Back from the surf and sand to find ~ 2000 emails about 1000 spam…
Many things to catch up on at work and a very full schedule of business travel this week. Postings might be quite light until I can figure out what time zone I am in … 😉
no blogging for me
no blogging for me for a while… time for a total disconnect.
A Beginner’s Guide to TrackBack
By popular demand, we wrote up A Beginner’s Guide to TrackBack…. [Movable Type News]
Good stuff…
The times, they are a changing…
The computer literacy gap between children and their grandparents may be narrowing. In fact, older people now spend so much time online that the AARP, the association for middle-age and older adults, has begun advertising on KaZaA Media Desktop, software used by millions of teenagers and young adults to swap songs online.
MailBlocks to Challenge Hotmail, Defeat Spam
Seems very interesting and could be a winner for many people currently hooked on WebMail and getting slammed by Spam. I think they should offer a free trial though to show how easy it would be to start using a different service as the average WebMail user is not paying anything and probably reasonably comfortable with how things currently work. I would want to see that you also get POP or IMAP access for the fee you since this is now a “premium” service…
Update – The NYT is covering this story today as well. And now so is CNet
I got briefed on this last week (lauches today, was sworn to secrecy): MailBlocks.com, which aims to unseat Hotmail as the preferred web-based email application with one secret weapon: effective spam blocking. It uses a “challenge/response” technique (i.e., anyone sending you an email not in your address book or to whom you’ve sent emails in the past will be sent an email asking them to demonstrate they are human using CAPTCHA). I demoed it for a week, and it seems to work reasonably well. Costs $9.95 a year. Started by Phil Goldman, co-founder of WebTV. I think this will be a winner. I also expect they’ll be this week’s media darlings.
Apple ends Safari testing…
…Though not to release to us publicly just yet. Apparently they are frustrated that the builds (v62,64 67) have been quickly making the rounds. It would seem better for the product if more rather than fewer people were involved the way the Chimera/Camino team does with daily builds. This seems to enhance bug catching and feedback. I guess Apple was just comfortable yet with that process… Hopefully 1.0 non-beta is not too far off. So far so good with my v67 copy as noted in a previous post.
Space Imaging Gallery
just plain beautiful [via anil dash’s daily links]
Truth in Advertising…
A judge ordered Philip Morris to pay $10.1 billion in a class-action consumer fraud suit for failing to inform consumers of the dangers of “light” and “low-tar” cigarettes. [New York Times: Business]
Safari v67
Safari v67 hit the ether yesterday and it is very close to being complete. The forms auto-fill and tab functionality are now within the preferences and work really well. Stability is solid and speed continues to be excellent.
One thing I would like to see as an option is open links from other applications in new tab in addition to new or current window option there now.
UPDATE – the bug that leaves a floating dialog box open after the window fails to load seems to be fixed. Now if I can just figure out how to kill the java console…
URL Manager Pro 3.0.5 released
Alco Bloom has released URL Manager Pro 3.0.5, the latest update of his excellent shareware bookmark manager for Mac OS X… [MacMinute.com]
It’s great to have this back. While I really like using the bookmark manager within Safari, it’s nice to see and launch them from within any app. Not too mention send my master list to other browsers in an instant.
More new Palm Rumor info
According to rumors posted in Brighthand’s Discussion Forum, the Palm SG is developing a model that looks like the Tungsten W but includes built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking. It is also supposed to have 64 MB of RAM and Palm OS 5. Like the Tungsten W, it will have an integrated keyboard. Reportedly, there is a listing in the inventory database of a major electronics retailer for a Tungsten C which will sell for $500.
What is more important a bluetooth PDA that can talk to my phone (if it had bluetooth) and laptop while also enjoying WiFi access OR a PDA that can only connect via GPRS? If I had the phone bit, this would be a non-issue…I am assuming that Bluetooth is in there of course.
Optimus Prime is on our side
“I got a letter from a general at the Pentagon when the name change went through and he says it was great to have the employ of the commander of the Autobots in the National Guard.”
A quick war observation…
It is pretty bizarre to see cars driving around in Iraq as if just going about their daily business. I have no idea what the usual traffic levels are, but there are and have been cars traveling about since the coverage started. Hardly seems like a place under attack…
ICANN from a land down under…
Just received the ICANN announcement making it official: “Australian Dr. Paul Twomey has been appointed by the Board of Directors as the new President and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).” The announcement came via e-mail. I expect to have something to link to on the ICANN web site soon. UPDATE (19 March): Link to announcement here. [icann.Blog]
an obvious (Men at Work) headline, but come on – so fitting given what lies ahead.
SONICblue to declare bankruptcy?
It looks like SONICblue, the maker of ReplayTV digital video recorders, the Rio line of MP3 players, and whole bunch of other audio and video gadgets, is about to declare bankruptcy. Trading has already been halted in the stock. Not sure how this affects anyone with a subscription to ReplayTV’s monthly service, or whether this is a sign of things to come for TiVo.
[Gizmodo]
This sucks. Just a result of regulation and legal bullshit blocking a great company. I always really liked ReplayTV and thought very hard about buying one before I purchased my TiVO, but the MPAA lawsuit scared me off. I guess I was not alone…
iPod Software Updater 1.2.6
Update delivers enhanced functionality and improved battery management. [Mac OS X Hot Downloads]
Turn your computer monitor into a high-definition television
New box from ViewSonic that lets you hook up to four A/V components (like a PC, cable box, DVD player, VCR, video game console, etc.) to the same computer monitor. But the real lure here is that the NextVision N6 HD Video Processor has a built-in TV tuner and also accepts high-definition TV signals.
Read
[Gizmodo]
I feel that I want this, but I have no idea why…
Al Gore – Apple Board Member
Officials at Apple Computer Inc. said today that former Vice President Al Gore has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
Gore was elected to the board early today at it’s general meeting. In a statement, Gore said he had been particularly impressed with Apple’s Mac OS X operating system and the company’s commitment to the open-source software movement.
“Al brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and wisdom to Apple from having helped run the largest organization in the world — the United States government,” Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement. “Al is also an avid Mac user and does his own video editing in Final Cut Pro.”
Gore also serves as a Senior Adviser to Google, Inc. and is a visiting professor at the University of California Los Angeles, Fisk University and Middle Tennessee State University.
Mercury News wire services contributed to this report.
Sony, Philips push home networks
Sony and Philips aim to bring MP3s and digital video to the living room with new networked home entertainment products. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
Sony for some silly reason decided that their product would only connect to their PCs while the Philips product seems to have some potential. They both connect to your TV and relay signals from your computer or if you buy the Philips, directly from the net. Sony available soon, Philips in Q2.
Researchers develop ultrafast Internet protocol
Caltech computer scientists have developed a new data transfer protocol for the Internet fast enough to download a full-length DVD movie in less than five seconds. The protocol is called FAST, standing for Fast Active queue management Scalable Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The researchers have achieved a speed of 8,609 megabits per second (Mbps) by using 10 simultaneous flows of data over routed paths, the largest aggregate throughput ever accomplished in such a configuration. More importantly, the FAST protocol sustained this speed using standard packet size, stably over an extended period on shared networks in the presence of background traffic, making it adaptable for deployment on the world’s high-speed production networks.