Apple released new versions of iCal and iSync yesterday that add a number of useful new features. The updates are both available from the Software Update panel in Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2), although iCal must be updated first and then iSync since there is a dependence on the …

A good article on CNet today by Declan McCullagh about his recent set of exchanges with the FBI about preserving his records of interviews with accused hacker Adrian Lamo. Once again, the subject is the Patriot Act and its amazing expanding powers.

An article from BBC News reports that the High Court (one step down from the Court of Appeals in the UK) has let stand a law that calls for consent of both parents when using a frozen embryo. The case involves two women who are now incapable of bearing children …

According to an article in the Washington Post, the DC area is number three in road crowding. However, there is hope of attaining the number one spot, as we already are number 2 for crowding during peak rush hour times in the morning and afternoon. The solution? Better use of …

A short but interesting article this morning in the Scotsman about the start of a new school term in Iraq. Teachers are editing Sadam pictures and ideology out of text books, repairing damaged schools, and wondering what the new school year will bring. There are a series of comments that …

According to an article from MacSlash, Trolltech has released a Macintosh version of QTopia Desktop (the synchronization and control software for the Zuarus).

The trailer for the Return of the King is now available from Apple.

An article from CNet tells of a new state capital spending plan in Massachusetts that requires that preference be given to open source software and software that complies with open standards. Sounds like a pretty reasonably approach. It doesn't ban proprietary software outright, but moves to protect infrastructure by removing …

According to an article from CNet this morning, the State of California is joining Wisconsin and Minnesota in requiring VoIP carriers to submit to regulation as a telephone company. It remains unclear exactly what any of the three states expects to do with this regulation, but there are indications that …

Karl Auerbach (all-around good guy, former ICANN at-large member, California lawyer) points out in his latest weblog entry that Network Solutions (purveyors of SiteFinder, that place everyone now goes when they type in the wrong domain name) has started a new web site aimed at domain information privacy called InternetPrivacyAdvocate …

Here's an interesting site that describes using popular tools such as: sawzalls, jigsaws and other serious iron to carve pumpkins. Check out some of the stuff in the gallery!

An article on Wired describes one man's bout with spam and his subsequent tenacious fight to take down the spammer that nearly cost him his business. No doubt, some of you have received the strange messages that look like they are "bounces" from mail systems for messages that appear to …

An article from BBC News discloses that 52 of the 251 people recently sued by the RIAA for file swapping have settled out of court for amounts ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 and that 832 people have voluntarily signed up for the so-called "amnesty" program that the RIAA …

Do you ever run into one of those interesting coincidences? This weekend I'm heading to Chile for a wedding of a good friend. I open up the New York Times yesterday to find an article detailing the current state of divorce law in Chile and suggesting that by next year …

An article from the Christian Science Monitor discusses a number of environmentally friendly chemical processes that are being developed to turn waste products into useful material. The most intriguing of these turns poultry waste into light crude oil. The idea has two interesting effects: first, it finds something useful to …

An article from Technology Review News details a project at the University of Rochester that involves using passive RFID tags embedded in a facility as a trigger for digital audio or CD- based guidance. The idea is similar to the ones used in museums that have guided tours that require …

An article from The Register describes letters reportedly sent to a number of journalists requesting source information about accused (and admitted) hacker Adrian Lamo. The article (originally appearing on the web site Security Focus, a clearinghouse for computer security information) goes on to describe the way in which the FBI …

Thanks to Amanda for pointing me at the paper on the "Google File System", used by Google as a back-office distributed file system. If you are interested in such things at a technical level, this is a good description.

In the gathering storm against SCO's attempt to gather licensing revenues from Linux, IBM has upped the ante once again, filing an amended complaint against SCO asking for, among other things, a declaratory judgment that would explicitly prohibit SCO from imposing additional restrictions on software that it had released under …

An article from CNet describes a new class-action lawsuit filed against Network Solutions over their system that redirects mistyped URLs to servers at Network Solutions. The lawsuit, believed to be the first to ask for class action status, was filed in California by Ira Rothken, who has a history of …