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New Closed Source Voting Systems Malfunction

Usa · 2002-09-10 06:50 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the buchanan-wins-again dept. · 340 comments

LowellPorter writes "Miami-Dade and Broward counties are having voting problems. After the 2000 election problems, new voting methods were installed including touch screen technology. Some times the problems were with workers not showing up, poor training, or mechanical problems. It doesn't look like they cleaned up the system there." Not all of the problems mentioned in the article are due to the new proprietary voting machines, but many of them are.

AOL and .mac IM Not Entirely Integrated

Apple · Aol · 2002-08-15 16:15 · posted by pudge · from the one-more-reason-not-to-pay-for-.mac dept. · 61 comments

gsfprez writes "While chatting with some Apple employee friends (with .mac accounts and iChat), we were stumped why we couldn't see each other on AIM. It seems that AOL has decided to take the opportunity -- while integrating the .mac users 'into the fold' -- to modify their AIM protocols so that Open Source clients (like Fire and Trillian) can't see those with '@mac.com' IM accounts, and vise versa. Bottom line: you can't be seen by .mac IM users, and they can't see you, unless you get the crufty, single service AOL IM client. The only positive affirmation of this is from the Fire mailing list. 'Into the fold ... sorta' is more like it." Well, it's still early, this may merely be about bugs that need fixing, rather than intent to block .mac users. We'll see.

Telcom Fraud: The Previous Generation

Money · 2002-08-10 17:06 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the the-joys-of-money dept. · 213 comments

theodp writes "Remember back in the day when telcom firms were charged with simple, good old-fashioned consumer fraud? AT&T and Lucent got a history lesson Friday, agreeing to a $300 million settlement related to claims that they used confusing billing statements to mislead consumers into paying lease charges for their home telephones, including the timeless rotary Traditional, that totaled many times more than the actual value of the phones."

Slashback: Alternatives, Ads, Apple

Slashback · 2002-07-18 11:59 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the what's-wrong-with-my-venn-diagram dept. · 427 comments

Slashback tonight with word on what you can use instead of JPEG, the return of AdCritic.com as payware, NCR vs. Handspring, and more. Read on for the details.

Prepare the JPEG bonfire. Moderator writes: "Here is an open alternative to the JPEG file format. I tried posting it in the JPEG patent article but it got buried under all the comments about "THEY CAN'T DO THIS!" and stuff."

This project is called DjVuLibre and encompasses "a set of compression technologies, a file format, and a software platform for the delivery over the Web of digital documents, scanned documents, and high resolution images."

I hope the judge has a big "WITHOUT MERIT" stamp. theodp writes "A U.S. District Court has issued a summary judgement in the patent infringement lawsuit filed against Palm and Handspring by NCR, dismissing NCR's suit as having no merit. Praising the decision, Handspring's CEO said 'Settlement of this case was never an option,' while Palm's CEO remarked 'We refuse to succumb to intimidation by companies that use charges of patent infringement to bully others.' One of the NCR patents in question was for 'a portable terminal small enough to fit in the user's hand,' and the complaint went on to claim that NCR's researchers, 'recognized an unsatisfied need for a portable, handheld device which would allow the user to information such as appointments, to-do lists, and addresses, and execute financial and shopping transactions by connecting to networks using an interface module.'"

This is sure to bring out the AdCritic critics. thebus writes: "The good news. AdCritic is Alive! The bad news. You gotta pay!"

An annual subscription for $69.95 looks like something worth paying for if you're in the advertising industry, but it would be nice to get a less expensive "interested viewer" option as well. Oh well.

Oh Steve, ya big tease! Maïdjeurtam writes: "In this Yahoo finance article, Reuters asked Apple's CEO Steve Jobs about the possible abandonment by Apple of Motorola and IBM's processors (PowerPC G3's & G4's), and the possibility of Intel processor-equipped Macs. Steve Jobs didn't exclude the possibility. He noticed that, during the year 2002, Apple had to finish the OS X transition and, this done, there would be a lot of amazing possibilities, which he finds exciting."

