Chrysler: No 'stopwatch' on potty breaks - Oct. 31, 2005

Chrysler: No 'stopwatch' on potty breaks - Oct. 31, 2005: "'We're not gonna use a stopwatch, turning a natural function into an Olympic sport,' said Vines on his blog. 'That ... would just be ... well ... too anal.'"


THIS guy deserves his own sitcom.

NASA has a plan for asteroid deflection | The Register

NASA has a plan for asteroid deflection | The Register

Defend yourself against the coming robot rebellion

Defend yourself against the coming robot rebellion

Watch Smash My iPod smash an iPod - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Watch Smash My iPod smash an iPod - Engadget - www.engadget.com

AMD drops prices on Opteron chips

AMD drops prices on Opteron chips

Got Root : Anonymous Bittorrent

Got Root : Anonymous Bittorrent

...and you knew this would happen. If not in this form then in the form of encrypted DarkNets. Give me a break, it is a simple, predictable cause and effect. A word to **AA orgs...UPDATE YOUR BUSNIESS MODEL. You CAN NOT legislate social and moral behavior. You can try, but it can't succeed. Adapt, evolve or go extinct.

XBox 360 games single threaded, says Vole

XBox 360 games single threaded, says Vole

Voila! No idots there...they KNOW how much of a PITA multithreaded debugging can be and rather than risk getting it very, very wrong they are going to play it safe. Will it matter? Probably not initially with the first gen games. There is enough extra power to still give them a nice boost.

Microsoft says multicores no good without software threading

Microsoft says multicores no good without software threading: "Massively multicore CPUs need massively multicore aware software and tools. One without the other doesn't get you far, and both sides seem to realise this."

Word up.

Don't kid yourself. Even experienced programmers find issues when testing in these environments. As CPUs get faster (whaaaa...?) and more cores proliferate, synchronization issues become more prevalent (in other words, they bite you in the ass).

Intel performance lead unlikely until 2007

Intel performance lead unlikely until 2007

IBM shows Xbox chip but won’t speak its name | The Register

IBM shows Xbox chip but won’t speak its name | The Register: "The rather fancy, custom chip boasts three processor cores each running at 3.2GHz. The cores, based on the PowerPC design, connect into a shared 1MB L2 cache. Overall, the chip has 165m transistors, takes up 168 sq. mm of space and was built with a 90nm manufacturing process."

The Genuine 7-Foot Robby The Robot. at Hammacher Schlemmer

The Genuine 7-Foot Robby The Robot. at Hammacher Schlemmer

Damn, and here I am all growed up. Waaaaaiiit...

Sand in the Gears

Sand in the Gears: "You know how in the movies, when somebody gets some kind of icky crawly creature on him, he slaps hysterically at it with both hands, making distinctly unmanly sounds?

This is exactly true to life. Hollywood, I salute you for getting this, at least, dead to rights.

The spider, rest his soul, was killed by my flurry of self-inflicted judo chops. He lay crumpled in a little heap on the carpet, to what would have been the endless fascination of the two older boys, had the youngest not tried to eat him."

ROFLMAO

DEC veterans prepare chip challenge for Intel, AMD, IBM and Sun | The Register

DEC veterans prepare chip challenge for Intel, AMD, IBM and Sun | The Register

Xbox 360s unplugged because of wireless interference

Xbox 360s unplugged because of wireless interference: "ALL OF the Xbox 360s in Wal-Mart shops around the US have been switched off due to wireless interference."

CNN.com - Coastal areas picking up the pieces -- again - Oct 25, 2005

CNN.com - Coastal areas picking up the pieces -- again - Oct 25, 2005

A lot of wind and rain for us, but nothing major. I mean a *lot* of rain too...8 inches or so. Fortunately my campaign to denude my lot of major trees has at least partially succeeded since nothing new smacked my house this time... No power for about 4 hours, but heck that isn't even long enough to warm up the generator for.

Wired News: Sue Companies, Not Coders

Wired News: Sue Companies, Not Coders

Ta-Da! Ok, my favorite security Guru speaks oout on an issue I mentioned earlier this week. Who to hold responsible for security problems? The programmers?

"Getting this one right will result in more-secure software for everyone; getting it wrong will simply result in a lot of messy lawsuits."

Read the entire article for the rest...

Dan Gillmor's blog | Bayosphere

Dan Gillmor's blog | Bayosphere: "American technology executives often complain about the inadequacies of public education, and rightly.

They worry especially loudly about the lack of higher standards and attainment in the all-critical areas of maths and science.

