Buzz Out Loud Podcast

While I got a little steamed at the Author's Guild, and Natali essentially admitted she's a runaway bride, the big event in this show is the possessed computer. It appears some 404 friends of guest Jeff Bakalar monkeyed with Nat's computer during the show. Unprofessional, I say! We will get to the bottom of this.

EPISODE 909

New CNET widgets
http://www.cnet.com/widgets/

Report: Sirius XM preparing to file for bankruptcy
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/10/report-sirius-xm-preparing-to-file-for-bankruptcy/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10161185-93.html

Authors Guild upset with Kindle 2 speech-to-text
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10161104-93.html

Gmail knows where you are
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-in-labs-add-your-location-to-your.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10161264-2.html

Windows Mobile users can stream Netflix movies
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2340798,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

Mozilla launches Fennec milestone release for Windows Mobile
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/02/mozilla-launches-fennec-milestone-release-for-windows-mobile.ars
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10161316-16.html

Mozilla joins EU case against Microsoft
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/02/10/1719225
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9127658

Apple to gear up for $99 iPhone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10161368-37.htm

Get a free domain name and hosting from Microsoft
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10160295-2.html

Create your own music shop with the People’s Music Store
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/02/create-your-own-music-shop-with-the-peoples-music-store.ars

Man claims treasure found on Google Earth
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10161265-71.html

VOICE MAIL

KevMo
What to call you

Cylon Jason
404-BOL rivalry

Dan
I can solve the Netbook issue

E-MAIL
Hey JaNaTo

I have to “well actually” myself from an e-mail I sent you last Thursday. After some Portland TV stations announced on their newscasts or websites that they would still turn off analog on the 17th, now at least some (I haven’t checked on all of them) have changed their minds and will wait until June. Guess you can’t believe everything you hear on the news.

Will, the former television journalism student

Having the SD card slot on the Kindle 1 is nice for expanding storage(in
theory any way…I have never come close to needing it). But if you are just
looking for a way to transfer your content off your Kindle no SD card is
needed. Just use the included USB cable and your Kindle will show up as a
drive on your PC or Mac just like a thumb drive. All the books you
purchased are easily accessible for archiving, deleting or whatever.

I have never used the SD card slot on my Kindle 1 so I doubt I will miss it
when I upgrade to the Kindle 2.

– Anonymous (who we know to be Jim)

Hi buzz crew, regarding your story on power monitoring in iGoogle:

Monitoring power usage and turning lights off is all good, but the real energy-spender is your heating and ventilation. Even if you could, you won’t run around turning your radiators a degree or two down when you leave the room, and that’s where computerized homes become really interesting. There’s one Estonian company (that tiny country which brought Skype and cyber war to the world) called Yoga which have taken home automation “smart buildings” one step further with self-learning adapting “intelligent buildings”. Eventually your home will both read your mind’s preference about lights, temperature and mood music, and it will save you energy in the process!

Love the show, it’s a better balance than most between news and ranting analysis and comments

Best regards
CJ - the Swedish nerd in Estonia

Hey GNOTO,

Felt the need to let you know that tonight I was watching the Colbert Report and he made reference to cooking a wooly mammoth.
Natalie I thought that you might get a kick out of this.
Love the show

Tony from Kentucky

Google sync uses Microsoft ActiveSync. I think that’s the big story. With ActiveSync becoming the defacto
standard of information exchange between phones and back end systems I
think this makes Google Sync much more powerful. Google doesnt have to
work with various phones, as long as those phones support ActiveSync.
This also makes smartphones attractive to the enterprise, who mostly
run Microsoft Exchange, as well as consumers who can sync to services
like Google.

Love the show,

William in The Meadow.

G'day Buzz Crew, Josh from Australia here.

Just wanted to write and first of all provide the internet link for anyone wishing to donate to the families and towns who have lost everything in the recent Victorian fires, now dubbed Black Saturday. We lost at least three towns totally to fire, the deathtoll is climbing towards 200 and expected to jump up over 300, and over a thousand homes have been lost.

