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Sponsored Post: Connect at home. Connect on the go.This post is sponsored by Verizon. Get Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon Wireless Service all on ONE-BILL. FiOS has blazingly fast internet speeds, and Verizon Wireless is backed by Americas most reliable...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 pm Guitar Praise Lets You Rock Out With Plenty Of Faith - E Canada Now
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:37 am Vivendi keeps 2008 outlook, no need for cash call (Reuters)Reuters - Vivendi , armed with a fresh contract with The Rolling Stones and its new Activision Blizzard gaming venture, kept its 2008 profit goal as it posted a rise in second-quarter underlying earnings.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:19 am Ad targeting based on ISP tracking now in doubt (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:07 am NASA Considers Its Shuttle Options Until Constellation Takes Over - eFluxMedia
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:03 am Fast-Food FastBy Letter to the Editor I want to thank the California State Legislature for making my life so much healthier.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am What About Mental Health Funding?To the editor: Who is talking to candidates for elected office regarding mental health treatment in Nevada? We have been rated one of the worst states for mental health treatment, we have some of the highest rates of depression and suicide nationwide, yet the funding dedicated to mental health treatment is being cut drastically.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Africa's Animals Could Evolve into Separate Species As Climate ChangesBy Jenny Haworth CLIMATE change could trigger an explosion in the number of new species in Africa, according to research from Edinburgh University.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Tajikistan Floats Its Hopes on Water But Hydropower Faces Big ProblemsBy David L. Stern The inscription just above a tunnel at the foot of the colossal Nurek hydropower dam in south central Tajikistan is succinct: "Water Is Life." The frigid, frothing Vakhsh River rushing under it adds a visual punctuation mark.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Hayward "Feeding Frenzy" Aims to Promote Awareness of Bay Area Marine LifeBy Gideon Rubin HAYWARD -- A school of small fish quickly scattered as some scallops, smelt and shrimp, among other treats are dropped into a large tank. A 3-year-old leopard shark devoured everything he could get to. The others got the leftovers.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am [video] Jason Gonzalez, CEO of Visual Management Systems, Inc. Discusses 26 Organizations Going Live With VMS on WallSt.net's 3-Minute Press ShowTOMS RIVER, N.J., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Visual Management Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VMSY), a leading digital surveillance company, today announced...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Typical Home Bandwidth Usage? - Slashdot
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 1 Sep 2008 | 10:58 am SISLink Secures 4000 Hours of Eutelsat Satellite Capacity for Key News and Sporting EventsPARIS, September 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SISLink, Europe's largest supplier of satellite uplinks has signed a new contract with Eutelsat Communications (EuronextSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 10:42 am Microsoft to slash Xbox 360 price in Japan-Nikkei (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2008 | 10:25 am The Worrying Arctic Ice Situation - Now You See It, Now You Don't - eFluxMedia
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 1 Sep 2008 | 10:24 am Pet Sensing DoorbellBy Andrew Liszewski One of the things I like about dogs is that they do their ‘business’ outside, instead of in a small box in the corner of your laundry room like other pets. But without the...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 9:51 am Newark and the Future of Crime Fightingtheodp writes "Newark Mayor Cory Booker is betting that cutting-edge technology will reduce crime and spark an economic renaissance. From a newly opened Surveillance Operations Center, cops armed with joystick controllers monitor live video feeds from more than 100 donated cameras scattered across the crime-ridden city. The moves are drawing kudos from businesses like Amazon subsidiary Audible.com, which has moved its HQ to downtown Newark, where space is 50% cheaper than in Manhattan. But are citizens giving up too much privacy?"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2008 | 9:37 am Elephants no Dumbo at sums: Japanese researcherAsian elephants can do mathematics, proving their skill at addition in an experiment with their favourite food, a Japanese researcher said Monday. One elephant was 87 percentSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 9:28 am Poll: Which Word Processing Tool Do You Mostly Use?We ran a poll a year ago asking which word processing tool you used the most. What we were really driving at was: how many of you are using an online word processing service (Google Docs, Zoho, ThinkFree,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 9:09 am Elbit Systems' Hermes 450(R) Records Another SuccessElbit Systems Awarded Contract Valued at US$25 Million to Supply UAVs to a Country in the Americas HAIFA, Israel, September 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Elbit Systems...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 9:00 am Simulating Success: SL-to-RL Border Guard Training Simulation Improves Test Scores By 28%Back in May, I wrote about an innovative Loyalist College program that used Second Life to teach students preparing to train with the Canadian Border Services Agency. The college's Virtual World Design...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:57 am Geoengineering: The radical ideas to combat climate changeArtificial clouds to reflect away sunlight, creating colossal blooms of oceanic algae and the global use of synthetic carbon-neutral transport fuels are just three of the climate transforming technologies...