Please choose one of the following 40 links.
Please choose one of the following 18 links.
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Please choose one of the following 300 links.
Please choose one of the following 40 links.
Sea PrincessCruising is one of the best ways to visit new and exciting places around the world. I've been on three of them now, the most recent ended a few days ago when I returned from a Princess cruise to Alaska. The cruise was 10-days long and featured shore time in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway Alaska as well as a day in Victoria British Columbia. Without a doubt, Alaska is one of the most beautiful places in the world. However, for those of us with disabilities, the journey can be tricky at times.
Photo of Ray Sandford. Photo by Daryl Trones of City Pages.DisabilityNation has continued to follow the story of Ray Sandford for the past few months. Back in April you'll recall that Ray's psychiatrist quit giving hope that the forced shock treatments he was receiving would soon end. Last week an article appeared in City Pages that did an excellent job of describing what Ray has been subjected to because of these treatments. City Pages is the main weekly newspaper distributed throughout Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
Photo of a computer monitor next to a desktop computer tower.We've all been there, busily working through that to do list and then something completely unexpected gets thrown our way. That was exactly what happened recently at work. It was late in the afternoon and I was trying to get a number of things done before the end of the day. Suddenly, my boss stopped in with a gentleman who was in need of assistance. She explained that he was working up until about 2 weeks ago when he was let go due to budget issues. He was once receiving SSDI benefits and now wasn't sure what to do at all. Thinking that I could help him with the benefits issue and possibly assist him in finding another job, she left him with me. And, did I forget to say he was deaf and did not read lips?
While some readers may find the above video shocking, anyone who has half-way paid attention to recent happenings related to disability issues in the state of Texas won't be surprised at all.
Several months ago we began hearing about the personnel issues with staff working at Texas state schools (institutions). it turned out that dozens of employees had once been fired or disciplined for abuse and or neglect of those living at state institutions and then were rehired again. And now videos surface showing staff at one of these state schools arranging for and carrying out fights between those living in the facility.
I was lying in bed last night watching "Serendipity" which somehow misses being a good film, despite having a lot of my favorite actors in it. This gave me a lot of time to consider which tiny, or not so tiny, want or need from my ever-expanding list I might satisfy, using next month's extra stimulus money.Though the list was crowded, nothing really seemed like the One Thing. It was too bad, I thought to myself, that disabled people as a group were always so poor. Otherwise we could pool our money and maybe get a lobbyist that wasn't one of us with a touchingly handmade sign and a heart of gold. Though I believe in people power and that whole Margaret Mead small-group-of-committed-people-changing-the-world thing, and have some protest stories to prove it, some times it feels like taking a gun to a knife fight. Or maybe, it's just like America itself, and I have missed its best years.
"But, Erika," I told myself. "You don't like lobbyists."
In a strange way, the most authentic representation of disability on TV right now is American Movie Classics' "Breaking Bad", and not just because the son is played by disabled actor R.J. Mitte, although that helps. Mitte's Flynn is a multi-faceted character who is doing his best to grow up and away as everything he's always known about his family comes apart. It's a strange claim to make about a family drama/dark heist comedy, but I can't miss it.
Several months ago I posted news about Ray Sandford, a man from Minnesota who was undergoing forced electric shock treatments because of his mental illness. An organization called Mind Freedom" has been supporting Ray's efforts to end this involuntary treatment. This update comes via a press release issued by the organization late last week. The text of the release follows:
The bad news is that this morning, 15 April 2009, Ray Sandford of Minnesota had another involuntary, outpatient electroshock, also known as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT.
The good news is today's forced electroshock could be Ray's last.
Larry: Photo of Larry Wanger, founder and producer of DisabilityNation.For the near 3 years that DisabilityNation has been on the web I have worked to bring together interviews, news and information that you, the reader and listener would find most helpful. And, over that time many of you have provided comments, suggestions and great ideas that have helped to make the program even better. However, producing, recording and editing a program like DisabilityNation takes time and a lot of effort. Both of which seem to be lacking at the present time.
The North Pole has now been made wheelchair accessible. On April 11, 2009 a disabled parking sign was raised at the North Pole on the 100th anniversary of the first successful polar expedition. David Shannon became the first person in world history with quadriplegia and in a wheelchair to reach the Pole. He along with expedition co-leader and fellow Canadian, Chris Watkins, developed "Team Independence 09" to promote breaking barriers to accessibility and greater community inclusion.
David upon reaching the pole stated, "This sign represents all peoples who have faced challenges or adversity in their lives and have dreamed of overcoming them. If we as people, work together in our homes, our cities, our countries and in our global village, there is no dream that cannot be realized."
Chris Watkins who himself was injured in 1988 stated, "David and our team represents the long-shot win of the underdog. But it shows that there is no dream too big to dream and no challenge to big to overcome. What David has left us with is a world of infinite horizons."
My attendant-services file says I'm a creative, highly intelligent young woman.
In addition to the embarrassments inherent in having an attendant file, I'm feeling relegated to life's kids' table by that remark, although I suppose it was nice for the last worker to write in it to leave things on a decent note.
And I'm not an old woman, for sure, but at 35 years in this body that wasn't even supposed to leave the hospital, ain't I a woman? Full stop?
I ache like a woman, I want things like a woman, I 've got debt collectors mispronouncing my name like a woman.
Can we let "young lady," take her seat on the graveside of my personal history along with channels ceasing programming at midnight,3 1/2 floppies, and my regrets about not winning all those slamming MTV "Let A Rockband Take Over Your House" contests from back when?(I suspect if I had won, it would have created a huge PR challenge, though. Everybody wanting to trade places with the crippled girl. OMG.)
Myron Uhlberg's memoir of growing up with deaf parents, Hands of My Father, has already attracted a lot of attention in the mainstream press for its depiction of how much responsibility young Myron assumed, acting as his father's interpreter from about the age of six...he doesn't mention doing this in quite the same way for his mother...maybe the neighbor women were more patient at accepting handwritten notes or maybe she was content to allow her husband to be the public face of her family in the world...it's hard for a frustrated wannabe egomaniac like myself to believe there were ever women that domestically inclined, but that's material for another book.
It is hard to believe that only within one person's lifetime, there was no closed-captioning and no way for ordinary folks to get sign-language interpretation, even when their seizing second child needs a doctor.
I don't know what I was expecting from a film called "Autism: The Musical." It was just a title that attracted my attention, even as a dark-humored part of me wanted to suggest that it should be a rock opera to better accomodate all the head-banging. Yeah, yeah, I know. Elaine Hall founded the Miracle Project to use her theater-directing skills to enhance the journey that began when she found out her adopted son Neal was autistic. The miracle project is designed to help autistic kids express themselves through music, dance, and acting, which I started off being very skeptical of.
In one way, I understand why schools and businesses continue to do disability-awareness day simulations. It can be difficult to talk about disability, and it seems that many non-disabled people are fascinated by our shiny assistive devices, so a day spent playing crip-for-a-day could only be in good fun, right?
At least, that's what I heard about the one I went to as a teenager. But I'm older now, and more political, so the idea that someone could learn what my life is like from strapping into a wheelchair for a few hours seems as ridiculous to me as trying on the male experience by gluing on a cut-hair mustache and calling myself "Hank'. Maybe I would even learn some tiny superficial truths about how guys relate to their world by doing that, but it wouldn't be like experiencing life as a guy. Tying on a blindfold and being shocked by sudden darkness is not like being blind either.
But I guess I could put it in a box with other related behavior such as people passing my wheelchair and cheerily asking "What's the speed limit on that thing?" or the urge people seem to have to try on each other's glasses. Dorky and incomprehensible, but harmless.
Something old and something new for my pop-culture report this week. It really is heartening how much more of the disability experience can be found on DVD of late.
Watching childhood favorites can be a mixed bag, even when you aren't trying to be Social Security Cultural Critic. Some of them just don't hold up to informed scrutiny(Most of the Star Wars trilogy) the discovery of irony(Batman as played by Burt Ward and Adam West) or just the fact that watching vans blow up isn't your idea of a good time anymore(The A-Team) so even though Mom and I agreed to start watching The Rockford Files together about two years ago, I was kind of afraid of facing that same letdown, but Jim Garner, always and forever, turns my mom's crank, and it was a detective story, so what would be the harm?(It's where I learned about two things: The power of a wiseass' smile and the existence of machines that record phone calls, both things that would haunt much of my later life.)
I haven't written about economic conditions yet here because I feel that it's beyond me(I'm no Paul Krugman although his Conscience of A Liberal changed my life.) I'm just a citizen of a nation who seems to have never been fully sure that I existed, and I have spent my life, from early childhood in the Reagan years, and been reminded of this fact. Mom used to drag me to school board meetings.
