Articles


US broadband growth continues to be explosive

CNet is reporting that the latest Nielsen/NetRatings report on internet access claims over 40 million US internet users are now on broadband. This means about a third of the total users, with the remaining two thirds being dial-up. This is a substantial move from this time last year, when …

OECD moves against spam

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has issued new guidelines for consumer protection, and they include some references to spam. CNet has an article pointing out some of the specifics, but the gist is that they are encouraging the use of new electronic systems to share information about …

Spam virus provides back door for spammers

In a new twist reported by BBC News, a recent virus (called the AVF Virus) is finding its way around the net that opens up a back door for spammers to send their spam from infected machines. The virus appears to be a classic Trojan horse program, but in an …


Microsoft can spell disintermediation

An article from CNet describes the reaction of some long-time Microsoft partners to the company's recent moves to sell direct to smaller enterprise customers. Most of the article discusses the current licensing plans and Microsoft's push to lower the entry for companies from 500 seats to 250, but it does …

What do Jobs and Bezos really think of Segway?

When Dean Kamen was working on preparing his Segway Human Transporter for release, he jetted around the country trying to get advice from people such as Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. The Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge has an excerpt from an upcoming book on the Segway (Code Name Ginger …

Can't use a slingshot? Try a trebuchet!

An article from CNet tells of a dilemma caused by the anti-terrorism fervor in San Francisco. Apparently, the fine folks in SF decided that sling shots were a likely terrorist weapon, so they banned them, leaving Sun's James Gosling (Java guru) without his traditional implement of T-shirt flinging at this …

Apple Camp

For those families that buy Macintoshes between now and August 10, they can enroll their kids in a free Apple Camp that will be held at local Apple Stores during the weeks of August 11th and 18th. The camps include two sessions, Standard and Advanced, each of which consumes some …


Car computer helps land conviction

An article from Newhouse News Service is reporting that a recent case involving speeding and vehicular manslaughter was won by the State of Florida with the help of the Electronic Data Recorder (EDR) in the perpetrator's car. Based on the fact that accident investigators believed the care was going at …

UIUC presents: The smart brick

My alma mater is at it again. Scientists from the UIUC's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have announced that they have created a "smart brick", capable of monitoring temperature, vibration and other factors while being a part of the walls. The NSF-funded project uses wireless technology to transmit …

Cars to get more power

An article from Car Audio Electronics magazine is reporting that there has been a recent agreement by auto makers in the US and Europe about the adoption of a 36-Volt system for cars. The drivers are environmental impact and the growing power needs of the automobile user (TV, VCR, cell …

Wind power for New England?

An article from the New York Times (magazine) over the weekend details a plan to put windmills (130 of them 161 feet tall and spaced 1/3-1/2 mile apart) just off the coast in Nantucket Sound. Despite the potential for supplying nearly 2% of the power for New England's …

TSA suspends CAPPS II testing for privacy reasons

Wired has an article indicating that the TSA has suspended testing on the controversial CAPPS II airline security system. Although the suspension is temporary, it does give some hope that there may be thinking going on in the government that privacy may be a good thing.... perhaps. Under the system …

Defense Department wants IPv6 by 2008

According to an article from AFP, carried on Yahoo! the Pentagon will be requiring a transition to IPv6 by 2008. IPv6 has been slow to gain popularity but has been a standard for a number of years now. The protocol change removes most of the current complaints about address spaces …

eBay felon gets 3 years

According to an article from Reuters, Chris Chong was sentenced by an LA court to a three year sentence for his eBay fraud. The man was convicted of swindling users, PayPal and Bank of America for over $600,000. During the three years, he will sleep in the prison and …

Unfortunate URLs and searching for web misspellings

From ANTI-NEWS at NTKNow: Web sites with unfortunate URLs: Powergen Italia (www.powergenitalia.com) turned out to be not as funny as originally thought Go Tahoe (www.gotahoe.com) and, use Google to see who can't spell: Osama Bin Laden (Osaka Bin Laden) Saddam Hussein (Saddam Hussies) George Bush (Gorge …

Draft of EU constitution ready to go

BBC News reports that the EU Constitutional Convention has rolled out an agreed-on version of the EU Consitution for perusal by EU leaders at their upcoming summit next week. Key points of the constitution as proposed: Separate presidents of the EU and EC working together Primacy of the EU over …

iStumbler adds GPS support

For those who just don't want to have to stop their cars when war-driving, the latest version of iStumbler (available for free under the BSD license) will read coordinates from a connected GPS as you drive around the countryside looking for open WiFi access points.

Clean-burning Hydrogen may still damage environment

Because scientists just can't get enough of "the sky is falling," we have a new report from Wired referencing an article in Science, that The problem is leaking hydrogen. Based on a 'hydrogen economy' and the estimate that 10-20% of hydrogen in systems will leak out and ascend into the …