By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

I will say this was not expected by me, but I don’t really follow the startup coverage at TechCrunch that much, I end up reading the more mainstream stuff they do, like the youtube announcement, etc. But, this does make sense as they would cover the entire lifetime of a startup, from beginning until the end.

FuckedCompany first went live in 2000, chronicling failing and troubled companies in its unique and abrasive style after the dot com bust. Within a year it had a massive audience and was getting serious mainstream press attention. As the startup economy became better in 2004, much of the attention the site received went away. But a large and loyal audience remains at the site, coming back day after day for its unique slant on the news. At its peak, FC had 4 million unique monthly visitors.

Since FC focuses on the negative news coming out of startups, and TechCrunch tends to focus on the positive, this combination may seem odd. But the sites are in fact extremely complimentary. For example, the audiences are about equal in size and have very little overlap. So from day one we will double our reach and traffic. Source: TechCrunch Has Acquired FuckedCompany.com

We Say: Lots of comments have cried April Fools, and this certainly would be a pretty good one, and lots of them happened a day early last year. Michael talks about merging both websites into one and creating a new site for the startups, which doesn’t make much sense to me, but, what do I know.

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Talk about embarassing … Windows Vista can be taken down by a buffer overflow caused by a malformed animated cursor, such that it enters a crash-restart-crash loop. It’s not even a new exploit, as it was first reported by eEye in January 2005. At the time it was felt the exploit affected OSes from 98 to XP, but not SP1.

McAfee’s Avert Labs discovered that the issue seems to have reappeared in XP SP2 and Vista, and saw fit to post a video of the exploit.

Avert Labs’ video of the incident, posted to YouTube, shows a Vista system wherein the test file apparently trying to load the custom animated cursor. When the operating system detects a crash, it first tries to save vital data prior to a restart sequence - one of Vista’s newer features. It then informs the user that Windows Explorer has crashed.

But in trying to restart Explorer, the restarting crashes itself, sending Vista into a tailspin from which the only escape appears to be the off button. Source: BetaNews

We Say:And yes, this exploit has already hit the wild, as indicated by a Sans advisory. The worst thing is that you don’t have to click a link or run a program to affect your system … just go to a site with an “exploitive” cursor.

By David Johnston
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

In a strange twist of fate, the anti-plagiarism service TurnItIn has been sued by four high school students for violating copyright laws. The claim stems from TurnItIn’s policy of adding the text of student papers to its database when they are checked for plagiarism. However, the students noticed that requests that their papers not be added to TurnItIn’s database were ignored, violating their intellectual property rights. They argue that TurnItIn should not be able to use student papers which it does not own in order to make money on its anti-plagiarism service. The suit specifies 6 papers that were copyrighted by the students before being handed in. The students are asking for $150,000 compensation per paper, though they claim to not want or expect the money.

Kevin Wade, that plaintiff’s father, said he thinks schools should focus on teaching students cheating is wrong.

“You can’t take a person’s work and run it through a computer and make an honest person out of them,” Wade said. “My son’s major objection is that he does not cheat, and this assumes he does. This case is not about money, and we don’t expect to get that.”

Andrew Beckerman-Rodau, co-director of the intellectual property law program at Suffolk University Law School, said that although the law regarding fair use is subject to interpretation, he thinks the students have a good case.

“Typically, if you quote something for education purposes, scholarship or news reports, that’s considered fair use,” Beckerman-Rodau said. “But it seems like Turnitin is a commercial use. They turn around and sell this service, and it’s expensive. And the service only works because they get these papers.”

Source: The Washington Post

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

My biggest problem is remembering what charging brick goes with what device. So many are generic and if you throw a few items in a bag or drawer, it’s hard to remember what powers what. The solution for me was a simple label maker. I now write “Western Digital Hard Drive” on the brick, and confusion is history.

But what about the mess of cords plugged into your power strip? How can you find your monitor cord without yanking the cord to your CPU? Or will you re-set your alarm clock, when you simply wanted to unplug the lamp? Luckily there is hope with the ID Pilot Wire Identification Labels. The vinyl stickers come in three themes “Office,” “Electronics” and “Household” and each pack has simple graphics of gadgets, computer equipment, and appliances. $6 a set. Source: Spoonsisters via FreshPilot

We Say: What else? Not re-booting by accident: priceless.

Alice Adds: Let’s see if our own David Johnston will kick the tires on this version.

–Download Open Office 2.2 Here

From John McCreesh
The OpenOffice.org Community announce the release of OpenOffice.org 2.2, the latest version of the leading open-source office suite. With upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and database software, the free software package provides a real alternative to Microsoft’s recently-released Office 2007 product - and an easier upgrade path for existing Microsoft Office users. OpenOffice.org 2.2 also protects users from newly discovered vulnerabilities, where users’ PCs could be open to attack if they opened documents from, or accessed web sites set up by, malicious individuals.
More

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Office coffee mugs are a hot commodity (no pun intended.) To protect your mug from thieving pirates, here’s a somewhat clever invention: the lock-able mug. You carry around the round locking rubber plug on your keychain and the exposed hole in the side the mug renders it useless to others. Lock the plug back in and it’s coffee time. Concept design only from Effrat Gommeh Industrial Designs.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I can admit it. When I was very little, I went out to our backyard and tried to dig to China. I was a literal child and I guess, not much has changed. Here’s a handy site that shows exactly where you would end up if you dug through the earth to the other side.

Key Learnings: China is not even close to where I’d end up if I dug from San Francisco straight down. I’d be washing ashore in Madagascar or Cape Town, South Africa. But the best part about the world being round, is that the bottom of the earth is also the top and the side when you move the start location around. Makes the experience more 3D than even me with my little yellow shovel.

Try It Here
Source: ubasics.com

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Already have a few downloaded songs from an album and want to complete it? Well, if you bought the songs from iTunes, Apple today announced the “Complete My Album” offer, which allows a 99 cent credit for every song you already own when you “upgrade” to the complete album.

The record industry is keen to maintain the profitable album format, which is under threat as users of Web-based music download stores, such as Apple’s iTunes and Napster Inc., prefer to buy individual songs rather than whole albums.

Apple said on Thursday iTunes is introducing a “Complete My Album” service that offers customers who want to turn individual tracks into an album a 99-cent credit for every song they have already purchased from the album. Fans will only be able to take advantage of the discount within 180 days after first buying the songs, Apple said. Source: Reuters

We Say: Record industry executives (besides, I’m sure, having some involvement in this) rejoice! And how long before other download services follow suit?