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Strange Global Detox Techniques - Kinoki Cleansing Foot Pads (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) There are certainly a variety of ways to clean out your body. The Italians eat dandelion greens in the spring. The Indians fast on white rice and yogurt. And Californians have their...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 3:40 pm Aging Process Halted in Mouse LiverScientists block aging in the liver of mice by stopping the build-up of proteins.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:40 pm 20th-anniversary 'Madden NFL' is better than ever (AP)AP - When Electronic Arts announced the retired Brett Favre as its 20th anniversary cover boy, it looked like the notorious "Madden" curse which had mangled the careers of Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander was finally broken.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:31 pm Power From Your Tailpipe? It's PossibleConverting wasted exhaust heat into energy could someday help power cars.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:20 pm Showers -- meteor and liquid -- expected around state tonight - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:14 pm Y: The Last Man, the triumphal last volume of a fantastic graphic novel
It's a measure of how far behind I am in my reading that I've only just gotten to read the final volume of Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra's graphic novel "Y: The Last Man," which I've been following for years now, eagerly awaiting the resolution of the series' many storylines and subplots (for those of you who have the good fortune to be discovering this for the first time -- here's the first issue -- I'll sum up quickly: a mysterious event simultaneously kills every man on earth except for Yorick Brown, a down-on-his-luck escape artist whose fiancee, Beth, is on the other side of the world in Australia; he spends the next five years touring the planet's many brave and terrible places looking for her, while he is pursued by geopolitical powers of varying types and character).
Endings are hard. Vaughan and Guerra nailed it. After six years of following this story, there were times when I despaired for it. The world of Y was so broken, the storylines so convoluted, and some of the hints at resolution were so off-kilter (particularly the last volume, which hinted at a quasi-mystical direction that really left me cold) that I seriously doubted that the creators would be able to end it all in a way that made it all come together with dignity, credibility and real love for the principle characters. This last volume, called "Whys and Wherefores," does it all. It opens with a rocketing storyline that tears towards a massive and gripping climax, and then moves into a denouement that is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Endings are hard, denouements (the part after the climax where the audience catches its breath and the last momentum of the story rolls on) are harder. It's hard to say more without spoilering the surprises. But the denouement is what makes this ending really, really work: it's a fantastically satisfying tying-up-of-knots, sketching-of-the-future -- it's bittersweet, loving, funny, witty, and makes maximal work of the visual storytelling that makes graphic novels one of the great art-forms of our time. Now that all ten volumes are out, I would like nothing better than to pick them all up and re-read them from start to finish. I have a feeling that I'd end up getting through the lot in about 36 hours, without sleeping. But man, I am so far behind in my reading, and there's so much good stuff on the pile, that this will likely have to wait for some golden age in my future when I get to do that kind of pleasure reading again. I can't wait. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores, Book 9 Link, Book 8 Link, Book 7 Link, Book 6 Link Book 5 Link, Book 4 Link, Book 3 Link, Book 2 Link, Book 1 Link
See also: Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:14 pm Cassini Spacecraft Revisits Icy Saturn Moon - Space.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:04 pm Paragon Technologies Announces the Re-Election of the Current Board of Directors at the 2008 Annual Meeting of StockholdersEASTON, Pa., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paragon Technologies, Inc. (Amex: PTG), a leading supplier of "smart" material handling systems and ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Chinese Chemical Fiber Industry Benefits from Increasing Tax RefundBEIJING, Aug. 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Recently, China's Ministry of Finance and the National Tax Administration announced an increase in the textile, clothing...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Visual Voice Mail From Verizon Wireless Gives Customers a New Way to Manage Their MessagesBASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The company with the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network today introduced Visual Voice Mail, a new...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Top 100 U.S. Liberal Arts College Selects Xiotech Storage System and Data Replication Software for Its Production and Remote Data CentersAlbion College Selects Magnitude 3D 4000 Storage Systems with TimeScale GeoRep to Manage Its Critical Data EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Xiotech...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Access Group Announces Finalists in Law School Scholarship Contest; Voting is Now Open to Name WinnerWILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Access Group is pleased to announce that 10 finalists have been chosen in the One Less WorrySource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Virtual PBX(R) Receives 2008 Best of San Jose AwardU.S. Local Business Association's Award Plaque Honors the Achievement SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtual PBX(TM), inventor and leading supplier of...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Video: The Right Tool for Back-to-School: TI-Nspire Graphing Calculator Helps Students Excel in Math with Interactive LearningTEXAS INSTRUMENTS LATEST TECHNOLOGY A SMART INVESTMENT TAKING STUDENTS FROM BEGINNING ALGEBRA THROUGH COLLEGE MATH DALLAS, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- For parents stocking...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm King County District Court Captures Court Documents in EMC Information InfrastructureSolution Locks in Time and Cost Savings for Legal Process; Ensures Compliance with Court and State Laws HOPKINTON, Mass., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- EMC Corporation (NYSE:Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Mary Campbell Center Deploys Voice-Assisted Care for Every Discipline Throughout its FacilityVoice-assisted care takes quality of care, communication and productivity to new levels, while reducing overtime and shift overlap PITTSBURGH, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ --...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Owners of Land Next To or Under Railroad Rights of Way May be Eligible for PaymentsBOSTON, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has granted preliminary approval of Proposed Settlements affecting...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm The App Store: Soon To Be A Billion Dollar Marketplace?Anyone who has the iPhone or iPod Touch can tell you that one of the best things about owning the device is the ability to add apps from iTunes App Store. Although many of the apps that we talk about here...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:59 pm Court Blocks MIT Subway Hack Demo - AHN
