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Latest Slashdot News: SETI Is 50 Years Old; No Sign of ET EagleHasLanded writes "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is 50 years old next month and still no sign of intelligent alien life. Paul Davies of the Beyond Center (also Chairman of the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup ) says it's time to re-think and expand the search for ET." read more >> Filter Vendor Agrees Aussie Censorship Can't Work As Promised Acidspew writes "The Australian Government's plan to filter the Internet has caused furore and has been met with vehement objection. Many people have put their opinions forward regarding this matter but this time around M86 Security — the vendor that provided many ISPs equipment during the initial filter trials — has finally weighed in on the discussion. Six of the nine ISP participants in the URL-based Internet filter trial last year used M86's R3000 filtering kit. According to ARN: 'Internet filtering won't prevent people deliberately looking for inappropriate material from accessing blocked content according to security vendor M86 Security.' The company continues by saying its filter gear was designed to be implemented into schools and enterprise businesses not for an entire country. The article also touches on M86's views on censorship." read more >> Microsoft Employees Love Their iPhones portscan writes "There is an entertaining and telling article in the Wall Street Journal about iPhone use by Microsoft employees. Apparently despite it being frowned upon by senior management iPhone use is rampant among the Redmond rank and file. The head of Microsoft's mobile division tried to explain it away as employees wanting 'to better understand the competition' although few believe this. Nowhere does the article mention attempts by the company to understand why the iPhone is more attractive to much of Microsoft's tech-savvy workforce than the company's own products." read more >> Obama Backs MPAA RIAA and ACTA boarder8925 writes "In a move sure to surprise no one Obama has come out on the side of the MPAA/RIAA and has backed the ACTA: 'We're going to aggressively protect our intellectual property' Obama said in his speech 'Our single greatest asset is the innovation and the ingenuity and creativity of the American people [...] It is essential to our prosperity and it will only become more so in this century. But it's only a competitive advantage if our companies know that someone else can't just steal that idea and duplicate it with cheaper inputs and labor.'" read more >> What Aspects of Open Source Projects Do You Avoid? paulproteus writes "I'm a Debian developer and a part-time contributor to a few smaller projects. I do a lot of free software-y and open source-y things. Sometimes though I don't do them. I figure some other Slashdotters might have similar hang-ups — we contribute to a project but there are parts that we really dread thinking about. So I wrote a post about having these hang-ups and I made a place on the web to share how others can help your project. What are the parts that in your projects you would be relieved if someone else looked at for you?" read more >> How To Make Your Own iPhone RFID Reader andylim writes "It's been rumoured for some time now that Apple will include RFID technology in a future iPhone. An RFID-packing iPhone could interact with various objects including opening doors and it could even be used in shops to register items at the checkout. Beating Apple to the RFID punch last year a company called Wireless Dynamics announced an iPhone RFID accessory called the iCarte but if you'd rather make your own reader then a research assistant at University College London has managed to build his own RFID iPhone accessory." read more >> Classmates.com Settles Lawsuit Over Phony Friends Hugh Pickens writes "Techflash reports that Classmates.com has agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to its users to settle a lawsuit that accused the social network of sending deceptive emails that made people believe their old friends from high school were reaching out to connect — only to discover after paying for a membership that their long-lost buddies were nowhere to be found. Lawyers for the plaintiffs asserted that Classmates had 'profited tremendously from their false or deceptive e-mail subject lines and related marketing tactics.' Under terms of the proposed settlement Classmates.com members who upgraded to premium memberships after receiving one of the 'guestbook' emails will be able to choose either a $3 cash payout or a $2 credit toward the future purchase or renewal of a Classmates.com membership. Classmates.com is also among companies that have come under scrutiny for their use of 'post-transaction marketing' tactics — in which customers are given additional offers as part of the online payment process sometimes in such a way that they aren't aware they're also signing up to pay more. A November 2009 US Senate Committee report said Classmates made more than $70 million through its relationship with post-transaction marketing firms. The Classmates Media unit posted $58.8 million in operating profit for 2009 up more than 24 percent from the previous year making Classmates 'the most profitable social network in the world' according to CEO Mark Goldston." read more >> How Sony and Microsoft Hope To Crack the Motion Control Market An editorial at Eurogamer delves into what Sony and Microsoft hope to achieve with their upcoming console motion control systems despite entering the market several years after Nintendo set the standard. "The cards Sony has placed on the table this week suggest one answer to that question. It sees PlayStation Move as being an upgrade path for Wii owners — an invitation to the tens of millions of consumers who have invested in Nintendo's platform to swim upstream to the more powerful HD-enabled system. Yet even Sony's most optimistic view of the market will be tempered by a dose of realism here. ... What's more likely — and what Sony are probably quietly hoping to achieve a significant proportion of the Move's success through — is that the technology will expand the appeal of the PS3 in the family setting." The Digital Foundry blog has an in-depth look at the PlayStation Move from Sony's event at the Game Developers Conference saying "... if there was one positive you could take away from the event it was that Move is clearly a far more precise implementation than the Wiimote. Some of the games felt clearly more 'tactile' than the Wii equivalents." read more >> Venezuela's Chavez To Limit Internet Freedom terets1 writes "Reuters