Cellphones have spurred fantastic advances in business productivity and employee availability, allowing workers and bosses to stay in constant contact. A 2007 study says three-quarters of Americans... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 2:01 pm
Julie188 writes "Google's offline access for Google Apps is a kick in the shin at Ray Ozzie. Google took a page right out of the Ozzie mesh playbook when it announced the offline access (let's call it Google Docs Unplugged). Google delivered desktop apps from the cloud first and then added unplugged functionality. Microsoft wants to do the same, but in reverse, and faces an infinitely bigger challenge: rebuild Microsoft apps so they can become cloud enabled while pulling its giant channel (and embedded software) along in the process. Good luck with that, Microsoft. But then again, just because Google is making faster progress doesn't mean much. There's no guarantee users will like the unplugged versions of cloud apps."
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia , the world's top handset maker, unveiled four new phone models on Wednesday, targeting consumers in emerging markets who are about to replace their first phones. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 12:41 pm
There's a beautiful image today from the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland, and we hope you'll like it. It is a computer-generated simulation of a young star, say astronomers, with a vast disc of... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 12:38 pm
LONDON (Billboard) - Radiohead is using the Internet for another initiative built around its chart-topping album, "In Rainbows." Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 12:30 pm
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The upper house of the Dutch parliament defeated a bill that would have allowed monopoly casino operator Holland Casino to open a gambling Web site on a trial basis. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 12:24 pm
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Remember those pesky student attorneys from the University of Maine School of Law's Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, who inspired the Magistrate Judge to suggest monetary fines against the RIAA lawyers? Well they're in the RIAA's face once again, and this time they're trying to shut down the RIAA's whole 'discovery' machine: the lawsuits it files against 'John Does' in order to find out their names and addresses. They've gone and filed a Rule 11 motion for sanctions (PDF), seeking — among other things — an injunction against all such 'John Doe' cases, arguing that the cases seek to circumvent the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act which protects student privacy rights, are brought for improper purposes of obtaining discovery, getting publicity, and intimidation, and are in flagrant violation of the joinder rules and numerous court orders. If the injunction is granted, the RIAA will have to go back to the drawing board to find another way of finding out the identities of college students, and the ruling — depending on its reasoning — might even be applicable to the non-college cases involving commercial ISPs."
No amount of PR and no number of company blogs can make a bad company look good — or smart. Wal-Mart is the poster pig for that lipstick. Again and again, they prove themselves to be mean, greedy,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 12:13 pm
As some people may recall, in June of last year a company called Elevation Partners acquired a 25% equity stake in Palm for $325 million. As I mentioned at the time, the most interesting and exciting part... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:59 am
By Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald Apr. 2--Just a few years ago, a sewage plant overhaul wouldn't rank as a VIP event in Miami-Dade County. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Tim Chitwood, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga. Apr. 2--City leaders dug deep into Ginger Creek as water-quality watchdogs from Chattahoochee RiverWatch warned that a $1.7 million drainage project there appears inadequate. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Zainul Arifin I BELIEVE we should be encouraged by politicians fulfilling election promises. Often made in the heat of campaigning, pledges normally get drowned amid the cheers of victories. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Brady McCombs and Howard Fischer, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Apr. 2--The Department of Homeland Security laid claim Tuesday to at least 220 of the 350 miles of U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona to build fences, roads and towers without having to comply with environmental regulations. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Mitchell Freedman, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Apr. 2--The satellite photo projected on a screen in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn showed Montauk Point and -- just offshore -- what looked like two big fishhooks made of sand. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Bruce Henderson, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Apr. 2--Gardeners, stand by to sprinkle. Drought conditions have improved enough to allow lawn irrigation once a week, a Catawba River advisory group said Tuesday. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Laura Figueroa, The Miami Herald Apr. 2--TALLAHASSEE -- Gaining momentum from last week's fatal crane accident in downtown Miami, a measure calling for state regulation of the crane industry inched closer Tuesday to a final vote in the state House. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) URUMQI, April 2 (Xinhua) - A sandstorm in northwest China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region which began last Friday has led to the cancellation of 27 flights and the postponing of another 10, the local civil aviation authority said on Wednesday. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Mimi Hall WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department used its legal authority Tuesday to waive environmental and land management laws so it can complete 670 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
By Henry Brean By HENRY BREAN REVIEW-JOURNAL A popular recreation spot on Lake Mohave was closed by the National Park Service Monday after its water system failed. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 2 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Amazon has launched Amazon TextBuyIt, a service that allows Amazon customers to purchase items via mobile phone text message. To use the service, customers text the name of a product, its description,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:21 am
