Reservoir Hill points us to a story about a group of computer scientists who are taking steps to bring the creation of 3-D worlds to the casual user. As a proof-of-concept, Vladlen Koltun and the Stanford Virtual Worlds Group, using data collected by botanists, have developed software to create virtual 3-D trees with roughly 100 different tree attributes, all of which are highly variable. Quoting: "The inability of casual computer users to build 3-D objects - you practically have to be a sculptor, Koltun says - is an anchor holding back the promise of virtual worlds. Koltun's software, Dryad (a tree nymph in Greek mythology,) lets users move through the 100-attribute tree space in a fashion similar to navigating city streets on Google Maps. As in real life, not all trees are equally desirable. Since no single user is capable of mapping out the best parts of the enormous tree space, this mapping of desirability is done collaboratively, leading to continuous refinement of the software."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Slashdot | 11 Jan 2008 | 11:02 am
Olly F writes, "This is sad stuff. A remote, unelected bureaucracy in Brussels dictates that city councils can't provide free wi-fi. By cities, I mean all those in 27 countries. The EU is not on the citizen's side. This is only the latest example."
A plan to provide free wireless broadband throughout Dublin has been abandoned.
Dublin City Council has decided the plan would be contrary to EU law on state aid, as well as not financially possible. The project is estimated to cost €27m.
Link
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Thanks, Olly!)
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Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 8:56 am
sehlat brings us a New York Times report that Sony has agreed to start selling DRM-free music from Amazon's MP3 store. This comes days after Sony revealed plans for physical MusicPass cards that would allow DRM-free access to a small portion of Sony's library. Now that all four major record labels are on board with Amazon, some are expecting Apple to make moves away from DRM as well. From the NYTimes: "Sony's partnership with Amazon.com also underscores the music industry's gathering effort to nurture an online rival to Apple, which has sold more than three billion songs through its iTunes store. Most music purchased on iTunes can be played only on Apple devices, and Apple insists on selling all single tracks for 99 cents. Amazon, which sells tracks for anywhere from 89 cents to over a dollar, offers the pricing variability the labels want."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Slashdot | 11 Jan 2008 | 8:40 am
These framed Nintendo "stitchies" (cross-stitches) are very good indeed -- something about the frame, gives 'em gravitas that nicely counterbalances the whimsy.
Link
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via Wonderland)
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Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:35 am
Love this storage idea for sticking your books up in the rafters. I get rid of books as fast as I can, but I overflow my shelves all the time and end up colonizing the floor with tottering heaps. Better to colonize the ceiling!
Link
(
Thanks, Alice!)
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Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:32 am
The Endless Belt Trains for Futuristic Cities described in the November, 1932 ish of Modern Mechanix is one of my all-time favorite tomorrows of yesterday -- a world run on rails, rising high above the city, slicing through it with arrow-straight, improbable lines:
Passengers board the first local train at any point, and it stops every 50 seconds for a period of 10 seconds. When the doors close, a gong sounds and the local platform starts moving. Now there is another signal and gates open for a second platform, or express, on which the passenger takes the major part of his trip. After ten seconds the gates close and the local slows down for another stop, while the express picks up to a 22 m.p.h. speed.
Noise of the system is at a minimum, and passengers are delivered at no more than 300 feet from their streets. All stations are controlled from one central point, all elements being so timed that there can be no hitches.
Link
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Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:30 am
Bruce Schneier has a wonderful essay up on Wired explaining why he runs an open wireless network at home -- and how that fits in with security. I've run open wireless networks since the late 1990s (in five cities in three countries) and I've never encountered the problems that everyone says are inevitable -- network contention, crap from my ISP, busts for the child-porn my neighbors are downloading from my network.
Instead, I've provided network access to innumerable people -- people like me: I can't count the number of times I've had my ass saved by an open wireless network at the right moment (e.g., in good time to help me look up directions, a phone number, or flight details). I figure the more open wireless I provide to the world, the more people I'll turn on to providing their own open wireless access, and the more open WiFi I'm likely to find.
To me, it's basic politeness. Providing internet access to guests is kind of like providing heat and electricity, or a hot cup of tea. But to some observers, it's both wrong and dangerous...