I missed completely what some people seem to view as some golden age of Clinton prosperity, but I don't really write this out of personal bitterness(although college might have been different if I had known that Uncle Sam would wave the cookie plate in front of my face and jerk it away before I'd selected my own personal nummy treat)
The March issue of DisabilityNation is finally here and features coverage of the latest news and interviews focusing on issues important to people with disabilities.
If you're looking for work right now you know that finding employment is difficult because of the downturn in the economy. Fortunately, if you're a person with a disability there is a new web site that might be able to help. GettingHired launched just over 3 months ago and is already providing an outstanding service for those of us in the disability community.
The GettingHired Mission is to create sustainable employment growth and opportunity for people with disabilities. The GettingHired portal accomplishes its mission by serving and connecting job seekers with Disabilities, committed Employers, advocacy Organizations and service Providers.
I was slow to hear about the situation with BBC children's television host Cerrie Burnell. Several online friends had mentioned some parents' tendencies to want to sanitize kids' lives from all but the most Disney-fied realities, but that could apply to anything from a racy web page to blowback from an appearance on an adult television program, as when the actor who used to star on Blue's Clues appeared on the gritty crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street. (Not as Steve; I could see why that'd be upsetting.) Check out the following video.
I think I might be in love again, with another writer who doesn't know I exist. But seriously, Patrick Goldstein at the L.A Times, let me buy you a libation of your choice if I ever get to L.A. again. Your column about Jerry Lewis encapsulates so much of my disgust at seeing this glad-handing, crocodile-tear-leaking relic receive any kind of prize from anywhere, except possibly a partial credit for inspiring Krusty the Clown. This saves me from having to write an entire post on my own behalf, which I almost didn't want to do, because any disabled person who has been at all thoughtful about this issue has been to The Trouble with Jerry, and has read the brilliant analysis on this from Laura Hershey and others. So, you don't really need to hear what a pop-culture lightweight like me says about it, but it's interesting, isn't it, that for a community that often has no unifying force, how unified we've all been against this choice by the Academy.
I really hoped I would dig How's Your News?, even if liking the MTV chatfest puts me on the same side as curmudgeonly media critic Tom Shales, who has failed to spot a trend or have an original thought since Poppy and Bar went back to Kennebunkport.
I didn't have to worry about that, since I found every moment of News more painful than the one before, despite my generally positive feelings about people with disabilities doing man-on-the-street interviews.
How could someone who began his life as the sort of kid his own cousins made fun of end up one of the most iconic and beloved leaders of the free world? How could a politician known for flip-flopping and careless dabbling end up setting the modern standard for both leadership in a crisis, as well as hitting the ground running? These are some of the questions historian and cable commentator Jonathan Alter sets out to answer in his history of Roosevelt's first hundred days, The Defining Moment
Alter seems to believe that FDR's disability ended up as an asset, because his experience with the treatment of his own polio(the doctors made some bad initial treatment decisions) taught him the folly of always listening to experts and of sticking hard to conventional wisdom. Roosevelt's approach to the Great Depression was a high-stakes improvisation, in part fueled and informed by his earlier experiences developing what I suppose we might call a "wellness community" at Warm Springs, Georgia.
It looks like SNL is at it again. This past Saturday a skit poking fun at Governor David Paterson of New York ran as part of the regular Weekend Update segment. (Click on Read More and watch the video at the end of this post). Like the previous skit that ran in the fall, this one too made jokes about Paterson's blindness, made him look incompetent and portrayed him as a coke addict.
When I wrote about the previous skit I heard from several people who felt I was too sensitive and that the skit was funny. Further, those critical of my views said that as a public figure, Governor Paterson becomes subject to such attention in the media and on the comedy circuit. While I agree entirely with the second point, I can't accept that its okay to portray blind people as incompetent as these two skits have done.
My remote died the other day, a loss which I realize would not generally occasion the tone that my fake boyfriend Keith Olbermann might use to eulogize fixture of Negro League baseball Buck O' Neill or anything like that.
It bugs me though, because I'm feeling kind of helpless this week and like my plans tend to count for nothing, and it's hard enough to cope with the fact that my idea of excitement in the bedroom is knowing that King of The Hill is on Adult Swim at eleven. If I were able-bodied, I'd like to think I'd hardly notice, and the truth is, if I got magically cured today, I probably wouldn't for a day or two, just because I'd be standing up and sitting down randomly(Because it's there!) or running gratuitous showers
Am I a bad disabled person if I admit that I thought "Tropic Thunder" was kinda funny? I mean, not hilarious, that would make me a bad moviegoer, but I laughed, and I hate feeling that I should feel bad about that, being as how life is so difficult and I love laughing at stuff.
It's true "retard" doesn't ping me as hard as maybe it ought to. Mea culpa, as a smartmouthed sportscaster who had his own sins of temperament to confess to once wrote, but I was well into college before I stopped using it myself, and my mother has worked with people with cognitive disabilities off and on for years.
But which is the greater Hollywood atrocity? Ben Stiller playing an idiot who says "retard" or Hollywood conventional wisdom that says Sean Penn + jawbreaker=Oscar gold. Much as I admire Mr. Penn, he's not telling our stories when he does that, and that was the point of the "Simple Jack" sequence.
I loved and was chilled by the latest entry in the Kinsey Milhone Alphabet series. T is for Trespass
Any disabled person with an attendant should find a special resonance in this tale of elder abuse, identity theft, and one of the greatest fictional private eyes in history getting into a cat-and-mouse game with a dangerous sociopath.
I'm really pleased to see how the twenty-year-old Alphabet Series has been invigorated in the last few outings, but I've still got a problem with this book on disability grounds.
The villain, known for most of the book as Solana Rojas(I can tell this because it's not a whodunnit, unlike much of the Milhone oeuvre) has an absolutely loathsome developmentally-disabled son who's huge and jokingly named Tiny. I hope Grafton didn't intend him as a sign of Solana's evil, but he has a pile of super-disgusting traits including a tendency towards violence and a fascination with huge, hairy spiders.
My editor found
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/magazine/28mcbryde-t.html?_r=1&ref=mag...
The thing that struck me most is how political, or at least, philosophical, opposition can evolve into such great personal respect.Of particular interest to me was the fact that these two heavyweights could have such vigorous ethical debates and still have civil, even friendly, dinners together. Maybe it's this form of unity, rather than bland agreement, that Obama speaks about so passionately.
However, in addition, I'm always shocked to find smart people(and whatever you may think of Dr. Singer's application of his gifts, there's no denying he's got a fast processor up there,) who think since I've got a disability, the only thought I can possibly have is "Fuck! Can't walk today, either," but that's kind of what he implies in the last paragraph or two.
Of course, yes, I have that thought(even though the independent-living movement would like everyone to believe that nobody really does. They lie, too. Because sometimes lack of mobility just sucks.)
There is a dirty little secret going on in special education today. I hadn't known about the extent of the problem, despite considering myself a well-informed civilian when it comes to education issues. And I, as a former special-ed student, spent my share of time away from the class to chill out or think about my "transgressions"(which, even when isolation is properly applied, more or less, left me feeling more punished than mellow.) And I was not locked in the time-out room, nor denied access to a bathroom and/or attendant services. Even so, I doubt it was effective.
But I had no idea about the extent to which the seclusion(or time-out) rooms have been misused in school districts around the country, culminating in a case in Georgia where thirteen-year-old Jonathan King hung himself, ironically with a belt that a teacher had provided for him to keep his pants up.
I must admit that prior to the Presidential Election this year I began watching SNL again with the same anticipation and excitement that I did years ago when it was actually worth my time. And, as many Americans probably have, I've not watched it once since November 4th.
If I needed any confirmation that my decision to spend my Saturday nights on more useful activities was the right one, this skit provides just that. Sure, for those of you who will tell me to get over it, there are certainly a few funny points in this skit. Yet, most of what the SNL writers hope that we will find funny are attempts to support stereotypes and false perceptions that some people have about those of us who are blind. For more reaction to the parity, check out this Associated Press article. You decide. Watch the video and leave your thoughts.
DisabilityNation returns with a new episode featuring the latest news from around the disability community, an encore of an interview focusing on the Adaptive Sports Association, an update on future episodes of the show and some new features that are now part of the DisabilityNation phone portal. Download and tune in to this fast-paced information packed episode of DisabilityNation.
Bruce Curtis is a for-real role model, using his years of living with his disability and his job with Berkeley's World Institute on Disability, to provide mobility training and adaptive devices to newly disabled people in war-torn Iraq. Even more than the challenges of an inaccessible environment, Curtis told Oakland Tribune correspondent Barbara Grady that attitudes and not picturing a future for people with disabilities are the biggest barriers to success for Iraqis.
Curtis is a quadriplegic who trains disabled Iraqis in how to handle the daily challenges of their disabilities. He helps them with using wheelchairs and learning how to advocate for their rights in a country where the disabled have few opportunities.
With the holiday season upon us there are all kinds of new advertisements making the rounds. And, I've noticed a couple that prominently feature people with disabilities.