By Andrew Liszewski I haven't gotten around to finding the perfect macro lens for my Nikon D70 as of yet, so I mostly rely on a Nikon point & shoot digital camera when I'm taking close-up product shots... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:04 am
Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATS) a supplier of analog, mixed-signal and non-volatile memory semiconductors has added a new 32-tap device to its extensive family of Digitally Programmable Potentiometers (DPP™). Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
IBM has announced that it is under investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over an $80 million bid it made in 2006 to modernize the agency's financial systems and has been suspended from seeking new federal government contracts. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
American Arium, an industry leader in hardware-assisted development tools, today announced debug support for the Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor Z500 series. Arium's hardware-assisted debug solution comes in the form of the company's ECM-XDP3 JTAG emulator and latest SourcePoint(TM) debug interface. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
International Business Machines has announced that it is under investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over an $80 million bid it made in 2006 to improve its financial systems and has been suspended from seeking government contracts. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
HP is targeting the SME market with the introduction of two new ProLiant servers. HP said the ProLiant BL260c G5 costs 20% less and is 64% more power-efficient than any other blade in the market. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
ITASCA, Ill., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the company's historic coast-to-coast flight last week with fully operational Internet and email connectivity over its national network, Aircell(R) announced today that it received two critical FAA approvals. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
By Belleville News-Democrat, Ill. Apr. 2--Freeburg has issued a villagewide boil order for all water customers until further notice because of a transmission line break. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
BOSTON, April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Smarter Travel Media, LLC, part of the TripAdvisor Media Network and an operating company of Expedia, Inc. , today announced it has acquired Airfarewatchdog(TM), http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/, a leading source of airfare sales. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
By Ridzwan A. Rahim DO the sight-impaired use the Internet? You better believe it. In fact, they are so savvy they can tell you what's wrong with your website. RIDZWAN A. RAHIM writes. When it comes to computers, Toh Wooi Seong is just like your average Malaysian youth. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
PARENTS are unaware of the dangers their children face by posting details about themselves on social networking sites and must do more to monitor their use of sites such as Bebo and Facebook, watchdog Ofcom said today. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Apr 2008 | 10:00 am
patspam writes "As a software engineer I come up with patentable ideas every now and then, ideas which I'm not interested in pursuing myself but which I'd like to keep out of the hands of private entities/patent trolls in my own personal effort to defeat software patents. Should I patent the ideas and donate them to some sort of open source foundation? Or just blog about the ideas so that the 'prior art' exists in the public domain? What's your strategy for fighting against restrictive software patents?"
Europe's first artificial surf reef is a step closer after orders were placed for enough specialist bags and webbing base to cover a football pitch. The webbing base... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:26 am
By Andrew Liszewski I usually go out of my way to hunt down the best shot for a product, but this is the actual photo Coleman uses for this tent light on their site. I know it's not exactly their flagship... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:16 am
LAS VEGAS, April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Columbus Geographic Systems (GIS) Ltd. ("Columbus") (symbol: CGSE) today announced they have been approved to Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:05 am
Game Neverending, the first project from Ludicorp and the foundation for Flickr, has risen from the dead. The MMOG is a role playing game focused on social interaction and object manipulation. Game Neverending... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:02 am
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Electronics is partnering with the Sonoma Valley Film Society as the "Official HDTV Sponsor of the 2008... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:00 am
NORTH CANTON, Ohio, April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Diebold, Incorporated's (NYSE: DBD) Global Security Division is the recipient of the 2008 Frost &... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:00 am
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harris Stratex Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSTX), the leading independent supplier of turnkey wireless... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:00 am
ATLANTA, April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WinSonic Digital Media Group, Ltd. (OTC Bulletin Board: WDMG) announced today WinSonic and Blue Pie Team up. The... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:00 am
BEAVERTON, Ore., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To address the critical need to reduce the cost of high-volume testing of RF devices for the mobile handset... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 9:00 am
Nice little concept design for a door-chain that makes you solve a maze to unlock it -- designed by Oleg Morev, apparently for the April Fool's ThinkGeek catalog. Link (via Cribcandy) ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 8:37 am
Nice little concept design for a door-chain that makes you solve a maze to unlock it -- designed by Oleg Morev, apparently for the April Fool's ThinkGeek catalog.
