Links for Friday December 31^st, 2010

• Cambridge university refuses to censor student's thesis on chip-and-PIN vulnerabilities: Great stuff, especially the conclusion:

  "You complain that our work may undermine public confidence in the payments system. What will support public confidence in the payments system is evidence that the banks are frank and honest in admitting its weaknesses when they are exposed, and diligent in effecting the necessary remedies. Your letter shows that, instead, your member banks do their lamentable best to deprecate the work of those outside their cosy club, and indeed to censor it."

• RIM thought iPhone was impossible in 2007: Interesting speculation, if true. I'd love to read the original source of this article, but unfortunately I wasn't able to dig it up.

• Dropping The Science: This comic really takes a turn, and makes a connection that I've never really thought of before.

• Woman arrested at ABIA after refusing enhanced pat down: Is this really what we want to be doing to ordinary, law-abiding citizens?

• tall eclipse: "daily dose of imagery" takes on the lunar eclipse from two weeks ago. Amazing work.

• The Open Internet: A Case for Net Neutrality: An easy-to-understand guide to Net Neutrality.