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:54 am Guardian Daily: hurricane dampens Republicans; and Sir Simon rattles LiverpoolNew Orleans and the Republicans await the hurricane and Simon Rattle goes home to LiverpoolSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:28 am Seven Prisoners Hospitalised After Hiding Mobile Phones in Their BodiesPakistan's Prisons Department has carried out a series of sweeps of prisoners at Camp Jail using metal detectors and seized 30 mobile phones which had been hidden in their rectums. Seven of the prisoners...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:25 am Wireless industry takes on bird-slaughtering cell towersUp to five million birds a year may die by crashing into cell phone towers at night. After a court order, the wireless industry has been meeting with the FCC to work out the least painful rules for making...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:20 am Runcom Technologies Raises US$10M From High Growth / Emerging Europe Specialist TLcom CapitalRISHON LEZION, Israel, September 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Runcom Technologies Ltd., a leading technology company pioneering OFDMA based silicon solutions for user terminals and base stations that comply with the IEEE802.16e-2005 standard for WiBro and Mobile WiMAX applications, announced today that it has secured a US$10 million Series C investment by TLcom Capital LLP.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am HemCon Signs Licensing Agreement With IT/SligoHemCon Medical Technologies, a global developer of advanced medical products, has signed an agreement with Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland, to license the exclusive global rights to research, develop, manufacture and market a controlled release hydrogen peroxide technology that provides broad spectrum antibacterial and antiseptic properties.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Thru the VALLEYSBy Anonymous In Franklin We Trust Franklin Financial Services Corporation in Chambersburg has bulked up its trust operations. The holding company of F&M Trust is purchasing Camp Hill, Pa.-based Community Financial, Inc. for $1.13 million.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Vital: Mums Get Perfume WarningBy LACHLAN MacKINNON MUMS-TO-BE have been warned not to wear perfume in case it makes their baby sons infertile. And they should avoid scented creams after research also linked them to testicular cancer.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Family Farms Find Ways to Save on Fuel, FertilizerBy Wolf, Susan REGION As oil prices seem to hit new records just about every day, the increases affect the way everyone does business, including farms. But careful planning can help to keep profits reasonable, said local farmers.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Ivory Homes Returns to SLC With Condo ProjectBy Olson, Debbi After a short hiatus from building in the city. Ivory Homes is returning to Salt Lake City with a new condominium project to be located near Trolley Square. Trolley Place Condominiums will be located at approximately 540 S. Denver St.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Outdoor Retailer Parent May Bring Even Bigger Show to Utah - If a 1,000-Room Hotel is BuiltBy Johnson, Frances For the 11th year in a row, Salt Lake City played host this past weekend to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, one of the largest trade shows in the outdoor sports and equipment industry. Salt Lake will also host the Winter Market trade show in January.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am GM of Treasure Valley IT in Boise: Ensuring Computers (Almost) Never Fail -- FocusBy Bunderson, Gaye Rebecca Yeager is the general manager of Treasure Valley IT in Boise. The company helps businesses keep their computers up and running and free of worms, viruses or other problems.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Gartner Beats Own ForecastBy Soule, Alexander Call it Revenge of the Nerds - Part II. As Pitney Bowes Inc., UBS AG and other large employers work through job cuts, Gartner Inc is accelerating its hiring plans beyond an earlier prediction of 10 percent growth in its sales and marketing work force this year.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Job Cuts Taking Place at Hewlett-Packard's Boise-Based Imaging and Printing GroupBy Hagadone, Zach In what one employee, who asked his/her name be withheld, has called "Black Monday," a round of job cuts is taking place at Hewlett-Packard's Boise-based Imaging and Printing Group today, part of the company's global reorganization of the division.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Dear Old DalekA rubber Dalek which cost 50p in 1965 has sold in an internet auction for pounds 1500. Dr Who expert David Howe said 60s toys from the show had shot up in value since it was revived in 2005. (c) 2008 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Leading Edge : Hubba HubbaMySpace has upped its game in New Zealand with the appointment of Susan Carlton as head of sales and business development for Fox Interactive Media, New Zealand.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Ogden Web Sales Strategy Company Sold to NYC-Based Future NowBy Anonymous Elemental Business, an Ogden-based Web sales strategy firm whose "Elitics" system is used by companies such as MarketStar, LANDesk and O.C. Tanner to increase Internet sales, has been sold to New York City-based Future Now Inc. in a stock and cash transaction.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Commentary: Technology Can Be Savior or Social SaboteurBy Moises, Christian I have a love-hate relationship with technology. There were many nights as a freshman in college nearly nine years ago when I'd be chatting with friends via AOL instant messenger. The catch is, they were just a couple of rooms down the hall.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am Chance to Wallow in the Sounds of the 60sA CHURCH near Nuneaton is returning to the Summer of Love to raise money for its tower and spire fund. St Catherine's Church in Burbage is to host a Strandedin the 60s concert on Saturday, September 20, from 7.30pm.