A robotic stalker, how to bypass long Windows boot ups, a questionable new Amazon service, OpenSource Lego Robots, continued Apple Leopard problems, a $199 computer, and more …Robot Stalks on Second Life
A software bot that masquerades as an ill-mannered human user within the popular virtual world Second Life is being used by UK researchers to investigate the psychology of its inhabitants. The bot starts a conversation with human users and deliberately invades their personal space to see how they will react.The software, dubbed “SL-bot”, was created by Doron Friedman, Anthony Steed and Mel Slater at University College London, UK, who are interested in comparing the way people act inside a virtual world with real-life human behaviour.[source]
Bypass Boot Up
Phoenix Technologies, makers of such things as Phoenix Bios (your computer probably uses it) has a new technology that allows devices to ope up running your favorite software without actulally starting the Windows system.There’s absolutely no reason you should be waiting the three-plus minutes it takes your computer to boot up Windows, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies. And indeed, if Hobbs has his way, you may not have to endure those waits much longer.Phoenix says its new technology, HyperSpace, will offer mobile PC users the ability to instantly fire up their most used apps — things like e-mail, web browsers and various media players — without using Windows, simply by pressing the F4 button.”As Windows gets more and more complex, we’ve seen startup times get longer and longer,” says Hobbs. “If I go to the airport and try to connect to a Wi-Fi network, I’m waiting for five minutes just to connect. That’s ridiculous — people usually just give up and use their cell phones or PDAs.”[source]
Of course, something like this is already available in Linux, I’m pretty sure…Amazon’s “Mechanical Turk…”A questionable name for a product, because if I understand correctly, the phrase “Mechanical Turk” comes from a fairly racist and Euro-centric context. It is like calling a new Vacume Cleaner a “Prissy-sweeper” (in reference to the maid in Gone with the Wind… Hey, I thought of much more offensive references but I’m not going to use them).Anyway, this service lets you either hire someone for almost no money at all to do something simple and rote but that can’t easily be done by software (like, for instance, blogging) or you can be the person who gets hired. Here is the link if you are ready to start working now…Get Your Open Source Lego-like Computer Now!
A New York-based startup is readying a modular, open source hardware/software system resembling a set of electronic Legos. Bug Labs claims device developers can build “anything” using “Bug,” which comprises an ARM11-powered base and various modular add-ons.[source]
Leopard Users Take Note:
Leopard’s Finder has a glaring bug in its directory-moving code, leading to horrendous data loss if a destination volume disappears while a move operation is in action. I first came across it when Samba crashed while I was moving a directory from my desktop over to a Samba mount on my FreeBSD server.[source]
The 199 dollar computer:
Wal-Mart Sells $199 Linux Computer from PhysOrg.com
(AP) — Linux, the free operating system that’s a perpetual underdog in the desktop market, will get another chance this holiday season at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.[…]
And more…
Wikipedia wins landmark privacy lawsuit in France from PhysOrg.com
A French court has ruled that Wikipedia could not be held responsible for content posted by its users in a landmark ruling for the Internet giant, officials said Friday.[…]
Robot Suit May Help You Achieve a Perfect Golf Swing from PhysOrg.com
Researchers have developed a vibrotactile feedback suit to help individuals learn new motor skills more quickly and accurately than by mimicking human teachers alone. Besides golf, dance and sports training, the suit may also be useful for individuals undergoing motor rehabilitation after neurological damage, as well as for posture improvement.[…]
An Interview with Linus Torvalds is here.
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