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

However I also wanted to personally make a shout out to phatemokid, who Twittered me and asked how I personally was going, and who donated to the Red Cross Bushfire appeal. Thankfully I can only see the smoke, not actual fire, living in suburbia as I do. But watching the news and knowing people in the region who may or may not be alive has been tough on many of us, and has often brought tears to our eyes.

So thank you to all those who have prayed for us, thought of us, and wished us well as you did at the end of yesterday's episode. It means the world to know that people across the planet are thinking of us.

Side note, I was bored and thought I'd trundle through the Buzz Wiki, and found that - if I remember my first (BOL) time correctly - I've been listening since episode 239, May 31, 2006. Needless to say, I love the show.

Cheers,
Joshua S. Hill

Let's be clear: we don't know how to cook a Mammoth. But Natali would like to know, because apparently she eats her pets. That is not true at all. But what is true is Google turned the whole Internet into malware this weekend. And that we can tell you why. And will. So listen in.

EPISODE 902

Google flags whole Internet as malware
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/31/google-flags-whole-internet-as-malware/
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/01/google-broke-the-internet-malware-detector-went-haywire.ars
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10153942-92.html

Gmail spam filters broken
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/this-mornings-spam-filter-issue.html

Senate passes second bill making the digital TV switch voluntary for broadcasters
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-senate-passes-second-bill-making-the-digital-tv-switch-voluntary-for-br/

Windows 7 less annoying, but also less secure?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10153817-56.html?
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F02%2F02%2F0119204

Helio Ocean 2 coming on Feb. 12
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/01/29/helio-ocean-2-coming-february-12th/
http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/helio-ocean-2/4505-6454_7-33507715.html

eSlick reader
http://www.gearlog.com/2009/01/esleek_ebook_reader_aims_to_un.php

Netflix hints at premium streaming channel
http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/02/netflix-hints-at-premium-streaming-channel.ars

Sirius for iPhone?
http://i.gizmodo.com/5142096/sirius-satellite-radio-iphone-app-could-come-within-a-week

Extinct Pyrenean ibex cloned
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F02%2F01%2F1657215

NASA offering free zero-gravity flights
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F31%2F0710235

Virgin offers up 25 million ‘Velocity Points’ to put you in space
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/25-million-virgin-frequent-flyer-points-nets-you-a-trip-to-space/

Google earth will see the ocean floor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/01/google-earth-oceans-project

VOICEMAIL
Lee
More bandwidth makes me paranoid

Alex from Buffalo
Russian Linux will help IT

E-MAIL
Hey.

I just wanted to make a correction to one emailer that was talking about Microsoft mesh and Sky drive. Skydive has 25gigs of storage but this will be upped as long as you are not abusing it. You can use Live Sync to sync your documents to skydive.

Mesh is a separate system (why I don't know). Mesh works in a better way it gives you a mesh "desktop" in the cloud. Any folder on your local machine that is change to a Mesh folder is then automatically synced to your mesh desktop. Your mesh desktop any file on your mesh desktop can then be viewed anywhere with an internet connection. The reason I think it better then live sync is it is automatic and you don't have to constantly go into a browser, but mesh is limited to 5gigs

I use skydive for storage of files that I won't be changing a lot. I use mesh for files that will need a lot of editing. Sorry for writing such a long email about this subject I just think it's a great free service.

Mark

**********

Hey Tom, Molly, Jason and Natalie,
Chris the former Snowmen Hunter here to say recently I was catching up on my Buzz when I heard the back and forth about the kilowatt laser jets and remembered an evil epiphany I had awhile back.

Since at least the 1970s, various satellites, space stations and planetary rovers have sported solar panels to take energy from the sun.

