Microsoft's ill-fated Kin (photos): Microsoft announces it's pulling the plug on the Kin, just two months after its introduction. CNET takes a look back at its short life.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
More blood on Apple iPhone’s Multi-Touch™ screen: Microsoft Kin is dead
More blood on Apple iPhone’s Multi-Touch™ screen: Microsoft Kin is dead: Microsoft has canceled the existing Kin product's launch later this year in Europe...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
TimeNet Law 2.2.5 - Software suite for law offices. (Shareware)
TimeNet Law 2.2.5 - Software suite for law offices. (Shareware): TimeNet Law is time management and billing software for law firms, private investigators, and others who are looking for a Timeslips replacement for Mac OS X.
MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
Microsoft pulls the plug on Kin
Microsoft pulls the plug on Kin: The software maker will halt work on the social-media phone and won't bring the phone to Europe as originally planned, CNET has learned.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Buh-bye Adobe Flash: Porn industry begins to drop Flash in favor of HTML5
Buh-bye Adobe Flash: Porn industry begins to drop Flash in favor of HTML5: While Adobe is rallying support for Flash, Apple receives support from a rather unexpected ally...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
Timeline 3D 2.11.5 - Create eye-catching timelines. (Shareware)
Timeline 3D 2.11.5 - Create eye-catching timelines. (Shareware): Bee Docs Timeline 3D allows you to create timeline charts that inspire. Bee Docs Timeline 3D Edition presents full screen, interactive, three dimensional timeline charts. Full motion 3D Timelines can be sent to Apple\'s iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, or Keynote presentation software with a single click or exported to High Definition video formats.
Stunningly Beautiful Timelines - Film makers, museum curators, professors, novelists, grad students, and business leaders use our software to create elegant timelines. Join them and create your masterpiece today!
MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
Federer loses to Berdych in Wimbledon quarters
Federer loses to Berdych in Wimbledon quarters: For the first time in eight years, Roger Federer won't be striding onto Centre Court for the Wimbledon final this weekend.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
How not to learn from the Great Depression
How not to learn from the Great Depression: The specter of 1937 is haunting the world again. Today's installment comes from The New York Times' David Leonhardt, who warns that the global decision to cut government spending and tighten the austerity belt runs a very real risk of cutting short a shaky economic recovery -- a repeat of the events the occurred in the United States 73 years ago.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Cow Creek gives over $450,000 to non-profits
Cow Creek gives over $450,000 to non-profits:
The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation has given out money to non-profit groups from seven different counties in southern Oregon. Ten of the non-profits are from Douglas County.
KPIC - News - Local & Regional - http://www.kpic.com/news/local
YouTube: Why the Flash era isn't over
YouTube: Why the Flash era isn't over: Sure, HTML5 adds support for Web video that doesn't need Flash. But there are many reasons Adobe's plug-in still is necessary, YouTube says.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Downfall of the beer lords
Downfall of the beer lords: Woe to the mega-brand. Big beer is hurting, squeezed at both the low and high end. Bud, Bud Light, Miller, Miller Lite, Coors -- sales are down, significantly. Meanwhile, craft beers -- defined as breweries shipping under two million cases a month -- continue to enjoy steady growth and cheap "sub-premium" beers -- Pabst Blue Ribbon, Keystone Light -- are flourishing.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
JMS Recreates "Wonder Woman"
JMS Recreates "Wonder Woman": Debuting tomorrow in her milestone 600th issue, Wonder Woman gets a new Jim Lee-designed costume, a new mission and a new world in the reality-altering storyline which writer J. Michael Straczynski tells CBR about in detail.
CBR News - http://www.comicbookresources.com
Hulu Plus Launches with Three Networks, Zero Real-Time Shows
Hulu Plus Launches with Three Networks, Zero Real-Time Shows: ABC, Fox and NBC unveil their $10/month Hulu Plus internet TV service, offering instant access to thousands of shows on a multitude of devices. The downside: the subscription only includes three networks, and subscribers must wait until the next morning to watch new episodes.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
'Batwoman: Elegy' Balances Surreal Suspense, Sexual Politics
'Batwoman: Elegy' Balances Surreal Suspense, Sexual Politics: DC Comics' high-profile alternate-sexuality superhero lands her first hardcover with Batwoman: Elegy, out Wednesday. The book is a powerful and often psychedelic phenomenon in a sexualized superhero landscape dominated by men in tights.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Cringely: Future Apple products to be A4-powered, iOS-based; Apple TV games controlled by iPhone
Cringely: Future Apple products to be A4-powered, iOS-based; Apple TV games controlled by iPhone: An integral part of iPhone 4 mania, of course, is the new operating system...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
Hulu unveils $9.99 premium service
Hulu unveils $9.99 premium service: The monthly fee, which has long been anticipated, means Hulu Plus subscribers will get access to full seasons of TV shows. But the fee may not sit well with some Hulu fans.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Hulu unveils $9.99 premium service
Hulu unveils $9.99 premium service: Let the hand wringing begin; skeptics will say Hulu Plus marks the end of free Web TV.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
'Hulu Plus' Unveiled With Support for iOS Devices: $9.99 Per Month
'Hulu Plus' Unveiled With Support for iOS Devices: $9.99 Per Month:
Hulu today introduced its Hulu Plus premium subscription plan for television content, set to offer customers willing to pay $9.99 per month the ability to access an extensive array of both current television shows and older library content. ...
