Driver gets 18 months in jail for speeding that killed man
Seems like a huge Big Brother Issue huh?

Black box crucial. Recorder showed no attempt to brake
The Montreal motorist betrayed by his car's black box has been sent to jail for dangerous driving causing death.

Eric Gauthier, 26, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months behind bars - less than a week before the third anniversary of his smashing into another vehicle at more than three times the speed limit.

'No sentence can replace the loss of this young man,' Quebec Court Judge Louise Bourdeau said of victim Yacine Zinet in handing down her decision.

Zinet's family was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

His sister, Belinda Matthey, told reporters she 'was sure (Gauthier) was just going to serve his sentence in the community' after the judge listed a dozen cases from between August 1999 and November 2002 in which drivers convicted of the same offence were spared imprisonment.

'I think this will be an example to others,' Matthey said outside the courtroom as she stood with her mother.

'They have to know there is (prison time) at the end of the line,' she added. 'A criminal act was committed - it wasn't an accident.'

But defence lawyer Marie-France La Haye hinted she may appeal the 'very, very severe' sentence.

'He'll have trouble dealing with this the rest of his life,' La Haye said. 'He was starting to make progress. Now he'll have to start from zero.'

When Gauthier rammed into Zinet's car at the intersection of Ste. Catherine and Alphonse D. Roy Sts. shortly before 1 a.m. on April 19, 2001, his Pontiac Sunfire was travelling at 157 kilometres per hour. The limit is 50 km/h.

Besides killing the first-year student at the Ecole des hautes etudes commerciales, the impact left his passenger Martin Larouche with a broken arm, fractured ribs and a bruised knee.

Gauthier was given an additional nine-month sentence for the injuries to Larouche, to be served at the same time as his longer jail term. He is also barred from driving for the next three years.

Matthey didn't agree with the judge's assessment Gauthier expressed great guilt and showed empathy toward his victim's family.

'We'll never be able to forgive him,' she said. 'A normal human being would have shown remorse sooner and apologized.' Instead, 'he tried to protect himself, saying it was an accident.'

Matthey also noted Gauthier didn't give his regrets to her family until he was on trial.

She was most thankful to police using information culled from the data recorder, better known as a black box, from Gauthier's car.

'Without it, we wouldn't have known what happened.'

The recording device, which stores data on how a car is driven in the last five seconds before a collision, showed four seconds before impact, Gauthier had the gas pedal to the floor. He didn't brake before impact."
Montreal Gazette - canada.com network

Girl chimps learn faster than boys
Yeah, but can they pee standing up?
A study of wild chimpanzees has provided evidence that girls have been faster learners than boys for six million years.

Researchers discovered clear gender differences in the way that young male and female chimps learn skills from their mothers.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, mirror the contrasts in the learning abilities of human children, say the scientists behind the study.

Professor Elizabeth Lonsdorf, of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, said females spent more time closely watching their mother, but male chimps had shorter attention spans and spent more time wrestling with one another and swinging in trees.
New Zealand News - World - Girl chimps learn faster than boys

Tech workers who say their jobs went to India seek federal benefits
Source: AP Newswire
PORTLAND, Maine — Technology workers in South Portland who say they lost their jobs to workers in India have applied for federal benefits under a 40-year-old program intended to assist manufacturing workers displaced because of foreign competition.

The petition for benefits claims that Wright Express, a leading provider of fleet charge cards, laid off 44 employees in its information technology department. Wright Express denies that jobs were outsourced overseas.
Using overseas workers to do tasks more cheaply is a growing technique for U.S. companies and government agencies. Long common in manufacturing, it's now being used to fill technology and service positions.

The Wright Express petitioners are among the first in Maine to join a national effort in which service-sector employees have asked for benefits under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
Last month's application by Wright Express workers appears to be Maine's second TAA petition filed by service-sector employees, according to records at the Maine Department of Labor. A petition filed in January by two subcontractors of a computer-aided design firm in Saco, CMD3d, was rejected by the U.S. Department of Labor, which noted that the firm performs a service, rather than producing a tangible article.