Link
(via Cribcandy)
Report warns cases of the disease can only be reduced by removing hormone-disrupting man-made chemicals from a range of household products Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 8:21 am
Here's a declassified copy of one of the 2003 "Yoo Memos" issued by William J. Haynes II, General Counsel of the Department of Defense and written by John C. Yoo, then a deputy, in which they argue that torture of foreign nationals is lawful provided that it takes place offshore and that they are "enemy combatants" (whatever that means). It was rescinded after nine months.
Sent to the Pentagon's general counsel on March 14, 2003, by John C. Yoo, then a deputy in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, the memo provides an expansive argument for nearly unfettered presidential power in a time of war. It contends that numerous laws and treaties forbidding torture or cruel treatment should not apply to U.S. interrogations in foreign lands because of the president's inherent wartime powers.
"If a government defendant were to harm an enemy combatant during an interrogation in a manner that might arguably violate a criminal prohibition, he would be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States by the al Qaeda terrorist network," Yoo wrote. "In that case, we believe that he could argue that the executive branch's constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack justified his actions."
psyced writes "Steganography is a technique to encode secret messages in the background noise of an audio recording or photograph. There have been attempts at steganalysis in the past, but scientists at FH St. Pölten are developing strategies to block out secret data in VoIP and even GSM phone calls by preemptively modifying background noise (link is to a Google translation of the German original) on a level that stays inaudible or invisible, yet destroys any message encoded within. I wonder if this method could be applied to hiding messages in executables, too."
Oregon cops caught the alleged crooks who posted a fake "moving, everything must go, just come and take it" ad on Craigslist, which ended up costing their victim almost everything he owned. The pair had allegedly stolen a saddle from the man and wanted to cover up the crime, but they used a traceable IP address to commit the fraud.
Brandon and Amber Herbert were nabbed last night for allegedly posting the March 22 Craigslist ad, which claimed that the Jacksonville ranch's owner had to leave town so suddenly that his belongings--which included a horse--were available for the taking. The Herberts, investigators charge, did this to cover up their prior theft of several saddles and other items from the garage of the rural southern Oregon house, which is owned by contractor Robert Salisbury. After learning of the Craigslist ad, Salisbury returned to his property to find about 30 people rummaging through his home and remaining belongings. After subpoenaing Craigslist records, Jackson County Sheriff's Office investigators traced the online posting to the Herberts, according to the below probable cause affidavit. As a result, Brandon, 29, and Amber, 28, were both hit with burglary and computer crime charges. They are pictured in the above mug shots.
Internet startups are so cheap to do these days that venture capitalists can't find enough companies to take their money -- it's easier just to self-finance or raise the dough from friends and family (boingboing.net startup costs: $0.00).
"Right now, honestly? This time sucks for us," says Paul Kedrosky, a partner with Ventures West. "It's a bad time."
Savvy VCs are finding ways to compete. One gambit: doling out perks to entrepreneurs. San Francisco-based Founders Fund, started by ex-PayPal CEO Peter Thiel, lets entrepreneurs trade some of their equity for cash, something they usually can't do until their companies are purchased or go public. Other VCs are competing with angels by investing like them — with small amounts and at early stages. In 2007, the average VC-led seed round was less than $1 million. "Half of the deals we do are either seed or A round," says Roger Lee, a general partner at Battery Ventures. "The companies VCs are putting $500,000 into this year we might have been putting $20 million into in 2000."
The Web leader's VP of engineering becomes president of digital at the struggling recording company. One of Google... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Wireless calling might not change the island for the better. The Cuban government made headlines worldwide when... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Researchers say the medication will allow people to take the cholesterol-lowering vitamin without suffering severe reddening of the skin. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
A subcommittee meeting on the Internet portal is simulcast on the popular fantasy site Second Life. Session is only informational, but members have real concerns. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
The company says it is sticking with the technology that is raising questions among analysts. Sprint Nextel Corp... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Western Union and its partners address the robust financial-transfer market via 'electronic wallets.' Money wiring... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Microsoft Corp. has won a battle to have a key document format adopted as a global standard, improving its chances of winning government contracts and dealing a blow to supporters of a rival format. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Despite opposition from phone companies, the bill now goes to the Senate floor. California's four biggest telephone... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Customers can text to compare prices and buy items Amazon.com Inc.'s brick-and-mortar competitors have yet another... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 2 Apr 2008 | 7:00 am
Metafilter user Aeschenkarnos posted this hilarious and brilliant review of "Outside" (AKA the real world), treating life as though it were a highly entertaining massively multiplayer game:
In terms of the traditional target age content metrics, Outside is remarkably high in sex, violence and challenges to traditional values, despite the strong child-focussed marketing it receives. Many would go so far as to say that for a child to develop the ability to cope with Outside is essential, as long as the harm incurred is not too debilitating. Children injured playing Outside are usually comforted by parents, and soon encouraged to go Outside again; this leads to the conclusion that somehow Outside has escaped any and all of the usual moralizing that surrounds the videogaming industry. One might say that Outside gets a free pass from the Jack Thompsons of this world...
