Phew! New study lowers odds of asteroid impact.  "...megaton-sized impacts will occur only once a century while ten megaton explosions, like the one that occurred over Tunguska, Siberia in 1908, may happen just once in 1,000 years. Scientists previously estimated that Tunguska-class impacts might be as frequent as once a century." [spacetoday.net]
10:02:25 PM  #   your two cents []

Senators Aim to Wirelessly Jumpstart Broadband [Slashdot] Some related Dublin news: O2 today announced wireless broadband access for business customers -- unfortunately I do not have the press release to hand (in the office) and, as is so typical of many businesses, they have not put this news up on their website yet! But basically they will offer business subscriber access to some WiFi hotspots located around the state, at CIE locations as well as at some hotels, from this January.
9:56:19 PM  #   your two cents []

Report calls for nanotech laissez-faire. Nanotechnology's potential benefit to society is so great, a report says, governments should take a hands-off approach to regulating the developing science, despite possible dangers. [CNET News.com]
9:55:23 PM  #   your two cents []

A press announcement released yesterday, and forwarded by my father, shows that a Field Research poll conducted in California revealed overwhelming support for smoke-free bars -- among bar and restaurant owners and employees. This group has shown a 60% increase in support since 1998, when less than half (47%) approved. Now, it's 75%. Among patrons, 79% said it was important to have a smoke-free environment, a 20% increase on 1998, when the figure was 66%. Assembly Bill 13 (AB 13), the legislation that mandated smoke-free bars and restaurants in California, is recognised even by its strongest supporters as having been one of the most controversial pieces of employment legislation ever introduced in the state. Five years on, this percentage of support among the group which most feared a drop off in business is a testament to how little such laws adversely affect business and indeed, improve the business environment for everyone.

In Ireland, we are facing enormous resistance from  pub owners to the health minister's intention to introduce even a partial ban on smoking (during the time when pubs are also serving food). As this survey shows, even most of those who initially think such restrictions might be catastrophic to business find they appreciate the clean air.

9:39:18 PM  #   your two cents []

One of my favourite tech/business newsletters, Media Unspun, has started a blog at http://www.mediaunspun.com/weblog.html. Subscribers can get a password to make all the witty and snide comments they wish in the comments section, but anyone can read the blog. Media Unspun is primarily the team of people that used to do the Industry Standard's sharp Media Grok column, one of the few newsletters I stayed subscribed to over time, as others began to sound repetitive and full of hype. The Standard's gone, but Media Unspun lives -- however you need to pay to get Media Unspun, though you can trial it for a few free weeks. It's a great way of getting a range of perspectives on a top story of the day, if you like tech, business, politics and sarcasm (in no particular order). More than once I have been seeing laughing out loud at the computer screen in my corner of the Irish Times office, a credit to the newsletter's spiky writing. Only NTK.net also induces that kind of self-humiliating public behaviour!
4:23:51 PM  #   your two cents []

Sigh. Don't you just hate it when you get some great new digital toy and then the software lets you down? Today, I got an XDA pocket pc/gprs phone combo -- very sleek metallic thing with gsm/gprs/wap built in, and have been having such fun with it all day long, trying instant messaging with a pal on the other side of Dublin, downloading my email, checking out who does PDA-friendly webpages on the net, trying out the .wav file phone ringtones (the heavy metal guitar thing is pretty damn funny, but would scare all the old ladies on the bus). Was really looking forward to getting it home, whipping its cradle into the USB port, and syncing that baby up. Sigh. MS ActiveSync has 'issues' with syncing anything but my browser favourites. I kind of care more about my calendar, contacts and email, thanks very much. So. Impasse. On to tech support tomorrow, alas...

12:43:50 AM  #   your two cents []