iDallas!The RIAA claims that record sales are down 7% since last year and claims it is due to filesharing and is using that information to lobby for legislation that would help them maintain their position. However, according to Soundscan, the company that tracks sales of albums at the register, music sales are up by almost 10% since last year. The discrepancy seems to be the result of some creative accounting and some blatant attempts to manipulate the situation. Tssk tssk.
Microsoft’s own Slate online magazine is now recommending that people switch to the Mozilla Firefox web browser. They mention security as well as usability concerns. Seems like as good a time as any to me!
You know those chain emails that say Microsoft or AOL or Intel (or all three) are testing some sort of new email tracking technology and will pay you money for every person you forward the email to? If you’ve been using email for any length of time, you’ve probably seen it once or twice (or more times) and/or some variations of it. Well, you probably know it’s fake and now you can learn the history behind it. Pretty interesting… they track it all the way back to the originator. It is now considered the most active chain email of all time.
Due to the gradual warming and melting of the ice covering most of the Arctic Ocean, researchers are hurrying to explore the icey waters as quickly as possible. In one especially remote isolated segment of water called the Canada Basin, they expect to find creatures that have not interacted with the rest of the world’s oceans for millions of years. Wow!
John Kerry appears to have a very talented daughter. She is a film director and is pictured at the Cannes film festival.
UPDATE: I changed the link since the Yahoo one expired.
Element Computers has unveiled their own version of Linux called ION which has a mechanism for running Windows apps at full speed. It is pre-installed on all of their laptops and desktops and the only way to get ION is to buy one of their computers. It also allows copy and paste between Linux and Windows apps (more complicated than you might think) and takes some other steps to integrate the two. Seems pretty neat for organizations that want to start the transition but can’t leave behind any of their Windows apps. It’d be better to have native Linux versions of course, but that’s not going to be happening anytime soon (sorry if that bursts any bubbles).
A ship called SpaceShipOne built by Aviation Pioneer Burt Rutan has successfully flown to an altitude of about 100 km, leaving the Earth’s atmosphere. This is the first such launch as 25 companies vie for the $10M X-Prize. Commercial voyages into space are almost definitely going to become a semi-regular thing within my lifetime.
I’m of the opinion that the major music labels are some of the dumbest and greediest companies on the planet, and DRM is the only thing they’re going to ‘trust’ for the time-being, but in the long-run, DRM is clearly bad for me, and Cory Doctorow explains why it’s all-around bad for every person and company involved. It’s a good read if you think about this stuff at all.
Some researchers have found that certain chemicals generally used in the manufacture of computers and monitors may be slowly killing you. The chemicals are used to make the products more flame-retardent and are known to be toxic, but it was previously thought that they were not released into the air. Researchers are also studying possible links between the chemicals and autism. Momma, don’t let your baby grow up to be a geek!
I’ve had a couple of people mention to me that they have problems with their wireless connectivity in Windows XP, but I assumed it was just a fluke. Well, apparently not. Lots of other people have experienced the same problem, but of course Microsoft denies all fault. Anyway, the second page of that article mentions a work-around that seems to generally restore wireless when it isn’t working. From the looks of it, restarting the computer would also work, but would take lots longer.