Why all HDMI cables are the same | Crave - CNET

Why all HDMI cables are the same | Crave - CNET: It's often said that with an HDMI signal, you either get everything and it's perfect, or it isn't perfect and you get nothing.

Apple juggernaut sends ripples through tech world: Associated Press Business News - MSN Money

Apple juggernaut sends ripples through tech world: Associated Press Business News - MSN Money: Close to oblivion in 1997, Apple is now the world's second-most valuable company, after Exxon Mobil Corp. On April 20, it reported net income of $5.99 billion for the January-to-March period, nearly double that of a year ago.

Arts & Letters Daily (29 Apr 2011)

Arts & Letters Daily (29 Apr 2011):

The data ninjas of Silicon Valley are obsessed with eyeballs. "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads"... more

How did a first-generation Turkish grad student end up driving around San Francisco with Isaac Babel's 90-year-old widow riding shotgun?... more

Sure, flogging is barbaric, retrograde, and ugly, but if you were sentenced to five years in prison and had the option of receiving lashes instead, which would you choose?... more

Newt and friends blame Obama for inventing, popularizing birtherism

Newt and friends blame Obama for inventing, popularizing birtherism: The popular way for "respectable" conservatives to dismiss birtherism without insulting the birthers (who, remember, make up something like 400 percent of the Republican Party, according to various scientific polls) is to call it a "distraction," or darkly insinuate that Democrats might be behind the whole thing. This is traditionally known as "blaming the victim," and it is what right-wingers basically always do when they're not "playing the victim," which they tend to also do a great deal of, these days. (Sarah Palin has mastered doing both simultaneously.)

What's new? Alerting readers to ebook revisions

What's new? Alerting readers to ebook revisions: Ebooks, in theory, should be easy to change. After all, a huge print book drawback — stale text sitting on a shelf — no longer constrains digital editions of textbooks, fast-moving tech topics, or a biography of Charlie Sheen.

But between theory and reality stand two big challenges:

Getting the changes to readers who've already downloaded an ebook file
Spotlighting what's changed, so folks don't have to hunt for the meaningful fresh bits

Four short links: 28 April 2011

Four short links: 28 April 2011: This Tech Bubble is Different (BusinessWeek) -- notable for this killer quote: "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads," he [Hammerbacher] says. "That sucks."

quirky products | index

quirky products | index:

Atlas sucks: Failing film producer vows to give up

Atlas sucks: Failing film producer vows to give up: Despite the objective fact that Ayn Rand is the finest philosopher in history and the greatest novelist ever born, "Atlas Shrugged," the film version of her magnum opus, is not doing very well at the box office. After a very good opening weekend in limited release, "Atlas Shrugged: Part 1" quickly sank upon opening in more theaters.

Crater Lake snow pushes past 600 inches

Crater Lake snow pushes past 600 inches:

The total snowfall at Crater Lake National Park has pushed past 600 inches, with more expected before the end of the season.

10 ways to use iTunes contextual menus

10 ways to use iTunes contextual menus: Many iTunes users not only don't realize how powerful the program's contextual menu is, but also may not even know it's there. Here are some cool things you can do with iTunes' contextual menu.

Sony admits utter PSN failure: Your personal data has been stolen

Sony admits utter PSN failure: Your personal data has been stolen: It's not a bad idea to cancel your credit or debit cards and request replacements...

SETI silences alien-seeking telescope array

SETI silences alien-seeking telescope array: Because of a lack of funds, the SETI Institute decides to take offline its 42 telescopes that have been on the lookout for alien life.

PlayStation Network Hack Leaves Credit Card Info at Risk

PlayStation Network Hack Leaves Credit Card Info at Risk: Sony thinks an "unauthorized person" has access to all PlayStation Network account information and passwords, and may have obtained users' credit card numbers.

The new golden age of video games

The new golden age of video games: As the remarkable production value of its advertising campaigns suggests, the U.S. gaming industry has emerged as the biggest economic force in entertainment today, earning upward of $20 billion a year (for those of you keeping score, that’s more than movie, music and DVD sales combined).

The secret sex lives of the Founding Fathers

The secret sex lives of the Founding Fathers: If anyone could spice up the tale of our nation's birth, it would be Larry Flynt. When the infamous pornographer set out to do just that, he quickly discovered that our Founding Fathers were pretty smutty to begin with – it's just that the presidential orgies and brothel visits have been whitewashed from American history textbooks.

Secrets of the professional wrestling world

Secrets of the professional wrestling world: Rowdy Roddy Piper is known for a lot of things: wearing a kilt, playing a key role in the very first Wrestlemania, starring in John Carpenter's anti-Reagan film "They Live," and coming up with one of the most memorable one-liners in 1980s movie history: "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass -- and I'm all out of bubble gum." In the process, he has become a full-fledged pop culture icon -- one that transcends taxonomy. During his new stand-up comedy tour's stop in Denver, he visited my KKZN-AM 760 morning show to discuss the legacy of the WWE, whether the film "The Wrestler" was accurate, and whether or not he'll star in a sequel of "They Live." Here's an edited transcript of our interview- - you can podcast the full discussion here.

Gone from Mac OS X Lion: Rosetta, Java Runtime, Flash, Samba, Front Row

Gone from Mac OS X Lion: Rosetta, Java Runtime, Flash, Samba, Front Row: A number of features in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion not only won’t be updated...

South Park season premiere features Steve Jobs (with video)

South Park season premiere features Steve Jobs (with video): The season premiere of South Park features Apple CEO Steve Jobs...

Five essential Mail rules

Five essential Mail rules: Overwhelmed by e-mail? Five essential Apple Mail rules can help you take control of your inbox. Learn how Mail can automatically forward, file, and highlight special messages and even trigger an alarm when certain correspondents write.

Lost cat travels 600 miles to Oregon before being found

Lost cat travels 600 miles to Oregon before being found:

Somehow Giddy the kitty wandered more than 600 miles from Reno, NV to Warrenton, Ore. over the course of four years before being found and reunited with her owner.

How to: Clean up your Facebook News Feed

How to: Clean up your Facebook News Feed: With just a few tweaks to your Facebook News Feed settings, you can view more activities from friends that you care about, and hide annoying posts from friends that you don't.

Nook Color gets Froyo update and app store | E-Readers | Playlist | Macworld

Nook Color gets Froyo update and app store | E-Readers | Playlist | Macworld: With these enhancements, the 7-inch, Wi-Fi-ready Nook Color tablet, with a price tag of $249, “presents the best value of any tablet on the market,” at about half the cost of other popular tablets, Barnes and Noble CEO William Lynch said in making the announcement. The Nook Color first went on sale Nov. 19.

April 25, 1953: Riddle of DNA's Architecture Finally Solved

April 25, 1953: Riddle of DNA's Architecture Finally Solved: Two researchers finally unlock the mystery of DNA's architecture and now the real work can begin.

