17:29 (The Military) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/2121245/Military-Personnel-Weigh-In-On-Being-Tali|
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SSDNINJA writes "This is a feature from gamrFeed that [0]interviews nine
US service members about [1]playing as the Taliban in the upcoming Medal
of Honor. One soldier states that games like MoH and Call of Duty are
'profiteering from war.' Another says, 'Honestly, I don't really see what
the whole fuss is about. It's a game, and just like in Call of Duty, you
don't really care about what side you're taking, just as long as you win.
I don't think anyone cares if you're part of the Rangers or Spetznaz, as
long as you win.' An excellent and interesting read."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/2121245
Links:
0. http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/81560/exclusive-military-personnel-comment-on-being-the-taliban-in-moh/
1. http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/08/16/2012223/Controversy-Arises-Over-Taliban-Option-In-Medal-of-Honor
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| 'Exploding Lake' Provides Electricity For Rwanda |
| from the internal-combustion-lake dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @17:50 (Earth) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/2110212/Exploding-Lake-Provides-Electricity-Fo|
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reillymj writes "There are three known 'exploding lakes' in the world,
where volcanic gases build up near the lake bottom until they suddenly
fizz over, suffocating people with huge amounts of carbon dioxide. But
the lakes also hold methane and one of them, Rwanda's Lake Kivu, [0]is
being actively tapped as a source of natural gas to fuel a power plant on
the lake's shore. The government hopes that within two years, the plant
will be [1]covering a third of the country's needs. By siphoning off the
gas, engineers simultaneously defuse a ticking time bomb in the lake and
provide power to local communities."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/2110212
Links:
0. http://news.discovery.com/earth/rwanda-harnesses-energy-from-exploding-lake.html
1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/16/rwanda-gas-lake-kivu
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| Patent Office Ramps Up Patent Approvals |
| from the this-can-only-end-well dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @18:35 (Patents) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/2137259/Patent-Office-Ramps-Up-Patent-Approvals |
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An anonymous reader writes "With the somewhat disappointing [0]Bilski
ruling behind us, people concerned about overly broad patents should be
looking at what's going on at the US Patent Office. Due to various other
Supreme Court decisions and lots of bad publicity, the USPTO had gone on
a 'quality binge' for a few years, rejecting a lot more patents than
usual. However, with new leadership, it appears that the USPTO is back to
its old tricks and [1]approving a ton of patents (at an unheard of rate)
in a misguided attempt to get through the 'backlog.' Get ready for
another round of patent lawsuits on patents that never should have been
granted."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/2137259
Links:
0. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/06/28/151228/Supreme-Court-Throws-Out-Bilski-Patent
1. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100819/12015210689.shtml
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| <em>Portal</em> On the Booklist At Wabash College |
| from the take-that-ebert dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Friday August 20, @19:24 (Education) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/08/20/2230210/Portal-On-the-Booklist-At-Wabash-College |
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[0]jamie passes along this quote from a post by Michael Abbott at The
Brainy Gamer: "This year, for the first time, a video game will appear on
the syllabus of a course required for all students at Wabash College,
where I teach. For me ��� and for a traditional liberal arts college
founded in 1832 ��� this is a big deal. Alongside Gilgamesh, Aristotle's
Politics, John Donne's poetry, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and the Tao Te Ching,
[1]freshmen at Wabash will also encounter a video game called Portal. "
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/08/20/2230210
Links:
0. mailto:jamie@slashdot.org
1. http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2010/08/portal-booklist.html
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