Mathematicians Solve the Mystery of Traffic Jams

"Do you ever find yourself in a traffic jam, thinking, 'Man, there must be a bad accident up ahead,' but as you plod along you see no evidence of any crash?"

Check

"For years we've heard that information technology could solve some of the most tractable problems with our health care system, and this seems to make that promise true. So what is this technology? A checklist. "

Man files antitrust lawsuit over printer ink

"In the suit, it's suggested that HP paid Staples $100 million to refrain from sale of the cartridges."

Quote of the Day

"On email, people aren't quite themselves. They are angrier, less sympathetic, less aware, more easily wounded, even more gossipy and duplicitous. Email has a tendency to encourage the lesser angels of our nature." - David Shipley and Will Schwalbe, in their book Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.

Cell Phone Tracking, Privacy, And Learning Not To Look

"So if I decide to let a third party know my location — a cab company, for instance — does that mean that law enforcement can retrieve it from them without a warrant? What if I let my family know where I am?"

Quote of the day

"I don't know what it is about this particular moment in human history which lends itself to the sanction of miscellaneous and casual cruelty," says cyber-guru John Perry Barlow, vice chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Cyberspace, he says, "has a way of making us feel like other people are informational artifacts. If you cut data, it doesn't bleed. So you're at liberty to do anything you want to people who are not people but merely images."

- John Perry Barlow, quoted in a story on the insensitivity all too prevalent on the Internet.

Is Car Safety Technology Replacing Common Sense?

free on-line malware scanner

"With the help of our online scanner you can scan and clean your computer from malware without having to install additional software on your computer."

LaptopLock

"How do I use The LaptopLock? Using the LaptopLock is simple. Sign up for an account at http://www.thelaptoplock.com Add a computer to your account Download and install The LaptopLock agent Configure the downloaded agent with your account and computer information provided by the web based control panel Specify what the agent should do when you report your computer missing "

Broadband Speed Test

"By measuring the download and upload rate from the following locations you are able to accurately measure your current line throughput or internet connection speed." This is a pretty cool-looking test.

SnipIT -- email text snippets from IE

Nice add-on: select some text on the web page you want to send to someone, then right-click on it and choose "send using Outlook" or "send using Gmail" or Yahoo, etc., a nicely-formatted email pops up, ready to go, with the page title, the text quote you specified, and a link to the page. It's the genteel way to let someone know about a web page they should visit.

Law Firm Uses Copyright Claim To Say You Can't View Its Website's HTML Source

If they're serious, I feel sorry for them.

Verizon Wireless Opt-Out Plan For Customer Records

"An anonymous reader writes to let us know that Verizon Wireless is planning to share its customers' calling records (called CPNI) with "our affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries." Holy crap!

How to open multiple sites in separate tabs each time you start Firefox

Oh Come On: British Performing Rights Society Wants to Outlaw 'Making Hearable'

That sound you hear is the record companies' fingernails as they try to stop their rapid descent down the smooth, steep incline of obsolescence.

DriveImage XML

"DriveImage XML enables you create a complete backup image of any logical drive or partition, allowing to to restore your entire operating system along with installed programs, user settings, registry and all. "

Technology could enable computers to 'read the minds' of users

"Applying non-invasive and easily portable imaging technology in new ways, they hope to gain real-time insight into the brain’s more subtle emotional cues and help provide a more efficient way to get work done."

case-sensitivity in *nix

In troubleshooting a robots.txt problem, it became known that case-sensitivity is an issue, which prompted me to write:

"I know I'm just a simple Windows boy, but I don't get the whole case thing... is it *really* an advantage to have both foo.ext and FOO.ext (and foO.ext and fOO.eXt etc. etc.) able to exist in the same folder? To me it's nothing but confusing -- and as my grandpappy used to say: "complexity begets error". And it causes extra keyboarding (*nix people have stronger SHIFT fingers, eh?), and extra confusion/effort when talking about files" 'eff oh capital-oh dot eee capital-ex tee'."

