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Jan 19, 2012 - 2:57 AM - by ed12
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hi guy's i was at slashdot
and here is the scoop
langelgjm writes
"While much of the web is focused on the SOPA and PIPA blackout, supporters of the public domain today quietly lost a protracted struggle that began back in 2001. The Supreme Court, in a 6-2 decision, rejected the argument that Congress did not have the power to convey copyright upon works that were already in the public domain. The suit was originally filed to challenge provisions that the U.S. adopted when signing the TRIPs agreement. Justices Breyer and Alito dissented, arguing that conveyed copyright on already existing works defied the logic of copyright law. Justice Kagan recused herself. The text of the opinions is available here (PDF)."
link >http://slashdot.org/<
ed
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8 Replies | 394 Views
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Dec 20, 2011 - 9:55 PM - by gone
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Quote:
AT&T Inc. (T) may seek to acquire Dish Network Corp., the second-largest U.S. satellite-TV company, to gain wireless spectrum after failing to purchase T-Mobile USA and its airwaves, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. said.
The second-largest U.S. mobile carrier is “desperate for spectrum” after regulatory opposition forced it to abandon the $39 billion T-Mobile bid, said Christopher King, a Stifel Nicolaus analyst in Baltimore. AT&T had to give up spectrum as part of a breakup fee from the deal’s collapse.
Dish bought bankrupt companies DBSD North America Inc. and TerreStar Networks Inc. this year for their spectrum licenses. The Englewood, Colorado-based company may be AT&T’s best chance at enhancing its wireless network, and a deal would probably be allowed by regulators, King said. Dish (DISH) rose 8.3 percent, the most since May, to $27.23 at 12:10 p.m. New York time.
“Dish and AT&T aren’t direct competitors, and at the end of the day, the government wants to see spectrum used,” King said in an interview. “It’s highly unlikely regulators would block two AT&T deals in row.”
Ashley Zandy, an AT&T spokeswoman, and Dish spokesman Marc Lumpkin declined to comment. AT&T rose 1 percent to $29.02.
Spectrum is a term used for airwaves, licensed by the government, that carry wireless voice and data signals. Governments often sell unused or repurposed frequencies to the highest bidder, and companies also trade them. Demand is increasing as more people buy smartphones and tablets and use them to watch video and browse the Web.
Trailing Verizon
Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 mobile carrier, is trying to extend its lead over Dallas-based AT&T in so-called fourth- generation spectrum after striking deals with cable companies this month. After the deals, it will have 56 percent more 4G spectrum than AT&T in the top 10 markets and 46 percent more in the top 100, giving it a “meaningful competitive advantage,” John Hodulik, a UBS AG analyst, said in a research note.
A Dish-AT&T lockup could mirror the partnership between Verizon Wireless and cable companies, King said. Verizon said this month it would buy $3.6 billion of spectrum from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks LLC. Cox Communications Inc. also sold Verizon $315 million of spectrum.
Comcast, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Cox, the three largest U.S. cable companies, will market and eventually sell Verizon Wireless service, enabling them to offer customers mobile voice and data in addition to home phone, broadband and TV.
Verizon Wireless is being investigated by the | ... [Read More]
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1 Reply | 299 Views
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Dec 04, 2011 - 4:24 AM - by greektycoon
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Stop the Internet Blacklist Legislation
Stand with Mozilla make your vote here
Code:
http://www.mozilla.org/sopa/
Code:
http://demandprogress.org/blacklist/
RIGHT NOW, SENATORS ARE CONSIDERING A BILL TO CENSOR THE WEB.
SITES YOU USE EVERY DAY COULD BE BLOCKED IF IT PASSES
Why?
A few infringing links are enough to justify censoring an entire site, blocking good content along with the bad.
How?
The US will be able to block a site’s web traffic, ad traffic and search traffic using the same website censorship methods used by China, Iran and Syria.
Who's at risk?
Your favorite websites both inside and outside the US could be blocked based on an infringement claim.
Could this pass?
Yes. The Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act have widespread support in Congress and are expected to pass.