MacRumors - http://www.macrumors.com
Monday, June 28, 2010
Square Pixel Inventor Tries to Smooth Things Out | Wired Science | Wired.com
Square Pixel Inventor Tries to Smooth Things Out | Wired Science | Wired.com: Now retired and living in Portland, Oregon, Kirsch recently set out to make amends. Inspired by the mosaic builders of antiquity who constructed scenes of stunning detail with bits of tile, Kirsch has written a program that turns the chunky, clunky squares of a digital image into a smoother picture made of variably shaped pixels.
He applied the program to a more recent picture of his son, now 53 years old, which appears with Kirsch’s analysis in the May/June issue of the Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“Finally,” he says, “at my advanced age of 81, I decided that instead of just complaining about what I did, I ought to do something about it.”
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U.S. Troops Face New Threat: Afghanistan's Toxic Sand
U.S. Troops Face New Threat: Afghanistan's Toxic Sand: Afghanistan's sand contains all kinds of neurotoxic agents.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Arts & Letters Daily (28 Jun 2010)
Arts & Letters Daily (28 Jun 2010):
Adolf Hitler's cell in Landsberg Prison looked like a well-stocked deli: fruit, wine, flowers, ham, sausage, cake, chocolates. He got quite fat ... more
Cycles of American foreign policy: first success, then hubris, leading to tragedy, then maybe, to wisdom. So back to a new adventure: success, then... more
In A Simple Heart, Gustave Flaubert took a good, ordinary, but not intelligent person, entered into her world, and made her genuinely interesting, even admirable. What an artistic feat... more
Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate - http://aldaily.com/
Creating original cover art for iTunes
Creating original cover art for iTunes: Always wanted to use your own artwork for iTunes music, movies, and TV files? Chris McVeigh shows you a quick, way to create your own album covers.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
Mozilla updates Firefox to crush Farmville complaints
Mozilla updates Firefox to crush Farmville complaints: Just three days after adding crash protection to Firefox, Mozilla rushed out another release late last week because people playing Farmville complained that their browser was shutting down the Facebook game.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
Building the world's most advanced aircraft carrier (photos)
Building the world's most advanced aircraft carrier (photos): At Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., the Gerald R. Ford is well under way. It is a sea change for carriers.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Robert Byrd's prescient Iraq war speeches
Robert Byrd's prescient Iraq war speeches:
The outcome was already apparent when the Senate began its official debate over the authorization of the Iraq war in October 2002. But Robert Byrd, then 85, still took to the floor and delivered one of the most significant speeches of his career, an impassioned plea to President Bush to reconsider his zeal for war. Months later, on the eve of the March 20 invasion, Byrd spoke up again, with a last-minute warning that proved tragically prescient.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
The two poles of journalism
With his Rolling Stone article on Gen. McChrystal, Michael Hastings has become both the personification of, and spokesperson for, Real Journalism, and as a result, has provoked intense animosity from establishment-serving "reporters" everywhere. He apparently committed the gravest sin: he exposed and embarrassed rather than flattered and protected a powerful government official, and in our upside-down media culture, doing that is a sign of irresponsibility rather than fulfillment of the basic journalistic function. As Barrett Brown notes in this excellent defense, Hastings in 2008 did to the establishment media what he did to Gen. McChyrstal -- exposed what they do and how they think by writing the truth -- after he quit Newsweek (where he was the Baghdad correspondent) and wrote a damning exposé about how the media distorts war coverage. As Brown put it: "Hastings ensured that he would never be trusted by the establishment media ever again."
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
"True Blood" recap: Were-Swayze edition
"True Blood" recap: Were-Swayze edition: Last week ended with a werewolf walking across Sookie's living room, as a shot rang out…
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Justices extend gun owner rights nationwide
Justices extend gun owner rights nationwide: The Supreme Court says the Constitution's "right to keep and bear arms" applies nationwide as a restraint on the ability of government to limit its application.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Chris Brown: Crying comeback kid?
Chris Brown: Crying comeback kid?: Unless you missed last night's BET Awards and the frantic chatter that ensued on Twitter, you know that Chris Brown had a meltdown during his Michael Jackson tribute. He flawlessly performed a medley of his idol's songs, until he got to "Man in the Mirror." The singer, whose image hasn't recovered since he assaulted pop star Rihanna nearly a year and a half ago, broke down on-stage -- his voice cracked and he appeared to weep, unable to continue singing. He let the background vocals play as he dropped to a knee, pounded the air and gasped for breath. The audience looked on in shock.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Jeph Loeb Appointed Marvel's Head of Television
Jeph Loeb Appointed Marvel's Head of Television: Jeph Loeb has been appointed Executive Vice President, Head of Television, a newly created division of Marvel Entertainment. In this position, Loeb will oversee the translation of Marvel characters to television.
