Sunday, March 14, 2004

---------------------------------------------------------------------- New York Times: Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Companies Aiding Internet Gambling Feel U.S. Pressure. Federal prosecutors have begun a wide-ranging effort to curb the growing popularity of online gambling. By Matt Richtel. 2.  In an I.B.M. Village, Fears of Air and Water Pollution. Industrial toxins that contaminated the soil and leached into groundwater continue to produce vapors and pollution that is in part traceable to I.B.M. By Samme Chittum. 3.  Regulators Meet on Proposal to Brand Microsoft a Monopolist. With a meeting in Brussels, the clock on the five-year-old antitrust case against Microsoft begins to run down. By Paul Meller. 4.  Now, a Robot That Toots Its Own Horn. Toyota has introduced a humanoid robot that walks, waves its arms and bows. It also plays the trumpet. By Todd Zaun. 5.  Privacy Fears Erode Support for a Network to Fight Crime. Matrix, a controversial program intended to find criminals and terrorists, appears to be withering under its critics' attacks. By John Schwartz. 6.  E.D.S. to Sell Software Unit. By Reuters. By Reuters. 7.  Big Hotels Fight Back Online. The golden age of finding cheap Internet rates for major hotels may be over. By Bob Tedeschi. 8.  An Effort to Make Arabic Easier. Learning Arabic as a second language can be daunting. That is why an inventor decided to patent a simplified Arabic alphabet. By Sabra Chartrand. 9.  Bashful vs. Brash in the New Field of Nanotech. Nanosys is a company assembled by experienced entrepreneurs, famous academic researchers and big-name venture capitalists. Someday it may sell soemthing. By Barnaby J. Feder. 10.  Microsoft Effort to Share Code Reaches Milestone. Microsoft is announcing that its shared-source software code program has one million licensed participants. By Steve Lohr. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.  EDS Selling Software Design Business (AP). AP - Electronic Data Systems Corp. ended its three-year stint in the software development industry, announcing Sunday it was selling its product design software business to a trio of private investment firms for $2.05 billion cash. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.  Retro Vision 11:20:23 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ars Technica ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Et Cetera: Sunday Sledgehammer. Round up with news about what's new at McDonalds, more SCO silliness, and your dirty, dirty computer. By Ken "Caesar" Fisher. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Lord of the Rings musical in the offing. There's a LotR musical underway, and a Crooked Timber contributor has come up with some very tight suggestions for the songs. News today that a musical version of The Lord of the Rings is in the works. Suggest songs and plot-points here. Potential titles include: 'I'm gonna wash that orc right out of my hair' (Legolas), 'You're the One Ring that I want' (Sauron in Act I, then Gollum in Act II, and Frodo, Gollum and Sauron in Act III), 'People will say we're in love' (Frodo/Sam duet, Act II, theme echoed by Gimli and Legolas during Battle of Pelennor Fields), 'City with the Tree on Top' (Gandalf's arrival at Minas Tirith), 'How do I solve this problem, my dear Grima?' (Theoden introduction), and Gollum's Act III showstopper, 'Memorieses'. Link (via Electrolite) 3.  Water-electrolysis toy cars. A Japanese toy-company is shipping a water-powered, 19cm-long car that "uses hydrogen created from the electrolysis of pure water" to run itself.Link (via Engadget) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Samsung Elec Sees DRAM Chip Shortage (Reuters). Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's biggest memory chip maker, said on Monday it expected a shortage in DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips starting in the second half of this year. 5.  Virtual Supercomputers Join Hunt for New Drugs (Reuters). Reuters - The humble personal computer used to send e-mail or surf the Internet could quietly be finding a way to stop cancer, treat smallpox or counter a bio terror attack with anthrax spores. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.  Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow! 10:20:03 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  EDS to Sell Software Unit (Reuters). Reuters - Electronic Data Systems (EDS.N), the No. 2 U.S. technology services provider, on Sunday said it agreed to sell a software unit to three buyout firms for $2.05 billion in a move to cut debt and focus the business. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  WORM_MADDIS.A 9:19:44 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  New Software Tames Web Searches, Speeds Publishing (Reuters). Reuters - While Google makes finding information on the Internet a breeze, a start-up called Onfolio Inc. plans to release on Monday a new form of personal information management software that makes it easier and quicker for people to use and share data discovered online. 2.  Nano What? Survey Shows Most People in the Dark (Reuters). Reuters - Most Britons have never heard of nanotechnology and have no idea what it is, according to a survey released on Monday. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.  