"Free babysitting": how would-be pedophiles use Craigslist—and how they get caught

"Free babysitting": how would-be pedophiles use Craigslist—and how they get caught
Published April 30, 2012 7:30 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder
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Craigslist is full of outrageous and ridiculous ads. But what happens when the guy offering "free babysitting" and asking for young girls' panties isn't kidding—and when he wants to meet children in person for sex?

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Fair use or "first excuse"? Oracle v. Google goes to the jury

Fair use or "first excuse"? <em>Oracle v. Google</em> goes to the jury
Published April 30, 2012 5:32 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

A federal jury has begun deliberations in the first phase of Oracle v. Google, considering whether Google infringed on Oracle's copyrights with its Android OS.

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Canada remains on American "Priority Watch List" of IP miscreants

Published April 30, 2012 5:01 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

On Monday, the United States Trade Representative published the 2012 Special 301 Report, outlining the American perspective of the state of intellectual property law and enforcement around the world. Canada and other usual suspects, including Russia and China, were among the most heavily cited.

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Turning up the heat: windfarms lead to local nighttime warming

Turning up the heat: windfarms lead to local nighttime warming
Published April 30, 2012 3:45 PM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

An analysis of eight years of satellite temperature readings show that the areas around West Texas windfarms have warmed up at nights.

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Release of exploit code puts Oracle Database users at risk of attack

Release of exploit code puts Oracle Database users at risk of attack
Published April 30, 2012 3:35 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

A security researcher mistakenly released proof-of-concept attack code exploiting a serious vulnerability in Oracle's flagship database product. Making matters worse, Oracle has given no indication that it plans to fix the bug, which was reported to the company in 2008.

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Facial recognition to be used in art history research

Published April 30, 2012 3:20 PM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

University of California, Riverside scholars recently won a federal grant to examine whether facial recognition technology can be applied to studying works of art.

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SpaceX to webcast static rocket firing today in preparation for Dragon spacecraft launch

SpaceX to webcast static rocket firing today in preparation for Dragon spacecraft launch
Published April 30, 2012 1:37 PM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

SpaceX will webcast a static firing of its Falcon 9/Dragon launch this afternoon. The firing of all nine engines of the Falcon 9 rocket is in preparation of the attempted rendezvous of the Dragon spacecraft with the International Space Station.

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FlyRights app aims to streamline TSA complaint process

Published April 30, 2012 1:21 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

The Sikh Coalition has released a new app for Android and iPhone that makes it easier for air travelers to fight back against perceived profiling or harassment.

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Pirate Bay must be blocked in UK, High Court rules

Published April 30, 2012 11:35 AM - by | Posted in: Uptime

Following a February ruling that the Pirate Bay and its users infringe UK copyright laws, the site will now be blocked at the ISP level throughout the country.

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Saturn may have snagged Pluto's cousin, turned it into a moon

Saturn may have snagged Pluto's cousin, turned it into a moon
Published April 30, 2012 11:10 AM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

Saturn's moon Phoebe differs from the other satellites in terms of density, composition, and orbital properties. Scientists working with data from the Cassini spaceprobe argue that it may be a planetesimal left over from the early days of the Solar System, which formed in the region beyond Neptune's orbit.

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Megaupload's Dotcom gets money and Mercedes back, involved in political scandal

Published April 30, 2012 10:57 AM - by | Posted in: Uptime

A New Zealand judge has ruled that the Megaupload founder is to have some money and cars returned, as he also has use of his mansion's pool. In addition, the head of a NZ political party denies having received donations from the German-born executive.

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Apple originally considered iPhones with keyboard, click wheel

Published April 30, 2012 10:45 AM - by | Posted in: Infinite Loop

Before the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, Apple tinkered with iPhone concepts that included a physical QWERTY keyboard as well as an iPod click wheel, according to iPod creator and former Apple executive Tony Fadell.