The Bush administration is hinting that it might back a bill in Congress to expand the TAA coverage to include call-center employees, engineers and other service workers who have lost jobs to outsourcing. The program pays for retraining, health insurance tax credits and other benefits. So it can provide an important cushion for workers until they find new jobs.

In their petition, the former Wright Express workers said the company, which provides credit card and vehicle tracking services, had outsourced its information technology department to India.

"I was stunned," said Jessica Roy, a Wright Express spokeswoman. "We're not outsourcing our IT department to India."
Wright Express has roughly 600 employees. In January, it laid off 34 technology workers as part of a department reorganization following a four-year project to upgrade its computer platform. Those positions are no longer needed, Roy said, and the company assumes that the workers applying for trade benefits belong to that group.

Roy said some of the testing for computer platform is being done in India, but those are temporary assignments that Wright Express would not hire full-time employees to do.

Verizon to Add Internet Surcharge
and they think we should be taxed on VOIP
Verizon Communications announced plans yesterday to add a $2 to $3 monthly surcharge to the cost of its high-speed Internet connections, a move that could fuel further debate over the taxation of online services.

Verizon said its new charge would start appearing next month on the bills of roughly 2.5 million subscribers to its high-speed data line service in Eastern states. The company said that, because of logistical problems, the surcharge would not be levied on high-speed Internet customers in Western states until June.

Verizon and other providers of digital data lines say they are required by federal regulations to pay into the Universal Service Fund that subsidizes telecommunications service in rural areas, schools and libraries. Verizon said that until now, it had paid the surcharge, rather than passing the cost on to customers.

BellSouth, another large regional phone company, also said yesterday that it would add $2.97 in fees to the bills of its 1.4 million high-speed Internet customers starting April 15.

The fee is 85 percent of the combined amount of the surcharge and administrative costs that the company currently bears, Joe Chandler, a BellSouth spokesman, said.

In February, SBC Communications began levying a monthly charge of $1.84 on the bills of new customers and existing customers who sign new contracts for high-speed Internet service, a company spokesman said.

The phone companies already include the Universal Service Fund fee on bills for lines used for telephone service. But they had hoped that politicians, regulators or the courts would relieve them of having to pay the fee on high-speed Internet lines.

"We've been hoping it would go away," said Eric Rabe, a Verizon spokesman. Verizon charges $34.95 for high-speed Internet service, but customers who also use Verizon for long-distance and local telephone service pay $29.95 a month for the Internet line.

The fate of the federal fee - along with other state and local taxes levied on Internet access - is being debated on Capitol Hill and is the subject of litigation.

Telephone companies, like Verizon, point out that cable companies that offer similar high-speed Internet connections are not required to pay the surcharge. As a result, the telephone companies say, they are at a competitive disadvantage.

Complicating the matter, some states and cities levy additional taxes on phone lines used for Net access, while other states do not.

Cable and telephone access to the Internet are treated differently for tax purposes because the Federal Communications Commission has defined telephone data lines as a telecommunications service, thus subjecting it to certain surcharges. But cable Internet access has been defined as an "information service," a category that has been shielded from taxes under federal law.

Two competing bills in the Senate are seeking to address the issue and the larger question of taxation of Internet services. One bill, sponsored by George Allen, a Republican from Virginia, would eliminate all tax on Internet access, whether provided by telephone or cable companies.

A competing bill, sponsored by Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, would allow states that collect taxes on phone companies for high-speed Internet access to continue doing so.

John Reid, a spokesman for Mr. Allen, said the senator hoped to see his bill voted on the Senate floor later this month or in early May.

The courts have had to address the discrepancy of treatment for telephone and cable services as well. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling in October that vacated the F.C.C.'s determination that cable Internet services were entirely information services, and said they had elements of telecommunications services. Last Friday the appeals court stayed its ruling pending an appeal by the commission and the cable industry to the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court does not take the case, or the appeals court decision is left in place, cable companies could be required to pay the surcharge, Mr. Rabe of Verizon said.

