BREAKING SURF
| Popular War Blogger Caught Copying Commercial Material |
| E-Mail Gone Wild |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| Red Hat Linux 9 Benefits from P2P Distribution |
| SETI@Home Security Problem and Fix |
| BOOK REVIEWS |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Contact and Subscription Information |
| Credits |
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BREAKING SURF
Everybody's Favorite Information Minister
If there's any former high-ranking Iraqi government official who's likely to find work in Hollywood, it's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf. His statements, blatant lies in the face of reality, in one short week became the stuff of high comedy and entertainment. The last day he appeared on TV, we were sure we could see him trying to stifle a chuckle, or at least a smile, as he made his final statement: "I now inform you that you are too far from reality." The man has talent, and as the Washington Post reports, has become an idol of public relations officers everywhere. At least one fan club has sprung up, appropriately called We Love the Iraqi Information Minister. As hard as it may be to believe, Sahhaf's proclamations seem to have been taken as gospel in some quarters, as a Gulf News article shows. The BBC has a profile of Sahhaf and Slate offers a bunch more links.Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1012-2003Apr9.html
We Love...: http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/
Gulf News: http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=83564
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2927031.stm
Slate: http://politics.slate.msn.com/id/2081302/
Yahoo vs. Google: Yahoo Streamlines Search Service
Yahoo is revamping its own search interface and service to more directly challenge Google for the crown of premier Net search engine. The company unveiled a new search interface that adopts the same minimalistic philosophy behind Google - it's a clean, ad-free look with only a handful of well defined links to the rest of Yahoo's content. The new interface also lets you save a handful of useful preferences such as the number of results returned and Mature Content Filter settings. The search service itself is also enhanced, with searches returning relevant Yahoo content in addition to general Web content. After searching, just click the buttons marked Directory, News, or Yellow Pages to get the search term results for content in the respective Yahoo areas. There is also a new Image search option, which works similarly to Google's.http://new.search.yahoo.com/
Although sunk in the swamp of war coverage, this year's Pulitzer Prizes were announced this week. That's a shame because the annual Pulitzers always lead to interesting material and equally interesting authors. The prizes are awarded in various categories under the two broad themes of Journalism, and Letters, Drama, and Music. It's too bad that the Journalism prizes are not getting more publicity - ironically overshadowed by all the war reporting going on right now - since there's some excellent and compelling material represented here. No doubt, next year's entries in this category will be dominated by war coverage. In fact, given the popularization of journalistic blogs brought about in part by the war, it would not be surprising if a new blogs category were to be added to the Pulitzers in coming years.
http://www.pulitzer.org/2003/2003.html
Dan Gillmor Writing Book about Modern News, Wants Your Help
Well known Silicon Valley technology columnist Dan Gillmor is writing a book to be titled "Making the News". The book will look at how "today's (and tomorrow's) communications tools are turning traditional notions of news and journalism in new directions." With the agreement of his publisher O'Reilly, Gillmor has posted the book proposal online and is seeking feedback on the ideas he plans to cover. The topic of how the news is shaped by the new technologies emerging on the Internet and in traditional journalism alike (e.g. blogs, satellite phones, and cams) is certainly timely. Gillmor's book outline links these new technologies to traditional newsmaking and news dissemination and tries to draw lessons both for modern corporate media and for those newsmakers and news consumers who must make their way in the complex new information environment. This is thoughtful and insightful material that can only improve with feedback from the Net community.http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000924.shtml
Bob Frankston played an important role in the history of the personal computer. Along with Daniel Bricklin, he was the author of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program, released in 1979. VisiCalc was one of the first pieces - some say the first piece - of software that made personal computers indispensable to businesses, ushering in an era of hyper-growth in business hardware and software sales. Frankston has written an informative historical account of how VisiCalc came to be and of the design decisions that went into programming the software. Many of the design choices are still relevant today. If want to see how VisiCalc worked, you can still download the PC executable from Daniel Bricklin's Web site.