Tribeca: "Roadie" escapes Blue Oyster Cult

Tribeca: "Roadie" escapes Blue Oyster Cult: Fans of Michael Cuesta's 2001 indie classic "L.I.E.," which features Brian Cox as the only semi-sympathetic pedophile character in the history of popular media (at least post-Humbert Humbert) -- it's time to celebrate, kind of. And by celebrate I mean have a beer at 10 o'clock in the morning and wear the same clothes four days in a row. If you thought the portrait of downscale, dysfunctional Long Island suburbia in "L.I.E." was depressing, wait till you see Ron Eldard as the eponymous hero of "Roadie," playing a 40something guy who gets fired by Blue Öyster Cult (!) after 26 years of shlepping their gear (!!), and winds up back home in Queens doing way too much coke with a couple he knew a long time ago.

Let me add further that Jimmy Testicles' extended soliloquy on the cultural importance of BÖC, the "thinking man's metal band," and the greatness of Buck Dharma's guitar solo on "Dominance and Submission" almost made me a believer -- and I pretty much hate metal, and never had any time for that band. (I mean, "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," yeah. Of course.)

How the iPad changes PC design | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

How the iPad changes PC design | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News: Intel and Micron...expect to unveil samples of a 16GB device, creating up to 128GBs of capacity in a single solid-state storage solution that is smaller than a U.S. postage stamp.

Semi hauling beef hits cow, catches fire

Semi hauling beef hits cow, catches fire:

A semi hauling frozen beef hit a cow and burst into flames Tuesday night on Highway 97. The driver was not injured, but the impact killed the cow. The truck burned to the ground.

Discovery Could Make Fuel Cells Much Cheaper | Autopia | Wired.com

Discovery Could Make Fuel Cells Much Cheaper | Autopia | Wired.com: Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a platinum-free catalyst in the cathode of a hydrogen fuel cell that uses carbon, iron and cobalt. That could make the catalysts “two to three orders of magnitude cheaper,” the lab says, thereby significantly reducing the cost of fuel cells.

For those math dummies out there, 2 to 3 orders of magnitude means 100 to 1000 times cheaper.

Google Voice and Sprint Make a Very Nice Couple | Epicenter | Wired.com

Google Voice and Sprint Make a Very Nice Couple | Epicenter | Wired.com: You go to Google Voice, sign up with a Sprint number, and your phone magically turns into a Google Voice phone. Existing users can go into their list of phones and click a link to turn their Sprint phone into the magic phone.

If you don’t already have a Google Voice account, it’s quite simple. Your Sprint number simply becomes your Google Voice number — without having to port it over — making it super easy to have one number to rule them all.

For those with existing Google Voice numbers — or those like me who have already ported over a number to Google Voice, the process works the opposite way.

... and then comes a long list of dealbreakers. Like this one:

Google Voice number largely becomes your cellphone’s number

... and these:

Voicemail is now natively handled by Google Voice, but the default voicemail app won’t show them. You’ll have to find them in the Google Voice app.

This introduces the one of the oddnesses for existing users turning this on. You’ll have to make changes to your Google Voice app. The easiest way to do this is to switch this on for your phone on the Google Voice webpage, then uninstall the Google Voice app from your phone, then re-install it. This will keep your phone from continuing to make calls through Google Voice’s servers.

This is the easiest way?!

Google Voice numbers can not accept MMS messages. Any MMS sent to your Google Voice number will disappear into the digital dead-letter office, with no notice to the sender or recipient.

You can send an MMS from a Sprint-Google Voice phone through the native text-message app, but it will be sent out showing your Sprint number, not your Google Voice number. You can receive MMSes, but also only if people send it to your Sprint number. For new users turning their Sprint number into their Google number, however, sending and receiving MMSes is just fine.

But given that the real point of Google Voice is that people only need to use one number for you, this is a big drawback for current Google Voice users.

... and then it ends like this:

All-in-all, though, the new Sprint integration is a no-brainer for existing and non-Google Voice users.

No-brainer for non-users, yes! ... For existing users, no, no, no, no, no. Not so much....

Report: Google Voice for Sprint live for some | Dialed In - CNET Blogs

Report: Google Voice for Sprint live for some | Dialed In - CNET Blogs: Last month at CTIA in Orlando, Fla., Google and Sprint announced the partnership, which would grant almost all Sprint phone owners the ability to use Google Voice call forwarding, visual voice mail, and voice transcription services more easily from their devices, without changing their Sprint phone number.

Marvel: What's Next After Avengers? - Movies News at IGN

Marvel: What's Next After Avengers? - Movies News at IGN: Feige said that following Avengers, "Thor will go off into a new adventure, and Captain America will continue to explore the modern world in another film of his own. We hope that holds true for the characters appearing in that film — Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the spy organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. —all of whom are more than worthy and capable of carrying their own films. And, we've got a lot of other characters we're prepping and getting ready for film debuts: the world of martial arts, these great cosmic space fantasies, Dr. Strange, and the magic side of the Marvel Universe. There are many, many stories to be mined."

Mel Gibson says he was "betrayed" - Mel Gibson - Salon.com

Mel Gibson says he was "betrayed" - Mel Gibson - Salon.com: Fortunately for Gibson, in a world where Charlie Sheen can do a sold-out tour and Chris Brown can have a No. 1 album, audiences can be very forgiving toward a man who will wallop a woman, call her a whore and then insist he's been betrayed.

Thousands of mint condition iPad trade-ins spur resales – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home

Thousands of mint condition iPad trade-ins spur resales – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home: “Apple’s iPad is in a class of its own even when it comes to gadget recycling. In the wake of the March introduction of the iPad 2, electronics recycler/reseller Gazelle says it has received so many first-generation iPads in good condition that it plans to start selling them directly to consumers, likely next week,” Elizabeth Woyke blogs for Forbes.

The upshot is that Gazelle has somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000 original iPads that it can resell…

YouTube to stream royal wedding live

YouTube to stream royal wedding live: Google will stream the April 29 wedding between Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton live on YouTube.

Trying to understand income inequality, the most profound change in American society in your lifetime. - By Timothy Noah - Slate Magazine

Trying to understand income inequality, the most profound change in American society in your lifetime. - By Timothy Noah - Slate Magazine: In the late 1970s, a half-century trend toward growing income equality reversed itself. Ever since, U.S. incomes have grown more unequal. Middle-class incomes stagnated while the top 1 percent's share of national income climbed to 24 percent. Middle-income workers no longer benefit from productivity increases, and upward mobility, long the saving grace of the American economy, has faltered. Why is this happening? In the following 10-part series, Slate's Timothy Noah weighs eight possible causes of what Princeton economist Paul Krugman has labeled the Great Divergence. This 30-year trend "may represent the most significant change in American society in your lifetime," Noah writes, "and it's not a change for the better."

Apple's secret location tracker: An "ominous development" - Apple - Salon.com

Apple's secret location tracker: An "ominous development" - Apple - Salon.com: the files are not even encrypted...

