Genral Web Comments
Monday, December 20, 2004
Froogle Search: SX6000 supertrak
Froogle Search: SX6000 supertrak
$250
http://www.provantage.com/buy-7prom11l-supertraksx-6000-controller-card-promise-technology-supertrak-sx6000-shopping.htm
$250
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?submit=Go&DEPA=0&CMP=OTC-Froogle&description=N82E16816102006
RAM
$18
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-211-003&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-204&depa=1
Hard Drive
120GB
$67 http://froogle.google.com/froogle_url?q=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp%3FProductCode%3D100656%26affiliate%3Dyahoo&fr=AKNtGQjNZzy79rLZ-ZCcGe56MdIHH6Ykue1t0E6Dl4_o1cFDOqxeWuAAAAAAAAAAAA
$74 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-107&depa=1
200GB
$105 http://froogle.google.com/froogle_url?q=http://landingstrip.dell.com/landingstrip/ls.asp%3FCID%3D6326%26LID%3D161115%26DGC%3DSS%26DGStor%3DDHS%26DGSite%3DGOO%26Conum%3D19%26DURL%3Dhttp://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx%3Fsku%3DA0078054%2526cs%3D19%2526c%3Dus%2526l%3Den&fr=AKkhZR-i9pWh_OgsGBS6F0wYBpHkxFUy8ilScnZsrCdPAAAAAAAAAAA
$107 http://froogle.google.com/froogle_url?q=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp%3FProductCode%3D100706-1%26affiliate%3Dyahoo&fr=AKBXiJEB2BjJZZvJeRFUbY7qrUt3S6Eq-zL0_EWLtOIxsHXH99ESUPYAAAAAAAAAAA
6x120GB = $536 .74$/GB
6x200GB = $898 .62$/GB
Base = $268
4x200GB + 2x120GB = $400 + $268
2x200GB + 2x120GB = $200 + $268
RAM (PC133 ECC Regestered @ zipzoomfly)
$115 512MB
$370 1GB
Froogle Search: SX6000 supertrak
Froogle Search: SX6000 supertrak
$250
http://www.provantage.com/buy-7prom11l-supertraksx-6000-controller-card-promise-technology-supertrak-sx6000-shopping.htm
$250
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?submit=Go&DEPA=0&CMP=OTC-Froogle&description=N82E16816102006
RAM
$18
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-211-003&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-204&depa=1
Hard Drive
120GB
$67 http://froogle.google.com/froogle_url?q=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp%3FProductCode%3D100656%26affiliate%3Dyahoo&fr=AKNtGQjNZzy79rLZ-ZCcGe56MdIHH6Ykue1t0E6Dl4_o1cFDOqxeWuAAAAAAAAAAAA
$74 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-107&depa=1
200GB
$105 http://froogle.google.com/froogle_url?q=http://landingstrip.dell.com/landingstrip/ls.asp%3FCID%3D6326%26LID%3D161115%26DGC%3DSS%26DGStor%3DDHS%26DGSite%3DGOO%26Conum%3D19%26DURL%3Dhttp://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx%3Fsku%3DA0078054%2526cs%3D19%2526c%3Dus%2526l%3Den&fr=AKkhZR-i9pWh_OgsGBS6F0wYBpHkxFUy8ilScnZsrCdPAAAAAAAAAAA
$107 http://froogle.google.com/froogle_url?q=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp%3FProductCode%3D100706-1%26affiliate%3Dyahoo&fr=AKBXiJEB2BjJZZvJeRFUbY7qrUt3S6Eq-zL0_EWLtOIxsHXH99ESUPYAAAAAAAAAAA
6x120GB = $536 .74$/GB
6x200GB = $898 .62$/GB
Base = $268
4x200GB + 2x120GB = $400 + $268
2x200GB + 2x120GB = $200 + $268
RAM (PC133 ECC Regestered @ zipzoomfly)
$115 512MB
$370 1GB
Detect duplicate rows in a SQL Server or MSDE table!
Detect duplicate rows in a SQL Server or MSDE table!
Friday, December 17, 2004
eCOST.com - Thousands of Products at Great Prices!
eCOST.com - Thousands of Products at Great Prices!
1GB of SDRAM
eCOST.com - Thousands of Products at Great Prices!
eCOST.com - Thousands of Products at Great Prices!
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Yahoo! News - 'Lap Pillow' Offers Solace to Lonely Men
Yahoo! News - 'Lap Pillow' Offers Solace to Lonely Men: "One popular item for holiday shoppers is the 'lap pillow,' with skin-colored polyurethene calves folded under soft thighs -- a comfy cushion for napping, reading or watching television.
