August 2005 Archive

31 August 2005

The Ministry of Reshelving is a collaborative political prank / game in which participants move copies of books, such as George Orwell's 1984, to non-fiction sections, such as US History or True Crime — via BoingBoing

Last year, the US Air Force dropped US$25k on a Teleportation Physics Study to examine whether it might be possible to beam people and objects from one place to another. The report [pdf] was written by Eric W Davis who holds a PhD in astrophysics. Not mentioned in the article is that Davis apparently has also been affiliated with the National Institute for Discovery Science, a private research organisation that studies aerial phenomena, animal mutilations, and other related anomalous phenomena — via BoingBoing

30 August 2005

Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems claims it has developed a nonlethal weapon that shoots lightning bolts; Lightning guns, heat rays, weapons that can make you hear the voice of God. This is what happens when the war on terror meets the entrepreneurial spirit

Australias pay more for their home telephone services than anywhere else in the developed world, apart from Hungary. The Paris-based OECD estimates that a typical set of home telephone services, including calls to mobiles and international numbers, costs the equivalent of $975 a year in Australia. That is 50% more than is paid in Britain and 25% higher than the OECD average

29 August 2005

iiNet today started offering its long-awaited Voice over Internet Protocol service to the public, billing it as a free second phone line

An old polymer may be the spaceship material of the future [podcast]. Polyethylene is in household garbage bags, and it is also an effective solar radiation shield. Polyethylene is used in the sleeping quarters on current orbiting space vehicles, but now NASA has developed a way to toughen the polymer into a product they call RXF1 which is even stronger and lighter than aluminum. Radiation in space is currently a major obstacle to manned missions outside of the Earth's magnetic field, so better radiation shielding is essential to planned manned missions to Mars and beyond

Scientists in the United States seem to have discovered a gene which controls aging. By stimulating this gene, which when malfunctioning causes premature aging, researchers have managed to prolong the average life span of lab mice from 2 to 3 years. Because a very similar gene is present in humans it is quite possible it will do the same thing for people But there may be downsides with Klotho. The long-lived mice in the new experiments tend to be less fertile. And the gene may also predispose people to diabetes. The trick for researchers will be to find ways of getting the life-enhancing results of Klotho while avoiding the drawbacks

Owner Mike Taitt lost sight of Archie at Inverurie Station near Aberdeen in eastern Scotland and was hoping someone would spot the dog's tag and return the much-loved mutt. He is a very intelligent dog, Mr Taitt said. When he could not find me, he simply took the right train home. He's been on that train before. I am convinced he knew it was the right one. But who knows? Closed-circuit television footage shows the dog waiting for his master at the station before watching the Aberdeen to Inverness train pull in. Unable to find his owner, the black labrador decided to avoid a long walk home by nipping aboard the 20:38

28 August 2005

The BBC views the piracy of a Doctor Who episode before its broadcast date earlier this year as a wake-up call about the demand for new technology, in a refreshing change of opinion from most media/broadcasting corporations, who would damn this piracy without hesitation. They are forming plans to simulcast the television channels BBC1 and BBC2 on the web, as well as allowing users (only in the UK to start with, unfortunately) access to shows for a week after the broadcast date. Other BBC3 comedies are due to follow suit and become available on the internet first

Ruben Latang Jr, one of the suspects in the grisly murder of a villager in Glan, Sarangani whose flesh was eaten and his blood drank by a cannibal gang, has been taken into custody. The cannibal gang has sown terror in the far-flung villages at the borders of Glan, Sarangani and Jose Abad Santos in Davao del Sur — via Warren Ellis

Wang Ying, 73, has been practicing Kung Fu, especially the study of Qi, since he was just eight-years-old. But his studies took a new direction after a 5cm long tumour grew on his forehead. Doctors told him they could not operate on the tumour because of its location. So Wang has incorporated it into his Qi routine, using his horn to lift bricks — via Warren Ellis

