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UK court rules police facial recognition trials violate privacy laws
Facial recognition is unreliable, dystopian and, according to a British court, incompatible with privacy and data protection legislation.
The Liberty Trike is a 21st century Rascal
Tired of being shuttled about like a sack of potatoes by your current electric getaround? Want to at least pretend that you're getting a workout while scooting to the supermarket? Then you're going to want to take a magic tricycle ride aboard the Liberty Trike. This power-assist three-wheeler, which is currently in the midst of an already-funded Indiegogo campaign, will retail for roughly $2,000 when it's expected to hits the streets next October.
UK's emergency surveillance law struck down by MPs
The High Court has ruled today that parts of the UK's emergency surveillance legislation, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA), is unlawful. Conservative MP David Davis and Labour MP Tom Watson, represented by the Liberty human rights organisation, have successfully argued that the law breaks the public's right to a private life and to the protection of personal data, set out in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Section 1 and 2 of DRIPA, which forces telecoms companies and internet providers to store customer data for up to 12 months, will now be abolished in March next year. The law is due to expire at the end of 2016 anyway, but bringing the date forward for these two crucial points could force the government to introduce replacement legislation earlier.
Spying case against UK government heads to Europe's highest court
While it's public knowledge that the UK government has secretly monitored the communications of the British public, questions over the legality of these practices still remain. After an independent UK court first ruled that security agencies, including GCHQ, had partly infringed on human rights laws, only to be overruled by a Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report a month later, privacy groups campaigning for clarity are taking their fight to Europe.
Green Automotive to acquire Land Rover-converter Liberty Electric for $17 million
Liberty Electric Cars hasn't cropper up on our radar too much in recent years, but it looks like it has been on Green Automotive's. It recently announced that it's acquiring the UK-based company, which specializes in converting Land Rovers to electric vehicles, for $17 million in an all-stock deal. In a statement, Liberty Electric CEO Ian Hobday said that the acquisition wouldn't affect the company's business in Europe or its management structure, adding that the deal "provides us with a huge opportunity to expand in America," as well as the ability invest further in R&D and bring new products to market. Exactly when we can expect to see that expansion into the US isn't clear, but it will presumably have some company from Green Automotive's own EVs when it does make the move.
Dark horse set to ride into space race, strapped to world's largest solid rocket booster
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) may not be on top of your betting card, but it has plenty of shuttle motor pedigree. To compete with the likes of SpaceX, Astrium and others, it's putting that technical savvy into its Liberty system to carry seven astronauts -- or tourists -- and cargo into low earth orbit. The huge 300-foot rocket and composite crew module would use ATK's solid rocket motor, originally designed for the ill-fated Ares 1, along with EAD's Ariane 5 engine, to become the heaviest lifter in NASA's fleet. Already knee-deep in a separate project, the Space Launch System designed to send Orion into deep space, ATK would like to wean NASA off it's pricy $63 million Russian ISS hitchhikes with a cheaper option that could be mission-ready in just three years. We've heard that kind of talk before, but if Liberty pulls it off, it could give our out-world aspirations a much needed ticket to ride.
Kuwait bans DSLRs, leaves Micro Four Thirds question hanging in the air (update: no ban)
We're not sure what the humble DSLR has ever done to offend the Kuwaiti government, but, according to the Kuwait Times, the recreational use of Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras has now been outlawed in the country. The Ministries of Information, Social Affairs and Finance (hello, 1984!) have collectively decided to ban the use of the chunky shooters in public places, except where it can be shown that it's for journalistic purposes. This decision has left a lot of people scratching their heads, not least because every self-respecting smartphone nowadays can pump out screen-filling images. And then there's also the matter of determining where the line between compact cameras, which are still allowed, and DSLRs resides -- for example, is the Lumix G2 an illegal shooter just because it looks like one? Update: Oops. The Kuwait Times has printed a retraction of its earlier story, saying that a followup investigation showed no such ban has been enacted by the state's authorities. Thanks, Cajetan!
HTC Liberty for AT&T revealed during routine testing video
Oh, AT&T -- you can't post up a video detailing the testing process for Android phones and not expect us to notice that your guys are waving around the heretofore unannounced HTC Liberty, which was leaked by Android Central on Sunday. Honestly, now. It's hard to tell much from the video apart from the fact that this thing is running Sense and has a flush face with capacitive buttons along the bottom, but the leak says the screen res is just 320 x 480, which is somewhat less than awesome. Of course, AT&T's Android lineup has been relatively low-end so far, so maybe we're not so surprised, but we're hoping this thing is a little more Desire than Legend, if you catch us. Video after the break.
Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM
You know that leaked HTC Sense ROM with Android 2.1 underneath? Well, somebody did some digging and found a wild stack of HTC Android handset codenames buried within. It starts in the realm of the familiar, with mentions of Dragon, Passion, Dream and Hero, but then it starts to get a little wild. Here's the full list: Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Dream, Espresso, Halo, HeroCT, HeroC, Hero, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire and Supersonic. Pretty wild, right? There's no telling what exactly this list implies, other than the fact that Passion and Dragon are indeed on the books, and that HTC's naming department can really let the superlatives fly, but we're sure all will be made clear over the next year or two.
