January 31, 2003

Burn full length CD in 90 Seconds

You current CD writer too slow?

Then try this one.

52x

Firewire/USB 2.0/USB 1.1

$180

Posted by Steve at 09:16 AM

Connect yer USB Printer to your Network

Here's a single port USB Print Server if you need/want one!

10/100 base t

supports IPP

supports DHCP

Posted by Steve at 09:11 AM

Caffeinated Soap

Oh baby!!!

This caffeinated soap thing is just scary!

I know a few folks who need soap, but, I wouldn't want them using this stuff!

Posted by Steve at 09:08 AM

January 30, 2003

Get yer own RC Tank

Tired of racing the RC cars?

Upgrade to a tank.

Run over things.

Get two or more of them together and play laser tag!

Posted by Steve at 04:13 PM

January 29, 2003

How do you hide an elephant?

Apparently some activists in Germany stole an elephant from a circus and the authorities can't seem to find it anywhere...

Oh dear! Watch where you step! ;-}

Posted by Steve at 11:49 AM

Fingerprint reader in sony memory stick

The fingerprint memory stick will be capable of certifying a user's identity using PKI.

Supposed to start shipping in Feb.

I haven't seen a memory stick reader that doesn't swallow the whole stick so I guess we'll have to put our fingers through some kind of roller to get it thin enough to go into the slot with the card... ;-} OK, fine, so they're working on a new reader....

Posted by Steve at 11:27 AM

Upgrade yer Tennis Ball Cannon to a Potato Bazooka

Sounds like the Potato Bazooka is quite effective.

Range 200M.

Split a man's head at 15M

Punch through a wooden wall at 90M.

Hair spray and a piece of drain pipe...

Posted by Steve at 11:06 AM

January 28, 2003

Wireless Sensor Nets

Soon you won't be able to sneak up on anyone!

Cover an area with smart sensors that do some small amount of initial processing on sensor data and each layer aggregates what it's collected.

Probably will lead to highly specialized single chip sensor/processors.

Cool? or Scary?

Posted by Steve at 08:16 PM

Tank for Sale on eBay

Oh yeah!

British Ferret Mark 2/3 Armored Car - Tank

It can be yours today for $13,500!

Posted by Steve at 08:10 PM

Honda Asimo Robot on Tour

Honda's new Asimo is on tour. Scheduled to be in DC in May.

If you haven't seen it it's pretty eerie... You can see movies on the Asimo web site.

I understand that ALL of the actions are pre-set programs. They've still got a long way to go. The batteries only last about 30 minutes. It does some recognition, but...

Posted by Steve at 07:35 PM

Make yer car sound like a Ferrari

Tired of your quiet dull car?

Buy this new radio and you'll hear the sounds of a high-performance sports car!

In tune with your pedal actions.

Don't want a Ferrari? How about a Harley?

All coming out of noise-cancelling research.

Posted by Steve at 10:29 AM

Wireless DSL/Cable router - $60

Amazon has the SMC Networks SMC7004VWBR Barricade Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router for $60!

Wow!

Posted by Steve at 10:10 AM

Next Generation JUnit

For you Java programmers some of the JUnit developers have completely rewritten it.

It's free, it's open source.

and it'll work with any JUnit stuff you have already.

Posted by Steve at 10:05 AM

Want to edit your DVDs?

Here's a step-by-step on how to get your DVD contents into Windows Media Video file format.

At the end of the article is a pointer to another article on how to edit and do other things with your video file...

Fun fun fun!

Posted by Steve at 09:54 AM

Inflatable space ship anyone?

Yep inflatable space habitats.

Lower weight.

Just as strong.

Send em up on a rocket. Fill em with air. Voila!

Just as long as I don't have to blow it up!

Posted by Steve at 09:48 AM

Grow yer own meat in a vat!

Oh yeah!

Grab a couple of nodules out of the vat and have instant nuggets! or grind them up and make yer burgersssss

If only I could just grow Porterhouses.... ;-}

Cain't wait! ;-}

Posted by Steve at 09:42 AM

Make yer own Stereographic Photos

More fun things to do and play with using your digital camera.

More links:

A Guide for New Stereo Photographers

Pictures done by others:

Stereoscopic Photography of Flowers in Japan
High Quality Stereopictures
Celebrity Stereo Photography

Of course you can search Google and get 10 pages worth of links.

Posted by Steve at 09:35 AM

January 27, 2003

27GB on a DVD disc

The red laser in current dvd recorders gives us 4.7GB, but, Hitachi is coming out with a recorder using a blue laser that will give 27GB on a single layer.

That's enough for 13 hours of standard TV.