Other players choose to focus on accumulation of personal abilities, the variety of which greatly exceeds the capacity of any individual to accumulate; again, the game requires players to engage in years of grinding to achieve any notable standard with a skill or ability. Players are issued abilities and characteristics largely at random, and it is entirely possible for a player to be nerfed beyond any reasonable expectation of being able to play the game, or to be buffed to the point where anything he or she does is markedly easier. Unfortunately over time, player abilities tend to degrade, unless significant effort is made to keep skills up. This reviewer cannot emphasise this enough: Outside requires a huge time investment to build up player abilities, exceeding any other massively multiplayer game on the market by some three orders of magnitude.
Players are encouraged to focus on social interaction, which can be engaged in in a variety of ways. In fact it's extraordinarily difficult to solo anything whatsoever in Outside, apart from basic skill and knowledge accumulation quests. One of the major forms of social interaction in the game is based largely around the addition of new players to Outside, and is both complex and, in comparison to the storyline-driven romance quests of, say, Baldur's Gate or Mass Effect, they are immensely difficult. Dedicated players of Outside, however, report that the romance quests are among the most rewarding the game has to offer.
Chris Blanc tips an Ars writeup on a survey of consumer attitudes toward targeted advertising. The results of the survey, conducted for TRUSTe, confirm that advertisers are in a tough spot. "[The survey company] randomly selected 1,015 nationally representative adults... Although only 40 percent of the group was familiar with the term 'behavioral targeting,' most users were well aware of the practice. 57 percent reported that they weren't comfortable their activities [were being] tracked for advertising purposes, even if the information couldn't be tied to their names or real-life identities. Simultaneously, 72 percent of those surveyed said that they find online advertising annoying when the ads are not relevant to their needs..."
We take a visual tour through movies of yore to examine the evolution of the high-tech body armor that protects and enhances the powers our favorite sci-fi characters.
A dental researcher is working on a technique for regenerating the minerals in teeth -- which may eliminate the need for patching cavities with metal fillings.
A brilliant young chemist comes up with an efficient process to create a much-desired material, finds financial backing, and launches a startup that's lasted 120 years.
mithro writes "If you thought that you had missed out on applying to the Google Summer of Code, you've just gotten a reprieve. The deadline for student submissions has been extended from the original April 1 to Monday April 7, 2008. To quote Leslie Hawthorn: 'This year, we experimented with the Google Summer of Code program timeline, providing one week for students to discuss project ideas with their mentors and then a single week to submit applications. The good news is that we've heard that overall application quality is much higher this year and that students have really benefited from the opportunity to have extra time to discuss their ideas with their potential mentors. However, we've still heard feedback from the community that it would be useful to provide more time for students to submit their applications, so we've done just that.'"
We just received permission from the publicity handler for George Lucas to air this *!*!*!*exclusive*!*!*!* interview with the Star Wars creator about his new self-help audiobook and line of aromatherapy bath salts and sugar scrubs, "The Boba Fett Mystique."
This product is co-branded by notoriously cocooned celebrity author JD Salinger. Behold, our power of videobloggage is mighty! It's a special calendar day.
kamlapati sends us to EETimes for news that the Chaos Computer Club in Germany and researchers from the University of Virginia have cracked the encryption scheme used in a common RFID chip, NXP's Mifare Classic. According to the article the device is used in many contactless smartcard applications including fare collection, loyalty cards, and access control cards. NXP downplays the significance of the hack, saying that that model of RFID card uses old technology and they do a much better job these days.
Microsoft acquires the patents to a sophisticated identity-management system that allows users to exercise absolute control over the information they release online. Redmond insists it'll make the technology available to everyone ... eventually.
