Anyone who has to work with one of the devil's tools (I have to at work, for example) will be happy that the Outlook spam filter plugin written in Python now works really well with Outlook 2000 (and probably XP too). Not that I'd like to use Outlook, but I have no choice, I'm forced to ...
No RSS feed?
At heise online news you can find the original article.
What? Can someone confirm this: employees of Springer press in Germany are contractually obligated to show solidarity with the USA? That can't possibly be true
Wow! Unfortunately more expensive than Macintosh Common Lisp (which I already find too expensive), but still impressive. Unfortunately, it's not revealed whether CLIM is part of OS X Common Lisp. OS X is getting more and more interesting programming environments. But for now I'm still waiting for the OS X Native GUI Smalltalk, that would be the hammer for me.
I find Allegro Common Lisp for OS X uninteresting, by the way - no GUI and a price that represents a real outrage.
At lemonodor there's the original article.
... anyway, that's what the linked article says. A buffer overflow through an overly long ALIGN attribute on the HR tag. That's really embarrassing – Microsoft can't even get a horizontal line right in Internet Explorer without producing a security hole.
Nice little RSS reader for the Dock under OS X. Unfortunately, it doesn't show how many unread messages there are (more precisely, it doesn't remember which ones you've already seen), but otherwise it's very nice. Maybe I can get the programmer to add that feature.
Hmm. With the larger upstream (which unfortunately isn't offered), it would certainly be interesting. Especially if a static IP were included in the package. But only for 1.5 MBit? I think I'll stick with my regular T-DSL flatrate for now.
At heise online news there's the original article.
And once again the British government runs like a trained dachshund after the Americans into ridicule. At some point it must even occur to Blair that with his tactics he can at best go down in history as Comical Tony ":-]"
I found the original article at Telepolis News.
Hey, cool! Google search results with website thumbnail. Funny idea
At netbib weblog there's the original article.
Nice link. Very nice link! Anyone interested in Tom Waits should definitely browse through it. I really need speakers in the office...
Tom Waits is definitely one of the most gifted musicians of our time for me. His songs aren't just nice to listen to. They are little works of art. Acoustic sculptures. And the perfect accompaniment to a glass of whisky
I found the original article at Der Schockwellenreiter.
So this Zabel - as a sprinter, simply pulling off a 40 km long solo and becoming German champion is quite an achievement against the competition. Maybe he can come to terms with no longer being world number one. And it's not that many points, so he can certainly still make up some ground. But I'm rooting for him for the Tour, he's simply one of the most likeable cyclists. Besides, he's from right around here Here's the original article.
Bob Shell - Editor at Shutterbug Magazine - is currently in custody in connection with the death of his model Marion Franklin (aka Chloe Jennings). She died on July 3rd apparently from an overdose and there is apparently evidence of a sexual relationship between him and the model as well as evidence that he may have made her compliant with drugs. I only found out about it indirectly (Jutta pointed out to me that something was added to the Contax list about it), so far it apparently hasn't been reported in other media. Bob Shell is not entirely unknown in the industry as a technical author and photographer. Besides, he works as an expert at http://beststuff.com/ in the digital technology discussion forum, as well as in some other forums there. Here's the original article.
Hmm. That would be a start. Ok, more expensive than the old BahnCard isn't that great, but I'd probably buy it anyway - simply because I'd have my usual spontaneity back. Get on the train and just travel for 50% - and not have to check days in advance whether there's still space in the contingent. We'll see. Especially how people with an existing BahnCard are treated.
At tagesschau im Internet there's the original article.
Yeah, Apple as we know and despise it: a bully in the jungle of taste patterns, trademarks, and intellectual property. But maybe someone at Apple will eventually realize that their wonderful intellectual property in the Dock wasn't actually theirs to begin with, since they just bought it.
When will Apple finally regard the replication of its own interfaces on other systems for what it is: a compliment? Without the necessary underlying infrastructure, these replications are nothing more than exactly that: imitations. Better mimicry. Nothing more.
But what do you expect from a company that once believed they invented the trash can?
At heise online news you can find the original article.
I love Microsoft's excuse: occasionally it ignores robots.txt because of programming bugs. Oh really. What kind of programming bugs might those be? Could that perhaps be the so-called Intentional Programming that Microsoft once thought so highly of?
