Intel Viiv instant on isn't instant on at all

Intel Viiv instant on isn't instant on at all

Intel Itanium chieftain defects to AMD

Intel Itanium chieftain defects to AMD

Once again you come away with the uneasy feeling that the whole tech industry is just more than a bit incestuous...

Hacker team gets close to Xbox 360 holy grail

Hacker team gets close to Xbox 360 holy grail

Click stopwatch.
Check time.

Yup. That is about what we expected :)

The Older Gamers Paradise - 2old2play - Play Nintendo on your 360!

The Older Gamers Paradise - 2old2play - Play Nintendo on your 360!

I am actually amazed at the entire concept of HOW this was implemented. Think about it, if you can do this for emulation why not anything else you want to use the X360 as ain *interface* for. Not just video, but the feedback (inputs from the controllers) as well. Way cool. Too cool (in fact) to survive. MS will likely close up this loop ;)

2nd Generation SIM Backup. - The Red Ferret Journal

2nd Generation SIM Backup. - The Red Ferret Journal

Now this is cool. Less usefull to use Yanks than our folk across the pond, but cool none-the-less.

RAYERD-X busts crazy Transformer moves - Engadget

RAYERD-X busts crazy Transformer moves - Engadget

More cool robotz.

Programmable soda bottles debut

Programmable soda bottles debut: "The possibilities are endless, as is the caffeine potential. You can go from 'colored water' to 'heart attack in a bottle' with the push of a few brightly coloured buttons. "

ESA - GSP - Towards a new test of general relativity?

ESA - GSP - Towards a new test of general relativity?: "Scientists funded by the European Space Agency have measured the gravitational equivalent of a magnetic field for the first time in a laboratory. "

Hmmm...how about String Theory? More specifically, supersymmetry? Very exciting news regardless.

Home VPN setup

Computer Networking Help - Advice From Experts - Configuring a free VPN solution in your home:

I have had occassion to need this sort of hook-up and this is a well done article on how to make it happen.

Toilet Paper Airgun

Welcome to XINVENTIONS.COM, your resource for hovercraft plans, pneumatic launchers, cannons, spy stuff, pyrotechnics and more.

While I personally have no immediate use for this :) it is a very neat job of engineering.

Silly Patents

Patently Silly - The Humor of Invention - presented by Daniel Wright

OK, if you have never seen this, it is a must see (at least once).

Baen Free Library

Baen Free Library

"3. Any cure which relies on tighter regulation of the market — especially the kind of extreme measures being advocated by some people — is far worse than the disease. As a widespread phenomenon rather than a nuisance, piracy occurs when artificial restrictions in the market jack up prices beyond what people think are reasonable. The "regulation-enforcement-more regulation" strategy is a bottomless pit which continually recreates (on a larger scale) the problem it supposedly solves. And that commercial effect is often compounded by the more general damage done to social and political freedom."

Bravo!. I could NOT have said it better myself. Then again, I am not a professional writer :)

Code Snippets

Code Snippets: Store, sort and share source code, with tag goodness

Rather neat. I have used similar systems internally to various companies before. Good to see one live on teh web. Granted, you could sort-of get similar functionality by judicious browsing on SourceForge.

QuizFarm.com :: Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)

QuizFarm.com :: Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)

Great page...try it.

Take It Apart dot net

Take It Apart dot net

Sweet. Boy does this bring back childhood memories. I used to dissect EVERYTHING. Heck, most of the time I even got it back together and working :)

Microsoft to offer cheap Xbox 360 game development kit? | News.blog | CNET News.com

Microsoft to offer cheap Xbox 360 game development kit? | News.blog | CNET News.com: "But at the Game Developers Conference here on Tuesday, the rumor is that Microsoft plans on announcing Wednesday a developers kit that would make it possible for anyone to build games for the console, or for PCs, and that the kit will cost only about $100."

If true, this would be an awesome thing. It would actually bust this platform open as far as ISVs are concerned. One of the GOOD things that had happened with PC games is that there were a good number of smaller software houses (ID started this way don't forget) that were producing very good games.

1080p for games impossible says Microsoft

1080p for games impossible says Microsoft: "If game developers like Microsoft do not try to get games at the 1080p standard then it could leave it largely out in the cold, shivering and needing a cocoa with some rum in it."

This is more daunting than might be apparent at first blush.

Fining the Blues

Fining the Blues

Another sign that the FCC may have outlived the need it was intended to fulfill.