CBR News - http://www.comicbookresources.com
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains
Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains: The internet's scattered bits of information seize our brain then scramble it, Nicholas Carr explains in The Shallows. The result: We skim and multitask better than we read and think deeply.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Friday, June 25, 2010
The secrets of "Psycho's" shower scene
The secrets of "Psycho's" shower scene:
Fifty years ago this month, untold numbers of Americans stopped taking showers. The cause of this sudden downturn in personal hygiene was not a shortage of soap or water but, rather, an overabundance of fear and dread after viewing what all film buffs know simply as "the shower scene" in Alfred Hitchcock’s just-then-released "Psycho."
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
MacDailyNews - less of an update and more of a rebirth
MacDailyNews - less of an update and more of a rebirth : "There's nothing subtle about the iPhone 4," Andy Ihnatko writes for The Chicago Sun-Times. "From the styling to the upgraded software to the new hardware to the new edition of the operating system, this is less of an update and more of a rebirth."
"I'm less impressed by the iPhone 4's higher display resolution than I am by its superior contrast ratio, which offers 5 ounces of wow per pixel," Ihnatko writes. "Even when I freeze-frame a movie like 'Star Trek' or 'Up,' the effect is eerily like looking at a large-format transparency on a light table."
Ihnatko writes, "And the iPhone takes the best pictures of any phone I've ever tried. Not by a subtle margin, either."
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Partial lunar eclipse set for Saturday | Crave - CNET
Partial lunar eclipse set for Saturday | Crave - CNET: With the exception of the East Coast, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible starting around 3:17 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and will reach its peak about 80 minutes later. As Earth's long shadow falls across the Moon, the part in the shadow will turn dark. It will look as though a chunk were missing from the Moon.
Peaking about 4:30 a.m.
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Review: The A-Team for iPhone
Review: The A-Team for iPhone: Perfectly suited for a movie about action heroes, the game is an over-the-top side-scrolling third person action shooter complete with explosions, bullets and one liners.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
Sense of Touch Shapes Snap Judgements
Sense of Touch Shapes Snap Judgements: Sitting in a hard chair can literally turn someone into a hardass. Holding a heavy clipboard leads to weighty decisions. Rubbing rough surfaces makes us prickly. So found researchers studying the interaction between physical touch and social cognition.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Isner loses day after marathon match (AP)
Isner loses day after marathon match (AP): One day after winning the longest tennis match in history, John Isner lost the shortest men's match so far at this year's Wimbledon. The marathon man looked weary from the outset Friday, required treatment for a neck injury and was beaten by unseeded Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-3, 6-2.
Yahoo! Sports - Tennis News - http://sports.yahoo.com/ten
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Flip4Mac WMV Player 2.3.4.1 - Play Windows Media in QuickTime Player. (Free)
Flip4Mac WMV Player 2.3.4.1 - Play Windows Media in QuickTime Player. (Free): WHAT'S NEW
Version 2.3.4.1.:
Fixed a bug that prevented opening files in MacOS 10.4 (Tiger).
MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
Hands on: iMovie for iPhone
Hands on: iMovie for iPhone: Along with iOS 4 and iPhone 4, Apple has also released a portable version of its iMovie video-editing application. Christopher Breen has installed iMovie for iPhone on his new iPhone 4 and walks you through the ins and outs of this mobile app.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
So... Who IS COMIXOLOGY, The Digital Comics Leader?
So... Who IS COMIXOLOGY, The Digital Comics Leader?: They have Marvel. They have DC. They have Boom, and Kirkman. They have iPhone, iPad, and Web. So who is ComiXology, & how did they do this? Oh, and what's next?
Newsarama.com - Comics - http://www.newsarama.com
Isner beats Mahut 70-68 in longest match (AP)
Isner beats Mahut 70-68 in longest match (AP): When John Isner finally won the longest match in tennis history, he collapsed on the Wimbledon grass and then summoned one last burst of energy, springing to his feet and applauding along with the crowd. The American hit a backhand up the line Thursday to win the last of the match's 980 points, and he beat Nicolas Mahut in the fifth set, 70-68.
Yahoo! Sports - Tennis News - http://sports.yahoo.com/ten
Technology Review: Nanotubes Give Batteries a Jolt
Technology Review: Nanotubes Give Batteries a Jolt: A lithium-ion battery with a positive electrode made of carbon nanotubes delivers 10 times more power than a conventional battery and can store five times more energy than a conventional ultracapacitor.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The 19th-century road trip that changed America
The 19th-century road trip that changed America: Books attain classic status by illuminating the universal in the particular, and by remaining perennially relevant. Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" is a classic in just this way. Tocqueville himself naturally hoped his book would be such a thing, but did not fully expect it; he was surprised by how quickly and widely successful it became. His aim had been to learn constitutional lessons from the American example, and to apply them to France and the rest of the Old World where, with equivocal feelings, he saw the spread of democracy as inevitable. When the book was published he found that he had done far more: He had added to the central literature of political science.
This was one of the deepest of the insights he brought home from the journey Damrosch describes. "Above them," Tocqueville writes of the citizens of a democracy that has mutated into a soft despotism, "rises an immense tutelary power that alone takes charge of ensuring their pleasures and watching over their fate -- it is absolute, detailed, regular, far-sighted, and mild. It would resemble paternal power if its object was to prepare men for adult life, but it seeks on the contrary to keep them in permanent childhood. It likes citizens to enjoy themselves, so long as all they think about is enjoyment. It labors willingly for their happiness, but it wants to be the sole agent of their happiness. The sovereign power doesn't break their wills, but it softens, bends, and directs them. It rarely compels action, but it constantly opposes action."
