Media

Not having any luck with bids on eBay? Well, there's another online auction site you might want to hit--PropertyRoom.com. The goods in question are from police property auctions. That's right, the loot seized from thieves and convicted and alleged criminals.

For example, under the heading "Hot Pursuit Specials" (which features an illustration of a "Dragnet"-style police car), a Sony PlayStation Portable was listed, with bidding at $171. Among the "Fine jewelry items starting at $1" is a 1.5-carat diamond in white gold setting engagement ring, with bidding at … Read more

The mother of a Texas teenager has sued MySpace.com for $30 million, after her daughter said she was sexually assaulted by a man she met on the social-networking site.

According to an article published Monday in The Austin American-Statesman newspaper, the 14-year-old said she was contacted by the 19-year-old defendant through her MySpace Web page in April. He was arrested in May, the article says.

The lawsuit alleges that MySpace.com has lax security in protecting its users, many of whom are younger than 16, the article says.

"MySpace is more concerned about making money than protecting children … Read more

We at Blogma have long been suspicious of conventional learning principles, especially when we got lousy grades. So we welcome ideas such as those from The Creativity Packet, which offers unconventional approaches to education, often non-verbal. Its latest concepts focus on the power of puzzles.

A 30-foot metal sculpture of a mother and child walking side-by-side has made its way from Nevada's Black Rock desert to San Francisco's Embarcadero as part of a six-month public art installation. "Passage," dedicated in a public ceremony on Friday morning, was first exhibited at Burning Man 2005.

With the Bay Bridge as a backdrop, the exhibition--sponsored by The Black Rock Arts Foundation--has got onlookers interpreting its meaning, and also wondering how the 25 tons of metal are being supported. This video helps capture some of the responses to the dramatic art, created by Karen … Read more

A pair of designer/artists in San Jose, Calif., are trying an experiment in community technology: If they can find a couple of households to volunteer their Wi-Fi networks, they'd like to set up yellow chairs within range for the public to use for free wireless Net access. The idea is modeled after projects in some parts of Europe where yellow bicycles are available for community use.

Some people are so addicted to their iPods that they're willing to take them everywhere. That must explain the thinking behind the iCarta, the combination stereo dock and bath tissue holder.

TechEBlog has come up with another list, this time of the "Top 10 Strangest Mini-Sized Devices." Our personal favorite: the diminutive "Space Cube"--which, in its 2-inch cubed frame, packs more processing power and memory than our 30-pound-plus first PC.

Speculation about an Apple-Nintendo deal has been around for years, rekindled recently by fresh speculation since word leaked that Apple may be recruiting game engineers.

At first, we thought the idea might prove popular among supporters of the two companies, which could theoretically link arms and take on the empires of Microsoft and Sony. But many bloggers on both sides of equation--who could very well represent two of the most loyal constituencies on the planet--don't appear to think much of the idea.

A key reason cited among both Apple and Nintendo fans seems rooted in culture and independence. Each … Read more

Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, has asked that college students refrain from citing Wikipedia as a source of academic research.

Yes, some actually are...and then complaining to him when teachers give them failing grades for doing it.

While speaking at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Wales said that he receives about 10 e-mails a week from complaining college students. While Wales thinks Wikipedia is useful for many things, he said that he would like to make it known that he does not recommend it to college students for serious research.

He also expressed little … Read more