JawsBlog

While it’s not going to be able to compare to the Met or any of NYC’s other iconic museums, it still sounds really cool

One Math Museum, Many Variables

Since I like Math and Museums–this holds great promise….

Computers to translate world’s ‘lost’languages after program deciphers ancient text

Sounds neat to me.

Time Warner to Spin Off AOL, Undoing Failed Merger.

AOL is still around?

Say what you will about Obama’s choice of a DVD box-set as a gift to the British Prime Minister.
(Isn’t that discussion already moot?)

Rather, it turns out that the DVDs that the President provided were Region-specific, so PM Brown can’t view them all thanks to DRM.

Could this prompt Congresss to actually take action against DRM?

(Oh well, who am I kidding…wishful thinking, I know)

A Modern-Day Blackout: Gmail Goes Dark

Personal trainers at one Manhattan gym are apparently charging $110 a session for a Wii Fit based workout.

Mind you, the Wii fit costs $80 on its own.

Why people would waste their money like this I don’t know, but it’s their money, so let them do as they wish.

Personally, I’m sticking to the heavy iron.
(Yes, today was a deadlift day–pulled sumo for the first time in almost 6 months).
Deadlifts+squats ftw! (oh, rows, pull-ups too!)

Just downloaded Firefox 3

The new UI is a lot sleeker looking than the previous version. Going to take some time to get used to all of it, but may as well “kick the tires” so to speak.

Not a man to be seen as Sex And The City mania strikes Britain

Actually, walking home from the subway this evening, there was a line more than half-way down 86th street, to get into the theater for SATC tickets.

The line was full of women all dressed up–and there were only, maybe, 4 men.

One can only imagine what theaters must look like tonight further downtown

Finally, Time-Warner’s monopoly on the Manhattan cable market appears to be subject to competition–via Verizon FiOS

Cheers for the Free Market!

The format war appears to now be all but over with Toshiba stopping HD-DVD production
Must suck to have been an early adopter of the HD-DVD format…

The NHS response to the latest cell phone radiation scare story

From the front page of this morning’s Miami Herald:

Pirates Feast of Bootleg Films and CDs 

Obviously it’s a slow news cycle down here.  Second, with all the winter “snowbirds” here, many of whom are from NYC, you don’t think they’re aware of pirate DVDs? After all, on the subway, it’s “D-Veh-D…5 dolla”.  Third, there’s also the internet…

With Netscape Navagator about to be discontinued…wow…that brings back memories.

Then again, I remember dialing up with a PPP account and using Mosaic (before “upgrading” to Navigator).  My how times have changed.

The big tech story of the day is the launch of Microsoft’s new online health info portal.

It’s definitely an interesting concept, with some obvious potential pitfalls (e.g. privacy/security, MS software reliability).

From my vantage point as someone who works for a in a health care environment, Microsoft’s idea does have some upsides and some less obvious downsides.
Starting with a negative–the difficulty many a physician seems to have with computers and related technology.  As such, they may not realize how to best utilize this technology.

With that aside, HealthVault (or a similar program) could in theory make things easier for both patients and physicians.  Rather than showing up to an appointment and having the doctor’s staff call others offices for notes/information, as a patient could literally have it at his/her fingertips.

Similarly, a patient would be able to store his/her records in one central location, which helps when one is seeking the services with multiple physicians (e.g. specialists)..  It also could provide a PCP with a central information repository.  This could also help the patient with their personal organization.
Yet, it’s still too early to judge HealtVault.  Technical questions remain, aside from security issues, such as compatibility with EMR/EHR (Electronic Medical/Health Records) platforms and software.

It’s also worth noting that MS isn’t exactly the first in this game, as some insurance providers have begun to offer PHR’s through themselves as well (Aetna and GHI are two that instantly come to mind).

The NYT has an article on a Harvard alumnus named Aaron Greenspan who has made a claim to launching the idea For Facebook.
I knew Mr. Greenspan many years ago, as he lived ni my neighborhood and attended the same high school.  To say that he’s a genius and brilliant is an understatement.  His intellectual ability is simply astounding.  He’s also gifted with computers and founded his own computer compamny at age 15: ThinkComputer

He’s a modest individual, as reflected by the fact that he’s not seeking a lawsuit in all this, nor does he wish to become entangled in the ConnectU-Facebook suit.  He’s a gentleman who is taking the high road in all this.

One of the basics in starting a buisness is to create a name that is both recognizable yet easy to remember.  Especially as a challenger entering an established market.  Furthermore, when it’s a web based company–the name should be easy to spell or remember if it’s also your domain name.
With that in mind, EBay has just rolled out it’s new community site: Kijiji to rival the very popular, household name website Craigslist.
Ebay should go back to the drawng board, as this idea holds little hope…

‘Could’ve easily stopped by the 5th Avenue Apple Store this evening after work, but decided not to.  Took the subway past the Fifth avenue stop instead.

One can only imagine what the pandemonium must’ve been like there all day…

(Via Mog)
Frankly, I’ve got no interest in the iPhone.  Not my type of device to begin with. Nor am I an early adopter (wait at least till version 2 or at least 1.5 comes out)
Were I actually in the market for a combo MP3 player/phone/video player gadget…I’d be much more inclined to go with the jPhone
The schnapps feature just sealed the deal.  You never know when a bottle of schnapps could come in handy!

Nope, not for the Children this time around.

Rather, the latest “victims” in the “War on Piracy” are the corn growers? 

Aren’t the Farm Subsidies enough for the corn growers??  They shouldn’t be complaining anyway.

Yet another reason the current bunch of legislators in Albany need replaced:

NY Assembly passes game bill

A Felony for selling a “violent” game to a minor? Can’t minors purchase/rent rated-R movies right now?

Why doesn’t our State legislature focus on more pressing issues, like reducing state spending and cutting taxes?