Another Desktop Cube for Windows XP/Vista

"The Desktop Cube effect for Linux is extremely popular because people love eye candy, but the choices for Windows are much less interesting. The latest utility to give this effect for Windows is surprisingly fast, and works on both XP and Vista."

Game Teaches Kids About Health By Shutting Down

"A game for kids teaches about exercise by locking players out after 20 minutes of play, and telling them to go outside and play. "

Lowes Tries To Silence Sucks Site For Complaints About Lowes

This guy is mad, and he's not going to take it anymore. I say we should all chip in and buy him a smaller font. Just kidding, he could sell some of his exclamation points and buy some fonts. I'm kidding again!

ISPs Selling Your Information Again

"Ad companies always have the users' best interests in mind, don't they? "

A Secret Lobbying Campaign

"The nation’s biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve a measure wiping out all private lawsuits against them for assisting the U.S. intelligence community’s warrantless surveillance programs."

Simplehelp - Common questions, simple answers

"The main purpose of Simplehelp.net is to help beginner-to-intermediate computer users learn how to do various things with their computers."

Best Buy's secret intranet site to get a disclaimer; customers to get shaft

"It's still unclear why the company won't just do the right thing and match its own listed prices, but we're willing to bet the suits are patting themselves on the back for their innovative, out-of-the-box solution. "

Microsoft allowing PC makers to offer XP downgrade from Vista

"The downgrade option is only available for Windows Vista Business and Ultimate editions."

Cory Doctorow imagines a world in which Google is evil

"Google controls your e-mail, your videos, your calendar, your searches… What if it controlled your life? "

Concerning podcasts

"Your listeners become a passive audience - they have no power to skim, they can't skip the boring parts, they can't link or excerpt your post effectively. Your post becomes invisible to Google and other search engines. And anyone who has a hearing problem, or a dialup account, or doesn't speak yourlanguage too well, anyone who is trying to surf your site from the office, or from an Internet cafe - well, they're just plain out of luck." Right on.

NextFest: Pond Scum, Pull Cords, Wind Turnbine, Solar Car, Low-Power Computing, Self-Reporting Power Cord

"The Future of Green Goodies, From Gunk to Globes"

Jargon Watch: Microbesoft, Geosniff, Witricity

Smarter-than-Human Intelligence & The Singularity Summit

"Thus the first ultra-intelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make."

New Software Can Tell How Much You're Smiling

Let's get smiling, citizen!

Dual Monitors: Use a Different Wallpaper on Each Desktop in Vista or XP

Also has nice options for handling windows, such as moving maximized windows from one screen to another, hotkeys for moving windows from one monitor to the other, etc. Freeware.

A high-tech helping hand for soldiers

"A soldier wears a headset with an earphone and microphone designed to separate voice from gunfire and other noise. It is plugged into a rugged but lightweight computer tucked into the soldier's combat vest."

Brain to Control Games Directly, Maybe Vice Versa

"Your brain might be your next videogame controller. That might sound pretty awesome, but the prospect of brain-controlled virtual joysticks has some scientists worried that games might end up controlling our brains."

Digital Video Camera Rocket Launched

"Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a $59.95 rocket that launches up to 500 feet into the air, records 12 SECONDS OF VIDEO or three still pictures, then falls back to earth (it's impact-resistant). "

USB Remote Control Car

USB-connected garage allows control of RC Mini Cooper by computer software. Must. Have. Only $30!

Beach Mobiles Banned

"There is nothing worse than lying back in your double hammock, sipping on your strawberry daiquiri and hearing the Motorola jingle in the background."

Copy Windows Error Messages to the Clipboard

"Instead of re-typing long, painful error messages whenever you are trying to Google for a solution, did you know you can simply use Ctrl+C to copy the text of the message to the clipboard?"