Frankston: http://www.frankston.com/?name=ImplementingVisiCalc
Bricklin: http://www.bricklin.com/history/vcexecutable.htm
NARA's Valuable Online Access Runs Slowly, but Exists
If you need one word to describe the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), try "impressive". NARA aims to be a vital repository and information locator in support of democracy. To do that, it establishes standards for documenting US government action and decisions, holds records in a network of records centers, and now provides an online search system for some 50 million electronic records. There are lots of things to look up here, and many aspects of NARA to explore, but unfortunately there's also one problem. Although the organization is big, ambitious and important, and the Web site looks like an interesting place to poke around in, the site, alas, is new and popular, and that means slow. Using the search tool is an exercise in frustration, and other sections of the site feature slow loads and far too many TCP errors. We're rooting for NARA because we think that it's important and that its site's performance will improve. Still, be warned that at the moment at least, it looks as if they need to throw some more server capacity at this baby.http://www.archives.gov/
Computers, Freedom, and Privacy, No. 13
The 13th Annual Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy was held last week, but don't fret that you missed the four-day conference because the Web site brings you most of the keynote addresses, plenary sessions, and panel discussions in streaming audio or downloadable MP3 files. It's one of the perils of this job that you occasionally get exposed to Web sites that you simply can't tear yourself away from, or can do so only with a burdensome guilty feeling. This place is one of those. The audio files mostly feature renowned speakers tackling riveting topics. You'll hear many different viewpoints, a veritable mosaic of opinions and ideas forcibly expressed and engagingly presented. If you care at all about the flow of ideas and the effects of new technology on freedom, communication, and the future, as well as the forces that strive to stifle, limit or thwart those possibilities, this is a timely and topical must-see.http://www.cfp2003.org/cfp2003/program.html
VoIP May Become Subject to Wiretaps Despite Legal Exemption
Do you use the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to make long-distance calls? If so, you may know that the FBI and other intelligence agencies are having a hard time eavesdropping on your conversation. All that is going to change. The FBI wants assurances that VoIP is going to have built-in surveillance loopholes despite the fact that the Internet was deliberately exempted from the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. The US government's overreaction to the Sept. 11 attacks has changed everything, and privacy, liberty, and legal protections continue to get tossed aside in the name of security. In this case, the additional problem with eavesdropping on digital phone calls is that a great deal of other information is going to be harvested by any tap on a line. This Wired article has a good summary of the issues and the players.http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,58350,00.html
RIAA Sics Legal Wolves on Students
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), showing that its corporate culture continues to be lawyer-driven and litigation-focused, has zeroed its legal crosshairs on four students for allegedly massive file-sharing of copyrighted music. Aaron Sherman, Jesse Jordan, Daniel Peng, and Joe Nievelt are the latest victims of the RIAA's anti-piracy activities. While the RIAA is certainly justified in pursuing action against the persons who violate copyright, rather than against the networks they use, the RIAA seeks a heck of a lot of cash. The RIAA wants $150,000 for each song download and claim that these four students shared millions of files. All four students operated over university networks. The RIAA has in the past notified universities about file-sharers and relied on them to close down offending activities. This time, the RIAA seems to want to intimidate file-sharers into refraining from what young people increasingly consider an acceptable practice. We found many reports on this, but we bring you two of the best, from Wired and CNET, which nicely complement each other. Finally, Joseph Barillari has a legal analysis which argues that RIAA may not really have a case.Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,58351,00.html
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1027-995429.html
Joseph Barillari: http://barillari.org/papers/peng/peng.html
Matt Drudge, Internet Entrepreneur
Matt Drudge set up a bare-bones Web site some time ago. What he's done with it is phenomenal. Portraying himself as sort of a Lone Ranger, working for the people around the clock, and with no small debt to his scoop of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, he's managed to generate a huge following. That translates into decent money for a two-person enterprise. Business 2.0 estimates the site pulls in gross revenue of $100,000 a month in ads, leaving Drudge with nearly $70,000 a month after expenses. We're in the wrong business.... While the truth may lie somewhere short of the estimate (Drudge declined to be interviewed for the story), it's safe to say that Drudge is not living on Jolt and potato chips.http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,47762,00.html