Wonder how long it takes to do backups to it... ;-}

Posted by Steve at 09:10 AM

Using GZIP as a Spam Filter

Really it's using the Ziv-Lempel (Zip) compression algorithm.

Zip finds redundant strings so you can figure out how many times strings are used.

This article talks about pulling down messages from spamassassin.com and running them through gzip and doing a character count (wc -c) on the gziped file.

Interesting.

Posted by Steve at 08:41 AM

January 26, 2003

The whole package is the key

Here's an interest article whose title Why VHS was better than Betamax caught my eye.

It has some reference to the old DAT vs Cassette and also about why the WinTel is so successful.

Posted by Steve at 02:58 PM

January 25, 2003

I want this SUV

Here's the perfect geek SUV concept car from Honda.

17" LCD in the dashboard.

Run by Mac OS X.

Oh yeah, there's the 42" gas plasma screen that folds down from the ceiling in the back...

or maybe it's the 800 watts of power to the 11 speakers...

drool drool..

;-}

Posted by Steve at 09:48 PM

EV-DO beating out WiFi?

The Washington Post talks about it.

This guy talks about it too (if you don't want to go to the post)..

Posted by Steve at 05:14 PM

Problems in the Ether-net..

Anybody get beat up by the latest DoS attack?

Apparently it took out several of the root servers.

If you're not seeing the blip, I've saved the main page on my site for posterity.

Posted by Steve at 04:57 PM

January 24, 2003

Cross platform packaging

Of course they consider cross-platform to be:

"... Currently Solaris, Linux and FreeBSD are officially and fully supported.
Additionally, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Compaq Tru64..."

Ah gotta love the unix crowd!

Posted by Steve at 03:36 PM

Linux useability...

I like this guy.

His experiences mirror my own.

Maybe that's why I seem to go back to BSD... or Solaris. ;-}

Posted by Steve at 03:14 PM

Sony and Matshushita going Linux

They're planning on doing away with their proprietary OS and moving to Linux.

Samsung and Phillips may be joining them.

Posted by Steve at 03:09 PM

New Roller Coaster

There's a new roller coaster that's 420 feet high and hits speeds of 120 MPH!

Road trip anyone?

Posted by Steve at 03:05 PM

Scurvy in the news

Apparently some geek didn't get enough Vitamin C in his diet..

Posted by Steve at 02:55 PM

Applying crytologic techniques to door locks..

An interesting article, well actually a set of articles, whereby you can start with one working key and some blanks and end up with a master key for all the locks in a building....

It'll warm yer heart!

;-}

Posted by Steve at 11:46 AM

Hypertext linking described in 1945

That's right there's prior art from 1945 describing hypertext linking.

Wow.

Posted by Steve at 11:34 AM

January 23, 2003

Grow new liver on your inkjet printer?

That's what they say they're doing.

Used a standard inkjet printer with cell solution instead of ink and put down layer after layer to create the organ in 3D...

Starting with mini-me's for drug testing and going on to full sized later on.

Posted by Steve at 07:55 AM

January 22, 2003

Statistics on H1B visa program

No wonder there are so many techies unemployed...

Amazing stats on the "flood".

Posted by Steve at 11:30 AM

Run VMS on your new Itanium box..

Lot's to look forward to when you get your new Itanium server...

;-}

Posted by Steve at 10:31 AM

January 21, 2003

Man's severed head reattached

Miracle of modern technology allows man's head (only attached by spinal cord) to be reattached to his body.

Ish.

Posted by Steve at 04:46 PM

January 19, 2003

How dinosaurs learn to fly

Interesting article on the evolution of dinosaurs learning to fly.

Posted by Steve at 09:58 PM

January 17, 2003

Spam conference news

Read about the latest from Spam conference in Boston.

Posted by Steve at 10:14 PM

and they worry about cell phone magnetic fields..

Going to use electro magnets to dock ships...

Posted by Steve at 10:08 PM

Low-cost Redhat Server

Well this price at MicroWarehouse.com may be in error but...

$299.95 for SERVER with the following features:

- 566MHz Intel® Celeron® processor
- 128MB PC100 ECC SDRAM
- One EIDE controller
- 20GB 4200 RPM hard drive
- Ethernet WAN Port (10/100 auto-sensing)
- 56K modem
- Operating system based on Red Hat Version 7.0
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 13.4 in x 10.6 in x 2.7 in
- Uplink, firewall protection, 128-bit encryption, auto-sensing
per device, DHCP support, NAT support, manageable
- Hard Drive: 1 x 20 GB 2.5" Standard IDE/ATA
- Built in 8-port switch
- PC card slot (put wireless in here!)
- Power: AC 100/240 V ( 50/60 Hz )
- Processor: 1 x Intel Celeron 566 MHz
- Product Description: Toshiba Magnia SG20 - web server
- RAM Installed ( Max ): 128 MB ( 512 MB ) - SDRAM
- Remote Management Protocol: SNMP
- Weight: 11 lbs

Posted by Steve at 10:02 PM

Consumer products using M$ OS possessed

Many have suspected that the devil == M$!

