Warning: sarcasm ahead (and it's not a pretty picture). I'm sorry, but even as a card-carrying, California-reared liberal, of proud liberal parentage, this just makes me (mirthlessly) laugh. At first I thought anything called the Journal of Aesthetics & Protest had to be an Onion-style satire on foofie academic leftie pomposity. But no! My god, it is real. This is 1) the kind of indignant, oh-so-middle-class, over-intellectualised  'protest' savagely filleted by Tom Wolfe in Radical Chic; 2) the kind of thing that gets deservedly lampooned in David Lodge's novels of silly academia; 3) the literary/analytical equivalent of proselytising vegetarians who wear leather shoes. I did my academic time, reading lots of critical/literary/political theory and swanning about completing a (theory-based, literary) PhD, so I know of which type of severe ivorytower-itis waffle I speak. Been there, done that! :^)

Ok, the gasket is now blown and that pompous little hissy fit is over. Let's get back to the cool geek stuff. :^D

11:17:26 PM  #   your two cents []

Mobile money spinner for women. Women in Bangladeshi villages are making a successful living by renting out airtime on their mobile phones. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
9:32:44 PM  #   your two cents []

Free Speech Same as Free Content?. <<On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a suit seeking to overturn the 1998 law that extended the copyright term from 75 to 95 years. Plaintiffs argue it's a First Amendment issue.>> [Wired News]
9:31:56 PM  #   your two cents []

The world's most dangerous server room?. Don't touch that switch [The Register]
9:25:22 PM  #   your two cents []

<<MC Escher in Lego. Lego enthusiasts have implemented three of Escher's optical illusion paintings (including "Ascending and Descending," pictured here), using Lego! Link (via MeFi) >>
[Boing Boing Blog]
9:24:32 PM  #   your two cents []

ITxpo: Barrett optimistic about IT recovery. Companies must invest in technology to remain competitive, Intel CEO says [InfoWorld: Top News] Barrett's clearly out on the cheerleading trail. Good for him. As his boss Andy G. once said, the one certain thing about recessions is, they end.
9:21:54 PM  #   your two cents []

Ulster Unionists Want Sinn Fein Out [AP World News] Gasp! Shock! Horror! So what else is new in the past 100 years?
9:15:19 PM  #   your two cents []

3 Astrophysicists Share Nobel Prize [AP World News] "A Japanese and two American astrophysicists won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for using some of the most obscure particles and waves in nature to increase understanding of the universe." Those are cosmic X-rays and neutrinos...
9:10:24 PM  #   your two cents []

Leaked document gives peek at Dell plan. <<An internal Dell document leaked onto the Internet offers a look at the company's plans for the handheld market.>> [CNET News.com] Dell people were very cagey about a possible entry into this market when I attended one of their big journo/analyst conferences last spring in New York, and again, in talking to them in Ireland (where they have their European HQ) during the summer.
9:09:49 PM  #   your two cents []

Good and bad news about bandwidth prices. Prices are stabilizing but corporate users may have to pay more [InfoWorld: Top News]

"Customers aren't focused as much on price as they have been over the past couple of years. Many of them are interested in working with a financially secure partner and are prepared to pay a little more for greater stability."

9:05:50 PM  #   your two cents []

ITxpo: Gartner grades the Web services standards. Analyst firm positive on most specs, although weaknesses remain [InfoWorld: Top News]
9:05:14 PM  #   your two cents []

House votes for Webcasters' reprieve. <<A bill exempting small Net radio broadcasters from fees that had threatened to silence many small operations passes the House of Representatives.>> [CNET News.com] There's also been some behind-the-scenes negotiating between the music publishers (hissssssss) and broadcasters, but this bill sounds like a far better option.
8:59:16 AM  #   your two cents []

Steven Levy, a criminal? Naw!: <<Newsweek's Steven Levy offers a personally directed piece on how he used a neighbor's Wi-Fi access and then wondered about the implications by talking to the FBI, Tim Pozar, and others.>> [80211b News]

8:58:25 AM  #   your two cents []

Eternal copyright to be challenged in high court. Mickey Mouse meets the Supremes [The Register]
8:55:24 AM  #   your two cents []

Linus Alert! Mr Linux basks in the limelight. <<The man behind Linux¸ Linus Torvalds¸ talks about being the poster boy for the anti-Microsoft campaign in an interview with the BBC.>> [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
8:54:49 AM  #   your two cents []

Environmentalists Identify New Menace: Discarded Cellphones [New York Times: Technology] "These chemicals accumulate and persist in the environment. They get in the plants, soil, water, and then move up the stream to humans."
8:52:56 AM  #   your two cents []

And in Ireland, we've flying along at 1,500 connections (last official count)... Britain clicks on broadband button. <<The number of people connect to high speed internet services in Britain has hit the one million milestone.>> [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
8:48:29 AM  #   your two cents []

Crucial Week Ahead for Rights in Digital Age [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]
8:47:29 AM  #   your two cents []

The fate of the Northern Executive (the North's governing body) looks like it will be decided this morning when David Trimble meets Tony Blair.
8:46:30 AM  #   your two cents []