A selection of news and links from the past week

I haven’t been able to confirm this from the actual source, but it would seem that Portsmouth University’s institute of industrial research is working on a technology meant to be merged with CCTV’s, in an initial stage allowing them to identify certain visual cues (for example whether a car aerial is up or if the car has a dent) so that it can alert the person watching the monitors (who is usually watching a larger amount of monitors). They plan on further developing this artificial intelligence into recognizing certain sounds (glass shattering, a large crowd gathering), identifying their source, and making the camera turn that way.

Great, so when CCTV’s in many cases have been deemed useless in helping prevent crimes because the image quality is so poor, instead of removing the cameras, we’re going to put microphones with artificial intelligence on them. Yeah, that’ll help.
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The US wants to pass a law forcing all airlines flying across it’s borders to collect the finger prints of all departing foreign passengers. Bush also thinks that the airlines should be the ones to pay for all this. Both the EU and the airline industry have vehemently opposed this.

Higher costs for airlines results in more expensive flight tickets which we pay for. So in the end, we travellers are going to be paying for having our finger prints collected when leaving the US. One more reason not to go to the States (besides the rather obvious one that they’re “allowed” to copy the contents of your entire hard drive when you’re entering the country).
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MPAA has filed this to an American court basically saying that they think they shouldn’t be forced to provide any proof of actual distrubution when it comes to copyright infringement. Instead, merely “making it available” ought to be enough.

What’s the next step? Perhaps we should simply scrap the whole idea of law and justice and simply throw the people the entertainment industry points at into jail? All the money lost in ineffective copyright trials today could be used to so much better things! I think that sounds like a great idea!
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An Australian (seriously, what’s with these Aussies?) bloke called Ian Usher has decided to sell his whole life. House, job, friends (they will be introduced upon purchase), everything. Once the deal’s been closed he’s going to walk away with the clothes on his body and a wallet in his back pocket.

I can’t decide whether it’s sheer lunacy or utter genius. In a way I’m sort of jealous.
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Song of the day: Dido – Life for Rent (For sale rather, but this was the closest related song title I could find)
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[Click to see in high resolution]

~ by koeus on June 25, 2008.