Townsville scientists in north Queensland have found a way to prevent ships bringing foreign marine creatures into Australian ports when they exchange their ballast water. Researchers at CRC Reef and James Cook University have launched a pilot plant to trial the sterilisation of ballast water, a process that may lead to sterilisation systems being installed aboard international ships
For those who are interested, I have a drum n bass DJ gig on soon. It’s at Utopia EMF (my slot is Saturday 2pm in the Throwdown arena). Watch me ruin the mood of a lazy Saturday arvo with some fast rollers.
HotAIR, the web site of the Annals of Improbable Research, is publishing a fascinating series on the Origin of Murphy’s Law. It turns out there really was a Murphy, and the story of his law involves rocket sleds, Chuck Yeager, and Edwards Air Force Base. The article covers all these topics and more, and includes interviews with Yeager, the son of Murphy (really), and several surviving members of the project that inspired the law
California is trying a deceptively simple approach to the problem of junk e-mail: It is about to ban spam. While spammers in Australia who repeatedly send unsolicited bulk e-mail could be fined up to $1 million a day under new anti-spam laws shortly to be introduced into Federal Parliament. But the Government, political parties, charities and religious organisations, which are understood to be exempt, would still be able to send as much spam as they like
Mirroring a move by rival Overture Services, Google experiments with search results tailored to a person’s geographic location
Compaq has finally provided a FAQ to the world to ask that long standing question where is the any key? I can only hope that this was added as a joke, and not in response to legitimate need
Microsoft Windows Update is offering a download for their 1.0 version of the Microsoft Windows Rights Management client, if you care to download it. Although it’s not required or a critical update, this just paves the road for all of Microsoft’s software to require DRM technology on your computer
Iraq was in effect put up for sale when the American-appointed administration announced it was opening up all sectors of the economy to foreign investors in a desperate attempt to deliver much-needed reconstruction against a daily backdrop of kidnappings, looting and violent death
A highway in Saskatchewan has won the dubious honour of worst highway in Canada, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The bloke who entered the highway in the competition won a free wheel alignment
The first time around, Indian Motorcycle lasted more than 50 years. This time, it lasted five. On Friday, Indian closed the factory in Gilroy where it made heavyweight cruisers and other motorcycles, telling its 380 employees that a deal with a new investor had fallen through
The founders of AC Propulsion seem to think that lithium-ion batteries have led them to the holy grail of electric motoring
The full magnitude of the world’s largest ever rodent has been revealed — the now-extinct monster was the size of a cow. The creature weighed in at 700 kilograms and lived eight million years ago, roaming the lush banks of the ancient Orinoco delta in north-western Venezuela. But the 3m long, 1.3m tall behemoth was an evolutionary cousin of today’s humble guinea pig
The UK has introduced legislation banning British firms from spamming personal e-mail and mobile phone accounts from the end of this year, although business addresses will remain unprotected
BBCi and Vodafone have new projects that reflect a broad mission to build digital interactivity into public spaces
Scientists have discovered that when it comes to detecting if you’ve been swindled out of a fair deal, monkeys can be just as sharp as humans
A widespread belief among physicists nowadays is that modern science requires squadrons of scientists and wildly expensive equipment. Craig Wallace, fresh out of Spanish Fork High School, had almost the entire physics faculty of Utah State University hovering (and arguing) over an apparatus he had cobbled together from parts salvaged from junk yards and charity drops. The apparatus is nothing less than the sine qua non of modern science: a nuclear fusion reactor, based on the plans of Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of television
A permanent ban on taxes unique to the Internet has taken another step toward reality, with House approval of legislation that next goes to the Senate
Criticism is growing over VeriSign’s surprise decision to take control of all unassigned .com and .net domain names, a move that’s wreaking havoc on some filtering tools
Lindows promises free goods for California residents who qualify for benefits from a settlement in Microsoft’s antitrust case
Unmarried and homosexual partners of Armed Forces personnel are to be given the same rights of compensation and pensions as widows
RSS – Posts