Banner Blindness: Old and New Findings

"Users rarely look at display advertisements on websites. Of the four design elements that do attract a few ad fixations, one is unethical and reduces the value of advertising networks."

Modified Tetris Game Helps You Calm Yourself

"Players put one hand on a device that measures their pulse rate. As their pulse rises, so does the speed of the blocks falling from the top of the screen. That makes the game harder, creating an incentive for the player to calm down and so get a higher score."

PC Magazine Editor Throws in the Towel on Vista

"The upshot is that even after nine months, Vista just ain't cutting it."

Whale Ship: Aeroscraft ML866 Flying Yacht

Combination blimp/plane could provide relief for cargo transportation (recent bridge collapse news saturation pointed out that big rigs hauling all of our stuff can exert 90 times the force on our roads as a regular car).

Warning of webmail wi-fi hijack

Using public wi-fi hotspots has got much riskier as security experts unveil tools that nab login data over the air. "

Man-made 'tethered tornadoes' touted as a viable power source

"In its most grandiose realization, the engine (inventor's rendition pictured above) would be 200 meters in diameter and generate a 'clean' (debris-free) tornado stretching 20 kilometers into the sky able to coax 20 megawatts each out of ten independent turbines. "

German police excuse angry computer user for outburst

Your Personal Info Is Easy to Find... And Wrong

Why Being Plugged In 24/7 Doesn't Make It Easier To Get Your Work Done

If only I had time to read this.

YouTube - Microsoft Surface Parody

"SarcasticGamer.com presents a twisted take on one of Microsoft's latest and greatest announcements. Truth be told, We actually WANT a Surface Computer, but since we can't afford one, we thought it might be fun to make fun of it"

Online University Rolls Out Anti-Cheater Cams

The Cult of the Amateur

"what the Web 2.0 revolution is really delivering is superficial observations of the world around us rather than deep analysis, shrill opinion rather than considered judgment."

The Mechanized Future

"In our increasingly mechanized world, we repeatedly hear promises that every new digital product, computerized service, or other form of technology, will make our lives easier — bestowing greater leisure, health, and happiness. Yet are any of those promises being fulfilled? Are we not instead becoming slaves to the very "conveniences" that we struggle to master?"

Major Pain: 10 New-Millennium Maladies

"Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Ha! That is, like, so 1990s!"

The Machines Are Watching Us, Judging Us

"Surveillance cameras are increasingly monitoring noncriminals engaged in technically legal behavior. Meanwhile, special new artificial intelligence software is processing video feeds to look for unacceptable behavior. The machines are watching us, and they are making judgments about what we do."

HOWTO get AT&T DSL for $10 (and why you shouldn't)

Evolution of the 'Captcha'

"... are we stuck jumping through more and more hoops to register at places?"

20 Google tips for better searches

"... should be required reading for anyone that regularly uses Google"

Google’s Privacy Policies Ranked the Worst

Suddenly, the Paranoids Don't Seem So Paranoid Anymore

"Have you noticed? We've become a people that no longer respects, or apparently desires, privacy. Our own or anybody else's."

Google searches web's dark side

"One in 10 web pages scrutinised by search giant Google contained malicious code that could infect a user's PC. "

Spamtrap automatically prints, shreds spam for ultimate satisfaction

This is completely useless, and brilliant. I want one.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

"Homo sapiens, encumbered by a big brain and such inventions as agriculture and industry, faces a bewildering array of choices, from scrambled eggs to Chicken McNuggets, from a bowl of fresh strawberries to the petrochemically complex yellow log of sweet, spongy food product known as the Twinkie."

Back Up, Buster: Rebit Back-Up Appliance Will Save Your Life One Day

"You can even go back to older versions of saved documents, as it catalogues past copies of your files."

Save 5 Hours a Day, the Geek Way

Study: Browser Warnings Don't Work

"The lock-and-key icon was broken. The site-authentication image was not there. A security message popped up, warning that the site was not properly certified. And still, more than half of them entered a password and tried to log in. "

Webcasting Non-RIAA Music In Protest May Only Make The RIAA Wealthier

How Will Governments Keep Up With Technology?