Most of the content of this article was covered in yesterday's coverage of Jobs' keynote, and the bit at the end about other processors may be only a throwaway line, but it certainly is intriguing.

IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services

Tech · Ibm · 2002-07-10 11:52 · posted by krow · from the how-many-java-specs-on-the-head-of-a-pin dept. · 23 comments

VanMan writes "IBM is offering a free download of their WebSphere SDK for Web Services. It's based on open specifications for Web services such as SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI and runs on both Linux and Windows operating systems. The IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation, so it merits a look-see."

Optical Fiber for a Small Community?

Ask · Internet · 2002-06-20 04:31 · posted by Cliff · from the that-oh-so-important-last-mile dept. · 31 comments

wildsurf asks: "I live in a small community of about 70 homes, which has been on a septic-tank system for many years, soon to be replaced with a sewer system. Not too exciting, except that this opens up the possibility of laying fiber-optic cable alongside the sewer lines, which could add significant value to the properties, as well as ultra-broadband. (It seems a shame to dig up all the trenches and NOT lay cable.) DSL doesn't work out here, and the cable provider is a bit sketchy, but there's an ultra-high-bandwidth pipe running nearby that we could possibly tap into. Anyway, I figure this would be the perfect audience to ask for recommendations, since I'm not quite sure how to approach this. The homeowner's meeting is next month, and I'd like to know what to suggest to them. Thanks in advance!" Well, if your local media company isn't going to wire your community, the community may just have to foot that bill itself. What would it need to do: what forms would they need to complete; what contractors would they need to hire (especially when piggy-backing on other municipal works); and most importantly, how much would something like this cost?

Toshiba's iPod Competitor

Hardware · Hardware · 2002-06-18 08:01 · posted by timothy · from the mmmm-competition dept. · 390 comments

a lonely moose writes: "It looks like Toshiba basically copied Apple's iPod. They got cheap on screen size and unit weight, and without iTunes, it'll be darn hard to handle as elegantly as the iPod. Anyway, check out MacCentral's article and the smoking forum at the bottom."

Used Books: An Actual Internet Success Story

Money · 2002-06-10 04:57 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the damn-straight dept. · 420 comments

theodp writes: "An Actual Internet Success Story explains how, in just a few years, the Internet has transformed the world into a huge marketplace for used books, utterly transforming a business that had gone pretty much unobserved for centuries. The Net has changed how we buy and think about books - someone in Illinois can easily buy a cheap used hardback over the Net from a New York dealer, read it and then resell it to someone in California, having spent, in effect, only a few dollars. According to the story, the increase in the number of used books sold is staggering, maybe 100 times what it was in 1995, and now accounts for more than 15 percent of Amazon's sales. Tales are told of used book dealers lining up nine hours before a library sale to get 'free money,' cutting deals with thrift-store managers and library-sale organizers to avoid 'feeding frenzy' fights, volunteering at the Salvation Army to get first dibs on donations, and offering review copies for half price on the Net weeks before a book is even published."

Remembering the BBS

Internet · 2002-05-31 11:35 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the back-in-the-day dept. · 461 comments

Anonymous Coward writes "Nice reminiscence about BBS's, back in the day and all. Author describes them as "Where a teenage loser could lose himself", which for me would have been pretty accurate. I still miss being able to find cool ASCII graphics, text-based RPG's, and the Anarchist's Cookbook all in one place."

Creating KParts components

Developers · Kde · 2002-05-27 14:51 · posted by Hemos · from the learning-how-to-do-more dept. · 13 comments

Mday4F writes "Konqueror maintainer, David Faure, introduces you to the core KParts concepts of read-only and read-write parts, and shows you how to create and deploy KParts components."

