News of various import
August 30th, 2004 | by ian |Peer to peer software ruled NOT LIABLE in the USA for copyright infringement activities of their users. Thank goodness some sense can be found here. Any useful tool can be used to ill purposes, we have been through the same issue with photocopiers and last I checked those companies are still in business. Heavy handed liability and regulation should come into play when a product is designed specifically to cause harm (i.e. guns, weapons of mass destruction etc…).
What is possibly the most widely implemented security mechanism is showing signs of weakness. The Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) is used extensively to secure data. And so begins the patient scramble to find a suitable alternative…
An idea for an advertising model that allows website owners to choose the ads displayed on their site has some strengths and weaknesses. As a site operator I think this is a great idea…no ads unless they fit the aesthetic and creed of the website. I guess the company advertising via this method really has to believe in their products AS WELL as how good their ad is…or they aren’t going to get much play. Bottom line is it does have great potential for viral marketing effects.
“Biology Enters Fourth Dimension” well that sure captured my attention. A boon particularly for developmental biologists, Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy, or SPIM allows live organisms to be studied at a level of detail previously only possible for prepared (non-living) specimens. Obviously one advantage is that the organism can be studied over time, hence the 4D microsope.