Localizing High-End Games for Low-End Machines ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Vulnerabilities: cPanel Resetpass Remote Command Execution Vulnerability. cPanel is a multi-platform web hosting control panel that allows a user to manage their hosted account through a web-based interface. A potential remote command executi... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Help Net Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.  Security gadgets yet to seal fate of Japan's hanko tradition 6.  NZ Police lay first charge for hacking 7.  Leaked code still could bear malicious fruit 8.  Wisconsin, New York unplug Matrix 9.  Customize this feed. Add more items, descriptions, time stamps, select your version of RSS, aggregate several feeds... Check out NewsIsFree's premium syndication services! (12) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.  Security gadgets yet to seal fate of Japan's hanko tradition 11.  NZ Police lay first charge for hacking 12.  Leaked code still could bear malicious fruit 13.  Wisconsin, New York unplug Matrix 8:19:24 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  EU to recommend sanctions in Microsoft anti-trust case (AFP). AFP - An anti-trust advisory panel from the European Union and its 15 member countries is to meet Monday on whether to recommend sanctions against software manufacturer Microsoft for allegedly abusing its dominant market position, sources said. 2.  Camera phones intensify competition in Asian mobile market (AFP). AFP - The rapidly growing popularity of camera phones among Asia's trendy consumers is proving to be a massive boost to the hopes of manufacturers playing catch-up to market leader Nokia, industry analysts said. 3.  High-tech security gadgets yet to seal fate of Japan's hanko tradition (AFP). AFP - Old habits die hard. The use of carved personal seals in Japan has survived technological leaps which could have rendered them obselete despite their widely acknowledged vulnerability to fraud. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  A Family IT/Tech Business?? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.  Netsky copycat sparks search for source code 6.  Office update clogs spam filters 7.  The Mighty El Al has an El Oops 8.  TROJ_GIPMA.A 9.  Wiley: The Shellcoders Handbook [Amazon] 10.  Jetico - "strong, reliable and easy-to-use data encryption and data deletion packages for Window... 7:19:03 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Burnt Coffee and Burnt CDs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  MS Issues Explorer Fix, Girds for MyDoom 6:18:45 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ars Technica ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Brief OpenForum outage. This brief post is to let everyone know that the OpenForum is currently down, and we're aware of the problem. By Ken "Caesar" Fisher. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Ad-aware referencefile 01R267 3/12/2004 3.  Trend Micro Pattern File March 13, 2004 4.  Norton AntiVirus Virus Definitions March 13, 2004 5.  McAfee DAT 4337 6.  McAfee SuperDAT 4337 7.  The Cleaner Database v3514 8.  W32.Netsky.M@mm 5:18:25 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Updated AGAIN: Let's reform SXSW's no-photos, no-electricity policies. Update: Dan Gillmor reports that the SXSW organizers have changed their policy regarding photos at the conference: "The only restriction on pictures/videos/recording is that they must be for personal use." Update: jonl says, "They changed the rule - people can plug in. They just told me to announce it on my 11am panel. Yay!" At SXSW, every speakers' table has this sign on it: NO UNAUTHORIZED VIDEOTAPING OR PHOTOGRAPHY IS ALLOWED IN PANEL ROOMS AS A COURTESY TO SPEAKERS. This is a really silly idea, one that violates the burgeoning norm of tech conferences, which is to aggressively capture and retransmit the happenings at conferences as they are underway, and I think that we should do something about it. Every speaker should open her or his panel or talk with the following: [First, pick up sign and place it face down on the table] I am hereby authorizing you to take as many pictures and video of this presentation as you care to. I have travelled a great distance, at great expense, to say something and be heard. I would be deeply grateful to you for helping me to spread what I have to say. I would be further grateful if your photos and videos of this presentaiton were distributed as widely as possible under a Creative Commons license. Thank you. If speakers forget to do this, someone in the audience should stand up at the start of the proceedings and say, "That sign says we're not allowed to take photos and videos without your permission. We'd like to share what you have to say with others -- may we have your permission to do so?" There's another problem at SXSW, which is that the conference center charges an arm and a leg to conference organizers who want to use the AC outlets in the hallways. SXSW doesn't have an arm and a leg to spare, so they haven't paid the extortionate sum. The result of this is that red-jacketed "security guards" spend all their time going around, ordering paying attendees -- again, people who have travelled to Austin at great personal expense -- to unplug their laptops from the wall or face a $90 fine. This is the mingiest, rottenest way to make conference attendees feel welcome, and again, we should do something about it. The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau's email address is visitorcenter@austintexas.org, and their phone number is (800)926-2282. Is there anyone from the Austin papers reading this? It would be grand to put someone from the convention center management on the spot about this: "Did you really pay your staff to walk the corridors of the conference center and order working people who had plugged in their laptops so that they could keep up with their jobs while visiting Austin to unplug or face a fine? Do you always do this? Is this in keeping with your remit as an ambassador for Austin to our visitors?" I have a great time at SXSW every year, and the conference organizers do a tremendous job of putting on a show. But someone needs to take the conference center management to task for this unacceptable policy. Link 2.  