Rob Beschizza

Crazy customer flashes gun at Apple store

From the Cincinatti Inquirer:

A clerk at the Apple Store in Kenwood Towne Centre kept a cool head when a customer reportedly took his frustration with his iPhone too far. Hamilton County sheriff's deputies say Donald Goodrich, 38, took his phone into the store and told the clerk, "I'm so mad I could pop a 9mm at it. I could really do it right now, look!"

Play back the quote in your head, but with Christopher Walken's voice.

iPhone frustration leads to arrest [Cincinatti.com]

Rob Beschizza

Apple Store fixes problem with man's image files

A man walked into the Apple store to report that something was wrong with his image collection. This was true enough.

Raymond Miller, of ... Fairfield, told Apple store clerks the computer had a problem with image files, court records show. After a technician began looking through the computer, images of naked 10- to 13-year-old girls in suggestive and explicit poses were found, according to court documents.

You'd think that someone taking a computer for servicing would think to remove the cache of illegal smut before doing so. [The Advocate via The Consumerist]

Photo: The Advocate

Lisa Katayama

Internet addiction camp inmates wave signs pleading for help

Handwritten paper signs like these, with words like "SOS" and "Beatings!" on them, were seen floating out of second-story windows at Internet addiction camps in China when a local paper went to further investigate after the recent beating death of a teenaged camper inmate. Shortly after these signs were waved, though, the kids were apparently stopped by the instructors, and we can only imagine what happened after that.

I wonder if there's something Internet "addicts" in the US can do to help put an end to these horrific camps. Infiltrate the Great Firewall of China, maybe, and send cryptic revolutionary messages using chat rooms and Google Translate.

[via Shanghaiist]

Rob Beschizza

Arrington loses libel case, but it doesn't mean jack

Michael Arrington and TechCrunch have lost a libel case brought against them in the U.K. by a former business associate, Sam Sethi.

The key word in that last sentence is "U.K.". Libel cases are very difficult to fight in Britain and Arrington chose not to fight this one, resulting in a default judgment. British libel law is so plaintiff-friendly that it attracts "forum shoppers" who would be unable to win elsewhere. New York even has a law on the books to exclude even the possibility of U.K. libel judgments being collected locally.

Assuming TechCrunch has no assets to plunder in the U.K., the likely worst result for Arrington is being unable to visit the country without great inconvenience. (Update: This is not legal advice!)

In other words, the result doesn't say anything meaningful about any of the parties.

Rob Beschizza

Psion withdraws netBook trademark

From Psion:

The litigation has been settled through an amicable agreement under which Psion will voluntarily withdraw all of its trademark registrations for 'Netbook'. Neither party accepted any liability. In light of this amicable agreement, Psion has agreed to waive all its rights against third parties in respect of past, current or future use of the 'Netbook' term.

Rob Beschizza

Nvidia accuses Intel of anticompetitive hornswoggling

If you buy an Intel Atom chip with Intel's shitty video chipset, you pay $25 for the lot. But if you are Nvidia buying an Atom chip to wed to one of your own superior video chipsets, you pay $45 just for the Atom. [Lilliputing]

Rob Beschizza

EFF: Facebook private message censorship may break law

Wired: Threat Level points out that while Facebook blocks references to The Pirate Bay links in private messages, it doesn't likewise censor talk of illegal drugs, underage drinking and shoplifting.

Wired.com confirmed Facebook is blocking private messages by sending a link to a Pirate Bay torrent feed of a book in the public domain. Such content is freely available to everyone, as all copyrights have expired. Nevertheless, the message bounced twice, returning the following failure notice: "This Message Contains Blocked Content. Some content in this message has been reported as abusive by Facebook users." (Facebook's link-censoring system is may be just tilting at windmills, however, because removing a single vowel from the domain name lets the URL go through.)

Facebook's user-censorship policy is arbitrary and unprincipled? Shocker! But it might also be illegal. [Threat Level]

Steven Leckart

Apple censors NIN iPhone app

Nine Inch Nails' first iPhone app "nin: access" launched a few weeks ago, but was recently rejected for violating the no-obscene/pornographic/offensive/defamatory-content section of the iPhone SDK agreement.

