Uh Oh!
How long do CD-Rs last? Not long, says IBM's Kurt Gerecke. Two years on average—five, if you keep it in a cool dark place. <I>Phew</I> that's where I keep mine . . . wait a minute, I just remembered I don't.
Wes Phillips
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Cheetah Crashes
"More common than you'd think," says <I>National Geographic</I>. Makes sense—they can run 60mph over broken ground and, if Huckleberry is anything to judge by, a cat in full jetpack mode pays scant heed to obstructions—even walls.
The Sky is Falling
<I>Digital Music For the Future</I> says so, asking, "is the record industry ready to face the music?" Interesting essay—and one that says , "the record industry is stuck in a time warp, always several years behind. That would mean 2006 is the new 1999. The Internet boom and music sales have reached their climax, anything is possible, and the digital entertainment world was ready for something to pop."
Are Engineers the Product of Nature or Nurture?
Neither, a new article at <I>EE Times</I> suggests: There might be an engineering gene—and the University of Minnesota has the MRIs to prove it.
Watching the Electrons Flow
Japanese physicists have built a bi-directional single-electron ammeter that can detect individual electrons flowing either forwards or backwards. Practical applications might include nanoelectronics, calibration devices, quantum computation, and biology. That banging noise you hear is John Atkinson in Sioux Falls pounding his head against the desk, muttering "Want one!"
This One's For Jeff
Half the time when I'm talking about music with my friend Jeff Wong, mention of some album will elicit the response, "I got turned on that when Elvis Costello covered/mentioned that." Okay Jeff, here are 500 records recommended by EC—how many do you know?
DRM Debate in the WSJ
<I>The Wall Street Journal</I> ran a DRM debate between the MPAA's Fred Attaway and Brooklyn Law School's Wendy Seltzer that is a thing of beauty. Attaway calls DRM "the key to consumer choice."
CEA Calls RIAA On Its BS
The EFF's Fred von Lohmann posts about the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) new ad reminding Congress that the RIAA;s (and MPAA's) high dudgeon over copying is nothing new—and that such hysteria has been historically short sighted.
Top of the Pops: RIP
The Beeb is canceling <I>Top of the Pops</I>. Not that I ever watched it, but it's one of those things like the Grand Canyon that always seemed like it was eternal.
I Love My Job!
Friends like John Marks actually send me stuff like this John Derbyshire <I>National Review</I> book review of Nicholas Wade's <I>Before the Dawn</I>. Derbyshire's essay is argumentative and intriguing—the very qualities that Wade seems to have mastered in his book.