You can take photos at SXSW too!. Dan Gillmor reports that the SXSW organizers have changed their policy regarding photos at the conference: "The only restriction on pictures/videos/recording is that they must be for personal use." This is amazing -- the SXSW organizers are marvellously responsive to their attendees -- great to see. Link 3.  Exley and Pariser MoveOn keynote from SXSW. Zack Exley/Eli Pariser from MoveOn.org just gave a fantastic keynote at SXSW, describing the happy accident that gave rise to the best new toolsuite for organizing and sustaining Internet-based activism. Here are my running notes: Before we war, we did a candlelight vigil in defiance of the war. You could come and punch in your ZIP and set up a location where the vigil would take place, then told our members to go and find your local vigil. We did 6500 vigils all over the world. 500k people showed up. When you signed up, it told you that there were others signed up to attend your local vigil, so you owouldn't be the only one. Eli: This all came together in five days -- 500,000 people mobilized in five days. A vigil every 20 blocks for the whole length of Manhattan. There are more political ways of doing this. We asked people to hold house parties and show a movie against the war, and people opened up their homes to have strangers come in and see this film. We heard from people in small midwestern towns who thought they were the lone anti-war people in their town, but the site showed them that there were dozens more who felt the same way. Link ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Sources: EDS to Sell Software Unit (Reuters). Reuters - Electronic Data Systems (EDS.N) has agreed to sell a software development unit to three buyout firms for $2.05 billion in cash, people familiar with the transaction said on Sunday. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.  Planetary Defense: Protecting Earth from Asteroids ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hack the Planet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.  Uberfunk showed me Ecto, GeekTool, Colloquy, and the latest eye-candy version of Desktop Manager. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Register ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.  Robot wars: One man's story of promotional monks and mechanical friendships. Letter I shall return! 4:18:04 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Two Shooting Games Test Reflexes, Patience (Reuters). Reuters - Folks like me, whose reflexes are usually measured in geological time, are at a huge disadvantage when we try to play action shooting games like "Star Trek: Shattered Universe" or "R-Type Final." But you don't have be a top gun to discover that these products are very different when it comes to playability and plot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Plumber, Electrician... Digitician? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.  Feds Want Wiretap-Ready Net 4.  GroupWise WebAccess With Apache on NetWare Has Configuration Flaw That May Grant Web Access to Remote Users 5.  IBM AIX rexecd May Let Remote Users Gain Root Access 6.  Oracle Application Server Web Cache Has Unspecified High Risk Flaw 7.  phpBB Input Validation Flaw in 'topicdays' Variable Lets Remote Users Conduct Cross-Site Scripting Attacks 3:17:46 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Photos: Bruce Sterling in LA. When the VH1 documentary airs, they'll call it "I was Bruce Sterling's Chauffer for a Day." Snapshots of Mr. Sterling's visit to LA, during which I kidnapped him for a trip to see the nanotechnology science/art show at LACMA. There were questions, but deep reflection led to answers. Technical notes: (1) everything was shot with the nano-sized digital camera Canon Powershot SD10 Elph, which is a little smaller than a pack of cigarettes. (2) I'm trying out FOTKI for the photo hosting, and really liking it so far (thanks, CJC). Link to snapshots. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Worlds' first mobile media satellite launched (FT.com). FT.com - South Korea's SK Telecom and Mobile Broadcasting, a Japanese satellite broadcasting company set up by Toshiba, Toyota and others, have jointly launched the world's first satellite dedicated to beaming digital television and radio programmes to mobile terminals. 3.  Virgin Strikes Virtual Sales Deal with MusicNet (Reuters). Reuters - In announcing a digital online store with MusicNet, the Virgin Group becomes the first traditional music specialty store to move into the virtual sales space. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Build Your Own LCD Picture Frame ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hack the Planet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.  