27 August 2005

25 year old Christopher William Smith, considered one of the worlds biggest spammers by the Spamhaus Project, is now sitting in a jail without bond. Smith allegedly had a doctor issue 72,000 prescriptions in the space of one year in conjunction with orders obtained through spamming. The doctor, Philip Mach, had a license to practice medicine in New Jersey but he provided prescriptions to people throughout the United States without ever evaluating them, both of which are big no-no's. Federal authorities have already seized over $3 million in cash, luxury cars, and houses

NSW will become the first Australian state to outlaw unauthorised surveillance of employees using technologies including video cameras, e-mail and tracking devices, when the Workplace Surveillance Bill 2005 comes into effect at the beginning of October

Internet security firm SurfControl says that Spammers have started using Microsoft's MSN blogging service to host malicious content used during spam and virus onslaughts

26 August 2005

An unconfirmed report today from Reuters quotes an industry analyst firm iSuppli as saying that Apple plans to buy as much as 40% of Samsung's second-half flash memory output. The NAND flash memory cards will be used in a new, 4GB iPod Mini, which Apple would release in time for the holiday shopping season. The current version of the 4GB mini contains a hard drive. Apple's iPod Shuffle uses flash memory

Hitachi unveiled the world's first hard disk drive/DVD recorder that can store one terabyte of data, or enough to record about 128 hours of high-definition digital broadcasting

Professional loony fundie, Pat Robertson, called for the murder of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. In an apology he repeated the call for murder. Welcome to the voice of Christian extremism

A crafty killer whale has devised a new way to catch a tasty bite. The orca spits regurgitated fish onto the surface of the water — and then waits. When a passing gull dives for the bait, the whale lunges at the feathery treat with open jaws. What's more, the trick was picked up by other family members. And it's not just whales that exhibit cultural learning, there is mounting evidence that the trait is widespread in animals, including chimps

25 August 2005

Intel is to invest AU$37 million in wireless telco Unwired, in an effort to support the carrier's rollout of wireless broadband based on the forthcoming high-speed WiMAX standard. Unwired CEO David Spence said the proceeds would be used to expand the company's services beyond Sydney next year, although he would not be drawn on which cities would be first

The new rumour mongering doing the rounds is how Google's new Talk/Jabber/IM thing is just a stepping stone, but it's really just a foreshadowing of their future buyout of Skype

In a victory for free speech on the Internet, a New York man ordered to transfer the domain name www.fallwell.com to the Rev Jerry Falwell will be allowed to keep the Web site, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled — via Politech

24 August 2005

For three years, the two groups, headed by Toshiba (HD DVD) and Sony (Blu-ray), have pushed to have their respective technology standards adopted to gain dominance in the multibillion-dollar markets for DVD players, PC drives and optical discs. The two groups have held negotiations on unifying their formats to persuade consumers to shift to advanced discs and to promote growth in the industry. But negotiations fell through as neither side yielded, and time ran out to develop a format before the launch of new products from both groups

A vendor in a Stormtrooper suit (with a plastic laser gun) at a Star Wars convention in Janesville, Wisconsin, was surrounded by police after someone called the police and said that there was an armed robber in fancy white armour at the local Ramada — via BoingBoing

Google's new IM service, Google Talk, is already live. All you need is a Jabber-compatible Instant Messaging client (such as Apple's iChat, or gaim), and a GMail address. This should answer, at least in part, all of the speculation that has been flying around the net over the last couple of days

23 August 2005

Ryan Hamlin, head of Microsoft's Technology Care and Safety Group spoke out against New Zealand's proposed anti-spam legislation, warning that it could impinge on the amazing vehicle of e-mail marketing. He also suggests that CAN-SPAM has been effective in deterring spammers. Though often criticised as too meek, US anti-spam legislation — which relies on people opting out of spam — has proved effective in supporting prosecutions and deterring spammers