Habeas Actually Sues Spammers for Copying Haiku
We noted back in NSD 8.33 that a company called Habeas was setting up a program in which copyrighted Haiku poetry would have to be copied in an e-mail in order for that e-mail to reach you. We discussed the workability of this arrangement: "the trap for spammers is that they will have to use copyrighted text to reach you through the Habeas system. Once they do, whammo - you slap them with a copyright infringement suit." Well, that is exactly what has come to pass. Habeas has slapped two bulk mailers with suits in federal court, alleging trademark infringement. This is a unique lawsuit, and is sure to be closely followed. The two lawsuits affect five defendants. Habeas has issued a statement on the case, while CNET has a brief addendum.NSD 8.33: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v08/nsd.08.33.html#BS7
Habeas: http://habeas.com/about/prs.htm#fivesuits
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1024-995568.html
Remember the Honest Thief, the Dutch site that claimed to have a solution to circumnavigating certain national file-sharing laws? We covered it in NSD 9.08. Well, we were fooled - but so was the Wall Street Journal. The site was a hoax, simply a marketing ploy for a management book by that same title in the form of a darned good April Fool's joke. If you want to read the book, you'll find it on the site in Dutch and English. There is also a diary of the hoax and work necessary to pull it off. Next time, we won't be so trusting....
NSD 9.08: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v09/nsd.09.08.html#BS9
The Honest Thief: http://www.thehonestthief.com/
PayPal Adjusts Policies, Users Adjust Accounts
PayPal has altered its acceptable-use policies, aligning them more closely with owner eBay's policies. This means that you can't use PayPal to buy human body parts, used airbags, and similar items. Oddly, you also can't buy a mouse pad that bears the image of your favorite celebrity. We don't mind that, as none of us here at NSD have shown up on a mouse pad - yet - but some are complaining that the new rules violate an individual's right to spend his or her own money as they see fit. In protest, some folks are abandoning their PayPal accounts and some merchants are opting to leave the PayPal fold. Wired has a story.PayPal: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/use/index_frame-outside
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,58208,00.html
Using Mozilla to Debug Web Sites
Thanks to its open-source roots, the Mozilla browser has numerous tools that aid in debugging Web sites, particularly those sites that are script-heavy. It has robust JavaScript and HTML debuggers, provides much info about a Web page's HTML code and HTTP headers, and lets the user precisely regulate his environment by providing fine control over the browser cache and cookie data. Henrik Gemal has written a nice guide to all those tools, and takes the almost obligatory opportunity to throw darts at Microsoft Internet Explorer, which does not have nearly as many debugging-friendly features. Gemal's page is a good source of information for anybody who designs Web sites for fun or profit.http://gemal.dk/mozilla/mozdev.html
ONLINE CULTURE
Popular War Blogger Caught Copying Commercial Material
Sean-Paul Kelley's blog captured a great deal of attention in the blog and media world for his coverage of the war in Iraq. Kelley's blog, the Agonist, was favorably featured in the New York Times, on NBC News, and on public radio. However, it turns out that Kelley copied and pasted much of the information he posted from the newsfeed of a commercial intelligence company named Stratfor, without attribution. This week, the blogosphere finally caught on, which prompted hand-wringing in blog and journalism circles over the meaning of it all in the larger context of blogs as credible news sources. Stratfor, for its part, recognized the excellent publicity opportunity after the news broke and spread its name over the blogosphere. The company came to an amicable settlement with Kelley, which allowed him to post a limited number of properly attributed items on his site. Wired has an in-depth story, MetaFilter a cogent discussion.The Agonist: http://www.agonist.org/
Stratfor: http://www.stratfor.com/
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,58346,00.html
MetaFilter: http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/24796
E-mail is wonderful, sometimes. This excellent Wired article details many of the stupid things people have done with the medium - from e-mailing a firm's customers with a call for group sex to sending sensitive materials to a competitor. Read it and learn. You don't want to do any of these things - the consequences, legal and otherwise, are often enormous. People need to recognize the need to double-check that the send button will deliver a message only to where they intend. That said, this stuff is hilarious.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58290,00.html
