French ISP Refuses to Send Out Hadopi File-Sharing Warnings

During the last week, French Internet users have been starting to receive letters as part of the graduated warning system built in to the controversial Hadopi anti-piracy legislation. The email warnings are being sent by Hadopi via France’s ISPs. But even at this early stage at least one ISP is refusing to forward them to their customers prompting complaints from rivals that they are seeking to achieve a competitive advantage — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Online tracker claims to have data on 8 million Australians

The online behaviour of millions of Australians is to be tracked and auctioned to advertisers by a new generation of internet businesses setting up shop here.

The world’s largest data exchange, the Californian company BlueKai, boasts it already has the computer addresses and purchasing intent of 8 million Australians it knows are in the market for cars, holidays and online shopping.

And a British company, Phorm, which has been investigated by European regulators for alleged privacy breaches, targets customers of consenting internet service providers with ads based on websites they visit and their customer details. It was found to have served up ads to users of British Telecom’s net service without seeking their prior consent — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Iris Scanning Set To Secure City in Mexico, Then the World

The million-plus citizens of Leon, Mexico are set to become the first example of a city secured through the power of biometric identification. Iris and face scanning technologies from Global Rainmakers, Inc. will allow people to use their eyes to prove their identify, withdraw money from an ATM, get help at a hospital, and even ride the bus. GRI’s eye scanning systems aren’t more secure than others on the market, but they are faster. Large archway detectors using infrared imaging can pick out 50 people per minute, even as they hustle by at speeds up to 1.5 meters per second (3.3 mph). The first phase of the Leon iris and face scanning project has already begun. It is estimated to cost around $5 million and focuses on law enforcement agencies’ security check points. Over the next three years commercial uses will be rolled out with banks leading the charge. Check out the videos below to see GRI’s wide range of iris scanning stations in action. Whether you’re jealous or intimidated by Leon’s adoption of widespread eye identification you should pay attention to the project – similar biometric checkpoints are coming to locations near you. Some are already in place — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Anti-Piracy Lawyers Face DDoS Before Pivotal Court Decision

Undeterred by the online destruction of ACS:Law, UK lawyers Gallant Macmillan will head off to the High Court on Monday to demand the identities of hundreds more people they claim have been detected sharing files online. While the ISP that holds the identities says it will resist the demand and ask for the hearing to be adjourned, the judge and jury of Operation Payback will pass down their verdict tomorrow, sentencing Gallant Macmillan to a DDoS attack — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Congress helping the blind online

The blind will have greater access to the Internet through smart phones, and devices such as iPhones and Blackberrys will have to be hearing aid compatible, under legislation Congress has sent to the president.

Mark Richert of the American Foundation for the Blind said Wednesday that the measure was one of the most comprehensive bills in decades to improve access for the disabled. “It breaks down barriers for all of us,” said Richert, who is blind — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Pentagon Destroys Copies of Controversial Memoir Written by Army Officer

The Pentagon has burned 9,500 copies of Army Reserve Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer’s memoir “Operation Dark Heart,” his book about going undercover in Afghanistan.

A Department of Defense official tells Fox News that the department purchased copies of the first printing because they contained information which could cause damage to national security.

The U.S. Army originally cleared the book for release.

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency attempted to block the book about the tipping point in Afghanistan and a controversial pre-9/11 data mining project called “Able Danger.”

In a letter obtained by Fox News, the DIA says national security could be breached if “Operation Dark Heart” is published in its current form. The agency also attempted to block key portions of the book that claim “Able Danger” successfully identified hijacker Mohammed Atta as a threat to the United States before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks — via teddri.newsvine.com

Vast Majority Of Software Patents In Lawsuits Lose

Well, this is interesting (and quite surprising). A new study by John Allison, Mark Lemley, Joshua Walker looked at highly litigated patents to see how well they did in court, and came up with some really unexpected findings.

Digging deeper into the report, it looks at and tests a variety of different concepts around patents and litigation. In theory, if a patent is used in multiple patent cases, you tend to think that it must be a pretty solid patent, and one that has been vetted plenty of times. And yet, when the researchers looked at the 106 patents that have been involved in eight or more lawsuits since 2000, they found that the patent holder wins such cases only 10.7% of the time. For patents that have only been brought to litigation once, the patent holder wins 47.3% of the time — an astounding difference — via redwolf.newsvine.com