More hysteria.

Everyone I know who has an iPhone has an expectation of privacy...

The potential for abuse is evident...

further expands the possibility for widespread, systemic abuse by the government...

sensitive information, including credit card information, to be gathered about people without their knowing it...

demanding answers...

make sure consumers are educated about the possibilities for abuse....

"It's "very Big Brother," she said."

Why and How Apple Is Collecting Your iPhone Location Data | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Why and How Apple Is Collecting Your iPhone Location Data | Gadget Lab | Wired.com: Navalho explained that mobile location services work like this: To get your location, first the iPhone or iPad pulls from Apple’s database containing previously stored information about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi spots to quickly triangulate your location, and then finally the GPS chip analyzes how long it takes satellite signals to reach the device in order to pinpoint location.

In short, Apple’s stored location database is intended to assist and quicken location processes on iOS mobile devices.

Apple’s iOS – on iPad only! – passes Linux in U.S. operating system use – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home

Apple’s iOS – on iPad only! – passes Linux in U.S. operating system use – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home: Pingdom reports, “Not only is iPad now so widely used that it shows up in this list, iOS for iPad has managed to pass Linux as a ‘desktop OS’ (we use quotes, because tablets will probably soon make up their own category). In fact, it passed Linux sometime around December. Not bad for a device that was launched just back in April of 2010.”

The great GOP tax cut fantasy

The great GOP tax cut fantasy: Republicans are nothing if not consistent. Despite all evidence to the contrary, they stick to the script. There's no better proof of this than their adherence to that classic fundamental pillar of supply-side economics: the theory that cutting taxes raises revenues.

Spare Room Holds $1 Million Comic Book Collection

Spare Room Holds $1 Million Comic Book Collection: A retired Minneapolis bus driver who died in a fire last year had a passion for comic books. The fire that took his life started in the kitchen, but a back bedroom filled with over 20,000 comics was spared. It was just recently that the surviving family members realized the collection was worth about $1 million.

2,500 to 3,000 of Dahlberg’s 20,000 comic-book collection would end up “easily” worth more than $1 million. “Maybe closer to $2 million,” said Ed Jaster, senior vice president of Heritage Auctions.

Some of the comics of note in the collection are from 1963 : The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1 and No. 2. The No. 2 issue is one of only five known copies. The company hired to appraise and certify the collection will sell the comics in the coming year. While 3,000 of the comics are valuable, the majority will only be worth around twice the cover price.

Researcher: Apple iPhone location tracking has been no secret | Phones | iOS Central | Macworld

Researcher: Apple iPhone location tracking has been no secret | Phones | iOS Central | Macworld: Levinson seems to define “intentional data collection” as “Apple pulls this information from your personal device over a network connection into its own servers.” He says there’s no evidence this is happening. Allan and Wardman say the same thing: no evidence.

Levinson expands on why this data is being collected at all. “Built-In applications such as Maps and Camera use this geolocational data to operate,” he writes. “Apple provides an API for access to location awareness called Core Location.” He quotes from Apple’s description of this software library: “... You use the classes and protocols in this framework to configure and schedule the delivery of location and heading events. You can also use it to define geographic regions and monitor when the user crosses the boundaries of those regions.”

3 Major Issues with the Latest iPhone Tracking “Discovery” | Alex Levinson

3 Major Issues with the Latest iPhone Tracking “Discovery” | Alex Levinson: That raises the question – how is this data used? It’s used all the time by software running on the phone. Built-In applications such as Maps and Camera use this geolocational data to operate. Apple provides an API for access to location awareness called Core Location. Here is Apple’s description of this softare library:

The Core Location framework lets you determine the current location or heading associated with a device. The framework uses the available hardware to determine the user’s position and heading. You use the classes and protocols in this framework to configure and schedule the delivery of location and heading events. You can also use it to define geographic regions and monitor when the user crosses the boundaries of those regions.

Understand what this file is – a log generated by the various radios and sensors located within the device. This file is utilized by several operations on the device that actually is what makes this device pretty “smart”.

Your iPhone Is Tracking You. So What? - NYTimes.com

Your iPhone Is Tracking You. So What? - NYTimes.com: First of all, from what we can determine, this information isn’t transmitted anywhere — to Apple or anyone else. Instead, it’s stored only on your own computer, in a buried and layman-incomprehensible form, in the backup that iTunes creates each time you sync your phone or tablet. So no, Apple is not tracking you, and neither is the government.

You agree to similar conditions when you use a BlackBerry, a Motorola Blur phone, a Palm or HP phone, and HTC Sense phone, a Microsoft Windows Phone 7, and so on.

In the meantime, if you’re concerned, password-protect your computer, so your jealous spouse can’t download the researchers’ app and run it on your iPhone backup. Or turn off your phone’s Location Services (in Settings), at least whenever you’re going somewhere you’re not supposed to be. Or encrypt your iPhone backups. In iTunes, click your phone’s icon and turn on “Encrypt iPhone Backup.”

Meanwhile, accept it: Yes, Big Brother is watching you. But he’s been watching you for years, well before the iPhone log came to light, and in many more ways than you suspect.

And you know what? I’ll bet he’s bored to tears.

Tim Cook speaks! Apple's COO on Android, Japan, iPad 2 | Phones | Macworld

Tim Cook speaks! Apple's COO on Android, Japan, iPad 2 | Phones | Macworld: I think the user appreciates that Apple can take full responsibility for their experience, whereas the fragmented approach turns the customer into a systems integrator, and few customers that I know want to be a systems integrator.

Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

Apple Reports Second Quarter Results: Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 second quarter ended March 26, 2011. The Company posted record second quarter revenue of $24.67 billion and record second quarter net profit of $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. “With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”

Donald Trump: The president we deserve - How the World Works - Salon.com

Donald Trump: The president we deserve - How the World Works - Salon.com: He's got Reagan's blarney, Clinton's libido and plenty of experience with massive debt and bankruptcy. Perfect!

Timothy O'Brien's biography paints a portrait of Trump suffused in Reaganesque hues. But for Trump, every day isn't just "morning in America" -- it's morning in America on a private jet with a hot babe bringing you a mimosa while you fly to Palm Beach for the unveiling of a statue of yourself.

Amazon announces the Kindle Lending Library

Amazon announces the Kindle Lending Library: Amazon says the Kindle Lending Library, which will launch later this year, will let Kindle and Kindle app customers borrow e-books from 11,000 libraries around the United States.

The rich don't realize they're rich

The rich don't realize they're rich: The New York Times’ Economix blog makes an important and interesting point: "Rich people don’t realize they’re rich."

10 year time capsule: How "The Producers" changed Broadway

10 year time capsule: How "The Producers" changed Broadway:

Ten years ago today, "The Producers" opened on Broadway. The show starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in roles originated by Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in Mel Brooks' 1968 film. The play wasn't just a success, it was a watershed moment in American theater, winning the most Tonys in history (15), spawning a movie based on the musical (which was already based on a movie … more on that later), and selling a record-breaking $3 million in tickets three days after opening.

