Evidence is mounting that many Australians will miss out on next-generation ADSL services such as video-on-demand, unless Telstra upgrades its copper network
Australian government agencies have shut down more than a dozen local web sites that sought to solicit credit card details from unsuspecting consumers
Jorge Cortell, a teacher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, was forced to resign after a talk about P2P networks — via BoingBoing. Jack eloquently points out, in the comments, that Jorge Cortell has lost all credibility in Spain thanks to him being a lying sack of shit with a resumé full of fake degrees
Finland has received what appears to be the first doctoral dissertation on traditional forest trolls. Master of Philosophy Camilla Asplund Ingemark, 30, has researched the subject for six years. She will defend her doctoral dissertation, which is classified as a work on folklore, at the Åbo Akademi University in Turku. The study describes the world of trolls according to the beliefs in the folklore of Swedish-speaking Finns — via Improbable Research
BitTorrent development is occurring at a furious pace. At the beginning of May, an Azureus update added distributed tracker and database features. A couple of days ago, Bram updated BitTorrent to include support for trackerless torrents in the new BitTorrent 4.10 beta
Foxtel is exploring the delivery of its digital pay-TV services using Telstra’s copper network in an effort to tap into 780,000 apartments nationwide
Donald Kendrick has been accused of breaking into a church and using the pastor’s computer to look at pr0n. He was arrested Tuesday night after a scuffle with Charleston police Constable George, who was responding to a report that a light was on inside the First Presbyterian Church — via Warren Ellis
Since the Plesetsk Space Centre began operations in northern Russia forty years ago, tonnes of man-made debris — first stages of rockets mainly — have fallen to earth, generating both a cash opportunity for local villagers, and a source of danger. Some villages survive only on this cosmic garbage, unable to find other ways to make ends meet — via BoingBoing
A small digital camera apparently planted by an unidentified voyeur to shoot up passing skirts caused a brief bomb scare near a Manhattan subway station
Six of the world’s biggest computer companies — Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Apple and Netgear — are trying to crack one of the CSIRO‘s patents. The CSIRO developed groundbreaking technology in 1996 that allows computers to network with each other without cables. The technology is now built in to most laptop computers and manufacturers pay the CSIRO a licence fee to use it. CSIRO chief executive Dr Geoff Garrett said the system made it possible to increase the speed of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) by a factor of five
Researchers at the University of Essex are using Linux and tiny embedded computer modules to build fleets of unmanned aircraft that fly in flocking formations like birds, while performing parallel, distributed computing tasks using Bluetooth-connected Linux clustering software. The Gridswarm project includes model trainers that can fly 120mph, while a parallel Ultraswarm project uses co-axial helicopters. A prototype of the later is believed to the world’s smallest flying web server. The aircraft will run Linux on embedded computing modules from Gumstix — via Slashdot
Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming version of its Internet Explorer browser will include tabbed browsing, a feature made popular by competitors Opera and Firefox
In the four years since its introduction, the iPod has proven to be a versatile little device. Despite a relatively closed architecture, hackers have found their way in. Content creators and software makers put information at your fingertips when you’re on the go. Would-be designers have added to the fashionable stylings of the now-ubiquitous white ear buds. Hardware makers and enthusiasts have augmented the iPod with new add-on gadgets. For fun, Jason Kottke has compiled a bunch of hacks, add-ons, accessories and such
A battery with a lifespan measured in decades is in development at the University of Rochester, as scientists demonstrate a new fabrication method that in its roughest form is already ten times more efficient than current nuclear batteries — and has the potential to be nearly 200 times more efficient
Hyper-Threading, as currently implemented on Intel Pentium Extreme Edition, Pentium 4, Mobile Pentium 4, and Xeon processors, suffers from a serious security flaw. This flaw permits local information disclosure, including allowing an unprivileged user to steal an RSA private key being used on the same machine. Administrators of multi-user systems are strongly advised to take action to disable Hyper-Threading immediately
Leader Propulsion Systems has prototyped a centrifuge gun that spins up ball bearings and releases them at speeds of 300 meters per second, equivalent to a handgun. Inventor Charles St George says that a large US defence contractor has signed on to further develop the weapon, appropriately named DREAD. Oddly enough, it looks and works a hell of a lot like a toy I have — via BoingBoing
Don’t put your iPod through the washing machine. And if for some reason you do, don’t try to fix it with a screwdriver. That’s the advice of fire investigators probing a small explosion that burned a hole in the bed of a Melbourne teenager who tried to perform emergency surgery on his ailing mp3 player — via Lucie
Sick of being ignored by the major carriers, an Adelaide council has signed off on a contract to build its own broadband network with state government assistance. Salisbury City mayor Frank Zappia said that up to 66% of the municipality’s estimated 5,000 businesses are currently unable to gain access to broadband services. The situation forced the City of Salisbury to take matters into its own hands and scratch together $1 million from its own and state coffers to fund its own broadband network
Google has stopped downloads of Accelerator, blaming capacity problems, after some users complained their privacy had been invaded
Self-replicating robots are no longer the stuff of science fiction. Scientists at the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York have created small robots that can build copies of themselves — via meta-roj blog
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