CDs Want To Be Free [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

Holy cow. This is huge. CD's for $4.95 (which covers the shipping and handling) and you can listen to them ahead of time, online. Interview with the president of the company here.

5:06:49 PM    

Microsoft Gets Defensive About Open Source Software. According to a report in The Washington Post, Microsoft is "aggressively" trying to convince the Pentagon to abandon its use of freely distributed software, claiming open source software threatens Department of Defense security. [Internet Product News]

Which is interesting given that just the other day they were testifying that Windows is so full of holes that releasing the source code could get people killed. Please make up your minds there folks, OK?

1:33:12 PM    

Killer power windows. Safety advocates say car devices pose strangulation risk for young children. [USA Today : Front Page]

While I have no children of my own, I've watched my friends and family with their kids for years. From watching them I've learned a couple of things:

1. You watch your kids like a hawk, and do not leave them unattended in a potentially dangerous place.
2. When you are tired and stressed out, please see number one.
3. Teach your kids to be careful around anything that is bigger than them.
4. See number one.
5. There is such a thing as kids being too quiet.

While I am all for making things safer for kids, my generation (Gen X) and those that preceeded us (the rest of the march of human history) got by OK without what I call the "Nerfing" of the world. I am not saying that we should do away with handrails, and grounded outlets and airbags, but rather that life requires a certain amount of vigilance, as well as common sense in order to make sure that we survive as long as possible.

1:23:12 PM    

PVR thought: While I may not be watching the commercials, I am recording them, and they are taking up storage space on my PVR. So I am archiving, for free, a broadcast quality version of the commercials that are funding my programs.

A dedicated server with 30 gigs of storage would cost me $250 a month from Pair networks, and a Tivo Generation 2 can store up to 60 hours of programming. Given that there is only about 40 minutes of actual broadcast in each hour of TV, that works out to 1/3 of my storage space being forked over for commercials. Since I can't delete them, I'd have to delete the whole show, I'm still paying for the priveledge of skipping commercials with my lost storage space.

9:35:19 AM