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Apple responds to tax accusations: we pay an "enormous amount of taxes"

Published April 30, 2012 10:06 AM - by | Posted in: Infinite Loop

The New York Times took Apple to task over the weekend by saying the company strategically avoids paying more in corporate taxes. Now, Apple has responded by saying it pays a lot in taxes already, and creates jobs in the process.

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Researchers build an RGB laser using quantum dots

Researchers build an RGB laser using quantum dots
Published April 30, 2012 9:10 AM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

Researchers have developed a method for producing multi-wavelength laser light using quantum dots fabricated from a single material. This technique paves the way for future digital displays and other devices that require the full visible spectrum.

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Microsoft buys stake in Nook, college textbook business

Published April 30, 2012 8:35 AM - by | Posted in: Gear & Gadgets

Microsoft has bought a $300 million stake in Barnes and Noble's Nook and college textbook business, resulting in a Windows 8 Nook app and serious competition for Amazon and Apple.

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Does "Mastered for iTunes" matter to music? Ars puts it to the test

Does "Mastered for iTunes" matter to music? Ars puts it to the test
Published April 29, 2012 8:00 PM - by | Posted in: Infinite Loop
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Some engineers say Apple's "Mastered for iTunes" program is mere marketing hype. Ars visits a mastering studio to try the process for ourselves.

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Free as in awesome: our favorite open source apps for Ubuntu 12.04

Free as in awesome: our favorite open source apps for Ubuntu 12.04
Published April 29, 2012 7:00 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

Ubuntu 12.04 landed last week. In this roundup, we take a brief look at some of the most useful applications that users can install from Ubuntu's Software Center.

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TV Now is the latest Internet-based DVR service to find courtroom trouble

TV Now is the latest Internet-based DVR service to find courtroom trouble
Published April 29, 2012 6:15 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Internet-based DVR services, which allow users to record broadcast television and stream it to their personal devices, suffered another blow on Friday. An Australian appeals court found the Optus service TV Now to be in violation of copyright law.

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Super-yacht IT: life as a nautical broadband specialist

Super-yacht IT: life as a nautical broadband specialist
Published April 29, 2012 6:00 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

Ed Lasher has found an IT niche with serious perks: he installs and maintains networks and satellite internet connections for super-yachts, the biggest privately owned luxury vessels at sea.

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Kindle Fire now #1 Android tablet, Google control over Android ecosystem could lessen

Kindle Fire now #1 Android tablet, Google control over Android ecosystem could lessen
Published April 29, 2012 5:15 PM - by | Posted in: Gear & Gadgets

Statistics from comScore show that the Kindle FIre is now the most popular Android tablet. The arrival of low-cost tablets with Ice Cream Sandwich could challenge that position later this year.

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Why bandwidth caps could be a threat to competition

Why bandwidth caps could be a threat to competition
Published April 29, 2012 4:00 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Over the last four years, a number of leading network providers have adopted data caps and other metered billing schemes. A new report explains why that's a cause for concern.

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Flashback bots search Twitter for controllers, hit Snow Leopard hardest

Published April 29, 2012 3:10 PM - by | Posted in: Infinite Loop

Dr. Web analysis of the Mac-targeting Flashback trojan finds that it uses Twiiter hashtag searches to locate new command and control servers. Mac OS X 10.6 users have been the malware's biggest victim—possibly because Snow Leopard was the last Mac OS to ship with Java installed.

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Hate fossil fuels? Then buy up the reserves

Hate fossil fuels? Then buy up the reserves
Published April 29, 2012 2:00 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Those with a desire to see a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels could do worse than to buy up reserves, according to a paper published this month

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HTML5 bullets: innovative ClojureScript IDE, CSS filter effects, and more

Published April 29, 2012 1:10 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

Among other great articles and tools in this week's HTML5 round-up, a developer has demonstrated an impressive Web-based IDE built with ClojureScript, a Lisp-like language that compiles down to JavaScript.

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Teen sues over Facebook bullying

Teen sues over Facebook bullying
Published April 29, 2012 12:00 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

A 14-year-old from Georgia is suing two peers for libel after they created a fake Facebook page for her and posted offensive comments and photos using it.

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