In 1998 NASA launched the Deep Space 1 probe, which sported the first in-service ion engine.
Here’s a link: http://nmp.nasa.gov/ds1/tech/sep.html

In 2004, the U.S. Airforce successfully tested it’s 747 based Airborne Laser, and this year has been cleared to test it’s ability to shoot down a missile.
Link: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/boeings-747-laser-canon/5351

Lastly, in 2004, Spaceship One became the first privately funded spacecraft to put a person in space.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites_SpaceShipOne

What do these technologies have in common? They all sport gear used by the Galactic Empire on their workhorse weapon of terror, the TIE Fighter. That’s right Buzztown. With enough money, we can now be the proud owner of a self-built TIE Fighter. The TIE stands for Twin Ion Engines for those of you who don’t speak Nerd.

Question is… if I’m realizing this, it’s only a matter of time before someone in the Twit Army realizes it. And can the listeners of NPR’s Science Friday be far behind?

Can we let Buzztown fall behind in the TIE Fighter gap? I think you know the answer.

Thanks,
Chris

Love the show… and always will as it remains un-fried by a Science Friday-backed TIE Fighter attack. Those NPR listeners aren’t as docile as they appear.

**********

Hey BOL,

according to the Apple’s documentation available for the iPhone Developers, the iPhone and the iPod Touch can recognize 5 fingers simultaneously touching the screen.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Love the show,
Dimitris,
(normally in Greece, right now in Sweden )

**********

The reason the DMCA applies to wowglider is that it uses it’s own client by reverse engineering the wow client and allowing scripts. The reason blizzard used legal means is because WoWglider sued blizzard for banning their users.

–
Feldar, Aegwynn

**********

Thanks for the shout out!
I worked out just how much whiskey needs to be used in order to make a 150Kw data centre to work.

Average ounce of whiskey is 64 calories.
With 40 ounces to the bottle that would be 2,569 calories.

2,569 Calories is equal to .002988 Watts

But in order to get to the Kilowatts you would need to take in 859,800 Calories AN HOUR.

That is equivalent to 21,495 bottles of whiskey per hour to equal 1 Kilowatt.

So, for the 150Kw data centre to work that would be 3.224 Million bottles of whiskey an hour.

Between Cooly and I, I think we could maybe light up a 15 Watt bulb… As long as he doesn't get distracted. But I am not feeling the love to save the earth on my own.

But throw in a sorority house, and I will be willing to give it a shot.
CrankyCanuck

On today's show, Brian Cooley announces that he's made the switch...I mean, the big switch. He bought an iPhone. The world briefly stopped rotating, and when it resumed, we laid down the smack on poor Jerry Yang, the Justice Department, the XM-Sirius merger, and subsequent channel flipping, and some poor guy who thought it was a good idea to call our show. Good times!

EPISODE 855

Yahoo's Jerry Yang to step down, as a search for new CEO commences
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081117/yahoos-jerry-yang-to-step-down-as-a-search-for-new-ceo-commences/
Jerry Yang's entire memo to his employees on stepping down as CEO
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081117/jerry-yangs-entire-memo-to-his-employees-on-stepping-down-as-ceo/

Yahoo’s ultimate search: A new CEO
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/cnet/20081118/tc_cnet/8301102331010077393

Intel’s 3.2GHz monster Nehalem roars onto the scene
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081118-intels-3-2ghz-monster-nehalem-roars-onto-the-scene.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10098484-1.html

Feds can locate cell phones without telcos
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/17/2218209

Expanding the cloud: Amazon CloudFront
http://www.allthingsdistributed.com/2008/11/amazon_cloudfront.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10100883-2.html

Sirius, XM subscribers revolt over merger-induced changes
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081118-sirius-xm-subscribers-revolt-over-merger-induced-changes.html

Magnatune — sharing-friendly, artist-friendly label — goes all-you-can-eat, no-strings-attached
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/18/magnatune-sharingfri.html

More “Vista Capable” e-mails unsealed, revealing sassy civil war
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/18/more-vista-capable-e-mails-unsealed-revealing-sassy-civil-war/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10097511-75.html

Google ‘Voice Search’ hands-on verdict: Awesome
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10100719-2.html

District Court halts keylogger sales
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10099123-83.html

Facebook app verification fee draws criticism
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/154099/facebook_app_verification_fee_draws_criticism.html

VOICEMAIL

Ned from Missouri: I call collusion!

