August 8th, 2007 Administrator
I still have yet to get the purpose of Second Life which seems like nothing more than an online game where people can go and be who they are in real life, but in video game form. There’s some article on Slashdot about people losing money in the game and being mad about it. The article’s listed below if anyone can decipher its meaning or importance.
Jamie found an interesting bit about a bank run in Second Life. The recent ban on gambling combined with a $12k theft from the 2L stock market has caused people to try to get their money back. The article mentions that this could supposedly affect 8.5M players even tho most estimates of actual hard core players in the system are in the 5 to low 6 figure range.
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July 18th, 2007 Administrator
So, the word on street is that being a Comcast subscriber basically requires you to have Internet Explorer to do anything. Even be a customer. To actually install the software to get your service going, you have to have Internet Explorer. Otherwise, you don’t get to go through the installation process. Being a Mac user, I scrapped Internet Explorer a long time ago and didn’t look back. It’s a waste of time. Firefox all the way.
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June 8th, 2007 Administrator
There’s currently a Slashdot post about someone that wants to patent security patches. The basis behind of Intellectual Weapons’ thinking is that when companies put out patches to security holes in software, they will be able to cash in on it. How retarded is that. That company’s such a waste of time.
From the article:
Someone thought up another way to profiteer from the software patent system: when a security hole is discovered, they’ll try to patent the fix in order to collect money when the affected vendors close the hole in their product. The company in question is not shy about its intentions: Intellectual Weapons will only consider vulnerabilities in high-profile products from vendors with deep pockets. Let’s be thankful for yet another way software patents are used to promote science and the useful arts.
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June 7th, 2007 Administrator
I’ve heard people report it before and attempt it before and now, MIT is making it possible. MIT has managed to give life to a 60-watt light build by way of wireless electricity. I can definitely see the good in it, but with all of the other wireless signals flying around my house, I don’t know if I really want more to add to the collection. It just sounds like something else that the medical world can blame as a cause of cancer.
From the article:
According to the Boston Globe, MIT Researchers have powered a light bulb remotely. The successful experiment to lit a 60-watt light bulb from a power source two meters away, with no physical connection between the power source and the light bulb. Details about WiTricity, or wireless electricity, are scheduled to be reported today in Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said. ‘The team from MIT is not the first group to suggest wireless energy transfer. Nineteenth-century physicist and engineer Nikola Tesla experimented with long-range wireless energy transfer, but his most ambitious attempt - the 29m high aerial known as Wardenclyffe Tower, in New York - failed when he ran out of money. Others have worked on highly directional mechanisms of energy transfer such as lasers. However, unlike the MIT work, these require an uninterrupted line of sight, and are therefore not good for powering objects around the home.’
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June 5th, 2007 Administrator
I’m a big supporter of alternative fuel sources to try and better the environment as well as reduce reliance on fossil fuels. An article on Slashdot discussses a new fuel cell that is reported to be twice as efficient as standard generators.
From the article:
A new kind of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell has been developed that can consume any kind of fuel, from hydrogen to bio-diesel; it is over two times more efficient than traditional generators. Acumentrics is attempting to market the technology to off-grid applications (like National Parks) and also for home use as personal Combined Heat and Power plants that are extremely efficient (half as carbon-intensive as grid power.)
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June 4th, 2007 Administrator
This is the month folks. The Apple iPhone is finally going to be released for the world to go crazy over. Ever since Steve Jobs introduced it, there’s been tons of hype over it. I can’t say that I’m not curious about it because it definitely seems like a pretty boss phone, but the price of it is going to be insane. Look for it June 29, 2007 everybody.
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June 4th, 2007 Administrator
The Slashdot gang has an article on the LiftPort Group and their fading dream of the elevator that takes citizens of Earth to areas in space. I can’t say that I don’t understand why this company is running out of money. Having an elevator that goes to space seems like a very unrealistic possibility at this point in time. But for those that believe this may work, keep hope alive.
From the article:
“The LiftPort Group, founded four years ago with the lofty dream of building a stairway to heaven, has seemingly reached the end the line. The dream was to develop a ribbon of carbon nanotubes 100,000 km long, anchored to the Earth’s surface and with a counterweight in space, providing a permanent bridge to orbit. Elevator cars would be robotic ‘lifters’ which would climb the ribbon to deliver cargo and eventually people to orbit or beyond. Now LiftPort has all but run out of funds, and the State of Washington’s Securities Division has entered a Statement of Charges against LiftPort Inc. dba LiftPort Group and founder Michael Laine.”
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May 22nd, 2007 Administrator
I swear, this big brother thing is getting out of hand. A Slashdot article is reporting on how Microsoft wants to develop a technology that will allow them to identify internet users based on the websites they visit and such. Honestly, I think if it really got to that point I would hope for some hack that disabled that feature or I would have to stop using the internet. I don’t have anything to hide but I think that’s a serious invasion of privacy and don’t want to provide them with information that would help them develop their program.
From the article:
New Scientist reports on a technology Microsoft is developing to identify users based on their browsing habits. Quote: ‘The software could get its raw information from a number of sources, including a new type of ‘cookie’ program that records the pages visited. Alternatively, it could use your PC’s own cache of web pages, or proxy servers could maintain records of sites visited. So far it can only guess gender and age with any accuracy,’ but the aim is to be able to identify name, occupation and location as well. On a related note, The Inquirer reports on Microsoft’s plans to widen the use of its identity-verification technology CardSpace, which is built into Windows Vista and available as an add-on to XP. It’s being envisioned as an identity solution for the entire internet: says Kim Cameron, pioneer of the technology, ‘We feel it has to solve all use cases.’ (Aha, so the anonymous use cases, too, eh?) One might ask, with all of this user-ID information on hand, how long will it be until the Feds come knocking on Microsoft’s door asking for help? They already have.
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May 22nd, 2007 Administrator
The Slashdot has an article with some awesome news on Dell offering Linux based system. And from what the article says, these machines are going to be fully Linux with nothing but hardware that’s supported by Linux and the use of open-source drivers where available.
From the article:
Dell, through their direct2dell website, has released some details of their soon-to-be-available Linux machines. Among the highlights: Only hardware that works with Linux is offered; open-source drivers are used where possible; binary drivers for Intel wireless cards, etc.; and no support for proprietary media codecs. Seems reasonable, but it’s too bad that Click2Run isn’t in Ubuntu 7.04 for the sake of those wanting to (legally) play DVDs, use AVI files, etc.
The direct2dell site divulges no details on what models will be offered with Linux. For those we turn to linuxquestions.org, where proprietor Jeremy published a scoop last week: “We will be launching a Linux based OS (Ubuntu) on the E520, 1505 and XPS 410 starting next Thursday, 5/24.”
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May 14th, 2007 Administrator
Well, Slashdot’s got an article on something that I’ve been saying for the longest time: “web 2.0” is practically worthless. It really does distract from a website getting a good design. I’ve seen plenty of companies that were doing well and had they improved the existing design without fancying stuff up, all would have been well. Instead, everything got “AJAXed” causing poor user interaction. I can handle waiting a few additional seconds for a page to load, but I have trouble having to waiting for the screen to fade and all that b.s. that goes with it.
From the article:
The BBC is running a story about web 2.0 and usability, including comments from Jakob Nielsen stating “Hype about Web 2.0 is making web firms neglect the basics of good design”. He warned that the rush to make webpages more dynamic often meant users were badly served. Sites peppered with personalization tools were in danger of resembling the ‘glossy but useless’ sites at the height of the dotcom boom.
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