Distributed proofreading, a link from Warmbrain. Cool. Volunteer! I talked to Project Gutenberg's founder for a New Scientist article about a year ago; very dedicated guy. NB: the ever-extended copyright laws Lawrence Lessig is fighting against in the Supreme Court would seriously cripple the Gutenberg effort.
9:45:13 PM  #   your two cents []

From GMSV: "Janesville police responded to a smoke complaint around 1 a.m. Tuesday and found a man barbecuing his computer modem."
8:37:12 PM  #   your two cents []

Apparently Trinity College Dublin is considering taking legal action against LucasFilm for allegedly basing the Jedi Archive in Return of the Clones on TCD's famous Long Room in the Old Library, a much-photographed 17th century library in one of the oldest buildings on campus. It's also where the Book of Kells used to be kept in a little wood and glass case, til they moved it to a high-security steel and glass case elsewhere in the building! Simon McGarr emailed me a pointer to a story that ran on RTE, the Irish national broadcaster. TCD owns the copyright on commercial uses of the image -- what that means in terms of re-imagining it in another futuristic century, I don't know... Update: TCD says it would just be nice to have an acknowledgement that it's the Long Room.

When I saw the film I thought immediately that they'd obviously based the Archive on the Long Room -- every detail is duplicated, down to the distinctive arched roof, aisles of books, and busts at the end of each aisle. I'd spent a lot of time in that room over several years of postgrad work and it was just as if you were sitting in it at some future point. But LucasFilm is saying there's no such connection. Er... OK. You check it out for yourself (keep in mind the perspective is different -- the Long Library shot is taken from above):

 vs

 

6:45:31 PM  #   your two cents []

Here's a letter to the editor from today's Irish Times with -- you've gotta admit -- a pretty good quote [heh!]:

Madam, - Does Dr William Reville really think that the reason only 7 per cent of top scientists believe in God is "cultural pressure"? (Science Today, November 7th.) Let me offer another, in the words of Prof Frederick Crews:

"Why, we must wonder, would the shaper of the universe have frittered away 13 billion years, turning out quadrillions of useless stars, before getting around to the one thing he really cared about, seeing to it that a miniscule minority of earthling vertebrates are washed clean of sin and guaranteed an eternal place in his company?" - Yours, etc.,

JOHN GRENHAM, Windele Road, Dublin 9.

9:55:30 AM  #   your two cents []

There's a great picture here of 11-year-old Aine Murphy holding a pretty scary looking millipede! That's the front page photo in today's Irish Times. It's National Science Week this week and you can get a complete list of events (for adults and kids) here, at Science. ie's website.
9:52:14 AM  #   your two cents []

I'm off to a press briefing this morning on the "non-voice products" from mobile operator 02. What this means to you and me are services like MMS, games and locator services (eg the ability to let you know about services available in the vicinity of where you are with your portable personal tagging device, aka your mobile). I'm interested to see what they're thinking about and also hoping to test out MMS (multimedia messaging service), now that the networks are about ready for it.

My colleague Jamie Smyth at the Times has been testing out three different camera phones and having a blast but at the moment has to send pics as attachments to email over GPRS.  The camera phones are very cool. I tell you, every teenager and college student is going to use these and send tons of pics -- rather than a call you can send a friend a pic of you and pals waiting in the pub, at a party, on holiday, etc -- once you see the handsets and the colour screens and pic files you instantly see the possibility, rather than the hype. These are fun. I...want...one... I predict success for the phone makers and a big boost to operators as long as prices for sending MMS are not too high.

9:43:29 AM  #   your two cents []

How the mobile phone has changed our world. "The mobile has become the supermarket checkout queue of private life, where everyone gets to clock everyone else's trolley, to see who is on no-fat yoghurt and who's on family-size oven chips."  [Guardian Unlimited]
9:26:51 AM  #   your two cents []

Here's a whole set of good stuff from the NY Times:

Mr. Qaddafi, You've Got Mail. How easy is it for the average Internet user to communicate with the world's least friendly regimes? [New York Times: Technology]

9:23:01 AM  #   your two cents []

Bill Gates to Tour India Amid Global Software Debate. Taking the case for Windows software to a crucial audience, Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, is set to begin a four-day tour of India. New York Times: Technology]
9:22:21 AM  #   your two cents []

A Hard Sell for Online CD Merchants. Online music swapping services like Napster and KaZaA have battered businesses in the music industry. But no group has taken it on the chin as much as online CD merchants.  [New York Times: Technology]
9:21:41 AM  #   your two cents []

More Restatements at Worldcom. WorldCom expects to add to its financial restatements, even beyond the $9 billion in fraudulent results the company has disclosed.  [New York Times: Technology]
9:21:00 AM  #   your two cents []

Jane Austen. "I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them." [Quotes of the Day]
9:20:10 AM  #   your two cents []