News from the Net

Not from the Net, but from Good Day Oregon.... An Oklahoma judge got busted for pleasuring himself with an electronic device WHILE witnesses were on the stand testifying.

If you have been curious about things like Market Share by MMOG Genre, or perhaps by number of subscribers, MMOG Chart has been updated.

Remember a little while ago how we were discussing how unrealistic (and how it will increase the cost) for ISPs to retain records, how it invades privacy, etc? Well, Congress is looking to add the same requirements to MySpace

The Space Shuttle gains remote control landing capabilities

If you have a Macbook, this hack is probably even doable by you

Either ants have internal pedometers or OCD

M$ is being sued over their spyware -- which is interesting because said spyware will start turning off your copy of Windows if you refuse to install it.

My question is this... why ISN'T it illegal to to backdate stock options?

How about using UV light instead of high temperatures to prepare silicon? Chris actually mentioned this weekend that some place is doing the same with cutting cheese

How about a rootkit UNDER your OS?

Well, it appears that the VA's scapegoat didn't work out so well -- evidentally, he had WRITTEN permission.

Now, I didn't see this coming. Colorado Sheriffs being wardriving and distributing flyers to areas with open wifi

Chris pointed this out yesterday.... A New Hampshire man was arrested for videotaping police ON HIS doorstep

Final Fantasy XII to be released on my anniversary / Halloween :)

Hot Coffee supoenaed to the Grand Jury

This is odd... A Finland website that is for the separation of church and state helps people resign from church?????

Toys from the Net

This looks like it has some fun uses :)

Home movies in the park at night?

Or how about something for you frog lovers?

Or perhaps you would rather reinvent history

more later...

Sylkwyrm	Hey, why are all of our home movies filmed in the park at night anyway? Posted by Sylkwyrm on Sat Jul 01 03:42:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

RIAA changes their lawsuit strategy

New arm-wearable computer

Car-blogging?

As I mentioned, Google's new PayPal rival, 'Checkout' has launched.

Scientists regrow teeth

Spain outlaws file sharing

M$ already plans on replacing Windows Vista

There appears to be a new continuous open-source support system

High-speed nanoscale electronics may be just around the corner

Freedom of Information Act and the governments new brain scanning technology

If you live in Canada, you may want to find an alternative ISP

Internet Cafe offers 100mb download

News from the Net

BitTorrent teams up with Warner Brothers.

Spain adds Copyright Tax to Blank Media, including printers and cell phones

Intel ditches mobile phone processors

Scientists blocking the sun? Reminds me of Mr. Burns

It seems that the solution to bypassing China's National Firewall is to completely ignore it

Well, this seems to be something we are going to have to deal with soon.... A publishing firm got fined for using unlicensed fonts.

Feed the meter with your cell phone?

This is odd. Encrypted Ammunition

interesting quote

Composite numbers are molecules. Primes are atoms.

WILL POWER!	What does that mean? Posted by WILL POWER! on Tue Jun 27 13:25:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	Primes can't be broken into smaller units.... All composite numbers are the combination of primes.... Posted by Malachi on Tue Jun 27 22:28:00 PDT 2006
WILL POWER!	Aha!  Believe it or not, I used to be a math major in college. Posted by WILL POWER! on Wed Jun 28 03:42:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Microsoft to be fined $2.5 million per day. Woot ;)

Google to start GBuy (PayPal rival) as early as this week

Second Life has gained it's first major retailer.

Here's an interesting approach to creating city-wide wifi networks

Amazon in space?

Ok, this is odd.... So, if they create a database of child pornography in order to prevent it spreading online, doesn't that make them a hacking target for anyone who wants to make money off of it?

Scientists model the Sun's corona

Canadian Government is just as corrupt

The WRT54G is hacked to run Linux again

So, who wants a miniature probe to use preexisting orifices?

Kent State prohibits athletes from using Facebook

ChoicePoint talks about how they mistakenly sold private data on 163000 people to Nigerian criminals last year.... Accident... sure... Not like the huge amount of money they made had anything to do with it.

Want some free online video education from universities?

The first-ever Heinlein prize for Advances in Space Commercialization is going to be awarded.

Silver	Too bad my WRT54G got zapped during a power outage last night, this looks like it would be fun to do. Posted by Silver on Tue Jun 27 04:45:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	zapped during power outage? are you not following your own advice? ;) Posted by Malachi on Tue Jun 27 04:47:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Boeing is already considering whether to scrap in-flight wifi.

The Theory of Relativity is being put to the test.

