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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. |
| The Napster parasites |
| 1:36:05 am mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in digital media / source Salon 57 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Online marketing companies are monitoring which Napster users are downloading which files, then using that information to send them unsolicited targeted advertising via instant messaging. |
| If there isn't an option to disable the instant messaging feature, some enterprising hacker will write an add-on to do so. |
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| Meteor burst communications |
| 3:12:45 am mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in communications / source ABC News 85 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Some companies are using meteors instead of permanent orbiting satellites to communicate with distant locations. As meteors burn up in the atmosphere, they leave behind a trail of ionized gases which can reflect radio waves. Interestingly enough, "meteor burst is cheaper than satellites and more reliable than cellular technology", although it does have other drawbacks. |
| The section on the planned military use of meteor communication in the event of a nuclear holocaust is a little macabre. |
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| Landmark open source tome updated |
| 8:35:49 am mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in operating systems / source Wired 19 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| O'Reilly Publishing has just released a revised hard copy edition of Eric Raymond's classic "The Cathedral & The Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary". It includes more detailed discussions on the economics of open source, issues pertaining to project forking, and followup on predictions made a few years earlier. |
| As usual, the material is also available online for free. |
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| The perils of sperm depletion |
| 10:07:33 am mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in science / source Nature 16 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Scientists studying the mating patterns of rams in Scotland have discovered that the dominant males who are most sexually active don't always win in an evolutionary sense. According to the article, "by the end of the rutting season, dominant rams are so drained by their sexual exertions that their sperm production tails off, and they lose out in the fatherhood stakes to fresher males lower down the pecking order." One researcher noted, "This is the first time that sperm depletion has been shown to undermine overt competition. Subordinate males get less access to females, but they are more potent when they do: it's not as bad to be a small male as you might think." |
| Then according to this article from BBspot, Linux developers still have a chance! |
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| Seven signs that you're about to be canned |
| 1:00:48 pm mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in business / source Red Herring 331 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Are you working at a struggling dotcom, wondering if your job is safe? Here are seven clues that you might be in trouble... (Link from NewsTrolls.) |
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| FBI changes "Carnivore" name |
| 2:49:06 pm mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source ZDNet 28 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| In a blatantly transparent attempt at public relations, the FBI has announced that it will change the name of the controversial "Carnivore" e-mail snooping device to something more warm-and-fuzzy: "DCS1000". "DCS" reportedly stands for "digital collection system". |
| Curiously enough, the FBI is denying that the name change is to allay public fears about invasion of privacy, even though the recent Illinois Institute of Technology review of their system recommended a name change for precisely that reason. |
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| "Iuma" name lives on after company demise |
| 6:22:53 pm mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in business / source Business 2.0 21 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| The Internet Underground Music Archive company (aka "IUMA") which sponsored the bizarre contest paying people to name their newborn babies "Iuma" has folded. But there are still 10 babies named Iuma who are contractually obligated to keep that name until age 18, so the company name will live on. |
| As the article notes, all ten sets of parents "chose to take the $5,000 instead of a 'free music for life' prize, which now seems a wise move, given the company's downfall." |
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| GeekPress on vacation |
| 7:25:14 pm mst / 9 February 2001 found by paul / filed in geekpress / source GeekPress 15 hits / 1 comment / 0 e-mails |
| Diana and I will be away for 5 days looking for a house to buy or rent in Denver. Hence, stories may be a little lean for the next few days. |
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