28 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Could Rock Your Summer | Underwire | Wired.com

28 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Could Rock Your Summer | Underwire | Wired.com: Could this be the biggest movie summer of all time? It's sure looking like it. Almost every weekend features at least one, and maybe two or three, movies with a science fiction, fantasy or comics pedigree.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night -
April 29

Based on the cult comic book. Brandon "Superman" Routh plays a peacekeeper who has to mediate among the vampires, zombies and werewolves of the world, and it's not always pretty. And Sam Huntington plays Routh's undead assistant, as he copes with his toughest case yet -- a case that has him facing the Guardian of Hell. Apparently the original comic was Umberto Eco's favorite comic book, which he could read for days.

Thor -
May 6

The Thunder God cometh! Here's where Marvel finds out whether you're as willing to greet some of its other lesser-known characters with the same enthusiasm you gave Iron Man. Shakespearean actor/director Kenneth Branagh directed an all-star cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman, so fingers crossed. Thor is cast down to Earth by Odin, and has to learn humility before he can reclaim his Uru hammer, Mjolnir.

X-Men: First Class -
June 3

The fifth X-Men movie takes us back to 1962, when Charles Xavier was a young rake, and Erik Lensherr was slightly less of a total bastard. It's the genesis of the X-Men, wrapped in with the Cuban Missile Crisis, and although the movies' continuity may make almost no sense, it should still be fun to watch. The main worry is that, like a lot of other movies coming soon, this film was rushed through production so fast that the actors even commented on it in interviews.

Green Lantern -
June 17

The movie that won WonderCon, this is Warner Bros.' first real attempt to do a big-budget movie of one of its second-tier superheroes. Hal Jordan is an irresponsible test pilot who gets a magic ring from space -- and suddenly finds himself with the weight of the whole cosmos on his shoulders. This film will either be the next Avatar, with its colorful space creatures and full-on sense of wonder, or it'll be just too goofy for regular moviegoers. Fingers crossed.

Captain America: The First Avenger -
July 22

Just as Thor is a weird blend of cosmic warfare, Norse gods, Shakespearean theatrics and superheroes, this film is a mix of a World War II war movie and a superheroic origin story. Can Chris Evans win everyone over as the truest, bluest American hero, who undergoes an experimental procedure to become the perfect human? So far, the trailers look fun -- if a bit oversaturated with Easter eggs referencing every other World War II Marvel hero.

Suing the Devil -
Aug. 26

Sorry, yes. We are totally obsessed with this movie, in which a man tries to sue Satan for $8 trillion -- and Satan shows up. And Satan is Malcolm McDowell, chewing the scenery like nobody has ever chewed it before. We posted some clips a while back, and we can't wait to see more.

Where does good come from? - The Boston Globe

Where does good come from? - The Boston Globe: On a recent Monday afternoon, the distinguished Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson was at his home in Lexington, talking on the phone about the knocks he’s been taking lately from the scientific community, and paraphrasing Arthur Schopenhauer to explain his current standing in his field. “All new ideas go through three phases,” Wilson said, with some happy mischief in his voice. “They’re first ridiculed or ignored. Then they meet outrage. Then they are said to have been obvious all along.”

The decade the GOP hopes you've forgotten - War Room - Salon.com

The decade the GOP hopes you've forgotten - War Room - Salon.com: If this anti-tax adamance -- and the dire warnings of what life in a post-tax hike America would look like -- sounds familiar, it's for good reason. Republicans issued the exact same warnings the last time a president proposed addressing exploding deficits (in part) through tax increases on the wealthy.

This was back in 1993, when Bill Clinton came to office after a campaign in which the national debt -- which had then just crossed the $4 trillion mark -- played an unusually prominent role.

The Republican reaction was identical to what we are hearing from today's GOP. For months in the spring and summer of 1993, they loudly and relentlessly decried Clinton's effort to enact "the largest tax increase in the history of the world" -- a plan that, they warned, would smother what was then a tentative economic recovery, plunge the economy back into recession, throw millions of Americans out of work, and ultimately result in a far worse deficit problem.

What's fun about looking back at the '93 clips, of course, is that we know how the story ended. There was no second recession in the next year. The economy didn't slow down. Jobs weren't killed. Revenue didn't shrivel up. What did happen is that the tentative recovery turned into a full-fledged recovery and economic growth eventually exploded. There are all sorts of explanations for the prosperity of the 1990s; at the very least, we can say that Clinton's budget did absolutely nothing to stop this prosperity from taking hold -- even though the GOP insisted that it would make any kind of recovery impossible. What's more, with the higher rates in place thanks to the Clinton budget (and the Bush budget, for that matter), Uncle Sam benefited from an unprecedented infusion of revenue. By 1998, the country was running surpluses and rapidly paying down the debt. When Clinton left office, America was on track to pay off its entire debt. By any measure, the Clinton tax increases had worked -- spectacularly.

The Moore's Law of solar energy

The Moore's Law of solar energy: If humanity could capture one tenth of one percent of the solar energy striking the Earth — one part in one thousand — we would have access to six times as much energy as we consume in all forms today, with almost no greenhouse gas emissions. At the current rate of energy consumption increase — about 1 percent per year — we will not be using that much energy for another 180 years.

Slideshow: Nine cool features of the Apple TV

Slideshow: Nine cool features of the Apple TV: The second-generation Apple TV is in many ways a radical departure from Apple's original set-top box. Here are some of the things that make it a must-have device in your media cabinet.

Major retailers cut price of Wii to $169.99

Major retailers cut price of Wii to $169.99: Nintendo has yet to confirm the cut, but several major stores have erased $30 from the Wii bundle, which includes the console, a MotionPlus Remote, a Wii nunchuk, Wii Sports, and Wii Sports Resort.

Adobe building iOS compatible video-streaming into Flash

Adobe building iOS compatible video-streaming into Flash: Adobe has announced that it will add support for HTTP Live Streaming to its Flash Media Server, which should allow Flash video to work on iOS devices.

Religion lies about women - On Faith - The Washington Post

Religion lies about women - On Faith - The Washington Post: It is interesting to note the context in which this infamous passage occurs: immediately following the commandment to women to submit to their husbands we find the commandment to children to obey their parents, and to slaves to obey their owners. No amount of instruction to the husbands, parents and owners in question not to ruthlessly exploit their positions of power can alter the fact that women are classed with children and slaves when it comes to their social standing, freedom and self-determination and, like them, are called on to embrace their inferior status with cheerfulness and enthusiasm. In this same sequence of instructions slave-owners are exhorted not to threaten their slaves. Does this make slavery acceptable? Of course not. Only religion could attempt to present such a loathsome idea as though it were not a blot on the dignity of humankind, and the requirement for women always to submit to their menfolk is no less repugnant.