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:50 pm Scientists Closer To Invisibility CloakAviran was one of many readers to submit news of a just-announced development in the ongoing quest to develop a working invisibility cloak, writing: "Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects. Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects" Reader bensafrickingenius adds a link to coverage at the Times Online, and notes that "the world's two leading scientific journals, Science and Nature, are expected to report the results this week." Tjeerd adds a link to Reuters story carried by Scientific American.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:49 pm Invisibility Cloaks Possible at Nano LevelScientists create a nano-sized material that can bend visible light in three dimensions.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:40 pm New meta-material doesn't actually render anything invisible - Ars Technica
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:39 pm Defunct pizza parlor robot band repurposed for fan music-vidsAnimatronic hackers are reprogramming the old Rock-a-Fire robotic band (as seen at Showbiz Pizzas around the country) to perform contemporary rock songs and producing their own fan videos for today's hits.Animatronic Band Moves From Pizza Parlors to YouTube, Rock-afire Explosion vids on YouTube
See also: Video: documentary on Showbiz animatronic band Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:36 pm Xbox 360 hits 60GB in UK - GameSpot
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:34 pm Google Searches For Second Life: Now More Than Google's Lively (But Less Than WoW)Barchan Paderborn of SurfWatch pointed me to this cool utility: Google Insights, which aggregates total Google searches around a particular term. If you do an Insight on "Second Life", for example, you...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:33 pm HP Buys Wireless Network Infrastructure Company (PC World)PC World -Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:30 pm Intel’s Nehalem gets a new name - ZDNet
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:11 pm VIA Quits Motherboard Chipset Businessarcticstoat writes "Following the media hit that was VIA's Nano processor, VIA says that it's now quitting the motherboard chipset business that used to be its bread and butter product for years. VIA's vice president of corporate marketing in Taiwan, Richard Brown, explained that: 'Intel provides the vast majority of chipsets for its processors and, following its purchase of ATI, AMD is also moving very quickly in the same direction.' Although VIA will still be developing chipsets for integrated motherboards featuring the Nano CPU, but will no longer produce chipsets for Intel and AMD CPUs. Was this the right decision, and where does this leave other third-party chipset manufacturers such as SiS?" Seems like this is a tough business to stick around in.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:02 pm BrownPaper TicketsTicketmaster sucks. Consumers hate having to purchase tickets through them because of their outrageous pile of excessive and phony fees. Hosts hate them because Ticketmaster's effective monopoly...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:00 pm Apple's App Store sees first month sales of $30 million - Apple Insider
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:33 pm Aiptek PocketDV AHD 300 - 1080P For $250By Andrew Liszewski Aiptek’s new PocketDV AHD 300 is a budget-level camcorder that’s capable of capturing 1080P footage for just $250. Well to be completely accurate, it can only capture footage...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:33 pm NASA Spends $25M On Unmanned Planes, Awards Aviation PrizesAn anonymous reader points out a NetworkWorld story about NASA's purchase of two unmanned aircraft for use in "observing remote locations of Earth not feasible or practical with piloted aircraft." The planes are Northrop Grumman Global Hawks, and NASA selected them for their extreme range and the fact that most other unmanned vehicles don't have the FAA's approval for regular use over the US. NASA also distributed prizes for its General Aviation Challenge this weekend. The goals of the challenge include improving fuel efficiency in aviation, reducing emissions, and aircraft safety. None of the teams were able to achieve the $50,000 prize for managing 30 miles per gallon, but the top team was able to complete the 400-mile course at 28.8 miles per gallon.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:15 pm Star Trek Online Awaits Official Release - eFluxMedia
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:14 pm orbitsound T3 Provides A Personal Stereo Aura Without HeadphonesBy Andrew Liszewski In recent years the headphone market has seen quite a boom, most likely thanks to the iPod and the hundreds of others of MP3 players now available. And I’m sure we’re all...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:02 pm Missed The Olympic Torch Relay? Now You Can Own Your OwnBy Andrew Liszewski Hi. My name is Andrew, and I’m addicted to the Olympics. Normally I couldn’t care less about sports, save for a few hours spent watching the Superbowl every year, but there’s...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:47 am netbroadbandadditionsAnalysis:The second quarter 2008 financial reports are in – and the tealeaves are not telling a sunny future for phone companies, who are facing increasingly aggressive cable competitors. Continue...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:30 am Science Weekly podcast: Bill McGuire on climatic catastrophes, and cloned pit bullsJames Randerson and the team ask Prof Bill McGuire if it's already too late to save the planet. Plus, a switch-on date for the LHC. And the woman who cloned her own pit bull terrierSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:22 am Jobs on iPhone apps: $30 million in 30 days - CNET News
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:20 am Apple's App Store Sales Top $30 Million In First Month: Report - Washington Post