Quote:
The Internet Blacklist Legislation - known as PROTECT IP Act in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House - is a threatening sequel to last year's COICA Internet censorship bill. Like its predecessor, this legislation invites Internet security risks, threatens online speech, and hampers Internet innovation. Urge your members of Congress to reject this Internet blacklist campaign in both its forms!
Big media and its allies in Congress are billing the Internet Blacklist Legislation as a new way to prevent online infringement. But innovation and free speech advocates know that this initiative is nothing more than a dangerous wish list that will compromise Internet security while doing little or nothing to encourage creative expression.
As drafted, the legislation would grant the government and private parties unprecedented power to interfere with the Internet's domain name system (DNS). The government would be able to force ISPs and search engines to redirect or dump users' attempts to reach certain websites' URLs. In response, third parties will woo average users to alternative servers that offer access to the | ... [Read More]
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6 Replies | 430 Views
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Dec 04, 2011 - 4:22 AM - by gone
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Quote:
Patient records and other NHS data would be shared with private health care companies under plans being unveiled by David Cameron next week.
The Prime Minister is to promise far closer collaboration between the health service and life science companies, including giving them more freedom to run clinical trials inside hospitals.
In a keynote speech on Monday, he is expected to insist that the controversial industry can be a powerhouse of Britain's economy if excessive regulation can be eased.
However, the reforms will encounter strong opposition from privacy campaigners who have consistently opposed wider access to medical records. Labour is also likely to paint the changes as another step towards NHS privatisation by the back door.
With fears mounting that Britain could be on the verge of slipping back into recession, Mr Cameron is due to stress the potential benefits of greater integration between private companies and the NHS. Patients could get faster access to cutting-edge treatments, the Government could save money, and the economy could be boosted.
A Downing Street source told the Sunday Telegraph: "Britain has the potential to become a powerhouse in the world's life sciences industry. We want to see much closer collaboration between the NHS and life science companies - not just greater data-sharing, but more clinical trials in hospitals. These changes will not only boost the industry, but also potentially give the NHS early access to new, innovative drugs treatments."
Ministers believe Britain is uniquely placed to become a world leader in life sciences because of the strength of scientific research at its top universities and the mass of expertise in the NHS. The industry already employs more than 160,000 people in 4,500 companies, and has an annual turnover of £50 billion.
It is not clear whether private firms would be charged for access to NHS records, but data would be expected to be anonymised.
Other government-held data, such as the Met Office's weather records and the most detailed Ordnance Survey mapping is being opened up.
Joyce Robbins, from Patient Concern, said many people would be "deeply disturbed" by the notion that their private medical records could be handed to firms seeking new markets.
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0 Replies | 167 Views
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Dec 02, 2011 - 2:55 AM - by loc0001
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More proof of what many of us already suspected...
C/P From The Register,
Quote:
BUSTED! Secret app on millions of phones logs key taps
Researcher says seeing is believing
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Posted in Security, 30th November 2011 02:34 GMT
An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users.
In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer Android debug options while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged by the software.
Ironically, he says, the Carrier IQ software recorded the “hello world” dispatch even before it was displayed on his handset.
Eckhart then connected the device to a Wi-Fi network and pointed his browser at Google. Even though he denied the search giant's request that he share his physical location, the Carrier IQ software recorded it. The secret app then recorded the precise input of his search query – again, “hello world” – even though he typed it into a page that uses the SSL, or secure sockets layer, protocol to encrypt data sent between the device and the servers.
“We can see that Carrier IQ is querying these strings over my wireless network [with] no 3G connectivity and it is reading HTTPS,” the 25-year-old Eckhart says.
The video was posted four days after Carrier IQ withdrew legal threats against Eckhart for calling its software a “rootkit.” The Connecticut-based programmer said the characterization is accurate because the software is designed to obscure its presence by bypassing typical operating-system functions.
In an interview last week, Carrier IQ VP of Marketing Andrew Coward rejected claims the software posed a privacy threat because it never captured key presses.
“Our technology is not real time,” he said at the time. "It's not constantly reporting back. It's gathering information up and is usually transmitted in small doses.”
Coward went on to say that Carrier IQ was a diagnostic tool designed to give network carriers and device manufacturers detailed information about the causes of dropped calls and other performance issues.
Eckhart said he chose the HTC | ... [Read More]
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3 Replies | 372 Views
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