The following ad comes from Best Buy and describes the experience of a Best Buy employee who helped a customer who is blind.
Another commercial being run by Kay Jewelers features someone who is deaf.
Okay, I warn you now, this isn’t going to be a pleasant, friendly post. So, if you’re not up for ranting and some serious anger, its probably best that you turn away. However, in this case, I think the justice system screwed the people of Belmont New York, the people of the United States and the entire disability community. This cuts to the heart of societies perception of what the quality of life for those of us with disabilities must be like and is a slap in the face to our dignity.
While I don't have children myself, I've been noticing lately families where one or more of the kids has a disability. I think the impetus for this was an experience I had recently.
I was traveling last week and, while waiting for a bus in front of the hotel, my wife and I noticed a family; mom, dad and three kids. One of the children, a little girl, appeared to have Cerebral Palsy. What was interesting was the deliberate efforts of the entire family to include her in everything and to hold her to the same expectations that everyone else had to follow.
The family was headed out for a day of fun and dad arrived on the scene with the little girl before mom showed up with the other children a few minutes later. And, in keeping with the stereotypical things that parents notice, mom immediately caught on that daughter was shoeless. Instead of asking dad why he forgot to get her shoes, she asked the girl why she didn't remind her father to put them on for her.
Micah Fialka-Feldman has been a pioneer in inclusion for many years. He has been taking classes, participating in clubs, and currently pays full tuition at Oakland University, located just outside of Detroit Michigan. In 2007, the university gave Micah a tour of the dormitory, accepted his deposit, confirmed his "move in date" and then said no. In the last 60 days, the student body, the local media and people from across the country have expressed support for Micah's dream and the right of all Option Program students to live in the dormitory.
I first became familiar with Micah and his family when I interviewed them on episode 44 of DisabilityNation a little over one year ago. The interview covers a documentary focusing on Micah's battle for inclusion called Through the Same Door.
I really didn't watch The Officewhen I first saw "The Injury" but it still totally made me laugh anyway. True, the opening sequence about the Foreman grill only makes sense if you follow Michael Scott's particular combination of brashness and neediness, but the midpoint, featuring Michael as the clueless able-bodied person who "finally understands" about disability issues should provoke rueful laughter in all of us, as should Dunder-Mifflin's pathetic effort at a disability rights presentation(especially Michael's including a poster of Forrest Gump.) Once again, Steve Carrell deserves an award for putting some real humanity into the biggest jerk in the world.
I have often thought that people with disabilities and people who are gay should be natural allies, even before all of the No on Proposition 8 protestsand the subsequent rallies after election day started across the nation. The protests bring back memories of ADAPT actions I've been involved with in the past. I feel that we have many shared experiences in our battles for acceptance in life. Consider how many of us grow up in, but not of, the dominant culture,and often have to look outside our families of origin for role models and inspiration. The fact that we only rarely get the guy or girl in Hollywood productions is only a bonus. Also, all kinds of people think it's icky to contemplate members of either group having sex.
Just when you think you’ve heard everything, a story like this reminds us just how ridiculous government can be.
Eileen Wilbur was one penny short when she paid last year's water bill. Now the city of Attleboro, Mass., is threatening to take action. In a letter they paid 42 cents to mail, city officials say they'll place a lien on the blind 74-year-old's house unless she coughs up a penny by Dec. 10, according to the Associated Press. City Collector Debora Marcoccio tells The Sun Chronicle that Wilbur should have paid the balance on her account when they sent out the original bill. She says the lien notices are automatically printed. "It would be fiscally irresponsible for me to have staff weed through the bills and pull out any below a certain amount," she says, according to the paper. " And what would that amount be?"
People with disabilities across the country and specifically those in Illinois won a huge victory last week when a tentative settlement was reached in a class action suit. The settlement requires that thousands of people with disabilities living in institutions must be offered the option of living in the community. Residents of institutions across the state of Illinois will have the option of moving to small group homes and living in their communities.
Under the terms of the agreement, the 6,600 residents now living in state-funded residential facilities must be given the option to move into small group homes in their own communities. Another 15,000 people waiting for residential services would also be affected by the agreement.
I received the following announcement from a friend. Please consider how you can speak out in support of Ray and others who still face involuntary treatment.
MindFreedom International
November 7, 2008
by David W. Oaks, Director, MindFreedom International
The past Wednesday morning after the historic USA election what were you doing? I know what Ray Sandford, 54, was doing. Each and every Wednesday, early in the morning, staff shows up at Ray’s sheltered living home called Victory House in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, adjacent to Minneapolis. Staff escorts Ray the 15 miles to Mercy Hospital. There, Ray is given another of his weekly electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments, also known as electroshock. All against his will. On an outpatient basis. And it’s been going on for months.
Its not too often that I get to mix two of my greatest passions in life when I sit down to write a blog entry. Those two being sports and disability activism. But, today is my lucky day I suppose. And, because the sport is hockey, its even better.
Occasionally I write about perception and instances where society is exposed to the disability experience either in a movie, print media, television program or through some other way. Sometimes this exposure is positive and helps people to come to a better understanding about life with a disability. But, there are many other times where I’m left scratching my head wondering just what the producers were thinking.
Once in a while I get asked to participate in forums or discussions about disability issues. This was the case a few weeks ago at work when I was asked to participate in a presentation for a class from Arizona State University. There were several of us on the panel who shared some very personal insights regarding our disability. Part of the discussion required us to give the official medical label or diagnosis for our disability and then to explain it in simple English.
I find it fascinating sometimes when I meet people who have disabilities who feel its important to make sure I know their label. That is, what professional or medical speak is used to explain what some in other circles might call their condition or impairment.
Please choose one of the following 24 links.
Please choose one of the following 80 links.
Please choose one of the following 10 links.
Please choose one of the following 20 links.
Please choose one of the following 14 links.
There's one link here.
Please choose one of the following 34 links.
Please choose one of the following 25 links.
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Please choose one of the following 78 links.
Please choose one of the following 10 links.
Please choose one of the following 10 links.
Why buy a $499 device to read books when Amazon's new Kindle will do it for $139? We debate. Also, Facebook building a font of all knowledge with Questions. Plus: How to hack ATMs.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
New Amazon Kindle announced: $139 WiFi-only version and $189 3G model available August 27th in the US and UK
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/28/new-amazon-kindle-announced-139-wifi-only-version-and-189-3g/
http://cnettv.cnet.com/kindle-sneak-peek/9742-1_53-50090913.html
Amazon says ebook sales to overtake paperbacks by next year
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/34624/amazon-paperbacks-hardbacks-last-legs
Facebook launches Questions feature
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=411795942130
Facebook Q&A Service 'Questions' Begins Rolling Out, Could Be Massive
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/28/facebook-qa-service-questions-begins-rolling-out-could-be-massive/
Revamped BlackBerry nears
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66R3C620100728
RIM Buys "BlackPad.com", Presumably As A Home For The BlackBerry Tablet
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/28/rim-buys-blackpad-com-presumably-as-a-home-for-their-blackberry-tablet/
Apple Grapples With White iPhone Light Leak
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/10819663/1/apple-grapples-with-white-iphone-light-leak.html
Apple Probes Complaints About iOS4 on iPhone 3G
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/07/28/apple-investigates-reports-of-problems-with-ios4-on-iphone-3g/
Android wallpaper app that steals your data was downloaded by millions
http://mobile.venturebeat.com/2010/07/28/android-wallpaper-app-that-steals-your-data-was-downloaded-by-millions/
Security researcher demonstrates ATM hacking
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20012019-83.html
Facebook data harvester speaks out
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10802730
Exclusive: Google, CIA Invest in 'Future' of Web Monitoring
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/exclusive-google-cia/
White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/28/AR2010072806141_pf.html
Youtube upload limit upped to 15 min
http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/07/upload-limit-increases-to-15-minutes.html
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Micheal’s house of Jailbreaks
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
I am listening to yesterdays podcast (1279) and realized I had read an article about the “”Keyholders to the Internet”" in which it names of the Canadian holding one of the keys. This article was in the Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/841315–the-canadian-who-holds-the-key-to-the-internet was published yesterday morning and clearly id’s the person including the picture and city where he lives. Not only are we trusting these 7 people with this info we are telling the world who these people are and where to find them. Scary!!!
Love the show.
Sharon
Guelph, Ontario
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Just a few comments on Wednesdays video cast:
If the Internet is down, how do these five people book flights to get to one common area?
Google Chrome has an option to delete browser cookies and flash cookies.
Bryan Gray
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Hey Buzz Crew,
I was a little behind, but I just finished listening to episodes 1278 and 1279. When you were discussing Apple’s new trackpad for desktop, you forgot one interesting aspect: it should would great as a HTPC control system.
Think about it. You already had a small wireless keyboard that could fit nicely with a home theater system. However, a mouse doesn’t really work in the couch environment. With the trackpad and the multi-touch gestures you now have much-improve operation of a HTPC from the couch.