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am HOWTO Make a 3D printer out of LegosHere's an ambitious (and excitingly incomplete) Instructable from "Gene Hacker" explaining how to build a 3D printer from Legos.Build a Polar 3-D Printer from Legos (via Beyond the Beyond) Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:23 am HOWTO Make a 3D printer out of LegosHere's an ambitious (and excitingly incomplete) Instructable from "Gene Hacker" explaining how to build a 3D printer from Legos. A polar printer is a printer whose principal axes, or how it can move,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:23 am Typical Home Bandwidth Usage?Broadband writes "With a growing number of internet service providers imposing hard bandwidth caps, I too will soon find myself with a limit. In typical Slashdot fashion I use the Internet for everything from movie streaming to online backup and just realized I have no idea how much data traverses my pipes on a monthly basis. While I have wised up and installed a bandwidth monitoring solution, it'll be some time until I have a normalized average. So my question is: What is the average monthly data usage in your household? How many people share the connection and is there anything you've found essential yet bandwidth intensive that you couldn't live without? (E.g. VOIP, movie downloads, streaming audio, etc.)"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:12 am Can Hulu Be A Bigger Business Than YouTube?Googles foray into the online video market has been criticized by many. In fact, some believe that Googles decision to acquire YouTube was one of the worst it has ever made, thanks to the confluence...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:05 am DataDirect Networks Provides Concurrent Access to More Than 30 Uncompressed Apple Final Cut Pro HD Workstations in Real-Time From a Single Storage ApplianceCHATSWORTH, Calif., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Shattering the bandwidth and concurrency limitations associated with conventional storage systems supporting Apple's...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:01 am Advent Solar Introduces Ventura(TM) Technology to Accelerate Scalable Silicon Photovoltaic SolutionsIndustry's first comprehensive cell-to-module solar architecture couples semiconductor manufacturing methods with optimized photovoltaic cell design VALENCIA, Spain,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Advent Solar(R) Reaches Agreements to Ship 250MW of Ventura(TM) Solar Modules With European PartnersEnerpoint, MHH Solartechnik, and SunConnex to deliver 250 megawatts of Advent Solar Ventura Technology silicon-based photovoltaic modules in Europe VALENCIA, Spain,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Motorola and Deutsche Telekom Collaborate on IPTVDeutsche Telekom selects Motorola's IPTV set-tops for T-Home Entertain Services; users to receive compelling, rich media experiences BERLIN, Sept. 1...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Runcom Technologies Raises US$10M From High Growth / Emerging Europe Specialist TLcom CapitalRISHON LEZION, Israel, September 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Runcom Technologies Ltd., a leading technology company pioneering OFDMA based silicon solutions for user terminals and...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am 'Sid the Science Kid' on KCETThe new series aims to help children understand the way the real world works. A new toddler-aimed animated series from the Jim Henson...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Sony sees a bright spot in flat-panel TVsThey will be a hot holiday item even in a down economy, says the president of Sony's U.S. and Mexico division. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am Beijing's best air in a decade due to Olympic measuresBeijing is enjoying its best air quality in a decade thanks to steps taken for the Olympics, authorities said Monday, amid a push by some locals for the anti-pollution measures to be made...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 6:38 am RIP Yahoo MashMash subscribers received this email message: “Thank you for trying out our Mash Beta service. We hope you had fun with it. Please note that we will shut down Mash on September 29, 2008. As a result,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 6:38 am Photobombing Politicians - Obama, Biden, Their Wives + Woman on Floor (VIDEO)(TrendHunter.com) The Obamas and the Bidens got photobombed! They had stopped for a quiet breakfast (yeah, right) at the Yankee Kitchen restaurant in Boardman, Ohio recently. As they chit-chatted,...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 1 Sep 2008 | 6:20 am Anti-Government Webmaster Shot Dead By Russian PoliceJ.Tatar and a number of other readers alert us to the shooting death of an anti-government webmaster while in police custody in Ingushetiya, a volatile province in southern Russia. Police took Ingushetiya.ru owner Magomed Yevloyev off a plane that had just landed in Ingushetiya. "Yevloyev... was a prominent opponent of the pro-Kremlin president of Ingushetia, Murat Zyazikov [a close ally of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin]. Prosecutors have opened a preliminary manslaughter investigation after Yevloyev was shot in a police car in Narzan, the capital of volatile Ingushetia, a mostly Muslim region that borders Chechnya, Russian media reported. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office, Vladimir Markin, said 'an incident' took place after Yevloyev was taken into a police car 'resulting in a shooting injury to the head and he later died in hospital,' Interfax reported."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:47 am Malware infects space station laptop - Computerworld
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:01 am Ditch the Joystick and Go Voice Commando With Tom Clancy's EndWarController innovations have allowed aspiring tennis stars to swing a Wiimote like Federer and music fans to strum a fake guitar like their favorite rock god. Now, a new game lets couch-bound generals command a virtual army by voice. Tom Clancy's EndWar from Ubisoft, out this fall for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, is like a CG version of the board game Risk, with players micromanaging thousands of variables for victory. EndWar Trailer
For more, visit video.wired.com.