Google launched a new beta version of its desktop search tool on Monday that features updated Web navigation software and an innovative tool-bar. The move puts Google in direct competition with Yahoo, Lycos and AOL, as well as Microsoft's new search engine. The search giant may be hoping that the beta version of Google Desktop Version 2 will be better received than the first version, which was criticised by analysts at Gartner who advised firms to steer clear of it

An allegedly legal rave in Utah last Saturday was broken up by a heavily armed SWAT team who reportedly teargassed hundreds of peaceful dancers and then set attack dogs on them. Some of the attendees had video cameras with them, and the footage that has begun to appear on the Internet is very disturbing, showing brutal assaults by the officers — via BoingBoing

22 August 2005

With off-the-shelf components, scientists have managed to speed up light beyond the universal constant of c, or roughly 300 million m/s. This, and the previous ability to slow light down could shake up the telecom world

Recently, Mark Cuban of Icerocket made the accusation that Blogger is by far the worst offender when it comes to Spam Blogs. Now Google Blogger is introducing Word Verification for user comments to prevent comment spam and another feature called Flag As Objectionable where users can report blogs with questionable content. Google appears to be listening

21 August 2005

The owner of a CCTV surveillance shop which was robbed by a hooded thief has said the incident was the biggest boost to business imaginable. The suspect was caught stealing a £700 laptop on eight separate cameras at CCTV Surveillance Solutions — via Feòrag

A Qantas engineer has found a way to help small aircraft avoid stalling [BugMeNot] at low speeds: pumping sound through the wings. He found that music also works, having tested Spiderbait and Radiohead. Spiderbait apparently works better

British soldiers will be getting germ-fighting underwear. The antimicrobial underpants have been introduced by the Ministry of Defence as part of a new desert uniform for soldiers. They are the first undergarments issued to British troops, who traditionally have had to supply their own. Military officials said Thursday the unisex trunks were made from artificial fibres for comfort, with silver particles woven into the material to prevent sweating. According to Colonel Silas Suchanek: It is coated to prevent bacterial infection, and we have tried to arrange the seams so that they don't chafe

Thanks to the Kansas School Board, the idea that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster is really taking off. There's a good guide to the cult at Wikipedia. The joke, of course, is that it's arguably more rational than Intelligent Design — via Guardian Unlimited: Onlineblog

20 August 2005

San Francisco is about to embark on a Free (or low cost) WiFi campaign with the mayor holding the reins, of course, in hopes of offering more low-income residents easier access to the Internet. Since San Francisco, unlike Philadelphia, is only 127km², will this work here and can this be accomplished in a year as promised or is this just another political plot to get the Mayor re-elected?

Robert Hare, creator of the Psychopathy Checklist, has recently been applying his test Is your boss a psychopath to businessmen and has found some disturbing results. From the article: Why wouldn't we want to screen them? We screen police officers, teachers. Why not people who are going to handle billions of dollars? Citing Enron and Worldcom management as an example, it seems a reasonable argument. The same source also has a quiz which allows you to test your own boss

The Federal Opposition says students will be left stranded because the Federal Government has withheld TAFE funding for state and terrorities

19 August 2005

The Genetiate's people claim that with over 500,000 collisions between cars and deer every year, the cost in lives and money is staggering. While insurers pay over a billion dollars in claims annually, over 200 people are killed. Countless other drivers and passengers suffer injuries and other serious medical complications. Many deer and their young suffer the same fate. By implanting the gene of a special jellyfish into deer, the  transgenic NightSave deer produced by Genetiate (patent pending) have fluorescing hair and skin when illuminated by car headlights. The implanted gene has no other effect on the deer, who appear normal in daylight. The NightSave project aims to reduce the number of night time deer/auto collisions, saving the lives of both deer and people — via Improbable Research

Xirrus' XS-3900 Wireless LAN Array consists of 16 Integrated Access Points and a wireless switch all in one device. According to their web site, Xirrus can achieve 800+ Mbps of bandwidth and handle 1000+ users

