Technology

Hackers (Crackers, system intruders) - These are people who attempt to penetrate security systems on remote computers. This is the new sense of the term, whereas the old sense of the term simply referred to a person who was capable of creating hacks, or elegant, unusual, and unexpected uses of technology.

Here’s a hack that will put most elevators in a hidden “Express” mode that bypasses all the floors and sends you right to the lobby. Love it!

What's the coolest thing you can buy at Wal-Mart? It could be this RC airplane with built-in DIGITAL CAMERA how cool is that. You take pictures from the plane by pressing a button on the remote. It's perfect for gadget geeks who already have everything else, nosy kids, paparazzi and landscape photographers.

Link here...

Arduino Workshop
London (Paddington Art)
25 November 2005

The idea of an open-source hardware might sound strange, but that is exactly the intention of Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles and David Mellis. The designers/programmers/mathemathicians (the list keeps going) wanted something simple but that could handle complex needs of new media creators and help in educational purposes. All of them where present in the London workshop, making it clear that the Arduino Klan was diverse, intense and, yes, fun.

The renewable, vegetable oil-based fuel can be used in conventional diesel engines, which are found in about 2 percent of cars currently sold in the U.S. and in about 40 percent in Europe. Any vegetable oil can become fuel, but not until its fatty acids are converted to chemical compounds known as esters.

The breakthrough could provide cost savings on a massive scale, because the technique could fairly easily make the transition from the lab to the refinery—if interest warrants.
More here

A partnership between London-based sustainable development firm Kolam and Singapore-based networking expert Nex-G Systems has yielded a solar-powered WiFi router/WiMax router/surveillance cam that can be situated atop a streetlight (which is also solar-powered).

The access point by StarSight uses a high gain omni antenna and a high gain parabolic antenna to provide access/security to both developed and developing regions; it is already in use in Cameroon, with plans for deployment to India, China, and Morocco.
Link

Nothing shapes our understanding and presception of how a computer works more than the metaphors that are being used in the graphical user interface (GUI).

Mozilla is preparing to use an "open source marketing" drive online to promote the next generation of Firefox, its free web browser.

"Evening Of The Reanimated Corpses is small 10 minute indie film done for a 'Mass Media' class and is going to be released under Perry Como Productions (a twilight zone reference). The film is a traditional zombie film and aims to have a heavy George Romero influence. Its releasy is planned for very early 2006. [...]