My favorite quote from this article is: "It should be argued that long-lasting and repeated exposure to EMFs [electromagnetic fields] linked with intense use of cellular phones in daily life might be harmful or beneficial in brain-diseased subjects."

This is one of the coolest uses of Ajax I have seen

Wired reports that the Internet helps get homeless persons back on their feet

Another NASA competition. This time however, in addition to getting $500 million, they will lease the newly developed space vehicles instead of owning them

Similar to the Google Summer of Code, OpenWengo opens CodeCamp to pay students to work on VoIP software

Warren Buffet (2nd richest man in the world) has decided to donate 85% of his entire net worth to charities

FreeNode hacked, passwords compromised

Now this is interesting... Dolphins and Fisherman join forces

Ex-Microsoft executive to compete directly with M$

Scientists have grown self-organizing networks of rat brain cells

Info on the Pentagon's new supersonic shape-shifting bomber

The f'ing FCC has approved taxes for VoIP

A LiveJournal advertisement installed Malware on users' computers

There is a new National Institute of Nanotechnology in Canada

Did you know that the Bush Administration has been tapping your financial transactions (via the bank databases) for nearly 5 years

A new version of Inkscape is out

Scientists are starting to think that String Theory is a disaster

The Programmers' Guild has filed 100 complaints with the DOJ accusing several companies of illegally advertising that they want outsourced contractors

Well, if you want a HD DVD player, you might be interested that Toshiba is eating $200 per unit in order to get the market share

Qbox simulated thousands of atoms in 3D

WILL POWER!	It's about time someone with that much money did something good with it.  Can't help but feel sceptical for some reason.... Posted by WILL POWER! on Mon Jun 26 15:02:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	Maybe cuz he gave the money to Bill Gates charity? Posted by Malachi on Tue Jun 27 00:59:00 PDT 2006
Sarah	Man, I'm getting tired of ppl putting ad stuff of my computer! Grrrrrrr! Posted by Sarah on Mon Jun 26 23:24:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	Yeah, if they are going to put ads on my computer, the least they could do is entertain me with geckos or naked women ;) Posted by Malachi on Tue Jun 27 00:59:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

This is too funny. M$ switches to Linux for their corporate wireless LAN. Nothing like using your own products, eh?

Sony AIBO dogs evolve their own language.

I'm intrigued to find out what the results of the people calling the RIAA to tell them they suck will amount to

The British Medical Journal is warning people that using cell phones during thunderstorms increases the risk of death.

There should be 13 new episodes of Futurama forthcoming

There is a review of some file backup services.

First Blu-Ray Burner, from Pioneer

A library was asked for circulation records, and said not without a supoena. I guess it is better to slow them down if you can't outright tell them to f'off.

Scientists are reporting that the temperature of the Earth hasn't been this high in at least 400 years.

Looks like MacBook Pro batteries are dangerous.

After some recent loss of ipv6 services, it appears that our government wants to transition by 2008.

Pluto's new moons are named! Nix and Hydra, both of which are names I remember fondly from childhood.

Novell's CEO and CFO are fired

News from the Net

Either the government really is inane, or they are leaking information on purpose

A man in Vancouver was arrested for using a store's open wireless access

Stem Cell research may cure paralysis

"Drive-by" wireless hacking

Well, there seems to be some startling statistics showing how popular M$ search engine is... 80% of their own employees use Google instead

If you want Windows XP compatability, but don't want M$ getting the money, ReactOS just released a new version. Go ahead, check their compatability database. Note: I haven't tried ReactOS yet.

For those of you playing with VoIP, you may want to try this new firefox extension.

I think BumpTop knows about Dino's bday present, because it is designed specifically for desktop navigation using a graphics pen... Though their site is being slashdotted, Google has the demo video.  Looks very interesting...

Google Maps, Wine, what else?

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Wine, Wine and more Wine

In following up my previous blog entry, I came across a mashup of GoogleMaps with Oregon Wineries... Since I know how much you all like your wine, http://explorer.oregonwine.org/

 

WILL POWER!	Wine if for girls. Posted by WILL POWER! on Thu Jun 22 01:43:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	I like some wines... like Clocktower Port (Australia), Kiante (sp?), etc... mostly reds I guess.... Posted by Malachi on Thu Jun 22 01:48:00 PDT 2006

Google Maps Mania

After playing with it for a few minutes, I have decided that http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/ is one of my new favorite sites to waste a few minutes. If you are bored, check it out.

WILL POWER!	that's pretty sweet Posted by WILL POWER! on Thu Jun 22 01:42:00 PDT 2006

High-Tech Fashion

1-year old, but some interesting stuff.

FLIR?

