...more recent posts
I don't think I can really catch you up on the David McCusker story. He goes by Rys now. I envy his ability to switch names. And the choice is very nice. Short, and unique. How I long for such a name. Jim is short, but, well, you can see the problem.
Rys has seperated out his work/computer related blog from his personal blog. But he doesn't seem to post much anymore. I'm assuming this is because of the proximity of the beta release date for Chandler. I'm sure he's knee, if not neck, deep in intricate database optimization wizardry.
Still, when he surfaces, I hope he comes back to blogging. It's become quite a story, and it would be a loss if I couldn't follow along any more.
Good luck Rys, where ever you are.
The Lincoln Plawg (that's: Politics and law from a British perspective - hence Politics LAW BloG) is consistently the most sophisticated anti-war voice I've found. I could point to it every day, but I'll pick out this one just for the heck of it.
From here:
But no one put the basic point: that disobedience towards UN Security Council resolutions - in whatever fancy words you dress it up - is not, in international law, a justification for war [2]; therefore, the proposed invasion must be judged according to the general principles applicable to pre-emptive war; and, according to those principles, the invasion is illegal....to the end of the post is a great summary of what many feel, but few can express so well. I hope he digs deeper into this vein as he suggests.
Yes:
Japan's cellphone makers, pioneers of the camera-equipped handset, look set to intrude into digital camera makers' turf as a fierce battle for market share draws them toward photo-phones with million-pixel resolution.I think it's clear we can only carry around one device. It will be a phone. But also a PDA. And a camera (and/or video camera.) And a GPS. And an mp3 player. And a universal remote. Converge dammit, converge.
Well, I admit it. As much as I want to use Apple's new browser Safari, I've switched back to Chimera. Confusingly, Chimera is now called Camino. And there's a new version (.07 - really this time, not like on 3/5.) But before I could download that I find out the brand spanking new Safari v.64 (cripes, .62 hasn't even been officially released yet) supposedly has the improvement I'm looking for: open tabs in background.
I had been running the hypothetical v.62 with no problems (other than tabs not working the way I wanted.) Thanks to Chris for the hook up on that one. V.64 I found here: http://www.deepapple.com/downloads/?oid=705 . Shhhh! If you're brave, give it a shot. Probably requires 10.2.3 but don't quote me on that. If you're not so brave wait for me to report.
World of Ends: What the Internet Is and
How to Stop Mistaking It
for Something Else.
Doc Searls and David Weinberger hone their Cluetrain message, presenting
10 points anyone concerned with the internet should understand, and a bunch of links to all the important papers.
Blah, blah, blah, raging cow, blah, blah...
You know about this, right? (If not then you don't get around much, do you?) It's the latest in marketainment. Ragingcow.com is a Dr. Pepper advertising project disguised as a blog. They use Movable Type and everything. And they really really like Raging Cow, the super nifty new "milk like" fun drink!
Right. So anyway, the site I linked to - ragingcow.blogspot.com - is a parody put up by Kevin Marks' in the hopes of taking the number one spot on google away from Dr. Pepper. I'm not actually recommending you should visit that site (and if you do, get ready for some annoying background music) but I just wanted to link it a few times and throw my minor google strength against Dr. P.
(If you really must know, it was the fan signs that tipped me over the edge. These people must be stopped.)
Ha ha ha ha har har ha ha ha....
Stop it, you're killing me:
The Recodable Locking Device, which uses microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology so small that it takes a microscope to see it, is a series of tiny notched gears that move to the unlocked position only when the right code is entered. It's the first known mechanical hardware designed to keep unwanted guests from breaking codes and illegally entering computer and other secure systems.Still, and this is why I mention it, you should check out the incredibly cool picture here. That wheel is 300 microns in diameter, or "about the size of the period at the end of a sentence."
But the press release is just too much. I can't wait to read what Schneier writes about this in the next Cryptogram. One for the doghouse? Get this:
"Computer firewalls have always been dependent on software, which means they are 'soft' and subject to manipulations," says Larry Dalton, manager of Sandia's High Integrity Software Systems Engineering Department. "Our device is hardware and is extremely difficult to break into. You have one and only one chance in a million of picking exactly the right code compared to a one in 10,000 chance, with many additional chances, in most software firewalls. After one failed try, this new device mechanically shuts down and can't be reset and reopened except by the owner."Wow! Sounds, like, double super top secret secure! I get it now: software = soft, hardware = hard. LOL! Who writes this stuff?
How to monopolize the new network is a paper by David S. Isenberg on the future of telecommunications. Interesting if you're into this sort of thing. Giant fibre to the home monopoly vs. David P. Reed style wireless mesh network.
Toshiba shows off a fuel cell prototype they say will be commercialized next year.
Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like, and as I understand it this is really going to happen. We're talking very small volumes of fuel - like you could carry around a refill in something the size of a pen. Sure would be nice to break the recharging cycle.
Lots of noise in the press today speculating on a possible Apple on line music service. Here's a San Jose Mercury News article. Here's a potentially interesting anonymous comment from a December 2002 thread on slashdot.
I'm not exactly doubting it, but let's just wait and see what happens.