So the FBI got around to formally asking for CALEA to apply to ISPs after talking about it for years. Although I share the same concerns as everyone else, none of the news articles mention the fact that the FBI can already tap Net users with Carnivore, and AFAIK Carnivore may capture way more data than it's supposed to. I think CALEA requires carriers to capture just the right data instead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.  Vulnerabilities: Targem Games Battle Mages Remote Denial Of Service Vulnerability. Battle Mages is a computer game developed and maintained by Targem Games. The game engine includes features that allow users to play the game locally or across a network.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.  Philadelphia Inquirer: How to ensure online security "Safe sites use Secure Sockets Layer encryp... 8.  Mobitopia: Nokia sends killer-SMS to own customers "to the point that they need to be reanimated... 9.  Securiteam: Multiple Vendor HTTP User Agent Cookie Path Traversal Issue "By using standard trave... 2:17:24 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Updated: Let's reform SXSW's no-photos, no-electricity policies. Update: jonl says, "They changed the rule - people can plug in. They just told me to announce it on my 11am panel. Yay!" At SXSW, every speakers' table has this sign on it: NO UNAUTHORIZED VIDEOTAPING OR PHOTOGRAPHY IS ALLOWED IN PANEL ROOMS AS A COURTESY TO SPEAKERS. This is a really silly idea, one that violates the burgeoning norm of tech conferences, which is to aggressively capture and retransmit the happenings at conferences as they are underway, and I think that we should do something about it. Every speaker should open her or his panel or talk with the following: [First, pick up sign and place it face down on the table] I am hereby authorizing you to take as many pictures and video of this presentation as you care to. I have travelled a great distance, at great expense, to say something and be heard. I would be deeply grateful to you for helping me to spread what I have to say. I would be further grateful if your photos and videos of this presentaiton were distributed as widely as possible under a Creative Commons license. Thank you. If speakers forget to do this, someone in the audience should stand up at the start of the proceedings and say, "That sign says we're not allowed to take photos and videos without your permission. We'd like to share what you have to say with others -- may we have your permission to do so?" There's another problem at SXSW, which is that the conference center charges an arm and a leg to conference organizers who want to use the AC outlets in the hallways. SXSW doesn't have an arm and a leg to spare, so they haven't paid the extortionate sum. The result of this is that red-jacketed "security guards" spend all their time going around, ordering paying attendees -- again, people who have travelled to Austin at great personal expense -- to unplug their laptops from the wall or face a $90 fine. This is the mingiest, rottenest way to make conference attendees feel welcome, and again, we should do something about it. The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau's email address is visitorcenter@austintexas.org, and their phone number is (800)926-2282. Is there anyone from the Austin papers reading this? It would be grand to put someone from the convention center management on the spot about this: "Did you really pay your staff to walk the corridors of the conference center and order working people who had plugged in their laptops so that they could keep up with their jobs while visiting Austin to unplug or face a fine? Do you always do this? Is this in keeping with your remit as an ambassador for Austin to our visitors?" I have a great time at SXSW every year, and the conference organizers do a tremendous job of putting on a show. But someone needs to take the conference center management to task for this unacceptable policy. Link 2.  We can use the power outlets at SXSW now!. The Austin conference center has changed its tune about its policy forbidding attendees from using the AC outlets. Jon Lebkowsky says, "They changed the rule - people can plug in. They just told me to announce it on my 11am panel. Yay!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.  The Sun's 10th Planet... Sedna? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hack the Planet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Richard MacKinnon from LessNetworks is talking about how he's talking over Austin with free Wi-Fi hotspots, but for some reason he thinks it's cool to have gateway pages that require you to register for a free account. He says T-Mobile is vertically integrating by offering content through their hotspots, so instead of zigging to their zag he's copying that model. 5.  CNN: Robots fail to complete Grand Challenge. I thought it would have been more fun if the course started out relatively easy and got progressively harder, but I guess DARPA had a different idea. 6.  Cory Doctorow: Let's reform SXSW's no-photos, no-electricity policies. Update: the conference center has changed their policy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.  Vulnerabilities: Epic Games Unreal Tournament Server Engine Remote Format String Vulnerability. Unreal Tournament is a popular first person shooter video game implemented for the Linux, Mac OS and Windows platforms. The Unreal Server Engine is at the foundation of ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.  