16 Jan 2011
Russia warns of ‘Iranian Chernobyl'

Wouldn't that just be lovely? Letting politicians make technical decisions is almost always a bad idea - this one could prove catastrophic.

Russian scientists warned the Kremlin that they could be facing "another Chernobyl" if they were forced to comply with Iran's tight deadline to activate the [Bushehr reactor] complex this summer.

(link) [The telegraph]

19:58 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Sony Sues PS3 Hackers

Apparently one no longer buys anything - one rents or leases it, under license, from the the producer. As Orin Kerr points out:

I’ve seen a lot of civil cases trying to use the vague language of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in creative ways. But this is the first case I know of claiming that you can commit an unauthorized access of your own computer.

Mr. Kerr needs to take a closer look: this happens frequently in a lot of arenas any more, not just computer software and hardware (although it's probably most obvious there). I've ranted about this for a while now - it's a particular bugaboo of mine. Like Mr. Kerr, I believe that if one owns something, one may dispose of it as one wills. This simple doctrine from common law is slowly but surely being eroded, and if the erosion continues it will someday destroy the whole notion of private property. The time to stop it is now.

Lawyers for Sony Computer Entertainment have asked a San Francisco District Court judge to block the release of code that would enable the "jailbreaking" of the Sony PlayStation 3.

(link) [PC Magazine]

via Overlawyered

11:47 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link