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McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales
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Virtual Beauties 2020SURFING SITES
The Department of Humor Security
Truth is actually the second casualty of war - a sense of humor is the first. Thankfully, it always returns, rescued from behind enemy lines, and reclaimed as it were. Kent Brockman's recent announcement on "The Simpsons" that "the government has issued an orange alert, which, once again means nothing." marked War on Terror humor going mainstream. More recently, the self-styled US Department of Laughs has issued hilarious detournments of some genuine Department of Homeland Security terror alert posters. A few interpretations of these bewildering yet potentially terrifying posters are offered: needless to say, we will not be attempting to absorb radiation with our groin in the event of a nuclear incident, though the advice offered on what to do if a building collapses around you is tempting, if anatomically improbable.http://www.titaniumcounter.com/temp/emergency/
History and the BBC seem to go together. Witness its Historic Figures, an eminently browsable collection of biographies from A to Z. For each letter of the alphabet, there are about 20 or 25 one-page bios. These are useful for quick overviews of figures whose names may not be familiar to you - Inigo Jones, for example. If you're a teacher whose students consider history boring, have them check out Jack the Ripper, William Wallace, or Robin Hood. As you might expect, the majority of the historical figures here are British. You can search by timeline, topic, or name. Some of these bios go into trivial detail. We learned, for example, that, as a student at Cambridge, Isaac Newton had a dangerous curiosity: "To test a question about colours, he stared at the sun with one eye until all the colours changed. As a result he had to shut himself up in the dark for several days before he could rid himself of the spots now floating before his eyes." Perhaps the best feature of this site is the column of links to related articles, news, and external sites that accompanies many (but not, alas, all) of the bios.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/
Remember when, during the 2000 presidential election campaign, George Bush suffered public embarrassment over his inability to name the heads of state of various countries around the world? If only he had stopped by this site to bone up on his knowledge of world leaders, the joke nowadays might be about what an egghead we have in office. The National Politics Web Guide bills itself a "directory of historical rulers, politicians, political bodies, and other leaders", and lists the heads of major nations from the time of their founding to the present day. Other features include biographies of selected officials, election results (where applicable), and a message board (check out the gushing praise from homework-weary high-school students). The only criticism is that the list of countries is rather small at this point, being limited to only truly major nations (plus Canada and Ireland), but what's here is extensive and informative.
http://lego70.tripod.com/
The World War II Pic of the Day
It is easy to forget in this era of incessant video from the front lines that in past wars, photographs only slowly made their way back to the waiting newspaper readers. The World War II Picture of the Day site is gradually building an archive of such photographs from World War II on a daily basis. A new one is posted every day and each comes with a short explanation of what you're looking at, sometimes with a relevant link. In comparison with the in-your-face reporting common now, the level of gore is low and the beauty of some of the photographs is disconcerting considering the subject matter. A few even record a humorous approach to reminding troops to maintain their vehicles daily - including a good-looking woman on the billboard ensured that GIs would look. We're not sure why the dates are wonky, though.http://www.strandlab.com/potd/
If your family has had any involvement with Australian military action in the last century or so, this site is just made for you. Even if your interest is more broadly the human face of war, the details at Australians at War will entice you. The site covers the Aussie military from the Boer War in 1899 to today's peacekeeping duties. The views of soldiers who participated in the various conflicts are represented in diary entries, letters, sketches, and photographs donated by them or their families. The site hopes to build a valuable resource for future Australians by recording the sacrifices made by the country's soldiers. Features include a tool to build your military family tree, video clips that explain why mines are used and what they do to their victims, a simple Flash wargame, and an online quiz. Teachers may appreciate the PDF educational kits.