Another dot bomb event
Apple to halt N. California production
It's closing manufacturing operations in the Sacramento area, a move that's likely to lead to the loss of more than 200 jobs.

Apple Computer said on Wednesday that it is shuttering its Northern California manufacturing operations and transferring the work to an outside contractor in the southern part of the state.
"As part of an ongoing effort to make our operations more efficient, Apple is closing its Sacramento manufacturing operation and moving most of its California-based manufacturing activities to a supplier in Southern California," the company said in a statement.
Apple would not say how many workers are affected by the closure, but the company had told local government officials it planned to cut 235 jobs, according to The Sacramento Bee.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker will continue to employ workers at the facility in nonmanufacturing areas. Apple also has a call center operation at the 752,000-square-foot facility, according to its most recent annual report, filed in December with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Employees from various other functions of the company will continue to work in Apple's Sacramento facility, and while this action will result in a reduction in operations staff, Apple's overall headcount worldwide continues to grow," the company said.
The plant, which once cranked out Apple's fruit-flavored iMacs, opened in 1992, according to the Bee.
The company has gradually reduced the number of manufacturing workers in the Sacramento area in recent years. In 2002, Apple cut some manufacturing jobs at its Elk Grove plant. In 1999, the company let go 25 to 50 full-time employees and about 300 contractors.

Google Reportedly May Change E-Mail Service
source: Reuters - Internet search company Google Inc. is considering changes to its Gmail e-mail service amid criticism over privacy concerns, the company's president said, the Wall Street Journal said in its online edition.
 
Privacy groups and a California state senator have criticized the free e-mail service because it would place advertising in personal messages after searching them for key words.
 
Google President and co-founder Sergey Brin told the Journal his company will not make any "rash changes" to the e-mail service which is still being tested by thousands of users.
 
But he also said the idea of letting Gmail users opt in or out of the targeted ad service was an idea that "is being batted about. We certainly wouldn't rule it out," the Journal said.
 
In late March the world's top Web search company announced plans to launch Gmail -- a service that would offer users one gigabyte of free storage, more than 100 times the storage offered by other free services from Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. .

It's almost DEFCON season, time for another Cannonball Run
So the time is apon us, time to start making plans for the 3rd Annual DEFCON Cannonball Run. This year we are adding some new things such as organization. We should also be adding a map tracking the cars progress for the audience at the Alexis Park. We should be conducting interviews and possibly will have some give-aways. Check out the site and we will see you in July
3rd Annual DEFCON Cannonball Run

You paid how much for that static?
Apple Computer said late Monday that it is looking into some users' complaints of sound problems with the iPod Mini.
Complaints ranging from crackling sound to interrupted play have been making the rounds on Apple enthusiast sites, including iPodlounge.
"Apple is aware of a few isolated reports online of iPod Mini audio static," the company said in a statement, adding that the device is covered by the company's standard one year warranty.
The device has been in short supply since it went on sale in February. Apple has pushed back the global launch of the Mini to try to satisfy U.S. demand for the $249 player, which holds 4GB worth of music.
CEO Steve Jobs debuted the Mini at this year's Macworld Expo in January. In February, Apple noted that it had 100,000 pre-orders for the iPod Mini. The company may update the sales figure when it reports earnings Wednesday.
Source: CNet

You may be safer on your cell phone than your VOIP
A major cell phone trade group objected to a proposal that would force broadband Internet providers to rewire their networks to support easy wiretapping by police.
The proposal from the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration is "expressly exempted from the law" and puts an unfair burden on broadband subscribers to fund any network overhaul, according to a regulatory filing by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), whose members include the nation's top cell phone service providers.
Last month, the three law enforcement agencies asked the Federal Communications Commission to require all broadband service providers to come under the jurisdiction of the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. That law requires telecommunications carriers to rewire their networks to government specifications to provide police with guaranteed access for wiretaps.
The CTIA's members are interested in the outcome because many, like Nextel Communications, are beginning to launch wireless broadband services. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has expressed concerns about the proposal's broad scope and the FBI's authority over new technologies.
A ruling on the proposal isn't expected for several months.
The New York State Attorney General's office, summing up the position of law enforcement in general on the issue, told the FCC recently that "there can be no more delay" in lifting the Internet's exemption from existing wiretapping laws.
"Critical electronic surveillance is being compromised today," New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer wrote in his comments to the FCC. "In a post-Sept. 11 world, the commercial interests of telecommunications carriers can no longer trump law enforcement's use of court-authorized intercepts to protect the public."