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:18 am Sound the trumpetsI sent the last of my first draft of the book to my editor last night. I believe the saying is, woot. I’m headed in this morning to go over it with him for my first revision. We’re on a fast...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:06 am Philippine Daily Carries Text of Philippine Draft Pact Bangsamoro HomelandText of report in English by Philippine newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer website on 4 August [Text of GRP-MILF draft pact on Bangsamoro homeland; for assistance with multimedia elements] The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) herein referred to as the "Parties" to this Agreement.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am EPA, Trash Hauler, County Agree on Landfill WorkBy Scott Wyland By SCOTT WYLAND REVIEW-JOURNAL After much haggling, a waste hauler has agreed to finish cleaning up the troubled Sunrise landfill that disgorged heaps of smelly refuse into the Las Vegas wash in 1998 when floodwaters tore open its earthen cap.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Falcon Realty Services Pvt. Ltd. Forays Into Realty SectorNEW DELHI, August 11 /PRNewswire/ -- - Plans to Develop Eco-Friendly Projects in India Falcon Realty Services Private Limited (FRSPL), a company actively involved in Land acquisition and Land consolidation in India for over two decades, has enlarged its business scope by entering Real Estate development in a big way.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Playworld Systems, Inc. Is First Major U.S. Playground Manufacturer To Eliminate PVC From ProductsPlayworld Systems, Inc., a leading international manufacturer of playgrounds and playground equipment, has announced that it will become the first major playground manufacturer to abandon the use of polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) in its products.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Petitions Challenge Water PipelineBy Henry Brean By HENRY BREAN REVIEW-JOURNAL A plan to pipe groundwater to Las Vegas from eastern Nevada has drawn its first legal challenge since state regulators began approving portions of the project last year.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Sigma Designs' Media Processors Power I-O DATA's New Set-Top Boxes for Japan's Free GyaO TV/Internet ServiceSigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM), a leader in digital media processing system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for consumer electronics, and I-O DATA, a leading Japanese manufacturer and provider of computer peripherals and interface products, today announced that Sigma's industry leading SMP8634LF media processors are being used in I-O DATA's new, updated set-top box models, the AV-LS500L and AV-LS500UL.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Roxio Launches Online Storytelling PlatformSANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Black Hatters Say Hackers Can Wreak Havoc on ElectionBy Benjamin Spillman By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN REVIEW-JOURNAL Something as subtle as a typo in the name Baraak Obama could undermine the next election.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Audible and the Center for Independent Publishing Announce New Imprint, "AUDIBLE IndieFirst"The leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, Audible Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am MAVRIC Media Introduces Revolutionary Production Tool, the MAVRIC Media MatchBox(TM) Utilizing Distributed Database Architecture and Content Delivery Technology for Ingesting, Managing, Storing and Distributing Content Instantly OnlineMAVRIC Media, a provider of web-based digital asset management and content delivery tools, today introduced the MAVRIC Media MatchBox, a revolutionary, content management and distribution appliance that easily fits on any desktop while incorporating MAVRIC Media's next generation media management, production and file transport tools.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Net Nanny Now Protects MacsAward-winning Internet filtering and parental control software vendor ContentWatch today announced the release of Net Nanny for Mac. With the introduction of an Apple Computer-compatible product, Net Nanny is now able to protect both Windows and Mac users.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am American Media Services Interactive Announces Creation of Ministry Division to Assist Church Organizations WorldwideAmerican Media Services Interactive announces the formation of its Ministry Division created to provide enhanced online initiatives to churches and church organizations through media strategies, content availability and online technological platforms.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am AMI-Partners: Telecom Spending Among India SMBs Set to Cross US$6.4B in 2008Small and medium businesses (SMBs or companies with up to 999 employees) in India are on track to spend more than US$6.4 billion this year on telecom equipment and services, about 7% more than they did last year, according to a recent study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Sudanese Hacker Infiltrates Government Corporation WebsiteText of report by liberal Sudanese newspaper Al-Sahafah on 11 August A hacker, calling himself Al-Jazzar [the butcher], yesterday infiltrated the website of the National Telecommunications Corporation that regulates communications and internet services in Sudan.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am EDITORIAL: The Myth of Online PrivacyIn a case that could redefine - or, some might argue, "debunk the myth of" - online privacy, a federal appeals court in California is reviewing a lower court's definition of "interception" in the digital age. The case, Bunnell v.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am Apple, AT&T mum on iPhone 3G issues (CNET)CNET - Note: CNET News' Tom Krazit and Marguerite Reardon co-wrote this article.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 11:00 am JDA Softwareto acquire i2 Technologies for $346MJDA Software Group Inc. , which makes software for retailers and manufacturers, said Monday it will acquire i2 Technologies Inc. , which makes supply-chain management software, for $346 million in cash...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 10:39 am Palm Centro2 First Image!First Non-Keyboard Centro2 Smartphone From Palm Offers Large 480x320 Touchscreen + Dedicated Music Playback Buttons in Slim & Lightweight Body Thanks to a leaked advertisement for Bell Canada (image...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 10:29 am Sporting technologies vie for Olympic goldWhether team GB hits its target of bringing home 41 medals from the Olympic games will depend on more than just the talent and hard work of the athletes. Winning at the top level also means having the...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 10:24 am Apple Sells 60 Million IPhone Apps, Jobs Confirms Kill SwitchSteve Jobs tell the Wall Street Journal that there were 60 million downloads from the iPhone app store in the first month for a total of $30 million. Jobs also confirmed the remote kill switch. "Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull."Source: Wired: Gadgets | 11 Aug 2008 | 10:10 am Apple Sells 60 Million IPhone Apps, Jobs Confirms Kill SwitchSteve Jobs tell the Wall Street Journal that there were 60 million downloads from the iPhone app store in the first month for a total of $30 million. Jobs also confirmed the remote kill switch. "Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 10:10 am Is unit testing doomed? (InfoWorld)InfoWorld - The agile revolution that began in software development in the 1990s has been inexorably making its way into mainstream IT organizations.