This is pure genius.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
eBay acquires RedLaser barcode-scanning iPhone app, makes it free
eBay acquires RedLaser barcode-scanning iPhone app, makes it free: eBay today announced that it has acquired RedLaser, the popular barcode-scanning application for iPhone...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
Isner-Mahut match suspended at 59-59 (AP)
Isner-Mahut match suspended at 59-59 (AP): On and on and on, and on some more, they played -- longer than anyone ever had before. And still there was no winner. John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France were tied at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon after exactly 10 hours of action when play was suspended because of darkness Wednesday night.
Yahoo! Sports - Tennis News - http://sports.yahoo.com/ten
Skype's SDK bringing VoIP to any software, electronics
Skype's SDK bringing VoIP to any software, electronics: Skype is releasing a software developer kit that will give programmers the tools to place Skype's VoIP features in any app or connected device.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
DC Does DIGITAL: iPhone, iPad App Premieres on iTunes
DC Does DIGITAL: iPhone, iPad App Premieres on iTunes: Early Wednesday morning, an official DC Comics digital store and app appeared on iTunes
Newsarama.com - Comics - http://www.newsarama.com
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Oregon firefighter charged with driving engine drunk
Oregon firefighter charged with driving engine drunk:
A volunteer firefighter has been charged with drunken driving and accused of yelling obscenities while driving a fire truck through a campground at Lake Billy Chinook in central Oregon.
KPIC - News - Local & Regional - http://www.kpic.com/news/local
Jon Stewart was born to bash Obama - Jon Stewart - Salon.com
Jon Stewart was born to bash Obama - Jon Stewart - Salon.com: As one of Stewart's comedic heroes, George Carlin, once put it, "Anything here in America we don't like about ourselves, we have to declare war on it. We don't have to do anything about it, we just have to declare war on it … It's the only metaphor we have in our public discourse for solving a problem."
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RUMOR: Apple to debut new iOS-capable iMacs at special event within next 60 days
RUMOR: Apple to debut new iOS-capable iMacs at special event within next 60 days: The iMac should be equipped with both Mac OS X and a touch interface for iOS," LOOPRumors reports.
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
I've been thinking this for some time now. I've been asking myself the question: "Why can't I run my iPhone/iPad apps on my Mac?" It seemed only natural to me that this would be the next evolution of MacOS.
Jimmy Kimmel's MacBook saves the day after power outage
Jimmy Kimmel's MacBook saves the day after power outage: After a power outage hit the Jimmy Kimmel Live set an hour before showtime, Kimmel decided to film tonight's entire episode using his MacBook's Webcam.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
New e-glasses aim to replace old bifocals
New e-glasses aim to replace old bifocals: Vision-sensing specs by PixelOptics adjust for reading at push of a button, taking the good old bifocals into the 21st century.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Chronories writes your daily journal entries for you | Utilities | MacUser | Macworld
Chronories writes your daily journal entries for you | Utilities | MacUser | Macworld: Running in the background on your Mac, Chronories automatically keeps a daily log of your local weather, your e-mail, chat, and Web surfing history, how long you ran applications, major news headlines, and even the music you listen to. It also lets you enter your daily mood and take a screenshot or webcam snapshot with just one click. Of course it also provides you with an actual spot for writing, but with all of the bases Chronories covers, you may have a lot less to write about.
It can even run analytics for your life, letting you look at graphical summaries of last month’s weather and how it affected your mood, or who you’ve been corresponding with the most, for example.
Google Voice now open to all in U.S.
Google Voice now open to all in U.S.: The Web-based call-forwarding and voice mail translation service has been invitation-only for the past year and a half, but no longer.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Monday, June 21, 2010
Why China's currency announcement is hokum - China - Salon.com
Why China's currency announcement is hokum - China - Salon.com: The Chinese government is only doing the minimum to prevent Congress from listing it as a currency manipulator
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Laurie Anderson is bored with the avant-garde
Laurie Anderson is bored with the avant-garde:
Maybe you've noticed: The mainstream isn't that mainstream anymore. This spring, hordes of tourists stopped by Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art to see performance specialists re-create artist Marina Abramovic's signature works, balancing nude on bicycle seats and lying for hours under the weight of a human skeleton. Lady Gaga, with her Madonna-on-acid videos, has laid waste to the pop charts, inspiring a wave of leather ball gowns and freakish eyewear. The avant-garde has taken over, and it all started with Laurie Anderson. The godmother of the New York art scene, Anderson and her pioneering performances loom large over contemporary artists and musicians. Before mash-up artists used their laptops to whip dance halls into a frenzy, Anderson had invented a "talking stick" to allow her to play MIDI samples onstage. Before Auto-Tune became a focal point in hip-hop battles, Anderson was using various software to manipulate her voice. Her work blends experimental composition with pop synthesizer beats, mixing the aesthetics of the gallery spaces in Chelsea with sounds from the underground jazz clubs of the Lower East Side.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Elgato’s updated EyeTV app now supports streaming to Apple’s revolutionary iPad
Elgato’s updated EyeTV app now supports streaming to Apple’s revolutionary iPad: Elgato today announced the immediate availability of version 1.1 of their popular EyeTV app...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
Facebook, Twitter no place for the lonely
Facebook, Twitter no place for the lonely: Relationships that lack strong connections can result in feelings of detachment and even health problems such as poor sleep and high stress, new research indicates.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
MacDailyNews: Why porn and the iPad are key for HTML5
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Cenon 3.9.1 - Desktop publishing app w/vector graphics. (Free)
Cenon 3.9.1 - Desktop publishing app w/vector graphics. (Free): Cenon is a graphical tool of a special kind. Build upon a modular graphical core, Cenon offers a wide variety of possibilities and applications - not only Desktop Publishing. The best of all, Cenon is free software, available with full source codes, and at home on many computer platforms.
MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
"True Blood" recap: What happens to wounded children
"True Blood" recap: What happens to wounded children: So here we are back where we left off, with Vampire Bill and the werewolves. Except that Bill has managed to get the upper hand. Or rather the upper paw. Literally. He throws the dismembered paw to the ground. He's ripped three of the werewolves apart with his mouth, but he looks a little like a kid who has Alphaghetti all over his chin.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The first war on terror
"We shook off the empire as though it had been a nightmare," wrote the French radical journalist Juliette Adam, describing the handful of weeks in 1871 when the city of Paris ran itself at the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The Paris Commune -- an idealistic interlude marked by the official separation of church and state, plans for universal education and workers' and women's rights -- haunted the late-19th-century lives that British historian Alex Butterworth recounts in "The World That Never Was: A True Story of Dreamers, Schemers, Anarchists and Secret Agents." For some of these people -- idealistic anarchist radicals like the Russian Prince Peter Kropotkin -- the Commune represented a brief moment of possibility and promise. For others -- like Peter Rachkovsky, who ran Tsarist Russia's foreign intelligence service in Paris -- it was a nightmare whose return must be headed off at any cost.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
The unacknowledged giant | The Economist
The unacknowledged giant | The Economist: Few journalists have had as great an influence—or been proved right so often—as the man who, for 23 years, was the deputy editor of The Economist
Friday, June 18, 2010
"Jonah Hex": Hard-boiled heavy-metal idiocy - Jonah Hex - Salon.com
"Jonah Hex": Hard-boiled heavy-metal idiocy - Jonah Hex - Salon.com: Then it's back to sultry Megan in the New Orleans whorehouse, although all they do is smooch a little in artfully backlit shots, possibly because this is a PG-13 title and possibly because sexual intercourse might cause her to snap in half at that architecturally improbable 20-inch waist.
Benchmark 2.0b8 - Model the performance of an engine, a propeller, and an airplane. (Free)
Benchmark 2.0b8 - Model the performance of an engine, a propeller, and an airplane. (Free): Benchmark makes it possible to model the performance of an engine, a propeller, and an airplane and then fly the plane in any flight conditions to assess performance and efficiency. It handles all of the standard calculations used in performance flight testing and analysis and, at the end, generates performance charts (including CAFE 400). A fully-modeled F.8L Falco airplane is available for use with the beta.
MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
Apple’s revolutionary iPad a near-miracle for autistic boy (with videos)
Apple’s revolutionary iPad a near-miracle for autistic boy (with videos): Before the iPad, Leo's autism made him dependent on others for entertainment, play, learning, and communication...
Des Roches Rosa reports, "I'm impressed, too, especially when our aggressively food-obsessed boy chooses to play with his iPad rather than eat. I don't usually dabble in miracle-speak, but I may erect a tiny altar to Steve Jobs in the corner of our living room."
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
RUMOR: Microsoft has only sold 500 ‘Kin’ phones
RUMOR: Microsoft has only sold 500 ‘Kin’ phones: Microsoft may have only sold 500 'Kin' phones...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
Federer, Nadal get tough Wimbledon draws (AP)
Federer, Nadal get tough Wimbledon draws (AP): Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal face challenging paths to set up another Wimbledon final. Serena and Venus Williams also face potential pitfalls before another all-sister title match. Six-time champion Federer and Nadal -- the only man to beat him at Wimbledon in the last seven finals -- were both handed tricky draws Friday for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
Yahoo! Sports - Tennis News - http://sports.yahoo.com/ten
The World in 1824
The World in 1824: Norman Lebrecht reviews The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 by Harvey Sachs. "Of all Beethoven's works, the Ninth Symphony is the least explicable. What on Earth was he doing decorating its finale with a chorus and soloists singing an ode of Schiller's, ostensibly about joy but in reality about brotherhood and liberation? What is the Ninth about? Is it a charter for social reform or for individual rights? A religious ecstasy? Does the symphony mean to us what it meant to Beethoven? Does...