Iridium May Have To Reinvent Itself Again

Tech · Technology · 2002-05-24 09:10 · posted by Hemos · from the return-of-the-satellites dept. · 88 comments

prgrmr writes "The Washington Post has this article on the latest wrinkle in the Iridium saga. There may be a conflict between new competition and existing contractual obligations for putting up the next generation of sattelites. This could become a milestone for making the service more ubiquitous, or the millstone that finally sinks it."

Amazon & Used Books II: Bezos Strikes Back

Yro · Money · 2002-04-15 06:12 · posted by timothy · from the eye-of-the-bookholder dept. · 343 comments

theodp writes: "Last week's call for authors to de-link Amazon from their sites has reportedly prompted Jeff Bezos to fire off a letter to all Amazon Marketplace sellers, asking them to help out by sending e-mail on Amazon's behalf in response to the Guild's call for Amazon to stop placing prominent used book ads on each title's main web entry and soliciting new books purchasers to resell their books through Amazon shortly after purchase. Bezos wants everyone to be 'super-clear' that Amazon.com is supportive of and good for authors, indicating that Amazon's steep discounting of new titles and royalty-less sales of used books are two examples of how Amazon helps the book industry and authors. Good to see Jeff's found a new cause, since it looks like he's done with up patent reform."

Authors Guild To Members: De-link Amazon.com

News · News · 2002-04-09 22:12 · posted by chrisd · from the fascist-authors-guild dept. · 447 comments

theodp writes: "Angered by Amazon.com's practice of offering [prominently placed] used editions of relatively new titles, the Authors Guild is urging authors to replace Amazon.com links on their web sites with links to Barnesandnoble.com and BookSense.com. Amazon spokesperson Patty Smith insisted the policy really "ends up helping authors and publishers" although neither the author nor the publisher receives royalties from Amazon's used book sales, and Smith could not cite an author or genre helped by the availability of used editions. " CD: I'd imagine they don't want us to go to our local used book stores either? This is the second time they've tried to call Amazon to task for this.

Tool Box PC

Hardware · Hardware · 2002-04-07 10:47 · posted by michael · from the handyman's-special dept. · 191 comments

Mr. Red Baron writes "A resident geek at Ars Technica has turned his toolbox into a nice little computer. Looks more portable than most LAN party designs I've seen." His webpage has a few more pictures.

DMCA Hurts Copyright Holders, Too

Yro · Usa · 2002-03-20 05:15 · posted by timothy · from the slipping-through-fingers dept. · 47 comments

adam613 writes: "Further proof that the DMCA is designed to protect corporations rather than copyright holders: ZDNet is reporting that an author who published e-books that an AOL user posted on Usenet can not hold AOL legally responsible. While AOL is an ISP and ISPs can not feasibly censor their users, AOL is also a content provider, just like Napster. In the end, the copyright holder who the DMCA is supposed to protect got screwed. Things could start to get interesting here...any lawyers ready to make judges start scratching their heads?"

Tuning In To iTV - Interactive TV Apps w/XML

Developers · Programming · 2002-03-18 06:46 · posted by Hemos · from the the-glory-and-promise-of-settop dept. · 7 comments

Suhani writes "The dream of using your remote control to interact with television broadcast shows has finally become a reality, thanks to interactive television (iTV). Here, John Papageorge explores the opportunities and challenges of creating applications for the set-top box platforms (such as OpenTV, AOLTV, and Worldgate) that allow for interactive television."

Mac OS X Version of Lotus Notes 6

Apple · Apnetworking · 2002-03-14 01:17 · posted by pudge · from the i-am-nowhere-near-that-flexible-anymore dept. · 66 comments

NadizPicR writes "Lotus released the first Mac OS X beta for its Notes Domino messaging and collaboration system client. Version 6.0b1 also features improved toolbar handling. I just downloaded and installed it, and it seems to be an excellent implementation." Do people still use Lotus Notes? Honestly?