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 10:00 am Apple Can Remotely Disable iPhone Appsmikesd81 writes "Engadget reports Apple has readied a blacklisting system which allows the company to remotely disable applications on your device. It seems the new 2.x firmware contains a URL which points to a page containing a list of 'unauthorized' apps — a move which suggests that the device makes occasional contact with Apple's servers to see if anything is amiss on your phone. Jonathan Zdziarski, the man who discovered this, explains, 'This suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. At the moment, no apps have been blacklisted, but by all appearances, this has been added to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down. I discovered this doing a forensic examination of an iPhone 3G. It appears to be tucked away in a configuration file deep inside CoreLocation.'" Update: 08/11 13:07 GMT by T : Reader gadgetopia writes with a small story at IT Wire, citing an interview in the Wall Street Journal, in which this remote kill-switch is "confirmed by Steve Jobs himself."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 9:02 am Moneydance 2008r2 finance software released (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - The Infinite Kind has announced the release of Moneydance 2008r2, an update to their personal finance management software for Mac OS X. It costs $39.99, and the update is free for registered users.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 8:45 am Latter: Your Say - Legal Costs Deter Public ChallengesBy Lillian Pallikaropoulos I WANT to add to your report about my campaign against Cemex's proposed waste plant and what happens to anyone who challenges the Environment Agency (Warwickshire Telegraph, August 6).Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Monday's Letters to the EditorThe cost of conservation In a time like this, where people are already burdened by high gasoline prices, the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners doesn't think that is enough.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Consensus the Key to Peace in MindanaoBy Aruna Gopinath PHILIPPINE policymakers and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front must realise that a peace agreement on southern Mindanao can only work if all the parties drop prejudices and end mistrust against each other, writes ARUNA GOPINATH.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Commentary: Solutions Needed for Safer RiverBy Anonymous Environmentalists seized the opportunity to thumb their nose at expanded oil and gas exploration after a July 23 barge-tanker collision spilled an estimated 400,000 gallons of fuel oil into the Mississippi River.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Mississippi River Oil Spill's Down River Damage Not As Bad As First FearedBy Maloney, Stephen Andy Nyman is relieved.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 11 Aug 2008 | 8:00 am Card-Counting Whiz Challenges Yahoo With Facebook Football FantasyJeff Ma, the MIT grad whose cart-counting exploits were celebrated in a best-selling book and the recent movie "21," is launching a Facebook app for fantasy football. It's a crowded field dominated by Yahoo, but Ma reasons that fantasy sports are ideally suited for online social networks because they are typically formed by groups of friends.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 7:01 am Geoff Ballard, 75; geophysicist expanded use of fuel cellsGeoff Ballard, the Canadian entrepreneur who transformed pollution-free fuel cells from an exotic power source used in the space program to an everyday engine used in industry, buses and, perhaps soon,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am In 'Mad Men, '60s treatment of high blood pressure seems advanced“Mad Men,” season premiere, AMC, July 27.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am Fertility treatments balance risk and rewardUsed to treat infertility, reproductive technology should not be entered into lightly. It can pose risks to the unborn child ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am The ART of fertilizing eggsIn assisted reproductive technology, the eggs and sperm are handled outside the body Assisted reproductive technologies,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 11 Aug 2008 | 7:00 am Defcon ends with researchers muzzled, viruses written (CNET)CNET - LAS VEGAS -- The Defcon hacker conference ended its 16th year on Sunday, sending about 8,000 attendees home from a weekend of virus writing, discussion of Internet attacks, and general debauchery.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 6:29 am Comic Book Legal Defense Fund benefit with me and DJ Spooky in NYC on Aug 21!Back in May, we had to cancel a planned benefit for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in NYC due to illness striking one of the organizers. I promised then that I'd be rescheduling it for some time in August and now, here it is!I'm really proud to have the chance to serve the CBLDF, which is a model for how an imaginative, vibrant civil liberties organization operates. They raise money to bail out comic creators and sellers (and others in the trade) who face legal persecution for making comic books. Even better: this event includes DJ Spooky, whom I've wanted to meet since I wrote the intro to his new collection of essays on music, and afterwards, Spooky's spinning a small-venue set, also to benefit the CBLDF. I really hope to see you there -- I'm coming into New York a day early (I'm on my way to 3Pi Con in Springfield, Mass, where I'm one of the guests of honor, along with Randall "XKCD" Munroe) and spending a bunch of dough out of pocket just to have the chance to do this for CBLDF. Tickets are limited -- act now! Cory Doctorow Meets DJ Spooky: A CBLDF Benefit Mashup! Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 6:10 am Using My PC For Plain Old Telephone Service?TheJerbear79 writes "I recently accepted a work-from-home job that will involve using my landline to talk to customers. When I log into the phone queue, my landline will ring, I'll put in a three digit code, and then calls are routed to the phone line I'm on. It essentially turns my landline into a softphone. Rather than using a regular handset or obtaining a nice business phone with a headset and speakerphone, I would like to use my PC's modem in conjunction with a normal PC headset and soundcard. I know the hardware is capable, but the modem didn't come with appropriate software. Has anyone found anything cheap/free that would suit this kind of usage? Just for clarity, I don't want to use a VOIP solution; I need to use my plain old landline. My reason is this: if I'm watching a movie or listening to an MP3 while I'm waiting for a call, I don't want it to ever be apparent to the person who is on the phone with me, and I want to route all the audio I use through a single headset. I've scoured Google for anything close to this application, and all I've managed to find is information on VOIP software or programs that turn my PC into an answering machine, neither of which will work."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 6:08 am Spider Robinson and Ben Bova win the Heinlein Award
In 2006, Tor Books published Variable Star, a book written by Spider Robinson from a set of notes left by science fiction great Robert A Heinlein. Now, Spider Robinson sez, "This
year’s winners of the Heinlein Award are Ben Bova.....and me.