Frontman Trent Reznor explained via tweet:

Apple rejects the NIN iPhone update because it contains objectionable content. The objectionable content referenced is "The Downward Spiral"

Much of that album's lyrics are NSFW, so Apple's position makes sense.

Wait. No it doesn't.

Reznor posted an official rebuttal to the NIN forum. Here's the core of his argument (warning: he drops the f-bomb):

You can buy The Downward Fucking Spiral on iTunes, but you can't allow an iPhone app that may have a song with a bad word somewhere in it... Hey Apple, I just got some SPAM about fucking hot asian teens THROUGH YOUR MAIL PROGRAM. I just saw two guys having explicit anal sex right there in Safari! On my iPhone!

Apple: 0
Reznor: 1

[via Pitchfork]

Joel Johnson

GandhiCam makes it difficult for cops to erase your videos from your BlackBerry

"GandhiCam" is an application for post-8700-series BlackBerry devices that automatically emails your (or an address you set) the images, audio, or video as it is taken, with the aim to make it easy to get the data off the device before it is confiscated or destroyed.

I'm not entirely sure where the data goes between the device and your email, or if it tries to upload directly through a plain ol' SMTP gateway.

There are other live broadcast from phones like Qik, obviously, as well as phone-to-Flickr or email gateways, but there's something to be said for a no-click solution.

Rob Beschizza

Extreme LED-art sheepherding

Wherein Pong is played on a hillside using LED-wrapped sheep, time-lapse photography, and very energetic dogs. And perhaps some video editing.

This is a Samsung viral -- talk about "purple sheep" marketing!

Rob Beschizza

Intel says it never heard of Psion's NetBook

SaveTheNetbooks exhaustively covers the latest round in the "Psion owns the trademark" saga. (Short form: Years ago, Psion made a tiny laptop called the NetBook. Intel later started marketing tiny laptops generically as "Netbooks." Then there were lawsuits.)

Intel's filed a response to Psion's counterclaims against Intel's original "Boy is this term generic" filing. Intel makes the following claims, which I have reviewed.

Intel "denies that Psion offered any Netbook laptop computers in the United States after 2003, as confirmed by Psion’s website"

9/10. Intel scores big with this visceral thriller of a claim, which points out that Psion's long-canned gadget was off the scene long before the modern netbooks appeared. Fails to be a classic only because Psion sold a replacement part once or twice a year.

"Intel denies that Psion has advertised its Netbook laptop on its website or otherwise since 2003, after Psion’s website listed that model as discontinued"

8/10. A blockbuster sequel, but a derivative note creeps in after Ripley dies.

"Intel admits that it has used the term “netbook” in its generic sense. Intel denies that it uses the term netbook as a trademark or as an indicator of a sole source to offer any of its products or services."

6/10. Though the intro is cleverly crafted, one feels cheated by a plot that seems at odds with the old Intel Classmate PC website mysteriously scrubbed from archive.org. That the netbook.com domain now silently redirects to Intel.com is hardly a ringing exoneration.

"Intel denies that it commenced use of the term “netbook” with any knowledge of Psion’s claim of existing rights in the term."

2/10. Oh, please.

"Intel denies that Psion has any rights in the term “netbook”"

Was indisposed during original viewing: will file review ASAP. Suspect outcome will (a) disappoint and (b) not matter.

Newsflash: Intel responds to Psion's netbook counter-suit [Save the Netbooks]

Rob Beschizza

New Jersey vs. Verizon

Verizon is being sued for deceptive marketing: free televisions it offered to new subscribers, never delivered. [Consumerist]

Joel Johnson

Web-enabled phones sowing mistrials in courtrooms

Permanent, hand-held web access is changing the way juries interact with the outside world. Unless phones are banned altogether, mobile internet is going to affect the legal system big time. John Schwartz reports for the Times:

In the Arkansas case, Stoam Holdings, the company trying to overturn the $12.6 million judgment, said a juror, Johnathan Powell, had sent Twitter messages during the trial. Mr. Powell’s messages included “oh and nobody buy Stoam. Its bad mojo and they’ll probably cease to Exist, now that their wallet is 12m lighter” and “So Johnathan, what did you do today? Oh nothing really, I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else’s money.”