Traditionally, this kind of gameplay required a keyboard and mouse for meticulous troop arrangement. But EndWar gives players the option of ditching all the point and click for scream and shout. Just don a headset that's compatible with your console and a voice-recognition app kicks in that understands thousands of command combinations. Patton wannabes can order their two forward-most infantry units to flank attackers while calling in air support from bombers. EndWar Walkthrough
For more, visit video.wired.com.
The developers carefully chose an arsenal of words that the system can parse regardless of accent or delivery style. "We went back and forth five times over whether it should be 'reticule,' 'crosshair,' or 'cursor,'" says Ubisoft creative director Michael de Plater. Whatever. As long as it understands "Fire!" 
Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:00 am The Anti-Britney: San Diego Punk Rockers From the '80sMembers of the San Diego hardcore punk scene reunite on a blog dedicated to rare material from the early '80s. From the diplomat in Nairobi to the Jiu Jitsu instructor in Hawaii, we track them down with the help of a blog to see where life has taken them.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:00 am Sept. 1, 1939: Wehrmacht Puts the Blitz in Krieg1939: Germany invades Poland, starting the second European war in a generation and introducing the world to a new kind of warfare: blitzkrieg. This form of attack, which helped the Germans obliterate the Poles in three weeks and the French in only six, relies on rapid mobility and the coordination of massed armor and infantry, with fighter planes and dive bombers providing air support. It also depends on the element of surprise, one reason Nazi Germany never declared war prior to invading an enemy. The concept of blitzkrieg was a matter of adapting 20th-century technology -- especially the tank, the airplane and the radio -- to the age-old tactics of mobile warfare. The Germans were not alone in exploring these possibilities -- military thinkers like Britain's Basil Liddell Hart and France's Charles de Gaulle also wrote extensively on the subject during the interwar years -- but conditions within the German army, and inside Germany itself, made for a more receptive audience. Heinz Guderian is the acknowledged father of the blitzkrieg. Guderian was a signals officer during World War I, but he studied tank tactics in the early '20s and became a proselytizer for armored warfare. He later published a study, Achtung Panzer!, that amounted to a blueprint of German blitzkrieg tactics for the next war. Adolf Hitler, meanwhile, was in the process of rearming the country when he attended a war-gaming exercise that combined tanks and motorized infantry. Hitler was impressed by the swiftness and the striking power, and he told Guderian -- who was running the exercise -- that this was the army he meant to have. The tank is the blitzkrieg's decisive weapon. Tactically, the key is to attack en masse rather than committing tanks piecemeal, in an infantry support role, which is what the French did. In Germany, this philosophy led to the creation of the panzer divisions, the world's first truly armored units. (Guderian, though only a colonel, was given command of the 2nd Panzer Division in 1935. As a general in World War II, Guderian commanded the XIX Panzer Corps during the Polish and French campaigns and, later, the Second Panzer Army in Russia. He also served as inspector general of panzer troops and, finally, as chief of the army's general staff.) The classic blitzkrieg attack unfolds like this:
Success is achieved through surprise and speed, which keeps the enemy off balance. Maneuvering is coordinated through the use of radio, which was used so extensively by the Germans that individual tanks carried their own equipment. The French, by comparison, hardly used radio at all. The French High Command was not even connected by radio to units in the field. Instead, it dispatched orders by motorcycle courier from its headquarters outside of Paris. Incidentally, the German Wehrmacht never officially used the word blitzkrieg -- literally, "lightning war" -- though it did appear in several prewar German military publications. It came into popular use after turning up in Time magazine's coverage of the Polish invasion. Source: Various
Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:00 am Match These Sports Pros to Their Bloggy ProseThese athletes are turning the stereotype of the inarticulate jock on its empty head. But they have more on their minds than endorsements and bad calls. Just try to match the pros with their prose.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:00 am VIA Releases FOSS Graphics Driverbillybob2 writes "VIA has released a 113,800 line open source graphics driver with full mode-setting support for CRT, LCD, and DVI devices along with 2D, X-Video, and cursor acceleration. Harald Welte, VIA's open source representative, states that the next step is to add 3D (see preview), TV-out, and hardware codec support while integrating this work with existing open source projects. VIA has pre-installed Linux on a significant portion of the company's latest products, including the EVEREX gPC2, 15.4" gBook, and CloudBook. It has also helped port the open source CoreBoot BIOS (previously LinuxBIOS) to several of its motherboards." VIA seems to be making good on the promise of its open source initiative announced last April.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2008 | 2:48 am Russia Web site owner killed after arrest (CNET)CNET - The owner of an opposition Internet news site in Russia's volatile Ingushetia region was shot and killed Sunday after being detained by police.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2008 | 2:25 am Drivers rely on OnStar to evade Hurricane Gustav (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 1 Sep 2008 | 2:12 am An Ode to Drive-in MoviesDrive-in theaters are just a bit of nostalgia for most of the country, but Geekdad writer Kathy Ceceri can choose from five drive-ins in her vicinity.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 1 Sep 2008 | 1:30 am This weekend on TokyoMango This weekend on TokyoMango, I wrote about cool sci-fi self-portraits by Erina Matsui; a teddy bear that doubles as a cell phone; Japanese Internet bad-boy Hiroyuki Nishimura; rollerskating ninjas; and an electropop music video by Omodaka featuring 8-bit kimono-clad women. ( Lisa Katayama is a guest blogger.)