Telstra announced a trial of the technology back in January, saying it would allow DSL to be connected to people who were up to 20km from a central exchange. DSL Extenders work by splitting an existing copper phone line into eight separate ADSL lines using a tiny, ruggedised remote DSLAM. The drawback is that it will not be able to handle ADSL2

18 August 2005

Using human fetal cells, Swiss scientists have developed a new type of biological bandage for severe burns that appears to dramatically speed and improve the healing process and may well prove an effective treatment for other serious skin wounds. But the novel type of therapy is likely to generate some controversy in countries like the United States and Italy, which restrict the use of human embryos in scientific research, since the bandages are derived from the skin cells of aborted foetuses

Fluidlens is a new type of camera lens made of liquid that is no bigger than a contact lens, but can still achieve up to ten times optical zoom by changing its shape similar to the human eye

In an ongoing effort to stop the spread of HIV, scientists in Australia have discovered that crocodiles can fight off HIV and kill the virus. This is a major boon to medicine because the crocodile serum can also fight things that are penicillin resistant such as staphylococcus aureus

17 August 2005

Scientists are proposing reintroducing large mammals such as elephants, lions, cheetahs and wild horses to North America to replace populations lost 13,000 years ago. The scientists say that not only could large tracts of North America act as breeding sanctuaries for species of large wild animals under threat in Africa and Asia, but that such ecological history parks could be major tourist attractions

The Encyclomædia is a casemod that puts a PC into what appears to be a set of encyclopædia volumes — via BoingBoing

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is building a single service delivery channel for access to every piece of statistical data held in public databases nationally. Direct marketers need not salivate because the National Data Network will only hold de-identified information. The network, brainchild of former Australian of the Year and child health researcher Fiona Stanley, is under construction

The Sound Guy has developed the Purr Detector [pdf] lighted cat collar. In addition to providing family fun, the Purr Detector can also flash when the cat is outside at night, for improved safety and visibility. The Purr Detector was created by Earl Vickers, who has a patent pending for the technology — via Lucie

16 August 2005

Christopher Walken for President 2008. Make of that what you will — via Warren Ellis

Out of 168 nations in a Harvard study, how many do you think had some form of paid maternity leave? The answer may surprise you. 163 out of 168. That's how many countries think that new mothers shouldn't be subjected to discrimination, and that believe women shouldn't take a career hit because they choose to become a mother. Only two developed nations don't have paid maternity leave: The United States and Australia — via morons.org

15 August 2005

Erik Fitzpatrick did a nice job turning an old Smith-Corona manual typewriter into a functional keyboard, and composed a nice writeup about it, with pictures

Stirling engines are not a neglected or forgotten technology after all. With 20 years of in-the-field fine-tuning, Stirling Energy Systems is now ready to go big — real big. They signed a purchase agreement Tuesday with Southern California Edison, to install a 20,000 dish array that will cover 1,800 hectares and will be capable of generating 500 megawatts of electricity — more than all other US solar projects combined — making this the largest solar installation in the world. Each collector has a 11m diameter array of mirrors to focus the sun's rays on the Stirling engine, which turns the heat into rotational torque for electricity generation

14 August 2005

Spammer Scott Levine was convicted of massive data theft from Acxiom Corporation. Prosecutors say his company, the now-defunct Snipermail.com, stole 1.6 billion customer records from Acxiom and sold the data. He faces a maximum of 640 years in prison under the law, though he will likely be sentenced to far less

Responding to an outcry by publishers, Google has temporarily scaled back plans to make the full text of copyrighted books searchable online. For three months, Google will stop scanning copyrighted books to allow copyright holders to inform the company of objections

13 August 2005

Paul Sheehan has a good write up on the blind eye turned to loony fundies [BugMeNot] in both Australia and abroad, and how that apathy helped create the murderers of Stephen Vincent: To call him a casualty of a war or the victim of terrorists would be a mistake. He was murdered by perverts. "Pervert" does not remotely confer the same aura and power of "terrorist". This murder was committed in the name of religion but, at its deepest level, was another manifestation of envy, impotence and sexual repression

