Sean Bonner from Blogging.la shared some video he shot at this weekend's ANONYMOUS vs. Scientology protests in Los Angeles. Many similar protests took place on this day in other cities around the world.

Link to BBtv vlog post with discussion.

Here's a related post by Sean on Blogging.la, and here's a related post on Boing Boing.

Last April, RIM woke many Blackberry users up to the idea that they might be Crackberry addicts by having the system go offline for a few hours overnight. It's amazing how people recognize just how dependent they are on a service once it goes away. The eventual excuse given by RIM (a botched software upgrade) was unconvincing. However, there hadn't been any more outages, so questions about the service died down. However, with widespread Blackberry outages Monday afternoon, lasting about three and a half hours, impacting all mobile operators, some of those questions are going to be raised again. The Blackberry system involves all traffic going through RIM machines, and a cascading problem across those machines can certainly cause quite a bit of trouble. At some point, people are going to start asking if there isn't a more robust, distributed way of offering a Blackberry (or Blackberry-like) service that would be more immune to these types of issues.

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stoolpigeon writes "Ars reports that Starbucks is replacing T-Mobile with AT&T as their Wi-Fi provider. AT&T broadband customers will be able to access the service for free. Starbucks card users will get 2 hours a day free. 2-hour, daily, and monthly rates will be lower than they were with T-Mobile. Starbucks says that their previously announced deal to tie in with iTunes will continue under AT&T. For now AT&T isn't offering free Wi-Fi to iPhone users, but says it expects to accommodate them soon. Quoting the article: 'The companies didn't specify exactly when the rollout would begin, only saying that it would take place this spring... [The company plans] to install all new equipment at Starbucks as part of this agreement, so the changeover won't be as simple as flipping a switch.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Vincent Pearase of Oak Park High School in Winnipeg, Canada, writes:

I am a computer/social studies teacher. My students and I regularly visit Boing Boing. This video was made by a group of kids to Celebrate March 21, the UN designated International Day for the Elimination of Discrimination. We shot the video in about six hours, and edited it in about three hours. Our school, Oak Park, is known for its advanced Digital Film Program. Every year our students make a couple of hundred shorts (animated, live action, documentary) as well as an original student-made feature length movie.

Link to video.

jetpack writes to make sure we're aware that Apple's OS X 10.5.2 update is available and that it contains plenty of improvements and fixes that users have been asking for. Macworld enumerates some of the big ones, saying that the update "shows Apple listens to users" (sometimes). A couple of the new features simply restore Tiger (10.4) capabilities that Leopard (10.5) had inexplicably withdrawn. You can now shut off the much-maligned transparency of the menu bar, and organize your Dock stacks hierarchically and display them as folders. And Apple hss provided welcome access to common Time Machine functions in the menu bar.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Someone who prefers to remain anonymous notes that a recent decision in the 10th Circuit holds that "when a company uses the DMCA to take down stuff from eBay on grounds of copyright infringemen, the company can be sued in the state where the target resides." Specifically, the copyright holder for artist Erte sent a DMCA takedown notice for someone selling products on eBay using a variation of an Erte design. The copyright holder also sent a letter threatening a lawsuit. The eBay seller responded by suing in the local, Colorado, courts, asking for a declaratory judgment that the products did not infringe, claiming fair use. The case here isn't about whether or not there was infringement, but what's the right location for the lawsuit. The copyright holders were based in Connecticut and the UK, and claimed that Colorado wasn't the right jurisdiction for the lawsuit. However, the Circuit court found otherwise, noting that it was clear that the sellers were in Colorado (it said so on their auctions) and the takedown notice clearly impacted people in Colorado.

