May 30, 2005
‘Crazy Frog’ leaps to top of charts
A track based on a cell phone ring tone famed for its ability to infuriate listeners topped Britain’s singles charts on Sunday, beating the new track from Coldplay to the No. 1 spot. “Crazy Frog Axel F,” inspired by a ring tone based on the sound of a man imitating revving mopeds, was the highest-selling single in the list compiled by The Official UK Charts Company….Continue reading “‘Crazy Frog’ leaps to top of charts”
Posted at 08:00 PM
Want the Sith DVD? Go to Usenet
Usenet newsgroups dedicated to piracy are seeing a resurgence in activity as file sharers seek less-policed areas of the internet to trade illegal data. Some pirated movies are now even appearing in newsgroups before being released worldwide across popular P2P systems like BitTorrent. The alt.binaries newsgroups — which mostly carry pirated software, ripped movies and MP3s — have logged a steady and substantial rise in traffic over the last few years….Continue reading “Want the Sith DVD? Go to Usenet”
Posted at 09:08 AM
FUN: Jaywalking chicken ticketed
A chicken that got a ticket for crossing the road has clawed his way out of it. The $54 citation for impeding traffic was dismissed Friday after Linc and Helena Moore’s attorney argued that the fowl was domesticated and could not be charged as livestock….Continue reading “FUN: Jaywalking chicken ticketed”
Posted at 04:31 AM
May 29, 2005
Surfing the long wave
Graham is a retired policeman from Stockton-on-Tees. In February 2004 he discovered that he had prostate cancer, and during the course of his treatment he was often asked about how things were going. So he set up a weblog and has kept an online diary ever since, offering advice and support to fellow patients as well as news on his own progress….Continue reading ” Surfing the long wave”
Posted at 11:51 PM
Kenyan youths take on net skills
A project offering business skills to impoverished Kenyan youths has been recognised with a prestigious award. The non-profit Global Education Partnership – Wundanyi won the $7,500 (£4,213) Africa Hafkin Communications Prize….Continue reading ” Kenyan youths take on net skills”
Posted at 11:48 PM
Machines’ way with words
Professor Nass is working on a system where the machine’s voice changes according to how you address it. He has discovered that irritable drivers calm down if the voice on the navigation system is subdued, though for some reason that he does not quite understand, calm drivers get wound up by subdued, low-key voices that do not vary in pitch….Continue reading ” Machines’ way with words”
Posted at 11:45 PM
May 27, 2005
New “Technology in The Home” Forum Launched
Are you interested in using more than just Linux technology in the home? If you are, then voicepoint.org will be of interest. Voicepoint.org is a new forum web site I’ve launched that focuses on a broader range of technology topics related to the home. It features discussions on movies, video, music, photography, cell phones, PDAs, gaming, home theater and PCs. It currently has over 40 members exchanging questions and ideas in many interesting areas. Be…Continue reading “New “Technology in The Home” Forum Launched”
Posted at 10:33 PM
Microsoft employee uese OpenOffice for PowerPoint presentation
When his Windows PC crashed, he was forced to use his Linux laptop as a backup. Here are the shots to prove it. Microsoft, sneaky but adaptable. I hope the Linux community doesn’t get too complacent about this….Continue reading “Microsoft employee uese OpenOffice for PowerPoint presentation”
Posted at 05:37 PM
Looking at Open Source Software Through Arabeyes
Mohammed Sameer of Cairo is just 24 and a pharmacy graduate. But he’s one of the thirteen or so active young people who are working hard to open new vistas to the world of computing, especially in Asia. Called Arabeyes, this team is working to make computing more relevant to the hundreds of millions using Arabic lettering across the globe. In a world where computers were created for a left-to-right flowing script like English, the…Continue reading “Looking at Open Source Software Through Arabeyes”
Posted at 05:33 PM
The Puzzling Success of Open Source
Against many economic, production and social norms, open-source software has emerged as a serious challenger to proprietary software products. Steven Weber’s new book comprehensively tells the story. You perhaps consider, as I do, Titanic and Lord of the Rings as cinematic marvels. The special effects of both movies were made on machines running the Linux operating system; the most famous of open-source software products. And, notably, some of the world’s most celebrated commercial and non-commercial…Continue reading “The Puzzling Success of Open Source”
Posted at 05:26 PM
Detroit high school opens its desktops
In 2003, John Hansknecht, the director of technology at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, had a tough decision to make. The school had about a hundred older computers running Microsoft Office 97 and Windows NT, and some kind of upgrade was clearly required. It would have been an easy decision to simply upgrade to Microsoft Office 2000, but that would have required replacing all the computers with more powerful systems…Continue reading “Detroit high school opens its desktops”
Posted at 05:05 PM
Understanding sarcasm is a complex business
Different parts of the brain must work together to understand sarcasm, new research suggests. The prefrontal cortex – a small area in the front of the brain – seems to play the biggest role and may integrate the literal meaning of a phrase with the speaker’s emotional intent. The findings on the anatomy of sarcasm could have implications for understanding personality changes in people with brain injury or disease….Continue reading ” Understanding sarcasm is a complex business”
Posted at 04:59 PM
FUN: Human-powered hydrofoil seeks jumpy riders
The first human-powered commercial hydrofoil, resembling a bizarre cross between a pogo stick and a jet ski, has gone on sale. Riders operate the “Pumpabike” by bouncing up and down on a small platform at the rear of the contraption, whilst holding onto a steering column at the front…Continue reading “FUN: Human-powered hydrofoil seeks jumpy riders”
Posted at 04:58 PM
Light gun fires photons one by one
The first photon gun capable of firing single particles of light over optical fibres was unveiled on Tuesday. The breakthrough may remove one of the final obstacles keeping perfectly secure messages from being sent over standard telephone fibres. Encryption techniques change each character in a message in a way that can be reversed by a receiver who possesses the relevant key. But sending the key to the receiver is just as troublesome as sending the…Continue reading “Light gun fires photons one by one”
Posted at 04:56 PM
Can taking the pill dull a woman’s desire forever?