At algorhythm you can find the original article.
Once again, one of those tedious discussions about how open-source projects would supposedly be notoriously bad at controlling license compliance for code. Come on? This is getting annoying. Why do people keep opening their mouths about this without engaging their brains?
So first of all, there's hardly any software sector that pays closer attention to licenses than the open-source sector. If only because of the various incompatible open-source licenses (every developer will eventually run into license compatibility issues with the GPL - those discussions keep coming up). Also, in the open-source sector, many projects are explicitly careful to ensure that no proprietary content ends up in the source code - see for example the Samba project or Wine. Both manage to exist alongside Microsoft (and Microsoft's legal department is no slouch). And what really gets me about this whole thing: why do these people always believe that proprietary, closed software development doesn't steal foreign source code? That assumption is absurd. In the area of open-source projects, anyone can read the source code - including companies. Everyone can check whether foreign source is being used. In the proprietary sector, however, that's not possible. Here, costly court proceedings are needed to achieve source code reviews, and proof is not exactly easy. So please don't just parrot the FUD from companies like SCO, please use your head first and think about it. And check the facts.
At Cincom Smalltalk Blog - Smalltalk with Rants there's the original article.
Well, at least scrapping the silly Metrorapid project shows some rudimentary intelligence. In times when social services are being cut, it's quite difficult to justify millions for such a prestige project ...
At WDR.de you can find the original article.
Bill Gates? Wasn't he the chief architect and founder of that store that distributes this web browser with 20 unpatched security holes now?
At heise online news there's the original article.
And another couple of politicians worried about citizens being bored during the summer break
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
Hey, the conference isn't until 6:00 PM tonight! Well, Leica already has it posted on their own pages anyway.
About the module: do I want it? I'm not sure. A factor of 1.37 is quite reasonable. 10 megapixels too. And the combination with the Leica R8 or R9 makes a pretty decent camera (even though I still think the R8/9 body is ugly as sin). The combination also looks quite usable. But the price: 4500 euros. Plus the body for 1000 euros and the lenses (depending on needs - and Leica lenses aren't exactly in the budget category).
But what's nice is the idea of a well-designed manual digital camera, especially now that the Contax N Digital is off the market. Even if a digital camera without autofocus seems a bit odd at first glance.
At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) there's the original article.
He can do arithmetic, but his spelling is still a bit lacking
At Mathematische Kleinigkeiten you can find the original article.
Hmm. The consumer centers recommend citizens install 0190 number blocks to avoid unexpected charges. And they offer their services via 0190 numbers. Yes, that's a strategy. I just don't know exactly what for yet.
At heise online news you can find the original article.
Nice success for Team Telekom!
I found the original article at tagesschau im Internet.
Great, one of the worst agitators of the US government team as head and responsible for military tribunals. Presumably also for those in Guantanamo Bay who are supposed to condemn alleged terrorists in secret and execute them on the spot. That certainly increases the chances of survival in the camp there immensely.
I found the original article at Warblogs:CC.
Just saw it on the Today Journal: the Americans are increasingly pushing to be able to sell their genetically modified plants to Europe as well. Nothing new, but what does give me pause: We have repeatedly tried to reach an agreement with the EU, now our patience has run out (roughly from an interview with an American on the subject of Europeans' blocking stance against genetically modified food). Sounds pretty damn similar to what was said about Iraq, doesn't it?
By now, I'm absolutely fed up with the arrogant behavior that the loudest parts of America are displaying. And no, it doesn't help to trot out the oft-cited "I know plenty of Americans who are all really great buddies" lines. Anti-Americanism? Yes. It's becoming necessary. Because I want to continue being able to decide what I eat, what I read, where I travel, what I think and what I say, without having to worry about whether Dubya and his power-hungry friends approve of it.
No class. So the district government is not only unable to grasp that the blocking measures are almost ineffective, but they're also unable to oversee how they can verify their own demands. Pathetic. And downright embarrassing, this demonstration of total lack of professional expertise.
At heise online news there's the original article.
A German version of Homeland Security? No thanks.
