Layzej writes “On March 15, Professor Bill Cronon posted his first blog. The subject was the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council in influencing recent legislation in Wisconsin and across the country. Less than two days later, his university received a communication formally requesting under the state’s Open Records Law copies of all emails he sent or received pertaining to matters raised in the blog. Remarkably, the request was sent (more…)

Andrew Smith writes “The UK taxman (HM Revenue & Customs) is reportedly using a stolen list of bank details to pursue wealthy individuals with off-shore accounts. The list was stolen by an employee of HSBC, and gave details of the bank’s customers with money in Swiss accounts. The bank employee fled to France, and the authorities there passed the details on to the UK tax collection agency.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

(more…)

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has found that Square-Enix, the makers of the popular sci-fi game Final Fantasy XIII had misled video gamers by not using images from the Xbox 360 but from its arch rival, the PlayStation 3.

More…

It started in the bread aisle of Tesco and ended on an island off New Zealand. How Paul Smith got abandoned in America, lost in Paris, covered in cockroaches and saved by kindness.

More…

An anonymous reader passes along a DMCA takedown notice directed at Google and authored by the British Phonographic Industry, Britain’s equivalent of the RIAA. P2pnet identifies the BPI as the outfit that “contributed to the British government’s Digital Economy bill, complete with its ACTA Three Strikes and you’re Off The Net element, with hardly a murmur from the UK lamescream media.” Are there any precedents for a UK trade organization attempting (more…)

jayme0227 writes “Due to the recent exploit in Firefox, Germany has warned against its use. This comes a couple months after Germany advised against using IE. Perhaps we should start taking odds as to which browser will be next.” Note: the warning (from the Federal Office for Information Security) is provisional, and should be rendered moot by the release later this month of 3.6.2.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

(more…)

Stove broken? No problem, whip up a near gourmet meal with your dishwasher, simple ingredients and foil.

More…

alfredos writes “Physicists and engineers at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory built tracks inside a fusion reactor and ran a toy train for three days to help them with their calibrations. From the article: ‘The modified model of a diesel train engine was carrying a small chunk of californium-252, a radioactive element that spews neutrons as it falls apart. “We needed to refine the calibration technique to make sure we are measuring our neutrons (more…)

Using a method typically used in vision research, scientists have found a way to determine the authenticity of certain works of art by comparing mathematical representations of authentic works to possible imitations.

More…

Azureflare writes “The first device using a Pixel Qi screen has been confirmed. It is produced by Notion Ink, and it appears they took a few design tips from Apple by sticking with a design that has tapered edges. This tablet should give Apple a run for their money, especially considering the recently confirmed rumor of an Apple tablet. ‘The Notion Ink smartpad measures 6.3 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches and weighs 1.7lbs; as well as the tri-band (850/1900/2100) (more…)