12 August 2005

Education Minister Brendan Nelson — a man whose sole purpose in life appears to be destroying the education system — supports the teaching of creationism [BugMeNot]. Sure, he weaselled out of throwing his full support behind it, but it still stands as proof that he is unfit to serve as Education Minister and that John Howard has surrounded himself with loony fundie toadies — via Terry Frost

Japan has announced plans to deploy a massive broadband satellite operational in 2015. It will provide 100 Mb/s service to mountains, remote islands and bullet trains along with comm for disaster recovery. Its giant 20m diameter dish is supposed to be able to receive even weak mobile phone signals. Of course, the ping times wont be so good

A speeding case has been thrown out in Australia after the Roads and Traffic Authority admitted that it could not prove the integrity of speed-camera photos. The case revolved around the integrity of a mathematical MD5 algorithm published on each picture and used as a security measure to prove pictures have not been doctored after they have been taken

11 August 2005

King George II, living proof that man descended from apes and some haven't quite managed to quite stand upright yet, has started a national debate in the US over the teaching of evolution in school. The retarded monkey boy has suggested that a theory known as intelligent design — the current PC term for creationism — should be taught in the classroom. His championing of intelligent design will be interpreted as further evidence of the growing influence of the religious right

Google has announced that they will provide RSS and Atom feeds in their news section. Previously the only way to get RSS/Atom feeds from Google news was through third party scrapers. Now, you can get feeds for any of Google's news areas as well as feeds for a news search. The news search is basically the same concept as Google news alerts, only in RSS

Professor Veena Sahajwalla of the University of New South Wales has won a prestigious Australian science award for developing a technique to use waste plastic in steel making, a process that could have implications for recycling scrap metal that accounts for 40% of steel production

AOL and Microsoft are hitting spammers where it hurts most: They are confiscating their assets and giving them away

10 August 2005

Derek Lovley and his colleagues of the University of Massachusetts discovered that the Geobacter bacteria is capable of producing nanowires. The bacteria is normally used to clean up toxic waste. Geobacter does not use oxygen, but metal as its source for power. This probably explains the 3nm to 5nm nanowires it excretes while working. What metal the nanowires are made of is not yet known, but the genetic code responsible for their creation is. This opens up the possibility of modifying the bacteria to create nanowires on chips

Pollycarpus Priyanto, a pilot with Indonesia's national airline Garuda, is on trial in Jakarta for the murder of Munir Said Thalib, a leading human rights activist, who died from arsenic poisoning on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam last September. The case is being seen as test of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to law and order

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has come up with an interesting way of making sure information about how to handle the buried nuclear waste is left for future generations. Computer technology is notorious for being superceded rather quickly. In the light of this, the UKAEA decided to ditch all the high tech solutions and go for something that has a genuinely proven track record: Papyrus. Or, the closest thing we've got that doesn't involve actual reeds: so-called permanent paper. After all, if it worked for the Ancient Egyptians, it should work for us

09 August 2005

Political group GetUp! has become the target of an investigation to force the internet operation, which is bombarding Coalition senators with e-mail, to prove it is not a front for the Labor Party. The online operation, which has the support of union boss Bill Shorten, dotcom millionaire Evan Thornley and former Liberal leader John Hewson to raise $1.5 million, flooded Liberal and Nationals senators with e-mail this week. It's funny that the pollies get the hump when they get spammed but turn a blind eye to little Johnny Coward paying his son to run a phone spam campaign during the last election. Seems it's a different matter when it's their inboxes that are flooded with crap

There's a rumour doing the rounds that Cisco is considering buying mobile handset maker Nokia in a bid to gain its wireless infrastructure technology

08 August 2005

Charlie Stross just won the Hugo award for best novella for The Concrete Jungle. How can you not love a geek whose response to a Hugo win is a resounding w00t! Congrats Charlie

