yadis: yet another distributed identity system is a specification for a distributed identity system. Let's take a closer look.
Linkblog - 4.4.2005 - 17.5.2005
Key theft on Hyperthreading systems - cool. I mean, sure, shit, it's a security hole. But that's really cool. Using Hyperthreading and cache timing to steal data from the second pseudo-processor right from under its nose - you have to come up with something like that first.
Sparkline PHP Graphing Library provides small, compact graphics that fit well into text - ideal for example to better visualize trend data.
Apple users in parliaments complain about discrimination - I can well imagine the nonsense of the responsible IT people. Of course, for network security, you clearly rely on Microsoft products ...
Firefox gets SVG support - finally a first independent SVG implementation and above all a broad platform for this format.
KDE developers annoyed with Apple - because they once again don't understand how to work in a team and send patches to an upstream project. Collaboration between companies and open source projects is still problematic - companies simply have a completely different agenda than the OS project.
First Trojan for Mac OS X spotted - if there aren't any, do you write your own? Just a guess - the information at Sophos about the alleged Trojan is very thin. No information about the spread and no specific information about the removal of the Trojan, no detailed information about detecting the Trojan (port or similar) and no information about the installed files. Sorry, but this all doesn't sound very credible ...
Softwarepatents: Industry lobbying with stacked cards? - if you already think you need to play with false cards, you should be more careful not to get caught ...
AquaMacs is an Emacs build for OS X (unfortunately only from 10.3 onwards) that aligns more closely with the Mac OS X Human Interface Guidelines. Those who appreciate the high configurability of Emacs but not the rather sick interface and key binding for Mac users might want to check this out.
The .emacs File by Bill Clementson. Shows very nicely why one should actually consider using Emacs. Particularly interesting for Common Lisp users is his customizing for Slime for integrating various Common Lisps.
Those who only occasionally work with PostgreSQL, so to speak, want to use it as a desktop database: PostgreSQLX is a compilation of the PostgreSQL server that can be easily started and stopped as a Mac application. Ideal for developers. Then also the PGAccess interface and you can do without something like Microsoft Access. Of course, all of this only from 10.3 (it's about time 10.4 comes out and I'm up to date at home again).
SPE-OSX comes from the same stable as AquaMacs and is a compilation of Stanis Python Editor - a very comprehensive IDE for Python. Also only available from 10.3.
sproutliner is a fun web application with which you can edit an outline over the web. Naturally heavily based on Ajax.
Borland open sources JBuilder - wow. I didn't see that coming - it's basically a surrender. Can Borland stay afloat without JBuilder?
The WordPress Versioning Plugin allows versioning of entries - i.e. articles and pages. This way, you can revert to an old version if necessary.
NASA Is Said to Loosen Risk Standards for Shuttle - the remaining shuttles must eventually be scrapped ...
Cunning ants build traps together and operate them jointly to catch larger insects. Nature never ceases to amaze.
Practical Common Lisp is a new book about Common Lisp with many practical examples. Finally, a Common Lisp book that doesn't just delve into rather theoretical examples but addresses practical topics such as spam filters, web servers, HTML generation, ID3 tags, and other stuff. The book content is available to read online.
Contax – RIP or Resurrection - Thoughts on what could happen to Contax after Kyocera's withdrawal. Specifically, the 645 system is mentioned here, as it was allegedly developed by Zeiss and Kyocera was only the manufacturer - if this is the case, Zeiss could find another partner for production. Unfortunately, the 645 system is beyond good and evil for most financial possibilities ...
Nikon Encrypts D2X and D2Hs White Balance Data - they really have a screw loose. What's the point of encrypting the image data so that the user is forced to use the camera manufacturer's software to read it? It's not as if Nikon makes money from selling software - they earn (and not badly) from the cameras. And especially with professional cameras, such paternalism towards the user is just brainless nonsense. The image data belongs to the photographer - and all of it, not just the parts that Nikon kindly leaves unencrypted ...
Parliament in Kuwait approves women's suffrage - I would like to have something positive here for once. Even if it is only a small step in that direction - for the region, the whole thing is almost revolutionary.
typoc(not to be confused with Typo3 the CMS) is a blog engine in Ruby and uses Rails. Could be ideal to play around with this stuff.
Bistro Intro is a Smalltalk variant that runs on the Java VM. I didn't know that before.
Seashore is an image editor that builds on GIMP things and uses the same format - but for OS X. You should keep an eye on it, could be quite nice for some simple purposes.
