Security Focus: Death to Old Software. Nice article about the risks/problems of software expiration. More comments on Slashdot.
I find it interesting that in Japan they are developing cell phones that can lip-read, which will help enable correct voice-to-data translation and tranmission. But what’s more interesting is the common knowledge the reason most people shout into their cell phones is not because the technology sucks (in fact, most cell phones today pick up sound very well, so it’s not necessary to shout) but because people think they need to. It’s a psychological behavior that people shout into their cell phones when they don’t need to. Very similar to why a lot of people (without realizing it) talk loudly and slowly to deaf people who can read lips and to blind people who can hear normally.
From the Kentucky Legislature: (Is this some kind of joke?)
Encourage the purchase of a submarine to patrol the waters of the Commonwealth and search and destroy all casino riverboats.
WHEREAS, in the past few years the scourge of the casino riverboat has been an increasingly significant presence on the Ohio River;
Section 1. The House of Representatives does hereby encourage the formation of the Kentucky Navy and subsequently immediately encourages the purchase and armament of one particularly effective submarine…
Interesting real-time Internet-usage plotted map. (Note: does not work in Netscape 4.x or Mozilla, only IE) [via James Archer]
“His consumer strategy of shifting people to fee-based services and making money off MSN hasn’t worked so far…” Duh, I don’t think it will ever work for software. Web services, yes. Software, no.
From Linux and Main:
The Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act proposed two weeks ago by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC) appears to require technology patented by Microsoft Corporation last December. Additionally, the Microsoft patent provides for processors that would run only Microsoft software, and then only under the control of Microsoft.
Are the CBDTPA and Microsoft made for each other? Sure looks that way. If this bill passes, Microsoft gets what it wants (a near government-granted monopoly on digital media and television) and the entertainiment industry gets what it wants (a controllable technology for digital rights management that is distributed by Microsoft). It’s too bad that neither entity has bothered to ask the consumers what they want.
Bright orange Kozmo messenger bags. Only $60.00. Virtually indestructable, so I’m told.
Posted by Cameron Barrett at April 4, 2002 09:45 PM