Photo: ArielAmanda

Rob Beschizza

How to opt-out of Verizon's personal info-sharing scheme

When you sign up with Verizon, it sends out a tiny-print leaflet to customers informing them (under the vague title above) that they'll share subscribers' personal information unless you explicitly opt out. It does not provide instructions on how to do so without calling them, customers report that calling them is no help, and even when you log into your account, Verizon has made the online copies of this legalese document inaccessible to some of its own subscribers.

I can get to mine, so here it is: DownloadDocument.pdf.

David Weinberger and Read Write Web scald Verizon for this awful situation, and Weinberger figured out a direct link to the opt-out page.

Here are detailed instructions:

Firstly, log into your account at verizonwireless.com.

Then click on the "My Profile" tab.

Scroll down to the "Phone Controls" section. There, click on "View/Edit Privary (CPNI) Settings."

On the next page, click the radio button beneath "Do not share my CPNI" in the row for "All Cell Phone Numbers." Then click "Submit."

Verizon's website should serve a popup confirming the change. Click "Done."

Update: Verizon got in touch to say it's been sending these out to new subscribers since 2007--I've been with them just a month or two--and directs us to an official blog post on the matter. I've updated this post to make it clear that Verizon shares, rather than sells, the information with affiliates and partners.

READ THE REST

Rob Beschizza

Dell attacks Psion's "Netbook" trademark, accuses it of fraud

Dell's filed a challenge to Psion's "Netbook" trademark, asserting that Psion abandoned the term years ago. Moreover, Dell claims that Psion fraudulently misrepresented otherwise in a filing with the trademark office.

Trademarks can become genericized when they slip into everyday use--Aspirin Dry Ice, Thermos and touch-tone being examples. Companies fight hard to prevent this, ensuring they release a continual stream of products using the trademark and asking journalists not to use their trademarks in a generic sense. For example, Adobe hates it when we photoshop stuff, but loves it when we edit stuff in Photoshop.

On the one hand, Psion actually made a netbook called The Netbook, and still supports it. On the other hand, it's not been on sale for many years, it's not clear whether Psion's claims of continual product support are actually true, and generic use of the phrase to refer to miniature laptops exploded in the last year.

Intel's relentless promotion of the phrase is one cause, but it's clearly the term of choice for consumers and writers alike, and the most effective laptop marketing buzzword in years.

That said, many companies avoid the term because of Psion's trademark. Analysts like the dull "mini notebook," for example, and Sony calls its model a "Lifestyle PC."

After a snarlup with bloggers last year over some badly-targeted legal warnings, Psion said that it's only interested in stopping other computer companies profiting from the term.

So, here's the kicker: Dell never called its netbook a "netbook." Its avoidance of the term was as studious as Sony's, whose avoidance of it carried a hint of corporate pride: it didn't want consumers to associate its swishy Vaio P with the herd.

Dell's netbook, however, is a popular budget model. Psion's not come after Dell in the courts. Dell's already established its own marketing terminology around "Mini Inspiron." So what gives?

It just happens to be the company most desperate to begin exploiting the Netbook buzz on a huge scale--something Psion is clearly in no position to do.

Is the term dear to your heart? Check out Save the Netbooks!

Petition for cancellation (PDF) [USPTO]

Joel Johnson

CSI Stick lets creeps slurp your personal data from your phone

What does CSI stand for? Apparently for "Cell Seizure Investigator", a specialized USB stick from Paraben that claims to slurp up the phonebook, call logs, pictures, SMS, and pretty much every other type of data from an attached cellular phone. The current $200 model supports only Motorola and Samsung phones but additional models and their accompanying adapters can be glommed on to the CSI Stick in the future.

After draining a phone of its data, the CSI Stick can be plugged into a computer to view the files using Paraben's obliviously named DS Lite analysis software.