http://www.australiansatwar.gov.au/
Keep Tabs on the US-Canada Friendly-Fire Incident
Tarnak Farms Range is a live-fire training facility near Kandahar, Afghanistan. At this site, one year ago, a USAF pilot in a F-16 dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on a group of Canadian infantry, killing four and wounding eight. Criminal charges were preferred in the case, which might have resulted in courts-martial of the major and his flight leader. In non-binding recommendations issued last month, however, the hearing officer in charge of the investigation considers that the matter can best be addressed in either a non-judicial or an administrative forum, rather than by military court-martial. This site presents a wealth of information in the form of fact sheets, press releases, and other materials related to this friendly-fire incident.http://www.barksdale.af.mil/tarnakfarms/index.html
Warning: viewing this site may make your dad look like a complete deadbeat. Did he ever build you a Sherman tank? We're guessing not. But dad Bill Scott, a.k.a. "the gizmologist", did for his son, out of wood and assorted parts from various Burger King kids toys. (OK, he used some other stuff too, but it's still an impressive feat.) The proof is on this page, put together by the inventor himself, which details his efforts in the construction of a fully functional 1:5-scale replica of an actual Sherman, complete with moving treads, joystick controls, and (non-functional) cannon. Scott has made the plans available for a small fee, along with scores of photos of his extremely excited son happily crammed into a replica of what its crews unaffectionately called a Ronson for its tendency to burn. Haunting images that reveal our deeply entrenched militarism or adorable photos of a loving father's imaginative gift to his son? Hey, we report. You decide.
http://www.gizmology.net/tanks.htm
Humans Imitating Sounds Around the World
Here you'll discover a "collection of onomatopoeia from around the world". More simply put, this site is a compilation of vocal imitations of animals and vehicles by native speakers from around the globe. What makes this online project unique is the interpretation of sound by different cultures. We know that each of us has a unique pattern of speaking. This site explores our unique patterns of sound imitation. Hear how humans from Japan to the UK mimic pigs, goats, emergency vehicles, and other noisy things. You'll be astonished at how completely different an interpretation can be. The Flags page provides a visual breakdown of each country's flag, and the silhouetted background images display the thing imitated. Of course, you'll need sound on your computer system to truly experience this site. This site is a great resource for those of us who want to experience the cultural diversity of the world from a completely new perspective.http://www.flat33.com/bzzzpeek/html/bzzzpeek.html
"The tongues of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony," said William Shakespeare, who gave his Richard III one of the best-known valedictions in literature with "My kingdom for a horse," and one of the most beautiful with Hamlet's "The rest is silence" speech. Catch these final words and many more at the Last Words site. Other parts of the site include famous wills and obituaries, last stands (from Thermopylae to Bastogne, even if the latter wasn't strictly speaking a last stand), and epitaphs and farewells, each with suggestions and links for further reading. There are some great real-life final words too, such as Nostradamus's least controversial prediction one night in 1566 when he said, "Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here." When the time comes we plan on copying 15th-century Czech General Jan Ziska who left this world with the request, "Make my skin drumheads for the Bohemian cause."
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/6537/index.htm
Talk about a Martha Stewart nightmare! Dieters and gourmands alike will gag when they get a load of these Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974. The site's an ambrosia of elaborately prepared dishes ready to serve - or toss - in the days when America was still reeling from Jell-o. These cryptic, colorful basement relics attest to our occasionally oddball culinary past as well as to the advantage of hindsight. Where were you when we needed you, Seattle Sutton? And you, Julia Child, how could you have let these atrocities happen? The cards at the site are served with a side of sarcasm. It's hard to disagree with assessments of "treats" such as Fluffy Mackerel Pudding and Caucasian Shashlik. Lest we forget, these are Weight Watchers recipes, and we are still trying to figure out how Frankfurter Spectacular can help you watch your weight.
http://www.poundy.com/wwcards.html
Star Chefs, and Those Who Emulate Them
You may not be able to get a seating at Nobu, but you can get Nobu Matsuhisa's recipe for green tea pudding at StarChefs. The site's been going strong since 1995 and continues to combine the essential ingredients of great design and high-quality content to produce an experience miles above the standard Web recipe database pablum. The Secret Ingredients section helps you land those hard-to-find but oh-so-necessary exotic ingredients, and the Culinary Schools and Restaurant Jobs sections will help those who hope to make food their way of life.http://www.starchefs.com/
Fancy making a Bond-worthy Martini? Try here. The recipes cover the Americano through to the Zaza and are blissfully simple to follow, plus they include personal notes about the cocktails themselves. The intention is not to provide a list of cocktails to make (although the library section can point you to applicable books and links), but rather to educate you on the glorious art of cocktail creation. Tools are explained. Did you know that a muddler is used for grinding ingredients like a mortar and pestle? Ingredients are grouped as cordials, spirits, garnishes, juices, and flavorings. Your host, a self-styled "mixology research engineer" has begun to provide reviews of cocktail bars as well as erudite essays about such things as the origins of the term "bartender" and a treatise on the creation of the perfect Martini. 007 would approve.
