UK.gov to tap BT as data harvester The Register

The government will call on BT and other big communications firms to monitor small ISPs’ customers and keep private information on them under European data retention rules, the Home Office has revealed. Officals fear the cost of paying every small ISP to retain every customers’ communications data. Instead, they will fund BT and other bandwidth wholesalers to gather the data from their networks.

I’m the real daddy, Alfie-And I want a DNA test to prove it News of the World

THREE teenagers now claim that they – and not 13-year-old Alfie – fathered Chantelle Steadman’s baby girl – amid reports she was sleeping with eight boys. Young mum Chantelle and baby-faced 13-year-old Alfie Patten made headlines around the world this week when they told their story, vowing to be good parents to their six-day-old daughter.

Aussie Rental crisis sees online advertisements offer free rooms in exchange for sex NewsAU

SLEAZY men are taking advantage of Sydney’s rental crisis by placing online advertisements offering women free rooms in exchange for sex. The zero-rent ads, targeting desperate women looking for somewhere to live, are becoming increasingly common on popular “share house” rental websites. Although there have been numerous complaints about the ads, which some website users have dubbed “offensive”, they do not breach policy guidelines for sites such as flatmates.com.au. A statement on flatmates.com.au says that if the site were to impose a ban, the ads would merely go underground, making the process unsafe for women. “Yes – there is a rental crisis. We have had a few complaints about these ads. “Our policy is to let them stay, on the basis it’s better for these ads to be upfront with what they are offering than disguise the offer.”

Telstra attacks human rights record Australian IT

Telstra has launched an extraordinary attack on Australia’s human rights record, citing the Howard government practice of keeping children in detention as a reason why a charter of rights is needed. In a submission to the national human rights consultation panel, the country’s largest telecommunications company wholeheartedly endorses a charter, arguing it would “provide greater clarity about the protection of human rights in Australia”. Telstra argues there has been an erosion of rights and freedoms, warning there “is no guarantee that these rights will not be further eroded in years to come”. In a swipe at the Howard government, with which Telstra had a rocky relationship, the company takes issue with John Howard’s 2000 claim that Australia’s human rights record was “quite magnificent”. “There have been several well-publicised infringements of human rights in Australia, including amongst them, the incarceration of children in immigration facilities,” says the submission.

Sydney man faces DVD piracy charges Australian IT

The 26-year-old man was arrested at his home in Broad Street, Prospect at about 4.45pm (AEDT) on Friday, police said. Police allege that on numerous occasions over the past five months, the man recorded several new release movies at the drive-in. He then allegedly uploaded them to the internet for others to download illegally. The movies allegedly included Beverly Hills Chihuahua, High School Musical 3, Bedtime Stories, Yes Man, Valkyrie, Marley And Me and He’s Just Not That Into You. Police said the recordings had been positively linked to DVDs being sold in Australia, as well as other countries including the US and Britain. The man has been charged with 18 offences, including possessing a device with intent to make an infringing copy, possessing an infringing copy for distribution, and distributing infringing copies.

This case stinks: iFart vs. Pull My Finger – The Battle for iPhone Fart App Supremacy heads to court Gizmodo

The stakes are high. There can only be one true victor in all fart battles: fart tennis, volume contests, holding it in during school/funerals/weddings/sex, and now, in iPhone apps. Who will reign supreme? iFart and Pull My Finger, the two gladiators, joined the App Store at around the same time, and both achieved some success. iFart eventually pulled ahead, but through some underhanded tactics, like using the phrase “pull my finger” in videos and publishing a review from the app’s creator saying his own app is “better than Pull My Finger.” (He justifies this by saying “Of course, I have the right to state my opinion, especially one I believe to be true!”) In response, the makers of Pull My finger, Air-O-Matic, asked Apple to step in and quiet the flatulent fighting, but Apple left the players to settle it between themselves. After some tense discussion, Air-O-Matic demanded $50,000 for damages to their good name and their fine product. iFart, led by the fearless Joel Comm, turned around and sued them for, presumably, being ridiculous, and will argue on the grounds that “pull my finger” is a phrase in common use and does not qualify for trademark status.

Man nailed for smoking in car CNet

A Port Hope man is the second person in Ontario charged under a new law that prohibits smoking in vehicles carrying children. And while the 20-year-old man was waiting to be issued his ticket after being pulled over yesterday, his 15-year-old female passenger got out of the vehicle and lit up a cigarette. Port Hope Police Const. Tammie Hartford said she could only watch in frustration as the 15-year-old smoked. “She was the reason why I pulled the vehicle over,” she said. “She was under the age (of 16).” Under provincial law, it’s only illegal to sell or supply cigarettes to anyone under the age of 19, but there’s no law prohibiting a person under 19 from smoking. Under the new Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act 2008, which came into effect on Jan. 21, smoking is prohibited in a motor vehicle with persons under the age of 16.

