CNN reports that new software is being designed to tackle art forgeries. The software conducts a mathematical analysis of the piece, uses some algorithms and establishes wether a piece is forged or not. I am guessing that this will work better with classics and not with Brit Art. Can anybody Read more
The Nosoftwarepatents.com website has posted a statement by European OSS superstars Linus Torvalds (Linux), Michael Widenius (MySQL) and Rasmus Lerdorf (PHP) against software patents. The statement pleas to the European Council to consider the damage caused by software patents. They call the proposed directive “deceptive, dangerous, and democratically illegitimate”.
A new bill has passed in the United States which makes it a criminal offence to record movies in the theatre. The new bill had provisions that criminalised file sharing, but consumer pressure was enough to get them to drop the provisions. Yes, this is just what we need, more Read more
Attempts by the United States to obtain an agreement to ban cloning have stalled. Many countries oppose an all-out ban and prefer to maintain options open in things like stem cell research. Good news, but I wonder if the Bush administration had it wrong. I think that they just want Read more
The latest FUD from Microsoft may just be mere rubbish. Steve Ballmer recently made it clear in a conference in Asia that Linux violates 283 software patents. The problem is that this is done by quoting a study that actually says that Linux has similar patent risk than proprietary software. Read more
For those of us who rely upon Google for research, the new Google Scholar service comes at a great time. The service filters search results from several academic databases and journals. I have tested it and it works great. Is it goodbye to Lexis and Westlaw?
As usual, Windows computers have been hit with a virus. The Sober-I virus has been hitting Windows machines since yesterday. Apparently it replicates itself using Windows mailing programmes, and sends loads of copies of itself. It also deletes and modifies some files, which compromises Windows systems. I am glad that Read more
Researchers testifying to the U.S. Senate have expressed that porn is more harmful and addictive than hard drugs like cocaine, leading to “addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction”. They want more research about porn. Is a ban in sight? Hide your porn, quick!
Out-Law reports that the OFT has lost a test case about section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This section allows people to sue their credit card companies in cases of contract breach or misrepresentation for transactions ranging from £100 to £30,000 GBP. This case tested whether one could initiate Read more
This is an interesting article about the tactics that may be used by Microsoft against Free Software. The author seems to be arguing that Free Software infringes several patents held by Microsoft, so that they may try to use the WTO’s enforcement mechanisms to attack countries that use Free Software. Read more