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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. |
| Earthlike planets may be very common |
| 1:30:49 am mst / 21 February 2001 found by paul / filed in science / source New Scientist 84 hits / 2 comments / 1 e-mail |
| Although all the extrasolar planets currently known are gas giants like Jupiter, astronomers now have indirect evidence that Earthlike planets (rock with an iron core) may also be quite common. |
| So where are the aliens? |
| read 2 comments |
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| Is thermal imaging an invasion of privacy? |
| 4:01:01 am mst / 21 February 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source NY Times 85 hits / 3 comments / 0 e-mails |
| The Supreme Court will decide on the question of whether it is an invasion of privacy for the police to use a thermal imaging device outside of a house which generates a picture of the heat emission pattern from within the house. The article does a good job of summarizing both sides, as well as discussing the nuances of a "reasonable expectation" of privacy. |
| I tend to think that if your house is spewing photons and you haven't taken any steps to insulate it or otherwise block their transmission to the rest of the world, then the information you emit is fair game for others. |
| read 3 comments |
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| Synthetic virus nearing reality |
| 5:11:46 am mst / 21 February 2001 found by paul / filed in science / source BBC News 53 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| UNC biologist Clyde Hutchinson believes that we will be able to create a wholly synthetic biological virus from scratch within the next five years. |
| Of course, the big question is what sorts of good or bad properties can be designed into the virus, and what we'll do with them. |
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| Lone Linux User Celebrates Black History Month |
| 6:06:01 am mst / 21 February 2001 found by diana / filed in humor / source BBspot 140 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| A single Linux user celebrated Black History Month today. As he said: "I wanted to bring together all the black Linux users and well, Tom uses a computer so I invited him." |
| Doh! |
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| More "Amazing Computer Stories" |
| 7:20:54 am mst / 21 February 2001 found by paul / filed in humor / source Tech Extreme 387 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| The Register pointed us towards this set of funny stories from Tech Extreme about less-than-bright computer users. These are all (supposedly) true. (Don't miss the first batch of computer stories!) |
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| Music Swapping Isn't Theft |
| 10:26:21 am mst / 21 February 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source Reason 255 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Reason magazine author Jacob Sullum adds a breath of fresh air into the Napster controversy. |
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| Open source's quiet revenge |
| 2:29:54 pm mst / 21 February 2001 found by diana / filed in legal / source ZDNet 86 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Evan Leibovitch gives his perspective on the recent trademark battle between OpenSSH and SSH Communications Security, siding with OpenSSH. |
| For an opposing opinion, see this article submitted by minus. |
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| Deja Revolt Against Google |
| 3:20:17 pm mst / 21 February 2001 found by diana / filed in internet / source Wired 86 hits / 1 comment / 0 e-mails |
| Some open source advocates are concerned with Google's purchase of the Deja Usenet archives, and with good reason: Google has temporarily pulled the plug on all but the lastest eight months of the archive and has made searching rather difficult. These "Deja Refugees" are hoping to create an open-source, community-based Usenet archive called Delà. |
| Sounds like a great idea, if they can get the necesary hardware! |
| read 1 comment |
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| Picture of a sonic boom |
| 7:37:05 pm mst / 21 February 2001 found by paul / filed in science / source NASA 378 hits / 0 comments / 1 e-mail |
| MetaFilter pointed us towards this dramatic photograph on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day site, showing the sonic boom created by an F/A-18 Hornet jet just as it was breaking the sound barrier. |
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| How Bears Bear Hibernation |
| 11:51:06 pm mst / 21 February 2001 found by diana / filed in science / source ABC News 56 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Scientists are examining how bears manage to hibernate continuously for months without compromising their health or strength. The hope is that such research will aid in the development of treatments for neuro-muscular diseases, therapies for bedridden people, and strategies for astronauts making long journeys. |
| Nothing like dragging a "giant bag full of jelly" (aka an drugged 300 pound bear) out of its den and outfitting it with all kinds of devices in the name of science! |
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