reports that Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez issued a call on Saturday for 'internet controls' to prevent rumors and inaccurate reporting from spreading. He specifically cited a case in which a website incorrectly reported that a senior minister had been assassinated and kept the story up for two days. Many of Venezuela's opposition movements use social networking sites to communicate. It is not apparent at this time exactly what kind of controls Chavez has in mind or whether those controls will be similar to the controls in Iran that have been used to silence opposition movements. Chavez said 'The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms.'" read more >> Google Makes Apps Script Available To All theodp writes "Formerly only available to Apps Users Google has made Apps Script available to everyone (sample script) including you Google Docs low-lifers. Apps Script lets you automate actions across spreadsheets sites calendars and other Google services. No spamming kids!" read more >>
Philly Business: People in the News The AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Cos. Philadelphia has named Michael A. Rashid president and chief executive officer. Rashid had been executive vice president. >> read more or comment On the Boards Neil A. Stein has been named to the board of the Homebuilders Association of Bucks and Montgomery Counties a trade association. He was also reappointed chairman of its Political Action Committee. Stein is a principal in the land use zoning and development group of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein P.C. Blue Bell. >> read more or comment Property managers' duties shift in tight times In better times - that is to say when companies were clamoring for office space rather than looking to jettison it - property management didn't have to amount to much. >> read more or comment Harry Gross: Looks like that $995 is gone Dear Harry: In early fall I received an advertising letter from a company offering me a guarantee to get a grant for home repairs. However I would have to send them $995 for the detailed information under a money-back guarantee that I would get the gran >> read more or comment Insider Transactions Securities trades recently reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission by officers directors and principal shareholders of corporations based or having sizable employment in the Philadelphia area. Titles are as reported to the SEC. >> read more or comment Business Calendar Treasury Auctions3-month and 6-month bills Mar. 15; 4-week bills Mar. 16; 1-year bills Apr. 6; 2-year notes Mar. 23; 5-year notes Mar. 24; 3-year notes Apr. 6; 7-year notes Mar. 25; 10-year TIPS Apr. 5; 5-year TIPS Apr. 26. >> read more or comment Bankruptcies PennsylvaniaStone Specialties & Landscape Management Firm Inc. 1804 Stout Dr. Warminster; Chapter 11; no schedules available.John P. Klinck doing business as Bucks County School of Bartending doing business as Kelly Gardens Art and Denise Mitchell also know as Denise Klinck 2310 Rittenhouse Sq. Bensalem; Chapter 13; no schedules available. >> read more or comment Christie to take a giant step TRENTON - Three months into his term Gov. Christie is ready to jump off the cliff.
For weeks he has referred to the scene in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in which the bank-robber heroes running for their lives leap off a cliff to escape certain death. >> read more or comment Burlco Bridge Commission has deep ties to county GOP As he assumed control of the obscure but powerful Burlington County Bridge Commission three years ago chairman John Comegno oversaw the launch of a public-relations campaign designed to burnish a badly tarnished image. >> read more or comment Gas Drilling Going Deep So far in 2010 natural gas exploration companies have broken ground on three Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania every day triple the pace of a year ago. >> read more or comment Monica Yant Kinney: Sidestepping to move up I don't know about you but I need a break from workplace malaise grim jobs reports bankruptcies and buyouts. So today I offer a charming bit of counterprogramming. Consider it a reminder that even in economic Armageddon some people do get where they want - especially if they're willing to take a detour along the way. >> read more or comment Comcast founder celebrates 90th birthday The Fralinger String Band played and the guy from cable TV's Cake Boss Buddy Valastro was there with a vanilla-and-fudge cake in the shape of the Comcast Center. >> read more or comment Incoming Drexel president has ambitious plans Two months before former Drexel University president Constantine Papadakis died he met with John A. Fry president of Franklin and Marshall College to discuss starting a Drexel medical school campus near Lancaster General Hospital where Fry is on the board. >> read more or comment PhillyDeals: Senator leads effort to get banks out of investment biz It's two years since Bear Stearns Cos. Inc.'s failure exposed the rot in the financial system crashed the economy and fed demands that our leaders stop this from ever happening again. >> read more or comment Pa. insurance chief is shaping Obama's message Just because Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario went to a Christmas party at President Obama's house in Washington . . . >> read more or comment Disquiet in Google's online library Google has been busy.The Internet giant has been copying and storing millions of the world's out-of-print and out-of-copyright books in a vast online archive. It could all be just a mouse click away from your computer screen if the effort known as the Google Books Library Project survives a legal challenge. >> read more or comment Consumer 10.0: From one health insurer's perspective If you're a health insurer nowadays chances are you feel cast as Snidely Whiplash. Just ask the folks at Philadelphia's Independence Blue Cross. >> read more or comment Really longtime residents A garage's condition divulges a lot about those who live in the house that goes with it.
A garage with no dust on the floor; where pairs of garden shoes are perfectly lined up on a shelf; where each tool has a well-thought-out place - that kind of garage belongs to people whose sense of order and decorum is encoded in their DNA. >> read more or comment Top Dollar >> read more or comment Web Wealth: Spring is just about here. Is an economical vegetable garden in your immediate future? Gardening can save money and be good for your health. But beware of those $64 tomatoes. >> read more or comment
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