Zeta Woof - http://grdurand.com/blogger/
Arts & Letters Daily (18 Jun 2010)
Arts & Letters Daily (18 Jun 2010):
The ravening US consumer appears to be finished as the world's buyer of last resort. Time for post-bubble Americans to turn to a study of Marx... more
Emily Dickinson was a powerful artist who was intimidated by nothing - the very opposite of a lovelorn, fear-driven recluse and spinster... more
"Charles de Gaulle was a colossus for most of my life," writes Neal Ascherson: malign, conceited, aloof, and worth dying for. He understood the tempests of his century... more
Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate - http://aldaily.com/
Rush Doc Charts the Journey of Rock's Most Unlikely Heroes
Rush Doc Charts the Journey of Rock's Most Unlikely Heroes: A new documentary about Canadian prog-rock band Rush examines the group's music, influence, complex personal dynamics -- and the rabid dedication of its fans.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Pet peeves with the vinyl resurgence
Pet peeves with the vinyl resurgence: Vinyl is hotter than ever. But as labels race to capitalize on the trend, they're making some odd packaging choices--like releasing full-length LPs at 45 rpm.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Mac mini Blows Away the Competition
Mac mini Blows Away the Competition: PC Magazine makes the new Mac mini an Editors’ Choice (4.5/5 stars), writing that it now “defines its category.” Citing the new aluminum unibody construction, HDMI port, SD card slot, and improved energy efficiency — and noting that Mac mini “blew away” the competition in 3D performance testing — the reviewer calls it “the compact PC you’ve been searching for.”
Apple Hot News - http://www.apple.com/hotnews/
Afghan mineral wealth estimated at $3 trillion
Afghan mineral wealth estimated at $3 trillion: Afghanistan is gearing up to award contracts to mine one the world's largest iron ore deposits buried in a peaceful province of the nation that has at least $3 trillion in untapped minerals, the country's top mining official said Thursday.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Review: Wicked Weaponry Trumps Characters in 'Jonah Hex' Ghost Western
Review: Wicked Weaponry Trumps Characters in 'Jonah Hex' Ghost Western: The latest comics-inspired movie dangles plenty of action and eye candy but fails to deliver the cinematic goods when it comes to wit, humor and character development. It's an uneven adaptation with quality actors turning in surprising lackluster performances.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Review: Air Video for iPhone and iPad
Review: Air Video for iPhone and iPad: Want to watch videos on your iPhone or iPad without having to convert them into a compatible format and sync them to your device? Air Video lets you stream movies from your home Mac or PC to your iOS device.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
The energy independent future is now, and always has been
The energy independent future is now, and always has been: "So counting Barack Obama, the last eight presidents have gone on television and promised to move us toward an energy-indepndent future. Before that, I'm sure they did it on the radio."
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Apple releases iTunes 9.2
Apple releases iTunes 9.2: The new version brings compatibility with iOS 4 and iPhone 4, both set to be released next week, as well as a handful of performance improvements.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
All the Dead Are Vampires - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education
All the Dead Are Vampires - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education: Along the way, I was reminded of something I already knew but hadn't thought of as relevant in this context: During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, dead bodies were a common sight. Plague and countless other illnesses ravaged every community. Corpses of the executed and tortured were displayed in public as warnings, even left hanging as they decomposed.
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The Associated Press: 6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning
The Associated Press: 6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning: MONROE, Ohio — A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said.
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Monday, June 14, 2010
June 15, 1919: First Nonstop Flight Crosses Atlantic
June 15, 1919: First Nonstop Flight Crosses Atlantic: Want to win a bet? All you need to know is who was first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Report: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan - Yahoo! News
Report: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan - Yahoo! News: Americans discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium, according to the report. The Times quoted a Pentagon memo as saying Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones.
So far, the biggest mineral deposits discovered are of iron and copper, but finds include large deposits of niobium, a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, as well as rare earth elements and large gold deposits in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan, the report said.
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Saturday, June 12, 2010
This week in crazy: Katy Perry
This week in crazy: Katy Perry:
You've got the No. 1 song in the country with "California Gurls," the undisputed, inescapable summer anthem. You rocked the MTV Movie Awards in a blue wig and the world's greatest cleavage. (By the way, thank you.) Your fiancé is starring in a hit movie. You're on the top of the world, Katy Perry. In fact, there's probably only one other star in the galaxy whose current illumination matches your own.
Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss
Friday, June 11, 2010
Blowback: 'True Blood' Vampires Make Raunchy Return
Blowback: 'True Blood' Vampires Make Raunchy Return: HBO's hot Southern bloodsuckers return for a third season with a fresh blast of sex, gore and the supernatural. Will you bite?
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Ending Poverty - Magazine - The Atlantic
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Ending Poverty - Magazine - The Atlantic: The plan worked. Immigrants soon began arriving in force, and Lübeck became the leading entrepôt for the budding Baltic Sea trade route, which eventually extended as far west as London and Bruges and as far east as Novgorod, in Russia. Hundreds of oaken cogs—ships powered by a single square sail—entered Lübeck’s harbor every year, their hulls bursting with Flemish cloth, Russian fur, and German salt. In less than a century, Lübeck went from a backwater to the most populous and prosperous town in northern Europe. “In medieval urban history there is hardly another example of a success so sudden and so brilliant,” writes the historian Philippe Dollinger.
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Arts & Letters Daily (11 Jun 2010)
Arts & Letters Daily (11 Jun 2010):
Paul Romer's politically incorrect guide to ending poverty in the third world: time to revisit the best of colonialism... more
"Keynes is back" is now a cliché. But hang on, did John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the 20th century, ever leave?... more
Why are the British so rude, so uncouth? They seem obsessed with butts, tits, penises, toilet humor, strange sex. Their sitcoms offer howling tsunamis of verbal abuse... more
Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate - http://aldaily.com/
Thursday, June 10, 2010
3,000 applicants for 100 jobs at Roseburg Costco
3,000 applicants for 100 jobs at Roseburg Costco:
The general manager of a Costco scheduled to open near Roseburg this summer says the store has received about 3,000 job applications.
