By the year 2010, file-sharers could be swapping news rather than music, eliminating censorship of any kind. This is the view of the man who helped kickstart the concept of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing, Cambridge University‘s Professor Ross Anderson. In his vision, people around the world would post stories via anonymous P2P services like those used to swap songs. They would cover issues currently ignored by the major news services
Those clever folks at RCA have apparently designed a DVD player that automatically scans movies and censors them to make them kosher, as it were. That means none of the naughty bits and none of those bad words either. It will be sold by Walmart for the price of $79, and what with the recent Janet Jackson ‘wardrobe malfunction’ this product will likely be lauded by the FCC and moralists everywhere, though Hollywood is already complaining
For less than 5% of the price of a real Steadycam (the ones made for small video cameras go for about $900), you can apparently build your own SteadyCam for $14 with parts from a hardware store. The sample video makes it look pretty good. Great gift for the amateur videographer in your life who refuses to use a tripod, the bastard
Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology are refining a method that uses the current generation of chip-making tools to produce smaller chips than previously thought possible with those tools. The key ingredient happens to be one of the most commonly available substances on the planet. By running a small stream of water across a silicon wafer as the circuit lines are being etched into the chip, the current generation of lithography tools can produce circuits down to the 45nm level due to the refractive properties of water
I highly recommend getting an RSS feed of Rojisan’s Meta-Roj Blog for updates of his continuing adventures of exposing and dealing with the moronic spammers who foolishly deface his site. There’s currently are rather animated discussion between Roj and a complete fuckwit who seems determined to avoid getting a clue
NEC has developed a battery that can be recharged only in 30 seconds. Called an organic radical battery, it can be recharged to the same level of power as that stored in nickel-hydrogen cells, which are widely used in digital cameras, portable MD players and other electronic devices. It takes only about 30 seconds to recharge the battery enough to allow 80 hours of continuous operation of an MD player, compared with around an hour needed by conventional rechargeables — via Meta-Roj Blog
The film industry is fighting rampant piracy in Russia with a new tactic: cutting prices. To fight piracy in Russia, where 9 out of 10 DVDs are illegal copies, Columbia TriStar, a division of Sony, will price discs at no more than 299 rubles, or just over US$10, less than half of the current price. Warner Home Video, a division of Time Warner, has already cut its prices in Russia to the equivalent of US$15
Chuckles Central makes handbags and other accessories filled with sickeningly sweet cuteness, all handmade by genuine humans. They sell felt decorated robot handbags, crocheted iPod / digital camera / mobile phone cozies, laptop magnets and robot magnets.
Mozilla have got their finger out in the merchandising department and know have Firebird t-shirts available.
Yet another wacky controller for PS2 is about to be released, this one is a wireless motion-sensitive sword for a character in Onimusha 3.
Magnetoids are yet another magnet toy for me to drool over. Despite sounding like some kind of strange ointment for an android’s rear port, these curious yet beautiful little oblique spheroids are actually incredibly powerful magnets that simply can’t bear to be apart.
Pioneer Electronics just announced that they will introduce an electron-beam recorder for next-generation optical data storage. The electron beam is much finer than that of a typical laser so they are able to achieve densities of 50GB or more with a standard 12cm disc
The Government will split amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception) Act, holding off changes that could have blocked employers from monitoring staff e-mail for viruses and offensive content. The decision came after a senate committee examining the amendments was most concerned
about a dispute between the Australian Federal Police and the Attorney-General’s Department over how police had been interpreting the existing Act. The AFP has been using search warrants to access suspects’ e-mail accounts and download messages, a practice the department said was not permitted under the legislation
An Ohio teen whose mobile phone was ripped off called the number, found herself speaking to the thief’s girlfriend, and social-engineered the bimbo into giving up the crooks’ address, busting a notorious mobile-stealing ring in the process
An interesting story got posted on the Irish Linux Users group. It involves the arrest of a scammer/spammer working in an internet cafe. It even includes the attempt to eat a USB pen drive, several cops and a ten minute struggle to subdue the man
Hundreds of area technophiles wired their computers together in an attempt to generate computing power on a par with the world’s strongest supercomputers. Organizers hoped to break into the ranks of the world’s top 500 supercomputers through the event, which they called Flashmob I
Canada’s Federal Court has delivered a blow to the recording industry’s bid to crack down on web sites which offer free music
on the internet for users to download. A Federal Court judge ruled in Toronto that ISPs could not be forced to name 29 people who had allowed their music files to be uploaded by other enthusiasts
Internet search company Google has announced plans to enter the free web-based e-mail market which is currently dominated by online giants Yahoo and Microsoft’s Hotmail. Google says it is testing a preview release of its product, named Gmail, which it says will allow every user to store up to 1GB of information, or about 500,000 pages of e-mail
NSW will outlaw unauthorised cybersnooping on employees using technology including video cameras, email and tracking devices. The new laws would make it a criminal offence to undertake any form of covert surveillance unless an employer could show a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing by an employee
Telstra has caved in to pressure from the ACCC over the wholesale pricing of its broadband Internet service. The competition regulator had accused Telstra of cutting its retail prices to a point where some of its wholesale customers could no longer compete. Telstra announced discounted wholesale packages offering a 40 per cent discount compared to retail prices
The iPod is a device with some splendid uses, Mp3 player, portable hard drive, calendar, address book, note book and weapon:iPod Used In Domestic Homicide.
Or at least that’s what the guys at liquid generation thought. They also wrote the funny following:
Segway Used In Drive-by Gang Shooting
Looks like they found a way to improve Nokia phones too: Nokia announces cell phone stun gun
I just stumbled across liquid generations smutty 404 error page too.
Ha!
Who doesn’t need a mini Nautilus? Pat Regan build his own personal replica of the Nautilus submarine from Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Coaster Dynamix is taking pre-orders for a roller coaster model kit. The coaster kit has an electric lift-hill and an inverted train. They attached a camera to the train and included this footage in the video that is on the site.
SawStop technology works on all types of power woodworking tools. They have video demos illustrating the operation of the SawStop technology on a table saw, a band-saw and a pneumatic up-cut saw, in which they are cutting a sheet of plywood and place a hot dog in the path of the blade to simulate a user’s finger. The SawStop system detects contact between the hot dog and the blade of the saw and stops the blade in approximately 5 milliseconds or less, resulting in only a small nick in the skin of the hot dog.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Hoover manufactured a line of flying-saucer-shaped floating canister vacuums that rode on a cushion of their own exhaust, hovering over your carpet. This vacuum cleaner fan site has great photos, scanned ads and details for several of Hoover’s most futuristic vacuum cleaners.
The Scubadoo is an AU$17,500 underwater motorcycle that looks like something off of Space: 1999’s aquatic habitat ship, shipping soon. It does 2.5 knots and carries an hour’s worth of air.
Pipe Networks is providing dedicated fibre links for networks, bucking the trend towards bundling network connectivity with services. The Brisbane company says its method is cheaper than 100Mbps Ethernet. Dark fibre, a term often used to refer to unused network capacity, also describes dedicated fibre connections for large organisations — something Pipe needed for its own core business of internet exchanges
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