14 Mar W32/Bagle-J 9.  14 Mar W32/Bagle-N 10.  14 Mar W32/Bagle-Zip 1:17:05 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Put obese kids on Atkins. A UK health expert is recommending that obese children be put on the Atkins diet, because the high fat protein content -- which makes it palatable to kids -- also suppresses appetite. The health risks of high fat and high sodium are outweighed by the health benefits of not being clinically obese. "The children who come here are not just overweight, they are ill, and in danger of dying. Some of them can't breathe and some of them can't lie down. "I do think the basis of Atkins - low carbohydrate and high protein - is a good diet for children and the priority is for these children to get weight off." Link 2.  Radical alien-style cube case. This is a sweet PC case -- "The bare-bones chassis includes three large acrylic windows, cut-outs for a mind-numbing 11 fans, chrome front-panel switches, and a set of medium-duty casters. You can remove the drive bays, the motherboard tray, and the backplane, and Xoxide plans to offer interchangeable drive bay modules for buyers who prefer different configurations. All three acrylic panes are fitted into the case's U-shaped wraparound cover, which removes them from harm's way whenever you work inside."Link (via Wonderland) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.  Hardware Review Sites and Vendor Relationships ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Vulnerabilities: Pegasi Web Server Multiple Input Validation Vulnerabilities. Pegasi Web Server (PWS) is a multithreaded Java web server. Multiple vulnerabilities have been identified in the application that may allow a remote attacker to carry ou... 5.  Vulnerabilities: Microsoft Outlook Mailto Parameter Quoting Zone Bypass Vulnerability. Microsoft Outlook is prone to a vulnerability that may permit execution of arbitrary code on client systems. This issue is exposed through Outlook, but will reportedly c... 6.  Vulnerabilities: Calife Local Memory Corruption Vulnerability. Calife is a program that allows local users to elevate privileges to root using their own credentials, provided they are authorized to do so. The program must be setuid r... 12:16:45 PM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  In Google We Trust 2.  LOTR to Become a London Musical ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.  Vulnerabilities: Courier Multiple Remote Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities. Courier MTA is a freely available, open source mail transport agent (MTA). It is developed and maintained by Double Precison, Incorporated, and works with various Unix an... 4.  Vulnerabilities: GNU MyProxy Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability. GNU MyProxy is a HTTP proxy used to block cookies, banners and modify or remove the Referer, User-Agent and From HTTP headers. A vulnerability has been identified in the... 5.  Vulnerabilities: Norton AntiVirus 2002 ASCII Control Character Denial Of Service Vulnerability. Norton AntiVirus is a desktop antivirus solution that includes incoming email virus scanning. It is available for Microsoft Operating Systems. Norton AntiVirus 2002 has... 11:16:23 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  World's First Warez Extradition Decided Soon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Vulnerabilities: Confixx DB Parameter SQL Injection Vulnerability. Confixx is a control panel system for web sites, which is implemented in PHP. It has been reported that an input validation error with the potential for use in a SQL inj... 10:16:03 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Put obese kids on Atkins. A UK health expert is recommending that obese children be put on the Atkins diet, because the high fat content -- which makes it palatable to kids -- also suppresses appetite. The health risks of high fat and high sodium are outweighed by the health benefits of not being clinically obese. "The children who come here are not just overweight, they are ill, and in danger of dying. Some of them can't breathe and some of them can't lie down. "I do think the basis of Atkins - low carbohydrate and high protein - is a good diet for children and the priority is for these children to get weight off." Link 2.  Let's reform SXSW's no-photos, no-electricity policies. At SXSW, every speakers' table has this sign on it: NO UNAUTHORIZED VIDEOTAPING OR PHOTOGRAPHY IS ALLOWED IN PANEL ROOMS AS A COURTESY TO SPEAKERS. This is a really terrible idea, one that violates the burgeoning norm of tech conferences, which is to aggressively capture and retransmit the happenings at conferences as they are underway, and I think that we should do something about it. Every speaker should open her or his panel or talk with the following: [First, pick up sign and place it face down on the table] I am hereby authorizing you to take as many pictures and video of this presentation as you care to. I have travelled a great distance, at great expense, to say something and be heard. I would be deeply grateful to you for helping me to spread what I have to say. I would be further grateful if your photos and videos of this presentaiton were distributed as widely as possible under a Creative Commons license. Thank you. If speakers forget to do this, someone in the audience should stand up at the start of the proceedings and say, "That sign says we're not allowed to take photos and videos without your