Greene's Grammy Speech Debunked

News · Music · 2002-03-07 09:52 · posted by michael · from the behind-the-music dept. · 400 comments

jonerik writes: "Today's New York Times has this article which debunks at least part of NARAS president Michael Greene's much-publicized speech at last week's Grammy Awards ceremony in which Greene claimed that he had hired three students to download a whopping 6,000 songs "from easily accessible Web sites" over two days. Leaving aside for a moment Greene's bizarre admission on national TV that he'd hired three students (at least one of whom, Numair Faraz, is a minor) to break the law (the No Electronic Theft Act), Faraz has been interviewed by the Times, saying that they spent more like three days on the project and that the other two students (both unnamed, though both are apparently attending U.C.L.A.) barely used P2P file-sharing programs at all. Instead, they used AOL's popular Instant Messenger to receive song files from friends."

Greene's Grammy Speech Debunked

News · Music · 2002-03-07 09:52 · posted by michael · from the behind-the-music dept. · 400 comments

jonerik writes: "Today's New York Times has this article which debunks at least part of NARAS president Michael Greene's much-publicized speech at last week's Grammy Awards ceremony in which Greene claimed that he had hired three students to download a whopping 6,000 songs "from easily accessible Web sites" over two days. Leaving aside for a moment Greene's bizarre admission on national TV that he'd hired three students (at least one of whom, Numair Faraz, is a minor) to break the law (the No Electronic Theft Act), Faraz has been interviewed by the Times, saying that they spent more like three days on the project and that the other two students (both unnamed, though both are apparently attending U.C.L.A.) barely used P2P file-sharing programs at all. Instead, they used AOL's popular Instant Messenger to receive song files from friends."

Compile on a Linux-only Mainframe

Developers · Programming · 2002-03-05 12:42 · posted by timothy · from the it's-large-and-blue dept. · 13 comments

AustinSaltLick writes: "Open Source projects can now compile their code on the first compiler farm in the open source community that runs on an IBM eServer zSeries server. The zSeries is the world's first dedicated Linux mainframe server. This article explains how project administrators can request access for their team."

Nuclear Mutant Flies Are Good For Africa?

Science · Science · 2002-02-20 22:39 · posted by Hemos · from the where's-homer dept. · 647 comments

D\monix writes "According to this article in Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency is going to start releasing massive numbers of tsetse flies "sterilized by a burst of radiation" into sub Saharan Africa in order to outnumber and thus eradicate the local fly population. My favorite quote? "The impact of the fly is difficult to exaggerate." You're damn right it is. Anyone else out there think pumping large numbers of mutant insects into the environment might be a bad idea?"

Slashback: P2P, OS X, Blinkenlights

Slashback · 2002-02-19 11:59 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the happy-baby-richard-and-lynn dept. · 251 comments

Slashback tonight with more updates, responses and corrections on scalability in P2P networks, TV shows which may not actually be cancelled, tentative wireless service in the Mile High City, and what exactly OS X is. Read on below for these and more.

The difference between theory and practice ... Paul Harrison writes: "I see your theoretical discussion of a scalable gnutella, and raise you a working, open source implementaion! Details in this linux.conf.au talk."

I was in Berkeley at a party, and then things got hazy. In response to the recent story on fixing the UNIX configuration mess, jbloggs writes: "OS X is not on top of NetBSD, but rather is a BSD compatibility layer on top of a Mach kernel. Its closest BSD-lite would be FreeBSD, which is used as a reference platform."

The problem with unstated motivations. Reader app writes "Tim O'Reilly responds to the BountyQuest piece on Salon and featued here. Tim makes some interesting points and clarifications -- especially where he refers to theodp as a crank."

You can't watch, and neither can they. UberOogie writes: "Who didn't see this coming? The MPA shut down Movie 88 today. What should be noted by everyone is that they took no legal action: they just went to the ISP, HiNet, and got them to shut off the pipe. (Movie88 was legal through a loophole in Tiawan copyright law.) So much for process, even in Tiawan. Movie 88 vows to find another provider."

