Saturday, November 22, 2003

SATURDAY SHOW EDITION

SPAM AWAY
Congress is on the verge of passing landmark anti-spam legislation. The DO NOT SPAM list, which mirrors the National Do Not Call registry would provide for stiff penalties for spamming, and for forging return addresses for those seeking to spam anonymously.


THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY AROUND THINGS
The clever creator of deCSS - the program which first cracked DVD encryption - has figured out a way around iTunes digital rights management - thereby allowing files to be saved via "piggybacking" of Quicktime.

When is the industry gonna hire this guy?!


JACKING IN
IPod Sharing is the new thing. Walk up to a total stranger with an iPod, jack in, and share your playlists.


Friday, November 21, 2003

T.G.I.F.

WTC MEMORIES
The Finalists for the Word Trade Center Memorial can be seen here.

BREAKING NEWS! ... NOT
Last night, ABC's Peter Jennings, in his usual reassuring - yet condescending - manner, did two-hour special on the JFK Assasination showing "dramatic new evidence" from state of the art techniques and months of re-examining evidence to conclude .... Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone!

I'M SHOCKED! No wonder, 70% of Americans don't agree. Neither did the House Select Committee on Assasinations.

TEEN TERROR
The RIAA is at it again, this time they're going after a teen's minimum wage - or her parent's ability to send her to college.

vs.
Meanwhile, with civil suits becoming our national pastime, The Deathstar is going after Paypal for the way they conduct online transactions.

USE A MODEM, GO TO JAIL
The FBI has been busy this week ... busting cybercriminals from Ghanna to SoCal for bilking over 125,000 victims out of $125 MILLION of their hard earned cash.


COMING SOON TO A HANDHELD NEAR YOU
Archos announces an 80 GIG Personal Video/MP3 Player called the av380. The av380 can store up to 100 hours of MPEG-4 movies in near DVD quality, 1,200 hours of MP3 music , and 800,000 digital photos (who has that many snapshots?!)

Could this be the elusive iPod killer? Maybe, maybe not, but it will put a healthy dent in your credit limit with a price tag of $895.


BAM!
From the "you're too lazy to do this" file comes The StirChef. A device which stirs your cooking pots for you! The StirChef is clamped to the sides of the pan and AA batteries provide stirring either continually or intermittently in 12-second intervals.

$29.99

Can you say "AS SEEN ON TV?"

Thursday, November 20, 2003


VIRUS ALERT!
Paypal screensaver is actually a a new variant of the MiMail.I worm, and tries to steal your credit card info.

THURSDAY'S NEWS:

COMING SOON TO A PC NEAR YOU
MPAA Head Jack Valenti predicts online movies by 2005. Considering that online movies are happening illegally NOW, that's a smart thing.

THE SPYWARE WHO LOVED ME
Here's a story about how spyware can be used for ESPIONAGE. Cue Bond Theme.

Meanwhile, two separate courts have declared that Adware is sneaky, but LEGAL.

I WANT MY 802.11(b)
New York tops the list of the Top Ten WiFi enabled cities around the world. Sadly, L.A. is nowhere to be seen.

Speaking of "Top 10s," here's the 2003 list of Top Ten Internet Fads.


NO KITTY, KITTY
Looks like Napster for MAC is a no go.

That's okay, though, because it seems that others are more than happy to fill the shady void.


I'VE BEEN FRAMED
This is what makes America great. Two guys, buying obsolete but perfectly good laptops and turning them into digital frames. How cool is that?!

LEAVE THE LAPTOP, TAKE THE CANOLLI'S
Wired has a story about how the mob is getting online with P2P, online betting, and more.

CLASSY ACTION
Don't know what to do with your Microsoft Voucher? (I got mine and can't understand a thing in it) Consider DONATING IT.


I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP, MR. GATES
The Giz reports that researchers in Japan have developed an erily lifelike robotic actress that can "speak, blink, and is even capable of several different human-like facial expressions (which is a few more than many "real" actors and actresses)." I can see the porn possibilities already.

Here's an idea, guys, GET A GIRLFRIEND.

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS - OPERATION ENDURING HOLIDAY
Consider sending those fighting for your freedom, a special gift for the holidays.