There is self-interest involved, of course. If any industry needs a qualified workforce in an increasingly knowledge-based economy, it is theirs.

Yet they are all but silent on a threat to the science curriculum in particular, and to the scientific method in a more general sense."


While I will try to follow the general wardroom rule and abstain from talking about "women, politics or religion"... there are parts of this article (like the quoted bit) which dovetail nicely with my earlier thread on outsourcing. The ultimate statement that "Powerful people should be defending science. Why are so many so silent?" is clear and most assuredly, true whether or not you belive the arguments used to support it. We are letting our lead in teh sciences and egineering slide away, what will be end up with? A workforce of only laborers and artisans?

VMware gives away player

VMware gives away player

Fractals of Change: Bubble 2.0 – Reed’s Law is Wrong (I think)

Fractals of Change: Bubble 2.0 – Reed’s Law is Wrong (I think)

You May Lose Your Job, but You Won't Be Out of Work :: AO

You May Lose Your Job, but You Won't Be Out of Work :: AO: "In the ongoing fiery debate about outsourcing, panelists make some bold statements, including comparisons to steelworkers: 'Things changed, but everybody found work.'"

This follows closely along my thesis from back when outsourcing started to raise eyebrows. That is that the NATURE of the work will change, but this does not mean everyone is standing in a wellfare line. Everyone mus be willing and able to evolve. This will most negatively impact older workers (but that is routinely the case with this type of change). Even then, you can't downplay the ability to change regardless of age in an information driven society.

Salon.com Technology | Free American broadband!

Salon.com Technology | Free American broadband!: "Today, major cable companies and DSL providers control almost 98 percent of the residential and small-business broadband market. This trend is the direct result of FCC policies that fail to encourage real competition among broadband providers, giving free rein over the market to the cable and DSL giants. The corporate giants are also vigorously fighting to stop cities and towns from building 'Community Internet' systems -- affordable, high-speed broadband services funded in part by community groups and municipalities -- even in places where the cable and DSL companies themselves don't offer service. Yet, like rural electrification projects in the early 20th century, today's Community Internet projects offer the best hope of achieving universal broadband service."

The digital home is still far from reality | TG Daily

The digital home is still far from reality | TG Daily

I have to agree with this in part. When I recently switched the home network from all wireless to a mix of wired/wireless I realized after I was done what a (figurative) mess it was. A wireless router a DSL modem, 3 switches, 4 PCs (not counting 2 laptops), 2 PDAs, an XBox and two Tivos. Erg. The average Joe User would not have been able to set this up in an afternoon, if at all.

It IS getting better though, while building the Mame cabniet PC I realized that I could leave a wireless NIC in it and even run a satellite feed to it and make it double as a MythTV unit (or some other form of Digital PVR/Home Media PC. Perhaps just extra storage...the options are endless. The Tivos have exposed enough cool features to make me see a glimmer of what the future of home media looks like. It is gonna rock.

BetterBadNews

BetterBadNews

Funny stuff in an odd-ball sort of way :)

Sort of like the Daily Show.

"Half True, more or less, 100% of the time"

E Ink and LG.Philips LCD build 10.1-inch flexible display - Engadget - www.engadget.com

E Ink and LG.Philips LCD build 10.1-inch flexible display - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Been murmurs of this tech for some time, it is finally seeing the light of day. This just might be the next-gen for publishing. Imagine a device with this (or several of these for the old-school page turners) that you could download you morning/afternoon/whatever paper into or the latest novel or you magazine subscription (Zinio is already set up to do this as is AvantGo and others). With the right pricing, this is a really neat area waiting to go gangbusters.

This may finally be the killer eText device or the core of one at any rate.

Top games form Yule line-up: Serious Sam 2, FEAR, Quake 4, COD 2...

Top games form Yule line-up: Serious Sam 2, FEAR, Quake 4, COD 2...

FEAR: give it a pass. Serious Sam 2 on the other paw is really good. Funny story line (but not complex enough to dstract from the general mayhem). Sort of like Armed and Dangerious, but with more attitude :)

No comments from my son yet on Quake 4, but I am sure he will have some.

Schwarzenegger, henchman respond to gaming lawsuit

Schwarzenegger, henchman respond to gaming lawsuit

Console Wars: Not Much of a War, But a Massive Victory

Console Wars: Not Much of a War, But a Massive Victory: "The nail in the coffin is the introduction of services like Netflix and Zip (Canadian Netflix), both offering unlimited game rentals for a small monthly fee. It would seem to me that this is a battle not worth fighting. "


See a market pwn the market! n000bs!

