Archive for March, 2007
03.09.07
Posted in Technology, Software at 12:11 pm by stark
It seems like Wikipedia may finally be getting sick of all the spamming and false information being posted on their highly popular online encyclopedia. According to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, a new policy is under consideration that may require contributors to confirm credentials before adding to the site. This comes on the heels of the recent EssJay scandal.
The user, who went under the pseudonym “essjay,” described himself in an online profile as a “tenured professor of theology” and said he taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in the subject. He also said he held a bachelor of arts in religious studies, a master of arts in religion, doctorate in philosophy in theology and a doctorate in canon law. But it wasn’t true. Essjay was actually Ryan Jordan, a 24 year-old from Kentucky, who revealed his true identity when he joined Wikia Inc., the for-profit company run by Wales that seeks to use the community content model to make money.
An interesting move by the company to say the least, but at the end of the day, even a beginner web user could find the proof they need to pass these tests, is this added layer going to help anything?
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03.08.07
Posted in Entertainment, Movies at 12:22 pm by bobbyjoe
After a very long 25 years of disussion Tintin will finally be brought to the silver screen again! Thanks to the help of Steven Spielberg and his company DreamWorks who have agreed to procuding at least one Tintin movie. A completed movie could show up in theatres by 2009 or 2010, Nick Rodwell told a press conference. Nick Rodwell is head of Hergé’s Moulinsart Studios, which holds the rights to Tintin.
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Posted in World News at 12:12 pm by bobbyjoe
France has just passed a new law that makes it a crime for anyone to film real-world violence and distribute the images on the internet. Violators will be subject to up to five years in prison and nearly $100,000 US in fines.
Happy slapping is a fad in which an unsuspecting victim is attacked while an accomplice records the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone). The name can refer to any type of violent assault, not just slapping, even rape and sexual assaults have been classified as “happy slapping” by the media. Within the UK, where the term is used much more frequently than in the U.S., it is associated with the ned/chav sub-culture. — Wikipedia
Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it understood the government’s need to crack down on “happy slapping,” but feared the law draws a “dangerous” distinction that would punish “regular citizens” for doing what journalists are allowed to do.
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03.07.07
Posted in Healthcare, World at 3:28 pm by stark
For those of you out there who visit McDonald’s restaurants and always feel like the burgers just don’t cut it, you may soon have an option to satisfy your cravings. This new burger, nick named the third pounder, is currently available at 600 restaurants in California and weighs in at 1/3 of a pound instead of the previously dominating 1/4 pounder.
“The initial reaction has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Frisbie, who helped conduct the initial tests of the burger during the past four months at two of his family’s 17 franchises in the Anaheim area. “The sales really surprised us”
This is an interesting move by the monster fast food chain due to recent controversy over McDonald’s contributions to the huge US obesity problem. Nevertheless, it appears there is a market for the new burger, and perhaps it will soon be available at a golden arches near you.
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03.06.07
Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Television, Videos at 10:49 am by stark
If you’re a fan of the television series Heroes, you might have noticed that last nights episode came with a little bonus, a preview clip of the upcoming film Spider-Man 3. I warn you though, this clip definitely spoils at least a couple small plot points, so if you’re one of those people who wants to be 100% surprised, stay away from that link. Personally, I think this movie is looking amazing and has loads of potential to beat both the previous two. I guess we only have a few more weeks to wait now, and then we’ll all get to see it…
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03.05.07
Posted in Technology, Environment, World at 3:22 pm by bobbyjoe
Ever wonder what happens to that old PC you put in your trash on garbage day? Well it probably ends up in your local municipal land fill allong with over 80% of the estimated 133,000 PC’s discarded each day in the United States. In addition to PCs the bulk of nearly 2 million tons of our e-waste comes from TVs. “The computer industry is ramping up its campaign against electronic waste, a dangerous byproduct of technology’s relentless expansion.”
ROSEVILLE, California (AP) — This is where computers go to die a green death.
Inside Hewlett-Packard Co.’s cavernous recycling plant in the Sacramento suburbs, truckloads of obsolete PCs, servers and printers collected from consumers and businesses nationwide are cracked open by goggled workers who pull out batteries, circuit boards and other potentially hazardous components.
The electronic carcasses are fed into a massive machine that noisily shreds them into tiny pieces and mechanically sorts the fragments into piles of steel, aluminum, plastic and precious metals. Those scraps are sent to smelting plants, mostly in the Sacramento area, where they are melted down for reuse.
Discarded computers, TVs, radios, batteries, cell phones, and other gadgets contain a stew of toxic metals and chemicals.
Computers are cracked open by workers who pull out batteries, circuit boards and other potentially hazardous components.
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Posted in Science at 1:27 pm by bobbyjoe
How cool is getting a Dinosaur named after you! You will have to ask Nesmo the owner of a Alberta ranch known for decades as a rich area for fossils. Albertaceratops nesmoi is the name of the recently discovered species of dinosaur. “It’s quite an honour for me,” said Nesmo, 62, who’s lived for 58 years on a ranch near Manyberries, a small town about 290 kilometres southeast of Calgary.”
Michael J. Ryan is shown here with the holotype skull of the recently discovered horned dinosaur, Albertaceratops nesmoi, named for Cecil Nesmo, an Alberta rancher who helped the fossil hunters.
(Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Chad Kerychuk/Digital Dream Machine/Associated Press)
Ryan said the large, plant-eating reptile roamed the earth some 78 million years ago. It was as heavy as a half-tonne pickup, he said, with horns as thick as a human arm.
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Posted in Space at 4:21 am by stark
The Cassini spacecraft, which is currently in high orbit around the planet Saturn, has taken some amazing photographs that have never before been seen. The photos show detailed shots of the plants distinctive ring system and both above and below the planet.
‘Sailing high above Saturn and seeing the rings spread out beneath us like a giant, copper medallion is like exploring an alien world we’ve never seen before. It just doesn’t look like the same place. It’s so utterly breath-taking, it almost gives you vertigo.’ The spacecraft will eventually return to its standard orbit parallel to the ring plane in late June.”
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