I wonder if there are any phones out there at all that don't just leave their user data sitting unencrypted or unsecured for anyone that has physical access to the phone. [via Gearlog]

Rob Beschizza

Analysis of Apple's iPhone interface patent claims

Engadget's Nilay Patel posts an exhaustive and excellent analysis of the patents surrounding the iPhone's user interface. It's the perfect antidote to this weekend's relentless mainstream media hype about the "brewing" legal between Palm and Apple.

John Brownlee

Palm adjusts self, double deuces Apple for veiled lawsuit threats

There was a little confusion yesterday about Tim Cook's remarks about pursuing lawsuits against competitors who rip off Apple's IP.

Based on the question being responded to, it seemed pretty obvious Apple was specifically warning Palm about their upcoming multi-touch capable Pre smartphone, but others have speculated that he was simply addressing the Chinese knock-off market (good luck suing those guys, Tim).

Either way, Palm seems to be pretty sure Cook was talking about them, and have released a rather swaggering statement through spokesperson Lynn Fox in return: bring it on.

Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio (31 pages of patents in Google Patent Search), and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.”

Miss Fox then picked up the chair she was sitting on, walked across the room and smashed it across the back of Tim Cook's head. Steve Wilkos rushed to the stage to establish order, but it was already too late. From the crowd, stunned silence, one shrill "Oh no she didn't!" and then the sudden protrusion of an ocean off wildly rotating fists, accompanied by the insistent, jackal-like chant: "PALM PRE! PALM PRE! PALM PRE!"

Palm to Apple: Bring It [All Things D]

John Brownlee

Breaking: Apple C&D's Wired Gadget Lab over OS X-on-netbook tutorial

Wired's Gadget Lab blog is being sued by Apple for posting a tutorial on how to hack OS X Leopard to allow it to be installed on a MSI Wind netbook.

According to the author of that guide, Brian X. Chen, on Twitter:

Just found out Apple is suing Wired for my video tutorial on hacking netbooks to run Mac OS X. One hell of a way to start off the day.

Ars Technica's Clint Ecker then asks if Chen (and other Conde Nast writers) are allowed to discuss it publicly, or cover it as news.

Chen's Twitter response (since deleted):

Probably. We're supposed to favor radical transparency here, right?

It certainly doesn't look like it. The video to the guide in question has already been pulled and replaced with a random stream of CES 2009 videos. The YouTube mirror has been pulled as well.

More details as they become available, but smooth move, Apple. At the very least, you just guaranteed a fuckload more people are going to start reading Gadget Lab. Wired, don't wuss out.

Update: Just spoke with Leander Kahney, managing editor of Wired.com, who gave us an official "No comment." Looks like hatches are being battened. - Joel

Update: According to other sources at Wired, it appears that Chen mistweeted: Wired has simply been hit with a cease-and-desist... which it appears, from the outside, to be complying with in panicked haste. - John

Update: Wired.com has confirmed to BBG that is not a lawsuit, but a complaint from lawyers representing Apple with regard to the articles and videos in question. Wired.com plans to mull the complaint before deciding on a response. - Joel

Update: Although Wired has still pulled the video, Gizmodo snagged it before it was taken down and is now hosting it. - John

Rob Beschizza

British police may remotely hack into personal computers and e-mail without warrant

Britain's Home Office will allow police to remotely hack into anyone's computer without a warrant. From the Times:

The hacking is known as “remote searching”. It allows police or MI5 officers who may be hundreds of miles away to examine covertly the hard drive of someone’s PC at his home, office or hotel room.

Material gathered in this way includes the content of all e-mails, web-browsing habits and instant messaging.

The move follows a green light from the European Union, and also permits British police to access U.K. residents' computers at the behest of investigators from other countries. This could allow the British to conduct searches on behalf of local agencies bound by more restrictive policies, sharing the results back with them.