With new next-gen games going for $60+, ths is an idea whose time has come. gamefly.com is another contender, but netflix already has the brand indentity.

Essentialist Explanations

Essentialist Explanations: "English is essentially a language that uses vowels no other language would accept.
--Luís Henrique"

"English is what you get from Normans trying to pick up Saxon girls.
--Bryan Maloney"

Air Force testing new transparent armor

Air Force testing new transparent armor

transparent "aluminum oxynitride"...

Don’t tell us this is really the Xbox 360’s adapter - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Don’t tell us this is really the Xbox 360’s adapter - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Yerg. This is one case where out of sight, out of mind really came into play :)

Open Source luminaries claim software is like art, literature

Open Source luminaries claim software is like art, literature


Art? Engineering? Apprently not enough of both :)

BBC launches Doctor Who spin-off | The Register

BBC launches Doctor Who spin-off | The Register

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant.

2% of gamers are hermaphrodite: official | The Register

2% of gamers are hermaphrodite: official | The Register

"It's official: two per cent of gamers are neither male nor female..."

EULAlyzer

EULAlyzer

Now this is a slick trick.

Used Textbooks, DVDs, Video Games, Exchanged Instantly With No Buying or Selling.

Used Textbooks, DVDs, Video Games, Exchanged Instantly With No Buying or Selling.

Interesting idea.
Sort of like the old corner used book store...

AMD outsells Intel in US retail for the first time | TG Daily

AMD outsells Intel in US retail for the first time | TG Daily

When You Absolutely, Positively Have to Get Off the Phone SorryGottaGo.com - Helps End Unending Phone Conversations

When You Absolutely, Positively Have to Get Off the Phone SorryGottaGo.com - Helps End Unending Phone Conversations


As reported on

X5 expansion kit adds up to four drives to your Xbox - Engadget - www.engadget.com

X5 expansion kit adds up to four drives to your Xbox - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Galling gripes grip gamers

Galling gripes grip gamers: "Oh, I need to insert disc 1 again! WTF mate? I thought the install was done! Cancel! Oh dang...rolling back install!?!?! CANCEL CANCEL! Damn. Gotta restart the process AGAIN!?!?"

LOL. Required reading for gamers of any age. Yes, there are most certainly disconnects betwee those who SELL games and those who play them. I think the actual developers are not often the faulty component here (don't get me wrong, I have seen some games that MUST have come from brain-damaged developers) rather the folks that actually package and sell them.

Philips man predicts death of lightbulbs as LEDs win

Philips man predicts death of lightbulbs as LEDs win

This I'll buy. LEDs have many advantages over traditional lights and few disadvantages.

Qualcomm predicts phone will be person’s only computer

Qualcomm predicts phone will be person’s only computer: "he forecast a time when people wouldn’t have more than one computer, and that computer would be a mobile phone."

Not likely. People who think this just don't realize how un-ergonomic a phone is for computing tasks. It is fine for some things, but as you only computer? Not until I am wired like a Walter Gibson character for virtual displays in my retina and total subvocalized voice command...

Hexbox 360's new viral marketing campaign

Hexbox 360's new viral marketing campaign

Twenty Years of Windows

Twenty Years of Windows

Developers 'should be liable' for security holes - ZDNet UK News

Developers 'should be liable' for security holes - ZDNet UK News

Should Software Engineering be held to the same standards as say, Civil Engineering? What about in cases of public safety? Sticky question no doubt.

Wired News: Machine Makes Dishes on Demand

Wired News: Machine Makes Dishes on Demand

Microsoft and Yahoo! 'to merge IM chat' | The Register

Microsoft and Yahoo! 'to merge IM chat' | The Register

The Sun Online - News: Robot wars in Dr Who

The Sun Online - News: Robot wars in Dr Who: "The Timelord’s robot enemies will confront each other for the first time in the BBC1 sci-fi hit’s 42-year history."

What Michael Dell Believes--ExtremeTech Commentary

What Michael Dell Believes--ExtremeTech Commentary

Some commentary from Michael Dell on where he sees the market going.

TiVo Killers?--Windows PVRs

TiVo Killers?--Windows PVRs

If you already have the hardware, this is not a bad idea, much like MythTV with less headache :)

Still the set-top boxes are real, generic consumer items.

National, World and Business News | Reuters.com

National, World and Business News | Reuters.com

In line with my earlier comment today re: Games->Movies, this is a great spot of news. It may well insure that this title doesn't blow chunks.