Well, as some of you know, I have been really wanting to get a digital FLIR camera since seeing the Ghosthunters episode where they videotaped the medium... I was looking for a reasonable cost camera, and came across this product... What's interesting in this is which police department is demo'ing the product for their video... can you catch it?

Malachi	In similar news, this is interesting... Posted by Malachi on Wed Jun 21 05:11:00 PDT 2006
Sylkwyrm	Remind me to use numbers twice everytime I need a password for a key pad. Posted by Sylkwyrm on Wed Jun 21 11:17:00 PDT 2006
Silver	Go Tigard! remind me not to run from the cops on the southwest side of Portland... Posted by Silver on Wed Jun 21 05:39:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Vespa goes IPO

A $100 hamburger

The USA gets a new political party -- Pirate Party

You heard that laptops sitting in your lap could make you sterile, yet you still did it. How about when a Dell laptop bursts into flames?

Looks like M$ executives are leaving a sinking ship -- at the same time that they get into robotics

Anyone remember that Robin Williams film set in the future where they were capturing everything you saw to use during your funeral? Well, this reminds me of that

Let me just say... OMFG!!! How about a vehicle that manages 3145 MPG?

Ever wanted to watch individual electrons move? Well, now you can. This could be of major advantage to nanotech and quantum computing

EA is to acquire Mythic Entertainment.

Nanowire transistors are at least 4 times faster than existing silicon.. This could be a major achievement, since a large part of transparent OLEDs are the transistors...

Sylkwyrm	I want Vespa Stock! Posted by Sylkwyrm on Wed Jun 21 11:14:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

You know, if this had been around when I just got out of high school, I might of ended up a pilot. I had wanted to.  Although, sounds like they are just using PRK instead of Lasik - doubt there is any new technique there

Toys: Wi-Spy wireless spectrum analyzer.

This is interesting... do you know where $30 million of taxpayer money went last year? To buy your phone records.

Toys: 500GHz silicon-germanium chip by IBM.

I actually first heard about this on the news this morning... a 14-year old girl is suing MySpace for $30 million because they "failed to protect her" from some guy she decided to add as a friend and give her cell-phone number to

Toys: 111-megapixel CCD image sensor at 4 inches across... Hmmm, now if we could put these onto a digital FLIR and start videotaping ghosts :) mmmmm

So, how many of you remember that animated movie "Titan AE"? Well, it seems they are building the 'doomsday vault' in the Arctic

This one is for all you neat-freaks out there... Evidentally, it is unhealthy to live in an overly sanitized environment

Well, this might very well be a solution to both Red Light Photo Radar and Government monitoring

Scientists manage to create a true hybrid species of butterfly in only 3 generations, completely viable without being desirable by either parent species

Wow. I never expected this(MOV) to happen. More details on the challenge can be found here.

It seems the Australian army has a new job. Fighting toads.

WILL POWER!

I am of the strong opinion that the stupid mother should be suing herself for not paying attention to what her stupid kid is doing.  It sucks that her daughter got raped, and the guy should have his balls cut off, but myspace is not responsible for her lack of responsibility.  I wish I could get this lady's phone number so I could tell her what's what.   Fucking idiot people.  Piss me off. Myspace does not create rapists, make children take pictures of themselves in poses with "fuck me" written all over them, make children stupid enough to go meet people alone they've never met, or make parents that don't check up on their kids or educate them about these sorts of things. Fucking idiot people. Posted by WILL POWER! on Tue Jun 20 02:22:00 PDT 2006

Want to play a game?

Is it just me, or does this really make you want to play a table-top rpg?

SparrowHawk	COOL! It makes me want to play table-top rpgs too, so you're not the only one. ;o) ~L Posted by SparrowHawk on Mon Jun 19 02:31:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

I don't own a Mac, but if you own one of their laptops, you might like this.

Nokia and Siemens are to merge the fixed and mobile network businesses.

If you are into the RoboGames, here's a 2006 wrapup. Similarly, the 10th annual RoboCup has started. Wonder if Germany will win again.

This could be very good for those of us addicted to the quick fix of microwaves... Pacemakers made from your own living cells.

NASA will be launching space shuttle Discovery on July 1st.

This may come as a victory for photo sharers.. Flickr is going to grant commercial API keys to competitors if those companies do the same -- thus allowing better import/export.

Australia is using software to look for patterns in attacks of the opposing team, thus gaining them an advantage in the World Cup

Amazon is bringing back the online grocery store model (which some like Safeway still do) -- but it is too bad they won't handle any perishables... ie: you still have to go to the grocery store. I really miss WebVan and HomeGrocer

Did you know that the PS2 and XBox360 use 2Watts of power while turned off (standby mode)? That and more interesting energy use tidbits can be found here.

