The BBC views the piracy of a Doctor Who episode before its broadcast date earlier this year as a wake-up call about the demand for new technology
, in a refreshing change of opinion from most media/broadcasting corporations, who would damn this piracy without hesitation. They are forming plans to simulcast the television channels BBC1 and BBC2 on the web, as well as allowing users (only in the UK to start with, unfortunately) access to shows for a week after the broadcast date. Other BBC3 comedies are due to follow suit and become available on the internet first
Ruben Latang Jr, one of the suspects in the grisly murder of a villager in Glan, Sarangani whose flesh was eaten and his blood drank by a cannibal gang, has been taken into custody. The cannibal gang has sown terror in the far-flung villages at the borders of Glan, Sarangani and Jose Abad Santos in Davao del Sur — via Warren Ellis
Wang Ying, 73, has been practicing Kung Fu, especially the study of Qi, since he was just eight-years-old. But his studies took a new direction after a 5cm long tumour grew on his forehead. Doctors told him they could not operate on the tumour because of its location. So Wang has incorporated it into his Qi routine, using his horn to lift bricks — via Warren Ellis
16-year-old Peter Ash, of Lawford, Somerset, attached a generator to his hamster’s exercise wheel and connected it to his phone charger. He came up with the idea after his sister Sarah complained that Elvis was keeping her awake at night by playing for hours on his exercise wheel.
I thought the wheel could be made to do something useful so I connected a system of gears and a turbine,
he said.
Every two minutes Elvis spends on his wheel gives me about thirty minutes talk time on my phone
— via boingboing
As recently as this time last year, a podcast — a digital audio program that lives on the Internet — would have meant very little to most people. But today there are thousands of web sites devoted to the technology; major media outlets have started releasing some of their broadcasts via podcast; and even cult favorite Neil Gaiman has posted the first few chapters of the audio version of his Anansi Boys on his blog.
Scott Sigler‘s podcasting got him a deal with the publisher Dragon Moon Press after the publisher heard his audio version of EarthCore. And a new site, Podiobooks.com, has launched, with five titles already available for download. Its co-founder, Evo Terra, a podcaster for the online talk show The Dragon Page, notes that, as of this writing, 19 new authors have signed on to release free audio versions of their books through the site — via boingboing
25 year old Christopher William Smith, considered one of the worlds biggest spammers by the Spamhaus Project, is now sitting in a jail without bond. Smith allegedly had a doctor issue 72,000 prescriptions in the space of one year in conjunction with orders obtained through spamming. The doctor, Philip Mach, had a license to practice medicine in New Jersey but he provided prescriptions to people throughout the United States without ever evaluating them, both of which are big no-no’s. Federal authorities have already seized over $3 million in cash, luxury cars, and houses
NSW will become the first Australian state to outlaw unauthorised surveillance of employees using technologies including video cameras, e-mail and tracking devices, when the Workplace Surveillance Bill 2005 comes into effect at the beginning of October
Internet security firm SurfControl says that Spammers have started using Microsoft’s MSN blogging service to host malicious content used during spam and virus onslaughts
Upgraded to the shiny new version of MovableType tonight. Possibly the smoothest upgrade so far and now it looks like it will be a matter of poking things to see if I’ve lost any plugin compatibility in the transition.
Hit a minor bug with a new entry not being posted, but it turned out this was due to the static files directory now needing to be explicitly named. Did that and damn, the backend of the system is so pretty.
Love the added ability to search through everything, including comments. Now all I need is integrated author profiles, instead of my current hacked version and threaded comments that don’t require me to do horrible things to the database.
An unconfirmed report today from Reuters quotes an industry analyst firm iSuppli as saying that Apple plans to buy as much as 40% of Samsung’s second-half flash memory output. The NAND flash memory cards will be used in a new, 4GB iPod Mini, which Apple would release in time for the holiday shopping season. The current version of the 4GB mini contains a hard drive. Apple’s iPod Shuffle uses flash memory
Hitachi unveiled the world’s first hard disk drive/DVD recorder that can store one terabyte of data, or enough to record about 128 hours of high-definition digital broadcasting
Professional loony fundie, Pat Robertson, called for the murder of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. In an apology he repeated the call for murder. Welcome to the voice of Christian extremism
A crafty killer whale has devised a new way to catch a tasty bite. The orca spits regurgitated fish onto the surface of the water — and then waits. When a passing gull dives for the bait, the whale lunges at the feathery treat with open jaws. What’s more, the trick was picked up by other family members. And it’s not just whales that exhibit cultural learning, there is mounting evidence that the trait is widespread in animals, including chimps
Intel is to invest AU$37 million in wireless telco Unwired, in an effort to support the carrier’s rollout of wireless broadband based on the forthcoming high-speed WiMAX standard. Unwired CEO David Spence said the proceeds would be used to expand the company’s services beyond Sydney next year, although he would not be drawn on which cities would be first
The new rumour mongering doing the rounds is how Google’s new Talk/Jabber/IM thing is just a stepping stone, but it’s really just a foreshadowing of their future buyout of Skype
In a victory for free speech on the Internet, a New York man ordered to transfer the domain name www.fallwell.com to the Rev Jerry Falwell will be allowed to keep the Web site, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled — via Politech
For three years, the two groups, headed by Toshiba (HD DVD) and Sony (Blu-ray), have pushed to have their respective technology standards adopted to gain dominance in the multibillion-dollar markets for DVD players, PC drives and optical discs. The two groups have held negotiations on unifying their formats to persuade consumers to shift to advanced discs and to promote growth in the industry. But negotiations fell through as neither side yielded, and time ran out to develop a format before the launch of new products from both groups
A vendor in a Stormtrooper suit (with a plastic laser gun) at a Star Wars convention in Janesville, Wisconsin, was surrounded by police after someone called the police and said that there was an armed robber
in fancy white armour at the local Ramada — via BoingBoing
Google’s new IM service, Google Talk, is already live. All you need is a Jabber-compatible Instant Messaging client (such as Apple’s iChat, or gaim), and a GMail address. This should answer, at least in part, all of the speculation that has been flying around the net over the last couple of days
Ryan Hamlin, head of Microsoft’s Technology Care and Safety Group spoke out against New Zealand’s proposed anti-spam legislation, warning that it could impinge on the amazing vehicle of e-mail marketing
. He also suggests that CAN-SPAM has been effective in deterring spammers. Though often criticised as too meek, US anti-spam legislation — which relies on people opting out of spam — has proved effective in supporting prosecutions and deterring spammers
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