I am startled, thrilled, and deeply moved by the news. I feel like I
can finally exhale the last of a breath I’ve been holding for four
years, since I agreed to write Variable Star in 2004. Reader reaction
and reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, but this is my first sign
that even old pros who knew Robert feel I didn’t screw it up too badly.
That means a lot to me. I really wish I could have been there to thank
them all."
Congrats, Spider!
Variable Star
Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 5:58 am Inside the network ops at DefConWired's Threat Level blog sweet-talked itself into the network operations center at DefCon, the infamous hacker con in Vegas, and got some great dirt on what it takes to run a network used by some of the world's most talented hackers:A First Ever Look Inside The Defcon Network Operations Center Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 5:53 am Play based on the Legend of Zelda in London closes tonight: "Liink and Zellda"At London's Cockpit Theatre (and closing tonight!), a play based on the Legend of Zelda called "Liink and Zellda: The Misadventure" -- don't know if it's any good, but I applaud the spirit nevertheless!Liink and Zellda: The Misadventure tickets, [liink & zell-da: the mis-ad-ven-ture] production notes (via Wonderland) Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 5:50 am Tentacled plushies of Lana Crooks In the Tor.com gallery today, Lana Crooks, maker of plushy tentacled beasties. Lana Crooks Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 5:46 am Steampunk PC from Datamancer: The ArchbishopSteampunk maker Datamancer has just unveiled his latest, a PC called "The Archbishop" that knocked my socks off. I have one of Datamancer's steampunk keyboards at my office and it's just fantastic -- a clicky-clacky pleasure to write on."The Archbishop" Computer Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 5:40 am Surowiecki on the "anticommons problem" -- The Gridlock Economy reviewedIn this week's New Yorker, James "Wisdom of Crowds" Surowiecki reviews a new book by law professor Michael Heller, The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Lives, which sounds like a terrific read:The Permission Problem in the New Yorker, Gridlock Economy on Amazon (Thanks, Bruce!) Source: Boing Boing | 11 Aug 2008 | 5:36 am Best Buy to launch airport gadget vending machines (AP)AP - Best Buy Co. Inc. plans to add a dozen vending kiosks inside major airports across the country as part of a new pilot program called "Best Buy Express," company executives said.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 11 Aug 2008 | 4:12 am Cryptic Studios Releases New Star Trek Online Details, TrailerTwo days ago, an AP interview with Cryptic Studios' Jack Emmert provided new details about Star Trek: Online, which was lost in developmental limbo for quite some time. Today, Cryptic released a game-play trailer and a forty-minute webcast discussing the game.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 4:03 am Top 10 Wired.com Reader City Photos, Decided by You : This week's city photo contest was perhaps our most far-reaching contest yet, with entries from all over the world. These are the 10 top-rated submissions and they definitely put the urban back in urbane. Giant Ginkgo takes the gold with a voyeuristic view of a dense office building. Ginkgo will be receiving a subscription to Wired magazine and a digital picture frame. Since there were so many great photos that we thought should've received more votes, we've also compiled a Wired.com Editor's Choice City Photo Gallery. Our next twice-monthly photo contest is parties. We want you to prove that Wired.com readers know how to throw down on the dance floor. Check out the contest page for more information. Left: Cubicles Photographer's comment: "Another evening at work, in Chicago's loop. If you take a close look, you might even see a superhero or two."  : Beyoğlu Backstreets Photographer's comment: "Four floors down from Istanbul's trendy (and expensive!) Leb-i Derya restaurant, the streets of the Beyoğlu district seem untouched by modernity."  : Crazy Sky Over Manhattan Photographer's comment: "Lower Manhattan under an ominous sky."  : The North End Photographer's comment: "Little Italy, Boston."  : Apartment Block Photographer's comment: "A shot of an apartment block with an eerie sky. Taken in Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K. Camera: Rolleiflex F."  : Doomsday L.A. Photographer's comment: "Nikon D80. 18-200mm Nikkor."  : Edinburgh Photographer's comment: "Edinburgh skyline from Calton Hill."  : Jersey Noir Photographer's comment: "Lower Manhattan on a rainy night, as viewed from across the Hudson in Jersey City."  : Seattle, 3rd Avenue, 2004 Photographer's comment: "Taken with Nikkormat FT2 (film)."  : Space Needle IR Photographer's comment: "Infrared picture of Space Needle in Seattle. Nikon D80, Hoya R72 @ f/8 30s."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am Aug. 11, 1942: Actress + Piano Player = New Torpedo1942: Hedy Lamarr, once described by German actor-director Max Reinhardt as "the most beautiful woman in Europe," receives a U.S. patent for a frequency-hopping device designed to guide radio-controlled torpedoes while making them more difficult to detect in the water. Holding the patent with her is George Antheil. It's the incongruity of the patent holders with their invention, as much as the invention itself, that is remarkable. Lamarr, a Viennese-born movie actress, would eventually be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Antheil, an American avant-garde composer of orchestral music and opera, lived in Paris during the '20s and counted Ernest Hemingway and Igor Stravinsky among his friends. Not exactly the kind of folks you picture tinkering with cutting-edge weapons of war. In fact, their device was way ahead of its time. Although it was patented at the height of World War II, frequency hopping relied on electronics technology that didn't exist yet. An updated version of the Lamarr-Antheil device finally appeared on U.S. Navy ships in 1962 (three years after their patent expired), and was first used during