Government & Regulation Popular Posts

Sixty engineers have worked on this highly secret system for a year with exactly two weeks to execute an experiment using three cesium clocks to synchronize down to a microsecond between three ships at sea. What could go wrong with that?

It looks like we're about to see a jailbreak for iDevices: good news for users who want non-AppStore apps. It's even working for the new iOS 4.02 and 4.1. Listen up, if you want the latest operating system, or you've accidentally upgraded to it (specifically, if you own an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, or iPod Touch 4G). It's a bootROM exploit, which appears tricky for Apple to fix (oh boo-hoo, how terribly tragic). In IT Blogwatch, bloggers breathe a sigh of relief, thanking pod2g, p0sixninja, and the Chronic-Dev team. Not to mention the Microsoft Opera browser urban legend...
(AAPL)

Ahoy, shipmates! There'll be no more of this LimeWire free download shenanigans aboard this fine vessel. Yes, P2P 'pirates' are singing a sad sea shanty: it seems that the LimeWire file-sharing service has finally been silenced by the RIAA and the usual chorus of record companies. The long-running legal opus reached a crescendo in a New York court, as the judge told the Lime Company to knock it off, presto. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers join in and clap their hands. Not to mention Fun With Travel Safe Activities...

The Facebook IPO will be official later today, we're told. The rumor-mill sets the price per share at around $45, assuming the $100 billion valuation being bandied about. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if it'll be (NYSE:FB) or (NASDAQ:FB). Not to mention: 20 Rejected Monopoly Chance Cards...

Calling Friday's IT Blogwatch: in which Apple and Cisco kiss and make up over the iPhone trademark. Not to mention how the Aussies make beer...

Gregg Keizer called to say he loves us:

Although Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. remained mum today on the details of their deal to share the "iPhone" trademark, some analysts said Cisco got the short end of the stick.

Yesterday, the two companies announced that they would both use the iPhone name on their products. They also pledged to "explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security and consumer and enterprise communications," according to a joint statement issued last night. Cisco, in a lawsuit filed in federal court last month, claimed the iPhone trademark via a 2000 acquisition of Infogear. The San Jose, Calif., company has sold a line of Linksys VoIP devices under the iPhone label for over a year.

The iPhone jailbreak scene is certainly never dull.
iPhone jailbreakers are at each others' throats and trading insults. The hacker-developers are bickering over who should release their Apple jailbreak tool. The long-awaited magic is ready to download, but it's not exactly what we expected: it's limera1n doing the jailbreaking, not greenpois0n. Now we can jailbreak almost any iDevice -- on any recent version of iOS... including 4.1. Today you can unencumber yourself from Steve Jobs' reality-distorting control over your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, and iPod Touch (3G or 4G). But where did this unexpected twist come from? Find out in The Long View...

If it's Thursday, it must be IT Blogwatch watching the Great Gates opine about all things tech to the great opiners themselves. Not to mention diy ghillie suits...

Pat Thibodeau hears his pain:

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said today that he feels "deep anxiety" over the ability of the U.S. to compete globally and added that the country is risking its technology leadership because of failures in its education system and immigration policies and inadequate research spending.

Dino Perrotti spots a bargain:

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- TIME Magazine printed this week a piece called, "Confessions of a Wi-Fi Thief," in which author Lev Grossman admits to using his neighbors' open Wi-Fi connections from inside his apartment. He admits it may be illegal, and says it's definitely unethical. I disagree. Here's why.

I've got my hands on a copy of the leaked, confidential Microsoft "Global Criminal Compliance Handbook," which details for police and intelligence services exactly what information Microsoft collects about users of its online services, and how they can be accessed. What is gathered and available about you is quite comprehensive, including your emails, detailed information about when you sign in and use the services, credit card information, and so on.

Attention, freedom fans: here's how to jailbreak your iPhone 4 or 3GS, even on the very latest OS: Friday's iOS 4.3.1. That'll allow you to break free from Steve Jobs' walled garden o' family-friendly, parody-free tyranny. Richi's going to hook you up with the resources you need, in The Long View...

Here's the newest from Sen. Ted Stevens, the man who described the Internet as a series of tubes: It's time for the federal government to ban access to Wikipedia, MySpace, and social networking sites from schools and libraries.

Early in January, Stevens introduced Senate bill 49, which among other things, would require that any school or library that gets federal Internet subsidies would have to block access to interactive Web sites, including social networking sites, and possibly blogs as well. It appears that the definition of those sites is so vague that it could include sites such as Wikipedia, according to commentators. It would certainly ban MySpace.

The H-1B cap opposition isn't making their case to Congress and may not be able to overcome the Gates effect.

Can possessing lewd images of Lisa and Bart Simpson earn you jail time? In the land down under, the answer apparently is yes.

Windows 7 users are up in arms over a long-standing battery charge problem. Their batteries are dying prematurely, and they're blaming Windows 7, which is popping up the message, "Consider replacing your battery. There is a problem with your battery, so your computer might shut down suddenly." In IT Blogwatch, bloggers consider replacing their operating systems. Not to mention iPad reality distortion...
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"Good morning, you're fired and getting replaced by a software engineer from India with an H-1B visa ... APRIL FOOLS!" This is a bad joke to play on an engineer these days, because it is just too close to actually being true.

The root of "April Fools Day" goes back to the 1500s when the New Year date was moved from April 1st to Jan 1st. Those who were unaware of the change were open to pranks and jokes. They were the "April Fools".

April 1st, 2007, is still, however, the beginning of the new year for H-1B applications, and it is American engineers unaware of these activities who are once again the April Fools.