From Read_Me.txt in dir:
] These files mirror, brought to you courtesy of V1ru5,
] TheVoidAKABoB, and SystemFailure, seem to go well
] with the presentation that Acidus was to give at
] Interz0ne.

What purpose is given to exposing the information like this, aside from a poke in the nose at the blackboard people who put out a product that others are using happily? (Disclosure: i interviewed at the DC offices of blackboard a long time ago. THey really do have some cool technology.)

Andy

Lots of information on the Blackboard CampusWide system.

CampusWide Information Mirror (Socialfreedom)

] This ad is most definitely a nod to the filmmakers Peter
] Fischli and David Weiss. Their 1987 film, "The Way Things
] Go" is a 30-minute-long showing of a contraption they
] built out of household items.

I sat here with open jaw for the 60 seconds it took to watch the advertisement on my computer. OMG!

Honda's New Accord

] Opera Software today released Opera 7.10 for Windows and
] Opera 7.10 for Linux Beta with features that are not only
] new to Opera, but also completely new to the world of
] browsing. Right from the beginning, users can see the two
] new buttons FastForward and Rewind in the toolbar,
] accelerating Opera users' Web navigation. Users can also
] speed up researching with the completely new Notes
] features or view photo files with SlideShow.

I've been a purchaser and more-or-less supporter for Opera since 1997 or so. Up until MSIE 5.0, the Netscape technologies were superior, with Opera a close contender. Since then, inertia keeps me on MSIE 6.0, but I'm getting used to Mozilla 1.4 alpha with its bayesian-based spam controls for both home and eventually office use. Drowning in spam every morning and evening is not my idea of relaxation.

Opera introduces brand new features in double release

We act as though we could wish away what is happening to new products and prices. But the fact is that the on-going commoditization of technology cannot be undone. Products will continue to get better but they will also continue to fall in price. In the face of these dynamics, jobs will melt away. The only growth in the industry will be come from a variety of education, customer support, strategic evaluation and consulting positions. Additional growth can come only from use of the technologies in an open architecture that preserves the freedom to innovate.

This is just one of many worthwhile articles in the latest issue of the Cook Report.

The Paradox of Commoditization

Because it's unhealthy. Because it has become our obsession. Because it is dangerous -- a runaway train, roaring down a path to disaster.

Michael Malone writes in the February issue of Red Herring. (This is the article that John Markoff mentioned in today's NYT article.)

Forget Moore's Law | Red Herring

] It's sad to say, but I've become addicted to blogs. And I
] guess that if I'm going to become addicted to anything in
] college, a blog - no matter what you think it sounds like
] - is one of the best things to become addicted to. So
] what is it, you ask?
]
] Look up the term in most English dictionaries, and you
] won't even be able to find it. In fact, my spell check
] doesn't even recognize the word.
]
] Turn to the Internet, however, and you'll find an
] abundance of blogs. The website marketingterms.com's
] definition of blog is "a frequent, chronological
] publication of personal thoughts and Web links." It
] further says that it "is often a mixture of what is
] happening in a person's life and what is happening on the
] Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there
] are as many unique types of blogs as there are people."
] In simpler terms, it is a web log.
]
] My blog of choice is LiveJournal. On that host, I have
] found many interesting people. But the catch is, I don't
] really have to know them. I can peruse through days and
] days of people's inner thoughts and daily happenings with
] just the click of a mouse.

Online journals give people chances to vent feelings, catch up with friends

] Most Iraqis have been unable to access the Internet since
] March 31, when cruise missiles hit servers and satellite
] dishes at the Information Ministry in Baghdad. Repeated
] strikes on telephone switching centers have also disabled
] much of the phone service in the city, rendering dial-up
] modems -- Iraqis' predominant means of connecting to the
] Internet -- useless. Additionally, the war has knocked
] out almost all of the websites operated by the Iraqi
] government and state-controlled media.
]
] Meanwhile, the U.S. government's plans for repairing
] Iraq's IT infrastructure are still unclear. The Bush
] administration has charged the Agency for International
] Development with rebuilding the infrastructure and public
] facilities in post-war Iraq. But none of the agency's
] eight projects currently out for bid includes repairing
] Iraq's telecommunications or information technology.

I'm particularly interested in this too, to find out what happened to Salam Pax, the "Where Is Raed" blogger. According to a 3/31/2003 article in Salon, his IP was hit hard:

From http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/31/iraq_offline/index.html

] Meanwhile, two primary Internet access points for Iraqi
] citizens -- among them a high-profile blogger using the
] alias "Salam Pax" -- have been unreachable since the weekend.
]
] A Cisco switch that connected Baghdad residents to the Internet
] stopped responding Saturday morning, Iraq time. The device,
] located at Internet protocol address 62.145.94.250, served as a
] Web gateway for many citizens.
]
] The headers of a March 19 e-mail message from Salam Pax, author
] of Where Is Raed? a popular blog chronicling life in Baghdad,
] showed he connected to the Internet using the switch. Pax's
] electronic journal has not been updated since early last week.

Salam Pax's blog, last updated March 24, is here:
 http://dearraed.blogspot.com

Wired News: IQ Test for Rebuilding Iraqi Net

What appears to be the Interz0ne II Code Challenge has been released... ;)

SETI message to Interz0ne-II

] The new Department of Homeland Security lacks the
] resources and expertise to execute the core elements of
] the Bush administration's cybersecurity plan, the
] president's former cybersecurity adviser told Congress
] yesterday.
]
] In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving the
] White House in February, Richard A. Clarke warned
] lawmakers against the "dangerous" tendency to dismiss the
] consequences of an attack on the nation's computer
] networks.

Ex-Officials Urge U.S. To Boost Cybersecurity (TechNews.com)

"On April 7, 2003 in a world created by Osamu Tezuke, Astro Boy, a robot with the heart of a man, is born.

"The day is here/

"Exactly how close has time been able to catch up with Astro Boy?"

ROBODEX 2003