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
Let's wait and see what kind of performance this system will deliver in September when it becomes available.
At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.
I'll skip the usual talk about stop energy just because someone blogs (sorry, blocks) about an innovation and instead explain why I think this undertaking makes sense.
RSS is a format that has been developed in many different directions by various people. There are two main streams. The RDF-based formats with their peak in RSS 1.0, with design-by-company and sometimes even by-committee. And the keep-it-far-too-simple stream from Dave Winer with its peak in RSS 2.0, which attempts to marry RSS and RDF, but isn't really coherent either (for instance, lately Dave labels anything that uses namespaces as "funky RSS" - I hate funk!).
So what can a new format bring? Possibly nothing. That's fine too, then at least you know (and have it documented for reference) that RSS in its existing forms is good enough.
Or you recognize that there are weaknesses and errors in the existing pool of formats. If that's the case, there are two options again:
The weaknesses can be fixed (for example through RSS 1.0 with full RDF basis or with RSS 2.0 and a few additional namespaces). This will certainly be done - because not everyone wants to jump on a new format.
The alternative - the new format - also has its merits: it's being developed using community techniques. A wiki where everyone can contribute their two cents. So it can become quite an interesting format with many good ideas. Why shouldn't you implement it then? It would be a shame if all those ideas went to waste...
At the very least though, it's a wonderful network-psychological experiment. A bunch of pretty far-out freaks of various stripes trying to collaborate together in a wiki (remember: anyone can edit and change anything!). Hey, that's practically screaming out for chips and cola and comfortable kicking back and reading along
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At Der Schockwellenreiter you can find the original article.
A rather interesting article about the new functional features in itertools in Python 2.3. With itertools you can apply a programming technique that has been known in Common Lisp for quite some time as Series and is best described as lazy sequences: sequences of objects that are created on demand only as far as necessary. This opens up a whole range of very interesting techniques that can make programs much more readable.
A recommended book review by Colin Goldner: Dalai Lama - Fall eines Gottkönigs, Alibri Verlag Aschaffenburg, 1999, written by Marcus Hammerschmitt. Worth reading (yes, it's not brand new, but I stumbled upon it for the first time - thanks go to Instant Nirvana). What we in the West like to forget again and again: these friendly smiling old men (whether they are Orthodox bishops, Catholic popes, Muslim ayatollahs or Tibetan lamas) represent very old ecclesiastical structures. With very old ideas. Old is not necessarily good.
Let's remind ourselves what church means: power. Great power. In all major churches (certainly in smaller ones too, just on a smaller scale) the primary goal at the highest level is the preservation of their own power against worldly influences. States can be democratically structured, churches are not. At best, you find pseudo-democracies.
The fact that women are massively oppressed in churches and are often without rights or merely tolerated for reproduction of the faithful is nothing new. In many major churches, women are missing something essential: the possibility of reaching the top, occupying central leadership positions, having any say in matters. Instead, they can merely serve as bearers of original sin. Or perform work - gladly including sexual services. Churches are purely a male affair. Descriptions of paradise often sound more like the last trip to a brothel than like a desirable state.
So it's no wonder that Tibetan Buddhism also has plenty of skeletons in the closet and the friendly smiling gentleman from Tibet should be regarded much like the friendly smiling gentleman from Rome: with great caution and utmost skepticism. Because the goal of friendly smiling old men is not the well-being of people, but the well-being (and power) of their churches.
The goals of churches and the goals of freely thinking people contradict each other very often, indeed almost inevitably, because power structures the size of, for example, the Catholic Church simply wouldn't be possible if everyone could think what they wanted. Unless you happen to be the pope or the Dalai Lama. But even he cannot do as he wishes. But perhaps he doesn't want to do otherwise anyway.
The Tibet of the Dalai Lama is merely a religiously founded state entity. And one should be afraid of such things. Regardless of which religion. Regardless of which church.
Hey, Mozart and Oz are also available for OS X. Ok, not directly for OS X, but only as normal Unix ports for OS X - the GUI continues to be based on GTK and thus on X11. But at least you can run it on the Mac. There's also an interesting book about programming concepts, which describes them using Mozart and Oz. Here's the original article.