http://www.drinkboy.com/
Any Man That Don't Love an Ostrich...
A fully grown ostrich is in the region of eight feet tall, weighs 400 lb, has a top speed of 60 mph, and can kill a man with just one kick. No one in a proper frame of mind would want to climb onto the back of one. Remember, these birds are not renowned for their intelligence either. Although they do not stick their heads in the sand when frightened, or on any other occasion, they do have a less well-known coping mechanism for fear and confusion: they spin round and round like a dervish. Let's face it, there are few things more likely to induce fear and confusion than having an overweight man from Castle Rock, Colo. climb on your back. But we are humans. We rise to challenges, we conquer our fear, we... - er, ride ostriches. That's what makes us different from the animals (except, perhaps, for ostrich parasites).http://www.dragonstuff.net/ostriches.htm
If you love workplace gossip, this is the place for you. Anonymous stories are posted by real workers in various occupations, the sort of stories you'll believe because they've already happened to you. You can post your own or just happily lurk. Stories are sorted by occupation so you can skip straight into a workplace just like yours and get reading. Some of the stories are just silly incidents or gripes about co-workers that will make your own look like angels, but others are almost educational. How about the man who, for a joke, put various doll heads in cubicles when nobody was there and then let the speculation begin. He was eventually found out, but commended for getting his team to communicate with each other. One unfortunate teacher encouraged the children in her class to indicate the future doctors and lawyers in their class photo - until one bright spark pointed to her and said, "There's teacher, she's dead."
http://www.totallyofftherecord.com/
I Couldn't Have Been Speeding, Officer, I'm Lawful Good
Throughout the many iterations of Dungeons and Dragons, one thing has remained constant: your character's alignment tells what sort of human (or demi-human or humanoid, as the case may be) he is, morally and ethically. Wizards has come up with a test that they tell you to take "in character", but, naturally, it's far more fun if you find out what you yourself are.http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20001222b
This is the official Web site of the President, a war-mongering pseudo-dictator bent on crushing any opposition to his rule and stamping out our civil liberties. OK, OK - not that President. This would be President General Zod, Superman's one-time arch-nemesis and now supreme ruler of Earth. If you're not an uber-nerd, it may help clarify matters to note that Terence Stamp's portrayal of Kryptonian outlaw General Zod in 1980's "Superman 2" has garnered quite a cult following since the film's release. A site like President Zod's White House was probably inevitable. Among the goodies you'll find at Zod's home on the Web is a rewritten US constitution ("Congress shall make no law. It is General Zod who gives orders.") and a photo album. The highlight of the site, however, is the "Ask General Zod" feature, where loyal subjects can pose queries to their almighty ruler. If you haven't seen the movie, a lot of this will be lost on you of course, but if you have, it's an entertaining diversion.
http://www.weathergraphics.com/zod/index.htm
When the bottom fell out of the Internet market, geek ceased being cool. For a time, increased wealth had sexified geekdom, and then, one morning, we all woke up uncool again. All except the Geek Squad, a 24-hour tech-support team headquartered in Minneapolis. They promise that even at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning, they "can have a Special Agent dispatched to your home or office within 2 hours anywhere in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago." Granted, that level of service starts at $298, but for some of their clients, like U2 and Ice Cube, it has proved invaluable. Geek Squad has rate plans for the little people, as well.
