Tuesday, 9 September 2003

Drawing 13 11:47:48 AM    comment []; Open source WIPO debate The cost of software, availability of medicine and production of valuable scientific knowledge are, in large part, determined by the policies of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Today, WIPO focuses on restrictive intellectual property regimes, but it doesn't have to be that way tomorrow. WIPO is holding a budget meeting in Geneva from September 8-10, where it will decide whether or not to schedule increased discussions of open and collaborative development models (OCDM). OCDM includes open source software like Linux and collaborative scientific endeavors like the Human Genome Project - valuable initiatives that benefit the public. WIPO expressed support for such a discussion, but backed off when the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) warned it away. Tell the USPTO to reconsider its misguided stance and support public information goods throughout the world! Note: International residents are welcome to take this action. [BoingBoing] 11:27:32 AM    comment []; Cheaper than Southwest Air: fly cargo After hours of traveling, McKinley, 25, of New York City, pried open the crate with a crowbar Saturday morning. He popped up outside his parents' doorstep in the south Dallas suburb of DeSoto, shook the hand of a shocked deliveryman and walked away. [BoingBoing] And you don't need to hire a taxi from the airport to your destination. I can see special hotel lobbies for guests arriving in crates!! And I can envision a lot of nice shipping pod designs...with battery powered LED reading lights, a place to hang your shirts and suits..... 11:10:42 AM    comment []; Distortion 05 11:06:41 AM    comment []; Cellphone concept designs. Awesome website showcasing all the different futuristic concept designs for new cellphones (some of which we've seen before, like the Nokia phone used in Minority Report) that Motorola, Samsung, NEC, Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, and others are working on. Just click on a manufacturer's logo to see lots of pictures of what they have cooking up in the lab. [Gizmodo] Apropos nothing...Does anybody else think that Nokia make the ugliest cell phones? Like this and this and this. Here is a link to an interview with the chief designer. 10:30:21 AM    comment []; RV that turns into a boat While everyone's been buzzing about the Aquada, that amphibious car that debuted last week, it turns that there's already a motor vehicle on the market which can travel by both land and sea. The Terra Wind is a 42.5 foot long RV that costs around a million bucks and has two bronze propellers attached to the back for getting around in the water:"It's simple to drive in the water," said John Giljam on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "You drive straight into the water, push the marine shifter into gear and put it in neutral and away you go. You are a boat." [Gizmodo] 10:26:37 AM    comment []; Phones that decide when to ring Researchers at both Carnegie Mellon and the Human Media Lab at Queen's University in Canada are working on technology for phones that can sense when you're busy working or talking to someone and so won't ring and interrupt. Each works in a different way. The Human Media Lab system is a visual sensor that attaches to a desktop phone and figures out from your blinks and gazes whether you can take a call or not. Carnegie Mellon's SenSay is a combination of a light sensor, a motion detector, a microphone, and other sensors for cellphones which can guess what kind of environment you're in (say, a noisy garage) and then decide whether or not to put the call through or send back a text message saying you're indisposed. [Gizmodo] 10:23:13 AM    comment []; Ken Wilber talks about meditation Excellent talk on meditation and growth. A little taste of a large collection of CDs that is brand new. Ignore at your peril. Here is the link to the whole 10 CD collection of Wilber speaking. I think 100 bucks is pretty pricey for 10 CDs, so I'll forward this offer to you: For twenty bucks off the price, please enter coupon code EB0903 when ordering. Offer expires October 1, 2003. 10:08:12 AM    comment []; Situational Narcissism You already knew this, but now you have something to call it: [Gibson Blog] 12:04:01 AM    comment [];

© Copyright 2003 Ottmar Liebert. Last update: 25.09.03; 8:23:55.