The Population Reference Bureau has released this years report, 2004 World Population Data Sheet (PDF). There is also summary on the web., which goes over some of the important data, such as the current AIDS/HIV infection rates (up to 38.8% in Swaziland) and projections for the world's population …

Wired reports that DirecTV and EchoStar have reached agreements with NBC that will allow them to carry the NBC HD Olympics coverage in a number of markets (including Washington, DC). DirecTV will carry it on channel 84.

According to an article from the International Herald Tribune, researchers at the Newcastle Center for Life have been granted a limited (1-year) license to clone human embryos for stem cell production. The plan is to clone stem cells from embryos created by inserting skin cell nuclei into human egg cells …

Despite some recent contraction in the PC market due to the competition by USB 2.0, Firewire (1394) has been gaining support and should continue to do so in the near future, according to a report from InStat. Growth continues in the Consumer Electronics areas, including digital TV, and DVRs …

When O'Reilly, considered one of the most innovative technology book publishers in the world, is beta testing a new program called SafariU (PDF). Based on their existing Safari service, which provides online access to a virtual bookshelf of technical books for a single monthly fee, SafariU provides a way for …

Thanks to an article from the Christian Science Monitor, I was pointed to a new feature on the National Geographic web site which is intended to be a companion piece to the new IMAX film Forces of Nature The site is an exceptional use of Macromedia's Flash technology for educational …

Apple's iTunes Music Store has (according to an announcement by Apple Computer) reached 1 million songs in its catalog for download in the US. They have also stated that they now have songs from over 600 independent labels on the US site.

An article from the New York Times relays the story of two patent attorneys who have embarked on a quest to help fill the missing archives of the USPTO (the Patent and Trademark office). And, they have met with some success, handing over information to the Office about at least …

An article from BBC News cites a study conducted in the US and published in the journal Neurology, that indicates (although not conclusively) that people who perform more challenging mental tasks later in life ward off the dreaded disease. Looks like even mental exercise is good for you.

NPR had a segment this morning called "Misunderstanding the First Amendment", where it speaks directly to an issue that I think more people need to think about: what is the First Amendment. Mark Bowden, the author of Black Hawk Down, makes the point that too many people (especially celebrities) are …

Voip-info.org has a page about building, installing, and running Asterisk (the open source VOIP PBX) under OS X. Included are pointers to graphical tools for use with Asterisk.

As if web sites didn't have enough to worry about, Microsoft has posted a lengthy document describing changes made in Windows XP SP2 and the effect on web pages. Sounds like some nice security fixes, though.

An article from the Voice of America news service mentions the passage (by the US Senate) and the signature (by President Bush) of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement. It also mentions that the Australian Senate isn't keen on it in its current form but leaves out information reported by …

This isn't a great story from the Washington Post, but it's an amusing comment on our political system and small towns like Cuba City, Wisconsin.

Well, the younger Powell and his crew were busy yesterday. Rulings were made about cell phone spam and digital broadcast reproduction. On cell phone spam: you can't send it via email... which isn't surprising, but the CAN-SPAM act will now have a registry of domains for wireless providers that can't …

A web site called Dear Steve has been set up to collect messages for Steve Jobs about his recent cancer surgery. Interestingly, it's not an Apple site, but a set set up by Varen Swaab, whose relationship with Steve Jobs appears on the site. Cool read. Thanks to Wired for …

BusinessWeek has a series of articles about Apple this week in a special report entitled Apple: The Next Generation. The five articles look at the company's performance since Jobs took over the reins (again), corporate and government prospects, the role of clustered Macs in supercomputing, and their current push toward …

We got our Airport Express boxes yesterday and I finally got a chance to turn them up this morning. So far, I've installed one (and did some network reconfiguration at the same time to increase security). The device works beautifully and has a frightening range. Right now I'm sitting in …

With the launch of McDonald's Go Active Meals in the UK, the Sun reports that it would take a walk of nearly 10 miles to walk off a Big Mac Meal (including fries and a shake), as it weighs in at over 1400 calories. Additional nutritional info can be found …

An interesting article today on Wired about using the internet to search for the identities of John Doe (and Jane Doe) victims. Includes a particularly in- depth discussion of one man's quest to figure out the identity of a woman killed in Kentucky in 1968.