British man prosecuted for publishing “obscene” story online

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

In a test case which could have severe ramifications for free speech on the internet, a 35 year old man is being prosecuted under British obscenity laws for a story he allegedly wrote and published on the internet.

Darryn Walker did not enter a plea and was sent for trial in March next year after the prosecution decided to charge him under the “Obscene Publications Act 1959”.   This is the first prosecution for written material under this law since 1991.

Walker allegedly wrote and published a story called Girls (Scream) Aloud – about pop group “Girls Aloud” – on the internet.  The story describes in detail the kidnap, rape, mutilation and murder of the band members and ends with the sale of various body parts on eBay.    The story was then published on the Usenet groups, in the “alt.sex” discussion groups, where it was seen by the Internet Watch Foundation, who alerted police.

The Obscene Publications Act has had a bit of a hit-and-miss legal history.   It was used to try to get rid of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” (we can see how THAT turned out) and after that, every attempt to get rid of objectionable books using the OPA was subsequently shot down by appeals courts.   I heard at one point that the British Government was going to either get rid of the OPA or radically re-write it.   But obviously nothing has come of that yet.

But now we have this totally ridiculous prosecution for publishing a story on the internet.   Yes, the subject matter of the story is absolutely awful but nevertheless, everyone has a right to publish what they want online without being harassed or prosecuted.    If Walker is convicted, this will set a chilling precedent.   If acquitted, the right to free speech on the internet will be affirmed by the courts.

An Anti-Cancer Beer to the Rescue?

Ahhhh, you’ve got to love the French paradox. France is notorious for fattening, artery-clogging food, yet has some of the lowest cancer and heart attack rates in the world, primarily due to a substance named resveratrol, naturally found in pomegranates, grapes, and incidentally, red wine.

Just a few months back, a group of scientists at the University of Wisconsin discovered that by adding small amounts of resveratrol to the diet of mice, the creatures’ aging process would slow and their hearts would remain healthy, even when constantly exposed to high-fat food.

So with this in mind, another group of researchers from the Houston-based Rice University decided that creating a cancer and heart-disease-fighting beer would be a great idea. Boy, as far as I’m concerned, this is the idea of the century. Unfortunately for beer lovers, who may have seen this as an opportunity to indulge in regular drunken stupors, only half a glass of the stuff each day will be needed to get the substance’s beneficial effects.

Let’s just hope that when it comes out, which–if it happens–should be in about five years, “resveratrol beer” will taste better than all those light beers out there. Knock on wood.

[Via Tristan Péloquin [French]]


Solar Furnace Burns Hot Dog Sausages, Melts Steel

A solar furnace is a device composed of a large curved mirror which harnesses solar rays to produce a high temperature beam of light. Possible applications includes melting steel, making hydrogen fuel, or even burning hot dog sausages to a crisp. The furnace you’ll see in the following video can reach 2,400 °C (4,352 °C), enough to melt steel, but according to Wikipedia, some solar furnaces can reach temperature up to 3,000 °C (5,430 °F). Video after the jump.

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New Harry Potter Trailer: Something for Fans to Nibble on While They Wait

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

The next film installment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was originally slated for release next month, and then a few months ago, suddenly pushed back by Warner Brothers to July 17, 2009. Fans were obviously not too happy about this (oh, the slew of worthless online petitions!). Still, WB insisted that the reason for the move was to bolster their summer line-up, despite theories to the contrary (because of Daniel Radcliffe’s nude performance in Equus on Broadway, or because of the HP Lexicon lawsuit).

Of course, if this newly released trailer is any indication, the film may be well worth the wait. Without going into details, let’s just say that I got shivers.

One little quibble: referring to Harry as “the chosen one” is even more irksome on film as it is in print. Yes, I know that it isn’t exactly a new concept, but I’d still prefer language that doesn’t bring to mind the lovechild of Neo and Buffy.

Would you like my dog to hump your computer?

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

If you’re one of the mad few who has started Christmas shopping early this year, then here’s a gift suggestion for the computer crazy geek in the family – a hound on heat that loves to hump computers!

Yes, so tacky even the Shopping Channel took a pass! For only $35 (EUR 20), you can have this very tasteful 8GB USB stick for Windows XP/Vista and MAC OSX.

But while you plug him in to do your computer work, he will get very frisky and will start to hump your hard drive (oooh-er Madam!).

For a practical demonstration, here’s a YouTube video.  (Make sure your children are safely out of the room before playing – we don’t want them to get any nightmares!).