I've been talking folks in the U.K about this, and I think their opinion sums up why no-one there takes this sort of thing seriously. Americans assume a level of competence in bureaucracy, no matter how disorganized its visible operations. The British, however, believe their civil service and police are institutionally stupid, barely capable of executing their basic functions. So the Brits simply can't take seriously the idea that assigning police more powers will affect much of anything.

Police set to step up hacking of home PCs [Times]

Rob Beschizza

Cygnus systems patents desktop icons, sues Microsoft, Apple and Google

Cygnus Systems of Michigan patented thumbnail icons and is suing Microsoft, Apple, and Google. From Ars:

The patent in question is US 7,346,850, called "System and method for iconic software environment management." Its abstract describes "a method and system for storing, navigating, and accessing files within an operating system through the use of a graphical thumbnail representing the video display of the active document within the active application." In other words, Cygnus' patent describes features similar to those of Windows Explorer and Apple's Finder.

Cygnus Systems filed for its patent in 2001, which was awarded in March 2008.

Macworld's commenters are unearthing the abundant prior art. You know, just in case Microsoft and Apple would rather spend years defending themselves in court at unimaginable expense, rather than just pay the troll off.

Microsoft, Apple, Google sued over icon software patent [Ars Technica]

Rob Beschizza

UK regulators uphold complaint against Virgin download caps

A complaint against Virgin Media has been upheld by Britain's Advertising Standards Authority, which ordered it not to run its "HATE TO WAIT?" ad campaign again. The ad, regulators said, did not accurately depict the speed of its internet service.

A complainant registered by rival British Telecom claimed that Virgin misled users with the ads, because its traffic management policy capped speeds during busy hours, during which the marketed speeds would not be available.

In effect, regulators enforced a component of Net Neutrality on somewhat imaginative grounds: if you don't offer a free and fast internet, you may not advertise it.

Virgin's response was that it only focused on heavy downloaders and uploaders, whose activities it claims saturates bandwidth. It added that a typo in the ad that made it look more ungenerous than it is (a 300MB cap was printed as 300Mb — a megabit being just one eighth of a megabyte) and that it was essential to manage excessive network use.

The ASA's response? That's all fine and dandy, but it's not what you advertised:

The ad did not make clear that the 26 minute download time was only possible during off-peak hours, or that by downloading one full TV show in peak hours customers would automatically be in breach of the download limits...

Because that was not the case we concluded that the ad was misleading. The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness). ...

We told Virgin to make clear in future ads that download times would be restricted during peak hours. We advised them to seek guidance from the Copy Advice team when preparing similar ads in the future.

The ASA recently ordered Apple not to run iPhone ads without making it clear the depicted internet speeds were simulated.

Rob Beschizza

British censorship of Wikipedia prevents anonymous editing

Cory wrote over the weekend about British service providers blocking access to wikipedia, due to an old Scorpions album cover that looks to the local nannies like kiddie porn. It turns out that the method used breaks the whole site.

Over the weekend, the British Internet Watch Foundationplaced Wikipedia on its blacklist when the group was told the encyclopedia had published the banned cover of a 1970s Scorpions album, Virgin Killer , featuring a naked prepubescent girl. ...

But because of the Internet Watch Foundation blacklisting, British internet service providers are currently redirecting Wikipedia traffic to a proxy server. When British editors log in via that proxy server, Wikipedia’s systems cannot verify their unique IP addresses, and is blocking most access to British editors because it cannot adequately verify them.
"Everybody is looking exactly the same to us," Walsh added, adding that the group is disappointed by being censored.

The rationale is that if something might be used by a bad person to do a bad thing, or even to pursue a bad thought, it's intrinsically threatening to society at large and must be banned.

In the past, this curtain-twitching authoritarianism was just another characteristic eccentricity of British life. Over the last ten years, however, my home's become unrecognizable to me—it's as if these people have taken over!

The unsettling British obsession with pedophilia is creepy enough, but there's worse in store. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith recently said that to make police accountable to elected politicians would be a "Stalinist" interference with their operational independence.

We look at it, we laugh at it, but we just won't face it: she's openly describing a police state, and we're just not bovvered.

