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Joe Sibley, one of Thomas-Rasset’s two attorneys said that will appeal and argue the $1.9 damages she was ordered to pay are unconstitutional.

Apple and Linux computers appear to be exempt from China’s mandate that a controversial Internet filtering program be shipped with all computers sold in the country. PCs that do not meet the software’s technical requirements are excluded, according to one manufacturer. And as of now, there is no version of the web filter software for Mac or Linux.

newVideoPlayer(”/july4th_part4_giz.flv”, 475, 376,”"); Here’s another clip from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that proves, once and for all, that it is not okay to point fireworks at family members. Happy July 4th everybody! [CPSC]

The Pentagon’s wacky sci-fi department DARPA has been working on robotic hummingbird-based drones to serve as miniature spies. They’re not nearly as agile or adorable as real hummingbirds, but DARPA is well on their way to achieving that dream.

Program manager Todd Hylton is aiming for “an approximately 10-gram aircraft that can hover for extended periods, can fly at forward speeds up to 10 meters per second, can withstand 2.5-meter-per-second wind gusts.” Right now, though, the teeny robobird can only fly for about 20 seconds at a time. But with some hard work, some day we will produce a robotic hummingbird that will strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. Wait, is fear the right word? [Wired]