Religion is one lie after another: the lie of original sin, the lie of eternal life, the lie of hell, the lie of answered prayer, the lie that life can have no meaning without religion, the lie that religion is the source of morality, the lie of creationism, the lie of a spy-in-the-sky who hears your every word and reads your every thought. And to this list we must add the lie that it views men and women as equal. It has got away for so long with the kind of lunatic word-games that allow death-by-torture to be presented as an act of love, and eternal torment in the flames of hell to be seen as a necessary act of justice, that we should perhaps not be surprised that it has also managed to dupe its followers into seeing the systematic suppression and silencing of women as an act of liberation and equality. Nevertheless, it is a lie, like all the others: a cynical and wicked lie. It is time women everywhere woke up to it.

How Apple Outsmarts Its Competitors | Tim Bajarin | PCMag.com

How Apple Outsmarts Its Competitors | Tim Bajarin | PCMag.com: During that meeting, they made a comment that I believe is really the heart of Apple's secret sauce and the cornerstone of how it continues to outsmart its competitors. They laid the iPhone on the table, with it turned off, and asked me what I saw. I told them I saw a 3.5 inch blank screen. They said that from Apples point of view, the "magic" of the iPhone is strictly in the software. And, they de-emphasized the hardware.

Our original Libyan misadventure - War Room - Salon.com

Our original Libyan misadventure - War Room - Salon.com: Back then, Thomas Jefferson, another president with a penchant for soaring rhetoric and cool calculation, occupied the White House. The reigning tyrant in Tripoli was Pasha Yusuf Karamanli, whose hands were as bloody as Gadhafi's; he'd seized the throne by murdering one brother and, by some accounts, their father, and banishing his other elder brother Hamet. Under Yusuf, as under Gadhafi, Libya became the most troublesome state in a troubled region -- the Barbary Coast, so called after the red-bearded Turkish captain Barbarossa, who drove the Spanish out of North Africa in the early 1500s. From Libya to Morocco, the successors to Barbarossa's corsairs now thrived on piracy, seizing ships and crews for ransom or extorting protection-money "tribute" to let them pass.

Bucky Dome: Daddy of all geodesic dome homes

Bucky Dome: Daddy of all geodesic dome homes: The R. Buckminster Fuller dome home in Carbondale, Ill., is a lot less dangerous and a lot more sustainable than Mad Max's Thunderdome. It's the proud parent of all geodesic dome homes.

Kirk meets Kink on new Shatner album

Kirk meets Kink on new Shatner album: "Star Trek" legend William Shatner announces the guest/song list for his next album, and it includes the likes of Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi, Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins, talk-box virtuoso Peter Frampton, and power chord superhero and undersung Kink brother Dave Davies.

And the set of songs for this high-concept collection is equally likely to conjure up memories of FM radio (or MTV), with tunes like Steve Miller's "Space Cowboy," Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky," Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," Duran Duran's "Planet Earth," Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science," and--wow--Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Adobe capitulates on Flash, adopts Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming for iOS – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home

Adobe capitulates on Flash, adopts Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming for iOS – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home: Foresman reports, “In other words, instead of trying in vain to persuade Apple to build Flash into iOS, or losing potential Flash Media Server customers to some other iOS-compatible solution, Adobe seems to be implicitly acknowledging that content publishers need Flash-free video streaming.”

Man’s Final Lore: How Shakespeare Shot Lincoln | Picture This | Big Think

Man’s Final Lore: How Shakespeare Shot Lincoln | Picture This | Big Think: It’s one of the most infamous images of American Shakespearean theater. Taken from a performance of Julius Caesar in New York City in 1864, the photograph shows three brothers from a distinguished acting family pose in character: Junius as Cassius on the right, Edwin as Brutus in the center, and on the left, as Marc Anthony, the youngest brother, John Wilkes Booth. It was the only time the three brothers appeared together on stage, but that play would haunt them the rest of their lives. John Wilkes watched his brother Edwin’s portrayal of the “noblest Roman of them all” and decided to become an “American Brutus” who would slay the tyrant Abraham Lincoln who waged a Civil War against his beloved South. Today is the anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 by the would-be Brutus, who failed to recognize the tragic flaw of hubris Shakespeare gave to the protagonist of Julius Caesar. Shakespeare didn’t pull the trigger, of course, but it was his play that inadvertently triggered a series of events that inspired the act.

April 15, 1726: Apple Doesn't Fall Far From Physicist

April 15, 1726: Apple Doesn't Fall Far From Physicist: Isaac Newton tells a biographer the story of how an apple falling in his garden prompted him to develop his law of universal gravitation.

4 ways DRM is like airport security

4 ways DRM is like airport security: While flying home from TOC Bologna, I couldn't help but think about some of the similarities between digital rights management (DRM) and airport security. Here are a few common points that come to mind:

'All My Children,' 'One Life to Live' -- CANCELLED | TMZ.com

'All My Children,' 'One Life to Live' -- CANCELLED | TMZ.com: It's official -- the soap opera era is officially DEAD ... now that ABC has announced they have cancelled "All My Children" and "One Life to Live."

The Tragic Death of the Flip - NYTimes.com

The Tragic Death of the Flip - NYTimes.com: But there’s a second part of the tragedy, too, something that nobody knows. That new Flip that the product manager showed me was astonishing. It was called FlipLive, and it added one powerful new feature to the standard Flip: live broadcasting to the Internet.

That is, when you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot, the entire world can see what you’re filming. You can post a link to Twitter or Facebook, or send an e-mail link to friends. Anyone who clicks the link can see what you’re seeing, in real time—thousands of people at once.

Guernica / The Straight Dope

Guernica / The Straight Dope: America now jails more of its people than any country, including all totalitarian states. We pretend to a war against narcotics, but in truth, we are simply brutalizing and dehumanizing an urban underclass that we no longer need as a labor supply.

Bill Moyers: If I could put a lead on the body of your work—your journalism, your articles, your essays, your speeches, your books, your television series—it would be this: David Simon says America’s not working for everyday people who have no power. And that’s the way the people with power have designed it to work.

Drum kit jeans are a real knee-slapper

Drum kit jeans are a real knee-slapper: British teen wins engineering award for creating jeans that double as a fully functional drum kit. Just tap your thighs to hear the beat.

"Smallville" Series Finale Teaser Video

"Smallville" Series Finale Teaser Video: The CW has released new video clips for "Smallville," promoting the next episode, "Kent," the series finale and a special look back at the Season 10 romance between Tom Welling's Clark and Erica Durance's Lois.

April 13, 1953: Bond Starts Shaking Things Up, Stirring His Fans

April 13, 1953: Bond Starts Shaking Things Up, Stirring His Fans: British publishing house Jonathan Cape publishes Ian Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, introducing the world to literature's most famous spy: James Bond, 007.

