Rough Drafts

Some scientists have all the fun: they get to make movies of water balloons popping in zero gravity. Beautiful stuff! (thanks, Mark)

Sony’s NetMD minidisc players require a piece of software called OpenMG before you can transfer MP3 files to them. Despite the “open” name, it’s far from open in any sense of the word. The software isn’t available for download anywhere. It’s got a draconian digital rights management scheme built int

Reuters is hiring six journalists in India to do basic financial reporting. Not exactly your typical wire service overseas bureau, since these journalists are doing reporting on American companies: Reuters Takes Outsourcing to a New Level With Journalists.

“You don’t need to be cramming food down Donald Duck’s throat to have foie gras,” says California state senator John Burton. Right he is– foie gras is traditionally made from goose livers. The Chron seems equally ignorant: Foie gras flap spreads — bill would ban duck dish

This BBC site shows you 20 different people smiling and asks you to spot the fake smiles. It’s based on the research of Dr. Paul Ekman. How good are you at reading faces? (thanks, Null)

Why your Movable Type blog must die, a fine rant against the rising tide of weblog smog.

Where do spammers come up with such ridiculous monikers as Kenyatta Bodenhagen, Nanette Triplett, and Oblong R. Bachelor? Why, the random name generator, of course.

Got my first Mac this week: a refurbished G4 iMac, with a 17″ screen, from Apple.com. Everyone around me seems amazed that I’d buy a Mac, as if I just converted to Catholicism or something, but to me it’s a fairly practical decision, and it’s based entirely on the software available for the Mac plat

Wikipedia is approaching 200,000 entries, all contributed, edited, and vetted by volunteers. Who would have thought the Internet would not only destroy the business model for encyclopedias, but would also come up with a better, faster, cheaper way of making them?

On newsstands today: The first issue of Mobile PC. Inside: more than 50 products, reviewed in-depth and with sass, style, and smarts. A Wi-Fi makeover of 3 different houses. Maps showing national coverage for the top 6 cellular carriers. A guide to keeping your wireless and mobile devices secure. An

Futurist Peter de Jager penned this thoughtful essay [http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031007.gtdejageroct7/BNStory/Technology/] about what happens when technology creates abundance where there used to be scarcity. It’s not always a good thing: Think of obesity, traffic jams, spa

A Reuters story this morning discusses photocatalysts, substances that react with light and oxygen to break down organic compounds, such as soot particles. Coat a wall or a window with these substances, and you’ve got a self-cleaning surface. They’re attracting a lot of attention in Japan, but haven