E-MAIL

JaMoToNaCooTonRa...oh forget it.

I think it's funny when everyone laughs at President Bush's old e-mail address. In 2000, wasn't AOL the myspace/facebook of it's time? We've come a long way, to be sure, but that was then.

Cent me, 2 times!

Jason the curator.

**********

I’m surprised that Domino’s Pizza in the U.S. is only now catching up with Domino’s Pizza in the U.K. when it comes to couch potato ordering - Domino’s Pizza has been on Sky’s digital TV platform for the last several years (IIRC, since the beginning 7 years ago). And if you’d rather order your Domino’s Pizza from your laptop instead of your TV then just go to the Dominos Pizza website (http://www.dominos.co.uk/) which has also been running for years.

cheers

Scot in London

**********

On the topic of pollies and tech, and Web 2.0.

The Australian Prime Minister had joined Twitter. http://twitter.com/KevinRuddPM

It would even appear that Kevin himself is putting up some post (I am
skeptical as ever), but some posts are signed off by what would appear
to be his media department.

What is even crazier, they have been replying to questions and
comments. I would NEVER have expected to see this used as a two way
communications method.

LTS.

Cheers, Tim.

**********

I talk to one of the Phoenix mission managers today. I asked, “If by some mirical Phoenix powers back up after the winter would the mission continue?”

Apparently Phoenix cannot analyze any more soil. The equipment they use to test soil samples has exhausted. The camera and weather station may still work, but they would have to request more money from NASA to continue the mission. Then he told me they really don’t think phoenix will come back.

Why name it Phoenix if you’re going to let it die. Here’s keeping hope alive.

Love the Show
Roeurn (Ru-in
not Rerun:)

**********

This is Daniel, tech support from Memphis. Just writing in reference to episode 852 where another Daniel asked "WHY THE HELL WOULD SOMEONE REGISTER HOBOBOOK.COM?" ..sigh. Thank you Tom and Molly for sharing my vision for the online hobo community! You have inspiring me to do something with one of the domains I've been sitting on for a while: Hoboforums.com. Why hoboforums? I honestly can't remember, BUT now I am glad I actually have something to do with this domain! If you are wondering, yes, the site is exactly what you think it is.

Hoboforums, where transients meet technology.

We're still throwing around slogans.

LTS

Daniel Lewis

Several organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (aka EFF), sent public letters asking the broadcast networks and YouTube to ease up on the copyright takedown notices. Maybe this campaign season will help shed some light on the issues with the way the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is implemented... as long as it's fixed for all of us and not just politicians. We also get into Sony's new, harsh terms of service, as well as LaLa's move to put your music in the clouds.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 835

Groups asks YouTube, networks to cool it with political takedown notices
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10070635-38.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081020-fixing-dmca-takedown-problems-through-shaming-legal-reform.html

Sirius/XM: 15 *years* before they can merge their technologies? (Meanwhile, two satellite systems continue with wasteful overlap.)
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081020/FREE/810209989/1530/FREE

Big Brother is listening (and grabbing): Sony’s new PS3 ToS
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081020-big-brother-is-watching-and-listening-sonys-new-ps3-tos.html

Never mind the radiation: fear the cell phone’s nickel
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081021-never-mind-the-radiation-fear-the-cell-phones-nickel.html

Keyboard sniffers to steal data
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7681534.stm

Lala's spectacular new music service
http://technologizer.com/2008/10/20/lalas-spectacular-new-music-service/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10071094-93.html

Canadian pol: broadband not a luxury, but basic human right
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081020-canadian-pol-broadband-not-a-luxury-but-basic-human-right.html

Hardcore computer bringing oil submersion cooling to the masses
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/21/hardcore-computer-bringing-oil-submersion-cooling-to-the-masses/
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/20/1825211

Sony “looking into” PSP-3000 screen-interlacing problems
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/21/sony-looking-into-psp-3000-interlacing-problems/

Researchers discover the most creative time of day
http://idle.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/20/1652246

VOICEMAIL

Anonymous
What is all this fascination with what you’re doing?

