A senior Microsoft Australia manager has warned customers the newly-released Windows XP Service Pack 2 is not a silver bullet
for security problems as the software heavyweight plans another national security roadshow. Meanwhile the the monkeys at MS got the hump over a group who were distributing the dodgy upgrade via BitTorrent and threatened them with legal action — via Pagan Prattle
The Free Wheelchair Mission is a religious NGO that produces wheelchairs out of $41.17 worth of parts, and makes its plans for same available for free online. The project was inspired by the sight of a legless Moroccan woman dragging herself across a dirt road. Now the project works to provide low-cost wheels to all comers around the world — via boingboing
This blog entry on eliminating duplicate rows in Excel has changed my life… thank you, earnest looking Microsoft employee!
Now why the fuck isn’t this in the help menu anywhere? I’m looking at you, Clippy.
IBM is preparing to launch enterprise database technologies that can more effectively link together related information from multiple data sources, potentially eliminating some of the quality problems which can plague large data warehousing projects. The technology, codenamed mineLink and developed at the company’s research centre in Almaden, uses heuristic techniques to identify data fields which contain related information even though they may be labelled differently
MSK is producing transparent solar panels. The panels can generate 3.8 watts of electricity per square foot, an above-average level of efficiency
. They come in a thick version that can be used for glazing buildings. As an interesting aside, they can also be used as screens for projection TV units
The Mobility Denial System is an oil-slick-in-a-can, a combination of Drilling Mud Additive, Flocculent and water
that renders surfaces as slippery as wet ice — via boingboing
Once applied, the material will degrade or impair the adversary’s ability to move. For Interior applications it can be applied to flat, smooth, non-porous surfaces such as linoleum, tile, wood floors or staircases. Exterior applications include sloped, rough, porous surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, and grassy areas.
Connovation, a New Zealand company, is now making a synthetic skunk gel
called Skunk Shot that is being used by law enforcement to keep vagrants and junkies out of abandoned buildings — via boingboing
While non-lethal weapons are all well and good in theory, in practice they tend to get used to first immobilise an opponent so lethal means can be then used. Apparently most US law enforcement officers missed the instead of
coda.
Iraq’s interim government ordered Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite television network to close its Baghdad office for one month Saturday, a move criticised as unjustifiable by the channel. Iraqi police officers arrived in the early evening at the Baghdad office to implement the closure decision. The station’s lawyers said police officers did not carry an order from a court as the country’s law requires in such a case
There’re so many Prozac-takers in the UK that urine-borne traces of unmetabolised antidepressent have contaminated the drinking-water supply. The exact amount of Prozac in the nation’s drinking water is not known — via Rogue Sun
A major upgrade for Microsoft Internet Explorer may be imminent. Apparently in response to the recent mass migration away from MSIE, top Microsoft developers have been soliciting for improvements in the old browser at a weblog and at Channel 9. InternetNews.com speculates that improvements could possibly include support for tabbed browsing, better security, more PNG and CSS compliance, and RSS integration — which Firefox and Opera Mail already support
A German court ruled excessive use of meta-keywords in HTML unlawful. Meta-tag keywords may still be used if they are in strong relation to the page. The decision does not address more popular search engine spamming methods of today — as meta-keywords are ignored by Google, they are rarely used as core strategy for Search Engine Optimisation
airpwn is a utility demoed at Defcon 12. It replaces every image loaded by a user of a WiFi network with a choice the infamous, mentally scarifying goatse
or equally scary tubgirl
— via boingboing
Check it out I’ve just created my own living colour cell over at Colorcell.
It’s an interesting site where you can create colour palettes called cells containing 4 colours. People vote for their favourite cells and you can view stats like the most popular cell for the day etc. Cells are ranked and are either alive and well in the living space, or dead in the cemetery. Of course there are only 100 spaces in the living space so it’s a fight for survival.
That’s the basic jist of the site. There’s more to it and it’s not unlike one of those digital pet things but not annoying.
Let’s see how long it takes for my cell to die. With any luck it’ll live on in the hall of fame.
In our own raffish colonial way, we have inspired an article at Kitchen Geek. With the patience and economy of an O’Reilly book, Jim explains the mystical link betwixt coriander and cilantro, and gives Red Wolf the caffeine she so desperately requires.
In related frozen beverage news, I am seriously considering getting myself one of these evil 37000 rpm commercial bar blenders for xmas. Apparently if you fill it to the brim with ice and booze, it can produce 32 oz of frozen margaritas in 4 seconds.
The International Electrotechnical Commission has formed a working group to draw up standards that will ensure compatibility between micro fuel-cells. Toshiba is among several that are developing such devices as alternative power sources for handheld electronic devices. Development of a standard could mean the micro fuel cell could be launched in music players, digital cameras, and other devices as early as next year
Telstra is eyeing its 33,000 public payphones for new wireless base stations as part of a plan to create a national high-speed wireless data network
Hungry summer picnickers will soon be able to tuck into their sandwiches, sausages and pork pies without having to take the clingfilm off first.
Scientists have developed a wrapping that not only keeps food fresh but can also be safely eaten.
The film, which contains natural preservatives, can be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Used in liquid form, it can also be sprayed on fresh foods such as fruit to keep them fresher.
The Phone Safe is a work-through phone-sheath that you wear on your forearm. Worn with a jacket, it can also act as a concealment device — via boingboing
In response to a 24 year old prize challenge from the , a number of engineering students at the University of British Columbia have designed a human powered helicopter. The prize requirements are three minutes flight at three metres, with only human power, and the team, led by UBC’s Mike Georgallis, plans a test flight next Tuesday. Unfortunately, before the rotors were able to produce enough buoyant force they hit each other and the attempt failed
The FBI have questioned Benjamin Vanderford, a San Francisco computer expert, who duped international media into believing Islamist kidnappers had executed an American hostage in Iraq, by staging his own mock beheading on the Internet. The video showed a hand with a large knife apparently slicing the neck of a limp body. But the blood was dye, the setting was a friend’s garage, the Koran reading was a tape and the knife was held by a friend. Mutilated bodies and sound effects were edited in from photos on web sites and the video was purposefully blurred to make it seem even more amateur, Mr Vanderford said. A major motivation for his action, an unrepentant Mr Vanderford told Reuters, was to see how the world media would react and to see if they would be fooled — via Rogue Sun
The legendary island nation Atlantis, the existence of which has sparked debate for thousands of years, was actually Ireland, according to a new theory by Swedish geographer Ulf Erlingsson
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