Mexico Fishing trip - a photoset on Flickr

Mexico Fishing trip - a photoset on Flickr

Well, back from our vacation. Great fishing. Ixtapa is one of the best places for sport fishing (in 'shallow' water) that I HAVE EVER SEEN.

A breif photo set from the trip linked above.

Bahia La Tortuga Fishing Lodge, Mexico

Bahia La Tortuga Fishing Lodge, Mexico

So starting next Monday, through the following Monday we will be here (see link above). This means totally off-the-grid for a week (gawd I hope so anyway). I am ready for a break.

It was high time to update the digital camera, so after a week or two of dithering over a digital SLR ($$$) I wnet with this:

Konica Minolta Dimage Z6

The price was right $299 at a retail store and OfficeMax had the 1GB SD cards for 40 bucks after rebate. I'll post a snotfull of pictures so we can see how well it does.

Mark

NASA Ames Research Center OpenSource

NASA Ames Research Center OpenSource

So, any AI programmers out there with a little time to spare?

Clinton, Lieberman propose CDC investigate games - PC News at GameSpot

Clinton, Lieberman propose CDC investigate games - PC News at GameSpot: "Democratic Senators from New York and Connecticut are asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate 'impact of electronic media use.'"

...damn...

I am (nearly) speechless. Are we mumbling, drooling vegatibles that needs the government to hold our hands to make it through the day? Wait, don't answer that. It was rhetorical question.

Vista Sucks, No It Doesn't, Yes It Does…--Commentary on ExtremeTech

Vista Sucks, No It Doesn't, Yes It Does…--Commentary on ExtremeTech: "But the key word here is support. Vista supports these DRM schemes, but does not require them. There is absolutely nothing in Vista that will require you to use content with DRM. There is nothing that will prevent you from running those applications that strip the DRM from your DVDs. Your ripped movies and MP3s and other DRM-less content will work just fine. Vista will not phone home to report your illegal file sharing activities and notify the MPAA and RIAA and phone your mom who won't say boy are you gonna get it when your father gets home."

Damn, and I was sooo looking forward to THAT feature.

Linksys: NSLU2 - Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives

Linksys: NSLU2 - Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives

THis is a cool way to avoid having a file-server machine running. No question that this is probably more secure and certainly sucks less juice.

Bum Wines

Bum Wines

A fun read.

WorldWatch - February 12, 2006 - Three Books That Name Names - The Ornery American

WorldWatch - February 12, 2006 - Three Books That Name Names - The Ornery American: "Most people know that religions in America get along pretty well precisely because we don't expect everyone around us to agree with us on every point of faith. No matter how idiotic with think other people's faith is, and how right we think our beliefs are, we've learned to treat each other with, if not respect, then at least courtesy and basic fairness."


A pearl in amonst the other rhetoric. Not that I oppose all of the other viewpoints, but O.S.C. does tend to be a bit heavy handed with his opinions at times :)

TiVo's next act: software only? - Engadget

TiVo's next act: software only? - Engadget

I wouldn't be surprised to see them get snapped up by someone else, actually.

Intel confirms hyperthreading is a goner

Intel confirms hyperthreading is a goner

Seagate To Demo Wireless USB Hard Drive

Seagate To Demo Wireless USB Hard Drive

One word...sweet.

Seriously sweet. I can imagine a beowulf cluster of these... :)

TIME.com: When Is an Abortion Not an Abortion? -- Page 1

TIME.com: When Is an Abortion Not an Abortion? -- Page 1

One wonders if this might not backfire in unexpected ways. An example:

When our son was born (15+ years ago) Lake county (where we lived at the time) was undergoing a shortage of obstetricians. Why? Because of some really bad cases that had come up forcing malpractice rates for the county to rise. Consequently, many doctors simply left. We went two counties over to find a doctor that ultimately delivered our son. Could not the same sort of thing happen here on a wider scale? Not likely you say? Perhaps, but at some point it very well might. It doesn't have to be EVERY doctor that refuses to practice there, just enough to cause problems. In South Dakota, that might be less than you think...

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day: "There are four fundamental forces in the universe: The strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, electro-magnetism, and gravity. Well, I think the fifth is irony."

a Coffee-through-the-nose moment, indeed.

Ma Bell returns: AT&T buys BellSouth for $67 billion - Engadget

Ma Bell returns: AT&T buys BellSouth for $67 billion - Engadget

Do you suppose there are any rank-and-file old timers still there from the 70's when it was originally AT&T?

AMD releases X85 parts

AMD releases X85 parts