Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 5:09:21 PM CET
Daphne Oram, the unsung pioneer of techno
Almost un-noticed by the wider world, one of the pioneers of electronic music has died. Without Daphne Oram, we may never had known what the Tardis sounded like.
Electronic music - as much a part of today's life as whistling a tune to yourself - grew up amid milk bottles, gravel, keys, and yards of magnetic tape and wires.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:59:27 PM CET
Police not amused at drunk driver's smiley
A man who erased his drink-driving record from a police computer and replaced it with a winking "smiley face" graphic ended up with a suspended licence and a fine when police failed to see the funny side.
The 19-year-old computer whiz had been arrested for drunk driving and summoned to appear in court in Besancon, in eastern France, the French daily Liberation reported on Tuesday.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:56:54 PM CET
PC in a Humidor
I spotted this "PC in a Humidor" at CES last week. The developer used Via's new tiny motherboard to cram an entire computer into a cigar humidor. It was originally designed for a corporate bigwig who hates computers – but had to have one. It certainly fits into a wood-paneled corner office better than the standard beige box!
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:53:51 PM CET
Mobiles get a sense of touch
Within a year you could be able to "touch" someone over your mobile phone. A US company called Immersion has adapted the sensory technology used in gamepads and joysticks to send physical sensations via a mobile. "We're thinking in terms of virtual touch," Immersion's Jeffrey Eid told BBC News Online. "Today you can't really physically touch someone across the phone. With this technology you can."
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:38:27 PM CET
UK's aircraft carriers run on Windows for warships?
Know we know the real meaning from - Blue screen of death !!??
Last week UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon mounted an odd attack on the country's major defence contractor, BAE Systems, claiming that large foreign shareholdings in the company meant that it could no longer be viewed as British. The assault was seen by observers as perhaps being a pre-emptive strike in the run-up to Hoon's potential award of the contract for two aircraft carriers to French company Thales, rather than to maybe-not-so-local player BAE. But Register sources claim BAE's defeat may also save us from a real deployment of Windows for warships.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:35:47 PM CET
Will Europe Become a Super Power?
To all appearances, European integration may get a new strong spur in the nearest time. A new state may appear on the geographic map of Europe in several years, however, it is not yet clear how this new state will be called. Former rivals, German and France, plan to confederate.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:29:56 PM CET
US develops lightning weapon
The US Air Force is working on developing a man-made bolt of lightning powerful enough to fry sophisticated computer and electronic components in weapons.
Researchers are looking at ways of putting so-called High-Powered Microwave (HPM) beams on aircraft and cruise missiles.
¬> BBC
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:27:26 PM CET
New Software Aims to Snare Computer Intruders in Real Time
A suspected crooked insider at a New York software company sells consumer-credit reports to identity thieves, at roughly $30 a pop, in a high-tech scam that prosecutors say victimizes thousands.
An unemployed British computer administrator fights extradition to face federal charges in Virginia and New Jersey that he hacked into 92 separate U.S. military and government networks, often getting past easy-to-guess passwords to download sensitive data.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 4:24:17 PM CET
Thumbs down for electric toothbrush
Most electric toothbrushes are no better for your teeth and gums than the traditional type powered only by elbow grease, researchers have found.
Scientists from the Universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Sheffield found that only one type of electric toothbrush produced better results despite being many times more expensive.
¬> BBC
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 11:54:49 AM CET
Feuer frei auf Serviceprovider
Die Musikindustrie schwankt in ihren Versuchen, dem Problem der Musiktauschbörsen Herr zu werden, zwischen Hauen und Stechen, Schmeicheln und Locken. Hauen und Stechen kann sie besser: Ganz aktuell setzt die Industrie auf Geldforderungen an Internet-Provider. Die Denkweise ist einfach nachzuvollziehen: Internet-Serviceprovider (ISPs) stehen in hartem Wettbewerb, ihre Preise wie Gewinnmargen sind weltweit im Keller. Zugleich sind sie die Weichen im Datenverkehr zwischen P2P-Nutzer und -Börse: Daraus, glauben die Juristen der Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), lässt sich so etwas wie eine Mitschuld ableiten.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 11:36:59 AM CET
Piracy threatens 600,000 jobs
Illegal CD copying and music downloading could put the jobs of 600,000 people in the music industry at risk, according to a senior official.
Jay Berman, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), said all jobs in the European music industry could be in jeopardy if record executives do not tackle the problems.
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Topic: - on January 21, 2003 at 11:30:46 AM CET
WELCOME BACK Mitnick Rides Again
The infamous hacker celebrates his first day of computer freedom with 'The Screen Savers.' Watch today at 7 p.m., 10 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 a.m. Eastern.
Three years ago convicted hacker Kevin Mitnick was released from Lompoc federal prison after serving four years, 11 months, and six days behind bars -- the longest sentence ever for computer cracking crimes. But according to his die-hard supporters at FreeKevin.com, Mitnick won't truly be free until Tuesday, January 21, 2003, when he's finally allowed -- after three years of court-enforced abstinence -- to use a computer.
On Tuesday, January 21, Mitnick will celebrate his long-awaited re-entry into the magical world of computing by appearing live on "The Screen Savers." Don't miss this landmark moment in hacker history.
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