I remain unconvinced of this threat, though. The RIAA has conducted about 26,000 lawsuits, and there are more than 15 million music downloaders. Mark Mulligan of Jupiter Research said it best: "If you're a file sharer, you know that the likelihood of you being caught is very similar to that of being hit by an asteroid."
I'm also unmoved by those who say I'm putting my own data at risk, because hackers might park in front of my house, log on to my open network and eavesdrop on my internet traffic or break into my computers. This is true, but my computers are much more at risk when I use them on wireless networks in airports, coffee shops and other public places. If I configure my computer to be secure regardless of the network it's on, then it simply doesn't matter. And if my computer isn't secure on a public network, securing my own network isn't going to reduce my risk very much.
Link
Source:
Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:29 am
Today on my ongoing series of photos from my travels: the eBay and Websites store in Tarzana, a suburb of LA. These were everywhere a couple years back, but they seem to have died out. Love the idea of walking into a store and ordering a website!
Link
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Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:21 am
For the last two months, I've been using Chandler as my sole calendaring app on my Ubuntu laptop. Chandler is a free, open calendaring program with a lot of innovative rethinking of how to do groupware right -- the web-based sharing technology is especially good. (I'm a very heavy calendar user and I really need industrial strength scheduling)
It's still very early beta, and there's a lot of polish missing from the current builds, but in the short time I've been using it, I've seen it make massive improvements. I'm really looking forward to future releases -- give it a whirl, send 'em some feedback, or hack some code.
Chandler gives you the flexibility to collaborate with others on projects at a variety of different levels. Take full advantage of all the Chandler Desktop features by collaborating with other desktop users in your office to share read-only or writeable calendars, tasks, messages, notes and keep track of priorities. You can also manage a shared task list or calendar with others who prefer to use their web browser directly with Chandler Hub, they don't even have to have an account on the server to access the information you share with them.
Chandler Hub is a common connection to share your schedule and coordinate with other people. Chandler Hub supports you whether you're a committed everyday user or just 'dropping in' to leave a comment. Begin collaborating with other people today without all the commitments. Find flexibility in Chandler Hub--all the tools you'll need in work collaboration or to just simply keep yourself organized.
Link
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Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:12 am
Evan sez, "Meraki makes it brain dead simple to share wi-fi and pushes it out to massive scale at super low costs. The result is free wi-fi across areas much bigger than previously feasible by individuals, and at much lower cost and subject to much lower red tape than previous municipal wi-fi projects."
Free the Net is a community-built network. Meraki provides the technology, but we rely on people to help build and grow. There are a number of ways you can help:
* If you can see the Free the Net signal, sign up for a free repeater to boost your signal.
* Volunteer to host an outdoor repeater on your roof or balcony. The outdoor units help spread the signal throughout your neighborhood and are critical to the growth of the network.
* Spread the word! Tell your friends and neighbors to sign up at http://sf.meraki.com.
* Check out the network map and keep yourself up-to-date on our progress.
Link to project,
Link to map
Source:
Boing Boing | 11 Jan 2008 | 7:07 am
rambilly brings us a story from Wired about the origin and development of the iPhone. From the article: "Steve Jobs had tasked about 200 of Apple's top engineers with creating the iPhone. Yet here, in Apple's boardroom, it was clear that the prototype was still a disaster. It wasn't just buggy, it flat-out didn't work. The phone dropped calls constantly, the battery stopped charging before it was full, data and applications routinely became corrupted and unusable. The list of problems seemed endless. At the end of the demo, Jobs fixed the dozen or so people in the room with a level stare and said, 'We don't have a product yet.' The effect was even more terrifying than one of Jobs' trademark tantrums. When the Apple chief screamed at his staff, it was scary but familiar. This time, his relative calm was unnerving. 'It was one of the few times at Apple when I got a chill,' says someone who was in the meeting."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Slashdot | 11 Jan 2008 | 6:19 am
As the world's tallest buildings reach toward the 3000 ft. mark and beyond, the pursuit of height might give way to practicality. But they are also beginning to install new technology that will increase safety in skyscrapers currently on the rise.
