Darwin’s 10 rules for taming e-mail. I badly need this. I am not often in office, and don’t have a fast way of checking office mail through the Web either. Tips 5 and 10 on the list (“avoid e-mail multipliers” and “use the telephone”) are next on my agenda for drastic e-mail slashing.
An interesting legal conundrum. When Nike was accused of running sweatshops in Asia, it responded with press releases and ads claiming that it did not. Marc Kasky filed a case saying that Nike was advertising unfairly, and won. Now corporates are raising the question of whether corporate statements are free speech, and can be similarly protected.
Interesting site on uniforms of airline stewardesses. via boing boing
On the virtual economy. No, this is not about the dot-com boom. This is about the trading of goods in online games, which has created an economy with a GNP per capita somewhere between Bulgaria and Russia. (More at New Scientist). via missing matter
Froogle. A product search from Google. The way Google is going, I don’t think there’s any point in most sites bothering about design. Google will just offer it to customers the way they want to see it. via Kiruba
The NY Times on ‘captchas’. At the time of Turing, we were wondering if computers would pass the Turing Test. Today, these captchas stop computer programs from fooling us into thinking they’re humans. We’ve come a long way! via missing matter
Google webquotes lets you see what other sites say about each of Google’s search results. This is such a useful feature to me (at no incremental pain) that I see no reason to ever Google without webquotes! (Google also has Google viewer, which to me is far less useful. And while you’re at it, may as well check Google’s extensive resource for webmasters) via Kiruba
Who invented cubicles? Herman Miller, 1950s. Now we know whom to blame! (However, I must admit to a secret liking for cubicles.) via MetaFilter Comments L K Tucker 21 Feb 2007 5:23 pm: Robert Propst is credited with the invention according to a bio on the Herman Miller Inc. site. He denied it. His open plan system was modified when workers using the first prototypes began having mental breaks. The human vision startle reflex had worked in the “special circumstances” those first close-spaced workstations created.
A little article on anti-neutrino behaviour. All very fine, except for a line towards the end: The oscillations are a result of the neutrinos having slightly different masses, … Since when did neutrinos start having mass!? (OK, it was in July 98. And no one even told me!)
Free PDF creator. Wonder how they manage to make money. More importantly, how did they get permission from Adobe? via andersja
Insight from a NY Times article on how the Internet can be accessed from flights: the reason you shouldn’t use a laptop on a flight during take-off and landing is not because of electrical interference; it is that the laptop could be a dangerous loose flying object in case of turbulence. Now, that makes more sense.
Several cool Linux programs available on Windows via The Open CD project Celestia looked particularly interesting.
“The Memory Hole exists to preserve and spread material that is in danger of being lost, is hard to find, or is not widely known.” via RobotWisdom
Reuters on war reporting through blogs.
This one is funny. It’s legal to write software that pirates DVDs.
Geeky gadget of the day: portable solar charger. I can charge your cellphone / CD / digital camera. It will also add a pound to my pocket, in addition to my purse, and cellphone, and digital camera, and office keys, and … my laptop case. Still, might be worth it. And maybe, some day, all my gadgets will fit in my pocket without making me look bloated.
Quantum computing takes steps forward. First, we improve our storage ability with 1000 bits in 1 molecule. Then we perform the Grover algorithm using molecules. Now, all that’s needed is a good set of problems to solve.
Wiki Weblogs. This is a feature that I could use. You can have a weblog organised around dates (or whatever), and around keywords. Several blogs already use this. Question: how should I transition from my (currently 100% manual) blog to one of these?
Huh? Corp. If you have money, and they have shares, buy! They’ve got the soundest business model you’ll see around. via Vijay
The Onion on the plans of top Indian physicists.