Friday, April 12, 2002

WinInfo Short Takes: Week of April 15. An irreverent look at some of the week's other news, including news from TechEd and the Microsoft antitrust lawsuit [Windows Informant] 6:34:16 PM

Suicide blast rocks central Jerusalem. A female suicide bomber kills six people in Jerusalem, and the Palestinians say Colin Powell has postponed his meeting with Yasser Arafat. [BBC News: world] Ah, crap. According to this BBC report, Powell has, indeed, cancelled his meeting with Arafat. No word yet on any outcome from his meeting with Sharon earlier today. I was on board when Powell said continued violence wouldn’t stop his mission. I can’t help but wonder what changed.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:32:50 PM

Video Inspires New Dispute Over Alaska Refuge Drilling. On its Web site, the Interior Dept. features a video created by a lobbying group to promote oil drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge. By Don Van Natta Jr.. [New York Times: Politics] Apparently Bush Interior Secretary Gale Norton thinks it’s just fine to use an industry funded video in place of her own agency's work to officially promote Bush administration legislation. Hint to Gale: That’s illegal. But hey, when has a little thing like legality stopped the Bushies from rewarding the corporate masters?   Cheers,   Dusty 6:30:54 PM

'Cracks' in China's Three Gorges dam. A top Chinese official makes an unusually frank attack on the controversial dam project, saying cracks have appeared in the concrete. [BBC News: sci/tech] The forced resettlement of millions, massive environmental damage and now they find the damn dam is cracked? Some RBIs (Really Bad Ideas) just keep getting worse.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:25:41 PM

Open-source MP3 rival goes mobile. The Ogg Vorbis project to create a fully open, license-free alternative to the MP3 format gets a boost with the release of the first Ogg player for a handheld device. [ZDNet Tech News] As I’ve said before, to my highly trained ears the Ogg Vorbis codec is far superior to MP3. Not only is it far more dynamic and natural sounding, it produces files about half the size of a comparable MP3. Now there’s a hand held Ogg Vorbis device that also handles MP3.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:23:10 PM

US reconsiders nuclear defence shield. Military officials are looking again at putting nuclear warheads on missile defence interceptors - an idea abandoned 30 years ago [New Scientist] Apparently there is no long rejected RBI (Really Bad Idea) too stupid for the Bushies to consider dusting off. Nuclear tipped ABMs? Great idea, guys. Sheesh.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:20:25 PM

New WindowsUpdate Downloads [ActiveWin] Get 'em while they're hot. Cheers, Dusty 6:18:20 PM

Brett Butler. "Dreams that do come true can be as unsettling as those that don't." [Motivational Quotes of the Day] 6:41:22 AM

Powell begins key peace talks. The US secretary of state meets Prime Minister Sharon as the Israeli army admits causing heavy Palestinian casualties in the West Bank. [BBC News: world] I can be pretty damn acerbic, especially when it comes to the follies of the Bush administration. But let’s all take a moment and pray that in the meetings happening as I write this and the meetings to follow, cooler heads will prevail.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:41:07 AM

apposite: Dictionary.com Word of the Day. apposite [Dictionary.com Word of the Day] 6:35:57 AM

Bush Is Said to Consider a New Security Department. The Bush administration opened the door to creating a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. By Elizabeth Becker. [New York Times: Politics] Wait a minute, ‘Homeland Security’ isn’t cabinet level, and we’ll fight you to the death if you say otherwise, but maybe it will be? Hey, you don’t think yet another Bush 180 is coming, do you?   Cheers,   Dusty 6:35:45 AM

In Texas, a Cocaine Charge Is Dropped in a High-Profile Case. A felony cocaine charge against a woman was dropped after she proved she was in Oklahoma City on the day that a police informer said he bought drugs from her. By Jim Yardley. [New York Times: National] This has been a big story in Texas. It may come as a terrible shock to many of you, but all of the bad guys are staunch Bush supporting good ol’ boy, gimme cap wearin’ Texans. Lovely bunch.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:33:55 AM

Enron Trading Gave Prices Artificial Lift, Panel Is Told. A California regulator told Congress that Enron helped to drive up electricity prices, causing the energy crisis that plagued the West for more than a year to worsen. By Richard W. Stevenson. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] Gosh, you mean Bush’s closest buddies and allies at Enron lied, cheated and stole from California? Say it ain’t so, Joe!   Cheers,   Dusty 6:30:05 AM

Laurence J. Peter. "Against logic there is no armor like ignorance." [Quotes of the Day] 6:27:53 AM

Lewis Mumford. "Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf." [Quotes of the Day] 6:27:41 AM

Google unveils Web search engine query API [IDG InfoWorld] 6:27:15 AM

Geforce Tweak Utility 3.2t31 Beta Released [BetaNews.Com] 6:26:57 AM

CloneCD 4.0.0.0 Beta 19 Released [BetaNews.Com] 6:26:42 AM

World Criminal Court Is Ratified; Praised by U.N., Opposed by U.S.. The world's first permanent criminal court for the prosecution of dictators and war criminals became a reality today. By Barbara Crossette. [New York Times: Politics] OK, so the whole world is on one side, Bush is on the other. The simpleton has found a way to make foreign policy simple. But what kind of credibility can we expect to have in future international tribunals? The same kind of credibility Bush has with the Israelis?   Cheers,   Dusty 6:26:20 AM

White House Ties Oil Cutoff by Iraq to Drilling in Alaska. The Bush administration stressed the importance of drilling for oil in the Alaska wildlife refuge after Iraq's decision to cut off its oil exports. By David E. Sanger and David E. Rosenbaum. [New York Times: Politics] Oh, come on. Is there no depth to which the Bushies will not sink to reward their petrochemical corporate masters?   Cheers,   Dusty 6:23:48 AM

Albert Schweitzer. "Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory." [Quotes of the Day] 6:22:02 AM

Segal's Law. "A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure." [Quotes of the Day] 6:21:50 AM

desuetude: Dictionary.com Word of the Day. desuetude [Dictionary.com Word of the Day] 6:18:47 AM

Can Technology Foil Hijackers?. Since Sept. 11, researchers have been trying to find ways that technology can help take back a plane's controls from hijackers. By Matthew L. Wald. [New York Times: Technology] Is it just me? As I read this, I can’t help but think that we can do this, and do it cheaper, faster and better than vague ideas of things that might be introduced in a decade. We’ve built an impressive tech infrastructure. Let’s take this baby out on the road and see what she can do.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:18:33 AM

Let Them Eat Kibble: The Discriminating Pet. The family dog loses his third collar spurring an intrepid shopper to survey the wreckage of Internet pet stores. By Michelle Slatalla. [New York Times: Technology] Hey, I love dogs. There, I said it. No, not in the weird, back alleys of Usenet kind of way. More in the wholesome, boy and his dog kind of way. OK, so maybe that isn’t the best reference. If you’re a pet person, just read the damn story. Everyone else, move on.   Cheers,   Dusty 6:13:06 AM

A Greeting Steals Its Way Onto Your Hard Drive. Users of Microsoft's popular e-mail program are the targets of a new computer virus, made by an artist, that arrives disguised as an electronic greeting card. By Matthew Mirapaul. [New York Times: Technology] Art or virus? I’m not sure I see a lot of harm in this. Full disclosure, no malicious intent, what’s the fuss?   Cheers,   Dusty 6:06:48 AM

© Copyright 2002 Dusty Rhodes. Last update: 4/12/2002; 6:06:51 AM.