Yes, McKinnon should pay for his crime somehow, he did break the law after all, but to pay to close security gaps he exposed while comitting the crime is a bit unreasonable. I'm happy that the ridiculous damages bill is being challenged by experts, because as Peter Sommer, professor of security at the London School of Economics, put it:

Damage assessments of computer security breaches should consider "whether the victims have taken reasonable steps to limit the damage".

According to what we're seeing about this series of intrusions, they would've been preventable, had Uncle Sam's security experts been on the ball. So really, they should be paying McKinnon a consultation fee for pointing out the security gaps in the first place. [Computer Weekly via Slashdot]

The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

Section 201 of the bill also seems to imply that the government can reserve the right to regulate "critical" private networks, which could include the disclosure of information.

Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to "direct the national response to the cyber threat" if necessary for "the national defense and security." The White House is supposed to engage in "periodic mapping" of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies "shall share" requested information with the federal government.

Naturally, there has been a lot of debate on both sides of the issue—some are calling the redraft unsettlingly "vague" while others insist that a bill of this nature is essential in order to protect our nation's digital infrastructure. What do you think? Is this crossing the line or should the government have the right to exercise its power over private networks? [CNET]

Several different teams have done research showing that texting while driving is at least as dangerous as drunk driving and significantly more dangerous than talking on the phone while driving. The most interesting conclusion found that someone texting while driving is about eight times more likely to cause an accident than someone not texting, while a driver with a blood alcohol percentage of 0.08%, the legal limit, is only four times more likely than a sober driver.

The bill would force each state's highway department to institute a ban on texting within two years, or lose 25% of their federal funding each year, which is enough to cripple a highway department. Some weren't thrilled, pointing out that nobody's figured a way to enforce this kind of law, but we'll have to see if the Senate passes the bill to find out if anyone has real objections. [NY Times]

Under current laws, TV ads must not exceed the loudest peak in a show—but anyone who has ever been scared half to death by Billy Mays exploding onto the screen for Oxi Clean knows that is generally unacceptable.

Naturally, broadcasters and advertisers want to set their own standards—they even have their own plan to reduce ad volume set to take effect within a couple of months. Many believe that the Congressional bill with pass, but it may not be necessary if the broadcasters set acceptable limits. Either way, it looks as though loud pitchmen are going to be the only ones losing out on this. [York Daily Record]

The $1 iPhone app has 50 different dollar bill origamis to choose from and each has its own step-by-step instructions. The origamis range from animals, clothing, rings, structures, Yoda, and more. There's a few extra features like a self timer for testing your speediness and a sequence builder for creating your own origamis. But I was unable to really utilize this app to its full potential for one simple reason, I'm horrible at making origamis.


I started off pretty ambitious and jumped right into the cool looking TIE Fighter. After 15 minutes and many sighs of frustration I gave up. Here's what my Dollar Bill TIE Fighter looks like, yea I know it's pretty pathetic.


Even though the TIE Fighter killed my dreams of becoming a professional Dollar Origamist I decided to try my luck at folding a T-shirt. Well the sleeves aren't exactly perfect but I guess I did it?

[Dollar Origami]

Maglev trains are hella expensive. Sure, the $45 million is only supposed to pay for “environmental studies” in the first phase of the project, but the government can probably expect to spend a hundred times that amount before this thing is over.

Japan's Linimo maglev train, located near Nagoya, cost a cool $380 million to build and it's only 5.5 miles long. China's Shanghai Maglev Train, finished in 2004 in a country where labor's cheap and private land ownership is a pretty new concept, cost $1.3 billion for 19 miles of track—roughly $68.4 million per mile. What will $45 million buy in the States? 10 feet?

I love the concept of mass transit and one of my biggest gripes with the U.S. is how they let their train infrastructure shrivel and rot, but the paltry amount dedicated to such a pricey technology makes me wonder if this isn't just another attempt for Bush to greenwash his last few months in office. [Slashdot]

P.S. The picture is of the Shanghai Maglev Train, which has been criticized by locals for being showy, wasteful and impractical.

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Since Nathan's Xbox was returned stark naked, his girlfriend left him, his pet dog didn't even recognize him and people on the street looked at him in disgust. (Probably.) Such was the change in Nathan's life, he could hardly bare waking up in the mornings. However, Microsoft saw this atrocity going on, and they sure fixed it:

Despite Bungie jumping (ha!) in and giving our man all of the following:

• Legendary Edition Helmet signed by most-if not all-of the studio staff
• Halo 3 Soundtrack (two disc) signed by Marty O'Donnell (with "DO NOT ERASE!" written under his name)
• Bungie Jacket
• Bungie T-Shirt
• Halo 3 Messenger Bag
• Two Halo 3 Limited Edition Wireless Controllers (one covenant, one human)
• Signed Halo 3 Faceplate and Skins for Xbox 360
• Four McFarlane Action Figures (MC, EVA Spartan, Brute Chieftan, Jackal Sniper)
• Halo Actionclix Preview pack (Target exclusive sticker on the front)
• Halo Actionclix Game Pack 4
• Halo 3 Wall Graffix
• Halo 3: Ghosts of Onyx Novel
• Halo Graphic Novel
• Halo 3 Wristband
• Halo 3 Hackeysack

M Nathan is, we presume, now back with his girlfriend, his dog loves him and people in the street can't wait to stop and chat with him. He's so cool, we want to be his friend. [Kotaku: 1, 2 and 3]

That's right, Steve gave Bill an iPhone as a gift, and who can blame him? Bill Clinton's great; he simply oozes charisma. Sure, he may have not known that oral sex constitutes sexual intercourse, but to hell with that—he has more character in the tip of his mischievous tongue than the current president does in his whole president shaped body. For that reason alone, we would gladly have Bill sign our iPhone. We would also gladly receive an iPhone from The Steve himself. Guys, if you're reading and struggling to get our Christmas present in check, the above should hold all the clues you need. [Bioffe]

He eats fries the whole way through, he tells about how he knew he was smart, he appears baffled by the concept of loose change and he completely owns the burger joint, (you just know that that is his regular seat.) I'm going to be brave and put it out there: Gates is cool. Damn cool. If you disagree, we think he'll have you shot. Don Gates, you have our friendship. Be sure to check out the entire series, with Larry Ellison, Steve-o and Jeff Bezos all making appearances, you'd be a dithering fool to miss it. Hit up the link for other encounters with technology's A-list. [Yahoo]

As of August 10, "summary billing" has been the default format for paper bills, doing away with specific call and data-usage details. Anyone signing up for service or switching rate plans will get a summary bill, and—in what appears to be a 180-degree shift—will have to pay $1.99 per month to get the 300-page edition.

Since summary billing is still paper that comes in the mail, call-center employees are asked to encourage paperless billing. This is also an option customers can set online, and apparently choose during activation.

Again, this isn't the official word, but it sounds like the furor may be dying down. For me, I hate mail of any kind, so paperless billing is always the way to go, right from the start. Now I have an email inbox full of billing emails I never open, but at least the trees don't mind. [Gadget Lab]