http://www.geeksquad.com/
The Odd Pics page of the Anomalies Unlimited Web site rates a 9 on our weird-o-meter. Did you know that a Wisconsin tan is the tanline a fat man gets after a sunny day on a tractor with half his behind hanging out of his pants? There's a picture of a prime example of one here, together with some strange alien stuff, pictures of shadow-people and ghosts and the obligatory elephantiasis of the scrotum pic. Helpfully, the graphic and gruesome stuff, of which there is not too much, is well signposted so you can avoid that kind of thing, and because the site partly finances itself with Amazon click-throughs you won't be besieged by pop-up ads. Now, that is weird.
http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Odd_Pics.html
FLOTSAM & JETSAM
Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time
The Museum of Hoaxes hosts this list, which includes the very first Internet hoax, from way back in 1984. If the list proves anything, it's that human gullibility has no limits, particularly in the age of the press release.http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/top100.html
The hoaxes and pranks of Apr. 1 have passed for another year. Visit this site to see some of 2003's noteworthy pranks and to get a head start on next year. Here you'll find gag ideas and stories to inspire fits of tomfoolery. The online gag gifts store offers plenty of props to accentuate your mischievous deed.
http://www.april-fools.us/
"Hey guys, you're here to provide information systems solutions designed to liberate companies from their outdated platforms and the industry's archaic standards, not to horse around."
http://www.internalmemos.com/memos/memodetails.php?memo_id=1409
Apparently we're not the only ones who noticed that Fox News employs a disproportionate number of blondes. The jokes just write themselves, don't they?
http://homepage.mac.com/dzinkin/ed-hill/distinction.html
The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business
The editors of Business 2.0 clearly had some fun coming up with the tag lines for each entry in this list of the 101 dumbest moments in business, but many of them are only mildly amusing. On the other hand, "Martha, Martha, Martha" pretty much hits the nail on the head.http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,47750,00.html
Before you ask, we're not on it, probably because we charge money for subscriptions. Still, any list that includes the venerable Risks Digest can't be all bad.
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,4148,7488,00.asp
Longest Gum-Wrapper Chain in the World
Question: What weighs 588 lb, is eight miles long, is worth more than $50,000, and surely could be sponsored by Wrigley?http://www.gumwrapper.com/gary.htm
It's dull. Really. Don't bother looking unless you really want to be bored. We mean it. Must...not...click...link....
http://www.wibsite.com/wiblog/dull/
SOFTWARE
Red Hat Linux 9 Benefits from P2P Distribution
The latest Red Hat Linux 9 release may mark a milestone in the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology to distribute popular files. Typically, Red Hat posts free binary CD-ROM images of its latest Linux release on its FTP site. Whenever Red Hat releases a new Linux package, users swamp its FTP site with traffic and suffer slow download speeds if they are able to connect at all. This time, the files also wound up on the BitTorrent network, a relatively new open-source P2P file-distribution framework. As far as we can tell, this was not done officially by Red Hat but rather by the amorphous Linux and BitTorrent community in general. BitTorrent distributes the load and makes life easier both for the source of the files (no flash crowds on the FTP site) and for users (faster downloads). Within three days, BitTorrent recorded over 10,000 downloads of RH 9; graphs show how the 30 TB of traffic was distributed by our press time. This BitTorrent stress test should lead to more common use of such a distribution strategy, particularly after being embraced so enthusiastically by the tech community. Red Hat:http://www.redhat.com/about/presscenter/press/2003/press_rhl9/
BitTorrent: http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/
Graphs: http://f.scarywater.net/postmortem/
SETI@Home Security Problem and Fix
Berend-Jan Wever discovered a problem in the popular extraterrestrial-intelligence search program/screensaver, and he has details and a sample exploit on his Web page. Apparently, a buffer overflow can lead to the ability to run any program on the affected machine. More worrisome is the news that a successful attack against one of the SETI@Home servers could result in the compromise of all clients. Scary stuff. Fortunately, a fix in the form of version 3.08 is already available, and if you run SETI@Home you should install it forthwith. SecurityFocus has some technical details.Wever: http://spoor12.edup.tudelft.nl/
SETI@Home: http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/download.html
SecurityFocus: http://securityfocus.com/bid/7281