Chad's News

For the United States, tonight is when we “fall back” one hour and end daylight saving time.

Over at UserFriendly, artist J.D. “Illiad” Fraser lists five movie concepts that will terrorize your inner geek. My favorite is “Windows Me: The Rebirth.”

Link: http://ars.userfriendly.org/…

The linked article has some really neat jack-o-lanterns. The Spider-man one is good, but I think the Predator is the best by far.

Link: http://www.scifisquad.com/…

It seems like copyright holders go ballistic every time a new medium is developed, then that medium ends up becoming a major revenue source. Ars Technica did some research and has determined this is not a new phenomenon.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Lifehacker has posted the ultimate guide to Windows 7. If you need to know it, then the linked article probably has it.

Link: http://lifehacker.com/…

Windows 7 is now available for purchase. Apparently it’s much better than Windows Vista. PC World has a review with things you need to know about the new release, and Kim Komando also has some information. For the power user, Lifehacker has a list of tweaks that still work. If you’re planning to buy an upgrade version, be aware that there are limitations, and make sure that your existing hardware and software are supported.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

In yet another case of science fiction becoming science fact, researchers have been working on nanoparticles that home in on cancer cells and destroy them, without damaging the rest of the body. Much, much better than chemotherapy. I hope this technology makes it to the mainstream.

Link: http://hplusmagazine.com/…
(via Slashdot)

This photographer’s work is being shown at the most exclusive gallery of all: the Moon. Astronaut Charles Moss Duke left a family photo on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.

Link: http://gizmodo.com/…
(via digg)

Following in the footsteps of Microsoft this week, Adobe has released fixes for 28 security problems in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, including one for a vulnerability that’s in the wild. Since the web runs on PDF files, I suggest updating now.

Link: http://news.zdnet.com/…

According to the linked article, Microsoft has plans to include a 128-bit version of Windows 8 (not to be confused with Windows 7 which will be released next week). Here at the Chad’s News network command center, we weren’t aware that 128-bit CPUs were even on the horizon, so this is somewhat of a surpirse.

Link: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/…
(via Slashdot)

I’ve been a member of USAA since 1986 and have had a USAA checking account for quite some time. USAA is by far the best bank I’ve ever used. Even though it’s located in Texas, it deals with military members scattered throughout the world, and therefore makes long-distance banking quite easy.

USAA offers different services, based mainly on whether or not you (or a parent/spouse) is serving or has served in the military. Membership has its privileges, and I recommend joining if you qualify. But many of the banking services are available to the general public. The USAA website has more information about membership requirements and benefits, and the linked article discusses the banking aspect in more detail.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

This year’s Ig Nobel prizes were awarded on October 1st. It was a fairly weak field, but here are some of the better ones (see the linked article for the full list):

• Medicine: Donald L. Unger, of Thousand Oaks, California, USA, for investigating a possible cause of arthritis of the fingers, by diligently cracking the knuckles of his left hand — but never cracking the knuckles of his right hand — every day for more than sixty (60) years.
• Veterinary Medicine: Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, for showing that cows who have names give more milk than cows that are nameless.
• Peace Prize: Stephan Bolliger, Steffen Ross, Lars Oesterhelweg, Michael Thali and Beat Kneubuehl of the University of Bern, Switzerland, for determining — by experiment — whether it is better to be smashed over the head with a full bottle of beer or with an empty bottle.
• Chemistry: Javier Morales, Miguel Apátiga, and Victor M. Castaño of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, for creating diamonds from liquid — specifically from tequila.

Link: http://improbable.com/…
(via Neatorama)