Laptops roasting it's an open fire 
Acrid fumes assail your nose 
Melting chips smell like burning tires 
and Techs dressed in asbestos clothes
Everybody knows short circuits in a battery
Help to make the office bright 
End users with their cubes all aglow 
Will find it hard to work tonight
They know a recall's on its way 
Before the desk is charcoaled in a blaze 
And every engineer is gonna spy 
To see if laptops really know how to fry
And so I'm remembering this simple phrase 
like geeks from one to ninety two 
Although we dread it many times many ways 
Yeah, we're getting a Dell, Dude!

The only attribution on the e-mail I received is somebody named "Grant."

Tags: linux, samba, ubuntu

Lightweight, this high-tech device fits on your index finger for hands-free scanning. Socket Communications’ Cordless Ring Scanner (CRS) 9P is the first of its kind. Using an exclusive Liquidmetal housing for extreme durability, the CRS combines the power of laser barcode scanning with the convenience of Bluetooth wireless technology to provide a hands-free solution that makes scanning as simple as pointing a finger.

Acme Systems is shipping a Penguin-shaped case for a tiny SBC (single-board computer) powered by an innovative MCM (multi-chip module) that runs Linux. The 6.7-inch tall, 30-Euro "Tux Case" houses the company's "Acme Fox," a 2.6 x 2.8-inch, 100-Euro, RISC-based board with Ethernet and dual-USB interfaces, and surface-mount connectors for other I/O.

Looks like it would cost $214 to build a working computer. Here's more info...

Security Gets the RFID Treatment
Color me conflicted at yesterday's news that Cincinnati security firm CityWatcher.Com had two of its security guards implanted with radio frequency identification devices, otherwise known as RFID. These plastic "tags," as they have become known, broadcast data using radio signals, making it possible to track almost anything wirelessly.

Turn your comments into conversations, no blog needed, just participate!

Last year at Spread Firefox we launched community marketing into the mainstream with written testimonials. This year we're taking it "live" with video testimonials and ads.

Google Inc. on Wednesday launched a search engine in China that censors material about human rights, Tibet and other topics sensitive to Beijing, but it defended the move as a trade-off that grants Chinese greater access to other information.

Google is being very consistent. They're doing what's best for business. If they want to be able to sell ads in China, then they have to agree to the government's terms. In both the United States and China, Google is playing by the rules.

1. The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy
   
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four
   
3. Brave New World
   
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
   
5. Neuromancer
   

I've read 2 of the top five, and only 8 of the top 20. Cryptonomicon is on my list of personal favorites. I've read just about everything in the Dune universe. Heinlein is one of my favorite authors. I've never read H2G2, but I didn't like the movie.

What does all that say about my "geek quotient?"

TailRank
What's TailRank? TailRank is a weblog indexing zeitgeist site which finds hot news. Instead of reading hundreds of thousands of blogs manually to find cool stories you can just use TailRank! Members can also tag stories they find interesting.

Speculation is mounting that Google will this week unveil a no-frills personal computer costing as little as $200.

mod_rewrite, a beginner's guide
Until recently, I only had the vaguest of ideas of what mod_rewrite was, and I certainly had no clue about how to use it. So, when I started designing this site, I decided to delve into the wonders that are the mod_rewrite Apache module.