Judge: TorrentSpy Must Preserve Data in RAM

"A federal judge has upheld a magistrate's decision forcing TorrentSpy to enable server logging so the Motion Picture Association of America can obtain the IP addresses of those connecting to BitTorrent files via the service. There's one small hitch for the MPAA, though. TorrentSpy has decided to block access by US residents, ensuring that the MPAA will find little of interest in the log files and rendering the court's decision moot—at least for this case."

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"It could, however, have far-reaching ramifications beyond this case. Under this interpretation, any data stored in RAM could be subject to a subpoena, as at a basic level it is a "medium from which information can be obtained" just like a hard drive."

This is too true. What happens when we can decode the signals in our brain that represent sights, sounds, smells, memories? These then would be a "medium from which information can be obtained". Thoughts could be subpoenaed. People could then be convicted of their thoughts, which is a very dangerous position for a government to be in. China is already trying to completely govern what people say. Technology could eventually allow governments to monitor and govern what people think. 

The point is that technology is changing very fast and we must try to anticipate our future capabilities so that the laws we make now don't come back to bite us in the future. 

Scientist proposes adhesive Spider-Man suit

"In an upcoming paper, Nicola Pugno, a professor of structural engineering at the Polytechnic University in Turin, Italy, discusses formulas for fashioning carbon nanotubes into superadhesive gloves and boots that could be used to create a Spider-Man-like suit in the near future. He also outlines a theory for using carbon nanotubes to create large invisible cables that could act as human-strength cobwebs."

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Congress and the Singularity

"Enhanced abilities to understand and manipulate matter at the molecular and atomic levels promise a wave of significant new technologies over the next five decades. Dramatic breakthroughs will occur in diverse areas such as medicine, communications, computing, energy, and robotics. These changes will generate large amounts of wealth and force wrenching changes in existing markets and institutions."

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The Promise of Personal Supercomputers

"Researchers and visionaries are already thinking about how these supercomputer chips can best be used. Intel thinks that recognition, mining, and synthesis (RMS) applications will be key. Put together, these technologies could allow real-time language translation via cell phones, real-time video search by spoken phrase or image, and better recommendation systems for shopping, meal planning, and even health care."

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Memories are Made of This Molecule

"How are memories formed? The question has perplexed scientists for years, but now it seems we're a step closer to solving it."

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Can HP Fool Moore's Law?

"Researchers from HP Labs plan to publish a paper this month that outlines how it may become possible to substantially increase the performance of certain types of chips, and reduce their power consumption, by replacing the communication wires inside chips with an overhead grid of tiny nanowires. "

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Inside Seagate's R&D Labs

"In the next decade, Seagate plans to hit the market with twin technologies that could fly far beyond, ultimately offering as much as 50 terabits per square inch. On a standard 3.5-inch drive, that's equivalent to 300 terabits of information, enough to hold the uncompressed contents of the Library of Congress."

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Printing Muscle and Bone

"Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have successfully directed adult stem cells from mice to develop into bone and muscle cells with the aid of a custom-designed ink-jet printer."

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