By Mark O’Neill
If Tobey Maguire ever decides to stop playing Spiderman and Sam Raimi is looking for a replacement, maybe he should give this guy a call?ย He looks very fetching in the costume and he even plays cards!
I’m not sure though about his ability to climb up walls….
And just when you thought you’d seen everything, the jet-powered lawn mower comes along to prove your wrong. Too bad the video doesn’t show it in a race against a F1 or something, it might have made the show a little bit more interesting.
By Mark O’Neill
A remarkable legal battle is brewing over whether someone is entitled or not to resell used software. The case could bring about a whole new interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
This case involves an eBay seller called Timothy Vernor and his repeated run-ins with a company called Autodesk who produces a software program called AutoCAD. Vernor has repeatedly put legal used copies of the software program on eBay, copies that he has found at places such as garage sales.
But everytime Vernor has put AutoCAD auctions on eBay, Autodesk has issued DMCA takedown notices to eBay demanding that they be taken down for copyright violation reasons. These takedown notices ultimately failed, but eBay, seeing so many takedown notices coming their way, decided that something didn’t smell right and ultimately banned Vernor’s seller account. For that, Vernor then sued Autodesk.
Now, wait a sec. Vernor sued Autodesk? Wouldn’t the right thing to do would be to take the complaint to eBay? I mean, they’re the ones that shut the account down. Vernor was successfully winning the fight against Autodesk but it was eBay who was the bully on the block at the end of the day. So where is eBay in this complaint?
The complaint basically boils down to this – Autodesk claims that Vernor does not have the right to resell the used software because when you buy the software, you don’t actually buy the actual software, you’re only buying a license to use the software (nice wording eh?). Therefore the seller has no right of first sale. But the federal judge in the case said in a ruling that this wasn’t necessarily true. He cited the right of first sale and ruled the case can proceed.
If the case goes to trial and Vernor wins, expect some very interesting legal precedents to come out of this.
By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
I’m thinking about trading in my girlfriend for a few really advanced robots.
Hang on a sec — I know it sounds bad. But hear me out.
Scientists are making leaps and bounds with these things right now. I mean, they’ve come up with artificial life that can conduct psychotherapy, perform exotic dances, and appear to have “high emotional capacity.” Hell, even I don’t have that.
So I guess the only thing to do is to hold a point-by-point match-up, robot versus relationship. This will be the battle that settles it all. Grab your gloves, fellow fight fans: We’re headed to the ring.
We all need someone who can respond to our emotions, right? Well, I may have found her. Er, it. Japanese researcher Hiroshi Ishiguro swears he’s found the secret to building a bot that can look and act just like a human. He made some headlines a couple years back by building a machine version of himself, complete with his mannerisms and movements. He even had it teach his classes a few times when he was too busy to make it in.
Of course, the Japanese man model isn’t quite my type when it comes to cuddling. But that’s where the Haptic Creature comes in. The just-released “strokable rabbit” boasts itself as being one of the first forms of artificial intelligence to respond to the human touch. It looks and feels just like a real warm-blooded creature. The Haptic detects how you touch it and responds accordingly by altering its breathing and body movements.
Okay, not bad. Now let’s find some empathy. MindMentor’s “robot psychologist” claims to possess the power to listen to your problems and help you work through them. Well, all it really does is sort of paraphrase what you say to keep you talking. But let’s be honest, that’s probably enough to meet my horribly stunted emotional capacity.
Hmm. I think round one is a draw. Let’s move on.
A relationship is built upon shared interests, so can the robot stand up to the challenge? Well, let’s see. I play the drums. It’d be nice to have someone to accompany me. The girlfriend’s out on this one, but I think the robot may have the upper hand.
Toyota has been working on music-playing models for a few years now. They have horn, drum, and trumpet bots. And an MIT engineer is creating a robot that could help me practice and improve my form. HAGUS, as he calls it, actually uses a set of motors to guide a drummer’s hand and teach him new tricks.
Round two: Robots.
You’ve gotta have a partner who knows how to have fun. Well, I love a good joke, but even more, I love it when someone else laughs at my jokes (and yes, I consider a booming belch to be a hilarious punchline — I don’t know why my girlfriend doesn’t).
Now enter the joke bot. University of Cincinnati researchers came up with the concept. They built in a database of words into the thing’s core and essentially taught it to recognize simple puns. They’re even working on customizing it to relate to different senses of humor, so there’s no doubt this metallic maniac would appreciate my antics.
So far, so good. But I need more than someone who can spot a good gag. I might want to boogie. Being that I am, of course, the envy of every dance floor, I need a companion who can keep up with my moves. Cue the dancing robot. These things, from the University of Tokyo, can capture the movements of any advanced dance and then replicate them. Being that “the robot” is, in fact, my signature move, I have a feeling this fella will fit right in.