Apple announces Final Cut Pro X | Video | Creative Notes | Macworld

Apple announces Final Cut Pro X | Video | Creative Notes | Macworld: Apple says Final Cut Pro X has been rewritten from the ground up, with support for 64-bit, a user-interface redesign, and a whole host of new features. The software takes advantage of core Mac OS X features like Cocoa, Core Animation, Open CL, and Grand Central Dispatch to speed up and fine-tune performance.

In addition to a complete UI overhaul, Final Cut Pro X boasts a newly designed floating point linear color system, up-to-4K-resolution-independent playback, a magnetic timeline for keeping audio and video in sync, Compound Clips for easy video nesting, non-destructive color balancing, automatic audio cleanup, and Smart Collections for organizing clips.

The Magic Bar will charge Apple's keyboard, trackpad

The Magic Bar will charge Apple's keyboard, trackpad: Tossing out piles of AA batteries and juggling rechargeables is so last century. The Magic Bar brings inductive charging to Apple's Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, allowing you to simply dock your input devices in order to top them off.

SPINOFF: TV's Wonder Woman To Wear 3 Costumes

SPINOFF: TV's Wonder Woman To Wear 3 Costumes: It turns out that NBC didn’t change Wonder Woman’s costume in response to widespread criticism. Instead, star Adrianne Palicki will don three different looks in David E. Kelley’s pilot, including one with shorts.

The 10 Most Awesome Moments In Walter Simonson's 'Thor' - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

The 10 Most Awesome Moments In Walter Simonson's 'Thor' - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews: See, like his mythological counterpart, Marvel's Balder was once killed and sent to Hel, where he was confronted with everyone he had ever killed -- and as the greatest warrior of Asgard, he killed a lot of people. And not only that, in order to return to the realm of the living, he had to kill them all again. And as he later tells Thor, when he left Hel, he didn't walk out. He swam in an ocean of blood.

The Difference Between Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Difference Between Science Fiction and Fantasy: It never even occurs to Aragorn or Gandalf to give the poor the godlike powers they themselves get to wield… let alone provide them with libraries, running water, printing presses or the germ theory of disease. Only little Peregrin Took seems to get a glimmer of an idea in that direction. The only character who briefly ponders possibilities, and he’s soon bullied out of it.

April 12, 1961: Soviets Orbit Gagarin, First Man in Space

April 12, 1961: Soviets Orbit Gagarin, First Man in Space: The Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man into space, and the space race is officially on.

My Uncle, Oscar Hammerstein « Commentary Magazine

My Uncle, Oscar Hammerstein « Commentary Magazine:

For the next several hours, Oscar went over every line, every lyric, every stage direction. Sondheim said that at the end of this crash course in musical theater by one of its masters, he knew how to write for himself. Oscar continued to mentor, advise, encourage, and caution Sondheim until his death 15 years later. By that time, Sondheim had written the lyrics to West Side Story and Gypsy and was on the cusp of one of the most extraordinary careers in musical-theater history, one that would be as theatrically daring as Oscar’s own, and perhaps as significant.

Apple’s revolutionary iPad’s killer app: Live TV – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home

Apple’s revolutionary iPad’s killer app: Live TV – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home: “So Cablevision, Time Warner and Comcast have jumped on the magic tablet ride, producing apps to deliver their programming, control their DVRs and conduct sundry other tasks,” Quain reports. “The apps are all free, too — the catch is that viewers still have to pay a traditional cable TV subscription to gain access to the wireless streaming feeds. Why are cable companies doing this? By accommodating a second screen, they hope to stay relevant — and retain their customers.”

Better Medicine Through iPad

Better Medicine Through iPad: iPad and more than a dozen in-house apps are helping Minneapolis-based Medtronic — a world leader in medical equipment and therapies — deliver its state-of-the-art products to physicians and patients worldwide. “iPad lets us get information to our customers much quicker than we could before,” says Michael Hedges, Medtronic’s Chief Information Officer. “On iPad, the information is delivered in a way that encourages people to use it.”

What they really mean by "American exceptionalism" - War Room - Salon.com

What they really mean by "American exceptionalism" - War Room - Salon.com: With or without Newt Gingrich, the tone communicated by the ever-evolving term "American exceptionalism" will continue to be an indicator of one's political identity. It is unfortunate that the political discourse these days dictates that you can't love your country if you don't believe in its exceptionalism. Such oversimplification is one of the reasons why national campaigns focus on symbolic language instead of substantive problems and the alternative plans candidates propose to resolve them sensibly.

Publishing News: Week in Review

Publishing News: Week in Review: EBOOKS ARE NOT BOOKS. They're just bits, and typically not so many, compared to a radio show. The cost of making a copy is negligible. It needn't cost anything to distribute the ebook. eBook distribution is even cheaper than radio, because you don't have to pay for transmitter power, and you don't have to own a frequency license. It's the monetization machinery that costs money: the ecommerce systems and the DRM. If the producers of ebooks had some way of covering their fixed costs (with profit to make it worth their while), ebooks could work just like free radio. Three million people contributing a dime would do quite nicely. 30,000 contributing $10 would work, too.

Why a lack of empathy is the root of all evil - Features, Health & Families - The Independent

Why a lack of empathy is the root of all evil - Features, Health & Families - The Independent: Zero-negatives are the pathological group. These are people with borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. They are capable of inflicting physical and psychological harm on others and are unmoved by the plight of those they hurt. Baron-Cohen says people with these conditions all have one thing in common: zero empathy.

Commodore 64 Goes on Sale. Amiga, VIC-20 Coming Soon

Commodore 64 Goes on Sale. Amiga, VIC-20 Coming Soon: Commodore has released an Intel Atom-based Commodore 64: a regular all-in-one Ubuntu PC in the shape of the classic C64 home computer, which can also boot into a game-playing C64 emulation mode.

Being T.E. Lawrence | Hoover Institution

Being T.E. Lawrence | Hoover Institution: In truth, Lawrence was simply Lawrence: Who else but T.E. Lawrence possessed the personal reputation and charm that could force Prince Feisal and the Zionist Chaim Weizmann to sit down together in January 1919 and sign an agreement (drafted by Lawrence) to create an Arab-Jewish government in Palestine? And who else but T.E. Lawrence could have such a major accomplishment so completely ignored by the Allied powers as they settled up the Middle East?

Buildings Made with a Printer - Technology Review

Buildings Made with a Printer - Technology Review: In conventional construction, workers piece together buildings from mass-produced, prefabricated bricks, I-beams, concrete columns, plates of glass and so on. Neri Oxman, an architect and a professor at MIT's Media Lab, intends to print them instead—essentially using concrete, polymers, and other materials in the place of ink. Oxman is developing a new way of designing buildings to take advantage of the flexibility that printing can provide. If she's successful, her approach could lead to designs that are impossible with today's construction methods.