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PopularMechanics.com - Science: Extreme Machines | 11 Jan 2008 | 5:00 am
1sockchuck writes "Sun Microsystems wants to cut its IT department's data center footprint in half within five years, and then eliminate in-house data centers completely shortly afterward. 'Our goal is to reduce our entire data center presence by 2015,' writes Sun data center architect Brian Cinque, who says Sun hopes to shift its in-house IT to a software-as-a-service model. Sun will use virtualization and consolidation to reduce its data center space and energy usage by 50 percent by 2013, with a goal of moving it all online two years later. Sun's plan reflects the shift to utility computing discussed in Nicholas Carr's new book, which we debated earlier this week."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source:
Slashdot | 11 Jan 2008 | 4:05 am
Yesterday, we discussed reports of Microsoft and the OLPC project working towards a dual-boot version of the XO laptop. Now, BetaNews tells us that Microsoft has issued statements denying such plans. The software giant has also reaffirmed their intention to develop a Windows-only version of the laptop. Microsoft's statement to BetaNews had this to say: "While we have investigated the possibility in the past, Microsoft is not developing dual-boot Windows XP support for the One Laptop Per Child's XO laptop. As we announced in December, Microsoft plans to publish formal design guidelines early this year that will assist flash-based device manufacturers in designing machines that enable a high-quality Windows experience. Our current goal remains to provide a high-quality Windows experience on the XO device."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source:
Slashdot | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:21 am
For all the hydrogen, electric and hybrids we'll see at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the green stars of the show may be the next generation of gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines.
Source:
Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:15 am
Scott Listfield thinks the 21st century isn't what it was cracked up to be, so he drops an ironic astronaut into his compositions. Sort of like editorial cartoon meets fine art.
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Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:00 am
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science shows up just as Germany is about to enter the darkest period of its history.
Source:
Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:00 am
The genetics pioneer sails the
Sorcerer II, a 95-foot, 10-year-old sloop loaded with luxuries and scientific equipment. It's valued at over $5 million.
Source:
Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:00 am
Beat the blizzard blues by becoming a teenage sky pirate, a lesbian space marine or something else entirely (at least for a little while).
Source:
Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:00 am
As the Hans Reiser murder trial resumes after a three-week hiatus, we look back over the key developments with a gallery of dailies from sketch artist Norman Quebedeau.
Source:
Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:00 am
Take a peek at a weird passel of new adventure games for Wii, PlayStation 2,
Xbox 360 and PSP.
Source:
Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 2:00 am
Wired News reprises the week at CES in video: lots of eye candy.
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Wired: Top Stories | 11 Jan 2008 | 1:00 am
Wired News reprises the week at CES in video: lots of eye candy.
Source:
Wired: Gadgets | 11 Jan 2008 | 1:00 am
Einstein Duble brings us news that astronomers using the Hubble Telescope have discovered an extremely rare double Einstein Ring. Occasionally, galaxies or other bright objects are located in such a way that they are behind another galaxy when viewed from Earth. When light from the further galaxy passes a sufficiently massive closer galaxy, the path of the light is bent inward from all sides, creating a "ring" effect. In this case, not one, but two galaxies are directly behind the foreground galaxy, so the gravitational lens produces two distinct rings. Quoting Presscue: "The distribution of dark matter in the foreground galaxies that is warping space to create the gravitational lens can be precisely mapped. In addition, the geometry of the two Einstein rings allowed the team to measure the mass of the middle galaxy precisely to be a value of 1 billion solar masses. The team reports that this is the first measurement of the mass of a dwarf galaxy at cosmological distance (redshift of z=0.6)."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Slashdot | 11 Jan 2008 | 1:00 am
Multiple users have notified us of reports that the Attorney General of New York has initiated an antitrust investigation of Intel. The EU served Intel with similar charges last July, and AMD has been battling Intel over antitrust issues for some time. Quoting the New York Times: "The subpoenas from Mr. Cuomo's office will seek internal memos, billing documents, and correspondence between Intel and its customers to determine whether the company engaged in a variety of anticompetitive practices, like penalized customers, primarily computer manufacturers, for purchasing processors from competitors or improperly paying customers to use Intel chips exclusively. Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel, said the company would comply with Mr. Cuomo's subpoena but denied any illegality."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source:
Slashdot | 10 Jan 2008 | 11:56 pm
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