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NASA Computer Used to Ruin a Businessman's Credit

Posted by Sean Fallon at 4:45 AM on December 12, 2008

A software engineer/landord with high-level security clearance has been charged with stealing the identity of David Welch, a former tenant, using a NASA computer at the Kennedy Space Center.


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Software

Psystar Drops Antitrust Claim, Focuses on Copyright Issues

Posted by Sean Fallon at 12:30 PM on December 11, 2008

I'm seriously buying into the idea that Psystar has secret supporters, because there is no way a small company could fight a hopeless battle against Apple this long. Yet, the battle rages on.

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Gadgets

The Government Doesn't Need Telcos' Help To Spy On Your Mobile Phones, Thank You Very Much

Posted by John Herrman at 9:16 PM on November 17, 2008

The Federal Government has used the mobile phone tracking 'Triggerfish' gadget for years now, and sometimes with great success. That's because its an effective, invasive piece of hardware: by posing as a cell tower Triggerfish is able to quickly glean valuable identifying data from phones. Like phone taps, this had previously been thought to have been used only with the telcos' approval, and after law enforcement officials had found "probable cause" to monitor someone. That supposed caveat was a minor comfort to privacy hounds, but as is so often the case with these things, might have been, shall we say, slightly optimistic.


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Press

Pandora, Nearing Survival Deal, Gets New Threat From NAB

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 9:16 AM on September 27, 2008

CNet earlier today broke a story about how the National Association of Broadcasters—traditional broadcasting conglomerates and others who think HD Radio is more vital than the internet—is trying to kill a brand new bill that could save Pandora and other web radio services. We've done some reporting of our own, and the situation does indeed seem dire. If you love your Pandora, here's what's going on, and how you can help save its very existence:


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Science

Future Arrives Early: Judge Uses Brain Scan to Convict Person of Murder

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 11:15 AM on September 17, 2008

It wasn't supposed to happen—not yet at least—but it did: This past June, a judge in the Indian state of Maharashtra convicted a woman of killing her ex-fiance, citing as proof an EEG scan showing "experiential knowledge" of the crime. Many people do think there's something to this, that an EEG or MRI scan of the noggin can depict lies and truth if read correctly, but in the US it's agreed that this is experimental science at best, and snake-oil sales at worst.

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Gadgets

Amish Farmers Fight Government to Battle Bovine Mark of the Beast

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 8:40 AM on September 13, 2008

Generally, the government doesn't meddle too much in Amish affairs—it doesn't make them educate children after the eighth grade, for instance, 'cause of the First Amendment and all that. So it's kind of surprising to see many Amish threaten to quit farming in a battle with the government over lojacking their livestock with the Mark of the Beast.

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