E-MAIL
Hey Buzz Crew (and guest)
In regards to yesterdays episode, 834, about Little Big Planet, I’m not sure it was a mistake on the developers part to put the particular song, Tapha Niang, into the game. It’s a beautiful song and they may have just seen it as such. The musician is Toumani Diabate, who is Muslim. His music is widely available and I found the controversial song on iTunes. Will it be pulled from iTunes?

This is not the fist time that sacred Koran text has been injected into video games. In 1998 Zelda: Ocarina of Time; contained a musical track with Islamic phrases, but was pulled from later shipments by Nintendo. Zack & Wiki back in 2007 had Koran phrases removed. I think Call of Duty 4 had some stuff that was objectionable by Muslims, but it was removed as well.
Things might get lost in translation if developers use real-world ideologies and political/religious struggles and real-world places as part of their content. Zombies, aliens, and super-sonic hedgehogs tend not to be easily offended .
Luv da sho!

Vic the Video Game Artist

**********

Talk about in-the-wild, I saw a non Steve Woz segway rider in the wild this past weekend in NYC. I also saw him run over someone’s foot in a crosswalk and the victim shaking his fist and cussin’ in the wild, although sadly, the cussin’ and fist shakin’ is far from rare in NYC.

Love the show…

Charles from Conn.

**********

Hey there JaMoTo & Guest,
There’s no shortage of comments on BoL about Ohio’s uh, irregular voting system. And several months ago Molly put out a request for tech savvy Ohioans to volunteer their services. Well, last week I got the call from the board of elections accepting my request to help. So I’ll be a tech rover for a local (read: uber-rural) precinct troubleshooting voting machines and making sure that things go as smoothly as possible. Thank you for pointing that issue out (although strange to have my civic duty nudged by a West Coast tech podcast). Just wanted you to know that the BoL community is doing our part. Love the show.

Luke in Ohio

**********

Refereing to #830 and the MacBook video:
I'm several episodes back, AND I stopped in the middle of the episode to write this, so I apologize if it's already been established. Machine shops are dirty and greasy!
I visit many machine shops and even the cleanest ones (which are usually a Japanese run plant) are still greasy and dirty. I just watched the Mac video and nothing stood out as being filthy at all.

Cooley mentioned Intel or Asus factories being completely clean. Manufacturing of ICs is completely different then metal manufacturing factories. You HAVE to have grease and coolant in those types of environments. Otherwise all the equipment would rust and seize up. If Cooley's never seen a factory that looked like that, tell him to watch How It's Made on the science channel and look for a product that is manufactured from metal.

P.S. I've ONLY been in factories that look like the one in that video

Greg
NOVA

**********

I’m getting a little worn out by the MacBook Air hate, recalling a
recent nasty comment about the MBA being for “Starbucks posers,” or
something to that effect!…Me? Don’t love Starbucks, do love my
MBA. I’m a bike commuter and gave up a new MacBook for the MBA because
of the significant weight savings and a form factor that is very
comfortable on my back (it’s really smooth and rounded–that’s nice!).
So, it isn’t the very fastest computer, nor the one with the longest
battery life … does every new car have to be the fastest? Does every
new car have to have the best gas mileage (well, maybe these days)?

For a full size, beautiful-screened, full-function work computer with
a great OS that I *will* carry with me everywhere (vs. *have to
carry*) there doesn’t seem to be any competition. Not Netbooks, or
Windows laptops with vista on ‘em.

Granted, my MBA was not bought for full-price (Tom’s suspicion borne
out), but could have been: My company paid 1K for it; I paid the
balance, which worked out to 300 more bones. I might have paid the
balance on the full price, if necessary!

Hate the hatin’, love the show,

Dave in Palo Alto, Calif.