Maybe here's the proof!

Posted by Steve at 09:48 PM

Snake Robots

Hey check out the Snake Robots project!

A National Geographic article to go along with it!

Cool stuff.

Posted by Steve at 09:44 PM

New Software wireless toy

Here's a new shell script toy for you to use to play with your WiFi and your linux box!

Have fun!

Posted by Steve at 09:41 PM

January 16, 2003

M$ ordered to ship Java in 120 days

Microsoft has been ordered to ship Java in 120 days!.

Of course the news.com article doesn't mention anything about a version...

Posted by Steve at 02:55 PM

50% performance boost with 802.11g

Well, it looks like you'll want to replace your wireless network with 802.11g as you get a 50% performance increase over a mixed 11b/11g network.

Posted by Steve at 02:42 PM

January 15, 2003

OS dev going in wrong direction?

Interest editorial in Computerworld about building OS versus user expectations.

Will we start seeing software built from user's needs drilling down to hardware? or will be continue building from the hardware up?

How would it be done?

Posted by Steve at 07:21 AM

vintage topo maps

If you're a map geek you'll be interested in seeing these historic topological maps.

Fun to look at. Cool wallpaper.

Posted by Steve at 07:09 AM

Encyclopedia of Software Engineering On-Line

Wiley InterScience has made the Encyclopedia of Software Engineering on-line and is making it available... for a price that is!

Annual subscription for a single user is $325! It looks like that price is good for up to 1000 full-time employees, then it goes up to $655.

Wouldn't buying the book be more cost effective? Amazon's got it listed at $695...

Posted by Steve at 07:01 AM

January 13, 2003

new rocket fuel

NASA's working on a new rocket fuel that is parafin based and has by-products of CO2 and water... and you can turn in on and off...

Cool! Maybe we can make it work in planes, trains and automobiles... ;-}

Posted by Steve at 06:14 PM

Thinking Toys!

Here's something you can do with your kids and help them develop problem solving skills...

Build things!

Have fun!

Posted by Steve at 06:05 PM

Your own FM station

Here's a site that can supply you with everything you need to set up your own low power FM station!

Need ideas?

... How about play those 160GB worth of MP3's that you've sucked up?

... and maybe interrupt to read you an important email (or voice mail) message that has arrived?

... or news headlines on the hour

All while you're outside in the garden, or working on your car, etc.

Could be fun and useful too!

Posted by Steve at 02:58 PM

new robot technology

New robot navigation technology!

ZDnet article

Could significantly reduce the cost of the robots finding their way around!

Posted by Steve at 02:33 PM

credit card sized wifi dectector

Cool little detector that you can use to sniff out wi-fi signals!

Posted by Steve at 02:28 PM

SCO threatens Linux with patent infringement

Yep, SCO is wanting $96/cpu licenses from ALL linux users....

Not a done deal yet but they seem to keep coming back to it!

Should be fun!

Posted by Steve at 08:43 AM

January 12, 2003

Paperback sized mini-pc

Paul Allen's company Vulcan has a new pc.

It's about the size of a paperback book.
800x400
20g HD
wireless
USB 4 hour battery

Posted by Steve at 09:51 PM

January 11, 2003

the food patch!

Yep, the army is working on a version of the patch that will deliver nutrients!

Actually looks like the technology has lots of potential non-military applications too.

Posted by Steve at 10:40 AM

fun clippings!

Check out this website that has images of interesting newspaper clippings, poorly thought out packaging, photographs, road signs, etc.

Things like the package that advertises:

"2 liter (contains 50% more than 1 liter)"

Posted by Steve at 10:35 AM

The Hoax Museum

Go and check out the Hoax Museum!

Lot's of neat stuff out there.

Posted by Steve at 10:25 AM

January 10, 2003

test your skills

Can you tell men from women?

Maybe, maybe not.

Take this quiz!

ish.

Posted by Steve at 10:12 AM

Vampire Bats treat Strokes

Yep it's true.

An enzyme in their saliva that causes the blood to flow easier is being studied to see if will break apart the blood clots that cause the damage.

Posted by Steve at 09:30 AM

frequent drinking reduces heart attack risk

Frequent drinking can reduce risk of heart attacks by one third!

They say that all it takes is 1/2 a drink every other day!

So, does that mean that 1 drink every day should eliminate the risk? ;-}

Posted by Steve at 09:08 AM

54mbps wireless $139

Get yer own high-speed 802.11g wireless access point that works with 802.11b for only $139!

