Net Neutrality and Virgin Media
Link: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/13/virgin-media-ceo-net.html
Another UK sourced story, this time from BoingBoing. Apparently Virgin Media, one of the major ISPs in the UK, is clearly stating that they wish to be bribed in order to give preferential treatment to websites. No, I misspoke; Virgin will actually throttle those that don't. Check out this statement from the CEO:
Feeding into the debate between internet service providers and the BBC over iPlayer, Berkett even warned that public service broadcasters who choose not to pay for faster access to Virgin's subscriber base would end up in "bus lanes", effectively having their content delivered to consumers at a lower speed.
Nice.
iPhone moves another step closer to killing the Palm Tungsten
Link: http://gizmodo.com/380302/handwriting-recognition-for-iphone-now-available
While the Apple iPhone is getting close to being able to replace my beloved Palm Tungsten T3, there are two primary issues that still make it an inappropriate choice for me.
Stephen has a blog
Link: http://www.vermeulen.ca/
Stephen Vermeulen, author of ExpressPaint and VBBS/IceBBS for the Amiga with miscellaneous other low-key software development projects since, has finally got around to blogifying his homebrew website. Following a fragment-based posting design, he's finally put together an RSS feed so that all the snippits, references and commentary can be rolled into one, easy to read source.
Nice.
The RSS feed is http://vermeulen.ca/rss.xml
Tech support follies
Recently Microsoft ran a pretty good promotion: buy their current version of Microsoft Office for OSX and get the new one free when it's released. So, I bit, and bought the old version and dutifully sent in the form with the original UPC barcode and receipt.
Rechargable batteries aren't created equal
Link: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001078.html
Most people know that NiCd, NiMH and LIon rechargables all have different properties. What's not so apparent is that even within a particular technology, there's a lot of variety beyond the nominal mAh rating, especially when dealing with batteries designed in the AA/AAA form factor.
It's so quiet
Link: http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/10/proposed-bill-aims-to-set-minimum-auto-sound-levels/
One of the nicer features about the newer electric hybrids is that they're quiet. So, in the name of safety, what do you think the next step should be?
Yup. Make the cars generate digitized engine noises over external loudspeakers so pedestrians can hear them. The sole argument in favour of this that's vaguely convincing is that of trying to let blind people know the car is nearby. And even that's pretty weak.
Wired on industrial control systems security
Link: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/industrial-cont.html
Given the industry I work in and specific familiarity with the system in question, this article from Wired on system security and response is fascinating. The headline is a trifle "Chicken Little" but the content is good.
(The somewhat generic text above is on the grounds that random Googling probably won't pick up this comment...)
Penn & Teller do bees
Penn & Teller do some odd stuff, but this one is particularly strange even for them. Keep an eye out for the camera man in the hazmat suit...
(Via BoingBoing)
Why, oh why?
The other night my computer rebooted due to an update from Microsoft. This was a bit annoying as I'd left some test cases up running overnight.
I'm still unclear on why there is no option to automatically download an update without installing it under Windows XP. It seems you can either turn off updates and do everything manually, or have it update automatically and randomly reset your computer. Very annoying.
Keyboard PC
Link: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/26/all_in_one_pc_cybernet/
Self-contained PCs built into a keyboard have been going around for a while and, to be honest, I've never understood the appeal. While the description of "Amiga-like" is fair, given the design of the A500/A600/A1200, these are just under-powered PCs in small housings. There's nothing innovative or particularly interesting about them.
What's a bit of confusion between friends?
While looking to exchange a worn vinyl record with a newer CD, I encountered an unexpected problem. The album I wanted to replace, "Hooked On Swing", actually had several Amazon entries, each of which showed entirely different track listings.
A fine headline
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7334233.stm
Who knew that a hedgehog could be classified as a dangerous weapon?
(Via Antigone)
To Catch A Thief
Link: http://www.kottke.org/remainder/08/04/15386.html
Kottke has a nice round up of people using technology to catch thieves in the act.
Country And Western Science
Link: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/04/beer_pickup_trucks_and_physics.php
This probably isn't appropriate for Dena's students.
This, on the other hand, probably is.
Lightening up aircraft
Link: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/airlines-try-to.html
What do airlines do when their annual fuel bills double? For one thing, they put their planes on a diet.
