7 April 2010
[wired] Wired Reread … a blog looking back at the adverts in the early 1990’s issues of Wired Magazine – plenty of oddities like the Sony Malvica Floppy Disk Digital Camera [via Waxy]
25 March 2010
[work] Intranet Secrets … ‘Our most popular intranet blog post ever was a rant that complained about the queuing system at the supermarket next door. It had even more hits than when we announced the bonus payment.’
21 March 2010
[woz] Steve Wozniak is on Twitter: ‘Rare massage (for me), then dance practice. No pain, no gain. Awkward but fun, this dancing. I still can’t do Macarena.’ [link]
18 February 2010
[movies] Kosmograd: Why 2010 wont be like ‘2010’ … why the imagery and portrayal of computers in the 1984 film 2010 doesn’t match up to the computers we use today … ‘Unlike the computers of 2010, the computers in ‘2010’ do not create space. The computers of the Leonov, and even HAL 9000 on the Discovery, are little more than tools or automatons, tactile and solid. Whereas HAL looked out into our world, today we look into the world created within the computer.’
21 January 2010
[life] Two AI Pioneers. Two Bizarre Suicides. What Really Happened? … Wired on the story behind the suicides of two artificial intelligence researchers … ‘Singh was convinced that the potential of artificial intelligence was enormous. “I believe that AI will succeed where philosophy failed,” he had written on his MIT homepage. “It will provide us with the ideas we need to understand, once and for all, what emotions are.” According to Bo Morgan, a fellow student at MIT, Singh suggested that giving common sense to computers would solve all the world’s problems. “Even starvation in Africa?” Morgan asked…’
25 August 2009
[tech] Xkcd’s Tech Support Cheatsheet … follow this flowchart and remember the other other golden rule: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” and you will have a lucrative and rewarding career in IT Support.
10 June 2009
[computers] The Register makes a good case for the Minuteman 1’s nuclear missile guidance computer being the first truly portable computer … ‘We should celebrate this wonderful nuke. Oh sure, the computer system couldn’t run “Wordstar” or a game of “Colossal Cave,” like the Osborne 1, but how many computers do you know that can destroy the world? That feature offers some serious LAN-party cred right right there. And with a three-stage, solid-propellant rocket build in, travel is a breeze.’
31 May 2009
[retrocomputing] ZX81 Webserver … Amazing – a Sinclair ZX-81 on the internet.
17 March 2009
[weird] Computer programmer from Finland has lost finger replaced with USB drive … ‘Using a traditional prosthetic finger Jerry has been able embed a ‘USB key’ – like the ones used in traditional flash drives – giving him the world’s only two gigabyte finger. The finger is not permanently attached to his hand meaning it can be removed when plugged into a computer.’
14 March 2009
[life] Why Systems Fail and Problems Sprout Anew … ‘Stated as succinctly as possible: the fundamental problem does not lie in any particular system but rather in systems as such. Salvation, if it is attainable at all, even partially, is to be sought in a deeper understanding of the ways of systems, not simply in a criticism of the errors of a particular system.’ [via Robot Wisdom]
8 December 2008
[tech] Dec. 8, 1993: Location, Location, Location … A brief history of GPS from Wired. ‘…after Korean Airline Flight 007 wandered into Soviet territory in 1983 and was shot down with a loss of 269 lives, even the military thought there might be distinct advantages to sharing the GPS system with civilians.’
8 August 2008
[tech] Internet Protocol Address Exhaustion Counter … a web page counting down the number of days until we run out of internet addresses (on the current scheme) … ‘892 days’
17 May 2008
[tech] Data Recovered From Melted Columbia Disk Drives … Is is more crazy that you can drop a melted hard drive from orbit and still recover data from it or that they still use DOS on the Space Shuttle? ‘…at the core of the drive, the spinning metal platters that actually store data were not warped. They had been gouged and pitted, but the 340-megabyte drive was only half full, and the damage happened where data had not yet been written. Edwards attributes that to a lucky twist: The computer was running an ancient operating system, DOS, which does not scatter data all over drives as other approaches do.’