Combine both the wireless keyboard and trackpad with a Mac Mini, as an example, and now you have a adequate control and navigation options for the 10-foot experience.
Love the show,
Angel from Puerto Rico
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Blackberry users: What would you prefer in the new era of Blackberry? Stick with the hardware keyboard? Or touchscreen? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
If the Internet breaks, the Tribe of Seven's secret library cards will re-start it. Also: Running your fingers through Princess Leia's hair... mmmm. And: Toss your zombie cookies now! Special guest: Dr. Kiki!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Amazon Now Taps Into Facebook For Social Product Recommendations
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/27/amazon-now-taps-into-facebook-for-social-product-recommendations/
Why the Facebook, Amazon integration is bigger than you think
http://social.venturebeat.com/2010/07/27/facebook-amazon/
100 million Facebook pages leaked on torrent site
http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/7/28/100-million-facebook-pages-leaked-torrent-site/
Google Courts Facebook’s Friends
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703292704575393531040685308.html
An Order of Seven Global Cyber-Guardians Now Hold Keys to the Internet
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-07/order-seven-cyber-guardians-around-world-now-hold-keys-internet
Privacy lawsuit targets ‘Net giants over “zombie” cookies
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/07/privacy-lawsuit-targets-net-giants-over-zombie-cookies.ars
ICO: Google Wi-Fi data contained no ‘meaningful details’
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/security-threats/2010/07/28/ico-google-wi-fi-data-contained-no-meaningful-details-40089672/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20011916-281.html
Apple releases Safari 5.0.1, extensions are live, address book bug patched
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/07/28/apple-releases-safari-5-0-1/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20011898-37.html
Valve offers free Left 4 Dead 2 for erroneous Modern Warfare 2 bans
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6271273.html
Hey Old Spice haters, sales are up 107%
http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2010/07/hey-old-spice-haters-sales-are-up-107.html
Japanese Researchers Invent Holograms You Can Touch
http://www.switched.com/2010/07/27/japanese-researchers-invent-holograms-you-can-touch/
Today’s featured Buzz Out Loud remix at the end of the show:
Jan Neland!
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_JanNeland_romcom.mp3
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Brad in Cinci: Touchpads
Ben from BC: Starcraft 2
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
iPhone Bumpers — Sadly… Just thought you might like to know why you will only be able to order a free bumper until September 30th, well here in Ireland I just had an O2 sales rep tell me that I would not be able to get an iphone 4 until the end of September. Why you ask well it will come with a free case in the box.
Love the Show
Dara
P.s. I got a HTC Desire
**********
Add a rebuttal to your point about apple simply flashing a device to repair it, what about when someone uses an unauthorized app to overclock the phone, and it burns out part of the hardware as a result? I’m not a fan of subsidizing others’ curiosity and hobbies, so I think that Apple’s warranty policy canceling coverage for jailbroken phones is not only prudent, but fair for the rest of us.
Joey
**********
Should a jailbroken phone cancel the warranty? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Who knew -- Apple still makes computers, and today launched a bunch of new ones, plus a ginormous desktop trackpad to go with them. Also: The robot that will make you breakfast. Eventually. Guest: Darren Kitchen of Hak5.org!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
How odd… Apple launches new COMPUTERS
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20011756-37.html
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/07/long-neglected-mac-pro-cinema-display-finally-updated.ars
Apple's Official Response To DMCA Jailbreak Exemption: It Voids Your Warranty
http://www.cultofmac.com/apples-official-response-to-dmca-jailbreak-exemption-it-voids-your-warranty/52463
Twitter to Show Photos and Videos in the Stream
http://mashable.com/2010/07/26/tweet-media/
Google updates Maps for Android, adds Yelp-like interface
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-20011671-251.html
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/07/even-better-way-to-find-places-nearby.html
X Prize group eyes oil spill cleanup
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-20011754-76.html
Citi Discloses Security Flaw in Its iPhone App
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703700904575391273536355324.html
Facebook Testing "Delete Account" Option.
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/26/facebook-reportedly-adds-delete-account-option/
Google launches Apps for Government, announces federal security certification
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/google-launches-apps-for-government-announces-federal-security-certification/37177
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20011653-248.html
“Qi” wireless power standard promises cord-free charging
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/07/qi-wireless-power-standard-promises-cord-free-charging.ars
Augen’s $150 Android tablet hits Kmart circular, coming to stores later this week
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/26/augens-150-android-tablet-hits-kmart-circular-coming-to-store/
Yahoo Japan Confirms Google Switch From Yahoo for Both Paid and Algo Search
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100726/yahoo-japan-confirms-google-switch-for-both-paid-and-algo-search/
Robot learns to flip pancakes
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/26/robot-learns-to-flip.html
iPad owners are selfish jerks, survey says
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/07/ipad-owner-are-selfish-elites-critics-are-independent-geeks-says-study/
Today's featured Buzz Out Loud remix at the end of the show:
Doug Bogatz!
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_DougBogatz_minimal.mp3
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hello there buzzers out loud!
I just wanted to comment on a statement last week on episode 1276 about the convoluted process to receive the “”free bumper”". I agree that it seems like a mell of a hess, but as has been my experience with Apple, they’ve yet again exceeded my expectations. I purchased a bumper a few days after I received my pre-ordered iPhone 4 from the Apple Store. I’ve been meaning to go and inquire about getting my $30 back but last week I got an email saying that they noticed I purchased a bumper and will be refunded. When I looked at my bank account, the money had been returned. So, nice job Apple on the experience. Sometimes I think about it and get annoyed about being forced to buy a bumper or else I’d have an iPod touch that could sometimes make calls, but realized I bought one anyway to keep it safe and pretty. So overall it’s been a great experience.
Love the show!
Dan Bostock in San Francisco
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I’m sure you’ve come across it already, but the report you mentioned on yesterday’s show about 20% of Android users wanting another Android device has been corrected to say that 20% of all smartphone owners would want an Android phone. http://www.businessinsider.com/that-story-saying-that-only-20-of-android-owners-say-theyll-buy-another-one-its-not-true-2010-7
This is a bit more consistent with the Nielson report earlier this year that showed that 70% of Android owners would buy another Android phone.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/iphone-vs-android/
Via la Android!! :)
Love the shooooooooooooow!
Adam (@mrmerlot), Centreville, Virginia
**********
Question of the day: Trackpad, mouse, or nubbin? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
The U.S. copyright office now says that there are instances in which you may hack, fold, spindle, or mutilate copy protection, but just a few, and don't go breaking any other contracts while you're at it. Also, Microsoft wants its employees to build Windows 7 phone apps... for free!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Rulemaking on Anticircumvention
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/07/26/now-legal-in-the-u-s-jailbreaking-your-iphone-ripping-a-dvd-for-educational-purposes/
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/
http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/07/25/court.says.cracking.drm.ok.if.purpose.is.legal/
Wikileaks releases massive set of Afghan war files
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20011594-83.html
HTC to Put Sense on Windows Phone 7 Devices
http://news.softpedia.com/news/HTC-to-Put-Sense-on-Windows-Phone-7-Devices-148954.shtml
Android Market purchases soon billable to more carriers?
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/07/25/android-market-purchases-soon-billable-to-more-carriers/
Chatroulette Threatens Perverts With Police
http://newteevee.com/2010/07/23/chatroulette-threatens-perverts-with-police/
77% Of iPhone Owners Say They’ll Buy Another — Versus Just 20% Of Android Owners
http://www.businessinsider.com/77-of-iphone-owners-say-theyll-buy-another-versus-just-20-of-android-owners-2010-7
Sony, university make blue-violet laser for 1TB Blu-ray disc
http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/07/23/sony.university.create.tech.for.1tb.blu.rays/
Microsoft To Employees: Can You Build A Windows 7 App For Us For Free?
http://www.901am.com/2010/microsoft-to-employees-can-you-build-an-app-for-that-windows-7-mobile.html
Facebook says Ceglia contract was likely ‘forged’
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20011537-36.html
LHC firing on all cylinders, but no Higgs boson yet
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20011612-264.html
Today’s featured Buzz Out Loud remix(es) at the end of the show:
Thomas Canada!
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_ThomasCanada_blues.mp3
Dan Lueders!
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_DanLueders_blues.mp3
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
El, and Brian’s sweatgrip
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey guys,
I just came across yet another apple developed antenna-gate video, which I am sure you have either seen or heard about already. This time apple targets the moto Droid X. It shows a “”typical”" holding position and it losing bars.
I am getting rather frustrated with Apple pointing fingers. They are simply glorifying the whole “”if they can do it, so can I”" theory. I’ve leaned since I was 5 years old that if other people are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing, I shouldn’t do them, period. Apple really needs to stop pointing fingers, accept it’s fault, grow up and move on. This is getting ridiculous.