Cheeze wiz... ;-}

Posted by Steve at 08:44 AM

January 09, 2003

Canadian news!

Haven't had any news from Canada in a while!

Billy Van star of the cheese-horror Canadian TV classic "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein," has died of cancer at 68.

Posted by Steve at 10:28 PM

online firewords supplies

Want to make yer own fireworks?

Well here's the place to get ALL your supplies.

Have fun, let me know if you do anything!

Some of the chemicals can be used with parafin/pine cones to make blue and green colored flames in your fireplace!

Posted by Steve at 10:19 PM

January 08, 2003

Gadget printers...

Build your devices layer by layer, and put down the electronics at the same time!

3D models, only they're functional!

Posted by Steve at 05:11 PM

only gonna drink at home

Be afraid!

The herndon/reston cops are doing sobriety test IN bars and restaurants and arresting people for being public drunks and throwing them in jail!

Guess they're not getting their quotas on drunk driving or something!

Posted by Steve at 09:30 AM

IP security validator

Here's a tool that will let you verify that your VPN is secure...

Posted by Steve at 09:18 AM

January 07, 2003

Ritalin similar to Cocaine

From the article:

"According to animal studies, Ritalin and cocaine act so much alike that they even compete for the same binding sites on neurons."

Interesting read...

Posted by Steve at 05:47 PM

buy yer own island

Yes indeed!

Thatch Cay (230 acres) in the Virgin islands is for sale on Ebay!

Posted by Steve at 05:43 PM

McAfee acquires SpamAssassin

Well, well, well!

Network Associates has acquired Deersoft (creators of SpamAssassin!

More branches in the tree and maybe a namechange for the open source version...

Posted by Steve at 05:40 PM

first laptop with 17" screen

Of course it's an Apple powerbook... ;-}

1440x900

superdrive (write DVD's)

802.11G (54 mbps wireless)

4.5 hour battery life

1 inch thin...

Only $3200 smackers!

Posted by Steve at 05:37 PM

get $20 from CD manufacturers

Hey!

Every body needs to go to this site and sign up for your $5-$20 anti-trust settlement.

Don't need receipts, just fill in the blanks!

Posted by Steve at 05:30 PM

January 06, 2003

New $250K Cadillac

Just what we need... a new Cadillac ;-}

Somebody must still have some cash out there!

Posted by Steve at 08:38 AM

January 05, 2003

Apple does it again!

You know that every time Apple seems to be poised to expand their market share they find some goofy way to mess it up!

Looks like they're going to start charging for upgrades to stuff...

I sometimes wonder if they do it to stay below M$ radar...

Sheesh

Posted by Steve at 10:02 AM

Book light

If you like to read, on planes, in bed but don't get the light you want, where you want it and don't like those itty-bitty-book-lite things you might find this one interesting.

The LightWedge works via light comes from the side through an acrylic lens that lays over the page and evenly illuminates the entire page.

Posted by Steve at 09:34 AM

January 04, 2003

Ethernet Color Camera

Plug this color camera into your ethernet hub!

Control it from your pc, pan and tilt capable!

Indoor/Outdoor, wired/wireless...

Control and view up to 4 cameras at the same time..

Posted by Steve at 10:55 AM

Encrypted home directory?

Apparently with Mac OS X you can encrypt directories....

Can this be done on Solaris or Linux or ?BSD?

Posted by Steve at 10:22 AM

WiFi along the coasts!

Service started in September to give cruise ships and yachters WiFi access!

$500 a month! yow

Posted by Steve at 10:00 AM

Plastic magnets?

Who'd a thunk it!

Plastic magnets!

All sorts of possibilities envisoned.

Posted by Steve at 09:29 AM

January 03, 2003

Next gen robot tech

Interesting roundup on what's happening in the robot world!

Posted by Steve at 03:47 PM

can't send email more than 500 miles...

An interesting article on a server that could not send email more than 500 miles.

Interesting read and debug session.... Some of you will know the answer... Some won't... but you'll find it interesting..

Posted by Steve at 03:44 PM

Zap airborne bacteria in hospitals!

They're making progress in producing ionizer technology to remove airborne bacteria in hospitals!

Posted by Steve at 03:28 PM

ATM's getting fingerprint scanners.

Coming soon to an ATM near you... a fingerprint scanner!

Posted by Steve at 03:24 PM

Rat brain runs robot

If a rat's brain is running a robot does that make him a truly bionic rat?

Posted by Steve at 03:11 PM

Embedded SQL database

Y'all might be interested in an embedded SQL database engine, written in C with bindings for most languages that you use!

Posted by Steve at 10:49 AM