the Cuban missile crisis. In 1942, though, Navy brass were unimpressed, dismissing the invention as too bulky to fit inside a torpedo. Antheil's arguments to the contrary were ignored, and he said later that comparing parts of the invention to the fundamental mechanism of a player piano in front of a bunch of naval officers had probably been a mistake. "'My god,' I can see them saying, 'we shall put a player piano in a torpedo.'" Lamarr and Antheil dropped the idea and turned to other things. In the end, their device was resurrected by engineers at Sylvania and proved to be one of the forerunners of spread-spectrum communications, which has applications in satellite systems and cellphone technology. Lamarr was the quintessential beauty with brains. (She was contemptuous of many of her fellow actresses: "Any girl can be glamorous," she said. "All she has to do is stand still and look stupid.") She was mathematically gifted and became acquainted with the intricacies of modern weaponry while married to her first husband, an Austrian munitions manufacturer. Having established herself acting in German films, Lamarr came in 1937 to the United States, where she signed with Louis B. Mayer and MGM. It was Mayer who got her to change her name, from Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler to Hedy Lamarr. She enjoyed a solid career in Hollywood, although other leading ladies of the day, such as Ingrid Bergman, eclipsed her as a box-office draw. Then there was George Antheil. Aside from his provocative compositions and eccentric skills as a pianist -- his jarring technique frequently agitated his audiences, to the point where he would lay a pistol on the piano as a warning to keep quiet -- Antheil was very much a Renaissance man. He wrote widely on a variety of subjects, penning a syndicated advice column to the lovelorn and writing about endocrinology for Esquire magazine. He also published a book on the subject, Every Man His Own Detective: A Study of Glandular Endocrinology. During World War II -- which he had accurately predicted would start in Europe with the German invasion of Poland -- Antheil served as a war correspondent. It was Antheil's knowledge of endocrinology, in fact, that began the Lamarr-Antheil collaboration. Aware of his work in the field, Lamarr approached him at a Hollywood dinner party to talk about the possibility of increasing the size of her breasts. The next thing you know -- bang! -- a revolutionary torpedo-guidance system. We'll just leave it there. Source: Various
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 4:00 am Official Support For PHP 4 EndsDa Massive writes with this excerpt from ComputerWorld: "For a technology that has been in stable release since May 22, 2000, PHP 4 has finally reached the end of its official life. With the release of PHP 4.4.9, official support has ended and the final security patch for the platform issued. ...With eight years of legacy code out there, it is likely that there are going to be a fairly large number of systems that will not migrate to PHP 5 in the near future, and a reasonable proportion of those that will not make the migration at all. For those who are not able to migrate their systems to the new version of PHP, noted PHP security expert Stefan Esser will continue to provide third party security patching for the PHP 4 line through his Suhosin product."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:58 am Games Without Frontiers: Fun Way to Lose Weight: Turn Dieting Into an RPGA friend of mine recently slimmed down on Weight Watchers. She joined two months ago, and in just a couple of weeks, she'd shed 10 pounds. She'd been trying for a year to lose weight, but nothing worked -- until now. Why did Weight Watchers work so well? For a really fascinating reason: because it isn't a normal diet. It's something more. Something fun. It's an RPG. The Weight Watchers program is designed precisely like a role-playing dungeon crawler. That's why people love it, stick to it and have success with it. And it points to the way that we could use game design to make life's drudgery more bearable. Let me unpack this a bit. When I asked my friend to see how Weight Watchers works, she showed me the ingenious system. "The best part is the web tool," she said, pulling it up on her laptop. When you first log in to Weight Watchers, it determines how much food you'll be allowed to eat that day, expressed as a number of "points." My friend gets 23 points per day. Each time she eats a piece of food, she enters it into the online database, and it calculates how many points she's used. A small apple is one point; a piece of fried chicken is seven points. When she first started the program, she was stunned at how quickly she burned through her daily points. A single bagel was six points -- more than 25 percent of her daily quota. "How the hell am I going to do this without starving?" she wondered. But pretty soon she learned to hack her daily eating to suit the system. She snacked on vegetables that took zero points -- like bell peppers -- or only one or two points, like a tasty brand of microwave popcorn. Then she'd save up the big points for a really decent dinner. Better yet, Weight Watchers assigns her an extra 35 bonus points per week that she can use if she goes over her daily limit. Or she can bank them for a big blowout restaurant meal on the weekend. What makes this point-counting possible is Weight Watchers' elegant online tool. Type in any food you can think of -- including brand-name snacks or boxed meals -- and Weight Watchers has already calculated the points for you. If she makes a special sandwich at home, she can calculate the ingredients, save it with a custom name, and then drag and drop it into her day every time she eats one. As I watched her poke around on the screen, managing inventory, calculating points, staying within her range, it hit me: Weight Watchers is an RPG. Think about it. As with an RPG, you roll a virtual character, manage your inventory and resources, and try to achieve a goal. Weight Watchers' points function precisely like hit points; each bite of food does damage until you've used up your daily amount, so