Netscan is a research project of Microsoft's where they map
Usenet. They don't look inside any message bodies. They don't care
WHAT you say, but they care about the patterns of how people
participate in Usenet newsgroups.

MSR Netscan - Usenet Social Accounting Search Engine

] Japanese PC Watch Site has tons of cool new photos from
] robots featured at this years Robodex 2003 Trade-Show.

I would love to go to one of these robot trade shows..

I4U :: Future Technology News - More Amazing Photos From Robodex 2003

] Employees at Al Jazeera headquarters in Doha, Qatar, said
] they were frustrated by the decision, though not entirely
] surprised. "It has nothing to do with technical issues,"
] said Joanne Tucker, the managing editor of the
] English-language site. "It's nonstop political pressure
] on these companies not to deal with us."

Its not clear to me how much actions like this are driven by irrational thinking. Both the NYSE and Akamai took personal losses in 911. If for any reason they preceive Al'J as an enemy they are going to cut them out.

If its really external political pressure then thats something else, and in that case I oppose it. They are an ARAB news network. Their perspective is going to be different then yours (duh). If all you can do in response to that is to try to prevent people from having access to their content then this is almost PROOF that you are in the WRONG. The righeous don't NEED censorship.

Akamai Cancels a Contract for Al Jazeera's Site

] Both bills would flatly ban the possession, sale, or use
] of technologies that "conceal from a communication
] service provider ... the existence or place of origin or
] destination of any communication".

Decius:
] OK, who knows who in TN. This is a huge mistake and it
] needs to be combated. Anyone know Donna Hoffman? Can we
] get a copy of this thing?

NAT would be illegal?! Truly insane.

Yes, that must be stopped.

Law in TN MUST be defeated

Norris is demonstrating something called HyperSonic Sound (HSS). The aluminum plate is connected to a CD player and an odd amplifier -- actually, a very odd and very new amplifier -- that directs sound much as a laser beam directs light. Over the past few years, mainly in secret, he has shown the device to more than 300 major companies, and it has slackened a lot of jaws. In December, the editors of Popular Science magazine bestowed upon HSS its grand prize for new inventions of 2002, choosing it over the ferociously hyped Segway scooter. It is no exaggeration to say that HSS represents the first revolution in acoustics since the loudspeaker was invented 78 years ago -- and perhaps only the second since pilgrims used ''whispering tubes'' to convey their dour messages.

I have seen several articles about HSS. I'd love to get my hands on one of these emitters.. I'll fully admit that its primary use in my hands would be pratical jokes..

The Sound of Things to Come

“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

]Latent semantic indexing (LSI) is a promising information
]retrieval technique for searching and organizing large data
]collections. LSI finds patterns in unstructured data (documents
]without descriptors such as keywords or special semantic
]tagging), and can return relevant results for a query even when
]there is no keyword match.

]Data collections don't have to be in English, or even in any
]human language at all. We have had good success in searching
]protein databases with the technique, as well as chemical mass
]spectra.

I'm going to have to look this over in some detail later..

Projects: Latent Semantic Indexing

] The design package, called Wanda, is meant to create a
] cell phone that TI said would connect to each of these
] technologies: a Wi-Fi hot spot, which uses the 802.11b
] standards; a cell phone network using GSM (Global System
] for Mobile Communications); and any device using the
] short-range wireless standard called Bluetooth. TI says
] it is the first to combine all three in a single design.

Very cool..

TI unveils a design called Wanda

] ABC television network, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Co.,
] plans to launch a 24-hour news service on Wednesday that
] will be available only to broadband Internet users, the
] Wall Street Journal reported.
]
]
] The newspaper said, according to ABC News officials, the
] new service -- whose launch coincides with escalating
] television-news competition amid the looming Iraq (news -
] web sites) war -- will carry live feeds of breaking news
] with some anchored coverage.
]
] It will also feature news summaries every half hour and
] rebroadcasts.
]
] The online "channel" will initially be available to
] subscribers to the existing ABC News On Demand broadband
] service, which lets users who pay $4.95 a month view
] taped ABC News clips and programs, the Journal said.

ABC Starts 24/7 Internet-Based News Channel--WSJ

] The cost of oil dependence has never been so clear. What
] had long been largely an environmental issue has suddenly
] become a deadly serious strategic concern. Oil is an
] indulgence we can no longer afford, not just because it
] will run out or turn the planet into a sauna, but because
] it inexorably leads to global conflict. Enough. What we
] need is a massive, Apollo-scale effort to unlock the
] potential of hydrogen, a virtually unlimited source of
] power. The technology is at a tipping point. Terrorism
] provides political urgency. Consumers are ready for an
] alternative. From Detroit to Dallas, even the oil
] establishment is primed for change. We put a man on the
] moon in a decade; we can achieve energy independence just
] as fast. Here's how.

Wired 11.04: How Hydrogen Can Save America