Bad People Use (Your) Computers

[Wii Sale|http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/1/19/6683] at major retailers like Best Buy and Target this Sunday, Jan. 21.

The Swedish media has named it the the world’s biggest online fraud with [internet fraudsters stealing around $1.1 million from account holders at the Swedish bank Nordea in a span of three months|http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006197735].

[Goodbye Flash 7|http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070117-8642.html], hello optimized, annoying flash ads!

The US is one of only three countries in the world that does not use the metric system as their primary method of measurement. The other two? Liberia and Myanmar.

Check out [the discussion on Slashdot|http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/12/2338259] and tell us your thoughts.

Julie Amero is a public school teacher who has been found guilty for harm to minors — [specifically that she displayed pornographic materials to her students|http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/computerworld-julie-amero-is-guilty.html] during class. But is that the whole story? Many computer experts believe she had unwittingly been exposed to computer malware by visiting a hair styling web site. Sentencing is scheduled for March 2, 2007 where she faces up to 40 years of jail time.

In related news, 16-year-old Matt Bandy was [charged with downloading child pornography|http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/10460]. Investigators found his computer system full of malware but continued with the prosecution anyway. Only the publicity and influence of the investigative program 20/20 prevented jail time. Instead, he was able to plead to a lesser charge akin to sharing an adult magazine and avoid a lifetime “sex offender” flag on his record.

[Streamburst|http://www.streamburst.co.uk/], a UK startup company is trying an alternative to [DRM|Digital Rights Management] in the form of a digital watermark and 5-second segment including the name of the user to each purchased and downloaded movie. In other words, when you purchase a movie from them, the video you download will have your info embedded in the file. If the file ends up on the hard drive of many others, everyone will know who’s responsible. Unlike many DRM solutions, this solution does not infringe upon [fair use|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use] or unregulated use of the video, such as making personal backups.

For more info, check out the story on [Arstechnica|http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070119-8657.html].