EPISODE 775

‘Hijacked’ SF passwords made public (Thanks Russ960!)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10000342-83.html

Hammer drops at last: FCC opposes Comcast P2P throttling
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080725-hammer-drops-at-last-fcc-opposes-comcast-p2p-throttling.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121720316961088595.html

Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10000379-2.html

AT&T threatens WiMax joint venture
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10000105-94.html

MPAA planning site to offer legit movie links
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080727-mpaa-planning-site-to-offer-legit-movie-links.html

Jobs entrusts a New York Times columnist with the truth about his health, even before he tells Apple shareholders
http://venturebeat.com/2008/07/28/jobs-entrusts-nyt-columnist-with-truth-about-his-health-before-apple-shareholders/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/business/26nocera.html

FCC approves Sirius-XM satellite radio merger
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10000241-94.html

VOICE MAIL

Anonymous
RIAA's nefarious plan.

Stewart
Why iPhone dock has changed.

E-MAIL
Hey Molly,

With your dislike of the iPhone’s missing features, and being a previous Treo user. What cell phone are you using? Just curious.

Dave
Rochester, N.Y.

I had my first run-in with the law regarding the hands free law that went into effect in California on July 1. I was driving in the afternoon last Thursday to pick up my wife from work. I had both my cell phone and Bluetooth headset. I was about 2 miles from my destination when I decided to call my wife to tell her that I was getting close. I brought my right hand to my ear to initiate the call through my Bluetooth headset when I changed my mind, figuring that 2 miles is a little too far to call her and that 1.5 miles would be better. The moment that I put my hand down from my ear, a police officer pulled me over. Evidently, the shear act of placing your hand to your ear is enough evidence to pull you over for possibly breaking the hands-free law.

Thanks for the great podcast!

Alfred

I’m sorry Buzz Crew, although I appreciate the podcast for it’s entertainment and it’s source of tech news, you guys completely botched this story.

Well actually,

What you guys forgot to mention was that he was making claims without reliable evidence, which means anything he says should be completely ignored, regardless of how many initials are in his name. Notice how he says that there is a risk, but all the evidence is conveniently unpublished (aka nonexistant). This guy is an alarmist quack.

If there is evidence that cell phones cause cancer, someone would be winning a Nobel Prize, because microwaves are non-ionizing and can’t break tissue according to our excellent understanding of electromagnetic radiation.

Considering that we talking about 2 watts or less (almost always less) of microwave radiation, there would have to be a library of bullproof, peer-reviewed, controlled studies before this idea is anywhere near scientific legitimacy.

Tony

You’ve talked now a few times about Terry Childs, the network tech who kept the admin passwords to himself and allegidly “boobytraped” his network so that it would fail during a planned power outage. With Cisco network gear, you can have different configs in “running” mode and in “start-up” mode. Running mode is what the router is currently using, while start-up mode is what the router will load and run after a reboot. Even with UPS backups, we all know power fails unexpectedly. Choosing to have configurations in running mode while not in start-up mode on purpose is only for nefarious intent.

Then, to add a dollop of creepy to this guy’s story, here’s a clip from Info Week : “Childs’ troubles with the technology department started to snowball June 20 when he followed and took photographs of the agency’s new head of security after she began an audit of who had password access to the system, authorities said.” (http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209600496)

By any standard, this guy should not be considered a “good” sysadmin.

Signed,
Michael the Intel Project Manager

I'm a physicist who has worked in two different labs specializing in low temperature solid-state physics research. In both cases we had a piece of equipment that could reach 1.9K with ease, and you can have one too! It's available from Quantum Design, a company in San Diego, starting at a little less than $100,000. You'll probably have to spend a bit more to get the necessary options added on, but I wouldn't expect it to cost more than about $150,000. In fact, in the first lab I worked in, we were able to reach 0.35K using one of their add-ons. Anyway, I thought that Buzz Town might be interested in purchasing one...for what reason I'm not sure. You can find out more at http://www.qdusa.com/products/ppms.html

Enjoy!
Nathan
Murfreesboro, Tenn. (near Nashville)

EPISODE 716

Microsoft leans toward a hostile bid
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120966628366460063.html

