] By waving the Nokia 3220 camera phone from side to side,
] the LED lights of the Nokia Xpress-on FunShell light up
] to "write" a message that appears to float in mid-air.

Joi Ito's Web: Will airtexting BlackBerry become the mobile hecklebot?

] This morning, I asked a Defense Department spokesperson
] whether or not the reports of a phonecam ban were true.
] This spokesperson said that these reports were
] technically inaccurate -- that the Pentagon is not
] issuing a new ban on camera phones per se, but that a
] Directive 8100.2 was issued on April 14 establishing new
] restrictions on wireless telecommunications equipment in
] general.

Better information about the DOD phonecam ban.

Boing Boing: Camera phones in Iraq; digicams and truth in wartime

] The Sasser worm, which exploits a flaw in Microsoft's
] Windows software, disrupted work at the Marine and
] Coastguard Agency, forcing staff to use pencil and paper
] to find ships and locate distress calls on maps.

Coastguard Sunk by Sasser

Well, I've been agitating for some friends of mine to help me work on this for the better part of a year. Now, its here. But the glory goes to someone else.

I wish I had a compatible cellphone...

] As of this moment, semacode reader is now available as a
] free download for your Symbian/Series 60 phone. It's been
] a while that we've been working on this, and we also have
] a preliminary semacode creator up for your creative
] uses. I've written updates site-wide, with lots of
] pictures, screen shots, a quick start guide, and
] there's more. Join the mailing list. Send us an email;
] join the mailing list. Enjoy! #

Semacode: BarCode to URL translation for the people

] Frustrated after months of trying to solve Kryptos.................

Elonka says:
Heh. This is the page of one of the other cryptographers who's working on Kryptos. He created a 3D model of the sculpture, and then imported it into a Half-Life engine so that he could take a crowbar to it. Scroll down to the bottom to see the screenshots. I kinda sympathize.... ;)

Kryptos and crowbars

] SmarterChild, for those not in the know, is America
] Online's artificial intelligence program. That's right -
] an AOL IM AI.

Elonka says:

The IM-bot SmarterChild disappeared for awhile, but seems to be back now. I find it enormously useful, since it's a quick way to get word definitions, find out what movies are playing, check the weather in a city that I'm traveling to, look up an encyclopedia entry, check a stock quote, etc. etc., all in plain english queries, "What's the weather forecast for Butte, MT?" "What time is Hidalgo playing?" or "What time is Hidalgo playing at the St. Charles 18?"

Or, when I'm really bored (or just want to procrastinate), it's fun testing the limits of its conversational ability, like to ask it about its parents (which it does indeed respond to).

If you haven't checked this out this bot yet, I recommend it. Just open an IM window and send a message (any message, even just "hi!") to "SmarterChild", and watch the time-wasting begin. :)

Observational Humor - Conversations with SmarterChild

] "The objective of this technology is to bring an ID
] system to a global level that will destroy the need to
] carry ID documents and credit cards," Chase said.
]
] During a recent American radio interview, Chase said the
] CEO of VeriChip, Dr. Keith Bolton, had told him that the
] company's goal was to market the VeriChip as a global
] implantable identification system.

This doesn't appear to be a hoax.

Don't these people understand how easy it is to break the security of this?

WorldNetDaily: Paying for drinks with wave of the hand

] In "RFID Goes Mobile", Red Herring reports that Nokia has
] quietly launched last month the first RFID-enabled cell
] phone. The Mobile RFID Kit will be available later this
] year and only for the 5140 model. This accessory allows
] the user to easily launch services and conveniently
] access phone functions simply by touching the phone to an
] RFID tag.

I happen to think there is a BIG consumer market for this technology.

RFID Coming to a Cell Phone Near You

Elonka wrote:
] ] For some little girls, it's a favorite doll; for others,
] ] it's a
] ] dress-up set. But when Elonka Dunin of St. Charles,
] ] Missouri,
] ] was little, her favorite toys were puzzles.

Wow! Kick Ass!

RE: Elonka in 'Woman's World' magazine

] "These people don't tune into today's radio channels
] which are aimed at a young audience. Our service allows
] them to discover their own music," Ashcroft said.
]
] Consumers can tailor the music stream by pressing a
] button on their phone to indicate they like or dislike a
] song.
]
] "It's self-learning. The channel will adapt over time,"
] Ashcroft said, adding wireless carriers are expected to
] charge a monthly fee of between 10 to 15 euros for the
] service.
]
] Sony's service, for which it has no name yet, will work
] on advanced multimedia handsets running on the Symbian
] software system, available on phones from Nokia, Siemens
] AG, Sony Ericsson, Sendo and others.

Sony to deliver collaborative filtered music over cellphones.