permission. We'd like to share what you have to say with others -- may we have your permission to do so?" There's another problem at SXSW, which is that the conference center charges an arm and a leg to conference organizers who want to use the AC outlets in the hallways. SXSW doesn't have an arm and a leg to spare, so they haven't paid the extortionate sum. The result of this is that red-jacketed "security guards" spend all their time going around, ordering paying attendees -- again, people who have travelled to Austin at great personal expense -- to unplug their laptops from the wall or face a $90 fine. This is the mingiest, rottenest way to make conference attendees feel welcome, and again, we should do something about it. The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau's email address is visitorcenter@austintexas.org, and their phone number is (800)926-2282. Is there anyone from the Austin papers reading this? It would be grand to put someone from the convention center management on the spot about this: "Did you really pay your staff to walk the corridors of the conference center and order working people who had plugged in their laptops so that they could keep up with their jobs while visiting Austin to unplug or face a fine? Do you always do this? Is this in keeping with your remit as an ambassador for Austin to our visitors?" I have a great time at SXSW every year, and the conference organizers do a tremendous job of putting on a show. But someone needs to take the conference center management to task for this unacceptable policy. Link 3.  Nesting rock star dolls. Russian Legacy sells rock-star matrioshke dolls. Link(via Geisha Asobi) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CNET News.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  Week ahead: Adobe reports; CRM gets feted. Adobe Systems and 3Com are set to announce quarterly earnings, and on the trade show scene, wireless and customer relationship management software will be taking the stage in an otherwise quiet week. 5.  Privacy in the age of transparency. Strategy + Business explains the delicate balancing act companies face in keeping the data they've collected about customers confidential. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.  New pay-for-listing by Yahoo sparks debate over search (AFP). AFP - The good news is that Internet search engines have finally figured out a way to make money. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.  Titan Missile Complex Up for Sale ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.  Son of MyDoom Stalks Microsoft 9:15:45 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  EU to recommend sanctions in Microsoft anti-trust case (AFP). AFP - The European Commission is to recommend that the EU take sanctions against Microsoft, when EU anti-trust experts meet to discuss the draft conclusions of a five-year inquiry targeting the software giant, sources close to the affair. 8:14:44 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Beer Bubbles Really Do Sink ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Bugtraq: phpBB 2.0.6d && Earlier Security Issues 7:14:23 AM    comment []

6:14:04 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  FTC Mounts Spam Offensive 5:13:44 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boing Boing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Grand Challenge finish: not so grand?. Looks like our autonomously war-waging robotic overlords won't be taking over any time soon. A little over two hours and about seven miles into the DARPA Grand Challenge race in the California desert, all vehicles were either withdrawn or disabled. But oragnizers say just because no competitor finished the race -- leaving the $1MM prize unclaimed -- doesn't mean the event was a flop. Link to status board, Link to CNN story. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dilbert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Dilbert for 14 Mar 2004. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! News - Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.  Sony to set up intelligent robot lab (AFP). AFP - Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony will set up a laboratory to develop intelligent robots, adding to its line of pet and humanoid machines, according to a press report. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.  MS Hotmail Offline For Hours ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BBC News | Technology | UK Edition ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.  Cars enjoy hi-tech entertainment. In-car entertainment is starting to rival what the best airlines can offer, but there are safety concerns. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.  March 2004 Microsoft Security Bulletins 4:13:23 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  DDoS attacks go through the roof 3:13:03 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Linuxmusician.com Interviews LilyPond Authors ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsIsFree: Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.  Getting the most out of open source 3.  4 Net providers join to go after spammers 2:12:43 AM    comment []

1:12:24 AM    comment []

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Slashdot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  DSPAM v2.10 Released 12:12:03 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 Gregg Doherty. Last update: 4/3/2004; 12:16:58 AM.