Round three: Robots.
Going out is great, but a healthy relationship starts in the home. This could be the true test: Can a robot be a good roommate?
Well, first, let’s deal with the downsides. As much as I love strong women, I don’t want anyone who can kick my ass (sorry, American Gladiator Hellga). But a German Aerospace Agency has come up with the technology to build a “sensitive robot” that, evidently, “knows when it has punched you.” Okay, that’s cool. Good to know I won’t be in danger.
But what else could my new relationship replacements do? Well, we know they can do all sorts of housework. I sure won’t complain about that. Then there’s the hair transplant robot. Yup, I kid you not: The machine can shift your hair follicles around to make your locks look more lustrous than Sanjaya on salon day. I hope I won’t need that feature, but it can’t hurt to have it around just in case.
Then there’s the Road-Bot, which could go pick up my Chinese food when I don’t want to get dressed. The girlfriend won’t do that.
I hate to say it, but I think I’ve gotta call another round for the robots.
Okay, I couldn’t complete the fight without the final test. I’ve looked at a lot of robots today, and as excited as I am, I just don’t know that they have what it takes in this last department. Now, there is The Gripper, a relatively new bot that has a “tiny hand with the gentlest touch.” That might….no, nevermind. It’s just wrong.
You know, what I think I’ve realized through all this is that I may be the one lacking in these areas. I mean, let’s be honest here: I just spent an entire morning considering whether to replace my girlfriend with a series of robots. Could robots really replace love? Could a machine help you become a better person? What was I thinking? I’m the one with the emotional void. I need help.
I wonder if that robot psychologist has any openings.
Here at [GAS], we think that steampunk devices are among the sexiest gadgets you can own. I mean, just check out this awesome steampunk USB drive, it looks amazing, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, this thing has been hand-crafted, so there’s no way you’ll be able to put your hands on one… unless you have the skills to make one yourself.
[via technabob]
Here’s another freebie for you folks. An absolutely amazing 66-page security eBook named “Vulnerability Management for Dummies”.
Vulnerability Management for Dummies will arm you with the facts and show you how to implement a successful Vulnerability Management program in your environment. Whether your network consists of just a handful of computers or thousands of servers distributed around the world, this book will help:
Please note that this comes directly from Qualys, one of the most respectable and well-known vulnerability management company in the world.
Vulnerability Management for Dummies (U.S. and Canada only!)
By Mark O’Neill
In the United States, the Freedom of Information Act has been around since the 1960’s but in Great Britain it has only been in force since 2000. Britain is quite a secretive country by nature with its Official Secrets Act and I think Brits are still finding it a novel concept to be able to just ask for something, instead of being quoted the rule book.
An interesting website called “What Do They Know?” has been set up to co-ordinate FOI requests in the UK. The idea is that if you want to make a FOI request – and you don’t mind that request being public – then you can make it through this website. The webmaster will make sure that your request reaches the proper government department and the request will also be posted to the site with a status on it such as “pending”, “successful”, “unsuccessful”, whatever.
Then when the information comes from the department in question, the response is also posted to the site, next to the original request. The idea is that if someone else is also looking for the same information, they can check the site. They can also get in touch with the requester and offer to team up on projects, lawsuits and much more.
It goes without saying that if you want to make private requests or if you don’t want your name publicised then this site is not suitable. But if you don’t mind your request being made public or if you’re looking for people who may share your cause then you can do it through “What Do They Know”. Not only will your request get to the right government bureaucrat but someone scanning the site may see your request and think “wow, they’re requesting the same stuff as me, let’s team up!”.
Is there an equivalent site to this in the United States for US Freedom of Information requests? It sounds like a really great idea to me.
The poor fellow you are about to see signed up for a pretty disturbing televised science experiment. The sports science show wanted to test the reaction a male individual would have when receiving a blow to the groin. Gentlemen, be ready to cross your legs. This is serious psychological torture.
[Via TechEblog]
For its 75th anniversary, Lacoste released this video envisioning what tennis could look like 75 years from now. Check out this guy’s outfit… it looks totally awesome. Gotta love the futuristic shoes and racquet too! Video after the jump.
By Mark O’Neill
All you lazy hungry geeks who can’t be bothered to tear yourselves away from the computer, despair no longer, because Pizza Hut has come to your aid! Yes, the Hut is the latest company to jump on the Adobe AIR bandwagon with their desktop ordering widget!
But as usual with these new-fangled techie things, it seems to be for the United States only so anyone outside the US of A is out of luck and will have to resort to the old fashioned method of ordering a pizza – picking up the telephone and calling.
Gasp. I know. That’s so 20th century!