] NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Wireless Flash) -- Here's a crumb of an
] idea that turned into a success: A computer designed to
] look like a toaster.
]
] Adam Bertram, a network administrator from Nashville,
] Tennessee, has caught the computer world's attention by
] turning a four-slice toaster into a working desktop
] computer.

NCBuy: Weird and Offbeat News Stories

] On February 10 Marion County deputies were called to
] William Frank Reese's home for a domestic disturbance.
] When they got there they found Mr. Reese bleeding from
] the leg and Tommie Lorene Burnette bleeding from the face
] and ears.
]
] Sheriff Bo Burnette, no relation to the woman involved
] with this case, said she was a girlfriend, but Mr. Reese
] told NewsChannel 9 she was a "live-in housekeeper."

Just how exactly does your housekeeper get close enough to bite your nutsack?

News Channel 9: Charges Dropped In Scrotum Biting Case

] Hepburn had lived in the exclusive beachfront section of
] town known as Fenwick since she was just five years old.
] The house originally owned by her family was destroyed by
] the 1938 Hurricane, but was then rebuilt. She wrote in
] her 1991 autobiography that, "Fenwick is and always
] has been my paradise."

I had no idea she lived here!!! She will be missed.

Hepburn: Townspeople Loved And Protected Her

] A group of Xbox security researchers say they have found
] a way to run Linux on the Xbox game console without a
] so-called mod chip and will go public with the technique
] if Microsoft won't talk to them about releasing an
] official Linux boot loader.

] Muir says the release of the claimed series of exploits,
] one of which is in the Xbox Dashboard utility, factory-
] installed on the Xbox hard drive, could be disastrous for
] games companies intent on preventing piracy. If genuine,
] the exploits would let anyone with even a slight technical
] knowledge "reflash" the Xbox BIOS, allowing users to
] pirate games. The only hardware modification necessary is
] a dollop of solder on the write-enable pads on the
] motherboard.

Very interesting..

This is a nightmare situation for Microsoft. If they do nothing, exploits will be released enabling mass-piracy of their games. If they release a Linux bootloader, then they have allowed Linux onto their platform. They sell these consoles at below cost and make their money on games. Razors and blades. From an economic standpoint, either presented option is totally unacceptable.

Also, if Microsoft plays along, there is no guarantee that the exploits will not get released, or more likely, discovered by others.. Infact, I believe they are only being baited, and these exploits will be released anyway. I can't envision Microsoft giving into any demands, of any type, let alone a signed linux bootloader for the XBox..

Expect Microsoft to create a third option. Expect lawsuits. Expect someone to get arrested. The DMCA will play an obvious role. I could see them attacking Huang just for drill.. This will be a developing story..

Group claims Linux advance on Xbox | CNET News.com

This link is basically slashdotted right now... I don't think these people really understand exactly how much people do not like telemarketing... Anyway, hopefully it will clear up in a few hours and we can get registered...

National Do Not Call List Online

] Natalie Brougham was crowded onto a third-floor porch
] with dozens of friends early Sunday when the floor
] dropped out from under them, sending wood and bodies
] crashing through two other decks to the ground. Twelve
] people died, most of them crushed on the porches below.
]
] At least 57 others were injured, authorities said.

TRIBnet 24-hour News Page

] A blur of platted hair, arms and legs dives into the pile
] of dirt and rocks, searching for hidden treasures.
]
] It takes only seconds before the first high-pitched voice
] screams, "I found one!"
]
] "Hey, here's another one," cries out a young girl. "I'm
] finding lots of them."
]
] Within minutes, plastic freezer bags are stuffed with
] chunks of gray rock containing trilobites, brachiopods
] and horn corals -- Devonian-era fossils from creatures
] that inhabited the Earth 350 million years ago.
]
] Fossil Park, which has been built in an abandoned 5-acre
] (2-hectare) quarry about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from
] downtown Toledo, is open for its second full season this
] summer.
]
] And visitors can keep what they find.

Cool!

Finding trilobites by the bucket, for free

] Samsung is trying to bridge the gap with the first DVD
] player aimed specifically at HDTV owners. According to
] the company, the $299 player optimizes standard DVD video
] performance to make better use of the capabilities of new
] high-definition displays. In short, it brings DVD video
] closer to high-definition clarity.
]
] Ordinary DVD players and all basic TV sets
] use what's called standard definition video, which splits
] the image into 480 horizontal lines. The Samsung is the
] first DVD player to use a smart digital imaging chip to
] fine-tune the image and to "upconvert" the video to 720
] or 1,080 lines, both of which are considered
] high-definition. It's a technological cheat, though,
] because the chip is adding resolution that doesn't exist
] on the disc.
SNIP
] But how does the Samsung stack up to full high-definition
] TV? I compared a DVD copy of Star Wars, Episode II:
] Attack of the Clones with an HBO HD broadcast, and the
] player performed admirably.
]
] Make no mistake, the HD broadcast was superior. In
] Amidala's and Anakin's sappy frolic in the field, I could
] make out individual weed stalks in the foreground that
] were lost in the DVD video. But the DVD player held its
] own, and, to many eyes, would appear close enough to HDTV
] to make it worthwhile.
]
] Of course, a new format for true high-definition DVD
] discs will arrive eventually. But today's DVDs are likely
] to remain the format of choice for years to come. This
] player and its successors will help you get
] the most out of them.

This is VERY good news for us video philes. I was afraid that todays DVDs; a format facing obsolesence thats less than 10 years old ("What do you mean I have to purchase all new copies of my DVD's?") would be the biggest hurdle in getting consumers to adopt the new Hi-Def format. To see just how bad of a "problem" this would have been, go into an appliance store and view a HD program next to an NTSC (current television format). Those 480 lines of resolution your brain has been "filling in" all these years, suddenly become apparent, don't they? While pixel interpolation like this is, as he says, no substitute for true high definition media, this should bridge the gap until the old DVD's are phased out.

Laughing Boy

Higher-definition DVD player: A resolutionary idea

Elonka wrote:
] ] Welcome to N2H2's URL Checker. This web-based tool will
] ] allow you to easily identify how a specific Web site is
] ] categorized within N2H2's Internet Categorization
] ] Database.
]
] Evidently my personal site, http://elonka.com , has somehow
] gotten into the filter databases as a site which contains
] nudity (which it doesn't). So, for example, anyone trying to
] access my site from the Tennessee School System is blocked and
] told that elonka.com is a pornographic site!
]
] I have no idea how my site got on the list, and I didn't find
] out about it until a couple people contacted me and told me
] about the block. If you're interested in checking your own
] domain, here's a database where you can type in the URL to see
] how it's listed.

I got a screenshot of the warm fuzzy elonka is neked message.
http://gallery.wilpig.org/screenshots/elonka

RE: N2H2 Filtering Categories Database

Elonka wrote:
] ] On each level you will be presented a form asking you to
] ] authenticate. You do not know the user and the password,
] ] the goal is to bypass the authentication mechanism.
]
] The goal of the game is to bypass all 10 levels of Web
] Authentication security. From the stats page, over 20,000
] people have tried it since May 2002, with about 750 getting
] through all the levels.

Nifty!

RE: Security Technologies Game