The British Library has called for a serious updating
of current copyright law to unambiguously
include digital content and take technological advances into account
Amcom Telecommunications said it would start selling high-speed ADSL2+ broadband services in the final quarter of this year, at least 15 months after the telco first started talking about the technology
LiveScience is reporting out of NextFest on a Japanese-built power suit that amplifies the strength of its wearer. The onboard computer is hooked up to sensors that monitor natural movements, then it inflates cuffs to boost lifting power. The Power Assist Suit could be used by hospital workers to move heavy patients
Paypal settled a suit with Maryland and 27 states. Among other things, they’ll conspicuously advertise a contact phone number and staff it 14 hours a day and be much more forthcoming about when they will debit your bank account. For those of you who think Paypal Sucks, well, starting soon it sucks just a little less
It seems the alien invasion of the Earth has just started! A 50m insect has been spotted roaming the German countryside! Let the I, for one, welcome our new giant insectoid overlords
joke contest begin! A moderator at a Keyhole forum identifies the bug as a thrip, about 1mm long, squished under a glass plate during scanning — via Slashdot
A gay couple flying from Paris to JFK on American Airlines were told by the crew and purser that they weren’t allowed to touch or kiss each other. When they questioned this, the captain came out of the cockpit and threatened to divert the plane. American Airlines says this was all according to procedure, because kissing of any kind isn’t allowed on AA flights — via Boing Boing
Symantec claimed this week that Microsoft is withholding information about its new Vista operating system in an attempt to create an unfair advantage for its own security software
Google has launched an Australian version of its video hosting site, Google Video, which will feature a range of content from local media groups
Yahoo has acquired Jumpcut, a site that provides simple-to-use online video-editing tools, its latest bid to enhance its web video services
A new product called MojoPac from RingCube Technologies lets iPod users take control of any desktop computer running Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system
The pharmaceutical industry won a victory Wednesday, defeating efforts by EU regulators to encourage more trade in lower- priced medicines
Sir Richard Branson is to invest $3 billion to fight global warming. The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years
A messaging service called VaporStream announced today at DEMOfall will allow any two parties to communicate electronically without leaving any record of their interaction on any computer or server. Messages cannot be forwarded, edited, printed or saved. After they’re read, they’re gone — via Slashdot
The Bush administration had to empty its secret prisons and transfer terror suspects to the military-run detention centre at Guantánamo this month in part because CIA interrogators had refused to carry out further interrogations and run the secret facilities, according to former CIA officials and people close to the program
A new report from the Housing and Urban Development Inspector General found that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson instructed staff to award HUD contracts to President Bush’s political allies and withhold them from his political opponents — via digg
A section of a fortress constructed during the 1670s has been found in Norway, giving experts a rare look at something previously only seen in sketches. The find is a casemate — a vaulted chamber in a fortress. The space was created by the supports for the outside wall, which at the same time is holding up a 400mm thick layer of timber that served as the floor for a cannon site
After three years of being laughed out of meetings, the US Marine Corps’ futuristic plans to deploy through space may finally be getting some traction. The Marine Corps calls the concept the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion Capability (Sustain). This plan, a growing group of Marine supporters say, is the natural evolution of the service’s proclivity for expeditionary warfare that began decades ago with amphibious landings. The concept is to deliver strategic equipment or a small squad of soldiers to any point on the globe — even the most hard-to-reach location — within hours of need. Once on the ground, those soldiers can carry out strategically critical missions like reconnaissance or destroying a specific target. At least, that’s their pitch — via Defense Tech
EEStor is working on a revolutionary new kind of battery. The most significant benefit would be its efficiency: a car powered by the EEStor unit could run on the equivalent of 45 cents per gallon, driving 500 miles on $9 worth of electricity after just five minutes to charge
In UMG v Lindor, the defendant Marie Lindor has made a motion to preclude the RIAA from introducing into the case songs as to which it has failed to produce the song files. Ms Lindor’s lawyers submitted to the Court the RIAA’s interrogatory responses where the record companies had stated under oath that their case was based upon (a) Media Sentry’s detection of song files being distributed
and (b) Media Sentry’s allegedly making perfect digital copies
of those files. Ms Lindor’s attorneys argued that the RIAA cannot prove that it made perfect digital copies of the songs if it doesn’t have the song files — via Boing Boing
Former President Bill Clinton has announced the creation of a $1 Billion investment fund devoted to renewable energy. This will be an investment fund as opposed to charity, and Clinton has said that; The Green Fund would focus on reducing dependence on fossil fuels, creating jobs, lessening pollution and helping to reduce global warming, all while making a profit
. Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn will be managing the fund
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