The 9,429 yen ($90) pillow, which comes with one red and one black skirt, went on sale in late November and maker Trane Co Ltd says shipments have reached 3,000 in just a few weeks."
Yahoo! News - Notable Quotes
Yahoo! News - Notable Quotes: "HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - They really said it -- notable quotes from the news:
'When I was growing up in Ohio all I wanted to do was play guitar and sing in a rock band. I went to England and it happened but sadly our glory days were short lived.'
== Pretenders leader CHRISSIE HYNDE, who will accept the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on behalf of late bandmates JAMES HONEYMAN SCOTT and PETE FARNDON."
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Yahoo! News - Hard Contact Lens May Slow Kids' Myopia
Yahoo! News - Hard Contact Lens May Slow Kids' Myopia: "TUESDAY, Dec. 14 (HealthDayNews) -- Nearsightedness progresses more slowly in children who wear hard contact lenses than in those who were soft contact lenses, says an Ohio State University study in the December issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology."
Wired News: A Magnetosphere of One's Own
Wired News: A Magnetosphere of One's Own
Scientists have built a device that mimics the magnetic fields surrounding the Earth and other planets. They hope to use the device to understand how the Earth's protective magnetosphere works -- and possibly gain insights into how to make fusion a feasible energy source.
This experiment is the first time a high-temperature magnetosphere has been constructed in a lab, said professor Michael Mauel, co-head of the experiment and chair of Columbia University's Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
LispMe Manual
LispMe Manual: "Ever wanted to carry a lisp machine in your shirt pocket? Now this is possible with the LispMe Lisp system for the Pilot PDA... so much for marketing, which isn't really necessary, as LispMe is Free Software published under the GNU Public License. Look here for an overview of LispMe's features. "
S&TR | November 2004: From Seeing to Understanding
S&TR | November 2004: From Seeing to UnderstandingEXTRAORDINARILY complex, three-dimensional (3D) supercomputer simulations play a major role in making sure the nation’s nuclear stockpile remains safe and reliable. The simulations require supercomputers performing trillions of operations per second (teraops) often for weeks at a time.
Understanding these simulations depends, to a great extent, on the human eye to carefully scrutinize the vast amounts of simulation information translated into still and moving images. These images allow researchers to gain insight into how a nuclear weapon operates and the effects of aging on its many components. Livermore computer scientists are developing new ways to see and understand the latest simulations by combining inexpensive and ubiquitous microprocessors, graphics cards favored by video-game fans, and open-source software. These components are the heart of the powerful visualization engines that turn reams of data into practical 3D images and movies.
Livermore’s supercomputers dedicated to stockpile stewardship are part of the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Program. An element of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), ASC is advancing supercomputing so scientists can make the much higher fidelity physics and engineering simulations needed to assess the safety, reliability, and performance of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
The 12.3-teraops White machine, in operation since 2000, is Livermore’s most powerful ASC supercomputer. Two new ASC computers, Purple and BlueGene/L, will be delivered in 2005 and housed in Livermore’s new $91-million Terascale Simulation Facility (TSF). Purple will fulfill the ASC Program’s long-sought goal of developing a machine that operates at 100 teraops, considered the entry point for prototype high-fidelity, full weapons system simulations. BlueGene/L, a research and evaluation machine, will have a peak performance of 180 to 360 teraops.
Modern ASC supercomputers, such as White, Purple, and BlueGene/L, consist of thousands of nodes, each composed of 2 to 16 microprocessors. These machines perform what is known as massively parallel computing in which nodes work together on a problem. They are also scalable; that is, simulations can be done with a few nodes or the entire set, and nodes can be added to tackle more difficult problems. (See S&TR, June 2004, Strategic Supercomputing Comes of Age.)
The latest generation of ASC machines generate enormous amounts of data that are sometimes the result of weeks of round-the-clock number crunching. Three-dimensional, time-varying data sets of tens of terabytes (trillions of bytes) are now common, and petabyte (about 1,000 terabytes) data sets are on the horizon. As a result, an urgent need exists to develop new ways to visualize vast quantities of numbers.
S&TR | November 2004: From Seeing to Understanding
S&TR | November 2004: From Seeing to Understanding
code_fair_info.html
code_fair_info.html: "The Code of Fair Information Practices was the central contribution of the HEW (Health, Education, Welfare) Advisory Committee on Automated Data Systems. The Advisory Committe was established in 1972, and the report released in July. The citation for the report is as follows:
U.S. Dep't. of Health, Education and Welfare, Secretary's Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems, Records, computers, and the Rights of Citiznes viii (1973).
