SuperDrive
SuperDrive - Region-free firmware for Powerbook Superdrives
Content-type: matter-transport/sentient-life-form
Hooray for Hewlett-Packard!
That sounds very good - a printer that has an explicit pure B&W cartridge with black, gray, and light gray. This allows you to convert it to pure B&W operation without wild experiments with third-party cartridges, refill kits, tubes, syringes, open-heart surgery, and general anesthesia. It sounds like the right printer for me might finally be coming - something like the 7960 or 7660, but in a format for A3 prints. Until that becomes available, however, the 7660 with B&W cartridge could certainly be a good interim solution ...
[Inkjet-list] HP Inkjet Linux Driver 1.5 Release
[Inkjet-list] HP Inkjet Linux Driver 1.5 Release - Announcement of the HP inkjet printer driver for Linux
Lucky Strike Originals - Tivoli Model Three.
Lucky Strike Originals - Tivoli Model Three. - Top-class radio alarm clock
Does PowerPoint make you stupid?
When I look at typical managers and marketing guys, I'd say: Yes!
At heise online news there's the original article.
Radio Days
Even better: Tivoli Model Three is the same device, but supplemented with an analog clock and an alarm function. Since my clock radio is slowly giving up the ghost after over 20 years of service, I'll probably get this one. The thing is simply and elegantly brilliant - a subtly illuminated analog clock, alarm function and the Tivoli Radio from the Model Two - so even prepared for a second speaker. It'll probably make a hole in my wallet, but I finally want to have a decent clock radio. At Ligne Claire you can find the original article.
Second p0st: Repairing MetaKit databases
Second p0st: Repairing MetaKit databases - Script for repairing MetaKit databases
The Museum of HP Calculators
The Museum of HP Calculators - Online museum of various HP pocket calculators
Wiki Calculators - Main.HomePage
Wiki Calculators - Main.HomePage - Wiki for HP calculators - still somewhat sparse in content
Clean Disposal: Bacterium Has an Appetite for Nuclear Waste - Science - SPIEGEL ONLINE
Clean Disposal: Bacillus has an appetite for nuclear waste - Science - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Bacteria reduce radioactive metal and obtain their energy from it
Die Zeit 30 / 2003 - (c) DIE ZEIT : Article title of ZEIT on your website
Die Zeit 30 / 2003 - (c) DIE ZEIT : Article title from ZEIT on your website - RSS feeds for sections from Die Zeit
GROKLAW - the court hearing transcript
A transcript of the court hearing in which SCO was given a deadline until the end of January. What stands out to me is the chaotic argumentative structure and the frequent interruptions of the SCO lawyer (by the way, the CEO's brother - is it really a good idea to have your own family represent you?) by the court and, in contrast, the very straightforward and conclusive argumentation of the IBM lawyer. I would say there are clear weight class differences recognizable between the two.
iPodhead.com
iPodhead.com - a blog about the iPod and tips and tools for it
Leica Digilux 2 - the bigger picture: Digital Photography Review
Leica Digilux 2 - the bigger picture: Digital Photography Review - More details and images of the Digilux 2
Minolta Digital SLR next year and more
Has Minolta finally woken up? No more stupid talk about the Dimage 7 series being a digital SLR? No more silly evasiveness when asked about digital SLRs from them? Or is this just a panic reaction? Anyway, for me the train has left the station. Contax not only built a full-frame digital camera, they've already discontinued it. Contax is simply ahead of its time.
At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.
Put the cursor automatically in a forms field
Put the curser automatically in a forms field - set focus with JavaScript in HTML forms
Schill faction without Schill
Well, now even the Schill party (ok, only the senate faction) is celebrating the Schill-out ...
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
The Onion | CEO's Marital Duties Outsourced To Mexican Groundskeeper
I can see this is a link to The Onion article with a German description. However, you haven't provided the actual Markdown body content to translate.
If you'd like me to translate a blog post, please provide the Markdown body text itself (the actual content between the frontmatter/metadata and the end of the post), and I'll translate it from German to English while preserving the Markdown structure.
xsdb html index
xsdb html index - compact and feature-rich database in Python
A garbage collector for C and C++
A garbage collector for C and C++ - Garbage collection for C and C++
"AppleScript: The Definitive Guide" released
Mainly a note for Jutta that she wants to have the book
At The Macintosh News Network there is the original article.
Atom-powered spaceship to search for life
Let's hope it's not also the first crashed spacecraft and the first atomic catastrophe on a Jupiter moon - given NASA's recent track record of success, they should probably send less dangerous equipment on the journey...
At Spiegel Online: Wissenschaft you can find the original article.
FocusFixer by FixerLabs
FocusFixer by FixerLabs - Corrects blurry photos
GROKLAW on SCO's alleged victim role in a DDOS attack
SCO claims that its web server was once again crippled by a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack. Two security experts express their opinion on Groklaw and provide brief analyses on why this claim from SCO should rather be viewed with skepticism.
