Dvorak News Blog

Cranky Geeks — Episode #214

By hhopper Thursday April 15, 2010

2 Comments

Today’s Guests:
Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank
Cade Metz, U.S. Editor, The Register
Rafe Needleman, Editor, CNET’s Webware

The Topics:
iPhone OS SDK Irks Developers
The Adobe/Apple Dust-up
FCC Won’t Back Away From Net Neutrality
Has Apple Trounced Microsoft With the iPad?
IBM Exec Denies Open Source Sellout

Download this Episode:
iPod/iPhone/PSP: 111MB
Quicktime H.264: 137MB
Windows Media Player: 133MB
Mobile 3GP: 38MB
MP3 (Audio Only): 14MB

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Hire Dominic the Evil Clown to Scare the Crap Out of Your Kid for His Birthday

By Uncle Dave Thursday April 15, 2010

9 Comments

Need a band, too, for the little one’s party? Obvious choice is the Insane Clown Posse!

Dominic Deville stalks young victims for a week, sending chilling texts, making prank phone calls and setting traps in letterboxes. He posts notes warning children they are being watched, telling them they will be attacked.

But Deville is not an escaped lunatic or some demonic monster. He is a birthday treat, hired by mum and dad, and the ‘attack’ involves being splatted in the face with a cake.

‘The child feels more and more that it is being pursued,’ said Deville. ‘The clown’s one and only aim is to smash a cake into the face of his victim, when they least expect it, during the course of seven days.’

If the boy or girl manages to avoid the ‘hit’, they are given the cake as a birthday present. Well, that’s alright then. The frightening fun can be stopped at any time, which is handy for parents who have second thoughts and don’t fancy the cost of child therapy.
[…]
Deville set up his Evil Clown service in Lucerne, Switzerland, after being inspired by some of his favourite horror films – possibly including Stephen King’s It and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

The idea is unlikely to be popular with sufferers of coulrophobia – the irrational (irrational?) fear of clowns.

President Bush Addresses Nation on Economic Crisis

By Marc Perkel Thursday April 15, 2010

76 Comments

In response to the Tea Party protests and in honor of the taxpayer, let us remember where this all started.

Video – Ash Cloud from Iceland Volcano is Shutting Down Aiports in the U.K.

By Gasparrini Thursday April 15, 2010

10 Comments

Damn, and the weather was improving. :(

Video – Skydiver Stunt

By Gasparrini Thursday April 15, 2010

28 Comments

Skydiver hops from one glider to another while in flight. Quite impressive.

Video – Cats Love The iPad. Dogs? Not So Much

By Gasparrini Thursday April 15, 2010

13 Comments

This reminds me of the Terminator movies, where dogs would bark everytime one of the cyborgs was near…
See the cat testing the iPad.

Video – The O’Reilly Factor Tries to Ambush Al Gore

By Gasparrini Thursday April 15, 2010

36 Comments

Al Gore refuses to answer any questions about climate change. At least you can say that he’s consistent.

A Short History of DRM

By honeyman Wednesday April 14, 2010

20 Comments

“As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software. Hardware must be paid for, but software is something to share. Who cares if the people who worked on it get paid? Is this fair?” That’s Bill Gates, ranting about software piracy. He wasn’t complaining about the proliferation of dodgy copies of Windows 7 flying about in the torrentsphere, however.

No, this is from an open letter written in 1976, back when Microsoft was still Micro-Soft, directed at anyone using a stolen copy of Altair BASIC. The fact that Altair BASIC came on a reel of analogue paper tape clearly illustrates that the entire history of commercial software can be seen as an ongoing technological war between those selling the code and those determined to take it for free.

Today it’s Ubisoft in the firing line, its decision to force players to remain online at all times in order to validate their software attracting criticism and anger, especially when server problems have prevented gamers from even loading legitimately owned software.

So many memories. I’d almost forgotten about the Sinclair Spectrum with its rubber keyboard and massive 48k RAM.

