Over at The Frosty Mug Revolution, PJ Doland makes a compelling case for a new HTML attribute in the spirit of the highly-regarded nofollow
attribute promoted by Google — the NSFW attribute (rel=nsfw
). His original idea has been refined and expanded by positive comments from readers, resulting in a semantic solution to the issue he raises in the original post. Content creators can apply the attribute to paragraph tags, div tags, or any other block-level element. Doing so will indicate that the enclosed content is not safe for work. Visitors will be able to configure their browsers to block display of just the content enclosed by the flagged block-level element. This isn’t about censorship. It is about making us all less likely to accidentally click on a goatse.cx link when our boss is standing behind us. It is also about making us feel more comfortable posting possibly objectionable content by giving visitors a means of easily filtering that content — via Slashdot
The first deliveries of Clocky, which runs away from drowsy owners who don’t get up in time, were made just in time for Christmas, and one early user says the clock, which was an Internet sensation when it was first announced, is appropriately aggravating
The AACS DRM used in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray has been cracked. The program allows one to decrypt and dump the video for play on a users hard drive, or it can be burned to a blank HD-DVD and played on a stand-alone player
Two-hour flights to the other side of the world may seem like a scene from a science fiction movie; but the technology is in place, and a plane that can do just that is currently in development. While it looks like a scene from a flight simulator, the Astrox space plane is the real deal, and the Astrox Corporation says it could revolutionise the transportation industry. Traveling as fast as Mach 25 with at least 30 minutes of space shuttle-like views while in orbit is the highlight of this plane, and the Astrox Corporation, along with their partners, are claiming to have finally overcome their largest problem, mixing fuel
Samsung, the world’s third-largest maker of mobile phones and a force in the notebook and display markets as well, has engineered a fuel cell that can power a notebook computer for up to a month
Microsoft has managed to rankle its critics again, this time over a set of patent applications that cover one of blogging’s key technologies — a technology that Microsoft did not invent. RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, lets bloggers, owners of news sites and other content providers notify their readers when new content is published
The world’s top spy chiefs — including the heads of the CIA and British, Australian and Canadian agencies — have been meeting in secret in New Zealand — via Monsters and Critics
Ironically, web sites that feature the TRUSTe security certificate are twice as likely to contain badware as web sites without a security certificate, alleges spyware researcher Ben Edelman in a new report
Microsoft sent some holiday cheer in the direction of security vendors this week by releasing new APIs for developers working to create software that can interact with Windows Vista
Shoe Money has an interesting post about how his server got hacked via an old file in an unused subdirectory. After a bit of digging, he discovered how the hacker found the vulnerable code via Google’s Code Search, thanks to site maps and a poorly secured server. I pretty much fell into the same trap with some old unsecure directories leftover from a previous buggy software update and that was without the horror of site maps thrown in
Optical microchips that can store light for short periods of time before sending it on its way have been constructed for the first time by researchers at IBM in the US. The work is an important breakthrough for chip designers who hope one day to use optical buffers
in superfast processors that rely on photons instead of electrons for their processing power
The Department of Defence has taken the step of blocking HTML-based email. They are also banning the use of Outlook Web Access email clients. The DoD is making this move because HTML messages can easily be infected with spyware and executable lines of code that enable hackers to access DoD networks
Northwestern University researchers report that by combining organic and inorganic materials they have produced transparent, high-performance transistors that can be assembled inexpensively on both glass and plastics. Researchers have long worked on developing new types of displays powered by electronics without visible wires. But, until now, no one was able to develop materials for transistors that could be invisible
while still maintaining a high level of performance
A new extension to USB that will enable sharing of various USB peripherals between computers will be available early in 2007. The new MultiSwitch hub technology, developed by SMSC, allows the sharing of information and content from devices such as DVD players, cameras, printers, and scanners, and between laptops and desktops using a simple USB cable. Future hubs may also allow wireless sharing of peripherals
Siemens engineers have reached 107 Gbps data transmission record over a fibre optic cable and expect the technology to be on the market within a few years. The test, 2.5 times faster than a previous maximum transmission performance per channel, was done in cooperation with Germany’s Micram Microelectronic, the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications and Eindhoven Technical University of the Netherlands
It is nothing new to see technology from military and governmental endeavors change daily life profoundly. One only has to look at the fruits of the space programme; from computers to microwave ovens to Tang. New military gear is on the horizon that promises to do the same, including biosensors, bandages that clot blood using soundwaves, and the ubiquitous Swiss Army Pen
As VHS tapes and VCRs head the way of Betamax and phonographs, commentator Bill Hammack warns that the right to fair use is in danger of disappearing right along with them
Azureus, the BitTorrent client software developer, has announced its first content distribution partnership. BBC television shows and original productions will be distributed to users of Azureus’ new Zudeo file-sharing service in the United States. Azureus mentions these BBC titles in its press release: Red Dwarf, Strange, Invasion Earth, Little Britain, Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Coupling, Keeping Up Appearances, League of Gentlemen and Ideal. No word on the full line-up just yet
The DMCA-like amendments to the New Zealand Copyright Act passed their first hurdle in parliament, with an overwhelming 113 to 6 vote to pass the Bill to the Commerce Select Committee for further discussion. The detail-oriented can read the full debate (or rather lack of debate), and one enterprising New Zealand legal blogger has an excellent series of posts on the Bill, its background, and its implications. New Zealanders interested in fighting this legislation have until the 16th of February 2007 to make submissions to the Select Committee, before the committee makes its recommendations and sends the Bill back for a second reading — via Slashdot
Following the lead of Mozilla and Microsoft, Opera Software has incorporated a new phishing filter into its Opera Web browser to block sites bent on stealing financial information
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