Morning Media Summary
Tech:
Free E-Books, With a Catch – Advertising:
“Barnes & Noble may kick off a fresh price war today for digital book readers. But the real news in digital publishing is a novel approach to the e-books themselves: Free books — with advertising.”
Vendors closing in on 1Gbps using DSL:
“DSL vendors are using a variety of methods such as bonding several copper lines, creating virtual ones and using advanced noise cancellation to increase broadband over copper to several hundred megabits per second.”
Look like its the end of the line for LimeWire:
“A federal judge has issued an injunction on LimeWire for copyright infringement and unfair competition. The music industry had claimed the infringement against the Lime Group which owns LimeWire back in May. LimeWire has issued an official statement on their blog today with more details. The biggest change is that they have to disable the following functionality as well as distribution of the client immediately.”
Inside Google’s Anti-Malware Operation:
“A Google malware researcher gave a rare peek inside the company’s massive anti-malware and anti-phishing efforts at the SecTor conference here, and the data that the company has gathered shows that the attackers who make it their business to infect sites and exploit users are adapting their tactics very quickly and creatively to combat the efforts of Google and others.”
This is the real reason the White iPhone 4 is delayed:
“There have been numerous reasons why the White iPhone 4 may be delayed with one reason being the color mismatch between the home button and the body. Well this time there is another reason. A source has told CultofMac that the reason for the delay is a light leakage issue caused by the case being clear. Light from the case leaks into pictures taken by the back and front camera on the White iPhone 4 causing distorted pictures. This problem is non-existent on the Black iPhone 4 because of its already black case so Apple has been looking for a solution to this problem thus the delay of the White iPhone 4 till spring of next year.”
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
Natural Gas Stirs Hope and Fear in Pennsylvania:
“Along the narrow two-lane roads that wind through Washington County in southwestern Pennsylvania, there is little sign that the surrounding pastures and hay bales, barns, homes, and children’s swing sets all are sitting on one of the largest reservoirs of natural gas in the world.”
Insurance / Gambling:
Paul the Octopus, Prophet for Online Sports Betting, Died in German Aquarium:
“German gambling laws do little to prevent people from gambling. In fact, they are so liberal that until recently, an octopus called Paul had been wagering its lunch against his ability to pick the winners.”
Health / Safety:
Cholera kills E. coli, salmonella:
“Cholera bacteria are deadly to other bacteria that cause gastrointestinal illness — a finding that may provide clues about how cholera survives between epidemics.”
Health Care Vote Puts Democrats on Defensive:
“At the start of their debate here last week, the Republican challenger for Congress, State Senator Robert Hurt, paused only long enough to thank the League of Women Voters before ripping into Representative Tom Perriello for voting for “government-run health care.” Mr. Hurt returned to the topic seven times over the next hour, despite being asked only once.”
Caffeine and Alcohol Drink Is Potent Mix for Young:
“Mixing alcohol and caffeine is hardly a new concept, but a rash of cases involving students and others who landed at hospitals after drinking beverages that combine the two in a single large can has alarmed college and health officials around the country.”
Cows Work Overnight to Create Milk That May Help Insomniacs Sleep:
“A herd of 1,400 cows is being milked between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. under the theory that they will produce more sleep inducing melatonin in their milk at a time when they are usually lying down in the dark.”
Economics:
China, US closer to G20 deal on trade imbalances:
“China and the United States have reached the basis for an agreement at next month’s Group of 20 summit on setting targets to rein in global trade imbalances, a report said Wednesday.”
Corrected – Puerto Rico unveils tax cuts to reignite economy:
“Puerto Rico’s governor on Monday announced plans to cut business and income taxes by more than a $1 billion annually over the next seven years in an attempt to jumpstart the U.S. territory’s economy.”
Home Prices Fell in August, Hovering Near Recent Lows:
“Prices of U.S. single-family homes fell for a second straight month in August, hovering around recent lows after the expiration of popular homebuyer tax credits, according a Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price report on Tuesday.”
Public Optimism in U.S. System of Government Hits a 36-year Low:
“Optimism in the country’s system of government has dropped to a new low when measured against polls going back 36 years, and the public’s belief that America is the greatest nation on earth, while still high, has fallen significantly from its level a generation ago.”
Legal:
North Carolina Department of Revenue’s Demand for Amazon Customer Records Violates First Amendment:
“Amazon pursues summary judgment as to its First Amendment claim that the DOR’s request for all information related to Amazon’s sales to North Carolina residents violates the First Amendment. The Court agrees and GRANTS the motion.”
Study Finds Street Stops by N.Y. Police Unjustified:
“Tens of thousands of times over six years, the police stopped and questioned people on New York City streets without the legal justification for doing so, a new study says.”
Broken Telephone in Court Opinions:
“In my Academic Legal Writing book, I caution students who are writing law review articles against relying on court opinions’ factual assertions about social science evidence, or even about past cases. Always read, quote, and cite the original source, I tell them (though I realize, of course, that many lawyers don’t have the luxury of taking the research time to do that). Don’t let the intermediate source’s errors become your errors.”
Sharron Angle campaign: Reid’s trying to steal the election:
“There’s no hard evidence yet that I know of, but take the hottest Senate race of the year, throw in a few voting-machine glitches, add some shadowy SEIU workers, and mmmmm that’s good blog content.”
Labor:
SEIU Controls ‘Glitchy’ Voter Machines in Clark County, NV:
“UPDATE: Americans for Limited Government have jumped on this issue and are pushing the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Nevada State Attorney General to get to the bottom of it, and now:”
Top Union Official Caught on Tape Discussing Voter Fraud:
“Top Official at NJEA (New Jersey Education Association) discussing what he describes as a rigged election in Hudson County, NJ.”
Transportation/ Land Use:
Tampa vote seen as crucial for high speed rail:
“”Tampa has nothing right now… Orlando has commuter rail,” said Republican Congressman John Mica. He says that if there aren’t ways to get around Tampa without a car people from Orlando won’t use high speed rail to get there. And that would leave taxpayers with a money-swallowing nightmare.”