I hope they use the time to reconsider. Cynical_Dude writes: "David Cohen, one of the producers of Futurama, was interviewed on Cinescape. He says that Futurama is not really cancelled, but will run for another year or so ... at least that's how many episodes they've got more or less ready now. FOX hasn't ordered any additional episodes, but Cohen asks fans to "write those letters [...] in physical form, not email" to the FOX executives."

And in other TV News, Glitch Tybalt writes: "Working for Hot Topic has its benefits. We recieved an e-mail saying that Invader Zim will not be cancelled after all. It seems that it was getting no ratings whatsoever, because they kept changing the time slot for it. Once they had decided to cancell it, they left it in one slot to finish playing the remaining episodes out. Then, since everyone could figure out when it was on, it got great reviews. (plus, the Schweet Schwag has started selling like crazy)the Invader Zim petition must have been pretty convincing as well. I guess one of them stopped to read it before wiping his ass. Maybe there's hope for a megaconglomo like Nikelodeon after all..."

Won't someone start making money with unmetered wireless? tabbser writes: "According to Aerie networks, the folks that bought bankrupt Ricochet (www.richochet.com) tests are being conducted in Denver, CO with the support of the City and county of Denver's Office of information technology. Ricochet will test and evaluate the network as part of an initial step to reactivating the service. The full story can be found on Ricochet's web site news room at http://www.ricochet.com. Go Aerie!" Aerie announced this a while ago, but in these uncertain times it's nice to see it actually happening.

Ashes to ashes, little blinking lights likewise. spike666 writes: "Blinkenlights.de is coming to an end! The Blinkenlights project by the Chaos Computer Club will be ending its run February 23, 2002. It was exposed to /. back here They are having a big party, and we're all invited. One last chance for Taco to embarrass Kathleen ..."

Losing the War on Patents

Yro · Patents · 2002-02-15 01:49 · posted by michael · from the advance-in-a-retrograde-direction dept. · 179 comments

theodp writes: "Jeff Bezos and Tim O'Reilly's once-hyped BountyQuest.com takes a beating in a Salon article today that takes note of Amazon's recent decision to license one of the few patents BountyQuest claimed to have found winning prior art for, a patent held by the InTouch Group, who had sued Amazon for infringing on the patent prior to Bezos' reported $1+ million BountyQuest investment. In the article, professional patent buster Greg Aharonian provocatively remarks that "BountyQuest was always a joke...Bezos and O'Reilly were never seriously interested in patent quality...Bezos just used O'Reilly to help Amazon...That Amazon ended up licensing the InTouch patent just shows how stupid the whole thing is.""

The New Body Art - Wearable Wireless Devices

Tech · Technology · 2002-01-03 09:50 · posted by Hemos · from the better-then-henna dept. · 127 comments

Freddie writes: "This article discusses the status of wearable computers; the challenges faced by software and hardware manufacturers in developing effective and widely accepted wearable devices; and the commencement of a new paradigm for how wearable technology can create value for consumers and enterprises."

Looking Ahead at GNOME 2

Developers · Gnome · 2002-01-03 06:20 · posted by CmdrTaco · from the one-for-the-hackers dept. · 200 comments

Able writes "This is a good article that will teach you how to use the new and improved libraries available with GNOME 2 so that you can write your own Nautilus view, and panel applets. It also provides you with the understanding to compile a few sample GTK+ 2 programs that will give you a good understanding of GTK+ 2's many improvements over GTK+ 1."

Laser Pointer Holograms

Science · Toy · 2001-12-29 14:10 · posted by michael · from the things-to-do-when-you-tire-of-playing-with-the-cat dept. · 124 comments

kgb1001001 writes: "A couple of instructors at Lake Forest College and the Kyoto Institute of Technology have put together a nice little page on amateur holography using laser pointer diodes. This home-page gives enough information to get started and also includes an order form for the photographic plates and chemicals needed to develop the holograms. Also, another page discusses the same techniques and materiels, but comes with some nifty pictures (2-d of course) of the final outcome."