The post on the topic concludes: "The outcome is a harsh lesson for copyright holders who send cease and desist letters willy-nilly." That basically suggests that perhaps those who rush out to send DMCA notices won't be so eager to dash them off, knowing they may be sued at the location of the recipient. However, I'd suggest that a different result is likely -- and it isn't a good thing. Rather than just sending off nasty letters threatening to sue, expect DMCA takedown notices to be followed quickly by actual lawsuits. We're already seeing this in the patent world. Patent holders who are afraid that someone they want to sue will sue for declaratory judgment in a more friendly jurisdiction simply decide to sue first in a favorable location (East Texas), without providing much warning at all. So, the end result of this might not be those issuing DMCA takedowns become more careful, but that they start filing more lawsuits.

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We're pleased to announce that Honda is sponsoring three special sections of Boing Boing, called "The Power of Dreams." They feature posts about safety, the environment, and innovation. (Links go to Honda sponsored sections.)

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "There's a growing revolt among Microsoft TechNet & MSDN subscribers who are frustrated that they can't yet get Vista SP1 and test their software on it. This can't be good news for anyone hoping that SP1 will have better compatibility. While SP1 has been released to manufacturing, and pirate copies are easy to find, Microsoft is withholding it from subscribers until early March. According to the article, some frustrated users are upset enough that they plan to abandon TechNet entirely and turn to piracy."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Anneka notes that, although both Netflix and Best Buy threw logs on HD DVD's funeral pyre today, things are not all going Blu-ray's way. A Connecticut man is suing Samsung, the maker that brought the first Blu-ray players to market, over its "defective" BD-P1200 player. The lawsuit seeks class-action status. The problem is that the Samsung BD-P1200 is a "Profile 1.0" player that can't play some Blu-ray discs and Samsung has no intention (or ability) to upgrade these players via firmware. Quoting Ars: "The meager requirements of the 1.0 profile mean that Blu-ray players which fail to implement the optional features won't be able to take advantage of picture-in-picture, which requires secondary decoders. 1.0 players are also unable to store local content, lacking the 256MB of storage mandated by the 1.1 profile. Profile 1.1 discs should still play on 1.0 players, however, but the extra features will not work."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

On Friday, we jokingly noted that Bill Gates was erasing his Facebook profile. However, the NY Times is now reporting on just how difficult it actually is to erase your profile on the site. Basically, you can "deactivate" it, but it still exists and can be found by users of the service. Of course, some might argue that it's rather silly to try to delete anything once you've put it online, and that counts for social networking profiles as well as other content.

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A woman who works on an oil rig in the North Sea had a dream that a bomb was on the platform. When she was overheard recalling the dream, it resulted in an evacuation.

A Grampian Police spokesman last night said: "The female is expected to appear at Aberdeen sheriff court on Monday in connection with the matter."

Earlier police confirmed that they were treating the incident as a false alarm, adding that a 23-year-old woman was being brought ashore for questioning.

...

[Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee] said: "It appears that the whole thing was started when someone was a bit upset about a dream they had and that appears to have sparked one of the biggest security operations the North Sea has ever seen. The cost has been astronomical and there was never any need for it." He said he felt sorry for the woman who appeared to be at the centre of the alarm.

Link (Thanks, Matt!)

Ponca City, We Love You writes "The Department of Justice has announced the indictment of former Boeing engineer Dongfan Chung on charges of economic espionage in the theft of company trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft, and the Delta IV rocket. Chung is a native of China and a naturalized US citizen. According to the indictment, Chinese aviation industry representatives began sending Chung 'tasking' letters as early as 1979. Over the years, the letters directed Chung to collect specific technological information, including data related to the Space Shuttle and various military and civilian aircraft. Chung allegedly responded in one letter indicating a desire to contribute to the 'motherland,' the DOJ said. It was not immediately clear how much, if any, damage the alleged espionage did to US national security but DOJ officials said the cases reflect the determination of the Chinese government to penetrate US intelligence and obtain vital national defense secrets. 'Today's prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat in the post-Cold War world,' said Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

This is just about the greatest thing I've seen this year. Perfectly matched, true-to-script overdubs of classic movies by Spongebob's voice actors.