8 May 2008
[london] Time-lapse Vid of Dissolving an Oyster Card in Acetone (aka Nail Varnish) … which seems to leave behind a usable RFID Tag and it’s antenna … ‘So tomorrow morning I’ll attempt to use this naked oyster card to journey to work. If I’m successful (and not arrested for terrorism) I’ll have to decide what my new oyster card will be. So far I’m thinking either stitching it into my watch, or wrapping it around a magic wand…’
17 March 2008
[tech] Therapist Emulator Eliza discusses the death of her creator Joseph Weizenbaum …
* Are you sad that Joseph died? Don't you care?
> Perhaps in your fantasies I am sad that Joseph died? Don't me care?
* I would like to think that you would be sad.
> We were discussing you, not me.
15 March 2008
[life] Spyware another Weapon for Domestic Abuse … ‘Safe computing has joined finding safe housing as a list of requirements for people fleeing abusive relationships.’
17 December 2007
[kipple] Philip K. Dick on Kipple — brief 43 Folders post on Kipple … ‘I think kipple is the main problem with my computers. It’s not just adware (on the Windows box), but the weird little things that wind up in the nooks and crannies. Installers for demoware. Photographs of children. Zipfiles loaded with mp3s… of songs that I already have in other directories, or on other machines, or on CDs on the shelves on my walls.’
12 December 2007
[xmas] Santa putting children’s information at risk, warn experts … ‘Data protection laws lay down strict conditions for the use of personal data and there is no evidence that Claus has an adequate compliance programme in place. Children across Britain who write letters to Claus with a list of gift requests are not told for how long that data is kept, or if it will be used for other purposes such as marketing by third parties.’
23 August 2007
[wifi] Is Stealing Wireless Wrong? … ‘Philosopher Julian Baggini says he can’t see what all the fuss is about. “I’m pro the stealers on this one. If you are doing it systematically to avoid chipping in your bit you are a freeloader and that’s immoral. “But casual and occasional use while travelling is a bit like reading your book from the light coming out from someone’s window. It’s like eating someone’s leftovers.”‘
18 August 2007
[windows] Power replacements for built-in Windows utilities – a useful list (as always) from Lifehacker.
31 July 2007
[macs] Running the BBC’s iPlayer on a Mac using Parallels … ‘After finding out the BBC’s iPlayer only worked on Windows XP I wondered if you could run it on a Mac using Parallels or perhaps under Windows Vista (which iPlayer also doesn’t support) using VMware or some other virtualization product…’
28 July 2007
[lifehacks] Top 10 Clipboard Tricks — some useful tips from Lifehacker … ‘One of the greatest features the point and click interface brought to personal computers is the clipboard – that invisible, temporary shelf you use more times per day than Google. If you think the clipboard is only about Ctrl+C, you’re missing out…’
2 July 2007
[crime] Hans Reiser: Once a Linux Visionary, Now Accused of Murder — Wired Article on Hans Reiser and the disappearance of his Wife … ‘For the past two decades, he has struggled to create a different method of organizing data. His approach, known as ReiserFS, is a file system unlike any other. Rather than assign data a fixed location on a hard drive, it uses algorithms to frequently reposition information, including the code that makes up the file system itself. It elegantly maximizes storage space, but it can also complicate data recovery when a computer crashes. If the algorithms are corrupted, the file system will be unable to locate its own position. All the data it organizes disappears into an indistinguishable mass of 0s and 1s. The contents of that hard drive will be irretrievably lost. In Reiser’s case, a critical piece of data – the location of Nina Reiser – has gone missing…’
11 June 2007
[interview] More from Stephen Fry on… Web 2.0, Technology, Learning and his Heroes. [thanks linkbunnies.org]
30 March 2007
[apple] Top 10 Apple Products which Flopped … ‘One of the main reasons of Lisa’s failure was its astonishing price of $9,995 dollars ($21,500 in Feb 2007 dollars).’