you sleep and start all over again. Play well and you level up -- by losing weight! And the more you play it, the more you discover interesting combinations of the rules that aren't apparent at first. Hey, if I eat a fruit-granola breakfast and an egg-and-romaine lunch, I'll have enough points to survive a greasy hamburger dinner for a treat! Even the Weight Watchers web tool is amazingly gamelike. It has the poke-around-and-see-what-happens elegance you see in really good RPG game screens. Accidentally snack on a candy bar and ruin your meal plan for the day? No worries: Just go into the database and see what spells -- whoops, I mean foods -- you can still use with your remaining points. And those 35 extra points you get every week? They're like a special buff or potion -- a last-ditch save when you're on the ropes. Indeed, I'm in awe of the sheer brilliance of Weight Watchers in adopting the word points as its metric for measuring food. The word immediately shoves the user into the semantics -- and fun -- of gameplay. You regard losing weight as an intriguing challenge, as opposed to a mere grind. This puts me in mind of the talk that Jane McGonigal -- a brilliant and pioneering alternative-reality game designer -- gave at this year's South by Southwest conference. She argued that game designers ought to put their skills to use in the real world by reshaping dull, everyday activities into fun challenges. Why not a game that gives you points for walking your dog or jogging? "Games are an incredible language and system. They should be everywhere," she said. "Why are we making games only for the bound pages for a computer screen or console? Why aren't we doing that to help people navigate and understand the world around us?" She couldn't be more right. As McGonigal points out, there are already some witty attempts -- like Chore Wars, Wii Fit or Seriosity's system that tries to limit corporate e-mail overload by forcing people to "spend" virtual totems to send a message. I can think of tons of things I'd love to see turned into a game: doing my taxes, dealing with my inbox backlog, being stuck in traffic. And this stuff is clearly possible, because if Weight Watchers can turn something as unpleasant as dieting into a playful activity, the sky's the limit. Just ask my friend. - - - Clive Thompson is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a regular contributor to Wired and New York magazines. Look for more of Clive's observations on his blog, collision detection.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:00 am Top 10 Wired.com City Photos, Decided by Us : Though Wired.com readers selected 10 excellent photos in our city photo contest, we here at the photo department like to fight for the underdog. Here are our 10 favorite submissions that we think deserved more attention. Our next twice-monthly photo contest is parties. We want you to prove that Wired.com readers know how to throw down on the dance floor. Check out the contest page for more information. Left: In The Medina -- Tunis Photographer's comment: "In the Medina during Ramadan 2007.”  : Southbound Red Line, Chicago Photographer's comment: "I almost forgot to take the picture."  : Bangkok Trains Run Late Photographer's comment: "Bangkok train station."  : Bern from the Munster Photographer's comment: "A Photograph of Bern, Switzerland from the top of the Munster Cathedral."  : The Singapore Flyer Photographer's comment: "The view of Singapore City from The Singapore Flyer, on the night the latter opened."  : Bike Parking at the Train Station, Haarlem, Amsterdam Photographer's comment: "I spent some time in the Netherlands, mostly on a bike, the station in Amsterdam is even more packed."  : Worries Left Behind Photographer's comment: "this is my city. this is my san francisco"  : Walking back home Photographer's comment: "Took this one a while ago but I still love it. Still shows the craziness that is Tokyo." : Vienna Photographer's comment: None  : China Town off the Manhattan Bridge Photographer's comment: "China Town taken off the Manhattan bridge during a blizzard."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:00 am Wired.com Photo Contest: PartiesThis week's photo contest shows how much trust we have in our readers. We want you to show us your best party photo -- no, not the Dungeons and Dragons kind. We know you're not going to give us some pointy-hat, wax-candled, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-caked snapshots. That's right, you're going to show us that -- counter to all expectation -- Wired.com readers know how to throw down. Use the Reddit widget below to submit your best city photo and vote for your favorite among the other submissions. The 10 highest-ranked photos will appear in a gallery on the Wired.com homepage. So go crash a white wedding, find a foam-filled dance floor or join a psychedelic parade. Just make it your best non-obscene answer to the question: What does a party look like? The photo must be your own, and by submitting it you are giving us permission to use it on Wired.com and in Wired magazine. Please submit images that are relatively large, the ideal size being 800 to 1200 pixels or larger on the longest side. Please include a description of your photo, which may include exposure information, equipment used, etc. We don't host the photos, so you'll have to upload it somewhere else and submit a link to it. If you're using Flickr, Picasa or another photo-sharing site to host your image, please provide a link to the image directly and not just to the photo page where it's displayed. If your photo doesn't show up, it's because the URL you have entered is incorrect. Check it and make sure it ends with the image file name (XXXXXX.jpg). Please bookmark this page and check back periodically over the next two weeks to vote on new submissions! Also, check out the winner's galleries from our previous contests: Holga, Red, Self-Portrait, Night, Macro, Transportation and Black and White. Vote on party photos submitted by other readers.
Show entries that are: hot | new | top-rated. Submit your party photo. Submit your party photo.(No more than one every 30 minutes. No HTML allowed.)