JSch -- Java Secure Channel
JSch -- Java Secure Channel - Java implementation of SSH2 with X-forwarding
look, Ma: I didnt make it one more time
Read, throw 5 euros in the Chauvi box, have a laugh.
At passe.par.tout you'll find the original article.
LUFS-Python
The right thing for today's hacker: writing file systems for Linux directly in Python. I could think about whether I should rewrite my suckfs to LUFS-Python. The current implementation via dnotify in any case has some strange effects and race conditions that under certain circumstances cause the data inventories to no longer be in sync. However, a LUFS-Python implementation would unfortunately also be realized through Python on read, and that would most likely be too slow for the intended use of suckfs (replication of static data contents on a Zope cluster). Here's the original article.
INTERNET NEWSPAPER IRAQ: Photographer Nachtwey injured in attack in Iraq
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's doing well. He is a fantastic photographer and his images impressively showcase the effects of war, chaos, and famine. Outstanding is the book Inferno with a selection of his images from various crisis zones - I have rarely seen such impressive photographs. He always manages to show the suffering and agony of people without depriving them of their dignity. No sensationalism, no hunger for sensation - but a clear statement against war and abuse. He is certainly one of the great photographers of today. Here you can find the original article.
New Feature: Blogmarks
I've extended the Python Desktop Server with another module: Blogmarks provides a blog with mini entries. The idea behind it is to simply post links. For this purpose, I use a bookmarklet (a bit of JavaScript that opens a window and calls up a URL), which passes the current link and the title of the current window to the Python Desktop Server and asks the user for categories and a short description (which is stored as a title tag on the link element and displayed on mouse-over). The whole thing is converted into compact HTML and is available as a blog with RSS feed and everything that goes with it. In the long run, I'll probably add further features like caching of the original page (in case it goes offline) and a category overview of all links, but for now I'm starting as it is. Let's see if this isn't a useful alternative to private bookmarks.
Perthon -- Python to Perl Language Translation
The most interesting thing about this project is the juxtaposition of the Python and Perl source code. I like both languages, but somehow in this comparison I find that I should actually be ashamed that I like Perl too.
Smile by Satimage-software
That doesn't sound bad at all. An AppleScript editor with an interactive AppleScript shell, various extensions and above all an interface builder. And the whole thing available for free download. And the description sounds like it would be a decent alternative to the much heavier (but also much more powerful) AppleScript Studio for small hacks.
TrueBlur by FixerLabs
TrueBlur by FixerLabs - Simulates shallow depth of field through artificial blur
Tucholsky is still right after all
Nothing has changed, the same old arguments, the same false conclusions, the same false demands. It's quite alarming how Die Freie Wirtschaft still fits like a glove, even after so many decades. The original article can be found at gnurps here.
Forged URLs in Internet Explorer
Loch an Loch and yet (not) holds
At heise online news there is the original article.
Harald Schmidt quits - so what?
Full agreement. I never understood all the fuss about Harald Schmidt when it was still new. He's quitting the show now. So what.
There's the original article at Nochn Blogg.
IronPython Benchmarks
The programmer of JPython/Jython (a Python implementation for the Java Virtual Machine) apparently is working on an implementation of Python for the .NET Common Language Runtime. And first benchmarks look very good, better than some other attempts that were made at ActiveState. It looks like in the foreseeable future Python code can be used both within Java applications and .NET applications, in addition to the native implementation that already exists. I find that very pleasant, because it allows me to use my currently favored programming language even in silly Windows projects that we'll be dealing with in the near future.
In the Java environment I'm already using Jython as a convenient alternative syntax when I have to work with any foreign libraries in Java - Jython is much more comfortable there (and the interactive environment is absolutely great when you need to experiment with foreign libraries, because the documentation isn't sufficient again!).
News: Microsoft the Engine - Linux the Brake?
Of course nothing new - just more FUD about Linux and hype about Microsoft again. What bothers me about the whole thing though: apparently an institute at the University of Münster let itself be bought for this study. Since Münster is my hometown, I take this kind of nonsense somewhat personally - I would have expected more integrity from the University of Münster. But money rules the world, nobody cares about facts anymore.
Confusion about Microsoft patches
Confusion, anarchy, chaos!
Well, whether Microsoft releases patches or not doesn't really matter anyway - the security holes come faster than the patches anyway...
At heise online news you can find the original article.
GROKLAW explains exactly what SCO must submit to IBM
According to the schedule, SCO has to provide a large amount of information, in particular exactly where the alleged patent violations are located (with file and line number specifications), as well as stating why SCO believes a patent violation exists, whether and if so who else had access, and some other information surrounding this whole matter. I'm really curious to see what SCO can actually submit to the court.
IBM, by the way, doesn't have to submit anything until SCO has completed their part, and that's also part of the judge's ruling.
