] Somewhere in Andrew's house is a hefty Linux server
] running many applications, including an Asterisk Open
] Source VoIP software PBX. There is no desktop PC in
] Andrew's house. Instead, he runs a Linux thin client on
] a Sharp Zaurus SL-6000 Linux PDA. Sitting in its cradle
] on Andrew's desk at home, the Zaurus (running a special
] copy of Debian Linux, NOT as shipped by Sharp) connects
] to a full-size keyboard and VGA display, and runs
] applications on the server. Another cradle, monitor and
] keyboard are at Andrew's office, where he also doesn't
] have a PC. Walking around in his house, the Zaurus
] (equipped with a tri-mode communications card) is a WiFi
] VoIP phone running through the Asterisk PBX and
] connecting to the Vonage VoIP network. Walking out of
] his house, the Zaurus automatically converts to the local
] mobile phone carrier, though with a data connection that
] still runs back through Vonage.
]
] Yeah, but what about that wireless TV? How does that
] work? Andrew's server runs Myth TV, an Open Source
] digital video recorder application, storing on disk in
] MPEG-4 format (1.5-2 megabits-per-second) more than
] 30,000 TV episodes, movies and MP3 music files.

Cringely's vision of the wifi future. I can tell you from personal experience that none of this crap works half as well as you'd want it to, and it has about twice the security concerns that you're thinking. But it is the future. The FOSS version of it anyway. The FOSS future is a future in which nothing quite works right but you can do anything you want with it. In the alternate future you can pretty much do most of the same stuff, with some restrictions, particularly on your creativity, and everything costs a monthly fee, but it all works perfectly.

FOSS isn't going to be what you are using at home. FOSS is a check upon professional consumer electronics world. Its like the bad cop to their good cop on the media industries. If the commercial stuff is too expensive or too controlling, it will be less trouble to struggle with the FOSS stuff. FOSS will keep the prices down and the capabilities open, but only to a certain extent...

But thats not the point. The point is that this is the future. You have one network connection. You have one phone. It works everywhere. Its flat rate, mostly. Asterisk probably works a hell of a lot better then MythTV, because there is money in it. A lot of money.

When internet video conferencing gets cheaper and better, the phone call paradigm is going to die. You'll just leave it on. You'll leave it on because why hang up. If you friend comes over to hang out you don't just kick them out all of a sudden because you've got nothing else to talk about. You'll share audio and video of your friend's places all the time, unless you want privacy and pull the shades. It will be like you are all in the same place all the time.

PBS | I, Cringely... WIFI near future

] NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Federal authorities said Friday
] they arrested an Iraqi-born Nashville resident on
] illegal weapons charges during a sting operation set up
] after he made threats about "going Jihad."

Federal agents arrest Iraqi native buying machine guns, grenades

] You can hear sferics, tweeks, whistlers and other VLF
] radio sounds at any time of the day, but the hours
] around dawn and dusk are generally best. Nighttime is
] also better than daytime. In Huntsville, AL, where
] our online receiver is located, dawn happens at about
] 1200 UT and dusk is ten hours later at 2200 UT.

NASA online VLF receiver

] On October 8th at 9PM, two third party candidates were
] arrested for attempting to enter the Washington
] University complex holding the second presidential
] debate. The candidates, Michael Badnarik of the
] Libertarian Party and David Cobb of the Green Party,
] chose civil disobedience to fight the bipartisan
] Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Over half of
] Americans believe third party candidates should be
] included, yet politicians continue to funnel public funds
] into the bi-partisan Commission.

Should public money be used to fund bipartisan debates?

Libertarian and Green party candidates arrested at debate.

] Afghanistan's historic presidential election closed on
] Saturday without any of the feared large-scale violence,
] but the vote was thrown into turmoil when most candidates
] said a flawed process made the poll invalid.
]
] All 15 of President Hamid Karzai's rivals said they were
] withdrawing from the election because systems to prevent
] illegal multiple voting had gone awry. The move
] effectively left Karzai as the only candidate in the
] fray.

