Great flaming...hard drives!
Yep...hard drives. Now they're catching fire too.
Who will stop the madness?
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Yep...hard drives. Now they're catching fire too.
Who will stop the madness?
Why, letting people download Dickens--and Shakespeare and lots of other classics and scholarly books. But the copyright cops at the nation's book publishers aren't entirely pleased.
Consumer Reports magazine is taking fire for creating new viruses, in order to test antivirus software. But some experts think it was just the right thing to do.
Put this electric car on the market at a reasonable price, and I wouldn't mind owning one. This is nice.
A new company lets people temporarily store files on line--files of up to 1.5 gigabytes.
For free.
I'm there!
First, pro football players started using Madden gaming software to study up on their opponents. Now a startup company is working with MIT on software that could help coaches call winning plays. But the league wants no part of it...for now.
The big telecom company is giving away online gaming sevices in a bid to promote its superfast FIOS fiber-optic network.
Google unveils its controversial book search service, with thousands of volumes from the libraries of major universities like Harvard.
So far, it's all public-domain stuff. Just as well, because book publishers are outraged that Google might try to post their copyrighted works online.
Amazon's taking pre-orders for Microsoft's new Vista operating system--priced at $399.
Huh?
Taking a page from George Lucas' technically updated reissue of the original Star Wars films, Paramount plans to reissue the REAL Star Trek TV series, with new 21st century special effects.
The companies will ally on voice-enabled Internet ads. eBay's Skype VOIP software will let users chat with Google advertisers.
A renowned game designer warns that the Nintendo Wii's remarkable motion-control system may flop--because many gamers will be too lazy to use it.
Scary thing is, he might be right....
The original game that started it all is now avaliable on the Internet...for free!
The company's stock tumbles after a Japanese analyst predicts problems for the upcoming PlayStation 3 game console. And the early PS3 buzz among gamers is remarkably negative.
Nobody used to care about computations per kilowatt. But these days, it costs a fortune in electricity to run corporate data centers--much of it used simply to keep the place cool. Enter a new wave of energy-efficient computers.
The YouTube Mystery Guitarist is revealed at last!
And here, I didn't even know there was a YouTube Mystery Guitarist! But apparently, for fans of rock guitar, this has been quite a mystery....
We should have known. A California town that's building a municipal WiFi network will add filters to screen out porn. Such filters inevitably screen out legitimate sites as well. Besides, do we really want a city government controlling what Internet sites people can and can't visit?
Bet you thought you could use the Internet telephone service Skype to make untraceable phone calls.
...and better than ever!
A vacation does wonders, dunnit?
Ray Kurzweil says we better get ready.
As this Business Week story shows, everything seems to have gone wrong at once for the Texas computer firm. And there's good reason to believe that things will get worse before they improve.
Remember the Irish Mac user who planned to walk from Dublin to Cork to shame Apple into quickly fixing his defective machine?
Apple Computer follows Dell's lead and recalls millions of laptops equipped with defective, fire-prone Sony batteries.
No, it's not a tech story, but it's deeply weird.
I mean, why steal a couple million bucks to buy lottery tickets? Why not just steal a couple million bucks and leave it at that?
Sheesh. What a maroon.
...did you guys know I'm on vacation this week? This explains the intermittent blogging. Not that anyone noticed....
...if you do sensitive Internet surfing on a public WiFi hotspot.
Anybody with any sense already knew this, but this New York Times story at least offers some suggestions on how to protect yourself.
Here's NASA's answer to Google Earth.
A Chicagoan comes up with a clever way to securely store data by chopping it into encrypted pieces and scattering across the Internet.
There won't be any on this futuristic cell phone.
He figures it's the only way to get his G5 iMac fixed.
Most subway designers wouldn't know aesthetic excellence from a hole in the ground.
Most...but not all.
Maybe so, if lots of people at the major social networking sites have linked to your website. And here's how to find out...
Will the cable companies have to start laying fiber optic cables to our homes, to keep up with their phone company rivals? This guy thinks so...
Google's online word processing service is accepting new users.
It's an appalling saga, one that could cost lives someday.
Thomson Financial is using computer programs to automatically write news stories.
Lovely. Just lovely.
If the new movie "Snakes on a Plane" proves to be a hit, the Internet will probably deserve most of the credit.
That's where I heard about the movie, and I'm going to see it tonight. I can hardly wait...
I dunno either. But Seth Godin's creating a list of the best Web 2.0 sites. So I figure by the time I get through all of these, I ought to know.