Xbox 360 Blu-ray console shipping by September?
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/02/ xbox-360-blu-ray-console-by-september/

Researchers design “malicious circuits,” warn of potential risk
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/ researchers-design-malicious-circuits-warn-of-potential-risk/

Popcorn Hour’s A-100 HD media streamer publicly available for pre-order
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/02/ popcorn-hours-a-100-hd-media-streamer-publicly-available-for-pr/

Key House reps ask FCC for “openness” in XM/Sirius merger
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080502-key-house-reps-ask-fcc-for-openness-in-xmsirius-merger.html

New study debunks myth that most tech entrepreneurs are college kids (Thanks, alfrench!)
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2958/ new-study-debunks-myth-that-most-tech-entrepreneurs-are-college-kids

Pro IP act passed (Thanks, Mark!)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080430-pro-ip-act-passes-in-the-house.html

The ‘Hard Disk Crusher’ doesn’t mess around
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9934113-1.html

Study: Keyboards make excellent homes for nasty bacteria
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080501-study-keyboards-make-excellent-homes-for-nasty-bacteria.html

Retro sabotage!
http://www.retrosabotage.com/

VOICE MAIL

Chris the podcaster
A draft movement has started.

Adam from Salt Lake City Utah
Remember that Microsoft spy program for free software?

Anonymous
About the ad.

Anonymous welcome
But some people had this response

E-MAIL

I can get expelled for what?!

Molly, Tom, and Jason,

In my English class we have to write a research report on WWII. Well, part of my report is in a Word file on the computers at school. Normally, if I wanted to take this file home, I’d use a USB flash drive, but I left mine at home. Also, my school blocked all web-based e-mail. So I thought I’d upload the file to my server via a totally safe, online FTP client. When I went into the library and sat down at a computer, the librarian, who has a reputation for not being very nice, asked me what I was doing: as if it were any of her business. I told her I was sending myself a file, and she completely flipped out. She started yelling at me as if I didn’t know what I was doing and she even told me this:

“If you do that, you can be expelled.”

This made me very mad, and made me realize something: the sad school staff know nothing about computers.

I’m acquiring my school’s IT director’s e-mail address as I type this.

Best regards,
Dylan from Missouri

***********************

Oscar Mayer? Crap?

I no sooner get an e-mail referenced on Wednesday’s BOL (yeah, me!) when Tom lays into the company that has employed me for 18-plus years.
Oscar Mayer crap!?! Our hot dog products contain nothing but quality meats--mostly turkey for wieners and all beef for beef franks. If I was in Marketing I would be greatly offended.

Sure, other brands--Nathan’s, Hebrew National, and Sabrett to name a few--make a good beef dog, but I’d stack ours up against any of them in a blind taste test.

The crap category would include Bar S (never more than $0.99) and all store brands. As with most other products, you get what you pay for.

I know! You’re all getting wiener whistles and whatever other trinkets I can scrounge. I probably don’t have enough clout for a wienermobile ride, so don’t ask.

Hot dog preferences aside, still love the show.

Patrick Schommer
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

**********************

Memristors

Hey my favorite monarchical triumvirate,

OK, so there was the big stink about getting passwords and such off a PC by stealing it off the RAM, before it dissipated…within such a short period, using a USB drive, etc.

Now, with memristors, just rip the whole pc outta the wall and run. Can turn it on later and boot right where you left off? All accounts still logged in, etc…. Hmmm. There should at least be an option to boot down and wipe the memory so it will clean-boot, just in case, and would likely be a company requirement in a lot of places. I think that would cause security issues out the wazoo.

Erick from Colorado Springs

**********************

BOL mayor job voting question

I guess I am a little confused about this whole BOL mayor thing.

We have a diplomat who likes to restate things in a more polite fashion, and interjects new topics into the conversation (Tom). We have a sheriff, (Molly) who talks tough, calls it like she see it, and is rumored to carry a shotgun.
And then we have Jason, who acts more like a city administrator, pushing buttons, playing recordings, and publishing the podcast, all without much credit.

