The Family Court has mounted a major challenge to the detention of children under Australian immigration laws and claimed the right to order their release. Detaining children under such laws is probably illegal, the court ruled in a decision that could affect 108 children now in custody
The countdown is on for Apple’s WWDC 2003 (Worldwide Developer’s Conference) on 23-27 June, and the mac faithful are absolutely wetting themselves. Mac rumour sites are rampant with posts and photos on what new hardware and software delights awaits us. One thing we know for sure is that Panther, the code name for OSX.3 will be revealed. Yayyy! But at what price though? Some weren’t terribly impressed with having to fork out for OSX and then an additional 240-ish bucks for OSX.2. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
On to the rumours!
Safari 1.0 to be released. I don’t think this is that far fetched, or at least I’m sure it’s just around the corner. Apple certainly have more motivation now that Microsoft are no longer developing Explorer for Mac, and what better way to stick it to Microsoft than to whack it on new machines as the default browser with Panther? Ooohhh! I just realised the relation between the names Safari and Panther! Coincidence? More than likely.
PowerMac G5s. This has been popping up for quite some years. Someone has even posted a link to an allegdged apple store graphic for the new specs on Apple’s servers. I mean how easy is it for somone to mock up one of these as a joke though? And some kid did a rendition of the possibly existing G5 in his art class after taken nuggets of information overheard from his father’s phone conversations about the Power Mac G5
.
PowerPC 970. There have been reports that mystery boxes
have been arriving at Apple retail stores with security seals and marked don’t open until June 23
or something to that effect. Other posts are saying that the PowerPC 970s won’t be available on 23 June but will be previewed at WWDC 2003. I don’t know what to think of this. I guess we shall see.
Here is a general round up post for you to ponder. The PowerPC 970 notebooks rumour is intriguing, and ever since the release of the iPod, everyone’s been hanging out for either an Apple camera or phone. This post has some speculation on a communication device
, but surely it’s only a matter of time before Apple try their hand at this. These sorts of devices would also fit into the whole iLife / digital hub strategy, so it makes sense.
All will be revealed next week, and for those sceptics who think it’ll be a dud, think again (different). The eMacs have already received a hardware upgrade, this is a sign of big things to come. Remember what happened at the last keynote? Apple released iCal and Safari public release 1 and something else, BEFORE the keynote/macworld and went for the jugular at the keynote / macworld releasing the new range of Powerbooks, iLife, iSync and airport extreme. I think there was more but I can’t remember. But you get the idea. Apple is up to big things mark my hazy words.
The New Scientist‘s Last Word column always offers a great collection of answers and anecdotes to bizarre questions. A recent column provided the answer to why cats are better able to survive falls than humans, as well as an interesting solution for a perpetual energy device.
lucie recently sent me a link to the Cat Users’ Manual, a look at moggy ownership through techie eyes. They also offer the equally amusing Dog Users’ Manual.
Online reseller City Software has bought the remains of failed competitor E-Store, broadening its own customer lists and product range in the SMB space. E-Store is the second online retail brand to be acquired by City Software, which acquired International Software Warehouse in March 2001
When computers become too small to be operated by buttons, how will we control them? The only option will be to gently bend them, according to engineers at Sony’s Interaction Lab in Tokyo. They are developing ultra-small information gadgets such as map browsers for tourists, controlled not by a mouse or keypad but by a bit of deft deformation
Shattered bones could soon be replaced by segments of artificial bone that can be printed
within hours. The artificial bone is strong enough to bear weight, and would slowly be replaced by new bone
During a discussion of methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Senator Orrin Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Like that law would ever be used legitimately
Theodore Gray, creator of the Periodic Table Table, has an article on how to whip up a batch of ice cream in 30 seconds or so by using liquid nitrogen
For those of you who can’t wait for Saturday, 21 June for the fifth Harry Potter book to come out, amazon have whacked a free audio excerpt for you to listen to.
It’s 1:45 mins long so it’s a small excerpt and you’ll need a Real player. Yes there is a free version
Microsoft has filed 15 lawsuits accusing the defendants of collectively flooding its systems and customers with more than 2 billion spam messages. While Telstra has terminated a BigPond account after a two-day spam campaign by the Queensland Computer Company — who was previously booted from iExec for the same offence
Phillip Knightley, an ex-pat journalist was who worked for Frank Packer’s Consolidated Press and Keith Murdoch’s Herald, asks; is the media, particularly TV, in the business of the mass-production of ignorance?
George Monbiot launches the Chartist movement of the 21st Century: a manifesto for a world in which every individual would have an equal say
A hydrodemolition robot is going to restore seven bridges in Georgia. It’s a robot that destroys everything in its path with a crushing stream of water 15 times more powerful than a jackhammer and it looks like a street cleaner machine on steroids — via Slashdot
Australia has slipped behind Estonia in world-wide broadband league tables, falling to 23rd behind the likes of Taiwan, Belgium and Austria, due to a lack of competition and ridiculous download limits
The Orica Report
, suppressed for over a year, has finally been released due to an FOI application from the Greens, and pressure from the EPA. The report reveals a problem of lead pollution in Homebush Bay, and a reluctance on the part of the developer to admit the fact and responsibility for a cleanup
Linux father Linus Torvalds is leaving microprocessor company Transmeta to work exclusively on Linux kernel development
Being the proud owner of a plush Cthulhu myself, I was overjoyed to find this disturbing site.
Dread plush Cthulhu rises from the non-Euclidean washing basket… can Professor Blue Smush DinoBaby save the world from this adorable menace?
An emerging type of chip architecture from QuickSilver Technology, known as adaptive, or reconfigurable, computing, could transform technology
Chip designer ARM introduced a new instruction set for its ARM architecture, saying it will give consumers longer battery life, better performance, and lower memory costs from their mobile devices
South Australia has caused eyebrows at the Initiative for Software Choice to be raised in concern, with the organisation writing to Premier Mike Rann to demand that a proposed open-source software bill be dropped
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