Video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJG7pbSRvJ8
Regards,
Ryan Boysen
**********
What would you do with the Higgs Boson if you found it? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
BOL co-founder Molly Wood discovers "her people" in San Diego. Also, we're actually talking about white iPhones. How'd that happen? And Mama's taking our Kodachrome away.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Molly Wood's update from Comic-Con!
http://www.twitter.com/mollywood
Apple: White iPhone 4 Delayed Until Later This Year Due To Manufacturing Challenges
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/23/apple-due-to-manufacturing-challenges-white-iphone-4-wont-be-available-until-late-2010/
http://gigaom.com/2010/07/23/apples-white-iphone-delay-a-chance-for-antenna-redesign/
LG unable to meet Apple's iPad display demand
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/22/lg_unable_to_meet_ipad_display_demand.html
iPhone to T-Mobile
http://www.cultofmac.com/iphone-is-coming-to-t-mobile-usa-in-q3-exclusive/39870
Free bumper program - there's an app for that
http://www.apple.com/iphone/case-program/
Microsoft reports $16 billion in revenue
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20011392-260.html
Windows 7 Momentum Continues: 175 Million Licenses Sold
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2010/07/22/windows-7-momentum-continues-175-million-licenses-sold.aspx
Microsoft STILL Burning Hundreds Of Millions Online
http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-microsoft-online-operating-income-q2-2010-7
Amazon Mobile Sales Topped $1 Billion In Past 12 Months
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-amazon-mobile-sales-topped-1-billion-in-past-12-months/
Flipboard: A startup's first bad day or success?
http://scobleizer.com/2010/07/22/flipboard-a-startups-first-bad-day-or-success/
Is Flipboard Legal?
http://gizmodo.com/5594176/
Web host to return Blogetery's blogs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20011471-261.html
WebOS 2.0 Coming Later This Year, HP's Windows 7 Slate To Be An Enterprise Product
http://gizmodo.com/5594153/webos-20-coming-later-this-year-hps-windows-7-slate-to-be-an-enterprise-product
New Microsoft, ARM licensing agreement; Could a Windows Phone tablet be coming?
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/new-microsoft-arm-licensing-agreement-could-a-windows-phone-tablet-be-coming/6924
LIfe in a Day
http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday
Last Kodachrome roll processed in Parsons
http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/14/1403115/last-kodachrome-roll-processed.html
Kodak winds last rolls of Kodachrome
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10270671-1.html
Today's featured Buzz Out Loud remix at the end of the show:
Jan Neland!
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_JanNeland_epic2.mp3
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Carl on OS ads
Anonymous 3D guy
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
In episode 1274 Jason mentioned that it would be cool when we have surface to surface laser in response to the story about the new plane blasting laser from Raytheon. It probably wouldn't be cool if you did have surface to surface laser since normally light travels in a straight line. Without the help of a conveniently placed black hole the laser beam isn't curving back down like a missile would. If you did have a black hole handy, both you and your target are pretty much screwed. Well you could bounce it off a mirror, if you just happened to have a mirror in the right spot at the right time. -Donnie Darko
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This weakens the fist pump for Canada a bit.
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=OTIyMDAyMw==
Growat
**********
Until recently every time I heard Rafe talking talking about getting hacked, or stealing codes, I constantly thought, ""I don't care, that couldn't possibly, happen to me"" and then I was playing World of Warcraft and someone sent me a message saying I would get into the Cataclysm Beta if I went to the site. So, since I was kind of bored I went to the site (even though I doubted I would actually do anything there) and it looked EXACTLY like the battle.net login for WoW, so like any other stupid little puppet I entered my info and logged in, and then, moments after, realized it was most probably the stupid thing I had ever in any way, done. And now I understand that Rafe isn't an insanely paranoid nerd, he is a justifiably paranoid nerd.
P.S. thanks for the laughs keep it up buzz peeps. (for the horde)
**********
Blackberry results!
Fri: What alternative (and clean) use of the iPhone 4 bumper can you dream up?
Mon: What is your alternate use for the pain ray? "Simon O: A new drying section at the car wash
Tighe S: Make a bowl of popcorn!
Gigi G: How about using it in front of malls and stores to keep the smokers away!
Joshua Caleb: Attach to front of car for winter driving - burn off the ice on the road!
Tue: What is the strangest place you would expect to find a Horton Plains Slender Loris?
Wed: What is your favorite functionality cheat, or cheat code?
Andrew P: Hold the reset switch at the same time when powering up your Atari 2600 and you will be invisible on Space Invaders
Terrence: Hot Coffee mod on GTA.
Thur: If you could give a robot one specific ability or talent, what would it be?
**********
Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65. Best guess: What was the last pic taken on Kodachrome?
Good news, everyone! Twitter's getting its own servers and Skype will now run in the background on an iPhone. But beware: The IPocalypse is nigh, Apple now has more software insecurity flaws than anyone, and robots can now move faster than you can blink.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Less Than 1 Year Until The Internet Runs Out of Addresses
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/less_than_1_year_until_the_internet_runs_out_of_addresses.php
Skype for iPhone gets multitasking, ditches hated 3G-calling fee
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20011245-233.html
http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/07/iphone_multitasking_3g.html
The 70,000 Blogetery users could get blogs back
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20011279-261.html
Microsoft to employees: ‘everybody gets a Windows Phone 7!’
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/21/microsoft-to-employees-everybody-gets-a-windows-phone-7/
Windows Phone 7: Bing only default search option
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/34446/bing-only-default-search-option
Apple the new world leader in software insecurity
http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2010/07/apple-the-new-world-leader-in-software-insecurity.ars
Apple appoints new Senior VP of Operations to address product quality
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/21/apple_appoints_new_senior_vp_of_operations_to_address_product_quality.html
Apple shows continued interest in an ad-supported operating system
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/22/apple_shows_continued_interest_in_an_ad_supported_operating_system.html
I know who your name, where you work, and live (Safari v4 & v5)
http://jeremiahgrossman.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-know-who-your-name-where-you-work-and.html
Twitter Opening Its Own Custom Data Center In Utah Later This Year
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/21/twitter-data-center/
Is 3D dying already?
http://m.gizmodo.com/5592956/
A plane that lands like a bird
http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/perching-plane
San Francisco’s unluckiest thief
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=68288&tsp=1
Today’s featured Buzz Out Loud remix at the end of the show:
JKLSound! (You can check out more at http://www.jklsound.com)
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_JKLsound_spooky.mp3
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
That Guy…http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8302/thatguy72210.jpg
Spotted: Crenshaw and Washington in Los Angeles
Equipment: 27″” imac and Nikon dSLR
Activity: Burning CDs of photographs
Profession: photographer?
kc
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Dear BOLers,
In reference to your “”that guy”" or “”those guys”" found squatting at Wi-Fi hotspots, I submit what a local (Houston area) coffee shop has done to combat the issue. Instead of cutting the internet they just covered up the electrical outlets. It keeps the desktops (and more) away and the laptops or mobile devices surfing the information superhighway…for period of time anyway. I like it because it keeps the seats open and my wife can watch a Netflix TV show and play cards. We have Wi-Fi at home but sometimes it’s good to get out of the house, and a cup of coffee is a small price to pay.
Blake
**********
Hey Buzz Crew,
I’m just catching up after being away for a few days, and I noticed there were multiple references to Rafe’s pending robopocalypse. I thought that, in addition to that wicked quadrotor you discussed a few months back, the teaching Honda-bots, the gun-toting DMZ bots and the blatantly-Cylon-Raider bots, we should add this borderline-frightening news in bot evolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KxjVlaLBmk
Love the show!
David from Boston
**********
Hey Buzz Crew,
I’m listening to episode 1273 and about halfway through, Rafe mentioned Nokia’s CEO being tossed out over screwing up the acquisition of RIM. Did he mean Palm or was there a separate incident where Nokia considered aquiring RIM as well?
