Tech

I just read an article in Wired about a robot designed by the Virginia Military Institute that can troll around your yard recognize and collect ticks. The ticks are then placed inside the robots denim skirt, which ticks cling to naturally.

Via Digg: Here is a extremely articulate and well reasoned rebuttal to Dvorak’s claim that Apple will switch to Windows as their primary OS. Rob Hyndman clearly illustrates his reasoning and does what I think is an effective job of attacking the Windows argument that has been presented.

Once again, via Digg: The U.S. is considering introducing legislation to ban DRM rootkits on consumer products. Apparently, Sony BMG even received some rather stern warnings from the Department of Homeland Security (it almost makes me feel friendlier to that agency) after their rootkit debacle.

Via Digg: Apparently, Microsoft is holding a sweepstakes to give away MacBook Pros and iPods. The initial link to the contest is found on their Office for Mac page, and the list of prizes can be found here.

John C. Dvorak, a tech journalist and cast member of the This Week In Tech has a theory that Apple’s switch to the Intel processor signals that Apple will actually switch their OS to Windows.

The purpose of this guide is to show you how to record your Skype conversations for legitimate purposes. Remember to respect your local laws regarding the recording of telephone calls, and to respect your local copyright laws in any recording endeavor.

Yet another important article on the RIAA’s shenanigans I found via Boing Boing. The RIAA is attempting to claim in its most recent filing that ripping a CD to your computer is not covered under fair use, and is actually unlawful!

Just read the about this quote from the head of the British Video Association via Boing Boing, which indicates that people who illegally download movies and films are actually see as many films legally as the folks who do not download.

Okay, I have yet another addiction provided by the Internet. Among all the other things I spend my time doing online, between listening to podcasts, reading blogs, writing blog entries, tracking news and writing code, I am now avidly listening to the podiobooks provided at (where else?

I just read an article that the governor of my adopted state has just signed into law a bill that will require future touch screen voting systems to be open-source software.

I just found an entry on Boing Boing that informs us that Patricia Santangelo, the mother who refused to settle out of court when the RIAA’s goons came to her door.

I have been going in cycles with my blogging and have been in a downturn of late. I actually am working on a few interesting entries for you folks, but I’ve just been so damn busy and distracted.

I just discovered via Boing Boing that Google has added a Creative Commons License field (labeled as “Usage Rights”) to their advanced search capabilities. This means you can search for material available under Creative Commons, even by which rights the license offers.

Hey, bloggers! If you haven’t yet, you should register your site with the Truth Laid Bear, a rather unique and cool blog portal and search engine. Even if you don’t, you may find it a pretty useful way to find new blogs, and I find it simpler to sift through the data presented than on Technocrati.

Looking for more examples of corporations going too far in their misguided quest for DRM? Here’s Sony’s recent exploration into using rootkits to manage DRM on your computer without your knowledge.

I recently came upon a Boing Boing post regarding a new online store serving up digital media for the public. The store is Common Media, which has been supplying free fair-use media for a while now, but as a commerce site it comes in two flavors: Common Tunes and Common Flix, which are music and video stores respectively.

I am on Google IM as we speak. Google is just using the Jabber protocol and you use your gmail account username. For detailed info on how to get on go here.

I just came across an interesting article by Xeni Jardin on Wired about a new Virtual Reality Therapy being used to treat soldiers returning form war. This process recreates battle trauma they experienced and teaches them to deal with their extreme emotions regarding the experience.

I was just perusing the articles on Slashdot and I came across a link to a project whose intention is to create an open source DRM standard. Started by the folks as Sun Microsystems you can read about the project here.

Seriously, I absolutely love this podcast. This Week In Tech is hands-down the best tech podcast out there. Informative and entertaining it is not to be missed. If you are interested in technology, this should be added to your podcatcher already, and if it is not, do it now.