22 February 2007
[email] Email Addicts Offered 12-step Detox … ‘Marsha Egan, who claims email “abuse” can cost US business millions in lost productivity, cites the chilling cases of “a golfer who checked his BlackBerry after every shot” and a client who “cannot walk by a computer – her own or anyone else’s – without checking for messages”.’
16 February 2007
[web] Geek to Live: Create your master feed with Yahoo! Pipes — interesting idea for Yahoo! Pipes from Lifehacker … ‘As a prolific netizen, you generate lots of web-based feeds: your Flickr photos, your del.icio.us bookmarks, your weblog posts and your Lifehacker comments, to name a few. Instead of going here there and everywhere to see all the content you create on the web, combine it all into one master feed using with the newly-launched Yahoo! Pipes…’
1 February 2007
[toys] Speak & Spell Emulator — Flash version of the popular 70’s learning toy … ‘Spell Anything’ [via qwghlm]
18 January 2007
[mobiles] Man Badly Burned when Cell Phone in Pocket Flares … ‘A cell phone in the front pocket of a Vallejo man’s pants spontaneously combusted, quickly ignited his clothes and left the man with second- and third-degree burns across at least half his body, according to investigators. Luis Picaso, 59, was apparently sleeping on a white, all-plastic lawn chair in his room late Saturday night and was awakened as he was ablaze…’ [via Warren Ellis]
[mobiles] Cell Phones Filthier Than Bottom of Shoe … ‘The phones contained more skin bacteria than the any other object; this could be due to the fact that this type of bacteria increases in high temperatures and our phones are perfect for breeding these germs as they’re kept warm and cozy in our pockets, handbags and brief cases. These bacteria are toxic to humans…’
17 January 2007
[robots] Jamie Zawinski on fixing his Roomba: ‘…let me rephrase that story: My personal cleaning robot has malfunctioning hardware.’
14 January 2007
[funny] Courage award for man who threw out old computer cables … ‘‘We were stunned’ said Whitesmith. ‘There was a curly off-white cable with like, a round five pronged little plug on one end and a square blue plastic bit on the other. That must have been essential for something. And the redundant phone chargers might have worked as a back-up charger for another mobile phone that he might purchase in the future. It was madness.” [via Linkbunnies.org]
29 December 2006
[net] Just Can’t Get E-nough — the New Scientist on unhealthy habits created by technology. On Cheesepodding: ‘In certain circles there is even an ironic cool to be had from out-cheesing your friends. There is a problem, though. As with all addictions, you end up needing bigger and bigger hits to get the same buzz. Once I started downloading Celine Dion power ballads, I knew it was time to stop. Fortunately, I have found a variant that is, if anything, more entertaining. I download songs I know my wife hates and put them onto her iPod while she isn’t looking.’ [via the Guardian’s Technology Blog]
16 December 2006
[drm] Bill Gates On The Future Of DRM — Some interesting quotes. Gates on DRM: ‘People should just buy a cd and rip it. You are legal then.’
20 November 2006
[tech] Health fears lead schools to dismantle wireless networks … ‘Michael Bevington, a classics teacher for 28 years at the school, said that he had such a violent reaction to the network that he was too ill to teach. “I felt a steadily widening range of unpleasant effects whenever I was in the classroom,” he said. “First came a thick headache, then pains throughout the body, sudden flushes, pressure behind the eyes, sudden skin pains and burning sensations, along with bouts of nausea. Over the weekend, away from the classroom, I felt completely normal.”’
23 September 2006
[tech] The USBCell — what a neat idea – an AA battery with a built in USB port to charge. [via Technovia]
22 September 2006
[tech] Robert X. Cringely on Apple’s iTV Strategy: ‘Virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier once told me, “you can have enough money and you can have enough power, but you can never have enough EXPERIENCE.” Jobs understands this better than almost anyone else and the pieces he’s put together are all aimed at giving us an experience and allowing us to share that experience with others in a large and grand way.’