I don't know if this makes me want one but Apple drops prices
The computer maker fits a speedier SuperDrive into its top-of-the-line eMac, while dropping the computer's price by $100.
Apple Computer introduced an updated version of its eMac desktop system Tuesday, adding a faster processor and speedier DVD-burning capabilities.
The latest version of the eMac, part of Apple's effort to instill brand loyalty among educators and school children, features both internal component upgrades as well as a lower price tag. The education market has long been a stronghold for Apple, though other companies have been making inroads.
"(The eMac) is a very important system for us, as it remains our most popular desktop for schools and homes with children," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of hardware product marketing. "We think that it's a great fit for kids, and we continue to add functionality that we believe makes it an affordable, easy-to-use, digital hub for all sorts of activities."
The new model, a revamp of Apple's top-end eMac, is the first of the line to offer the company's 8x SuperDrive DVD recorder/CD burner, and it features a 1.25GHz processor, a step up from Apple's previous 1GHz machines. The upgraded eMac features 333MHz DDR memory, faster graphics and USB 2.0 ports. The computers will retail for $999, representing a drop of $100 off Apple's current pricing for its most powerful eMacs. The company will continue to offer a $799 version of the desktop with a smaller hard drive and no SuperDrive.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple also began offering an optional internal Bluetooth module, a built-in antenna and a card slot to support wireless networking for new eMacs. Other options include 1GB of RAM, as well as 80GB and 160GB hard drives. The computers come with Apple's latest operating system, dubbed Panther, and offer additional applications aimed at helping users create, view and listen to movies and music files.

Wanna learn to catch tommEE pickles?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The highly secretive National Security Agency is looking to hire 7,500 workers over the next five years in the spy agency's largest recruiting campaign since the 1980s.

A release posted on the agency's Web site said NSA plans to hire 1,500 workers by September, and another 1,500 in each of the next four years. Those with specialties in foreign languages, especially Arabic and Chinese, were encouraged to apply.

NSA said it was boosting its staff 'to meet the increasing needs of the ever-changing intelligence community.'

The agency, an element of the Defense Department based at Fort Meade in Maryland, conducts electronic wiretapping and signals gathering for foreign intelligence purposes.

NSA and other intelligence agencies came under scrutiny after the September 11 terror attacks for apparent failures and missteps that critics say might have prevented officials from unraveling the hijacking plot.

A joint congressional inquiry report released last summer faulted the intelligence agencies for being unprepared to handle the challenge it faced in translating the volumes of foreign language counterterror intelligence it collected.

Law enforcement officials have said that among the millions of intercepts the NSA gathered on September 10, 2001, were two Arabic-language messages that warned of a major event the next day. The Arabic messages were not translated until September 12.
Spy agency launches recruiting campaign

Chris Pirillo is back on Tech TV
I am not sure how to feel about this but it's a change that the watchers of Tech TV were complaining about since Leo LePort got the boot. I think Chris is a great guy and I know that he is so loaded with the knowledge so this is probably a good thing for tech tv. Not to mention, he also moved Gnomedex closer to my house. Sure I will spend more on the con but it's less than the airfair to Iowa or someother god-forsaken middle earth. Now if only Tech TV would take the talent of Kevin Rose and Sara Lane and sell them on Ebay, the network might work out for Comcast.

Chris Pirillo ~ Getting Screwed While Everybody Else is Getting Laid