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Intel And Nokia Announce Open Source Mobile Partnership
The two will work hand in hand to develop common technologies for use in the Moblin and Maemo platform projects, which will deliver Linux-based operating systems for these future mobile computing devices. The agreement also nets Intel a solid win in the IP department, as it has acquired the rights to utilize 3G/HSPA (3.6Mbps) technology.
On the Humble Default
Hugh Pickens sends along Kevin Kelly’s paean to the default. “One of the greatest unappreciated inventions of modern life is the default. ‘Default’ is a technical concept first used in computer science in the 1960s to indicate a preset standard. … Today the notion of a default has spread beyond computer science to the culture at large. It seems such a small thing, but the idea of the default is fundamental… It’s hard to remember a time when defaults were not part of life. But defaults only arose as computing spread; they are an attribute of complex technological systems. There were no defaults in the industrial age. … The hallmark of flexible technological systems is the ease by which they can be rewired, modified, reprogrammed, adapted, and changed to suit new uses and new users. Many (not all) of their assumptions can be altered. The upside to endless flexibility and multiple defaults lies in the genuine choice that an individual now has, if one wants it. … Choices materialize when summoned. But these abundant choices never appeared in fixed designs. … In properly designed default system, I always have my full freedoms, yet my choices are presented to me in a way that encourages taking those choices in time — in an incremental and educated manner. Defaults are a tool that tame expanding choice.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
No “3 Strikes” in Spain, Watch Out Torrent Sites
Just days after ISPs in Spain confirmed talks with the music and movie industry had ended without success, entertainment companies have now backed away from their “3 strikes” demands after it became clear the Spanish government does not support their plan. They will go after 200 BitTorrent sites instead.
Associated Press Tells Free Speech On Facebook To Suck It
The venerable Associated Press seems to have crossed the line by asking its employees to not only control what they say, but what their friends say. AP employee policy: It’s a good idea to monitor your profile page to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards
Record Labels Target More Irish ISPs for “Three-Strikes”
The music industry, led by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), is suing two Irish ISPs, BT Ireland and UPC Ireland, to make them take action against illegal file-sharers on their networks.
Hospital Confirms Steve Jobs’s Liver Transplant
CNet is reporting that the hospital where Apple’s CEO reportedly got a liver transplant two months ago has now confirmed the truth of these reports. “Steve Jobs underwent his liver transplant about two months ago at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, the hospital confirmed Tuesday. Jobs, who returned to work Apple’s campus in Cupertino, Calif., on Monday after a six-month medical leave, ‘is now recovering well and has an excellent prognosis,’ according to a statement by Dr. James D. Eason, the program director of the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute. … While Eason said the confirmation was being provided with Jobs’s approval, he cited patient confidentially in saying that he could not reveal any further information on the specifics of Jobs’s surgery.”
Hands-on: Google Voice dialing up for launch
Google has reportedly obtained over a million phone numbers in preparation for the public launch of its new Google Voice telephony service. Ars gives you an inside look at the closed beta.
The Imminent Demise of SORBS
An anonymous reader lets us know about the dire straits the SORBS anti-spam blacklist finds itself in. According to a notice posted on the top page, long-time host the University of Queensland has “decided not to honor their agreement with… SORBS and terminate the hosting contract.” The post, signed “Michelle Sullivan (Previously known as Matthew Sullivan),” says that the project needs either to “find alternative hosting for a 42RU rack in the Brisbane area of Queensland Australia” or to find a buyer. Offers are solicited for the assets of SORBS as an ongoing anti-spam service — it’s now handling over 30 billion DNS queries per day. An update to the post says “A number of offers have already been made, we are evaluating each on their own merits.” Failing a successful resolution, SORBS will cease operations on July 20, 2009 at 12 noon Brisbane time. Such a shutdown could slow or disrupt anti-spam efforts for large numbers of mail hosts worldwide.
Boingo Awarded a Patent For Hotspot Access
Boingo has scored a patent for accessing a Wi-Fi hotspot by a mobile device. The patent, no. 7,483,984, was issued in January, but Boingo only started talking about it recently. The patent application was filed in December 2002. According to the company, the methods covered by the patent include: “…accessing wireless carrier networks by mobile computing devices, where a client software application hosted by the device accesses carrier networks using wireless access points. For example, when a computer — or netbook, smartphone or any other Wi-Fi-enabled device — is in a location where there are multiple signals, the patented technology looks at each signal and alerts the user which signal will work, showing the signal as an understandable name and ID for the user.The patent covers all wireless technologies and spectrums, as well as any mobile device that access wireless hotspots.” The company is not saying anything about whether or how they will attempt to wield this patent.
The Imminent Demise of SORBS
An anonymous reader lets us know about the dire straits the SORBS anti-spam blacklist finds itself in. According to a notice posted on the top page, long-time host the University of Queensland has “decided not to honor their agreement with… SORBS and terminate the hosting contract.” The post, signed “Michelle Sullivan (Previously known as Matthew Sullivan),” says that the project needs either to “find alternative hosting for a 42RU rack in the Brisbane area of Queensland Australia” or to find a buyer. Offers are solicited for the assets of SORBS as an ongoing anti-spam service — it’s now handling over 30 billion DNS queries per day. An update to the post says “A number of offers have already been made, we are evaluating each on their own merits.” Failing a successful resolution, SORBS will cease operations on July 20, 2009 at 12 noon Brisbane time. Such a shutdown could slow or disrupt anti-spam efforts for large numbers of mail hosts worldwide.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
