News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Regular readers of Chad’s News know that I use and recommend the Firefox browser. BusinessWeek has an interesting article about Firefox and its parent company Mozilla, giving a bit of background as well as future expectations. Make the switch today—it’s worth it.
Ever wondered what is meant by first/second cousin, or “once removed”? Wikipedia has an explanation, along with a chart, that makes it simple. The Neatorama link also includes great/grand aunt/uncle.
The linked article gives instructions on how to electrolytically remove rust from metal objects. The emphasis in the article is on hand tools, but the process will work on pretty much anything made out of ferrous metal, provided it can fit into a 5-gallon bucket. Apparently this method works quite well.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has formally defined what is and what is not a planet, and Pluto lost out. We now have 8 planets and 4 “dwarf planets” (of which Pluto is one). But only a small number of the IAU’s members actually voted, and there is a backlash in the works.
This site has a few jigsaw puzzles where the image is a moving video. It’s fun. You’ll need to have Macromedia Shockwave Player installed in order for it to work.
Hackers are using their skills to steal login information for online role-playing games. They subsequently sell the players’ items/gold for real money.
http://today.reuters.com/…
(thanks to Josh)
The Register has an interesting article on why the terrorist plot to mix the explosives onboard the plane may not have worked very well.
This article explains the function and history of unused keys such as Scroll Lock and SysRq. I never realized that the SysRq key is tied directly into a BIOS interrupt (although it appears to be disabled under Windows). And some programs still use the Scroll Lock key.
Earlier this year, Microsoft made the decision to postpone the Windows Vista release to January. So all those computers purchased as Christmas gifts would still have WinXP. Turns out that, for purchases from October onward, the vendors will include a coupon allowing you to upgrade to Vista for free. Smart move on Microsoft’s part.
With the advent of smart phones, we are beginning to see the proliferation of cell phone viruses.
With the majority of software, when you purchase it you are actually buying a license to use the software (rather than the software itself). This scheme was created fairly early in the life of PCs. Most people don’t notice it, but smart businesspeople are aware of the implications. It does occasionally cause problems, and a particularly funny one recently occurred in a New Jersey parking garage.
As is typical these days, when Microsoft issues security patches there are near-instantaneous exploits available in the wild. This time, the US Department of Homeland Security is even worried. So if you haven’t updated from the Aug. 9, 2006 patch release, you may want to do so.