17 July 2006
[google] Resource-Intensive Google Queries — Google OS Blog wonders if you can find search queries that slow Google down… ‘In 1999, the average search took approximately 3 seconds. Now most of the searches take less than 0.4 seconds.’
9 June 2006
[tech] 18 Days of Reckless Computing — How to Kill a Dell Computer in under three weeks … ‘I ask friends and relatives to forward me their nastiest-looking spam. In response, I start getting emails from my mom with discomforting subject lines like “Dating for kinky people!”‘
31 May 2006
[dvd] How to convert episodes from a TV Series DVD to DivX/XviD with ease using free software — a simple howto using Windows software.
18 May 2006
[id] Q. What could this boarding pass tell an identity fraudster about you? A. Way too much — the Guardian on personal data and identity fraud. ‘…surfing publicly available databases, we were able – within 15 minutes – to find out where Broer lived, who lived there with him, where he worked, which universities he had attended and even how much his house was worth when he bought it two years ago. (This was particularly easy given his unusual name, but it would have been possible even if his name had been John Smith. We now had his date of birth and passport number, so we would have known exactly which John Smith.)’
10 May 2006
[business] What does Amstrad actually do? … ‘[Paul Tulip], who said of himself, “I think I’m brilliant”, had not exactly done scrupulous research before going on the show. Quizzed on air about what Amstrad actually does, he replied with his usual stirring confidence. “Computers.” “Amstrad doesn’t actually make computers now,” came the reply. “They distribute them,” Paul tried, gamely. “They don’t.”‘
21 April 2006
[it] Supposing… Computers are deliberately wasting our time — by Charlie Brooker. ‘…the endless stream of finickity little tasks a computer will set you without warning. The tiny hoops you have to jump through before it gives you what you want. Install this driver. Now update it. Now update it again. Register to login to our website. Then validate your membership. Forgot your password? Click here. Now there. Fill out this form. And this one. And this one. Please wait while TimeJettison Pro examines your system. Download latest patch file. Please wait while patch file examines own navel. Remove cable. Insert cable. Gently tease USB port with cable. Yeah, that’s it baby. That’s the way. Now show us your bum or I’m deleting your inbox.’
2 April 2006
[funny] Flickr: An Overdue Outlook Reminder.
29 March 2006
[fun] Quiz: Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer? — I got 7/10. 
22 March 2006
[firefox] Firefox ‘Causes’ Relationship Breakup … ‘She installed Firefox for herself, and happened to need to edit the list of sites to never save passwords for. She quickly realized that he had been visiting dating sites in secret, and was also able to determine that he was still an active member of some of the sites. As one might expect, this led to a breakup. Should the Firefox uninstaller offer to delete profile data…?’
7 March 2006
[web] Top 11 Worst Firefox Extensions … ‘6. SoundOfCher – Embeds an annoying Cher midi file on every page you visit. Up to 60 different tunes!’
28 February 2006
[ww2] Distributed computing cracks Enigma code — wartime German code cracked after 60 years … ‘Forced to submerge during attack. Depth charges. […] I am following the enemy.’ [via Metafilter]
10 February 2006
[mobile] Mobile Phone Tracking: FollowUs … probably the service used in the Guardian article on Stalking your Girlfriend. [Update: Sasha tried it out.]
4 February 2006
[mobiles] How I Stalked My Girlfriend … ‘For the past week I’ve been tracking my girlfriend through her mobile phone. I can see exactly where she is, at any time of day or night, within 150 yards, as long as her phone is on. It has been very interesting to find out about her day. Now I’m going to tell you how I did it. First, though, I ought to point out, that my girlfriend is a journalist, that I had her permission (“in principle …”) and that this was all in the name of science…’