Somebody's got to create those online road maps. Well, meet one of those somebodies.
A CNet blog reports that Dell Inc., which has always used only Intel processors in its desktop PCs, has signed a deal to put AMD chips in nearly 2 million of its desktop and laptop machines. If true, it marks another big step forward for AMD, and one more headache for Intel.
Update: Nothing here about laptops, but Dell has definitely gone for AMD in a big way
Unfortunately, this change of heart comes as Dell seems to have fallen on hard times.
It seems about 20,000 students in Indiana are using Linux-based computers in schools. They're cheaper than the alternative, and these days, Linux is almost as easy to use.
Looks like the giant retailer has been scared out of carrying a new computer game called Bully. Anti-violence critics say the game is too brutal. Looks like Wal-Mart was listening.
The airplane company abandons its venture to put wireless Internet service on passenger planes. Seems few airlines were interested...
It's insane how much textbooks cost these days. But now there's a company that lets college students download free textbooks from the Internet--with ads inside.
With laptops bursting into flames left and right, maybe the industry should consider a new kind of rechargeable battery...
...but the telephone companies don't care. They don't want to share their new fiber optic networks with Internet services like Earthlink. And now a federal appeals court says they don't have to.
Check out this excellent wiki-based mapping service. Wikimapia lets anybody zoom in on a location of likely interest to the public, and then write up a description of the place. Incredibly, the Boston Globe wasn't listed on the map. It is now...:-)
Sign up for movie downloads at Movieland.com, and you may get more than you bargained for. So sayeth the state of Washington, which is suing the company for saturating users' computers with spyware.
AOL won a $12 million judgment against a Massachusetts spammer with the piratical sounding name of Wolfgang Hawke. But the guy hasn't paid. But AOL thinks the fellow buried his loot in his parents' back yard, and they're seeking permission to bring in a backhoe and go on a treasure hunt.
Years ago, Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, illustrated a brochure for Apple Computer. Here's the predictably delightful result.
...in Mountain View, Calif. The first of many?
At least, there wasn't for a few horrifying hours Tuesday, when YouTube went down...
The US Consumer Products Safety Commission is going to check out all lithium-ion laptop batteries made by Sony for possible fire hazards. All of them--not just the ones in Dell computers.
Good idea, seeing as how HP, Lenovo and Apple all get their batteries from Sony. And come to think of it, Apple laptops have a well-earned reputation for running rather hot...
Well, Nintendo won't give away its new Wii gaming console. Just the ability to play online against other Wii owners. Unlike Microsoft's superb Xbox Live service, Nintendo's online gaming features will cost the player nothing.
Half a century after the birth of the hard drive, 2006 should see the birth of the one-terabyte hard drive. That's 1,000 gigabytes.
Out of the goodness of its heart, the music recording industry is dropping one of its copyright infringement lawsuits.
Seems the guy they were suing just died, but that, of itself, was no big deal for the lawyers at the RIAA. They decided to continue the lawsuit against the dead man's estate and gave the family 60 days to bury the guy, dry their tears, and give sworn depositions in the case.
Funny thing, though. As word of their lawsuit swept across the Internet, the recording guys had a magical change of heart, and are dropping the case. They were moved, according to an RIAA spokesman, by "an abundance of sensitivity."
Yep, that's what he said.
Dell is recalling millions of laptop batteries made by Sony, because so many have burst into flames recently. Seems like a good reason to me...
Remember Calvin & Hobbes? Well, here's Calvin's dad to explain pretty much everything.
According to this survey, they've got sense enough to know that cell phones make lousy TV sets.
Says who? Says Time magazine, that's who.
But how can you trust those guys? They don't even mention me...
Especially in calculus class. But it's hard for teachers to keep their students' attention when every kid has a laptop, and every classroom has a wireless Internet router.
...with a little help from Microsoft.
Has anybody seen the original videotape of the first moon landing? If so, please call NASA. They seem to have mislaid it...
The Brits are ordering travelers to pack laptops in their checked luggage, as an anti-terrorism precaution. Not sure what this has to do with those maniacs planning to attack the planes with smuggled liquids, but rules is rules. But how can you make sure that your laptop will still be fit to use after those airport baggage handlers have had their fun? Here are a few suggestions...
Spurred by the disruption of a horrifying terrorist plot, scientists scramble for new ways to detect explosive liquids.
Fire, that is. Seems lots of laptops have been bursting into flames lately...