The Code of Fair Information Practices is based on five principles:
1. There must be no personal data record-keeping systems whose very existence is secret.
2. There must be a way for a person to find out what information about the person is in a record and how it is used.
3. There must be a way for a person to prevent information about the person that was obtained for one purpose from being used or made available for other purposes without the person's consent.
4. There must be a way for a person to correct or amend a record of identifiable information about the person.
5. Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or disseminating records of identifiable personal data must assure the reliability of the data for their intended use and must take precautions to prevent misuses of the data."
Yahoo! News - Beckhams' Nativity Scene Attacked in London
Yahoo! News - Beckhams' Nativity Scene Attacked in London: "LONDON (Reuters) - A protester has attacked a controversial waxwork nativity scene featuring England soccer captain David Beckham as Joseph and his pop star wife 'Posh Spice' Victoria as the Virgin Mary."
Yahoo! News - Crime: Nobody Expects the Expectant
Yahoo! News - Crime: Nobody Expects the Expectant: "RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Police fighting crime against tourists in Rio de Janeiro were surprised to arrest two visibly pregnant assailants during the weekend."
Yahoo! News - German pensioner duped by naked invitation
Yahoo! News - German pensioner duped by naked invitation: "BERLIN (Reuters) - An 81-year-old German dropped his trousers and lost his wallet when two young women asked him to join them in a nude photo shoot but fled with his belongings as he stripped, police say.
'After the pensioner had removed his trousers in eager anticipation, the women left in a hurry,' taking the man's wallet with about 250 euros (173 pounds) in cash, police in the western city of Wiesbaden said in a statement on Monday."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - The aristocracy has long been an exclusive club but now anyone can become a Lord or Lady -- for as little as 30 pounds.
A raft of web sites are offering one square foot of the Glencairn Estate in northeast Scotland and, with it, access to the prestigious-sounding title of Lord/Laird and Lady of Glencairn.
Buyagift.co.uk is offering the 'fun' title as the 'ideal gift for anyone who aspires to greatness' for 29.99 pounds, which includes a deed of ownership, a map of the Glencairn estate and a card which proves their title."
Yahoo! News - Judge Not for Sale, Despite eBay Listing
Yahoo! News - Judge Not for Sale, Despite eBay Listing
NEW YORK - A Manhattan housing court judge said he was not amused by an advertisement on eBay that listed him for sale — with worldwide shipping included — posted by a disgruntled litigant.
The ad criticized Judge Jerald R. Klein for the way he dispensed justice and showed a photograph of him smiling, seated in the courtroom. It drew 6,400 and 21 bidders over four days.
"I'd like to know their rules for this," said Klein, who first learned about the posting from a reporter who called him at home.
Yahoo! News - Surgeons Remove Woman's 66-Pound Tumor
Yahoo! News - Surgeons Remove Woman's 66-Pound Tumor: "As she lost more than 60 pounds over several weeks without going on a diet, she said she could feel a large mass growing inside her.
'It didn't feel normal,' Grace Radtke said. 'It was like a long pregnancy.'
After being encouraged by family members, she finally went for medical help that led to the removal of a 66-pound non-cancerous, ovarian tumor from her abdomen on Dec. 3 at University Hospital."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - A portrait of President George W. Bush using monkeys to form his image has led to the closure of a New York art exhibition over the weekend and anguished protests over freedom of expression.
'Bush Monkeys,' a small acrylic on canvas by Chris Savido, created the stir at the Chelsea Market public space, leading the market's managers to close down the 60-piece show that was scheduled to stay up for the next month."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - American author and journalist Tom Wolfe has won one of the world's most dreaded literary accolades -- the British prize for bad sex in fiction.
The prize is awarded each year 'to draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel'."
Yahoo! News - Pa. Police Apologize for Scissors Arrest
Yahoo! News - Pa. Police Apologize for Scissors Arrest: "PHILADELPHIA - The police chief and the head of the city's schools apologized Monday to the mother of a 10-year-old girl who was arrested and handcuffed after she brought a pair of scissors to school in her backpack.
Although officers were following protocol when they drove the girl to a police station with her hands cuffed in front of her, discretion will be used in future cases involving young children, Police Chief Sylvester Johnson said."
Wired News: What Price Privacy?
Wired News: What Price Privacy?: "A huge spending bill signed into law by President Bush on Wednesday could create a new hot job-growth sector: chief privacy officers.