Anyone who wants to participate in the Google AdSense story can try out under the link to see what ads Google would deliver for their own site. Of course, I reject advertising on my pages, but others may not have quite as many scruples.
At Google Weblog you can find the original article.
If you're looking for an outliner for Linux and like VI, you should check out the VIM Outliner. It's a macro package for VIM 6 that transforms it into an outliner. Unfortunately, it still has some significant limitations, such as not saving which text areas are collapsed and which are not. But basically it's quite usable. At least it's still better than the alternatives I've found so far. Besides, you don't have to boot VIM like you do with Emacs.
Ouch. We've all pretty much embarrassed ourselves in school at some point by reading summaries and pretending to have knowledge based on them - König's Explanations or whatever they were called.
I found the original article at Telepolis News at this link.
Was to be expected, that they would give in
At tagesschau on the internet you can find the original article.
Because I just talked about it in chat: the link points to an emulator for IBM /370 and /390 hardware. And IBM supplies operating systems for it - old ones of course, but completely legal. OS/360 or MVS 3.8j or even an old VM/370 version on a Linux box is really a neat toy for the geek from back then
And as I just see there's now also an OS X version. Very nice.
Hymen reconstruction? What else is next? Wouldn't it make more sense to fight against this cultural nonsense, the idea that a woman must be a virgin until marriage? But no, instead we're deceiving ourselves. It doesn't matter that the world has long been very different from what reactionary fools imagine, as long as appearances are maintained. And if appearances are damaged, there's someone who will polish them up again for cash...
Oh man, what a mess. Couldn't they just get back into the press with cycling performances? A "well-rested" 12th place at the Tour de Suisse is certainly not what I had in mind...
Once again something about the SCO case: someone from the Free Software community reports here about his visit to SCO and what he is allowed to tell about the whole story under the NDA. If his assessment is correct, then SCO has a bunch of nonsense there, but not much more. It remains interesting. However, I wonder when companies in the USA will finally start taking action against SCO's FUD campaign, as was the case in Germany with the preliminary injunction against SCO.
Anyone who deals with circuit simulation or is interested in it can find a graphical interface for Spice under the link, which allows you to operate the package in a somewhat more Mac-typical way. Spice is one of the most sophisticated systems for circuit simulation (so transistors, resistors, inductors and that sort of thing). Might be quite interesting for electronics hobbyists (for me it's not, I'm too stupid to hold a soldering iron the right way around).
Fitting for the summer slump, a nice dirty and disgusting affair. Isn't it nice how politicians are concerned about our boredom, right?
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
Here's the current nightly build of the Thunderbird mail client from the Mozilla project for OS X. Makes a very nice impression, for example spam filtering works significantly better than with Apple Mail when you use IMAP4. And it can also do threading with Mail. Nice. Very nice.
Wait a moment: The explicit mention of Christianity is "absolutely necessary". As a guarantee for human dignity and freedom, the document should also contain a reference to God. - somehow my ribs are hurting from laughing now. In whose name have more people been killed, disparaged and disadvantaged (and continue to be in some cases), if not in the name of various gods of various factions? These really don't belong in any constitutions. I recommend anyone who disagrees to read church labor law and the effects it has, for example, on hospitals or schools with church co-sponsorship (since they aren't fully funded by the church anyway, the state always contributes heavily). There is hardly anything more objectionable than the behavior the church displays in such institutions when employees don't belong to the church - and that despite the church sometimes not even bearing 10% of the actual costs. No religion in constitutions! For a clear separation of state (or confederation of states) and church!
At Der Rollberg there's the original article.
Well, now that the whole economy has gone to the dogs, the payment of insolvency benefits to the employers' liability insurance associations has naturally increased, Mr. Hundt. Just teach your members better business practices, then the payment won't be due so often and the levy will decrease again ...
At tagesschau im Internet there's the original article.
Nice little report about Möllemann's arms deals and those of his spiritual predecessor (in the sense that he displayed similarly creative financial conduct), Heinz Herbert Karry.
I found the original article at Telepolis News.
It's quite amusing how all these US hawks are so stupid and spilling the beans. What arguments for the war do Wolfowitz and Perle have left for Dubya and Blair after their recent statements?
I found the original article at TAZ.