CNN.com - Jawbone of Hobbit-like species uncovered - Oct 11, 2005

CNN.com - Jawbone of Hobbit-like species uncovered - Oct 11, 2005


I...I...I'm speechless.

FasterFox. - The Red Ferret Journal

FasterFox. - The Red Ferret Journal

The tubo option also seemed the better choice for me as well. Intersting plug-in, worth a look for the firefoxians.

The World in a Glass: Six Drinks That Changed History

The World in a Glass: Six Drinks That Changed History

And don't you forget it!!!

Oracle snaps up open source Innobase

Oracle snaps up open source Innobase

First Amendment Rights and Anonymity | Bayosphere

First Amendment Rights and Anonymity | Bayosphere

3Dconnexion’s SpacePilot 3D input device reviewed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

3Dconnexion’s SpacePilot 3D input device reviewed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

I disagree that games support would be of any real value. There have been a number of similar devices (Logitech made one for example) that were targeted for games and they have all passed into oblivion for lack of use.

Jeb Bush, Schwarzenegger take advice from games crusader

Jeb Bush, Schwarzenegger take advice from games crusader

Uncle Jeb and the Terminator... now there is a scary combination.

Microsoft tinkers with licences

Microsoft tinkers with licences

Heh, this is no surprise. After all the 'noise' Redmon made about not smacking you for multi-core CPU (extra fees) you knew ultimately they are going to want to recoup that. They simply can't afford to ignore processing power as a means of licensing. Nobody else does on *nix...

Dungeon Siege movie named

Dungeon Siege movie named

Another game-to-movie title (as opposed to movie-to-game titles in which the game invariably sucks wind).

There have been a few of these done already with generally mixed results (some OK, some major dogs) although none were Oscar material :)

Still, your market here is really the gamers and that alone may be enough. With the game market blossoming and the movie market finding it tougher going, this is a natural progression.

Comics and Editorial Cartoons: Classic Bloom County on Yahoo! News

Comics and Editorial Cartoons: Classic Bloom County on Yahoo! News

Classic Berke

If Microsoft Never Existed... - Yahoo! News

If Microsoft Never Existed... - Yahoo! News

Thanks to Mike G. for pointing this one out.

I must still be alseep :)

Mouse calls. - The Red Ferret Journal

Mouse calls. - The Red Ferret Journal

Meade Deep Space Imager: a point-and-shoot astrocamera (almost) - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Meade Deep Space Imager: a point-and-shoot astrocamera (almost) - Engadget - www.engadget.com

VoIP to GSM gateway can save you a bundle

VoIP to GSM gateway can save you a bundle: "Thus, you insert a GSM SIM card (and not only one but up to four) and there you have... calls coming from the VOIP cloud that can then be routed to GSM mobile destination numbers using the device's own SIM card as the call source."

Xbox 360 line-up arrives

Xbox 360 line-up arrives

Robotic-vacuum maker, BU team up on antisniper device - The Boston Globe

Robotic-vacuum maker, BU team up on antisniper device - The Boston Globe

Now THAT is a fighting robot.

"Besides, he said, it would be dangerous to have a weapon-toting robot that could open fire on its own."

Master of the bleeding obvious he is...

CNN.com - Musicians tell how to beat system - Oct 4, 2005

CNN.com - Musicians tell how to beat system - Oct 4, 2005: "The bad thing is that you are almost promoting what you are trying to protect against,' Brown says. 'You are upsetting the fan that went out and purchased the record."

Not that the recording industry has blinded us with brilliance over their treatment of their customers to date...

I/O Brush: The World as the Palette

I/O Brush: The World as the Palette

As seen on

MP3 Radio

MP3 Radio

Nifty idea.

Harvey Danger offers free album

Harvey Danger offers free album

While I am not a real fan of Harvey Danger, I seriously applaud their approach to the fans. THIS is what the original MP3.com was all about, EXPOSURE. This is what the RIAA needs to be soiling their drawers over...you don't NEED promotion to suceed. At least not the way they are used to controlling it.

Duke Nukem Forever to arrive December, Amazon claims

Duke Nukem Forever to arrive December, Amazon claims

Is it April 1st again so soon?

Imation integrates tape and disk

Imation integrates tape and disk

RIAA sued by victim

RIAA sued by victim

About time someone stood up to those wankers.

USB is the only computing standard that works

USB is the only computing standard that works

Certainly USB has become a ubiquitous, working standard. You seldom worry about something just working.