Election in Afghanistan questionable

I'll drop my hat in but I'll bet people are afraid to tackle this. Its tough. Bush did much better this time. I basically just have disjointed comments:

1. The thirty second response format was annoying this time. Kerry in particular seemed sound bitey during those quick responses.
2. Bush seemed more personable. Kerry seemed smarter.
3. In my mind Kerry won the joust over partial birth abortions, but the thing is that most people aren't interested in the complexity of the situation and Kerry didn't underline it on an emotional level. Stupid people like stupid black and white choices. They are blinded by their convictions. You have to ask them how they would feel if their wife was going to die and the doctor had the power to save her but it was illegal. You have to reach for the throat to cut through the propaganda of the fundies.
4. They both seem to be buying my vote. The debate over middle class taxes was a little annoying. Am I supposed to eat the rich, Kerry? At least be subtle about it.
5. Bush did seem to spend too much time talking about Kerry and not enough time talking about what he plans to do.
6. I wonder if the fundies realize that Bush's religious references are calculated. I think no, and I think Kerry lost points there.
7. The debate, in general, made me feel more confident about the idea of Kerry as president. Kerry seems like someone who understands what is involved and has a clear plan to meet the challenges. Bush seems defensive and given to oversimplification.

I never commented on the VP debate so I'll do it now. It was very close, but I agree with Elonka. Edwards seemed like a salesman. Cheney seemed more intelligent and genuine. Cheney is the kind of conservative I wish I could actually vote for... Someone who would build a free market and a tough foreign policy without putting the fundamentalists in power over my personal life at the same time..

If there was a Kerry Cheney ticket I'd be sold. Unfortunately, I'm not voting for the Vice President...

(And unfortunate it is. Doesn't everybody realize that flipping a red/blue switch every four years is an insult to the idea of democracy? We should have a more granular ability to control our government. How democratic IS your country compared with others? Spare the patriotic bullshit and really think about it. How do you compare how democratic countries are?

] (From the [Senate] diaries, Cheney presided over the Senate a
] grand total of two times the past four years -- just as
] many times as Edwards, who also did so twice. Slightly
] edited -- kos)
]
] "Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the
] president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the
] Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session."
]
] --Dick Cheney
]
] The extended entry has the presiding officers over the
] last four years for every Tuesday session.

Cheney Attendance at Senate

] The licensing pact demands hotspot operators pay Acacia
] $1,000 a year for up to 3,500 redirected connections.
] After which, operators would have to pay 5 to 15 cents
] for each redirected connection.
]
] "Anybody who operates a hotspot with redirection can
] assume they'll hear from us," Acacia's executive vice
] president of business development and general counsel Rob
] Berman told Wi-Fi Networking News.

I had no idea how high the licensing fees where. This is a terrible patent. There is prior art. The companies (actually there are two) know full well that there is prior art and that they both can't own the same patent. And yet because they are targetting people who cannot afford to defend themselves none of this is challenged!

Hotspot Operators Face Patent Lawsuits

] Google SMS (Short Message Service) enables you to easily
] get precise answers to specialized queries from your
] mobile phone or device. Send your query as a text message
] and get phone book listings, dictionary definitions,
] product prices and more. Just text. No links. No web
] pages. Simply the answers you're looking to find.

This works great. I'm gunna end up paying for cheaper SMS service with this.

Google SMS

] First, once you fire up red | blue, the phone
] either connects to the GPS on your phone and
] gets your latitude and longitude, or asks you to input
] your U.S. address (depending on your version of
] the application). The phone then connects to the
] internet to send that information to the Gravity Monkey
] servers.
]
] Then, like a magical greenback Geiger counter, red
] | blue will tell you if you're in Republican or
] Democratic territory, and will also show you the
] total amount of contributions for Republicans or
] Democrats in your area.

leet

Gravity Monkey - Red/Blue