Supreme Court ruling expected to clarify free speech right Canwest

The court will be asked to put its seal of approval on a new defamation defence in which the public’s right to know trumps damage to an individual’s reputation, provided a journalist was acting responsibly. The case reaches the Supreme Court after the Ontario Court of Appeal, in a decision 15 months ago, carved out a new defence called “public interest responsible journalism.” The court concluded that journalists can be protected from libel suits, even if they got some of the facts wrong, as long as they prove they acted responsibly. “Where a media defendant can show that it acted in accordance with the standards of responsible journalism in publishing a story that the public was entitled to hear, it has a defence even if it got some of its facts wrong,” the court ruled. “Debate on matters of public interest will often be heated and criticism will often carry a sting and yet open discussion is the lifeblood of our democracy.” The decision signalled a dramatic shift from previous defamation law, in which journalists have had to show they got the story absolutely right, a standard that the court said was too onerous in fostering free expression and debate. The Ottawa Citizen, in a written legal brief, urges the Supreme Court to take a broad view of free expression. “There is concern that matters of public interest go unreported because publishers fear the ballooning cost and disruption of defending defamation action,” wrote lawyer Rick Dearden. “Public controversy can be a rough trade and the law needs to accommodate its requirements.”

Why ComCast hates – and fears – the Internet ZDNet

Comcast lost corporate credibility last year over Internet bandwidth management: breaking FCC rules; enraging customers; and packing public meetings with Comcast employees. All that over network management? Nope. Comcast has a much bigger problem – and it isn`t with Torrent users. Follow the money-How does Comcast make its money? Selling TV programs – and now HDTV programs – to subscribers. Internet access is a profitable addition for current subscribers, but as a stand alone business it stinks: cable costs are too high to be supported by ISP revenue alone. But what are Internet users doing? The are using the Internet to download TV shows and movies. Comcast can`t sell you the content as cable TV when you can get it for free on the web.

New Shock Absorber Harvests Energy From Bumps In The Road, Increases Fuel Economy Science Daily

A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smoothes the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. The students hope to initially find customers among companies that operate large fleets of heavy vehicles. They have already drawn interest from the U.S. military and several truck manufacturers.

Amazon yanks Japanese rape computer game-But only after complaints NewsAU

ONLINE retail giant Amazon has yanked from its virtual shelves a Japanese computer game that lets players simulate raping girls. A Rapelay videogame being hawked on Amazon by a third-party merchant was deemed inappropriate and the product’s page taken down after it was brought to the US web firm’s attention this week.

Mortal Kombat maker Midway files for bankruptcy Chicago Tribune

Video game-maker Midway Games Inc. sought bankruptcy protection from creditors Thursday, the culmination of a chain of events that started when a private investor bought a majority stake in the Chicago-based company last year. That investor appears to be a major beneficiary of Midway’s reorganization. Midway, the creator of the long-running “Mortal Kombat” franchise, filed Chapter 11 documents in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Operations outside of the U.S. were unaffected. The company said it expects to conduct business as normal during the reorganization.

Twitter rakes in $35m in funding Conn Post

When you’re San Francisco’s hottest start-up, you don’t need to look for funding. The money comes to you. Twitter Inc. closed a $35 million venture-capital round co-led by Institutional Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital. Co-founder Biz Stone said the micro-blogging service still had money in the bank from two earlier funding rounds, which totaled $20 million, but Twitter received “an offer we couldn’t refuse.” “Our strong growth attracted interest, and we decided to accept a unique opportunity to make Twitter even stronger with a very attractive offer,” he wrote in a corporate blog post titled “Opportunity Knocks.” Stone said Twitter’s active-user base had grown by 900 percent in the last year – though he didn’t say to what.

Lawsuit targets Microsoft over Vista-to-XP downgrades Computer World

Calif. woman paid extra for XP, blames ‘anticompetitive’ licensing for Vista.   A California woman has sued Microsoft Corp. over the $59.25 fee she was charged to “downgrade” Windows Vista on a new laptop to the older Windows XP, federal court documents show. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Seattle federal court, is Microsoft’s latest legal problem related to Windows Vista, which has faced scrutiny for nearly two years in the better-known “Vista Capable” case.

February , 2009

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