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EARTHDATE: June 19, 2011

Official News page 13


WINDING DOWN

An idiosyncratic look at, and comment on, the week's net and technology news
by Alan Lenton

Normally, when I'm feeling suicidal I listen to Leonard Cohen songs. However, I've now found an alternative: reading about how our government is talking to Facebook about a new ID system for accessing public services via social networks. FACEBOOK! Sadly, it's not even faintly possible to believe the politicians might be studying how not to do it...

Fortunately, I was able to overcome the deep melancholy engendered by the thought of Facebook getting its hands on my information for long enough to produce an edition of Winding Down for your edification - and here it is!


Shorts:

I spotted an interesting new concept in user interface design for mobile gadgets while looking through the gizmag site this week. It's called the Rimino project, and at the moment it's just in the concept stage. Since it's a user interface you need to look at it rather than have me try to describe it. Once mobile gadgets have the resources to support it, it would be interesting to try out, although its lack of ability to add new apps may prove a serious stumbling block. Take a look at the video at the end of the article, which gives a much better idea of the use of the device than the stills and text .
http://www.gizmag.com/rimino-concept-mobile-phone/18932/

Did you know that IBM is 100 years old? The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, later to change its name to International Business Machines, came into existence on June 16th 1911. To celebrate, PC Mag has a 21 slide carousel illustrating some of its achievements. Take a look - I'll bet there are some things in it you didn't know about IBM - like the fact that it invented the floppy disk!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387099,00.asp

Do you use the Chrome browser on Windows? Well... If you apply the latest update from Adobe you will probably find that your ability to print from the browser has suddenly vanished. That's because the idiots at Adobe have taken it upon themselves to turn off Chrome's PDF Viewer plugin. Unfortunately for users, the plugin is used to generate page printing previews.

You can turn it back on again be digging into the Chrome internals. The URL at the end of this piece provides the details for those unfortunate enough to be afflicted. In the meantime, anyone for a class action against Adobe? Or maybe there's a state attorney general somewhere...
https://profiles.google.com/lauren4321/posts/C4dGijRdoiy

Move over Arecibo, a new giant is about to take your crown as the world's largest single aperture radio telescope! China is building a new radio telescope that goes under the snappy name of the 'Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope' (FAST) in Guizhou Province, in the south of the country. It looks like it's going to take between five and six year to complete, and when it does we should see some interesting results. Take a look at the URL for details:
http://www.gizmag.com/five-hundred-meter-aperture-spherical-radio-telescope/18930/

There's a really interesting article on CNN Money entitled '100 million Android fans can't be wrong'. It's a fascinating look at Google, Android, and the smartphone market. I didn't realize that Google actually bought Android in 2005, that's two years before the iPhone came out. It took Google another year before the first iteration of Android became available, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Take a look at this piece, it's a nice piece of writing, and with not too many numbers!
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/16/100-million-android-fans-cant-be-wrong/

Google seems to be getting something of a bashing recently. Of course its ability to make gaffs, especially involving privacy, is second only to Facebook. However, it seems that there is something else in the air, something for which Google is really only a convenient target.

And the motivating factor? It's a desire by various government regulatory agencies to expand their empires. Which is why the press has been carrying stories about arguments between various agencies over who should 'investigate' Google. My take, none of them really give a monkeys about Google, they just want the excuse to extend their powers in ways in which it would be difficult to get legal authority for.

There are plenty of real issues which need sorting out over the use of the internet by commercial and criminal entities. This isn't one of them.
http://truthonthemarket.com/2011/06/14/whats-really-motivating-the-pursuit-of-google/

Arrrrgh! Dropbox. It's so useful, but, following on from my report on its grotty security the other week, another problem has shown up. It seems they don't use your password to check your login. They use an id stored in a file on your computer, which anyone with access can copy and use on their own computer to access your Dropbox files.

That is pathetic, totally stupid, many would suggest criminally negligent. The details are in the URL, but frankly, I can't see any way an ordinary user could protect themselves, especially if they share computers.
http://dereknewton.com/2011/04/dropbox-authentication-static-host-ids/

Zombies seem to be all the rage here in England, these days. Leicester City Council was recently treated to a Freedom of Information request demanding information on its preparedness for handling a zombie attack, and was forced to admit it was unprepared. Good news for the zombies I would say!

Certainly they thought so, because only a week later the local zombies took advantage of the council's unpreparedness to stage a 'mass shamble' through the city center... And judging by the video a good time was had by all!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/10/leicester_zombie_fail/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-13823427


Homework:

For all you iPeople, gizmag has a page full of cool iThingie docking accessories. There's a cool swirly cone shaped iPod dock, sophisticated enough that one might even be tempted to buy an iPod just to show it off. Or, if that isn't your style, how about a Zeppelin shaped dock?