You just have to love how the guy blurred out the USB socket!

Wasssssupppppppp: 8 Years later

8 years ago, a funny Budweiser ad went viral, infecting the whole planet with the “Wassup” meme. Now, the same dudes who were part of the original commercial have been brought back together to shout “Wassup” once again. Yes, we know, as almost everything published online recently, there’s an underlying political message to the video. So we’ll say just like our friends at Neatorama did: “Feel free to whine and complain about the political message in the comments.”

We’ve included the original version below first, just in case you needed to be brought back in time before watching the new one.

Wassup 2000

Wassup 2008

Real Consequences for Virtual Theft

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

On the heels of the story about a woman “killing” her virtual husband, here’s another reminder that what happens in virtual worlds doesn’t always stay in virtual worlds.

The story is that one teenage Dutch boy forced another teenage Dutch boy to hand over his virtual property in the game Runescape. From what I can tell, this happened much like any other mugging. Except instead of “I’ll beat you up if you don’t give me your wallet,” it was “I’ll beat you up if you don’t log into Runescape and transfer all of your loot to my character.” Apparently the victim called his bluff, because only after he was strangled and kicked in the head did the attacker get the login information to transfer the goods himself.

Now that this case has gone to trial, it’s set some interesting precedent in the Netherlands: stealing virtual goods is a crime. According to the judge, “goods don’t have to be material for the law to consider them stolen.”

This issue hasn’t been dealt with directly in US courts yet, since the famous Bragg v. Linden Labs (in which a Second Life landowner sued when Linden canceled his account without compensating him for his land) was decided on contractual grounds rather than the court having to make any ruling about the property itself. And of course, Second Life is a bit easier to track when it comes to “real” value since players can sink real money into into property and goods there. Meanwhile, virtual goods in games like Runescape and World of Warcraft can only be valued by the player’s time, or maybe how much the lot might fetch on eBay.

The judge in the Netherlands apparently found the theft of one mask and one amulet in Runescape was woth a sentence of 160 hours of community service, or 80 days in jail (the lawsuit in question dealt only with the theft, not the physical assault). I highly suspect that the kid will be taking community service, if only because he can’t go that long without playing Runescape.

October Zombie Update [Public Service Advisory]

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

As you may be aware, zombies are a constant threat to be reconed with if we are to maintain our way of life.  Therefore, we’ve decided to update you on this month’s happenings in all things zombie related.

First up, October 18th was the date of a monumental zombie outbreak in NYC.  It seems that a heavily banker/stock broker-based hoard of zombies emerged onto the streets, waving signs and carrying on with their standard brain-consuming shenanigans.  You know the economy isn’t doing too well when the zombies take notice.  From the moans of the various walking-dead present at the event, it appears that they were part of ZombieCon.  This year’s theme was “Bloody-Marys, Brains, and Bailouts.”  For some chilling videos, check out io9, who was on the scene.  [Image from NewYorkDailyPhoto.com on Flickr]

If you want to bone up on your zombie survival skills, check out his simulator, “The Outbreak.”

It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style video mashup that lets you find your way though the nightmare of a large-scale zombie attack.  There are several characters and they each have their own agenda.  It’s fun to play, but remember kids, one day it could save your life!  [Thanks Epic-Fu]

That’s all for this month, but remember to watch out: Halloween is coming, and while there actually isn’t a strong connection between zombies and Halloween, you’ll probably still run into a few while you’re out making your own mischief that night.  Here’s a little primer on how to survive a zombie uprising.  Bring your axe…you’re better safe than sorry!

Grab the Knife and Get Carving, Geek Style

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Do you need to geek up your Halloween festivities?  Why not look to the most classic of all Halloween traditions…the pumpkin!

This ungodly looking creature is actually a replica of “The Predator” carved onto the face of a pumpkin.  Created by Villafane Studios, it is a true pumpkin masterpiece, complete with spines and a gaping mouth.  Unfortunately, it’s a bit too difficult to create on your own.  These next two are not only impressive, but completely DIY-friendly.

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Researchers sniff computer passwords from 65 feet away

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Swiss researchers have discovered 4 ways to find out the passwords of computer users remotely through their wired keyboards.  They claim that at least 11 models of keyboard are vulnerable to at least one of the 4 attacks that they carried out.

They also claim that online banking and ATM money machines are also now vulnerable to these attacks.

Check out these two videos to find out more :