Christine says:

This is HILARIOUS!! Spongebob voiceovers of scenes from Casablanca, Singing in the Rain, and the Godfather. One of the highlights of the Annie Awards last Friday night was a small video concocted by the cast of Spongebob Squarepants (M.C. Tom Kenny, along with presenters Rodger Bumpass, Carolyn Lawrence and Bill Fagerbakke), created to prove they shouldn’t be stereotyped simply as Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward and Sandy.

Link

Howard Rheingold says:

In 1976, Jim Neidhardt put one of the first Sony Portapaks in a backpack and used a telephoto lens. Equipped with a radiomike, I roamed the streets of the San Francisco Bay Area, posing as Howard K. Martian, extraterrestrial anthropologist. Episodes were cablecast in the earliest days of public access cable TV.

I've rescued a few episodes from deteriorating 30 year old videotape and repackaged them for digital distribution. For the next few weeks, episodes on my vlog will show me racing a cable car, interrogating a primitive computer, and interviewing baffled citizens on the streets of San Francisco.

Link

Linux.com is reporting that in addition to the bad press, Trend Micro's patent case against Barracuda Networks' use of ClamAV has drawn an apparent boycott of Trend Micro. "Dutch free knowledge and culture advocacy group ScriptumLibre called for 'a worldwide boycott on Trend Micro products.' In its news release, ScriptumLibre summarizes the case, with its chairman, Wiebe van der Worp, describing Trend Micro's actions as 'well beyond the borders of decency.' The ScriptumLibre site includes link to free graphics that supporters can add to their Web pages to show their support and a call for IT professionals that provides a links to help people to educate themselves about the case and suggests a series of actions that people can take in the boycott." Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by SourceForge Inc.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The BBC reports that Saudi religious police are preventing shop owners from selling red-colored items, because they might be given as gifts on Valentine's Day, which is an "un-Islamic" holiday.

Saudi authorities consider Valentine's Day, along with a host of other annual celebrations, as un-Islamic.

In addition to the prohibition on celebrating non-Islamic festivals, the authorities consider Valentine's Day as encouraging relations between men and women outside wedlock - punishable by law in the conservative kingdom.

The Saudi Gazette reported that some people placed orders with florists days or weeks before Valentine's Day in anticipation of the ban, which is a regular occurrence.

"Sometimes we deliver the bouquets in the middle of the night or early morning, to avoid suspicion," one florist said.

Link

Following a second year of stories about the NFL stopping churches from throwing Superbowl parties if they have TV screens larger than 55", it appears that some folks in Congress are stepping up to create an exception in copyright law for "houses of worship." For everyone else, the 55" limit would prevail, but churches would now be allowed to show "The Big Game" without worrying about copyright infringement charges. It's not clear why churches deserve an exemption to this law (or why the 55" limit is in the law in the first place), but don't expect that to stop politicians from jumping on a popular bandwagon issue.

Still, it's fun to watch people who clearly have no understanding of what's going on weigh in on the topic -- sometimes in well known publications. Witness a columnist for the Boston Herald who is upset about the proposed change, but for the wrong reasons. First, he appears to not understand the difference between copyright and trademark, claiming that the NFL has to enforce its copyright or it will lose it (that would actually be trademark, but who's fact checking?). He then goes on to state that "the copyrights are private property, and the league has every right within the law to profit from that property." Indeed, but banning 55" screens doesn't prevent the NFL's right to profit. In fact, this gets even more ridiculous when the guy says: "To have the government in effect confiscate that property to benefit religious institutions seems a very worrisome precedent." Wait, and having the government in effect determine the maximum size of a private TV isn't a worrisome precedent?

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This past Sunday members of the group "Anonymous" that has been running an attack on the church of Scientology took their battle from the tubes of the internet to the pavement of real life, staging a protest outside the central Phoenix Church of Scientology. "The protesters said they gathered Sunday in lieu of the birthday of Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist once cared for by church staffers. Her 1995 death sparked media attention and a civil wrongful death suit against a branch of the Church of Scientology. A wrongful death suit by her family was a public-relations nightmare for the church for years until it w