Maybe you've gotta Harley Davidson and you're born to be wired? OK - there's an iPhone/iPod Touch dock available just for you. Very cool. Some of the docks are very... imaginative... though I can't imagine why anyone would want a kitchen scales with a built in dock. Take a look - I think the retro style iCrystal iPod dock is my fave.
http://www.gizmag.com/tag/ipod-dock/

Global warming is a pretty controversial subject - to put it mildly. Now a new item has been thrown into the mix. It's what you might call solar cooling! The sun, unlike the leopard, is losing its spots. Sun spots usually happen in 11 year cycles, but at intervals the activity drops away for an extended period of time and there are few sun spots to be observed.

Last time this happened was during a 70 year period from 1645 to 1715. The period is known as the Maunder Minimum. So what, I hear you say. Well... It just so happens that the period under discussion also happened to coincide with what is known as the little ice age. Don't panic, it wasn't a true ice age, but it was definitely a cooler period with increased glaciation, and in some areas there was no summer at all some years. Interestingly enough, this cool period came immediately after the Medieval Warm Period - which, as the term implies - came shortly after a warmer than usual period of history.

So, does this mean that we are not in for global warming? I haven't a clue. Controversy reigns on whether the Little Ice Age and the Maunder Minimum are coincidence or cause and effect. I doubt, though, that you will hear much about this, because too many politicians have staked their reputations on global warming for anything that contradicts it to break through into the general press.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/big-drop-solar-activity-could-mean-much-coole
http://www.ibgames.net/alan/reviews/best2009.html (first book review on the list)

Looking for an investment for your savings, given the pathetic rate of interest paid by the banks at the moment? Or, maybe, you are looking to boost sales in your business. Perhaps the much hyped Groupon organization looks like a possible route for you? In which case I'd suggest you take a look at TechCrunch's little piece entitled, 'Why Groupon Is Poised For Collapse'. I'm no expert on this sort of thing, but I would definitely think twice after reading this coherent and well written piece.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/13/why-groupon-is-poised-for-collapse/

Ever wondered just how big the biggest container ship in the world is? The answer is very big indeed. And to prove it here is a picture of the biggest, it's called the Emma Maersk, being loaded up. When you look at it, remember that each of those little boxes you can see is a full sized shipping container.
http://www.emma-maersk.info/picture/Emma_maersk_loading.jpg


Geek Toys:

Here's a little something for the young at heart - a trip round the Lego factory in Denmark! Actually, the factory looks just like any other plastic moulding factory - it's surprisingly ordinary. However, it is making Lego bricks, and that's got to be a little something extra. Lego don't allow reporters in to the factory very often, so if you are a Lego fan, take a look at the wheels of creation for your fave toy...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20071143-52/watching-lego-make-its-world-famous-bricks/

Ah, now this - this - is the toy of the week. An original Lady Penelope puppet from the Thunderbirds TV series. The only downside is that there isn't a Parker puppet, or a pink rolls royce to go with it. So, if you've got in the region of US$15,000 to spare get yourself over to Knightsbidge in London on 29 June and make your bid!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jun/15/thunderbirds-lady-penelope-puppet-auction

Ever wanted a Gothic computer, or a SteamPunk laptop? Yes? The take a look at the Datamancer site, which describes itself as being for 'Prestidigital Datamancy & Paraphrenalic Technofetishism' <note to self: file these words for future use>. There's some pretty nifty little items in it. I think I would rather like the 22" wide screen, brass and marble, LCD monitor to grace my desk...
http://www.datamancer.net/archbishop/archbishop.htm


Scanner:

'Great Reversal' as world's forests stage a comeback
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/07/great_reversal_by_forests/

ADP Experiences Security Breach
http://www.securityweek.com/adp-experiences-security-breach

Assyrian Dictionary Project completed after ninety years
http://www.gizmag.com/assyrian-dictionary-completed-after-ninety-years/18908/

The Lost Container Cruise
http://failuremag.com/index.php/feature/article/the_lost_container_cruise/


Acknowledgements

Thanks to readers Barb, Fi, and to Slashdot's daily newsletter for drawing my attention to material used in this issue.

Please send suggestions for stories to alan@ibgames.com and include the words Winding Down in the subject line, unless you want your deathless prose gobbled up by my voracious Spamato spam filter...

Alan Lenton
alan@ibgames.com
19 June, 2011

Alan Lenton is an on-line games designer, programmer and sociologist, the order of which depends on what he is currently working on! His web site is at http://www.ibgames.net/alan.

Past issues of Winding Down can be found at http://www.ibgames.net/alan/winding/index.html.


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