Well, we've touched on Bush's plan to launch aerial drones over US cities before... Looks like Los Angeles now has them.

Embryonic stem cell trials on humans may start soon as Geron is asking the FDA for approval.

This is kinda interesting... compressing dry ice into super-tough glass.

GoDaddy starts blackmailing its customers

Silver	crap. I knew Godaddy's terms were too good to be true. :) should have gone to uf.register4less.com since they sponser userfriendly.org. oh well. maybe next registration right? www.5ilver.org Posted by Silver on Mon Jun 19 00:46:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	well, if I ever get around to getting some last bugs fixed on the server, I've got plans for EOTI to start doing registrations Posted by Malachi on Mon Jun 19 00:53:00 PDT 2006

Scams

After the scam that tried to get Elaine, and the one that appears to be trying to get Lori, I thought I would provide a couple links...

Just found this... ScamVictimsUnited

Internet Crime Complaint Center (formally ifccfbi)... From their page: The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

PC Bot 914

If any of you saw the season premier of Pimp My Ride, you'll recognize this robot.

Marionnette?

Many of you know that Dino is into marionnettes... well, this one really takes the cake. Link provided by Dino.

Silver	um. as opposed to the link that I posted in teh bulletin? Link provided by my friend Jon... Posted by Silver on Sat Jun 17 12:57:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	Sorry, haven't read the bulletin's in months... were taking too much of my time... still reading blogs, but haven't been reading bulletins. Posted by Malachi on Sun Jun 18 01:25:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Here's a cute little cartoon.. check it out

Researchers think they have found the missing link in bird evolution

The Smithsonian is removing GM's (one of their biggest contributors) EV1 electric sedan just before the film "Who Killed the Electric Car" (GM) comes out, but says that it is a coincidence

WA law goes overboard. Now that online gambling is a felony in WA; ads, linking to, or even discussing online gambling is a crime.  Good thing they are 15 miles away, or I would be committing a felony by posting this.

Sell a violent video game to a minor and go to prison for a year and pay $2000.  Better hope those kids don't play Halo before we ship them off to war.

You want an idea of how crazy the Chinese censorship is? If you search for "6-4", yahoo.cn gives errors then refuses to respond... That search being the date of the Tianmen Square massacre

News from the Net

I'm not sure if this can really be considered news... After all, I quit using PayPal years ago because of them SELLING that information

Either M$ writes crappy code or they are right that it's a conspiracy.

Three asteroids orbiting in sync with Neptune?

All the D&D books are going to be available as PDFs? I haven't played D&D in a long time, but maybe this will make playing Buffy or Stargate worthwhile.

Amazon trying to become the #1 legal hypocrite.

GNOME launches an outreach program to try to get more women programmers

Samsung ships the first blu-ray player.

Well, all those people claiming that we are conspiracy theorists can now rest easily. The USA admits to conspiring with the MPAA

ESRB blackmails game publishers. Well, the solution seems to me to make games that the retailers will loose business by not carrying. Screw the ESRB, I would rather NOT have them rate my games.

In case you haven't heard, Bill Gates will be leaving his role (not the company) at M$... of course, with Ballmer still there, I still hate the company.

A group of cell phone companies are joining up to develop a linux-based OS for their phones.

Once again, the USA is a 3rd world country when it comes to technology... The EU is taking steps to ensure internet access for all.

Sylkwyrm	Anyone else wondering what the hell the Gates Foundation is? Sounds creepy. Posted by Sylkwyrm on Fri Jun 16 12:03:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Google releases US Govt. Search. From their blog: Want to find those IRS forms to get in your taxes on time? Need to figure out where to send your DMV fees, or find the phone number for your local parks and rec department?

New MSN worm is out.

Stephen Hawking claims the Pope told him not to study the origin of the universe.  Think the Pope knew it was all a lie?

Ok, this sounds a lot like a MySpace bulletin to me. They can't possibly want everyone to send a soil sample from their backyard.

It looks like all us Oregon taxpayers might have had our name, address, and social security number stolen. Well 2200 of us anyways.

If you have a PS2 controller and are tired of using your keyboard/mouse, you may want to try out TriggerFinger

Sylkwyrm	Can you say shameless plug ;-) Serious, try TriggerFinger we're trying to help a friend out. Posted by Sylkwyrm on Thu Jun 15 23:25:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	Well, he asked me to spread the word - and since he is giving it away for free.... Posted by Malachi on Fri Jun 16 00:54:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Here's an interesting publishing house. Here's the first words on their page: Welcome to Another Sky Press. We want people to read our books even if they read them for free - though wed love it if you bought a copy!