KPIC - News - Local & Regional - http://www.kpic.com/news/local
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
June 10, 1952: Marketing Mylar With a Film About a Film | This Day In Tech | Wired.com
Credit at the end says: "A Jam Handy Picture"
June 10, 1952: Marketing Mylar With a Film About a Film | This Day In Tech | Wired.com: The film about a film has an almost hypnotic quality as the smooth-voiced presenter makes repeated, unsuccessful assaults on Mylar materials with corrosive chemicals, high voltage, and extreme heat and cold. For the sports-minded, baseball bats and bowling balls attack Mylar without result, a trampolinist jumps up and down on it without making it tear or stretch, and a trapeze artist flies through the air with greatest of polyester ease.
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Flying robots self-assemble into midair swarm
Flying robots self-assemble into midair swarm: The Distributed Flight Array is a Swiss-built group of single-propeller robots that can autonomously dock with each other and hover above the ground. Is it the precursor to a flying robot swarm?
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Roger Scruton - Gloom merchant | New Humanist
This is an excellent article. well worth reading.
Roger Scruton - Gloom merchant | New Humanist: To be truly happy we must be pessimistic
We live, or ought to live, by the rule of forgiveness, in a world where hurts are acknowledged and faults confessed to.
For example, there is the “born free” fallacy that has dominated educational thinking since Rousseau. This tells us that human freedom is a natural gift, that we are born to enjoy it, and that we lose it through the laws, rules and hierarchies of social life. That, in my view, is the opposite of the truth. Human freedom is an artefact. Societies have built laws, institutions and forms of collective discipline precisely in order that the individual can live freely. To believe that we are born free makes it easier to bear our frustrations, to blame others for our woes, and to dignify our inadequacies with the colours of a justified rebellion. It enables us to discard all knowledge that it is painful to acquire, and to believe that idleness is virtue. And the effect of this belief on education has been devastating, leading everywhere to the loss of discipline and culture.
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iPad ads in SF hijacked by porn
iPad ads in SF hijacked by porn: A group called Freedom from Porn plasters iPad ads with graphic overlays, apparently to protest Steve Jobs' view that the device should be porn free.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
North entrance to Crater Lake is open
North entrance to Crater Lake is open:
The popular north entrance to Crater Lake National Park has opened for the tourist season despite a lot of snow in the park.
KPIC - News - Local & Regional - http://www.kpic.com/news/local
User Accounts on Apple Devices
User Accounts on Apple Devices: Considering a reader's comment that the absence of a multiple-accounts feature on the iPhone and iPad is a "major flaw."
Pogue's Posts - http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ WWDC 2010 iPhone 4 Keynote in 60 seconds (with video)
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ WWDC 2010 iPhone 4 Keynote in 60 seconds (with video): Apple CEO Steve Jobs' WWDC 2010 iPhone 4 Keynote condensed into 60 seconds...
MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/
Scribus 1.3.7 - Page layout with professional publishing features. (Free)
Always looking for a good substitute for PageMaker. (I miss you, PageMaker...)
Scribus 1.3.7 - Page layout with professional publishing features. (Free):
Scribus 1.3.7
Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, Mac OS X and Windows desktops with a combination of "press-ready" output and new approaches to page layout. Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation. Scribus/Aqua is a port of Scribus to a native Aqua build using Qt Free for Mac OS X.
WHAT'S NEW
Version 1.3.7: Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
PRICE
Free
DEVELOPER
DOWNLOADS
18416
MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Does Bacon Really Make Everything Better? Let's Find Out
Does Bacon Really Make Everything Better? Let's Find Out: One intrepid blogger takes on the biggest (and sometimes most disgusting) challenge of his life. He will sample and review every bacon-flavored food item he can find, and answer the ultimate question: Does bacon really make everything better?
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
iPhone 4's Retina display explained | Phones | iPhone Central | Macworld
iPhone 4's Retina display explained | Phones | iPhone Central | Macworld: To put it simply, Apple’s figurative Retina display is an LCD that boasts a super high pixel density by squeezing a 960-by-640-pixel resolution into 3.5 inches—a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (ppi).
The Retina display has four times the number of pixels as previous iPhones; its screen size is unchanged, resulting in double the pixel density. When compared to the now $99 iPhone 3GS, which has a 163ppi screen with a 480-by-320 resolution, it’s easy to imagine just how this new screen will shine.
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Business booms after Portland restaurant kicks cop out
Business booms after Portland restaurant kicks cop out:
The co-owner of a Portland vegan restaurant who asked a police officer to leave says the move has been good for business.
KPIC - News - Local & Regional - http://www.kpic.com/news/local
Ulysses Seen iPad webcomic gets Apple approval after cuts
Ulysses Seen iPad webcomic gets Apple approval after cuts: A comic book adaptation of James Joyce's notoriously challenging epic Ulysses is now available on the iTunes App Store but only after Apple demanded cuts.
