Need web-based access to WHOIS, reverse lookup, ping, tracert, spam database lookup, IP routiong info and more? Check this site out for several useful networking tools.

DNS Stuff: DNS tools, WHOIS, tracert, ping, and other network tools.

] Aircraft designer Burt Rutan unveiled Friday a
] fully-built launch system that, if flights outside the
] atmosphere prove successful, would be the first private
] manned space program. Both the spacecraft, called
] SpaceShipOne, and its launch platform, a futuristic jet
] known as the White Knight, were developed and built in
] secret and have already begun tests at lower altitudes.

Oh my gosh! I want to fly into space!!

Private manned space plane unveiled

] Microsoft has confirmed reports received by The Register
] that Windows 2000 PCs running a specific version of
] Office 2000 have been hit by sudden, unexpected requests
] to continually register the software with Microsoft.
]
] The glitch could leave thousands of Office users unable
] to continue using their software.

Office 2000 SR-1 registration bug strikes corporates

] Through the introduction of information technology on the
] battlefield, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is
] assisting the U.S. Army in gaining the technological edge
] needed to win on the battlefield of the 21st century. As
] the prime contractor for the Army's Force XXI Battle
] Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program, Mission
] Systems is replacing paper maps and voice radio
] communications with digital capabilities.

Digital Army: Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below

] Since its founding in 1995, MySQL has managed to
] establish itself as the provider of the best-known open
] source database on the market and hopes to dent the armor
] of big name vendors such as IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft

I remain a staunch Oracle proponent, by mysql may work for "small" million row databases on the web. The biggest issue for using mysql is lack of scalability to larger iron without wholescale replication and master/slave databases. Yuck!

InfoWorld: Interview: MySQL rides open source wave into DBs: April 16, 2003: By James Niccolai: Platforms

“I have challenged regulators, business professionals and utility companies in Iowa to work toward achieving 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2010, which will require the addition of more than 500 megawatts of renewable energy facilities,” Vilsack said. “I am pleased that MidAmerican is taking a leadership role in that effort.”

Now that just plain rocks. It's nice to see some good news these days.

MidAmerican to build Largest Wind Farm in the World

Using the rich profile data provided by the users we were able to deduce the attributes contributing to the formation of friendships, and to determine how the similarity of users decays as the distance between them in the network increases.

This research is a collaboration between HP Labs and Google. It will appear in a future issue of First Monday.

A Social Network Caught in the Web [PDF]

We discuss the dangers that scalable Internet functionality may present to the real world, focusing on a simple yet impactful attack that we believe may occur quite soon. We offer and critique various solutions to this class of attack and hope to provide a warning to the Internet community of what is currently possible. The attack is, to some degree, a consequence of the availability of private information on the Web, and the increase in the amount of personal information that users must reveal to obtain Web services.

Avi Rubin's latest effort; this paper is profiled in today's NYT.

Defending Against an Internet-based Attack on the Physical World [PDF]

Katie Hafner writes about "Net evaders" -- people who steer clear of the Internet and its services despite being in close proximity to connected computers and other avid Internet users. The article is based on survey research by the Pew Trust.

As a bit of a "cellular evader" myself, I would submit that this phenomenon is not specific to the Internet.

Eluding the Web's Snare

] Ever looked at the Mona Lisa and wondered why he's got
] such a goofy grin?
]
] Yes, we do mean he.
] ...
] Most of all The Da Vinci Code is about the history of
] encryption -- the many methods developed over time to
] keep private information from prying eyes.

A new book out by Dan Brown.

Da Vinci: Father of Cryptography?