Congress returned to Washington on Tuesday, and already the debate over wiretapping and telecom amnesty has started up again. Wired.com answers your questions on what's at stake and what's likely to happen.
Passengers on an Air New Zealand flight from Fiji found themselves being fumigated yesterday, after the crew discovered the aircraft's biosecurity clearance had expired:
A bio-security certificate prevents an airline from having to fumigate an aircraft every time it returns here.
The spraying left the man with a sore throat and caused a baby to gag and vomit.
The construction engineer said the MAF officers took about five minutes to fumigate the plane before leaving the passengers to sit in "a thick fog" as they sealed the door shut behind them.
Link, and here's a related story about an asthmatic passenger who thought she was going to die. (thanks, David Carroll)
"[S]tarting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars." Link. (thanks, Sam Coniglio)
* Ed. Note: I suppose I should remind the humor-impaired of the calendrical significance behind this important announcement.
Oh, alright, I made up the hippie-hating part, but they do exhibit "cannibalistic" behavior, and they are quite large. Mexican fisherman call them "red devils."
Here in the US, we call them Humboldt Squids, and here's a short video about an ongoing invasion, from QUEST, a science show produced by San Francisco's PBS affiliate station.
A mysterious sea creature up to 7 feet long, with 10 arms, a sharp beak and a ravenous appetite, has invaded ocean waters off Northern California. Packs of fierce Humboldt Squid attack nearly everything they see, from fish to scuba divers. Marine biologists are working to discover why they've headed north from their traditional homes off South America.
Zimbabwe democracy and human rights advocacy group Sokwanele created this Google maps hack to visualize first-hand news reports of election-related human rights violations in the embattled Southern African nation. (more at this cheesebikini post. Thanks, Sean savage)
Update: Sean clarifies:
It's important to note, however, that this service doesn't illustrate *first-hand* violence reports, as you state in the boingboing post... It shows incidents reported in the media. As the map site stipulates:
"The breaches shown on this map represent a small sample of those gathered during our Zimbabwe Election Watch (ZEW) project, which set out to monitor the Zimbabwean government's compliance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
The breaches identified under ZEW are based on information derived from media sources. It is very important that the map is viewed with this in mind.
Zimbabwe has a highly restricted media environment, and fuel shortages make remote rural areas inaccessible to journalists who do manage to circumvent the legislation and report regardless. This means that urban areas have a greater representation on the map. Blank areas on the map do not indicate 'uneventful' areas; they are more likely to represent stories we are unable to tell and incidents that have not been reported.
The map aims to give an impression of the scale and range of challenges facing Zimbabweans as we head towards the March 29th elections. Even though this is based on a small sample of information we have logged since July 2007, it clearly shows that conditions in the country are not conducive for a free and fair democractic elections."
1shooter writes "Researchers in France are using a synchrotron as a giant X-ray machine to peer into the insides of opaque amber to reveal insects dating from the age of dinosaurs. 'The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, produces an intense, high-energy light that can pierce just about any material, revealing its inner structure... From more than 600 blocks, they have identified nearly 360 fossil animals: wasps, flies, ants, spiders.' The process reveals detailed 3D images that can be used to make near-perfect enlarged scale models of the bugs using a 'plastic printer.'"
sTeF writes in, with the hope that this is an April Fools joke. Doesn't look like it though. An article up at Intellectual Property Watch claims they have obtained a document (PDF) enumerating the vote after Microsoft's OOXML won ISO standard status.
An anonymous reader writes "Yesterday Engadget Mobile received a nice letter from Deutsche Telekom / T-Moblie demanding that they stop using the color magenta on engadgetmobile.com. ("Yep, seriously" they say.) Today several sites have gone magenta in a show of solidarity."
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin tells the crowd at the annual CTIA Wireless show that he would oppose Skype's petition to open up wireless carriers' networks.
The Creative Labs fan who fixed the company's sound card drivers so they would work with Windows Vista machines, only to be threatened by Creative's executives, explains how he did it.
Apple's claim that its 20-inch iMac desktop can display "millions of colors" draws a lawsuit from a disgruntled Mac user who claims the computer can only display 262,144 true colors.
Nice little concept design for a door-chain that makes you solve a maze to unlock it -- designed by Oleg Morev, apparently for the April Fool's ThinkGeek catalog.
Link
(via Cribcandy)
A bio-security certificate prevents an airline from having to fumigate an aircraft every time it returns here. The spraying left the man with a sore throat and caused a baby to gag and vomit.