Mac 911: Creating iTunes account without a credit card

Mac 911: Creating iTunes account without a credit card: Issue: You've given your child an iPod touch. That child naturally want to buy stuff. You, however, don't want to give them access to your credit card. Here's how to setup a credit-card-free Apple ID.

The next screen, Provide a Payment Method, is where the magic happens. In the Payment Method area choose None. Enter your address information below and click Continue. You’ll see a Verify Your Email Address screen. If you don’t have access to your daughter’s e-mail account, have her check it for a message from Apple. In that message there will be a Verify Now link. All she needs to do is click that link and the account is ready to go.

So, what happens now? Your daughter will be able to download any free content she likes from the iTunes Store, including apps. However, if she wants to purchase something, she’ll see a window that tells her that the purchase can’t be completed until some kind of payment information is linked to the account. If all she ever wants to do is download free stuff, she’s fine.

This helps me, and anyone else whose credit card has expired, to continue to receive free content. Yay!

April 6, 1938: Teflon, an Invention That Sticks

April 6, 1938: Teflon, an Invention That Sticks: Fiddling around in the lab one day, Roy Plunkett accidentally discovers polytetrafluoroethylene, soon to be known as Teflon, a slippery substance that will have practical applications in everything from nonstick cookware to a presidential nickname.

First Look: QuarkXPress 9

First Look: QuarkXPress 9: The new QuarkXPress 9 builds on the strengths of previous versions, and adds some truly innovative new capabilities, such as ShapeMaker and welcome sophistication in tools such as conditional styles, callouts, Linkster, and Cloner, and smart enhancements to style overrides. Galen Gruman walks us through the new features of the main application in this first look.

TV (Watchers) Everywhere: Hulu 'On Track' For A Million Subscribers This Year

TV (Watchers) Everywhere: Hulu 'On Track' For A Million Subscribers This Year: Hulu Plus, the subscription service that launched last November, says it is 'on track' to sign up more than a million paying customers by the end of this year. It’s a far cry from the 20 million people who subscribe to ideological twin Netflix, but it’s a heck of a start — and it comes amid fertile innovation around the flat screen TV you take everywhere, otherwise known as the iPad.

Thinking the Impossible: French Philosophy Since 1960 by Gary Gutting – review | Books | The Observer

Thinking the Impossible: French Philosophy Since 1960 by Gary Gutting – review | Books | The Observer: Because, so the theory goes, you don't speak language. Language speaks you.

It's like being the Yakov Smirnoff of philosophy.

"Rebarbatively obscurantist the post-structuralists may be..."

Say what?

Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.: Do Narcissists Know They Are Narcissists?

Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.: Do Narcissists Know They Are Narcissists?:

How Tokyo's Imperial Hotel Survived a 1923 Earthquake - Edward Tenner - Technology - The Atlantic

How Tokyo's Imperial Hotel Survived a 1923 Earthquake - Edward Tenner - Technology - The Atlantic: The architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright proves impressively sturdy amid the seismic activity and fire of an earlier Japanese disaster

Earth-Companion Asteroid Discovered in Horseshoe-Shaped Orbit - Technology Review

Earth-Companion Asteroid Discovered in Horseshoe-Shaped Orbit  - Technology Review:

Why we must raise taxes on the rich - War Room - Salon.com

Why we must raise taxes on the rich - War Room - Salon.com: Despite an economy that's twice as large as it was thirty years ago, the bottom 90 percent are still stuck in the mud. If they're employed they're earning on average only about $280 more a year than thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation. That's less than a 1 percent gain over more than a third of a century.

If the rich were taxed at the same rates they were half a century ago, they'd be paying in over $350 billion more this year alone, which translates into trillions over the next decade. That's enough to accomplish everything the nation needs while also reducing future deficits.

If we also cut what we don't need (corporate welfare and bloated defense), taxes could be reduced for everyone earning under $80,000, too. And with a single payer health-care system – Medicare for all – instead of a gaggle of for-profit providers, the nation could save billions more.

Wozniak: Tablet is the PC for 'normal people'

Wozniak: Tablet is the PC for 'normal people': Tablets are the culmination of what Steve Jobs wanted to create at Apple from the beginning, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said Monday.

For some doctors, the iPad is claiming a key spot next to the stethoscope - The Boston Globe

For some doctors, the iPad is claiming a key spot next to the stethoscope - The Boston Globe: Nathanson, in the emergency department, keeps the patient tracking system on his screen at all times, so he can keep informed without the constant interruptions of pages to update him. He enters orders and pages colleagues, and pulls up websites for patients on the fly.

Feldman, a hospitalist, has armed himself with educational resources. He used to hand-draw pictures for patients to explain, say, the digestive system; now he uses Netter’s “Atlas,’’ and flips back to X-rays, lab results, etc. to connect the pieces and answer questions.

April 4, 1975: Bill Gates, Paul Allen Form a Little Partnership

April 4, 1975: Bill Gates, Paul Allen Form a Little Partnership: Two pioneer geeks get in on the ground floor and make something big: Microsoft.

Azarenka rips Sharapova for Sony title (AP)

Azarenka rips Sharapova for Sony title (AP): Swapping shrieks along with their shots, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka made rallies sound like a car alarm. Sharapova was the soprano, Azarenka the alto, and their alternating arias could be heard on the beach across the street from the Sony Ericsson Open. But Sharapova was flat and her opponent sharp.

America's unspoiled oases | Slide Show - Salon.com

America's unspoiled oases | Slide Show - Salon.com: Here's a remedy for the crowds at Multnomah Falls: Keep heading east on I-84 to Exit 55, a stop that most fly by at 70 mph. What I found: no crowds and a two-tabled picnic nook at the end of a 100-yard stroll, tucked up against secretive Starvation Creek Falls. It's a great respite from the road, but, wait, there's more. An easy, three-falls-in-one jaunt takes you to Cabin Creek Falls, barricaded behind an enormous boulder, man-made Hole-in-the-Wall Falls, then lacy Lancaster Falls. The tough, 4,800-vertical-foot trek up Mount Defiance had me alternately gasping for air and gasping at the views, from Mount Hood to Mount Rainier. Fun fact: No one starved at Starvation Creek, nee Starveout Creek; the name refers to a train that got caught between avalanches for a week. Map it.

Marvel and DC Go Pre-Day & Date with Digital Comics, Single Issues Priced at 10 Cents - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

Marvel and DC Go Pre-Day & Date with Digital Comics, Single Issues Priced at 10 Cents - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews: In a stunning reversal of their recent digital strategies, Marvel and DC Entertainment have both announced a complete revamp of their digital comics services, including releasing digital issues a week before their printed counterparts, a pricing structure that will make most digital single issues available for only 10 cents, and the ability to buy a digital comic on one service and read it anywhere. After the jump, we break down the details of this groundbreaking announcement and share our thoughts on its significance.