Laser Pointer Holograms

Science · Toy · 2001-12-29 14:10 · posted by michael · from the things-to-do-when-you-tire-of-playing-with-the-cat dept. · 124 comments

kgb1001001 writes: "A couple of instructors at Lake Forest College and the Kyoto Institute of Technology have put together a nice little page on amateur holography using laser pointer diodes. This home-page gives enough information to get started and also includes an order form for the photographic plates and chemicals needed to develop the holograms. Also, another page discusses the same techniques and materiels, but comes with some nifty pictures (2-d of course) of the final outcome."

Quantum Holography

Science · Science · 2001-12-05 08:44 · posted by Hemos · from the peering-into-the-cat dept. · 207 comments

Buzz Skyline writes "Physicists succeed where psychics fail. Researchers from Boston University propose a quantum holography system that can construct 3d images of objects sealed in closed containers. Could it lead to quantum luggage scanners at the airport?"

Advanced Filesystem Implementors Guide Continues

Linux · Linux · 2001-10-27 05:54 · posted by timothy · from the keeping-track-of-things dept. · 60 comments

Tom writes: "This is part six of the Advanced filesystem implementor's guide. I've been following an outstanding series of articles about implementing the advanced filesystems that are available with Linux 2.4. The author really knows his stuff and has done a great job with explaining Reiserfs, XFS, GFS, and the other file systems that are available." The series gets into greater depth as it goes on; you may want to start with Part One and work on from there.

Solaris-to-Linux Porting Guide

Developers · Linux · 2001-10-25 13:05 · posted by timothy · from the warmth-of-the-sun dept. · 7 comments

Albert writes: "This article is the best guide I've seen for moving your Solaris applications over to Linux. It provides guidelines, suggestions, and resources to help deal with porting your application from Sun Solaris to Linux. You also get access to an online tool that shows how the specific APIs used by your Solaris application map to Linux. This is a great resource."

New Security-Enhanced Linux Release

Linux · Linux · 2001-09-30 19:53 · posted by timothy · from the tightening-up dept. · 179 comments

James Cho writes: "Four days ago, the 2nd public release of the NSA's 'security-enhanced' version of Linux (it's not an entire distribution) came out. The NSA describes it as having 'a strong, flexible mandatory access control architecture incorporated into the major subsystems of the kernel". However it must be noted that this 'is not intended as a complete security solution for Linux' and that there is 'still much work needed to develop a complete security solution'."

WAP Bashing

Developers · Programming · 2001-09-19 01:53 · posted by Hemos · from the smash-crack-bushwhack dept. · 133 comments

Tube writes "There's been allot of WAP smack these days, some kicking of the WAP dog when he is down, and even some spitting in the eye of WAP, but it's still moving forward. The Wireless Section of DeveloperWorks is running a feature that tells you where it is and where it's going. XML and WML 2.0: XHTML is giving WAP the fuel to keep it righteous." The feature has some good points; but I still find WAP to be almost entirely useless to me, compared to how it was supposed to have walked my dog, cooked dinner, dry cleaned my t-shirts, cloned me, traded currency derivative and played bridge well. Ah, well, I suppose that's an issue more of hyping then the actual protocol.

Wireless Reflector for 802.11b?