DirecTV to merge with majority shareholder Liberty Entertainment
Hmm, now isn't this interesting? Just months after Liberty Media reached out at the eleventh hour and rescued Sirius XM from imminent bankruptcy, it's now spinning off its entertainment division (Liberty Entertainment) and combining it with DirecTV (which Liberty already controls). We're told that the new Liberty Entertainment will hold 54 percent of DirecTV Group shares and 65 percent interest in the Game Show Network, not to mention three regional sports networks and a few other things not worth mentioning. The move is being made as the "John Malone-controlled vehicle looks to simplify its capital structure," and if all goes well, the paperwork should be completed by the end of the year. Oh, and so far as we can tell, DirecTV consumers won't even notice the shuffling going on behind the scenes.
Sirius / DirecTV bundles already being considered
We posed the question barely a week ago, and already we've got our answer. Or, not really, but pretty much. You see, Liberty Media (DirecTV's parent company) CEO Gregg Maffei told analysts on a recent conference call that "one could talk about or imagine bundles, probably the $80 [per month] DirecTV product offering free trials of the $11 [monthly] Sirius XM product more likely than the other way around." He continued by stating that he hoped Sirius and DirecTV could "proceed on some of those in ways that are obviously beneficial for both parties." Really, we feel that it's just a matter of time. DirecTV has been grappling for ways to outgun DISH for years, and it'd be tough to fathom the satcaster having Sirius as a cousin and not exploiting it. Whether or not bundled sat ratio will be enough to make prospective customers choose it over other pay-TV alternatives remains to be seen, but really, what does DirecTV (or Sirius, for that matter) have to lose?[Thanks, Vanbrothers]
Bigwigs tussle over DirecTV Latin America's future
Not that DirecTV CEO Chase Casey and his chairman John Malone have begun grabbing each other by the ties yet, but reports are flowing that the two aren't in agreement about the future structure of DirecTV Latin America. Liberty Media, which has a controlling stake in the satcaster, could actually spin DirecTV LA off once Liberty gains full control -- at least, that's the vibe being felt from Liberty CEO Greg Maffei. Carey commented that he wasn't "a fan of financial re-engineering," noting that spinoffs and "similar engineering options haven't been particularly successful." On a slightly related note, he also made mention that the satcaster's exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket deal may not remain that way after it expired in 2011 due to "cost considerations." Hate to say it, DirecTV, but we're pretty sure cable / fiber users nationwide won't feel sorry for you.[Image courtesy of Business Week, thanks Vanbrothers]
Bowers & Wilkins introduces Liberty wireless speaker system
Apparently, Bowers & Wilkins didn't want the whole world talking at once about its forthcoming Liberty at CES, but regardless, the self-proclaimed "wireless entertainment system" is all out in the open now. Slated to land this fall for a currently undisclosed price, the setup will consist of two XTW 8 towers, a pair of XTW 2 bookshelf units, an XTW Center channel and a PVW 1 subwoofer. Additionally, you'll find integrated class-D amplifiers and a rather sexy (albeit elusive) control unit, and if that wasn't enough, it's also the "first wireless system" capable of transmitting eight channels -- 5.1 for one room and two extra channels for remote zones. This system even utilizes "dynamic channel selection," which enables it to switch frequencies on the fly and choose the least trafficked frequency band to nix delay. Sadly, we've no price to share, but we wouldn't expect it to come cheap by any stretch of the imagination. [Warning: PDF read link][Via AudioJunkies]
Drinking it up in the City of Heroes
With New Year's Eve only three weeks away you better start thinking about how you intend to ring in 2008 because it'll be here before you can take down an Arch Villain. If you're like me - a City of Heroes altaholic and semi-alcoholic - you may think about staying within the comfy confines of your humble abode. Far, far away from the temptation to operate anything more complicated than your keyboard. Sound dull and boring? Think again!Ghost Legion, one of Liberty servers oldest Supergroups, is holding their Third Annual New Year's Eve Bash... and they plan on ushering in '08 with a lot more flair and pizazz than Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest! How? With a drinking game of course! The rules are simple. During the course of the evening's Skull bashing and Hamidon raiding should your virtual hero die you in reality must take two big swigs of your favorite adult beverage. If someone on your team gets defeated - everyone drinks! Long time CoX players have experienced the dreadful "team wipeout." Should the dulcet sounds of the Beach Boy's song Wipeout jingle your ears, and this fate befalls you during the festivities... everyone drinks double! BAM!This event is open to all players, including minors. The law however dictates that minors can not drink alcoholic beverages, so Ghost Legion strongly suggests those under the legal drinking age suck down some soda or milk.The event takes place on Monday, December 31, and starts at 9:00 PM EDT. Hop on the Liberty Server and head over to Warburg for all the rockin' and rollin' you can handle, and be sure to check Ghost Legion's website for all the details.
Beware: PSP being used by kids to access porn
Apparently kids are getting together at schools and using their PSPs to access pornography "out of thin air." Based on the article, this was what a Minnesota resident by the name of Jeff Harris was doing, which garnished him with a grounding of a month and an in-school suspension. Supposedly, the kid used his PSP to tap into the school's wireless Internet access and then surfed some adult websites, boasting to his friends, no doubt, that his "haxxoring" was "teh l33tn3ss". Never mind that the school didn't have a WEP Key enabled network or that they're apparently fine with students bringing in distracting electronics period. Still, I guess everyone has a point, it's not like he was using his PSP for normal purposes like running over pedestrians and beating people to death in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.[Update: Took out the part about the hookers. Slight oversight on my part, I apologize.][Via Joystiq]