John Brownlee

Apple sees junta of conspirators behind Psystar

Oh, Apple. Always seeing a conspiracy everywhere! The spying cogwork vermin of the Illuminati scurry in the corners, controlled by the machinations of the murky, omnipresent Man.

The latest junta of bogeymen Apple descry? A conclave of mysterious accomplices of Psystar, makers of cheap, third-party Mac clones. According to Apple's latest court filings:

On information and belief, persons other than Psystar are involved in Psystar’s unlawful and improper activities described in this Amended Complaint. The true names or capacities, whether individual, corporate, or otherwise, of these persons are unknown to Apple. Consequently they are referred to herein as John Does 1 through 10 (collectively the “John Doe Defendants”).

In essence, they are reserving the right to add additional defendants to the suit later. It seems wildly paranoid, but Apple might not be wrong that Psystar is getting support from other parties, though I doubt it is as dastardly as Apple makes it sound. There's a lot riding on this case: if Apple loses, it will open the floodgates on third-party Mac clones, and also set a precedent against their EULAs. There's a good number of people who'd like both things to happen, either for financial gain or just for the principle of the thing. But my guess is that any help Psystar may be getting from such unnamed third parties comes by way of advice and funds for their legal defense... which hardly makes them accomplices in a crime.

Apple's also added a charge of DMCA violations against Psystar, which is almost certainly true... of course, under the utterly misguided DMCA, almost any kind of hacking is a crime, from installing custom firmware on your PSP to hackintoshing your MSI Wind.

Apple Tells Court It Believes Someone Is Behind Psystar; Adds New Claims, Including DMCA Violation [Groklaw]

Rob Beschizza

Juror in Drew case: People should be held liable for breaking website terms of service

Kim Zetter at Threat Level spoke the jury forewoman who helped convict Lori Drew. The picture that emerges is of a panel unwilling to apply the original felony counts due to lack of evidence. However, they had no reservations about using anti-hacking statutes to criminalize breaking a website's terms of service.

"I always read the terms of service," Valentina Kunasz told Threat Level. "If you choose to be lazy and not go though that entire agreement or contract of agreement then absolutely you should be held liable."

Drew created a sockpuppet account on MySpace with the intention of humiliating Megan Meier, a troubled youngster who had fallen out with Drew's own daughter. Meyer killed herself after receiving a message from the account that said the world would be a better place without her.

Unable to apply normal harassment laws to the internet, local prosecutors could not proceed against Drew, leading those in California, where MySpace is located, to challenge her using a computer security law. Though Drew's callous behavior lent her few defenders, many voiced concerns about a judgment that could make internet anonymity a crime.

Do you find and read the terms of service of every website you visit? I've never even read our own!

Jurors Wanted to Convict Lori Drew of Felonies but Were Stymied by Prosecutors [Threat Level]

Rob Beschizza

Lori Drew convicted of computer fraud after MySpace taunts

Lori Drew, 49, who used a fake MySpace identity to taunt 13-year-old Megan Meier, was convicted yesterday of computer fraud. Meier killed herself after being bullied online by 16-year old "Josh," who turned out to be a sockpuppet created by Drew to humiliate her.

Jurors aquitted her of felony charges and were deadlocked on a conspiracy charge, returning misdemeanor verdicts on three counts of accessing a computer without authorization.

For Meier's family, it's justice. Evidence at the trial demonstrated that Drew was responsible for a campaign of harassment—against a child—unbelievable in its depth and cruelty. Drew's conviction could be a valuable stepping stone to better laws targeting online harassment.

The court's ruling, however, is a problematic one. Here's Rebecca Lonergan, a law professor at University of Southern California, as interviewed by Reuters:

"The thing about this case that really bothered members of the public is the teenager's suicide, and the involvement of a grown woman in (allegedly) causing that suicide," she said. "And the main problem is that the charges weren't about the suicide. They were about computer hacking, essentially."

Drew's a callous sociopath, but she's not a hacker. In using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to successfully prosecute Drew, prosecutors have established breaking a website's terms of service as a criminal offense. The accused had to travel to MySpace's jurisdicton to defend herself, thanks to another clause in the unread, unsigned 4,350-word legal document that one "agrees" to whenever visiting MySpace.

