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The Associated Press: EPA study finds toxic chemicals in fish widespread

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:26:53 -0800

From the page: "Nearly half of lakes and reservoirs nationwide contain fish with potentially harmful levels of the toxic metal mercury, according to a federal study released Tuesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency found mercury �" a pollutant primarily released from coal-fired power plants �" and polychlorinated biphenyls in all fish samples it collected from 500 lakes and reservoirs from 2000-2003. At 49 percent of those lakes and reservoirs, mercury concentrations exceeded levels that the EPA says are safe for people eating average amounts of fish.

Mercury consumed by eating fish can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities in developing fetuses and young children."

IMO Meteor Shower Calendar 2009 | International Meteor Organization

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:49:16 -0800

From the page: 2009 International Meteor Organization (IMO) Meteor Shower Calendar. Of the more active annual showers, the Quadrantids, Lyrids, Î·- and Southern Î´-Aquariids, Orionids, Leonids and Geminids are best placed with regards the Moon, along with the occasionally stronger Ursids in December.

New Jersey servicemembers from four wars talk about Veterans Day | New Jersey Real-Time News - - NJ.com

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:02:55 -0800

From the page: "Today is Veterans Day, a celebration first commemorating the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, when an armistice brought an end to World War I. In 1954, Congress mandated the holiday honor all veterans. Veterans Day, a federal holiday, celebrates the servicemembers who survived their experiences in war. We spoke with four veterans from four wars about its significance, as well as their identification as a veteran of an American foreign war."

Rupert Murdoch: for whom the net tolls | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:57:55 -0800

From the page: "Rupert Murdoch wants to remake the web as a toll both, with him in the collector's seat, but the net won't shift to his will"

Toll booths, blocking 'parasite' search engines and abolishing 'fair use' are his goals!?!

Well, I have just cancelled my MySpace account citing the above reasons for my cancellation.

MacBook - The Best Travel Gadgets of 2009 - TIME

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:45:57 -0800

From the page: Apple recently updated its baseline 13-in. MacBook with a unibody polycarbonate shell for added strength and style. Inside, an efficient LED-backlit screen helps lift battery life to seven hours and provides instant full-screen brightness the moment you turn it on.

iPod Touch bestowed Editors Choice award | Crave - CNET

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:43:16 -0800

From the page: "In news that shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who's perused our Holiday Gift guide, sampled our list of top MP3 players, or remembers what happened to last year's iPod Touch, the third-generation iPod Touch now proudly bears the CNET Editors' Choice badge. "

Windows 7 Workaround Does Not Allow for Multiple Installs with One Product Key - SuperSite Blog

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:42:38 -0800

From the page: "In the wake of Microsoft's illogical and wrong-headed attack on the so-called Windows 7 installation "hack"--really just a workaround designed to let legitimate Windows customers upgrade their activated copies of XP or Vista to Windows 7 in the manner they prefer--I've started wondering why Microsoft reacted so strongly. After all, their central argument is completely bogus: Most people out there already qualify for Upgrade pricing. And those who really do wish to just save money (by not paying for more expensive Full media) will simply buy OEM media, which costs less than Upgrade media. So it's not about money. Why bother? Why even bring attention to this, especially in such an idiotic, anti-customer fashion?"

A Bit of Backpedaling and an Apology from Microsoft - SuperSite Blog

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:41:34 -0800

From the page: "In a very long-winded post, Microsoft's Eric Ligman (he of the "you are probably a pirate" post) does some furious backpedalling from his previous position on doing clean installs with Windows 7 Upgrade media. That is, where he previously came off very strong about how people doing this could be pirates ("technically possible" does not always mean legal), he's apparently woken up to the fact that many of Microsoft's customers agree with me. ("technically possible" does not always mean illegal. In fact, in this case, it almost always means legal.) The issue here isn't just semantic. This is very much about how Microsoft communicates with his customers, and while Ligman tries to make the case that Microsoft cares very much about it's customers, this little episode is telling them otherwise. Sorry, Eric. There's a lot of ill will for you to get over now."

Talking Windows 7 Upgrade Media with Microsoft - SuperSite Blog

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:33:30 -0800

From the page: "So I had an in-person discussion yesterday with Microsoft about how its Windows 7 Upgrade media does (or does not) work. I'm going to update my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article to include this information, but I wanted to communicate it to you as quickly as possible. So here are some data points to consider..."

Very good article. And some great takeaways.

Microsofts Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool Uses Open Source Code - SuperSite Blog

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:32:51 -0800

From the page: "And apparently does so illegally. Rafael has written up a great post, with a side-by-side code comparison, about how Microsoft's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool uses code that was obviously taken directly from open source code that is licensed under the GPL."

uh, oh. That was not a wise move for even a huge company like Microsoft.