The EFF is reporting that the Federal Communications Commission issued a release [pdf] announcing its new rule expanding the reach of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Practically, what this means is that the government will be asking broadband providers — as well as companies that manufacture devices used for broadband communications — to build insecure backdoors into their networks, imperiling the privacy and security of citizens on the Internet. It also hobbles technical innovation by forcing companies involved in broadband to redesign their products to meet government requirements

There has been a massive identity theft ring uncovered by security software firm Sunbelt. According to one of their employees, Alex Eckelberry, during the course of one of their recent investigations into a particular Spyware application — rumoured to be called CoolWebSearch — they've discovered that the personal information of those infected was being captured and uploaded to a server

07 August 2005

By mixing phosphorescent material with the usual white fluorescent material, American Environmental Products has developed a tfluorescent ube that continues to glow when shut off. Originally intended for submarines, and then used in places where terrorists could disrupt services, they are also perfect for power outages, providing some light so you don't have to thrash around in the dark looking for your candles and flashlights. Since the hack is inside the tube, they can also be removed from their fixtures and carried around, as well as provide light even if they're shattered

Heat & Glo has a new product that makes fire from water. Ordinary tap water (preferably distilled) is supplied to the fireplace through a pipe or tank, a 220 volt electrical service then separates the hydrogen and oxygen atoms through electrolysis, the Aqueon ignites the hydrogen, and ta-dah, fire! The oxygen is then added for colour and brightness, while the rest is released into the room. It doesn't require venting because it doesn't produce any harmful emittents like carbon monoxide — just water vapour. The manufacturer's web site has more information on the science behind the product

06 August 2005

Described by founders as a citizen journalists' photographic agency, a new startup called Scoopt.com plans to resell mobile phone snapshots to news organisations, sharing proceeds with shooters. Company owners originally planned to launch the site on 7/7 — the day of the first round of London attacks — but delayed to 14/7 — the day of the second attacks. The site is now live — via BoingBoing

Freelance reporter and blogger Steven Vincent was murdered Tuesday night in Basra, Iraq. Reports Vincent wrote on ties that link Iraqi police with extremists likely led to his killing — via BoingBoing

A South Carolina man packed up a brush trimmer for a FedEx return to Country Home Products in Vermont and inadvertently included five kittens with the shipment. Apparently, the box was in his barn and the kittens snuck in before he sealed it. Fortunately, they survived the two-day trip — via BoingBoing

05 August 2005

Many of the files that are shared on P2P networks tend to be junk. Organisations such as the RIAA and music labels regularly pollute these networks with nonsense files masquerading as real music or video files. These junk files make it difficult for users to find what they want on P2P networks. Some researchers at Cornell University have developed a reputation system called Credence, that works on the Gnutella network, allowing users to tell the good files from the bad ones

US firm, Prolacta Bioscience, is looking to commercialise breast milk by selling it to hospitals for the treatment of sick babies. They also wants to carry out research to develop breast milk-based therapies. Breast milk, with its minerals, digestive enzymes and antibodies, has long been credited with keeping babies healthy and boosting intelligence

A teenaged Israeli soldier has been lynched by a crowd after shooting dead four people on a bus in an Israeli Arab town

The Mozilla Foundation has created a commercial subsidiary to continue development of Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird. Don't let the word commercial scare you, the new Mozilla Corporation will be owned 100% by the Mozilla Foundation. The change is mostly a legal/tax thing to avoid the problems of pursuing revenue-generating avenues while remaining a non-profit. There will be no change to the development process and end-users won't notice much difference either

04 August 2005

German police are holding a woman suspected of manslaughter after the bodies of nine new-born babies were found buried in a garden. The 39-year-old woman is believed to be the mother of the children found in Brieskow-Finkenheerd, in Brandenburg state, near the border with Poland. The grim discovery of little bodies found buried in flower pots and buckets has shocked Germany. The bodies were discovered after someone clearing a garage at the site found human bones stored in a fish tank — via Warren Ellis

