http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7827836
UK teachers' body loses data on 11,000 teachers
AP foreign Thursday September 25 2008
... The General Teaching Council for England says evidence suggests the disk was misplaced. [What could that evidence possibly be? Bob]
Soon, everyone can be Big Brother
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/09/your_own_person.html
September 26, 2008
Your Own Personal Robot Voyeur
Spykee is your own personal robot spy. It takes pictures and movies that you can watch on the Internet in real time or save for later. You can even talk with whoever you're spying on via Skype. More here, and you can buy one here: only $300.
Local boy does bad? Another pretexting case?
http://arklatexhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=39461
Companies Shut Down For Selling Phone Records
Reported by: Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions
Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 @04:19pm CST
(Austin) -- A Texas lawsuit is banning a Colorado-based data broker and his web-based companies from fraudulently marketing consumers' private telephone records.
Defendants John and Amanda Strange and their companies, USA Skiptrace, AMS Research Services, Inc. and Worldwide Investigations, Inc., were shut down Thursday.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the legal action permanently bans the defendants from selling customer phone records without prior consent.
... Court documents indicate the company would obtain a person's phone record history and then sell the information for 125-dollars.
The defendants were ordered to pay 150-thousand-dollars in civil penalties.
Abbott urges consumers to contact their cell phone companies to find out if any party has requested their cell phone records, or they may have no way of knowing if their privacy has been breached.
Boy, dem lawyers is too smart. I can't figure out what they is thinking...
http://techdirt.com/articles/20080925/0333182374.shtml
Jones Day Afraid Of Letting Judge See Public Citizen, EFF Briefs In Its Bogus Trademark Lawsuit
from the fascinating-legal-reasoning dept
Remember last week when the huge law firm Jones Day was called out for abusing trademark law by suing a small site for reporting public information about some associates at the law firm? Jones Day was basically claiming that using their name and linking to their site, even in reporting factual information, was trademark infringement. That is, of course, ridiculous. A few public interest groups, such as Public Citizen (who first alerted us to this case) and the EFF filed an amicus brief with the court in support of the bullied website, Blockshopper.
Stunningly, Jones Day's response is to file a brief telling the judge he shouldn't even accept the amicus brief. Yes, they're filing a legal brief to tell the judge that these groups should not be allowed to provide their thoughts on the case. The reasoning is the sort that only a true lawyer would appreciate. [Ah! That's why I find it incomprehensible... Bob] First, these groups shouldn't be allowed to file a brief because they're "partisan." Of course, a large number of amici briefs are "partisan" in that they support one side or the other (there are some that are neutral). Then, it claims they should not be able to file the amicus brief because it doesn't add anything beyond what the defendant has already filed. And then, in the same sentence where Jones Day complains that the amicus brief doesn't add anything new, it also says the brief shouldn't be allowed because it adds a new argument that the defendant, Blockshopper, didn't think was worth raising.
Yes, you read that correctly. Jones Day is claiming that no amici briefs should be allowed if it favors one party of the other (partisan!). Also, that no amici briefs should be allowed if they don't raise any new issues... and at the same time that raising new issues is a reason not to allow the amici briefs. Is it any wonder that this law firm believes that mentioning its name is a trademark violation? All of this leads you to wonder, what is Jones Day so afraid of in the amicus brief that it wants to prevent the judge from viewing it?
If you carry a card, you're third class foreign scum. Ditch the card and you a mearly a second class Brit.
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/26/039239&from=rss
UK Gov't To Require ID Cards For Some Foreign Residents
Posted by timothy on Friday September 26, @05:02AM from the show-me-a-card-with-your-picture-on-it dept.
craigavonite, writing "It's looking like the UK is in for biometric ID cards within the next few years, despite widespread protest from groups such as 'NO2ID,'" excerpts from an article at the BBC describing a UK identify card to be issued starting later this year:
"The biometric card will be issued from November, initially to non-EU students and marriage visa holders. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the cards would allow people to 'easily and securely prove their identity.' Critics say the roll-out to some immigrants is a 'softening up' exercise for the introduction of identity cards for everyone."
The world of TV is changing. What happens if everyone simply ignores cable, satellite and broadcast?
http://torrentfreak.com/heroes-causes-bittorrent-boom-080924/
‘Heroes’ Causes BitTorrent Boom
Written by Ernesto on September 24, 2008
Two fresh episodes of the US hit series ‘Heroes’ were released Monday night. In the day that followed each episode was downloaded well over a million times by BitTorrent users all over the world, making it the busiest day ever on many torrent sites.
... Although most TV-broadcasters won’t be happy to read these figures, one could argue that BitTorrent has actually helped TV-shows to build a stronger, broader, and more involved fanbase.