Now, while I'm sure that this isn't what it is intended for... I would *LOVE* to use this technique for VR... basically, it allows computers to generate 3D scenes based off a single 2D image!

Since they are denying that they are making World of StarCraft or World of Diablo, should we take it to mean that they are?

It appears that the NYTimes is mentioning the Google Oregon site again.  Since they have only been advertising one job for the last few months, I am really surprised by the number of cars I see working there. Maybe I should just walk in :)  Although, the article is wrong about a few details. For one, the fiber network is not a legacy of the dot-com boom -- it was put in to attract Google to the site. It does mention that it is locally called 'Project 02' which I find VERY interesting since Google has been naming all their online projects *something*2... Like their CL2 calendar and LH2 lighthouse.  If you have been looking to buy a house, this piece is interesting: The project has created hundreds of construction jobs, caused local real estate prices to jump 40 percent and is expected to create 60 to 200 permanent jobs in a town of 12,000 people when the center opens later this year.  The article also mentions that you can find lots of telling information here :)  Oh, and just to be complete -- Google is now listing 3 jobs in Oregon.

Silver	think I should throw them my resume for the Operations technician? I just need more Linux experience... heheh.    Posted by Silver on Wed Jun 14 08:40:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	I'm thinking Lauren should try for the DataCenter one. They need to hire me to come up with ideas... Like... how about GoogleCell? They have everything they need to do all the software for a cell phone (address book, instant messaging, calculator, spreadsheets/todo, etc etc).. hell, they already have an SMS gateway. Posted by Malachi on Wed Jun 14 09:02:00 PDT 2006

News from the Net

Astronomers getting drunk ;)

Optical encryption gets a little better

So everyone knows that the USA is big proponents of ensuring that no county has nuclear weapons, right? Well, it appears that we are trying to design newer nuclear bombs. Why does it not suprise me that the USA is hypocritical?

NASA released a video clip of a meteorite striking the Moon

Ever wonder how to create a little game and make lots of money? Well, one success story will tell you how.

Coffee seems to protect against alcholic cirrhosis

New desalinization method uses carbon nano-tube technology to reduce the cost by 75%!

As if they didn't realize that the current Copyright and Patent laws were stupid enough, now they are looking at letting broadcasters control any copies made for 50 years!

A unique spherical projection system could do wonders for planetariums and classrooms

Stephen Hawking wants humans to establish colonies in space. I can't agree more. Give me a starship and I will lead the first colony out :)

Sylkwyrm	With all the love it or leave it crap going on, maybe we should all just move to Mars. Posted by Sylkwyrm on Wed Jun 14 01:46:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	We could, but the IRS will probably find us there. Maybe a different planet? Maybe something in the Sirius system? Posted by Malachi on Wed Jun 14 03:13:00 PDT 2006
Sylkwyrm	"Coffee seems to protect against alcholic cirrhosis" good thing my mom loves her coffee! Posted by Sylkwyrm on Wed Jun 14 01:47:00 PDT 2006

Abolish the FCC

I was watching the Colbert Report tonight, and he made mention of a recent change that allows the FCC to charge 10 times as much for indecent / obscene / immoral broadcasts... What this means is that if you broadcast something they don't agree with, they can charge you $325,000 PER incident... This is just another step in Big Government taking away your freedom of speech.  I think it's time we take a bite out of crime and bribery by abolishing the FCC.

WILL POWER!	Fuck the FCC.  Seriously.  Fuck 'em. Posted by WILL POWER! on Tue Jun 13 23:59:00 PDT 2006
Sylkwyrm	Looks like that is going to be $650,000 Will. Posted by Sylkwyrm on Wed Jun 14 01:40:00 PDT 2006

State of Invisibility

I've mentioned the various invisibility projects out there before, but Brett provided a really nice video showing the current state of one of them.

Sylkwyrm	Awsome! Posted by Sylkwyrm on Tue Jun 13 03:20:00 PDT 2006
Silver	yeah but it looks like someone is just using a projector onto a gray coat, which wouldn't help if the viewing is from a different angle.      Posted by Silver on Tue Jun 13 04:36:00 PDT 2006
Sylkwyrm	Isn't this the prototype? Posted by Sylkwyrm on Tue Jun 13 06:36:00 PDT 2006
Malachi	yeah, you're right... Should have looked at where it was hosted... I was hoping it was that nanofiliment one... Posted by Malachi on Tue Jun 13 06:28:00 PDT 2006