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| Notice: GeekPress is back up and running, thanks to Paul! It's still a not-so-serious tech news blog, but the format is significantly looser. Diana, having given up programming for philosophy, has her own philosophical blog NoodleFood. More of her work can be found at DianaHsieh.com. |
| NanoManipulator |
| 1:52:30 am mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in nanotechnology / source MSNBC 44 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Physicists and computer scientists at University of North Carolina have combined virtual reality technology with scanning probe microscopes to create a user interface that lets people control molecule-sized objects with a joystick while watching through VR goggles. The nanoManipulator system allows researchers to gain a more intuitive sense for the physics at such a small scale (as well as play games of pickup sticks with carbon nanotubules). |
| As one visiting scientist said, "From a pure coolness point of view, it’s phenomenal." |
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| We Own That Word. (Nintendo vs. Crackerjap): |
| 4:03:32 am mst / 16 January 2001 found by MysteriousStranger / filed in legal / source Brass Knuckles 134 hits / 1 comment / 0 e-mails |
| BrassKnuckles writes: "According to Nintendo, you apparently can't use the word Pokemon without their permission. For those of you who thought you could say any word you wanted, you may want to read what Nintendo's lawyers have to say about that." |
| I'm glad they're publicizing this sort of corporate legal bullying. The original CrackerJap page is also worth reading. |
| read 1 comment |
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| Why You Can't Sell What You Buy |
| 8:27:31 am mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source Wired 80 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Brad King examines some of the legal arguments being raised over digital content, including whether a consumer has a right to resell software or music (the "first sale" doctrine) or whether consumers are merely purchasing a restricted "license". Good discussion of both sides of the issue. |
| This is exactly the sort of issue that cries out for further analysis with the Posnerian "law and economics" approach. |
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| Why kids are smarter than you |
| 9:31:57 am mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in culture / source The Globe and Mail 187 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| The article argues that contrary to popular belief, IQ's are rising and television may be part of the reason why. |
| The ultimate irony would be if we found that the more one watched FoxTV, the smarter one became! |
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| French to tax blank CD's, possibly also hard drives |
| 11:54:06 am mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source BBC News 32 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| The French government will begin imposing taxes on blank CD's to compensate artists whose works are being copied by fans. They are also considering broadening the tax to include computer hard drives and advanced video recorders, calling it a "logical extension". |
| As the article points out, this penalizes everyone who uses a hard drive, not just those who commit piracy. |
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| Toy Santa wins stock picking contest |
| 12:55:27 pm mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in business / source Reuters News 94 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| A wind-up toy Santa has won a stock picking contest, beating eight highly regarded human investment professionals. For the year 2000, the Santa's picks had a 179% return vs. 149% for the top human. |
| Now that Santa has gone into retirement, the next random picker will be Jahe, the Sumatran orangutan. |
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| Bank robber captured by satellite |
| 6:27:55 pm mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source Reuters News 44 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| A man successfully robbed a bank in Vancouver, then jumped into a taxicab to attempt a getaway. Unbeknownst to him, the cab was equipped with GPS tracking technology, so the police were able to contact the cab company and arrest him a few blocks away. This is believed to be the first use of a satellite to capture a bank robber. |
| He must have left his pocket GPS-jammer at home... |
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| Love thy neighbor's Net connection |
| 7:25:07 pm mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in internet / source USA Today 235 hits / 0 comments / 1 e-mail |
| Clever geeks are finding ways to get high speed wireless internet access for free, by tapping into a cooperative neighbor's connection. |
| Brewster Kahle was one of my housemates in college, and he's one of the smartest people I've ever met. |
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| Advancing the state of the art of spam |
| 8:52:27 pm mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in humor / source Brunching Shuttlecocks 96 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Brunching Shuttlecocks has been very disappointed with the tired old spam currently circulating the internet. Here are their "suggestions" for making it more interesting to customers! |
| I wonder how long it will take for their samples to show up as real spam?... |
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| How to fake news stories |
| 9:38:18 pm mst / 16 January 2001 found by paul / filed in internet / source Village Voice 191 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Lately there have been a number of fake news stories that appear to come from reputable websites like CNN, but are really hoaxes. This is accomplished by using a realistic looking URL containing the "@" character, which then redirects the browser to an entirely different site. (Link from Techdirt.) |
| Very simple but clever technique. Of course as more people learn about this method, it will lose its effectiveness. |
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