Justin
**********
If you could give a robot one specific ability or talent, what would it be? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
500 millionth, actually... but one of the press kits had an embarrassing typo in it. Also, everybody who makes slates is dropping Windows (except HP), we now have lasers shooting down airplanes, and a flashlight for the iPhone is actually a secret tethering app.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
FB hits 500M users
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=409753352130
Facebook Lawyer `Unsure’ Whether Founder Mark Zuckerberg Signed Contract
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-20/facebook-lawyer-unsure-whether-founder-mark-zuckerberg-signed-contract.html
Dell warns on spyware infected server motherboards
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/21/dell_server_warning/
PowerEdge R410 replacement motherboard contains malware
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/956/t/19339458.aspx
Details of the first ever control system malware
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20011159-245.html
Meet Flipboard: Mike McCue Talks About Stealth "Social Magazine" Start-Up That Just Nabbed $10.5 Million in Funding
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100720/meet-flipboard-mike-mccue-talks-about-stealth-social-magazine-start-up-that-just-nabbed-10-5-million/
Adobe shows off P2P video calls on Android, calls it FlashTime
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=25606
Lenovo promises LePad Android tablet for the end of the year
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/20/lenovo-promises-lepad-android-tablet-for-the-end-of-the-year/
Asus Drops Windows for Android in Eee Pad Tablet
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/asus-drops-windows-for-android-in-eee-pad-tablet/
HP Lists HP Slate 500, Requests PalmPad Trademark
http://www.pcworld.com/article/201512/
Droid X Screen Problems Get a Quick Fix
http://www.pcworld.com/article/201565/droid_x_screen_problems_get_a_quick_fix.html
Verizon confirms Droid X screen issues, but says they’re not widespread
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/20/verizon-confirms-droid-x-screen-issues-but-says-theyre-not-wid/
LightSquared, wholesale 4G-LTE + satellite network coming soon
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/20/lightsquared-wholesale-4g-lte-satellite-network-coming-soon/
Microsoft Research does away with password complexity while protecting against brute force attacks
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25826/
Handy Light: Tethering App Camouflaged as Flashlight
http://appshopper.com/blog/2010/07/20/handy-light-tethering-app-camouflaged-as-flashlight/
Raytheon’s killer laser takes aim
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20011143-52.html
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
BOL Crew:
Well Actually, you don’t need to have a zune to have and use Zune Pass. You only need the Zune Software and pay for the subscription. The downloaded files are MP3s and work on all devices. You do get 10 songs with your $14.99 subscription which effectively brings the subscription to $4.99 a month (assuming $0.99 per mp3 song)
Thought you should know.
Wayne Dixon
**********
Hey hey!!
I don’t know if you guys have missed it but Rhapsody is $9.99/month for an all you can listen to service. I signed up a few months ago when they enabled downloading to Ipod touch/iphones. Just yesterday the ios4 update came through for multitasking and now I can listen to millions of songs in the background… Love the service and love the show!!
Ryan from St Pete
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Buzz Crew,
I think there is customer dissatisfaction about Facebook because its almost become obligatory to join. I only have anecdotal evidence, but it seems that when someone says they aren’t on Facebook, there is significant social pressure to join. I know several people who have begrudgingly joined, but continue to complain how they hate the service and its invasive nature (most joined so they wouldn’t miss out on event invitations, one person joined to help promote a webcomic he was working on). Notice all the groups that have similar dissatisfaction from consumers, airlines, cable companies, and IRS e-filing, all are to some extent unavoidable, and thus people are forced to use a service they are predisposed not to like. Facebook needs to work on making itself from a social obligation to something people want to use. Just my two cents.
Love the show!
Rich in Lovely Cleveland
**********
Hey BOL,
Yesterday you guys were talking about Ultraviolet, and Molly made the argument that DRM never works. For the most part, I agree with her. However, (and it pains me to say this because I do hate most DRM) I can think of one example of DRM that works beautifully: Valve’s Steam network for PC (and now Mac) games. They’ve accomplished this by doing the following:
1. The games are easy to access, and there is an “”offline”" mode for people with intermittent internet connections.
2. There is little to no performance impact.
3. The prices are very good, and there are frequent sales.
4. I can access the content on any of my computers simply by logging in.
5. It has spawned a flourishing indie game industry.
6. The friends list and ability for users to communicate across games is great.
When Steam first debuted, I was skeptical; but today I believe Steam has saved the PC games industry. Valve deserves some recognition for taking the concept of DRM and figuring out how to take it from a negative to the user and make it a clear positive.
Love the show!
Mike the surfer in FL
**********
The makers of the flashlight app successfully snuck tethering into the iPhone. Along those lines, what is your favorite functionality cheat, or cheat code? Could be anything! Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Another decade, another attempt at an almost certainly ill-fated universal DRM scheme. Hooray! This time, it's UltraViolet, and no, Disney (meaning Apple) isn't on board. Also, new details on how Google and China reached their license renewal deal. Upshot: diplomacy in action. And Apple is closing in on surpassing Microsoft in actual revenue. Yowsa.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Breaking: New Google Image Search
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/20/live-from-googles-image-search-event/
Introducing UltraViolet: Buy Your Digital Movie Once, Play It Anywhere?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/07/19/128626624/introducing-ultraviolet-buy-your-movie-once-play-it-anywhere
China says Google renewal due to legal compliance
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20011054-264.html
Amazon: Kindle titles outpacing hardcovers
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20010975-93.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-amazon-kindle-e-books-outselling-hardcovers-isnt-that-impressive-2010-7
Apple closes in on Microsoft in revenue race
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/07/19/apple-closes-in-on-microsoft-in-revenue-race/
Apple’s REAL Earnings Expectations
http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-apples-real-earnings-expectations-2010-7
Users Rate Facebook Slightly Above the Tax Man
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/07/20/users-rate-facebook-slightly-above-the-tax-man/
Nokia Conducting Search to Replace CEO
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720504575377750449338786.html
Apple responds to query about privacy policy changes
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20010948-260.html
MOG Launches All-You-Can-Eat Music Service For iPhone And Android
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/20/mog-iphone-android/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-20010859-27.html
The Loris Lives! First Pictures of Primate Thought To Be Extinct
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/07/horton-plains-slender-loris-lives/
Today's featured Buzz Out Loud remix(es) at the end of the show:
Jan Neland
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_JanNeland.mp3
Thomas Canada (find more music by Thomas here! http://StreetSpiritSoundStudios.Bandcamp.com and hire him here! http://StreetSpiritSoundStudios.com)
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_ThomasCanada_epic.mp3
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Chris on the Zune
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey Buzz Gang;
Two quick points between Friday’s Show and Monday’s Show.
1. I had the infection/virus on my router at home and successfully removed it over the weekend. It is a complete pain; essentially your router sprouts up pop-up ads and browser redirections no matter what browser you are using. It is especially common when clicking on Google links. There is no really simple way to remove all of the malware; but you have to reset your router and clear settings on your computer. (Big thanks to http://www.majorgeek.com for all their help. If you or anyone else happen to get this router infection, head over there and they can help you out). If you notice your computer having a lot of pop-ups or links in Google not working and bringing up “”Google Analytics”" then you most likely have it.
-Chris
**********
Hey Buzz Crew,
Improv Everywhere did the whole desktop at Starbucks thing back in 2008. And they did it epically with not one, not two, but three desktop computers. And did they use nice portable LCD monitors? No they used CRT monitors.
http://improveverywhere.com/2008/02/25/mobile-desktop/
Just thought you should know,
Dustin in Huntington Beach, CA
**********
Here’s a picture of a guy playing on a console at Starbucks. – Colton
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7633/thatguy07202010.jpg
**********
What is the strangest place you would expect to find a Horton Plains Slender Loris? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
It's another Monday on BOL, which means breaking news interjections, stumbling analysis, and hilarious Brian Tong jokes that go RIGHT over Molly's head. Turns out you can not actually search for girlfriends on Facebook using the search term, "hot girls." Unless, of course, they self-identify. Plus, a pain ray update!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Handset world: Don’t speak for us, Steve
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20010902-37.html
Nokia, RIM, HTC, Samsung and Motorola: Shut Up, Apple
http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100719/nokia-rim-htc-samsung-and-motorola-shut-up-apple/
iPhone 4 Refunds Don’t Apply to AT&T Contracts After 30 Days
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366601,00.asp
Why Web host shut down 73,000 blogs a mystery
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20010872-261.html
Windows Phone 7 in-depth preview
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/19/windows-phone-7-in-depth-preview/
Meta-review
http://jkontherun.com/2010/07/19/what-the-web-is-saying-windows-phone-7/
Verizon to Microsoft: Take Back Your Kins
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366637,00.asp
Google Discontinues the Nexus One Android Phone
http://mashable.com/2010/07/18/nexus-one-discontinued/
Nokia Siemens To Buy Motorola Unit For $1.2B
http://www.informationweek.com/news/infrastructure/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225900165
Netflix streaming coming to Canada this fall
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14382-netflix-streaming-to-canada-this-fall/
Facebook will announce 500 million users next week
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100716/exclusive-facebook-will-announce-500-million-users-next-week-with-facebook-stories/
Millions of routers vulnerable to new version of old attack
http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2010/07/millions-of-soho-routers-vulnerable-to-new-version-of-old-attack.ars
Raytheon’s pain gun finally gets deployed in Afghanistan
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/18/raytheons-pain-gun-finally-gets-deployed-in-afghanistan/
Lindsay Lohan’s trip to jail, brought to you by Norton Symantec and Fashion Bay
http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10007531/lindsay-lohans-trip-to-jail-is-brought-to-you-by-norton-symantec-and-fashion-bay/
http://twitter.com/lindsaylohan/status/18627365943
http://twitter.com/lindsaylohan/status/18661600592
Today’s featured Buzz Out Loud remix(es) at the end of the show:
Sam Downie!