ORAL contraceptives may free a woman to have sex without fear of getting pregnant, but they could also extinguish her desire. The pill has been associated with many side effects, including blood clots, migraines and weight gain. Perhaps least talked about is its tendency to dull libido by decreasing testosterone levels….Continue reading “Can taking the pill dull a woman’s desire forever?”
Posted at 04:54 PM
Violence may be a ‘socially infectious disease’
Witnessing gun violence can double the likelihood of a teenager committing serious violence in the following two years, suggests a new study by US researchers. Although a connection between exposure to violence and violent behaviour has been previously suggested, it is difficult to show a direct causal link. But this study claims to have isolated the independent contribution made by actually witnessing gun violence by comparing over 1500 teenagers with a similar likelihood of being…Continue reading “Violence may be a ‘socially infectious disease'”
Posted at 04:54 PM
eBay drop-off stores balk at regulation
The owner of the six-foot-tall resin figure recently took it to the QuikDrop store on Long Island to have it photographed and put up for auction on eBay for 14 days. An online bidder from Utah paid $750 and the store’s workers packed it and were preparing to send it last night. Such troves of junk are innocent enough. But as more eBay drop-off stores spring up around the nation to help redistribute the accumulated…Continue reading “eBay drop-off stores balk at regulation”
Posted at 04:53 PM
Skype’s 1,800-strong club
Taking an increasingly pragmatic approach to its business, Internet phone provider Skype is now using affiliates to sell its voice mail service and other premium products. Already, some 1,800 organizations have agreed to sell Skype’s products in return for between 2 and 10 percent of the revenue they generate, Skype co-founder Nikklas Zennstrom said Monday….Continue reading “Skype’s 1,800-strong club”
Posted at 04:50 PM
Nokia debuts Linux-based Web device
Nokia on Wednesday announced a pocket-size Web browser for wireless broadband networks, the Finnish firm’s first Linux-based device and its first portable product without a built-in mobile phone. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is designed for browsing and e-mail functions, the phone maker said. The gizmo has a 4-inch horizontal touch screen with zoom and an on-screen keyboard. It can be connected to the Net either from a hot spot or using Bluetooth via…Continue reading “Nokia debuts Linux-based Web device”
Posted at 04:46 PM
Wi-Fi catches up with Indy 500 racers
When Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier–members of the Red Bull Cheever Racing team–zoom around the racetrack Sunday at the Indianapolis 500, they will use Cisco wireless IP gear to feed information back to engineers in their pit crew. The gear will detail everything from engine temperature to velocity to tire pressure….Continue reading “Wi-Fi catches up with Indy 500 racers”
Posted at 04:43 PM
Bank of America takes on cyberscams with SiteKey
The features will be introduced first in Tennessee next month. They will then be expanded state-by-state to become available nationwide by year’s end, said Sanjay Gupta, an electronic commerce executive at Bank of America. When people register for SiteKey, they pick an image from a list and type in their own phrase to be associated with their account. When they enter their login name and hit the SiteKey button on the Bank of America site,…Continue reading “Bank of America takes on cyberscams with SiteKey”
Posted at 04:42 PM
The citywide Wi-Fi reality check
Philadelphia is venturing into the Wi-Fi frontier and liking what it sees. The big question is, will it feel the same way two years from now? One of the biggest technical issues that cities face in deploying municipal Wi-Fi is that it can suffer interference from other wireless devices trying to transmit signals in the same channel. Because wireless networks run on unregulated spectrum, many devices can interfere with transmission. For example, microwave ovens, hand-held…Continue reading “The citywide Wi-Fi reality check”
Posted at 04:38 PM
As TV moves to the Web, marketers follow
On Tuesday, the emerging-media group at Scripps Networks, part of the E. W. Scripps Company, plans to introduce an all-video Web site that will use programming from its Food Network, Fine Living, HGTV and DIY Network brands, as well as new clips. A major advertiser in Scripps offline media, General Motors’ GMC division, has paid for a video showroom on the site and a presence throughout it….Continue reading “As TV moves to the Web, marketers follow”
Posted at 04:34 PM
High-definition radio gears up for reality
The radio conglomerates, chipmakers and other companies behind HD radio–a digital form of broadcasting that essentially fits into the same spectrum as current analog channel–say their campaign to promote the technology is about to begin. In HD radio, up to eight separate stations can be squeezed into the same spectrum currently allotted for a single station. As a result, broadcasters can offer multiple channels of related programming; a classical station, for instance, could dedicate channels…Continue reading “High-definition radio gears up for reality”
Posted at 04:32 PM