Wednesday, November 19, 2003


VIRUS ALERT!
Paypal screensaver is actually a a new variant of the MiMail.I worm, and tries to steal your credit card info.

WEDNESDAY'S NEWS:


YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
AOL is losing subscribers by the bushel. But they aren't alone. As costs for broadband drop to within the price-range for dial-up, internet users are feeling the need for speed.

TAX, WONDERFUL TAX
With his altruistic aim of reducing spam, Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton wants to tax your email. (via Slashdot)


SPEED SHOP
E-R is of the opine that computers in our generation, are like cars of our grandfather and father's generation. Souped up, tricked out, and mega cool. Now, the definitive guide to "modding" your computer is out.

FREEBIE
Computer Associates offers one year of free anti-virus software to encourage users to protect themselves.
E-R likes AVG - it's ALWAYS free.


DO YOU XXXYAHOO?
Looks like Yahoo is BACK IN THE PORN BUSINESS.


ALWAYS LOW PRICES
Walmart is watching you.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003


VIRUS ALERT!
Paypal screensaver is actually a a new variant of the MiMail.I worm, and tries to steal your credit card info.

IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE CYBERSPACE


HAPPY 75th BIRTHDAY, MICKEY MOUSE!

TECH TUESDAY
Yahoo's Tech Tuesday focuses on the whistles and bells being dumped into cellphones these days. But is there a story on how to prevent those blocked calls? Hello? Am I missing something here? Is this thing on? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?


I WANT MY EDV?
The next generation DVD, called Enhanced Video Disc (EVD), is being embraced by the strangest benefactor. Claiming that royalty payments are eating into their profits, state owned Chinese electronics companies are developing EVD as a substitute. The move, though, may be for naught if Hollywood doesn't embrace the standard - and then you're back to square one again. Or are you? Having to enforce those nasty anti-piracy treaties don't help either.

POWER FAILURE
With the average college student bringing 18 electronic gadgets with them to school, Colleges are scrambling to support such a drain on their electrical grids, to the point of spending millions to upgrade them.

SPAM, WONDERFUL SPAM
This article recommends not ignoring spam, but ANSWERING IT. It seems that the economics of spam may prove to be the key to it's undoing.

LIFE IMITATES ART?
There's a scene in STAR WARS: CLONE WARS where ARC Troopers deploy a flying robotic camera platform to get a better look at the city from above. Now, EPSON has created the world's tiniest flying robot controlled via BLUETOOTH. If you put a few webcams on that puppy, you have the same thing.

THINKING DIFFERENT ...
... isn't always safe. Introducing: The iCar.

WHAT'S FAIR IS FAIR
Wired has a primer on what is, and is not "fair use."

CAN YOU DOWNLOAD ME NOW? GOOD!
PDA Online has a story about "over the air" (OTA) software transmission - thereby cutting the chord on synch cradles for PDAs.

THE FUTURE WAS NOW
MSNBC examines what happened to flying cars and jet packs and why aren't they here?!

Monday, November 17, 2003

MONDAY, MONDAY


VIRUS ALERT!
Paypal screensaver is actually a a new variant of the MiMail.I worm, and tries to steal your credit card info.

A lite beginning for the week:

NO SOUP FOR YOU
The Hollywood Reporter has the story that the MPAA will not allow film critics "screeners" this year in an effort to stave off video piracy.

Although it's believed that over 75% of all video piracy is an "inside job," no word yet if film executives will be denied screeners as well.

YOURS, MINE, AND ... WELL ... MINE.
An Apple employee who was developing his own application to manage NetFlix lists has had his source code CLAIMED by Apple and told to stop distributing it. So he has. But what gives APPLE the right to claim ownership of his hard work? Certainly not the law.

THANK GOD FOR DNA
With abut $20 and a half hour of your time, it's now possible to forge fingerprints!

WIN, PLACE, AND SHOW
MAC SuperComputer(s) are THIRD fastest in the world.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? ... EXACTLY!
At least THE FEATURE sees my point that cell phone companies are spending more time on whistles and bells, and less time on making a cell phone that won't drop the damn call.