We even have a cranky old guy next door who loves cats and hates Europeans, (Rafe) as well as a house full of kids across the street who talk funny, play loud music all the time, and hold parties on the lawn (the 404 podcast).

But this mayor thing confuses me: who chooses, who votes, and how? Is this like Chicago, can I vote more than once?

Keep up the good work,

David
Living in the 4th ward of Buzztown, down by the bacon plant.

P.S. Who do I talk to about getting a key to the city?

*****************************
BOL Meetup screenshots

Hey guys,

As you requested, I sent the screenshots of the meetup last night.
In case the attachment is too big, here is the Flickr URL:
http://flickr.com/photos/22103105@N03/sets/72157604833054156/

I also cropped some of the better shots, you can place them in the show notes if you want.

Thanks,
Jacob from Brooklyn
AKA jacobshm (twitter and other stuff)

EPISODE 688

Netflix glitch to delay deliveries
http://www.news.com/newsblog/8301-10784_3-9902294-7.html

XM, Sirius move closer to improbable merger
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120638514923860085.html
http://www.imakenews.com/alirafat/ index000030699.cfm#entry_321330

Clear Channel wants the FCC to force XM-Sirius to obey indecency laws
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/25/ clear-channel-wants-the-fcc-to-force-xm-sirius-to-obey-indecen/

Citigroup says Microsoft likely to raise Yahoo offer
http://www.news.com/ Citigroup-says-Microsoft-likely-to-raise-Yahoo-offer/2100-1014_3-6235494.html

Sony BMG launching (DRM-free?) subscription music service this year
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/25/ sony-bmg-launching-drm-free-subscription-music-service-this-y/
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/ 419-sonybmg-ceo-planning-a-subscription-music-service/

Elvis Costello skips the CD
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13526_1-9902587-27.html

Security lapse exposes Facebook photos
http://ap.google.com/article/ ALeqM5ijANq3fmx9AZNNrf7Q1PwCN1cKUAD8VK51UG1

Yahoo, Google, MySpace form non-profit OpenSocial Foundation
http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9902585-36.html

Windows Live teams up with social networks for contact portability
http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9902225-36.html
http://dev.live.com/blogs/devlive/archive/2008/03/25/237.aspx

Red Sox fans freak over DirecTV outage
http://www.news.com/newsblog/8301-10784_3-9902581-7.html

Google backs ‘white space’ Wi-Fi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7312243.stm
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2159

Vista SP1 customers get free support
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/03/25/ microsoft_vista_sp1_free_support/

Business center: Forrester: AJAX-powered Web apps disappoint
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/143794/ forrester_ajaxpowered_web_apps_disappoint_.html

LiveBook: Book written by the Facebook, Bebo communities
http://www.thelivebook.com/

VOICE MAIL

Michael
A call about the FBI story.

Anonymous Boston
TiVo Hater.

JB Alabama
Hey I have an idea?

E-MAIL

WiMax hope from Waco, Texas

Hey Buzz crew, while listening to show 687 I was shocked to hear that Garth Freeman said that he was giving up on WiMax. I have had Clearwire now for two year and it works great for me! When I was looking at houses last year I even drove around town using it to look up houses and directions and I have not experienced any real issues with my service. It has always worked for me so Tom don’t lose your hope quite yet.
Branden
Waco, TX

More from the Nielsen Guy

I’ve written and called a few times in the past, but I think they were nonNielsen items.

I don’t know anything about capturing viewing in Bars, but there is an extended household sample that keeps tracks of college students in dorms and the like.

The project Molly was thinking of was the Portable People Meter, which was a joint venture with Arbitron. Participants carried a pager sized meter that picked up on a coded audio signal in TV and Radio broadcasts. There may have been a GPS element as well but I can’t remember. As far as I know the test project ended a few months back, and I am not sure if there will be any other work with that tech. That isn’t my department. There is an iPod meter being tested somewhere, but again I don’t deal with that aspect of the biz.

Dave the Nielsen guy