Source: Boing Boing | 1 Sep 2008 | 1:21 am Microsoft Patents "Pg Up" and "Pg Dn"An anonymous reader notes that Microsoft has been granted a patent on "Page Up" and "Page Down" keystrokes. The article links an image of an IBM PC keyboard from 1981 with such keys in evidence. "The software giant applied for the patent in 2005, and was granted it on August 19, 2008. US patent number 7,415,666 describes 'a method and system in a document viewer for scrolling a substantially exact increment in a document, such as one page, regardless of whether the zoom is such that some, all or one page is currently being viewed.'... The company received its 5,000th patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office in March 2006, and is currently approaching the 10,000 mark."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 1 Sep 2008 | 12:49 am Despite Rumors, Republican VP Candidate Is No HackerIs Sarah Palin a hacker? Well, not exactly, but that's what a couple of articles and a nascent internet rumor might have you believe.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:30 pm Blackwater Preps for Hurricane GustavNew Orleans is being evacuated once again, as Hurricane Gustav lumbers towards the Gulf Coast. Everyone from the U.S. military to the British Royal Navy to Blackwater is gearing up to respond.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:15 pm Starwatch: September diaryOnly Jupiter is easily visible at present for Northern hemisphere observersSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:03 pm Omega-3 may cut hospital admissions for patients with chronic heart failureStudy reveals that a capsule taken daily may help patients with a chronic heart conditionSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:03 pm Hospitals: London health trusts plot legal action over new IT systemSome of London's largest hospital trusts are drawing up claims for compensation relating to the disastrous performance of computer systems installed by BT under the government's controversial £12...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:02 pm Small World that may be getting too bigIt was 11.05pm and the queue outside the exclusive Embassy nightclub in Mayfair, London, was getting restless. A young man nervously adjusted his tie as a blond woman scanned the list of names on her clipboard...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:02 pm Richard Vine: Mad Men obsessives Twitter away"Glad that @joan_holloway caught me in the hall. @bobbie_barrett is in my office again. Sounds like a good time to head to the bar w/ Roger."Can there be a more perfect modern moment than Mad Men Twittering?...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:02 pm Hurricane Gustav: Fuzzy science confounds predictionsReport suggests increase in tropical storms is 'more likely than not' due to global warmingSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm Gallery: Cranked Up and Costumed at PAX 2008 : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comSEATTLE, Washington -- The Penny Arcade Expo is quickly becoming the Woodstock of videogames, and even meatspace games are gaining ground in the halls of the convention center as rooms fill with Warmachine and Dungeons & Dragons players. Click through the gallery for the latest scenes from the expo and check out Wired.com's full Penny Arcade Expo coverage. Also, be sure to peep the events from day one of PAX 2008. Left: On Saturday, the creators of the Penny Arcade comic strip Mike "Gabe" Krahulik and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins gave thousands of fans a rare treat -- they created Monday's edition of the webcomic live on stage. Artist Krahulik inked and colored the strip while writer Holkins, his job done, entertained the crowd and answered questions.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comAdriana Griffin of Sacramento, California, came to PAX costumed as a Medic from the game Team Fortress 2, a strategic shooter game in which players can be a variety of different characters. While the Engineer and Pyro are her favorites, Griffin chose the medic because other costumes from the game were too hard to create -- but she still wanted have a "big gun."  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comRemember the fictitious energy drink "Brawndo," from the movie Idiocracy? (Motto: "It's got what plants crave!") It's now a very real energy drink, and PAX attendees could chug an oversized can for free. Well, until mid-Saturday, anway, when the booth ran out of their over 50 cases of the stuff, leaving only a sad array of empties and green spillage for the final days of PAX.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comBrian Milne, left, of Vancouver, British Columbia, dressed up as Dante from Devil May Cry 4, while girlfriend Melissa Franklin dressed up as Nero from the same game. Franklin, a big fan of the Devil May Cry series, converted Milne to the series. For other gamers who wanted to get their girlfriends involved in their hobby of choice, women in the gaming industry held a (heavily-attended) panel discussion on Sunday discussing that very topic.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comJake Vincent, right, of Seattle, and Tyrone Powell of Edmonton, Alberta, play Call of Duty 4 at the Razer booth, where the company showed off its high-end gaming keyboards and mice.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comFans of the tabletop miniatures game Warmachine assembled at PAX in some of the most elaborate costumes on the floor. From left, Jarnigan Cook, dressed up as Asphyxious; Tosha Stephens, dressed up as Skarre; and Ashley Cooks, dressed up as Deneghra. The trio, from Eugene, Oregon, where the Cooks own a game store, spent several hours getting into their costumes. Stephens' costume included chain mail.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comIf a game exists, it's likely you can find it somewhere at PAX. Dan Gallardo, left, of Calgary, Alberta, carefully places a block while playing Bausack, a German game in which players win by building the longest standing stack, as Ashley Alto of Calgary watches.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comJosie Stephens of Vancouver, British Columbia, dressed up as an Advent, a race with psionic and telepathic powers, from the game Sins of a Solar Empire. Stephens is co-owner of Ironclad Games, the company developing the game.