Articles


Very cool snow crystal site

Enough about war in Iraq. Enough about budget deficits. Enough about crime and punishment. Forget all of that and check out this cool site (pun intended). The site contains a wonderful array of microscopic photos of snow crystals. Check it out!

Monster.Com warns about new identity theft method

According to an article on CNet, some people have fallen prey to a new identity theft scheme. The basic outline is that the perpetrators post a job on Monster (or some other service) and wait for the CVs and applications to roll in. If they need more info about you …

Use your iPod for yet more

In the beginning, Apple created iPod, and it was good. You could play your music on it wherever you went and there was great sound, manageable size, and plenty of space. Then Apple said, "let there be Contacts and Calendars", and so you could access your friends, family, and events …

Flying or Buying, they both want your credit records

According to numerous articles on Friday, including this article on Fox News, Delta Airlines is preparing a trial run of a new federal program for security. This latest program involves consulting a database that includes many sources of data, including credit reports... that's right credit reports! Why, you may ask …




Lexmark wins injunction in DMCA case

As reported a while back on this site and others, Lexmark (manufacturers of printers, scanners, and multi-function devices) have filed suit against Static Control Components for making a product that allows you to refill Lexmark toner cartridges without paying Lexmark. Although it isn't a complete win for Lexmark (that'll likely …

California eBay's airport security left-overs

According to an article on SFGate.com, California is selling off items confiscated at airports on eBay. You can look for their auctions by querying the handle CaliforniaGold2000 on eBay. According to the article, they've made over $16k selling a collection of mostly pen-knives.

Red Herring's bubble finally bursts

According to a report today on The Wall Street Journal, Red Herring, the monthly mag that had become the standard bearer for the "New Economy", has been shuttered by it's parent company. The article (membership required), indicates that the March issue (on newsstands now, run out and get yours) will …

PerversionTracker reviews Opera for the Mac

For those of you who haven't heard of PerversionTracker, it is one of the most amusing software review websites ever devised. Named after VersionTracker, a site that keeps you up-to-date on your ever- changing Macintosh and Windows software packages, PerversionTracker reviews software that... well... shall we just say it's not …

Play your vinyl LP's on a scanner

In what has got to be the most amusing use of technology that I've seen so far this year, an article on Wired describes a piece of software that allows you to play old phonograph records on a high-resolution flat-bed scanner. The process involves scanning the "discs" (which usually requires …

.Mac iDisks now accessible from XP

Apple Computer yesterday released a software package that allows .Mac users to access their iDisk folders directly from a Windows XP desktop. The software is available as a free download, but requires that users have a .Mac account to use it.

The beginning of the end of a tax-free net?

According to an article from Wired, California Governor Gray Davis is rethinking his position on Internet taxes. With the preponderance of tech-heavy industries in California that would be required to comply with new rules, the state is considered a bellwether for this contentious issue.

"Virtual March" on the Capital

Regardless of how you stand on the prospect of war, the anti-war ranks have taken their opinion to the Capital's telecommunications infrastructure. According to a story in Wired, hundreds of thousands of calls and thousands of faxes jammed lines at the House and Senate yesterday.

It's a lonely day in the neighborhood...

Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood died last night. He was diagnosed in January with stomach cancer and is survived by two sons and his wife. Stories are available on most of the news outlets. Personally, I remember many happy hours watching Mr. Rogers and am heartened by …

Ireland forcing telcoms to store call data.

In another shocking privacy twist, the WebLog of Karlin Lillington recounts an afternoon spent at a briefing by Irish authorities about a proposed new security policy. At this briefing, they revealed that, over a year ago, the Irish government had instructed all telecoms providers to maintain three years worth of …

Use your cell phone as a remote to your laptop

Yet another ridiculous, useful, and decidedly cool piece of software for the Macintosh. Sony Ericsson Clicker allows you to use a Bluetooth phone as a remote input device for a Macintosh with a Bluetooth adapter. Great if you need an impromptu controller for Keynote.

"Lawrence" MovieFest a success

Thanks to everyone who came, the MovieFest yesterday was a lot of fun. We had a full house and the print of the film was every bit as good as I had remembered. The next MovieFest will be the last weekend in March. If you want to nominate a title …

Amusing Seti@Home note

Despite the fact that I registered for Seti@Home in May of 1999 and stopped using it in November of 1999, I still churned out more work units than 94+% of the people to sign up. According to my log on their site, I managed to generate 1.275 years …