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:00 am Animatronic Pizza Parlor Band Catches Fire on YouTubeThe rockin' robotic animals in the Rock-afire Explosion band get an updated repertoire courtesy of an online revival. Next up: A documentary about their creator, who's warehousing hundreds of the musical machines.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 1:00 am Semen Proteomics Sheds Light on Loyalty and EvolutionMost people would be appalled to find a fly in their soup, but Drosophila researchers at the University of Washington are studying the soup in their flies.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:30 am Intel's New High Performance Chip: Core i7Intel's new generation of chips for desktop computers, to be called Core i7, are expected to be in production the last three months of this year. The company says the new design will deliver both high performance and energy efficiency.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 11 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Researchers Pave Way For Compressor-Free RefrigerationHugh Pickens brings news that scientists from Penn State have developed a new method for heat-transfer that may replace the common compressor-based system used in household appliances. Quoting: "Zhang's approach uses the change from disorganized to organized that occurs in some polarpolymers when placed in an electric field. The natural state of these materials is disorganized with the various molecules randomly positioned. When electricity is applied, the molecules become highly ordered and the material gives off heat and becomes colder. When the electricity is turned off, the material reverts to its disordered state and absorbs heat. The researchers report a change in temperature for the material of about 22.6 degrees Fahrenheit... Repeated randomizing and ordering of the material combined with an appropriate heat exchanger could provide a wide range of heating and cooling temperatures."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 10 Aug 2008 | 11:59 pm Intel's new chip to be called Core i7 (AP)AP - Intel Corp. said Sunday it plans to sell its new generation of chips for desktop computers under the established "Core" brand, with the first chips of the new line to be called Core i7.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Aug 2008 | 11:24 pm Pick of the best of a dazzling array of internet radio stationsI was recently told about an old tape of Orson Welles exploding with fury during the recording of an advert. I tried to find it online. It took less than a minute. The near infinite resources of the web...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 10 Aug 2008 | 11:05 pm Free internet calls boost 3 but threaten phone revenuesThe mobile phone operator 3 is understood to have sold well over 100,000 Skypephones, its mobile handset that includes the free Skype service, highlighting the growing attraction of free internet-based...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 10 Aug 2008 | 11:05 pm Internet shopping: High street stores are losing out to independents onlineEstablished high street retailers are losing out to internet-savvy rivals because they are not very good at marketing themselves online, according to a report out today.Internet Search Metrics (ISM) said...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 10 Aug 2008 | 11:05 pm Robot Submarine To Dive Deep In the CaribbeanRoland Piquepaille writes "According to BBC News, a new UK autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Autosub6000, will soon start to explore the world's deepest undersea volcanoes, located in the Caribbean. Autosub6000 has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers and has a maximum operating depth of 6,000 meters. It is 5.5 meters long, has a diameter of 0.9 meters, and is equipped with a high-performance GPS unit. For these two expeditions, each close to a month long, Autosub6000 will be joined by the Isis remotely operated vehicle, which is able to operate at a depth of 6,000 meters and grab animal specimens. Researchers from the National Oceanography Center in Southampton will lead these missions. They expect that 'one in every two animals they come across will be a species new to science' once the robots reach a depth of 3,000 meters." Specifications for the submarine (PDF) are also available.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 10 Aug 2008 | 10:56 pm Court blocks MIT students from showing subway hack (AP)AP - A federal judge ordered three college students to cancel a Sunday presentation at a computer hackers' conference where they planned to show security flaws in the automated fare system used by Boston's subway.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Aug 2008 | 10:08 pm The Effects of Exporting Used PCs To Africaretroworks writes "According to this UK MailOnline story, computers donated to Africa are causing quite a few problems. The BBC does a similar story on the junk computers from rich countries found on the ground in Africa. But all of the footage is of the junk PCs; there is no film of any repaired or good computers. There have been a dozen stories now about the bad apples. It seems like there have to be good ones, too, to cover the costs of shipping. Some of the ones in the Mail story actually look decent. Is there more balanced coverage of used computer exports, many of which provide affordable technology to poor people? Organizations like Greenpeace and Basel Action Network are promoting electronics recyclers with zero-export policies. One organization, the World Reuse Repair and Recycling Association, is promoting a 'Fair Trade Coffee' approach to moderate the number of bad computers exported, and has a video showing both sides of the story. A ban on exports leaves Africa with a choice of spending a year's income on a new PC, buying mixed loads of computers from undercapitalized recyclers, or remaining without this level of technology. And our choice seems to be to donate a decent computer mixed with other people's junk, or to grind it up in a perverse tribute to Vance Packard, as 'obsolescence in hindsight.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 10 Aug 2008 | 9:50 pm Card-counting whiz eyes Facebook football fantasy (AP)AP - By the time he graduated from MIT, Jeff Ma already had led a life many guys dream about. His card-counting prowess at blackjack tables during wild weekends in Las Vegas and Atlantic City won him and his college buddies millions of dollars, inspiring a best-selling book and the recent movie "21."Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 10 Aug 2008 | 7:01 pm This year's Hugo-nominated stories as podcasts (including the winner!)Erik sez, "As is their yearly tradition, science fiction short story podcast Escape Pod produced audio versions of all (but one) of the Hugo Award short story nominees. They're all still available to be downloaded through iTunes, or you can listen to them on their website. The nominees included: Distant Replay by Mike Resnick; A Small Room in Koboldtown by Michael Swanwick; Who's Afraid of Wolf 359 by Ken MacLeod; 'Last Contact' by Stephen Baxter (declined to allow his story to be used) and the winner, Tideline by Elizabeth Bear (Thanks, Erik!)Source: Boing Boing | 10 Aug 2008 | 4:42 pm
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