South Korea's king of cloning has successfully cloned an Afghan hound called Snuppy. But producing the pup was far from easy. The team transferred 1095 embryos into 123 surrogate mothers — but just three pregnancies resulted

Working for the city of Auburn, goats are doing what a bulldozer could never do without tearing up the place — they are reducing a thicket of blackberry foliage into an ankle-high tangle of leafless if not lifeless blackberry canes and fist-sized piles of biodegradable pellets. From New England to the Southwest, goats and sometimes sheep are nibbling across areas heretofore dominated by the chemical industry

Preliminary testing has begun on a new weapon that threatens to scuttle efforts to stop illicit online music swapping. Internet privacy activists at Freenet Project posted word on their web site that they were looking for other users to test a refined version of darknet software designed to keep file swappers anonymous. The new software is being heralded as scalable, which means it would enable large numbers of computer users to freely share files online without revealing their identities

03 August 2005

Team iFibre Redwire smashed the WiFi distance record, successfully linking a distance of over 200km at this year's DefCon WiFi Shootout. They maintained a full 11Mbit unamplified connection for 3 hours using Z-com 300mw PCMCIA cards, surplus satellite dishes, Linux, and a great deal of hacker ingenuity. They've said that they expect this rig would work at distances of over 480km

The loss of once-plentiful wolves in a part of Canada's west allowed the elk population to mushroom, pushing out beavers and songbirds and showing the importance of top predators. Although scientists have long noted that the loss of even one species can have profound effects, the report is one of the first large-scale studies to show clearly the widespread consequences of losing a predator at the top of the food chain

No more long waits for your PC to wake up. Longer laptop battery life. Data that survives a drop. These are the promises of solid-state-memory disks (SSDs), which use flash memory to supplement or replace today's hard drives. Samsung is working on two types of products: pure SSDs and hybrid drives that combine traditional hard disks and flash memory

02 August 2005

One minute, she was admiring the sea life in a huge glass tank at the Sydney Aquarium. Seconds later, Perth visitor Hazel Swinden was on her back, surrounded by sharks and fearing for her life. Mrs Swinden, 61, yesterday told the court of the dramatic moment in February 1997 when a 12,500-litre tank exploded as she stood in front of it, showering her with glass, saltwater and sharks. She claims she now suffers flashbacks and post traumatic stress disorder, and was forced to give up her job as a Myer sales assistant because of leg injuries she received from shattered glass. And yet I still feel more sympathy for the sharks — via Andrew

It took four months work, to casemod a 70s Dalek. Power LEDs are in the yellow domes and the power switch is in the eye

Hackers worked through the weekend to expose a flaw that could allow them to control the Cisco routers that direct much of the internet's traffic

01 August 2005

Merseyside Police are appealing for information following the theft of thousands of pounds of mobile phone and consumer durables in a burglary at DHL's depot in Aintree, Liverpool, UK. Thieves made off with five lorries loaded with a substantial amount of property including sports clothing, mobile phones and electrical goods. One of the stolen lorries was recovered in Bootle. The four outstanding lorries are bright yellow and marked with the DHL logo, so they shouldn't be too hard to spot

Leaked e-mails from two former prosecutors claim the military commissions set up to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay are rigged, fraudulent, and thin on evidence against the accused. Two e-mails, which have been obtained by the ABC, were sent to supervisors in the Office of Military Commissions in March of last year — three months before Australian detainee David Hicks was charged and five months before his trial began. The head of the military bar at the Australian Defence Legal Service, Captain Paul Willee QC, says if the emails are correct, he has serious misgivings about whether the detainees can get a fair trial

The lightsabre used by intergalactic hero Luke Skywalker in Star Wars has sold for US$264,000 at an auction of Hollywood props that fetched far more than expected. The deadly laser sword brandished by actor Mark Hamill in the original 1977 film was the star among 550 pieces of movie memorabilia that went on the block and fetched a total of more than US$2.6 million

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