Legislatures are working to ensure that harassment laws apply to the internet, but "in the meantime" decisions like have a legislative effect of their own. Here are a just a few examples from MySpace's Terms that now seem open to abuse by zealous prosecutors — even if MySpace itself would rather see the whole story just go away.

1. Obscuring MySpace's ads, or putting up your own ads.

2. Being "patently offensive."

3. Posting nudity or violent materials, or posting a link to a website that contains adult content.

4. Posting an email address, telephone number or home address.

5. Glorifying "illegal activities."

6. Promoting a commercial activity without MySpace's prior written consent.

7. Posting a photograph of someone without their consent

8. Promoting your band using sexually suggestive imagery.

9. Asking other MySpace users to embed your music player in their own profiles.

10. Copyright infringement

Dead Teen's Mother: Misdemeanor Convictions a 'Stepping Stone' in Cyberbullying Case [Wired: Threat Level]

Rob Beschizza

Teacher forced into computer-porn plea deal despite proof prosecutor, IT manager misled court

The deal, in which she surrenders her teaching credentials, comes despite a forensic report showing she was not reponsible for the infection of pornographic pop-up windows on the computer in question, and that the school district's IT manager, detectives and prosecutors misled the court.

Amero's motive is obvious: the alternative could have meant spending decades in jail on felony pornography charges.

As for the school district, detectives and prosecutors, however, there is no way to be equivocal about what they've done: they deceived jurors at the culmination of a bullying and inexcusable campaign against a woman whose innocence is overwhelmingly obvious.

Wired's Threat Level blog obtained a copy of the unreleased report (Julie Amero technical review - PDF), which finds that the school's IT manager bullshitted investigators, that the computer in question had no effective anti-malware provisions, and was infested. The distict's software licenses had expired and the jury was also misled in the original case.

Excepts from the report follow:

READ THE REST

Rob Beschizza

Coupon sharer wins lawsuit

John Stottlemire of Mountain View, Calif., discovered that by simply by cutting out part of the codes entered into Coupons Inc's software, one could generate extra printable coupons. When he told people about this product flaw, the firm sued him, under the absurd premise that he had circumvented digital copyright protections in their software.

The silliness of the claim is such that without even hiring a lawyer, he forced it to drop its case.

"I defended myself in federal court against a company who solicited the services of two separate law firms," Stottlemire said. "And in my opinion, I kicked their ass."

As the case was dropped, the question remains as to whether or not changing a URL or other code, to find or generate "unauthorized" results, amounts to circumvention of a digital lock.

Coupon Hacker Defeats DMCA Suit [Wired: Threat Level]

Rob Beschizza

Reiser appeals

After leading authorities to his wife's body, apologizing for killing her, agreeing to a 15-to-life term in prison, waiving his right to appeal, declaring that he knew what he was doing and had effective legal representation, Hans Reiser now claims that he thought the deal was for just three years — in his recently-filed appeal.

Reiser's handwritten request is the latest baffling move from the brilliant programmer, whose file system graces many Linux-based computers to this day.

In it, Wired reports, he suggests that his lawyer is delusional.

Linux Guru seeks new murder trial [Wired]

Rob Beschizza

Competition: Invent a new law to apply to Apple-Psystar case

World of Apple's Dizzle again excoriates bloggers for making things up based on their misunderstandings of legal minutiae.

AppleInsider went so far as to state: "Last month, it was reported that Apple and Psystar had agreed to pursue a mediated settlement to their legal dispute, a move which now seemingly been aborted."

This is, bluntly, false.

Dizzle's last smackdown was of TechSpot, which reported the arbitration process as Apple and Psystar deciding to "settle out of court."

In honor of his efforts, here is a mini-competition for the comments: "Invent a new law that affects the Apple-Psystar case to humorous effect."

The winner will receive a Mugen Pop Pop Infinite Bubble Popping Keychain with Surprise Sound Effects.

Misinformation on the Apple v. Psystar Case [WoA]