Roundup

["Dude VanWinkle" <dudevanwinkle () gmail com>]

Here are some interesting articles I ran across today, hopefully they
are entertaining and fun. If not, rather than making you delete a
whole bunch of emails, now its bundeled into one handy keystroke
-------------------------------
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060406-6536.html <EFF Rules, or at
least tries to>
EFF files suit against AT&T over NSA Spying
    The lawsuit alleges that AT&T Corp. has opened its key
telecommunications facilities and databases to direct access by the NSA
and/or other government agencies, thereby disclosing to the government
the contents of its customers' communications as well as detailed
communications records about millions of its customers, including the
lawsuit's class members.

    The lawsuit also alleges that AT&T has given the government
unfettered access to its over 300 terabyte "Daytona" database of caller
information--one of the largest databases in the world. Moreover, by
opening its network and databases to wholesale surveillance by the NSA,
EFF alleges that AT&T has violated the privacy of its customers and the
people they call and email, as well as broken longstanding
communications privacy laws.

Why AT&T? Because they are now the largest telecom firm in America. The
EFF's complaint points out that the company handles more than 300
million voice calls each day, passes more than 4,600 TB of data along
its backbone, and carries 18 billion minutes of of international calls
each year. They are also the largest DSL provider in the US, meaning
that without their cooperation, the NSA would have significantly less
data to work with. A successful case against the company would probably
convince other firms to stop aiding the NSA, if for no other reason than
to avoid class-action lawsuits and massive fines. (more at
http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-6058346.html?part=rss&tag=6058346&subj=
news)
-------------------------
http://www.betanews.com/article/Apple_Software_Adds_Windows_to_Mac/11442
46634 <Too late for the $13,000 prize tho>

In a stunning move, Apple on Wednesday officially sanctioned the running
of the Windows XP operating system on Intel-based Macs through the
release of a software package. Called Boot Camp, the 86MB beta product
provides a dual-boot sequence and the drivers necessary to run Windows.

"Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many
customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple's
superior hardware now that we use Intel processors," said Philip
Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.
-----------------------
http://www.lazydrinker.com/ <To Appease Gadi>

Computerized Cocktails Anyone?
There are few better examples of technology serving mankind than The
Lazy Drinker. It looks like your average ice chest, but it's actually a
computerized cocktail maker. The unit has a capacity for 16 ingredients
and ice; you supply the CO2 and a PC or Mac (in beta). The accompanying
software has a database of 5,000 drinks and extra large on-screen
buttons, which will be a godsend after that third mojito. Sure, it costs
$750, but we're betting by the end of summer this thing pays for itself.


And if on your drunken rampage, you want to avoid these:
http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1045_large_taser.jpg

Wear one of these:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1660

Hmm, Might go well with the bionic trousers...
-------------------------
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060405/0227225.shtml <RIAA, helping the
children again>.

RIAA Suggests MIT Student Drop Out Of School To Pay Fine
from the educating-the-youth-of-America dept

The RIAA has made quite the business out of shaking down folks they
accuse of uploading music. This has been covered at length before, but
they basically send a "settlement offer" with each lawsuit. The offer
says (more or less) "pay $3500 and this goes away." They also make it
clear that just taking the case to court will likely cost more than
$3500 in legal fees, suggesting it's not even worth fighting it -- which
in some parts of the world sounds very much like extortion. Plenty of
people have done the math and suggested that this little business of
suing their biggest fans has turned into a nice little profit center for
the industry. Digg is pointing to the case of one woman, a student at
MIT, who is trying to talk to the RIAA after being offered just such a
settlement. When she points out that she's a poor college student, the
RIAA rep kindly suggests that perhaps dropping out of school will make
it easier to pay off the fine. Now, from the story, it's unclear whether
or not the student is guilty of uploading files. If she did it, then
it's certainly her responsibility to face whatever punishment comes her
way. However, on the spectrum of punishment fitting the crime, does it
seem reasonable to ask a student to give up her college education for
the sake of paying off the recording industry for the "crime" of helping
others find music they might like?
------------------------------------

http://www.physorg.com/news63539267.html DNS is, well.. DNS <annoying
pop-up site warning>
.mobi
 "Many Internet sites are grounded in desktop PC-oriented services and
were not designed with a mobile phone in mind, which has led to less
than ideal performance for consumers," MTLD Chief Executive Officer Neil
Edwards said at the CTIA show in Las Vegas. "The dot-mobi sites are
tailor-made for browsing and navigating on the mobile phone, making a
far better experience."

By creating a specific phone domain, Edwards said, his company has
established a baseline of best practices and open-standard rules for a
population of new Web sites.

Edwards said the domain would tap into the growing number of consumers
with mobile Internet access, which is expected to top 1.3 billion by
2008.
--------------------

http://ioerror.livejournal.com/303774.html <Top CNN.com screen grab of
the day>

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/05/erm_watch_what_kind_.html
-------------------

http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn8961&feedId=online-news_
rss20 for the daily science quota

Genetically modified viruses that assemble into electrodes could one day
revolutionise battery manufacturing.

Researchers in the US have created viruses that automatically coat
themselves in metals and line up head to tail to form an efficient
battery anode - the negatively charged component that channels electrons
to generate current. These nanowires could be used to make revolutionary
new forms of lithium-ion batteries, the researchers say.

"Now it's simply a matter of designing the other components, and we'll
be able to form batteries by simply pouring all the ingredients together
and letting them self-assemble," says Angela Belcher, a biological
engineer at MIT who led the research. "Plus we can make them at room
temperature in very safe conditions, instead of the high temperatures
and dangers usually associated with battery production."

-JP

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