""Governments are beginning to realize that perhaps the Internet really has changed everything, at least for them, and that they are going to have to deal with new responsibilities in this area."

Nursing-care, rehab robots gaining practical use

Don't Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes

"It would be naïve, even stupid, to think that we can go back to the idealized Churchillian battlefield."

Robot future poses hard questions

"Scientists have expressed concern about the use of autonomous decision-making robots, particularly for military use. "

Robot Wars

"WAR is expensive and it is bloody. That is why America’s Department of Defence wants to replace a third of its armed vehicles and weaponry with robots by 2015. " Plus, we must find Sarah Connor.

Botnets Battle Over Turf

"Aside from the distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks they launch against one another to disrupt their operations (like the recent DDOS battles between the Storm and Stration botnets), they also are constantly trying to hijack bots from one another. "

New Taser Looks Like Cell Phone

I don't know if I'd want to wear it on my belt, or keep it in my pocket, for that matter.

Will TJ Maxx Lose 77 Percent of Its Customers Over Data Breach?

"It's easy to say you won't shop there, but when it comes time to buy the kids cheap clothes for the new school year, people will go right back to their old habits. Perhaps that's why companies don't seem to take these data breaches very seriously."

The Drobo storage array device

"The device can address an infinite amount of storage, limited only by file systems and drive capacities."

101 free applications, 2007 edition

"If you are in need of a free application, take a look here first to check out what the top rated ones are."

Beef diet 'damages sons' sperm'

"A US study has linked use of the chemicals to damage to human sperm. "

Flexible Battery Charges in a Minute, Lasts for 1,000 Recharges

The top 10 funniest tech videos on YouTube

I like the first one the best.

Hi-tech 'threat' to private life

"Written by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the report looks at how technology is eroding personal privacy. "

Pentagon Prepares Mind Fields

"The U.S. military is working on computers than can scan your mind and adapt to what you're thinking."

The Air Car

"zero pollution and very low running costs"

How long will your UPS battery last?

This is for APC brand UPS units, but it's probably good info for all of them.

Best Buy Admits They Scam In-Store Customers with Secret Website

That helps me narrow down the list of places I'll spend my money.

Surveillance cameras get smarter

"Researchers and security companies are developing cameras that not only watch the world but also interpret what they see. Soon, some cameras may be able to find unattended bags at airports, guess your height or analyze the way you walk to see if you are hiding something."

Rerouting the Router

"Researchers have found a new way for attackers to change critical settings on home routers. " You may have your wireless all encrypted and stuff, but your router can still be pwned from within your own home.

Hard disk test 'surprises' Google

"The impact of heavy use and high temperatures on hard disk drive failure may be overstated, says a report by three Google engineers. "

Steel Run-As

"Steel Run-As enables administrators to create standalone executables that allow users to access a specific application with administrator privileges... "

Nice Talking to You, Machine

"Research indicates that the most successful artificial voice is that which is similar to the user, but systems will need to be capable of detecting and recognizing human moods in order to furnish such a voice."

Control days and times computer is off limits

In Windows XP you can set certain accounts to be active at specific times. Kim Komando tells us all about this relatively unknown and poorly documented (in Windows itself) feature.

Criminals 'may overwhelm the web'

And I fear the vigilance/cleaning process is too complex for the average computer user. We need more secure computers, and easier blocking/cleaning tools.

Rival robots prepping to automate home building

Best comment: "I hear the robot is free after rebates, but the concrete and gypsum cartridges are really expensive."

Star Wars Projector Shaped Like R2D2, Does Not Project Leia Holos

Sweet Baby Jane, I'm a wanna one of these!

Lying Is So Much Easier On The Conscience When You Don't Have To Look At Anyone

Stormblade Turbine is More Efficient, Quietly Neighbor-Friendly

And it looks cool.