Every federal agency, regardless of size or function, will have to hire a chief privacy officer and employ an outside auditing firm biennially to ensure compliance with the nation's privacy laws, according to a little-noticed provision."
Yahoo! News - Fish Levels in Lake Michigan a Concern
Yahoo! News - Fish Levels in Lake Michigan a Concern: "BAILEYS HARBOR, Wis. - On the surface, Lake Michigan is one of the world's biggest and wildest bodies of freshwater and a popular fishing destination."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vaccinating mice against Lyme disease may help protect people against the infection, which is often spread from mice to humans, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
The study is one of the first to show that immunizing a wild animal that carries a disease might serve to protect humans, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said."
Yahoo! News - Scams Could Alter Holiday Web Shopping -Analysts
Yahoo! News - Scams Could Alter Holiday Web Shopping -Analysts: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - While holiday shoppers are purchasing more presents on the Internet, fears of identity theft and online fraud are making them more careful about using the Web, analysts said on Monday."
Yahoo! News - Web Store Scores With One-Item-Only Sales
Yahoo! News - Web Store Scores With One-Item-Only Sales: "DALLAS - Woot.com takes an unusual approach in the crowded field of Internet retailing. It sells just one item each weekday, starting at midnight local time in suburban Dallas, where the company is based, until it sells out."
Yahoo! News - Some Kids May Have Autism Risk from Mercury -Group
Yahoo! News - Some Kids May Have Autism Risk from Mercury -Group: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some children may have an inherited weakness that may predispose them to develop autism when exposed to mercury from fish or other sources, an environmental group said on Monday."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with Synagis (palivizumab), a type of antibody therapy, is not a cost effective way of preventing infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in high-risk infants, according to two new reports published in the medical journal Pediatrics.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends Synagis for infants and young children born prematurely with at least two other risk factors and for those with congenital heart disease."
Yahoo! News - Imaginary Companions Can Be Child's Fast Friends
Yahoo! News - Imaginary Companions Can Be Child's Fast Friends: "Still, parents are often concerned about imaginary friends. But don't worry, Singer said, because research consistently shows that kids know these companions aren't real. Besides, adults do similar things, such as talking to themselves or God, so they shouldn't think it too strange that children also engage in internal dialogue, he said."
Yahoo! News - Imaginary Companions Can Be Child's Fast Friends
Yahoo! News - Imaginary Companions Can Be Child's Fast Friends: "MONDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthDayNews) -- Parents can stop fretting when their child sets an extra plate for an invisible friend, or shares a seemingly two-way conversation with a stuffed animal."
Yahoo! News - Male Birth Control Moves Closer to Reality
Yahoo! News - Male Birth Control Moves Closer to Reality: "SUNDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDayNews) -- The day when men can take a pill or rely on an implant to keep them from fathering a child may only be a few years away, experts say."
Wired News: A Patch for Broken Hearts
Wired News: A Patch for Broken Hearts: "Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have shown that an electric zap is key for growing a tissue patch that could repair damaged hearts.
The researchers started by attaching rat cardiac cells to a three-dimensional collagen scaffold, which acts as a frame for the cells to grow on and then dissolves. They zapped the cells with electrical pulses modeled on a rat heartbeat for several days, inducing them to grow into beating patches about the size of a dime, according to research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online."
Wired News: Linux: Fewer Bugs Than Rivals
Wired News: Linux: Fewer Bugs Than Rivals: "Linux advocates have long insisted that open-source development results in better and more secure software. Now they have statistics to back up their claims.
According to a four-year analysis of the 5.7 million lines of Linux source code conducted by five Stanford University computer science researchers, the Linux kernel programming code is better and more secure than the programming code of most proprietary software."
Wired News: Oil Eaters Slurp Up Spills
Wired News: Oil Eaters Slurp Up Spills: "We may never prevent oil spills, but advances in biotechnology are limiting the damage they inflict as scientists supercharge bacteria to rapidly devour petroleum.
After an oil spill starts to spread, as occurred on Dec. 8 off the coast of Alaska and in the Delaware River on Nov. 27, the first actions to protect the environment are attempts to physically remove the oil and to block the slick from moving into sensitive areas. Booms, or floating sponges that absorb the slick and block its path, and skimmers that 'squeegie' the surface layer of oil, are the first devices used to counter an oil spill. Physical oil removal is often aided by chemical dispersants that break up slicks and prevent them from reforming."