Comics distributed through the pre-day and date system will be distributed in an enhanced digital format, known as ECBZ, which you can download to your computer DRM-free. This format supports in-comic hyperlinking, allowing for footnotes that link to comprehensive online encyclopedias or other comics. Many high profile ECBZ titles will include supplemental bonus material like variant covers, sketches, interviews, audio commentary by the creators and editors involved in the project, or even enhanced pages that allow you to peel back the layers of the comic, removing the lettering, colors, and inks, sometimes going all the way back to the thumbnail stage.

Surprisingly, retailers have reacted to the announcement with almost universal positivity. Adam Healy of Cosmic Monkey Comics in Portland, Ore. called the initiative "[t]otally reasonable, really. The extras are a nice addition to the comic reading experience, and make digital comics similar to a deluxe special edition, like Blu-ray vs DVD." He added that "while the prices could be higher, I trust that Marvel and DC will maintain the strong relationships they've built up with their retail partners over the past decades while simultaneously working to grow the industry. After all, don't we all want more people reading comics? The bigger the audience the better, as far as I'm concerned."

Access Denied

Access Denied: I took my little Android for a walk down the street last night. Just for fun I opened up the Wi-Fi settings and scanned for networks. I found two or three on every block, and about half of them were wide open. For instance, about halfway to town there was a network broadcasting LINKSYS. I opened up a browser window, typed 192.168.0.1, and pressed return. There was the router's configuration page, no password or nothing. Walk right in and make yourself t'home. I resisted the urge to tweak a...

Tax the Super Rich now or face a revolution Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch

Tax the Super Rich now or face a revolution Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch: Here’s how one savvy insider who knows described this Super-Rich Delusion: “The top 1% live privileged lives, aren’t worried about much. Families vacation at the best resorts. Their big concerns are finding the best Pilates teacher, best masseuse, best surgeons, best private schools. They aren’t concerned with the underlying deterioration of America or the world, except in the abstract, because they aren’t directly affected by it. That’s not to say they aren’t sympathetic, aware, or don’t talk about the issues you bring up. They are largely concerned with protecting and enhancing their socio-economic positions, ensuring their families live well. And nothing you write about will change things.”

Warning: Mubarak, Gaddafi, Ali, Assad, even the Saudis also lived in the Super-Rich Delusion. Have for a long time. Were vulnerable. Ripe for a revolution. They, too, honestly believed they were divinely protected, chosen for great earthly wealth, enjoyed great armies.

Before you start betting any more at Wall Street’s rigged casinos, think long and hard about these six megatoxins lurking in America’s Super-Rich Delusion, a mind-altering pandemic infecting our nation’s leadership in Washington, Corporate America and Wall Street … but also “trickling down,” infecting many Americans. Listen:

1. Warning: Super Rich want tax cuts, creating youth unemployment

Bloomberg warns: “The Kids Are Not Alright.” Worldwide, youth unemployment is fueling the revolution. In a New York Times column, Matthew Klein, a 24-year-old Council on Foreign Relations researcher, draws a parallel between the 25% unemployment among Egypt’s young revolutionaries and the 21% for young American workers: “The young will bear the brunt of the pain” as governments rebalance budgets. Taxes on workers will be raised and spending on education will be cut while mortgage subsidies and entitlements for the elderly are untouchable,” as will tax cuts for the rich. Opportunities lost. “How much longer until the rest of the rich world” explodes like Egypt?

2. Warning: rich get richer on commodity prices, poor get angrier

USA Today’s John Waggoner warns: “Soaring food prices send millions into poverty, hunger: Corn up 52% in 12 months. Sugar 60%. Soybeans 41%. Wheat 24%. For 44 million the “rise in food prices means a descent into extreme poverty and hunger, warns the World Bank.” Many causes: Speculators. Soaring oil prices. Trade policies. Population explosion. But altogether they expose “the underlying inequalities and issues related to the standard of living that boil beneath the surface,” says a Pimco manager.

3. Warning: Global poor ticking time bomb targeting Super Rich

A Time special report, “Poor vs. Rich: A New Global Conflict” warned that a “conflict between two worlds — one rich, one poor — is developing, and the battlefield is the globe itself.” Just 25 developed nations of 750 million citizens consume most of the world’s resources, produce most of its manufactured goods and enjoy history’s highest standard of living.” But they’re now facing 100 underdeveloped poor nations with 2 billion people with hundreds of millions living in poverty all demanding “an ever larger share of that wealth.” Think Egypt. British leader calls this a “time bomb for the human race.”

What a twist: Remember vice president Dick Cheney said “deficits don’t matter.” Today the GOP is so blinded by its obsession to destroy Obama’s presidency, deficits are now the only thing they say matters.

'LizaMoon' Mass SQL Injection Attack Escalates Out of Control - Security - News & Reviews - eWeek.com

'LizaMoon' Mass SQL Injection Attack Escalates Out of Control - Security - News & Reviews - eWeek.com: A mass SQL injection attack that initially compromised 28,000 Websites has spiraled out of control. At the last count, more than a million sites have been compromised, with no end in sight.

More than 500,000 URLs have been injected with LizaMoon, according to Runald. If all the domains used in the attack are considered, eWEEK found about 2.9 million results on Google Search that have been compromised.

'The issue was not if we were going to have a fire, it was when' | KPIC CBS 4 - News, Weather and Sports - Roseburg, OR - Roseburg, Oregon | Local & Regional News

'The issue was not if we were going to have a fire, it was when' | KPIC CBS 4 - News, Weather and Sports - Roseburg, OR - Roseburg, Oregon | Local & Regional News: Two cats that lived there were later located OK.

The coverup continues: The Kennedys in Hollywood - John F. Kennedy - Salon.com

The coverup continues: The Kennedys in Hollywood - John F. Kennedy - Salon.com: This, to me, is the most dramatic story to tell about the Kennedys. They tried to save America, and they were killed by the Saurons who have kept our country in a permanent state of fear and war for the past half-century -- virtually my entire life. It's a grand epic, as old as ancient Rome, as beautiful and horrible as Shakespeare.

Top 10 April Fools' Day Fake News Items for 2011 - PCWorld

Top 10 April Fools' Day Fake News Items for 2011 - PCWorld: ZoomHulu Goes 1996

Ever wonder what Hulu would look like on a computer running Windows 95? Now you can find out. Landing on Hulu.com today you'll get to see the premium video site in all its retro glory complete with videos for the latest episodes of the X-Files, Murder One, Kids In The Hall and The Dana Carvey Show. The site even loads images as if you were on dial-up and honors all the bad Web design techniques from the period including scrolling marquees and flashing text elements. The adverts for Netscape Navigator 3.0 and Internet Explorer at the bottom of the page were also a brilliant touch.

Happy April Fools' Day: April 1, 2011 - Mac Rumors

Happy April Fools' Day: April 1, 2011 - Mac Rumors: Today is April 1, 2011 and represents April Fools' Day -- so readers should be wary of hoaxes and claims at both news and rumor sites today. Today also represents Apple's 35th anniversary, having been founded on this day in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.