p2pnet World Headlines – April 9, 2009
Microsoft ordered to pay Uniloc $388 million Associated Press
A federal judge on Monday ordered Microsoft Corp. to pay $388 million in damages after finding the world’s largest software maker infringed on a patent held by Uniloc Inc. Irvine, Calif.-based Uniloc makes software that prevents people from illegally installing software on multiple computers. Uniloc said Microsoft’s Windows XP and some Office programs infringe on a related patent. “They’ve been struggling for six years against Microsoft the giant, and finally, justice has prevailed,” said Paul Hayes, Uniloc’s attorney, who heads up intellectual property patent litigation at the Boston firm Mintz Levin.
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Conficker wakes up, updates via P2P, drops payload CNet News
The Conficker worm is finally doing something–updating via peer-to-peer between infected computers and dropping a mystery payload on infected computers, Trend Micro said on Wednesday. Researchers were analyzing the code of the software that is being dropped onto infected computers but suspect that it is a keystroke logger or some other program designed to steal sensitive data off the machine, said David Perry, global director of security education at Trend Micro. The software appeared to be a .sys component hiding behind a rootkit, which is software that is designed to hide the fact that a computer has been compromised, according to Trend Micro. The software is heavily encrypted, which makes code analysis difficult, the researchers said.
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10 Things to yell at Billy Bob Thornton tonight at his concert in Toronto National Post
By now, everyone’s heard the Billy Bob Thornton-Jian Ghomeshi interview which made the Sling Blade actor seem as unintelligble as an AIG executive. Tonight, Thornton plays Massey Hall as an opening act for Willie Nelson, who must’ve been high when he selected this d-bag to open his shows. Here are ten suggestions for things to yell tonight at his concert. 10. “We love you, Jian!” 9. “If Canada is mashed potatoes with no gravy, you’re a pig in a blanket with no blanket, so SUCK IT, eh!” 8. “You refuse to be asked questions about acting, WHEN YOU’RE AN ACTOR, huh? Well, what do you think of Brian Mulroney’s commitment to the conservative party given the Gomery hearings then, guy. Do you think Conservatism can last?”
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Love goes after Kurt ‘looters’ New York Post
Courtney Love finally sobered up and realized that some of the people handling Kurt Cobain’s estate had lost all the money the Nirvana frontman had left her and their daughter, Frances Bean, her lawyer says. A team of investigators, forensic accountants and lawyers found that Cobain’s estate had been looted of more than $30 million cash and up to $500 million in real estate. “I have never seen such greed and moral turpitude. This case is going to make Bernard Madoff look warm and fuzzy,” Love’s lawyer, Rhonda J. Holmes, of Gordon & Holmes in San Diego, told Page Six. “We will be filing civil cases . . . within the next 30 days. There are many, many millions missing. We’ve only been able to track down $30 million, but there is more. And then there is the real estate.”
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Google: Google News Doesn’t Violate AP Rules PC Magazine
Google on Tuesday denied that its News section will be in violation of recently announced content rules from the Associated Press. The news service on Monday announced that it would offer rate cuts to struggling papers but would also sue Web sites that used its content without permission. “Since then, some readers, users, and journalists have asked us if the AP’s plan is about Google since we host complete AP articles,” Alexander Macgillivray, associate general counsel for products and intellectual property at Google, wrote in a blog post. “The answer is that it doesn’t appear to pertain to Google since we host those articles in partnership with the AP.” Google announced a deal in 2007 that allows it to host content from news agencies like AP. The search engine pays AP a fee for hosting the entire article.
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CIA ‘no longer’ using secret prisons: director Agence France-Presse
The CIA is “no longer” operating secret prisons used by the intelligence agency to interrogate terror suspects, and plans to shut all remaining “black sites,” the spy agency’s director said Thursday. The statement by the Central Intelligence Agency chief confirmed the spy service was carrying out an order from President Barack Obama to shut down the secret prisons that have been condemned at home and abroad as a flagrant violation of human rights. “CIA no longer operates detention facilities or black sites and has proposed a plan to decommission the remaining sites,” CIA director Leon Panetta said in a letter sent to agency employees. “I have directed our agency personnel to take charge of the decommissioning process and have further directed that the contracts for site security be promptly terminated,” he said. Revelations about the “black sites” overseas, including in countries such as Iraq where there is a risk of torture, caused international outrage during former president George W. Bush’s tenure.
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YouTube Is Doomed (GOOG) Silicon Ally Insider
YouTube, that incandescent tower of video Babel; monument to the sloughed-off detritus of our exponentially-exploding digital culture; a Technicolor cataract of skateboarding dogs, lip-synching college students, political punditry, and porn; has reached the zenith of its meteoric rise; and Icarus-like, wings melting; is spiraling back to earth. Despite massive growth, ubiquitous global brand awareness, presidential endorsement, and the world`s greatest repository of illegally-pirated video content, Google`s massive video folly is on life-support, and the prognosis is grave. [Now you know 
]
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Tofu License plate ‘ILVTOFU’ (Picture) Curdles in Colo Post Chronincle
A Colorado woman’s love for tofu on her license plate has been deemed X-rated by state officials. Kelly Coffman-Lee desired to tell the world about her love for bean curd by utilizing particular letters for her SUV’s license plate. Mark Couch, the Department of Revenue spokesman told the Associated Press: “We don’t allow ‘FU’ because some people could read that as street language for sex.” Coffman-Lee, 38, says tofu is a staple of her family’s diet because they are vegan and that her message has been misinterpreted by the DMV.
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‘Brown fat’ could be new key to weight loss CTV
Researchers have discovered that adult humans have a type of “good” fat that may actually keep us lean by helping to burn calories. Unlike white or yellow fat, which is what most fat around the waist is made of, this good fat, called brown fat, seems to be concentrated around the neck. While white fat acts as storage for excess calories, the brown kind is active in burning energy to generate heat. Scientists had long thought that brown fat existed in humans only during childhood, giving babies and toddlers that adorable pudge that helps to keep them warm. But new research published Wednesday has found brown fat in adults.
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Paedophile policeman jailed in Sweden: report The Local
A Swedish policeman was sentenced on Thursday to 18 months in prison for sexually abusing two young brothers, media reported. The Falun district court in central Sweden found the 30-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, guilty of sexual coercion, sexual abuse of minors and child pornography charges, the regional Dalarnas Tidningar newspaper reported in its online edition. The policeman was also ordered to pay 130,000 kronor ($16,000 dollars) in damages to each of the two boys, whose ages were not given. The crimes took place between 2001 and 2006. The policeman pleaded innocent to the charges and would probably appeal the verdict, his lawyer told the paper.
April, 2009
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