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comThe "Omegathon" competition, in which twenty top gamers compete for a trip to Tokyo Game Show, continued on in the final days of PAX. Thomas Chan of Chicago, right, and Jo Ubransky of Litchfield, Ohio, celebrated winning the Rock Band Omegathon round on the main stage.  : Photo: Stephen Brashear/Wired.comPenny Arcade writer Jerry "Tycho" Holkins is silhouetted as he and his band, the Sex Generals, perform on the main stage prior to the Omegathon Rock Band round.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm In MN, Massive Police Raids On Suspected ProtestorsX0563511 alerts us to events in Minneapolis and St. Paul in advance of the Republican convention (which has been put on hold because of Hurricane Gustav). Local police backed by the FBI raided a number of homes and public buildings and confiscated computers and other material. From Salon.com: "Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than 'fire code violations,' and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying. Jane Hamsher and I were at two of those homes this morning — one which had just been raided and one which was in the process of being raided." Here is local reporting from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "Aided by informants planted in protest groups, authorities raided at least six buildings across St. Paul and Minneapolis to stop an 'anarchist' plan to disrupt this week's Republican National Convention. From Friday night through Saturday afternoon, officers surrounded houses, broke down doors, handcuffed scores of people and confiscated suspected tools of civil disobedience... A St. Paul City Council member described it as excessive, while activists, many of whom were detained and then released without charges, called it intimidation designed to quash free speech."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 31 Aug 2008 | 10:49 pm Gustav: Online resources are up, Blackwater gears up, Twitter blows up. (1) Here is an interactive, javascript-animated map of Gustav's path, courtesy NOAA. (2) Blackwater is compiling a list of qualified security personnel for possible deployment into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. Applicants must meet all items listed under the respective Officer posting and be US citizens. Contract length is TBD.Via Clayton Cubitt. Update: Noah Shachtman at Wired Danger Room has much more on Blackwater's renewed presence in the region. (3) Sean Bonner of metblogs writes: This morning I've stumbled across a good number of online resources for Hurricane Gustav and New Orleans and thought it would be good to start a list here to keep track of them. Feel free to add any in the comments and I'll try to keep this list updated with any links posted.Gustav resources online (hub.metblogs) (4) You can follow Twitter chatter about #gustav here. Needless to say, the search string updates very frequently right now. (5) Wikipedia says the Swedish name "Gustav" means "Staff of the Goths."
(image: by Flickr user Maitri V-R, shot this weekend in the French Quarter of New Orleans.) (6) Here is a Hurricane Gustav Wiki. This is the wiki for information relating to Hurricane Gustav and its approach to the northern Gulf coast. It's intended to be centralized site for links to information everywhere else on the web; please publicize it far and wide. Information will be moved here as time progresses from the similar wiki built during and after Hurricane Katrina's landfall 3 years ago. Please be polite and patient in working with the wiki and the community it attracts, to the extent that you can, and hopefully, everyone will get through this one in one piece.The creator of that Wiki, Andy Carvin, is asking Google Map gurus to help him create a comprehensive Gustav map mashup: We should build a map - or work with google to do so - that plots out as much data as possible re: evac centers, storm route, damage, flood reports, etc. If Google or someone else is doing it already, great; let's embed it. If not, we need to find some Google Map gurus to figure out how to get started.(thanks, Andy Carvin and Noelle McAfee) (7) About a quarter of all crude oil production in the United States takes place in the Gulf region. And nearly 100% of the oil-related activity in this region has now been shut down. What will happen to the price of oil? (8) Video: Anatomy of a Hurricane, embedded at the bottom of this BB post. An educational film produced in 1996 by the US Department of the Interior. "Hurricanes are beautifully organized storms of destruction... An average hurricane releases heat equivalent to the total electrical energy consumed annually in the United States." (from The Open Video Project, via Siege)(9) Doc Searls has a post up with pointers on "Getting Gustav." A little guide to New Orleans radio & other Hurricane Gustav sources. If you’re using a regular over-the-air-type radio, and you’re within 750 miles or so of New Orleans, tune in 870am to hear WWL. It’s one of the original (literal) clear channel stations. In the old days you’d get them from coast to coast at night, but in recent years the FCC has chosen to allow new stations to clutter the AM band at night (when signals skip off the ionosphere). But still, worth a check if you’re within range. WWL also has a hurricane coverage network of other stations in the area.(10) New Orleans Metblog contributor Craig, who owns a restaurant called Janitas on Magazine street, has decided to stay put and liveblog whatever happens. It sounds like he is a former broadcast industry professional. He finds lulz in these hard hours, with news crews pouring in as residents pour out: Being the only restaurant open on lower Magazine kinda made us The Place To Be. The ONLY Place to be. It was good to share some “do you know?” time with folks in my former profession and to talk a little of what used to be shop. Some white SUV drove by with a big “TV” plastered on it in black electrical tape. Given the deserted streets, I felt like I was in Beirut or someplace. Some ningnong TV guy was just on the tube, still wearing his cap and damp rain gear, facing the camera and intoning, “Tonight, New Orleans is a city holding it’s breath…” Puh-leeze. Folks like you are part of the reason why I’m not in that business anymore.Start with his post titled "Here we go...", then read the others. (Thanks, Sean Bonner) (11) T-Mobile has opened its WiFi networks in the Gulf region for free access, which ought to greatly help with availability of telephony and data services. Previously on Boing Boing: New Orleans mayor: "We really don't have the resources to rescue you after this."
Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 10:13 pm German Customs Agents Raid Another Trade ShowJagsLive tips the news that German customs agents have shown up in force to raid the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. (The last time we discussed news like this was during CeBIT, in Hanover, last March.) 220 customs agents seized electronic gear from 69 different booths at IFA. The Register reports that this raid, like the one last spring, was touched off after complaints by patent firm Sisvel. "They seized equipment which will now be checked for evidence of patent breaches. A spokesman for German Customs told us: 'We've raided 69 companies today. We have seized equipment including flat-screen TVs, CD players, set-top boxes and MP3 players.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 31 Aug 2008 | 9:39 pm Muttley from The Wacky Races presents the weather report(via Arbroath) Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 8:50 pm Too Easy For Bank Accounts To Spring a LeakThe NYTimes has a cautionary tale of automated clearing house fraud. Parties unknown siphoned money from an individual's bank account. Nothing too unusual there, except that it was an elite private banking account at JPMorgan Chase, and the account holder is out $250K — the bank will only cover $50K of his loss. The $300K came out of the account in small transactions over 15 months. The bank offered no recourse except to open a new account, a large hassle given that the account is more than 20 years old and its holder writes a thousand checks a month. The article details how the spread of electronic settlements between banks has given rise to growing automated clearing house fraud — if anyone gets hold of the magic combination of account number and bank routing number, and once has permission to withdraw funds, all bets are off. Banks are unlikely to question future withdrawal orders. Moral of the story: go over your bank statements line-by-line every month, and question anything that looks funny.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 31 Aug 2008 | 8:28 pm Zebras Get Less Spam Than AardvarksMojoKid writes "A recent study (PDF) by Richard Clayton at Cambridge University determined that the first letter of a someone's email address directly affects how much spam they receive. As shown in the graph at either link above, email addresses with numbers as their first characters receive even fewer spam emails. The corpus used in the study was 8 weeks' worth of email from the UK ISP Demon Internet, just over half a billion messages, of which 56% was deemed to be spam."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 31 Aug 2008 | 7:18 pm Millimeter wave scan machine at Denver Airport I snapped this photo of a passive millimeter wave scan machine set up in the main entrance hall at Denver International Airport on Friday evening. The machine was swiveling back and forth, searching people who didn't even know they were being scanned. I'm sure some of the people scanned weren't passengers; they were simply coming to pick up or drop off friends and relatives. I wanted to see if they would scan my 11-year-old daughter as she walked by so I walked over to the desk with the computer monitor on it. I got a peek at the monitor for a second or two before one of the bald guys to the left of the TSA agent jumped in front of me and said I wasn't allowed to look. I couldn't tell which person was undressed on the monitor. If federal agents set up this system at a shopping mall, would people care? The TSA's blog states that the scanner's monitor be placed in a "remote location":A couple of bloggers have advocated for the officer viewing the image to be out in the public area. We specifically require the remote location to protect the privacy of passengers using the machine. We just don’t think it’s appropriate for other passengers, airport, airline employees or just anybody walking by to see the images, much less snap a photo with a camera phone or anything else and post that image to TMZ.com or who knows where. That’s also why officers are not allowed to bring anything, including phones, bags or other items into the remote viewing location. Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 6:48 pm 6 Internet providers disclose Web tracking for ads (AP)AP - The nation's largest Internet service providers all say they haven't partnered with Silicon Valley startup NebuAd Inc. to monitor Web surfing and deliver targeted advertising to their subscribers. Here is a look at six smaller service providers, however, that have conducted trials. The companies say all the tests have ended, often to review privacy and related issues. No provider is known to be currently using NebuAd.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 31 Aug 2008 | 6:35 pm Federal court blocks beef exporter from testing for mad cow diseaseThe USDA tests 1% of cattle of mad cow disease. Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef exporters wants to test 100% of its cattle for mad cow disease. But the Bush administration took Creekstone to court, and a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle.The dispute pits the Agriculture Department, which tests about 1 percent of cows for the potentially deadly disease, against a Kansas meat packer that wants to test all its animals.The AP reports that "The Bush administration says the low level of testing reflects the rareness of the disease." The Bush administration should apply the same logic to the TSA. Terrorists are extremely rare, so only 1% of passengers ought to be checked by airport security. Link Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 6:20 pm Shuttle Retirement In 2010 Under ReviewAn anonymous reader alerts us to an Orlando Sentinel report based on a leaked NASA email, indicating