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_SamDownie_intro.mp3
http://podcast-files.cnet.com/podcast/BOLremix_SamDownie_outro.mp3
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey Molly,
Remember how you said the has not been an Apple recall in your memory, let me give you a reminder.
”On September 20, 2008, Apple announced the Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange program.”
http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram/
Enjoy your Sunday,
David
**********
After El Jobso’s press conference on Friday I realized that there is a
known statistic that exists, that we’ll never see, that would be
fantastic to know. If AT&T knows that the iPhone 4 drops calls at a
rate of 1% higher than the 3GS, they must also know at what rate the
iPhone (pick your version) drops calls compared to other phones.
There is a story on TechCrunch
(http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/18/steve-jobs-att-2/) about how AT&T
refuses to defend itself if it means speaking ill of Apple, do you
think this could be another of those cases. Perhaps AT&T knows that
the iPhone drops calls at a rate of 2 to 3 times that of other
phones, but is afraid of offending the Apple machine?
Love The Show
Duane, the American ex-pat in London
**********
He’s wearing headphones so there is no noise. Actually think it’s pretty cool.
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/8109/photoj.jpg
Love the show!
Jonathan
**********
What is your alternate use for the pain ray? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
We'll do you a favor and give you the news in a nutshell: free bumpers (even non-Apple bumpers) and full refunds within 30 days of purchasing your phone if you're still not happy. There you go. Also, Droid X is sold out, the Facebook movie is going to be cool after all, if the new trailer is to be believed, and it turns out Palm was in fact the belle of the ball for a while there, but RIM and Nokia both blew it. Plus: Drunk HULC!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Free bumpers! But no fix, no Verizon
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20010731-37.html
Apple refutes Bloomberg story, Bloom stands by it
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369311876558240.html?mod=djemalertTECH
Apple Tried To Buy Palm Before HP Won The Bidding War — And RIM Completely Blew The Deal
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-rim-google-hp-palm-2010-7
Apple, RIM, Google all bid on Palm?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/15/apple-rim-google-all-bid-on-palm/
Droid X sold out after the first day
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366579,00.asp
The full movie trailer for Sorkin's The Social Network is out
http://social.venturebeat.com/2010/07/15/movie-trailer-social-network-zuckerberg/
MySpace gets a huge update with really slick profile pages.
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/16/myspace-gets-a-huge-update-with-really-slick-profile-pages/
http://www.myspace.com/seanpercival
Google tweaks Google News redesign amid ire
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20010794-265.html
Spotify ‘growing healthily and on track for US launch’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7889670/Spotify-growing-healthily-and-on-track-for-US-launch.html
Exoskeleton Moving Closer to the Field
http://kitup.military.com/2010/07/exoskeleton-moving-closer-to-the-field.html
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
The HIGH from a wave form is called a Bi-Neural beet. One freq in one ear and a slightly different beet in the other causes an offset in your BRAIN (BRAINS , mmmmmmm). 100Hz in the left ear and 105 Hz in the right gives you a cognitive beet of 5Hz, which is in the DELTA brain wave area. I use them to help with sleeping. I have had insomnia since I was a child an now I sleep semi-normally. Nothing is perfect and isn’t everything a trick of the mind?
Love the show. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!! (said in Molly’s screaming rock voice).
RWNairn
Live life
Don’t just observe it
**********
Saw this the other day and had to snap a pic. The worst part: This Starbucks is literally next door to a FedEx/Kinkos. Protip: To avoid looking like a dork, use the $5 you spent on a venti mocha frap to print like a normal person.
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/408/thatguy2.jpg
Travis S
**********
BLACKBERRY RESULTS!
What would Unicorn of Rock's first album be titled?
Simien – OMG! Double Rainbow! One Unicorn!
Mike from Paso Robles – Four Horsemen of the Upocalypse
What is your favorite Nicholas Cage film?
Gone in 60 Second – resounding winner
The Rock – runner up
An app that you would design for your phone
Joe S – Molly’s Rantillator! Give it a tech gadget or service and it unleashes her rant about its shortcomings!! Add on packs available. The AT&T sucks pack will be a top seller.
Favorite Remix so far
8 bit news is good news
Kyoto Drums remix
Ted Isham’s remix
BSG Throat remix
Juno Suk
Benito Gonzales
What do YOU think happened to the email that Rafe was reading in the Google Doc?
Tony Kwok – I think the Apple Forum moderators are to blame. Did the email reference Consumer Reports?
Brent Quick – Tom Merritt still has access and was screwing around with you!
What have you done to be “that guy” in the past?
Aaaaaand NOONE admits to being That Guy! How’s that for awesome! :)
**********
What alternative (and clean) use of the iPhone 4 bumper can you dream up? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Please choose one of the following 10 links.
Please choose one of the following 4 links.




Please choose one of the following 13 links.
Please choose one of the following 25 links.
Please choose one of the following 10 links.
Please choose one of the following 10 links.
Please choose one of the following 25 links.
The shallow waters from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida is home to a class of fisherman who work incredibly hard to feed their families and make rent on their tin can in a local trailer park. These people, mostly men, get up at around 3:00 am and push their old john boats with their old outboard motors that are always in need of repair, into the water and they start fishing for what sport fishermen call "trash fish." These species, ladyfish, jack kreval, hardhead cats, sail cats, lizard fish and others that are plentiful and, to most people, have no food value. These guys then take the trash fish to one of the local processing plants where such fishes are turned into a substance that is then shaped into the design of a McDonalds and Burger King fish sandwiches as well as frozen fish sticks and other "parts is parts" fish products. For these fish, these impoverished fishermen are paid between 25 and 50 cents per pound.
Back in the 1980s Ronald Reagan stated that many homeless people are so because they elect to be. He made similar statements about people in the class of working poor. While some minuscule portion of these subsistence fishermen do so by choice so they can live in and spend their time in our beautiful west Florida outdoors, most do so because it's the only thing they know and they can eek out a meager living from this work.
I know a few of the guys who do this by choice and they are happy folks as they can catch all of the trash fish in the morning, drop off their load and get paid by the processing facilities and then go out fishing or hiking or hunting or any of a large number of sea related activities. I know these guys from fishing tournaments and other gatherings of those of us with a passion for the outdoors.
Sadly, those who would accept poverty to live in near absolute freedom are few. Most of these people do so out of need to keep their kids in shoes and pay rent on their trailer which especially precarious during hurricane season.
Now, the BP oil spill has already reached the shores of Louisiana and threatens Alabama and Mississippi soon and, maybe even parts of the Florida coast.
Crude oil and fresh fish do not go together in any sense of a productive manner. These trash fishermen already live in poverty and, now, may have even lost their single source of income which hardly kept them above water when things are going well.
These fishermen provide a lot of the fishy materials that go into the McDonalds and Burger King sandwiches. Now, those in Louisiana are waiting for the state to announce that it is safe to do their kind of fishing. The processing plants have stopped buying from Louisiana, Mississippi and the western edge of the Alabama coast. These poor buggers have, for a indeterminate amount of time, lost their access to the twenty five to fifty cents for their daily catch and they have no idea how they will buy food or pay rent.
These are good hard working people without whom we wouldn't have fish sticks. I fear for these people as this country does a relatively poor job of working with the poor and these families are among the poorest and probably have no safety net.
So, maybe these are all part of Ronald Reagan's "welfare queens" and the trailer parks are actually hiding subterranean mansions but I doubt it.
I don't know if anyone has set up a charity for these people but, if so, I will be contributing and I hope you will too.
--End
A retired Exxon executive who had, for a chunk of his career, had been
VP/Environmental Engineering, told me on the phone that the only good
thing about the BP disaster in the Gulf was that it was "worse than the
Exxon Vald-grease" so he feels a bit off of the hook as BP now holds the
dubious distinction of being the worst oil related disaster in American
history. In fact, the BP spill/leak may be the worst industrial disaster
of all time - quite a feat when one considers Love Canal, TMI and other
real zingers.
When President Obama diah announced that we will need to have to start
off-shore drilling increased, we Florid-iots were told, "These platforms
will be 150 miles off-shore, there's no way an accident will even reach
the Florida shores."
Well, British Petroleum's disaster is not just 150 miles away, it is
Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi away and, Susan, my lovely wife of 23
years this month, described a map in the newspaper that shows that the
eastern most point of the slick is already in Florida waters, a bit
south of the panhandle, heading straight for the Nature Coast, one of
the most beautiful and well preserved coastal areas in Florida and a
place where we enjoy an occasional long weekend of outdoor activities.
I am passionate about fishing. It can take the typically high strung cdh
and insist that I be patient. Depending upon where we are fishing, if
the fish aren't in the mood to eat, there are all sorts of other natural
treasurers to feel, hear, smell, touch and the sun on my face reminds me
that I'm still alive.