Wired News: Lamprey May Offer Paralysis Cure
Wired News: Lamprey May Offer Paralysis Cure: "A man-machine interface inspired by the spinal cord of the eel-like sea lamprey could someday enable paralyzed people to reliably control their legs, possibly with a joystick at first, and eventually walk again.
After spinal cord injuries, many people become paralyzed because their brains are cut off from central pattern generators, or CPGs, which are networks of neurons in the spinal cord that are thought to produce an automatic walking motion in toddlers or allow a chicken to run around without its head."
Monday, December 13, 2004
ID3-TagIT - THE ID3-Tag-Editor for MP3
ID3-TagIT - THE ID3-Tag-Editor for MP3: "Version 3.2.1 is online:
The new version brings along with multilanguage support and a parameters for the multple edit dialogs. More information on the changes and the download can be found here.
A complete history of changes can be found here.
In general:
ID3-TagIT is a programm for editing, adding, or deleting ID3 TAGs in MP3 files. Single file and batch editing are both supported. Edit one, ten or all your MP3 files at once!
ID3-TagIT has many functions to help you achieve your goal as quickly as possible. ID3-TagIT is - in contrast to many other editors - able to read information from the directory structure and put it into the TAG, organize files into folders, handle several comments and genres in the ID3V2 TAG, and every function is available for ID3v1 and ID3v2. For detailed information go to the features descriptions.
You will also find a FreeDB Connection, some analyse functions, libaries for your genres and artist and some transfer and copy functions for the TAGs. Compressed and Unicode encoded ID3V2 TAGs are supported to version 2.4 (TAGs of version 2.2 can only be removed). "
ID3-TagIT - THE ID3-Tag-Editor for MP3
ID3-TagIT - THE ID3-Tag-Editor for MP3: "Version 3.2.1 is online:
The new version brings along with multilanguage support and a parameters for the multple edit dialogs. More information on the changes and the download can be found here.
A complete history of changes can be found here.
In general:
ID3-TagIT is a programm for editing, adding, or deleting ID3 TAGs in MP3 files. Single file and batch editing are both supported. Edit one, ten or all your MP3 files at once!
ID3-TagIT has many functions to help you achieve your goal as quickly as possible. ID3-TagIT is - in contrast to many other editors - able to read information from the directory structure and put it into the TAG, organize files into folders, handle several comments and genres in the ID3V2 TAG, and every function is available for ID3v1 and ID3v2. For detailed information go to the features descriptions.
You will also find a FreeDB Connection, some analyse functions, libaries for your genres and artist and some transfer and copy functions for the TAGs. Compressed and Unicode encoded ID3V2 TAGs are supported to version 2.4 (TAGs of version 2.2 can only be removed). "
FPDF
FPDF
FPDF is a PHP class which allows to generate PDF files with pure PHP, that is to say without using the PDFlib library. The advantage is that PDFlib requires a fee for a commercial usage. F from FPDF stands for Free: you may use it for any kind of usage and modify it to suit your needs.
FPDF has other advantages: high level functions. Here is a list of its main features:
* Choice of measure unit, page format and margins
* Page header and footer management
* Automatic page break
* Automatic line break and text justification
* Image support (JPEG and PNG)
* Colors
* Links
* TrueType, Type1 and encoding support
* Page compression
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Using python and AOL IM to create nmap bot
Using python and AOL IM to create nmap bot: "I recently came across some code (a software agent by some definitions) written by Duncan Gough that caught my attention.
Duncan created an application named 'GrokItBot' that synthesizes code from several Python modules to create a AOL Instant Messenger bot that can learn appropriate responses to conversation using some simple Bayesian algorithms. Why is this interesting? Read on...
As stated by Duncan himself:
'GrokItBot is an IM bot that uses Py-TOC, PyAIML and Divmod Reverend to create an AIM bot that makes uses of AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language) to respond to messages, combined with a Bayesian algorithm to provide learning and guessing capabilities.'
Computer scientists have been tinkering with the idea of intelligent systems for quite a while. If you are new to the realm of intelligent systems, check out the October version of Dr. Dobbs Journal.
The security risks of allowing instant messaging are hotly debated. For a primer on the issues, check out this paper by Sujata Chavan.
The idea of creating an intelligent bot with learning capabilities intrigued me. I decided I had to give this a try. I grabbed the Python source code for Py-TOC, PyAIML, Reverend, and GrokItBot and decided to create my own AOL IM bot: nmap bot.
Nmapbot is capable of responding to a few general comments {hello, goodbye, information, thanks} like most chatterbots. However, what makes my bot special is that I wrote event triggers that allow him to spawn processes to run security tools (e.g. nmap)."