Ask · Hardware · 2001-09-08 10:52 · posted by Cliff · from the hacks-for-improving-wireless-lan-performance dept. · 4 comments

Throgmorton's Nosehair asks: "My access-point and clients don't like talking to each other through multiple walls, even inside our single floor apartment. I already have a couple of the diddy 'range extender' antennas plugged into the client PCMCIA cards, but this is messy for laptops which are moved from place to place. The access-point has an omni-directional antenna. Is there any cheap-and-cheerful way to build a simple *reflector* (I'm already aware of the do-it-yourself directional antenna pages out there) to restrict the output to, say a 120-degree arc? I'm thinking along the lines of a sheet of cardboard covered with aluminum foil here (something that Blue Peter viewers could make with a cornflake packet, some sticky tape and a pair of scissors)." What are other ways that one can cheaply improve 802.11 performance in the home or home-office? Also, be aware that if you are improving the the reception on your signal that others may be listening in as well, so please take whatever steps you deem appropriate in securing your wireless LAN.

Windows XP: Prices, And One Reaction

Yro · Microsoft · 2001-09-02 04:56 · posted by timothy · from the all-this-and-so-much-more dept. · 598 comments

Jim42688 writes: "Looks like the prices Amazon was reporting for Windows XP a while back were right. On the back of today's ad for CompUSA, it lists the prices to preorder. Home Full, 199.99, Home Upgrade, 99.99. Professional full, 299.99, Professional upgrade, 199.99." Perfect timing -- Fwis writes: "Use your power as a consumer to Boycott XP. The site is now functioning smoothly, and we invite you to log in and participate in discussions, polls, and news stories related to Microsoft's release of the XP line of products." There are some interesting links on this page if you (or someone with purchasing power at your company) is considering XP.

AMD To Hide MHz Rating From Consumers

Amd · 2001-08-29 07:17 · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the bonehead-marketing dept. · 916 comments

pezpunk writes: "Tom's Hardware is reporting here that AMD's next-generation Athlons will be identified by model number rather than Mhz rating. This means that an Athlon will be designated an "Athlon 1600" even though it's only a 1.4Ghz part. The true clock speed of the chip will NOT be shown either on the chip itself or even in the BIOS. Apparently, they're desperate to compete with higher-clocked Pentiums in the minds of consumers -- proof that even the underdog can pull dirty marketing tricks =("

Palm 'Molecular' Keyboard

Hardware · Handheld · 2001-08-25 06:52 · posted by michael · from the 50-taps-per-minute dept. · 164 comments

Frank writes: "Here's an interesting new Palm application I found over at PalmGear.com. It's a new technology from IBM research called ATOMIK, it potentially allows typing of faster than 40 words per minute by using a Metropolis optimization algorithm in which the special keyboard is treated as a "molecule" and each key as an "atom"."

Rebuilding A Website With Modern Tools

Developers · Programming · 2001-08-18 10:54 · posted by timothy · from the nice-tutorial dept. · 2 comments

Joe writes: "Here's the 4th installment in a very good series of articles where Daniel Robbins( President/CEO, Gentoo Technologies ) shares his experiences as he redesigns the Gentoo Linux Web site using technologies like XML, XSLT, and Python. This article completes the conversion to XML/XSLT, fixes a host of Netscape 4.x browser compatibility bugs, and adds an auto-generated XML Changelog to the site." This is a pretty cool tutorial, especially in combination with the preceding articles -- but please don't let you site become unreadable to those on text-only browsers! :)

Interoperable P2P: Jxta

Developers · News · 2001-08-14 04:54 · posted by michael · from the you-got-your-napster-in-my-gnutella dept. · 75 comments

Troy writes: "This article went up today (on developerWorks) about the Open Source project called Jxta, which is a community-run attempt to build a utility application substrate for peer-to-peer applications. Anything with an electronic heartbeat can become a Jxta peer." A nice high-level overview of how Jxta is supposed to work.

Programming in the Ruby Language

Developers · Programming · 2001-08-11 10:11 · posted by michael · from the no-semicolons dept. · 345 comments

ShoeHorn writes: "Here is a good article (1st of a 4 part series), that introduces you to the Ruby language. If you are currently a programmer coming from the likes of C++, Perl, or Python, you will see some strong similarities (especially to Python)."