Insect Action: Save the Tree Lobster! - Science - SPIEGEL ONLINE
Ok, I understand that the tree lobster needs to be saved. But is the approach of poisoning an entire island so that all rats die really the right one? Rats can adapt well - it's possible they won't catch all the rats, but then the survivors will have an easier time with the weakened other animals afterward? Or the Noah's Ark experiment doesn't work and the other animals die out - what does the tree lobster get out of that?
In the end it always comes down to the same thing: whenever man tries to fix something, it can almost only get worse...
Medley Lisp
Actually just blogging so I can find it again later. Medley Lisp is the successor to the Lisp that runs on Xerox Lisp machines. Two releases run on my Lisp machines: Koto Lisp and Lyric Lisp. Koto Lisp is a pure Interlisp-D environment (by the way, Rainer Joswig put the introductory manual online, and there's also a film about using Interlisp-D online), whereas Lyric Lisp additionally includes an implementation of Common Lisp. Medley Lisp is the direct successor release to Lyric Lisp, thus strongly Common Lisp centric, though the system basis still builds on Interlisp-D. Medley Lisp no longer runs on Lisp machines, but is instead brought to various platforms via an emulator. I still have a version of the emulator for DOS; only an old Solaris version and a Linux version (for Intel processors) are still sold. The software has a long history; the first releases date from the early 1980s, much code from that time is still found in the system (all of Interlisp-D, that is). But I'd guess that the TCP/IP implementation in Interlisp under the emulator version is no longer used; instead, it probably accesses the system's own TCP/IP stack.
At home I still have two functional Siemens replicas of the Xerox 1186 machines, and over a meter of documentation. It's fascinating what's packed into these machines and what performance they already had back then—and this despite the processor not being the fastest. The processor itself had loadable microcode, so the instruction set could be adapted to the system (Smalltalk, Lisp, or Prolog). In principle, that was also an emulator back then, just realized in hardware.
New Elections in Hamburg
Wow. That was quick. Great performance!
And to the Hamburg residents: at the next election, it really doesn't have to be the Schillhaufen ...
At Nochn Blogg. you can find the original article.
Pedophilia: Now the victims are to blame!
Once again, proof of the inhumanity of certain judges. The verdict could easily come from Schill: Rather, due to existing neglect tendencies resulting from the lack of educational influence from their parents, the children were recognizably interested in the sexual acts themselves. (...) Moreover, the abused children suffered no recognizable further psychological harm beyond their already existing environmental damage as a result of the accused incidents. How can a judge deliver such a contemptuous justification? Are children from socially problematic circumstances now the lowest of the low, whom one can simply abuse?
At Telepolis News you can find the original article.
Slate Language Website
Ok, yet another programming language. But the mix is what appeals to me: taking inspiration from Self, Common Lisp and Smalltalk really hits my taste. I'll have to get the whole thing and try it out. Certainly it won't reach the critical mass needed to do anything serious with it - lately only Ruby has managed that, and even that was something of a sensation - but it's interesting nonetheless.
ATPM 9.12 - ATPO: Outliner Use Patterns
An interesting article about various user scenarios for outliners and related programs. It provides a good overview of software available on Mac along with their respective focuses and areas of application. Anyone planning to acquire such software should browse through here, which saves a lot of personal trial and error.
The dream of a breakfast service on the train is over
That's exactly what the Ich-AG concept is all about: the formerly employed worker is thrown between the millstones of large corporations with a small concept that might just barely work at the local level. When the big players no longer like it, they can easily get rid of him. He then no longer falls into the unemployment statistics, but at best among those receiving social welfare. The balance sheet looks great and an existence is destroyed.
Or did someone really believe that the Ich-AG was in any way about a forward-looking concept that people are supposed to live from long-term? Fooled you. Gotcha.
If it were really about that, the Ich-AG entrepreneurs would also be offered security measures when they go into self-employment. But that gets shifted by the state to the private sector; these people are supposed to get their own security.
Of course, the sloppy founder meetings (more hype than facts) and the rather time-constrained advisory services are not sufficient to turn a former employee into a full merchant. And promptly there are problems later with insurance, contracts, payments, taxes or contributions.
The Ich-AG would be a good concept if it really built on a sustainable model that included security and comprehensive support in business formation—and in a way that would allow the Ich-AG entrepreneur to take the risk. The way it's running now, the most frequently used advice will probably ultimately be debt counseling...
At WDR.de there's the original article.
RSA-576 cracked
It took a long time, but now it's done. The first level cracked. Sure, a 2048-bit key is still quite difficult to crack, but it's foreseeable when these limits will also fall. Time for new algorithms and new approaches. My PGP 2.63uin version (please don't be alarmed by the layout of the pages, that's all still from 1998) already had 8129-bit key length, which should last a little while longer. At heise online news there's the original article.