Tourists and people who watch fishing shows on the television think of
Florida fishing as an off-shore activity where a very expensive boat
brings you 30 to 50 miles out into the Gulf and they fish for gigantic
animals while strapped into a chair and using the boat to pick up
distance when the fish has pulled out too much line. Other tourists
enjoy going to the reefs off-shore for grouper, amber jack and other
tasty delights - for these fishes, I prefer a restaurant as "drop your
line to the bottom, crank twice, wait until something eats your bait"
is, to me at least, really boring and a fish market or fried fish joint
handles all of the preparation and for much less money.
Locals mostly haunt the in-shore areas. One can catch a 36 inch snook in
about 24 inches of water. The redfish hit your lure like a freight
train, sea trout are loads of fun and one never goes more than about 500
meters from the shore.
We have an adorable Gheenoe, a boat designed exactly for these purposes,
it's very narrow but has interesting boyancyfeatures that keep it from
being too tippy. On it we have a terrific 2 horsepowerentirely electric
motor so we can enter tights spots with near silence. We also have
thousands of dollars of fishing gear (feed a man a fish and he'll enjoy
a nice meal, teach him to fish and he will spend nearly all of his free
time and money on fishing gear). For those of you who know fishing
stuff, I almost exclusively use rods from G. Loomis and Shimano reels
loaded with expensive braided line. My most trusted lures all come from
DOA lures (www.doalures.com) and, when using them, confidence grows
which helps one remain calm enough to impart something like a natural
behavior to a bit of rubber shaped like a shrimp about 75 meters away.
Knowing to work a lure properly takes takes years of practice and one
can always learn even more by talking to and fishing with the real old
timers. Fishing is a hobby (sport?) that one become totally emersed.
Getting out onto the water, especially in a boat with a nearly silent
motor or paddling in a canoe or kayak, as I mention above, provides a
multi-sensory experience. You may get bumped by a bottlenose dolphin,
maybe a manatee will approach you to ask for a drink of fresh water, in
some places, you can sea and hear giant sea turtles who have lived in
these parts since before Columbus arrived. a 600, 700 or even 800 year
old animal the size of a Volkswagon Super Beetle is a treasure to see
once and, to see them with some frequency, if you know the right spots,
is a wonderful gift from Mother Earth.
Other coastal animals can be entirely entertaining and the local snakes,
cottonmouth (must have smoked too much pot), rattlesnakes (one only
tends to catch a glimpse of a jubenile or two as their elders are really
good at camoflauge), the deadly water mocassonas well as others remind
us of the borderline between beauty and absolute violence that is
nature. I mustn't forget some of our truly awesome spiders who, if you
can see them, are effectively harmless to anyone smart enough not to
pick one up and play with it. The spider webs are incredible works of
archetecture spun in silk. May people have what seems like an innate
fear of spiders and snakes but, spending a little time in their
territory shrinkens the fear and permits one to glory in the wonder of
really interesting creatures.
I tend to use plural terms when referring to our natural areas. I
will say, "our fish" or "our manatees" or "our dolphins." When it comes
to our birds, I grow quite proprietary and to say, "my birds," because I
feel a kinship with our fine feathered friends.
At one of our favorite fishing spots, we, on low tide - the best time to
fish this particular flat,would often see a juvenile male bald eagle. I
watched him, for about three years, slide into the water withan elegance
lost on pelicans, grab fishes in its talons and then pound its wings
against the water to regain flight and, sometimes, letting out a shout
to celebrate his catch - the beautiful and the brutal, the sound and the
fury that is the American outdoors could not possibly get better.
Watching him mature was a natural phenomena that I really enjoyed.
Watching him grow up, though, me feel like his is part of the family.
At Fort De Soto state park, just about 30 minutes from here, we enjoy a
pair of mature bald eagles, probably a mating pair. They catch fish,
birds and small mammals to eat and feed their young. Others, like my
great blues, cormorants, spoonbills and vultures (black and turkey) help
make up my kinship with our winged raptors.
The thought that these animals are now in tremendous jeopardy, our
fishes, dolphins, manatees and other critters who suffered one of the
coldest winters in Florida history, which caused both fish kills and a
lot of dead manatees is almost too much to take.
Sure, drill baby drill!! Sure, put up more platforms, the damage from BP
will last for decades and we outdoorsmen will just be fucked by the way
our American plutocracy passes and enforces laws.
The shrimp supply for nearly the entire US is rapidly dying, clams,
oysters and other stay at home fishes will take a long time to bounce
back. Subsistance fishermen will now need to get some sort of welfare
check until they can figure out a new way to make a living. Our tax
dollars will go to support people who who, up until last week, had
provided a useful service and carried on a 200 year tradition of Gulf
commercial fishing.
So, my birds are in jeopardy, some of my buddies who fish out of small
boats and hardly make enough to make ends meet will get checks from the
government. Our tax dollars will be subsidizing British Petroleum's
disaster.
I am heart broken already for my friends with whom I have fished in
Louisiana, Missippi and Alabama and now Florida waits to get our coast
poisoned.
Whill Sarah Palin send me her oil profit redistribution check she
receives as an Alaskan to help me pay off the fishing gear that people
like her felt was an expendable resource, was a chance they were willing
to take?
I am going to cry now for my birds, our fish, our marine mammals and our
way of life. Does anyone know what a blind guy and his trusted dog do
help volunteer in the clean-up effort? I've handled many wild birds over
the years so maybe I can help wash them?
Afterward
The pinhead republicans call President Obama a socialist In fact, Obama
is far more a believer in unrestricted capitalism than most other
politicans. Alaska, however, with its actual redistribution of oil
profits is acting in a manner only called for under various theories of
communism. We Floridians, as well as our friends in the other Gulf
states, will be screwed as our coastlines get trashed and we don't get a
nickel in compensation.
Remember, you can't spell CRAZY without R-AZ which is now leading the US
in absolute weirdness.
Drill Baby Drill! You already sorely fucked the Gulf so might as well
let it get worse. Maybe I'll move to Alaska and, as my outdorors time,
I'll shoot wolves from a helicopter.
-- End
As GNU and most of the free e software world has (with obvious exceptions at Sun, Mozilla and IBM) been without any real leadership based in one of the prominent organizations, my role will, at first be collecting a lot of information, finishing the GNU Accessibility Statement (GAS) (possibly the strongest statement of commitment to accessibility), talking about accessibility and free software and how one cannot say they promote freedom while disenfranchising one or more minority groups and working with other leaders in the field to find and set priorities. My first public appearance in this role will be at the Libre Planet conference in the Harvard Science Center on Saturday March 20 at 3:00 pm local time.
I am very proud to be joining Project GNU and grateful to my old friend Richard Stallman, whom I've known for nearly 25 years, for facilitating my appointment to GNU's august set of leaders. Richard Stallman, commonly called rms, and I co-founded the League for Programming Freedom (www.lpf.org) many years ago and are credited with being the force behind Borland's victory in when Lotus sued it claiming user interface copyright. Today, at least in the US, UI one cannot copyright a UI.
I want to take a little time to honor rms and his place in history:
Anyone who has paid any attention to free (as in liberty) software, has probably heard one or more versions of the Richard Stallman birthday party, immediately after which the free software movement began. My favorite one says that rms, walking back from a Central Square Chinese restaurant where he and friends celebrated his birthday, got back to the MIT Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and was told by Richard Greenblatt (then Director of the Lab) that Symbolics, an early AI company that's been defunct for a lot of years now, had stopped sharing its source code with MIT but used a lot of the code developed on the ninth floor in the legendary building on Main Street in Cambridge.
Angered by this news, rms went to the roof of the building, found the Symbolics microwave antenna, tore it off of its supports and threw it into the parking lot. Stallman then went on to, as a lone hacker, duplicate everything Symbolics did and gave it away for free.
Thus, the free software movement started. After some time, rms decided to do an entirely free version of UNIX and formed the Free Software Foundation (www.fsf.org) as its home. Linus came along a number of years later and contributed a kernel to the body of free software and, sadly, today gets almost all of the credit for the free/open source movement. Today, at last count, a GNU/Linux distro contains about 1.5% code from the kernel Linux and about 15% from Project GNU with the rest coming from the community of contributors worldwide. So, we call the distros GNU/Linux to give credit where it is due.
Virtually all free software programmers know a number of the tools developed by GNU, including: bash, gcc, emacs, flex and far too many others to list them all in this blog entry.
GNU/Linux distros also include many famous works of free software, including: APache, Firefox, Drupal, and lots of other programs that have a free software license, GPL, Apache, MIT, BSD, etc. GPL sticks the most closely to the original goals rms had when he started the movement, it's controversial but it does provide the most freedom (without the Scientific) of all of the licenses.
As another bit of history, let's look back at 1995. The Interweb had few tubes and most users connected by dial up. Publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Mother Jones all said that the web would be important but nobody could figure out how to monetize a web site. Its success was not certain and early adopters were taking what then seemed like huge risks.
Meanwhile, big companies still sold WAN systems that sort of worked like the web. IBM had Domino, Microsoft h