that NASA is looking at options to extend the Shuttle program. The fighting between Russia and Georgia has put a strain on plans to rely on Russian boosters until the Shuttle's replacement flies in 2015. Yet extending the Shuttle's life is no sure thing. According to a former NASA program manager, "We started shutting down the shuttle four years ago. That horse has left the barn." And NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has told Congress that if the Shuttle fleet were to fly two missions a year until 2015, "the risk would be about one in 12 that we would lose another crew. That's a high risk... [one] I would not choose to accept on behalf of our astronauts." And then there's the matter of finding the $4 billion a year it would take to keep the fleet operational. The Sentinel mentions that John McCain has called for additional Shuttle flights, but doesn't mention that Barack Obama has made the same point, as the BBC reports.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 31 Aug 2008 | 6:10 pm Akino Kondoh's black-and-white video artAkino Kondoh is a Japanese contemporary artist who makes neat black-and-white video art. This one is called Ladybirds' Requiem. She uses pencil, pastel, and acrylic for the original illustrations, combines them on Photoshop, and then adds motion using After Effects. The music was created just for this piece by Toshiaki Chiku, former member of a band called Tama. Kondoh started off doodling pencil drawings as a kid; during high school, she drew a comic book series called Memoirs of a High School Girl. "I've been drawing in black and white since childhood," she says. I posted her other video, Maybe It's The Train, on TokyoMango a couple of weeks ago. ( Lisa Katayama is a guest blogger.)
Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 5:26 pm Bloomberg’s Error Brings Steve Jobs’ Health In The Spotlight - eFluxMedia
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 31 Aug 2008 | 3:47 pm RIP Geoffrey Perkins of Hitchhikers' Guide and Father TedGraham Linehan sez, "Geoffrey Perkins died yesterday. Terrible loss, but I think of interest to Boing Boing readers because of his importance in the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' story...he produced the radio series, and after working with him on 'Father Ted', I feel confident in saying that he was probably one of the reasons it became such a huge success. He was an incredibly influential figure in British television comedy--something his skeletal Wikipedia entry doesn't quite communicate--and I just thought people should know that we lost someone very important yesterday."Geoffrey was the man who found our early ‘Ted’ script, (at that time, written as a mock-documentary) and suggested we turn it into a sitcom. He was the man who chose the house that became our iconic central location (poring over a pile of location photographs, stabbing it with his finger and saying “That’s the one”). He also persuaded us to use Neil Hannon’s ‘Songs of Love’ as our theme music.Geoffrey Perkins (Thanks, Graham!) Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 2:19 pm German firefighting porta-sprinklers of 1931A golden age of firefighting was upon us in February, 1931, when Modern Mechanix magazine ran this article on Germany's bizarre portable shower for firefigters:German Firemen Protected by Odd Sprinkler System (Feb, 1931) Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 2:14 pm Hurricane Gustav Charges Toward Gulf CoastGustav's impact may be felt long after the winds have died.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2008 | 11:46 am Report: Massive, warrantless raids on peace protesters in Minneapolis, ahead of RNC.Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com reports that protesters in Minneapolis, where the Republican National Convention will soon begin, have been subjected to massive, pre-emptive police raids. Those arrested include members of Food not Bombs, and a group calling itself the "RNC Welcoming Committee," and a group that uses video to protect civil liberties by documenting police activity at first amendment events. Snip:[They have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.Massive police raids on suspected protestors in Minneapolis. Glenn's post includes videos. One of them is embedded here, below, "from the house that had just been raided."
The house where I-Witness Video is staying in St. Paul has been surrounded by police. We have locked all the doors. We have been told that if we leave we will be detained. One of our people who was caught outside is being detained in handcuffs in front of the house. The police say that they are waiting to get a search warrant. More than a dozen police are wielding firearms, including one St. Paul officer with a long gun, which someone told me is an M-16. We are suffering a preemptive video arrest. For those that don't know, I-Witness Video was remarkably successful in exposing police misconduct and outright perjury by police during the 2004 RNC. Out of 1800 arrests, at least 400 were overturned based solely on video evidence which contradicted sworn statements which were fabricated by police officers. It seems that the house arrest we are now under and the possible threat of the seizure of our computers and video cameras is a result of the 2004 success.(via Ned Sublette) Source: Boing Boing | 31 Aug 2008 | 10:56 am
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IT’S a far cry from the old bucket brigade to modern fire-fighting efficiency. Even now the American fireman is known as a “smoke-eater,” but that term would hardly fit the present day fire laddie in Germany, for with the new portable sprinkler system adopted by some of the larger cities of that country a fireman may approach quite close to the flames without becoming singed.