Science and Technology

It doesn’t get much more surreal than this deranged buttplug waving his arms and flapping his lips about Iraqi invincibility even as reality closed around his bubble of smug fantasy. Who? Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Minister of Information (currently on administrative leave), of course. This site is dedicated to him. …

The rescue of captured American Pfc. Jessica Lynch seemed a real and psychological turning point in the war: the unambiguously good news of the rescue itself, but also the reassuring, stirring good will and bravery of Iraqi lawyer “Mohammed,” who risked his own life to aid an American. This at …

Where is the noblesse oblige among my Pro-Military Action compatriots? Why all the gloating?

This was a trap – rather than resolve the problem in a proportionate manner, the RIAA clearly decided to make an example of four college student with a multi-billion dollar lawsuit. For this they are contemptible scum. Curtis J. Tompkins, the president of Michigan Technological University is no more happy …

I haven’t swan dived into the Great Blogging Ethics Debate, as Cynthia Webb calls it in the Washington Post, because it seems pretty obvious to me: Sean-Paul Kelley is a liar, a plagiarist, and an embarrassment to the blogging community. In case you have been watching a war or something, …

From Disney to your home digitally – what middle men? Walt Disney plans to start live tests this year on a digital home video distribution system which could bypass conventional rental services, undermine movie piracy, and deliver new profit streams directly to the group’s bottom line. The announcement, from Michael …

TiVO as content hub: The San Jose, Calif., company on Tuesday made available a new software upgrade that will allow its TiVo Series2 digital video recorders to tap content stored on a home PC. ….the Home Media Option software will let the TiVo boxes access and distribute content such as …

Following up on the case we mentioned yesterday, a Maryland court ruled a notorious spammer may remain outed: An Internet site that provides personal information about an alleged purveyor of mass e-mail is not harassment and does not need to be removed, a Maryland district court judge ruled yesterday. Francis …

Billboard relates Pat DiNizio’s subscription plan: New Jersey-based artist Pat DiNizio, lead singer/songwriter of the Smithereens, has founded Patrons & Artists Together, a boutique entertainment partnership meant to fund his recording and touring projects and reward participants with a unique music experience, as well as provide free music via the …

Nice overview of Napster history – did it really happen? – in LA Times excerpt from new book All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster by Joseph Menn: It all began with a poor Boston-area kid who came west to Silicon Valley and started a revolution. …