Macworld - http://www.macworld.com
Technology’s Toll - Impatience and Forgetfulness - NYTimes.com
Technology’s Toll - Impatience and Forgetfulness - NYTimes.com: If you answered yes to any of those questions, exposure to technology may be slowly reshaping your personality. Some experts believe excessive use of the Internet, cellphones and other technologies can cause us to become more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even more narcissistic.
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Apple iPhone 4 Razzles and Dazzles | Lance Ulanoff | PCMag.com
Apple iPhone 4 Razzles and Dazzles | Lance Ulanoff | PCMag.com: Nothing, though, was quite as intriguing or, in my opinion, as exciting as the new HD video capabilities. Lots of handheld devices can capture video. Many can share it with relative ease, but virtually none—certainly no smartphone I'm aware of—can also edit video. Apple's decision to port iMovie to the iPhone is a ground-shaking decision. One, it's an indication of the raw power users will find in this thin, handheld device. Two, the mixture of 720p, 30-fps video, iMovie, and the iPhone 4 instantly raises the bar for all smartphones.
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Monday, June 7, 2010
Study: Gamers' bodies like 60-year-old chain smokers
Study: Gamers' bodies like 60-year-old chain smokers: In tests that sought to determine whether gaming is sport, a university professor finds gamers have the reactions of fighter pilots but the bodies of old chain smokers.
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
June 8, 1637: Descartes Codifies Scientific Method
June 8, 1637: Descartes Codifies Scientific Method: The French philosopher, mathematician and physicist publishes the landmark scientific treatise that coins the famous phrase, "I think, therefore I am."
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Hawking: Religion will be defeated by science
Hawking: Religion will be defeated by science: In an interview with Diane Sawyer that will air Monday evening, Stephen Hawking declares that science and religion are irreconcilable, because only science "works."
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Apple Presents iPhone 4
Apple Presents iPhone 4: Apple today presented the new iPhone 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple’s stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in super crisp text, image, and video. In addition, iPhone 4 features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro, and up to 40 percent longer talk time — in a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world. iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 100 new features and 1500 new APIs for developers.
Apple Hot News - http://www.apple.com/hotnews/
Before the Mississippi: Ancient Rivers Flowed West
Before the Mississippi: Ancient Rivers Flowed West: A new study of ancient sand grains suggests that a continent-spanning, Amazon-like river system once carried sediments west across North America.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
The Memory Doctor. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine
The Memory Doctor. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine: And this was just the beginning. In the years to come, Loftus and her colleagues would plant false memories of all kinds—chokings, near-drownings, animal attacks, demonic possessions—in thousands of people. Their parade of brainwashing experiments continues to this day.
Why?
Forty years ago, when Loftus came out of graduate school, most people thought of memory as a recording device. It stored imprints of what you had experienced, and you could retrieve these imprints when prompted by questions or images. Loftus began to show that this wasn't true. Questions and images didn't just retrieve memories. They altered them. In fact, they could create memories that were completely unreal.
Most of the time, this didn't matter. If Uncle Pete hadn't really caught that 18-inch trout, so what? But in court, it mattered. Men were going to jail based on contaminated eyewitness testimony. Families were being ruined by charges of incestuous abuse drawn from memories concocted in therapy.
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Saturday, June 5, 2010
Arts & Letters Daily (05 Jun 2010)
Arts & Letters Daily (05 Jun 2010): "
The Order of the Assassins was by the 11th century one of the most lethally effective terrorist groups the world has ever known... more
Few developments central to the history of art have been so misunderstood as the brief, brave, glorious, doomed life of the Bauhaus... more
Poetry and applied mathematics mix apples and oranges, says Joel Cohen. They aspire to combine multiple meanings and beauty using symbols... more
Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate - http://aldaily.com/
Friday, June 4, 2010
Monkey brain controls robot arm, hand
Monkey brain controls robot arm, hand: "University of Pittsburgh researchers have hooked a monkey's brain up with an industrial robot arm, giving the animal's mere thoughts direct control of it."
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Rocket Car Runs on Mentos and Coke
Rocket Car Runs on Mentos and Coke: "In this Wired.com video, Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz explain how they channeled the power of 108 bottles of Coke Zero and 648 Mentos into a rocket-propelled vehicle.
"
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Space X Achieves Earth Orbit
Space X Achieves Earth Orbit: "Falcon 9 lifts off without a hitch, and man does it look cool doing so.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
Mystery Advice
"You need to let someone off the hook, and you might find that in the process, you stop demanding perfection from yourself as well. It could mean a huge sigh of relief from everyone involved! It's much nicer to give yourself and your people the freedom to be imperfect. This makes your relationships much easier, but you might also discover that it gives you more room to grow."
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Sunday is most popular day for online porn
Sunday is most popular day for online porn: "In a sobering collation of statistics, it's also revealed that Utah has the most per capita porn subscriptions, and one in three porn site viewers are women."
CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/
Apple Co-Founder Ron Wayne's Long, Strange — and Sad — Trip
Apple Co-Founder Ron Wayne's Long, Strange — and Sad — Trip: "We don't hear much about Ron Wayne, one of Apple's three founders. That might be because he gave back a stake that would be worth $22 billion today 12 days after he got it from his partners, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. But The San Jose Mercury News caught up with Wayne where he lives now in the Nevada desert, and does he have a story to tell.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml
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