Westerwelle will no longer become Chancellor - this likely aligns with the will of 95% of voters
'Cool it, Linus' - Bruce Perens - a bit more information about the BitKeeper story. And I agree with Bruce - Linus should never have started this silly BitKeeper business in the first place. Andrew Tridgell is just doing what he does best - cracking proprietary protocols. It's silly to attack him for that.
Lafontaine is apparently about to leave the SPD - if you have nothing else to report and rather exude a lack of concept, then at least you can still celebrate your departure. One can only hope that the left-wing alternative won't have to endure this chaotic troublemaker ...
Growing resistance among cardinals against Ratzinger - it is allegedly just a rumor that rat traps are set up everywhere in the Vatican
"Auch Hondos B-Proben positiv " - well, that's that then
Opening of the House of Photography in Hamburg - then a visit to Hamburg will probably be due again ...
Homemade system as BitKeeper replacement - sometimes the arrogance of OSS programmers bothers me, who always think they can do everything better than others. How much more synergy effects would come into play if these programmers would concentrate their - undoubtedly present - programming qualities on a few projects? A good source management system with fast patch handling we could all use - but no one is served with two dozen half-baked solutions ...
Visa abuse already a topic in the Kohl cabinet? - the names are different, the faces the same. The slogans too. And we can be sure that this fact - that the Union government had exactly the same problems as the red-green government - will be deliberately ignored by the Union. Let's look forward to another election campaign of lies again.
It is now official: Contax brand comes to an end. No sale to another, no continuation - the name Contax as a camera brand is gone from the market for now. Maybe Zeiss (who probably own the name Contax themselves and only licensed it) will find someone else for it - the Contax rangefinder camera (not the G series, but the new one based on the Voigtländer device) already has another partner. But the Contax we have known since the late 70s is now history.
Dvddisaster is a small program that stores error correction data for DVDs and CDs on an external medium so that a CD or DVD that has problems due to aging can still be read under certain circumstances. For this purpose, control data amounting to approximately 15% of the original data carrier is stored elsewhere.
/IE7/ is a project that teaches IE6 CSS properly using a JavaScript library. This should also make :before and :after work in combination with content: - not entirely unimportant for HTML-free rounded corners or HTML-free link identification through symbols ...
Found in Netzbuch: Cameropedia - a wiki with camera information.
delicious:days is a visually stunning food blog from Munich.
The Studs MVC Framework is a port and extension of the Java Struts Framework to PHP. In doing so, frameworks initially map a J2EE-like basic structure for servlets in PHP. To me, that naturally sounds like fighting the devil with Beelzebub.
Berliner Symphoniker to be disbanded - Helicopters against graffiti artists are fine, but there's no money for the Berliner Symphoniker. Why culture, it's nonsense, people might even enjoy it ...
XFN Graph graphically displays link relationships that are provided with XFN attributes.
Schily will pursue sprayers with helicopters - now he has completely flipped out. Because we have way too much money and must throw it out the window for such nonsense.
VIA releases EPIA driver - might interest Jutta - the entire X area and the special chips are so far quite poorly documented and supported.
FeedWordPress is a plugin that turns a WordPress installation into a planet site: essentially a public aggregator, except that the entries go into a WordPress database.
The page for Ural and Dnepr drivers - you can find things like this when you search for old (programmer) colleagues on the net. Well, Marc has always had a weakness for crazy vehicles.
Source management system BitKeeper now commercial only - for me, the choice of BitKeeper was a stupid idea anyway. And the argument that the other alternatives were not far enough at that time does not hold - then one would have simply continued working with CVS and waited until SVN or other alternatives were far enough.
TheMonadReader is intended to become a regular publication about Haskell. The first issue is linked. The whole thing is supposed to be less formal than classic scientific journals, so it could definitely become interesting. There is also an article about Pugs (Perl6 in Haskell) in the first issue.
Pugs - pugscode is a Perl6 implementation in Haskell. Even crazier: the entire project is primarily coordinated in an IRC chat and the collaborative work is done with SubEthaEdit. Is this already Nirvana?
Jehovah's Witnesses: Soon a Church in NRW? - what nonsense. I'm already annoyed that this other sect - the Catholic Church - is recognized as a church and thus state-subsidized, but with the Jehovah's Witnesses it really stops. They are not just misogynistic and rigidly hierarchical like the Catholic Church, their structure is even more based on the suppression of the individual. But irrational nonsense is in high demand.
The Scientific American had an extremely bitter April Fools' joke: Okay, We Give Up -- We feel so ashamed. But I can somehow understand.