Jesse Alexander, the executive producer of ‘Heroes’ told TorrentFreak that he thinks this is indeed the case. “People watching shows such as Lost and Heroes on BitTorrent is the present world reality. TV networks have to recognize this, give their viewers more ways to interact with the shows, and find ways to generate revenue from every member of the global audience,” he said.
Is the EU leading or following?
http://digg.com/tech_news/Pirate_Bay_Wins_Court_Case_Italian_Block_Lifted
Pirate Bay Wins Court Case, Italian Block Lifted
torrentfreak.com — The Pirate Bay has successfully appealed the decision of an Italian judge who had ordered ISPs to block access to the popular BitTorrent tracker last month. The Court of Bergamo decided that this block was unlawful, and that Italian users should regain access to the site.
http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-wins-court-case-italian-block-lifted-080925/
[From the article:
The court’s decision might set an important precedent for BitTorrent sites in Italy, especially for Colombo-BT, the largest Italian torrent site, which was shut down by the same prosecutor responsible for the Pirate Bay block. The action against Colombo-BT was orchestrated by the anti-piracy outlet IFPI, which also hijacked all Italian Pirate Bay visitors following the block.
Related
http://torrentfreak.com/european-parliament-says-no-to-three-strikes-law-080925/
European Parliament Says No to Three-Strikes Law
Written by Ernesto on September 25, 2008
The European Parliament has voted in favor of an amendment that will prevent member states from implementing three-stikes laws. Disconnecting alleged file-sharers based on evidence from anti-piracy lobby groups restricts the rights and freedoms of Internet users, according to the amendment.
I like lists, particularly useful lists...
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/092208-50-tools-to-speed-up.html?ts0hb
50 tools to speed up your PC
By Preston Gralla , PC World , 09/22/2008
... We've found 50 downloads that will make your PC run more quickly and smoothly, help you use the Internet more effectively, and push Windows to work at optimum speed with the interface you want, not what Microsoft gave you.
Most of these downloads are free to use forever; some are free to try, but require that you pay for them after a trial period (we've labeled each download accordingly).
Think the White Hat Hacker Club might find this amusing? (Me too)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/explore/chi-lock-pick-0925sep25,0,4599280.story
Pick a lock. For fun. (It's legal too)
By Trine Tsouderos | Tribune reporter September 25, 2008
Give Eric Michaud a can of beer (Guinness works best) and a pair of scissors and he can open just about any garden-variety padlock in seconds.
... Lock pickers, whose hobby is legal in all 50 states in case you were wondering, have a creed of sorts. It goes something like this: You can pick your own locks, you can pick your friends' locks (with their permission), but you can't pick anyone else's locks.
I not sure my website students need this, but I bet my forensics class does...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/printwhatyoulike-com-free-webpage-editor
PrintWhatYouLike.com - Free Webpage Editor
http://www.printwhatyoulike.com
Ever found a webpage you really liked and tried to print it only to find out that the printout was brimming with empty spaces and advertisements of every ilk? If that was indeed the case, you will be glad to know that a free webpage editor can be procured online. This particular tool can be found at PrintWhatYouLike.com, and it claims to give you control of how webpages will look like when you print them out.
As well as saving time by dispensing with Word pasting and related considerations, you will save money as ink and paper usage will be cut down. Of course, a pre-formatted webpage is also easier on the eye since unwanted items such as ads and the like are not printed. And environmentalists will also approve of a tool like this since paper usage is noticeably reduced.
Upon visiting the PrintWhatYouLike website, you will be presented with a mini tutorial that explains the rudiments of the program. Basically, you key in the URL of the page in question and edit it until it contains only what you want to print. Once the formatting process is over, you can print the page out and see the results for yourself.
Worried that you kids are spending too much time playing? PUT THEM TO WORK! Internet gamboling is coming, might as well be ready...
http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/gamewager-net-play-games-and-win-prizes
GameWager.net - Play Games And Win Prizes
If you are one for online gaming and are looking for ways to win some free stuff, you might as well consider visiting the GameWager website. As the site itself puts it, GameWager is “Dave & Buster’s online for PC games”. Those who play any of the featured titles earn tokens that can later be redeemed for free prizes. This is described in finer detail in the part of the site that is entitled “Reward Zone”. Practical issues such as how many prizes can be won are duly dealt with as well. In addition to that, the process for playing any of the featured games is concisely described online, and full guidance is provided when it comes to signing up.
As it is the norm nowadays, there is a lot of emphasis on social interaction, as the site provides an outlet to settle trash talking as well as a wide-ranging collection of tools for players to share their prowess with friends and fellow GameWager users. Further interaction is made possible via the featured forums, while the top earners can be checked out along with those who have become new GameWager members in the corresponding part of the site.
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