DH Unplugged Number 60
The Market is Rocketing!

By John C Dvorak Wednesday April 14, 2010

2 Comments

Here is the latest conversation I had with money manager Andrew Horowitz…. new insights for anyone who invests in anything. This week we tell why the market has come to life. How far will it go?

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Apple to be Sued by Adobe!!

By John C Dvorak Wednesday April 14, 2010

11 Comments

Rootkit infected PC’s will not get MSFT updates. It’s about time!!
Intel moves Android to Atom. Why does Intel have to do it?
Google pushing mobile mobile mobile. This leads me to a theory.
Apple complains about too may iPads sold.
Obama has beef with NASA. Neil Armstrong now involved.
Google to index old Twitter crapola.
Ever heard of restraint of trade? Apparently Apple has not.

Show presented by e-Harmony. Get a date.
Go to www.eharmony.com
and use the code EHTECH for a great discount.

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Democrats win first post health care bill election

By Marc Perkel Wednesday April 14, 2010

37 Comments

For all of you who think the Republicans are going to win big this fall, this article says maybe not! Probably won’t see much media coverage because it was a Democrat who won.

Ted Deutch Beats GOP Challenger Who Staged Special Election Campaign as Referendum on Obama, Health Care Reform.

(AP) Republican backlash over President Obama’s health care overhaul had little effect in the nation’s first U.S. House race of 2010.

Florida Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch handily won Tuesday’s special election to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler after his underdog GOP opponent attempted to make the contest a referendum on the massive health care bill.

“We’ve heard for months that tonight … is a referendum on health care, it’s a referendum on the (Obama) administration, it’s a referendum on what direction this country is going,” Deutch told supporters. “Let me tell you something, what we learned today is that in Broward County and Palm Beach County, Florida, the Democratic Party is alive and well.”

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Deutch, an attorney, had 62 percent of the vote compared to 35 percent for Republican Ed Lynch. No-party candidate Jim McCormick trailed far behind with just 3 percent.

Lynch, a 44-year-old West Palm Beach contractor, sought to make the race a statement on the health care bill in District 19, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. About 40 percent of voters are senior citizens. But Lynch had a tough task. Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1 – 234,000 to about 111,000.

“Obviously, it’s not the results that we wanted,” Lynch said.

Cat discovers the iPad

By Eideard Wednesday April 14, 2010

20 Comments

Thanks, Cinaedh

Obama’s ‘Safe Schools’ Czar Sees Transgender Plans For Schools Within Reach

By KD Martin Tuesday April 13, 2010

20 Comments

Kevin Jennings Courtesy Asterisk

What do kindergartners know of transsexuals?

The Maine Human Rights Commission is backing away from controversial plans to issue new guidelines for how schools should accommodate transgender students. President Obama’s ‘safe schools’ czar, Kevin Jennings, sees his transgender plans for public and private schools within reach in a move developing in the state of Maine.

Commission members decided Monday to cancel a public hearing on the issue and to shelve, at least temporarily, work on a guidance document called “Sexual Orientation in Schools and Colleges.”

The proposed guidelines have sparked a heated debate over what steps, if any, schools should take to accommodate students who identify with the opposite gender rather than with their biological sex. The issue becomes particularly thorny when dealing with questions over transgender students’ use of locker rooms and bathrooms and ability to play on athletics teams.

Among the draft advisory’s recommendations are that transgender students be allowed to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of the gender with which they identify.

“I certainly would hope that the commission continues to consider the issue because it is clear that guidance is needed for the schools,” said Jennifer Levi, director of the transgender rights project at Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

GLAD, which is a New England-based legal organization focused on discrimination issues, has argued that it is important for the commission to hear from experts and teachers on the educational needs of transgender students.

Sec. Jennings has been a prominent advocate for LGBT teens, founding the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in 1990.

Courtesy The Bangor Daily News