Technology: December 2007 Archives
New York Times: No Joke, Bulb Change Is Challenge for U.S.
Why are our President and Congress mandating the kind of light bulbs we can use? Why are they forcing us to use bulbs that contain toxic waste? Do they understand that fluorescent light isn't good for everyone?
Concurring Opinions: Blogs and Privacy
Daniel J. Solove asks questions about SiteMeter and other blog counters and their privacy implications. Interesting discussion in the comments.
New York Times: At 71, Physics Professor Is a Web Star
"Professor [Walter] Lewin's videotaped physics lectures, free online on the OpenCourseWare of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have won him devotees across the country and beyond who stuff his e-mail in-box with praise.... In his lectures at ocw.mit.edu, Professor Lewin beats a student with cat fur to demonstrate electrostatics. Wearing shorts, sandals with socks and a pith helmet -- nerd safari garb -- he fires a cannon loaded with a golf ball at a stuffed monkey wearing a bulletproof vest to demonstrate the trajectories of objects in free fall."
Radio & Records, Inc.: Arbitron Attempts To Combat Growing Problem
How do you create accurate phone surveys when more and more people only have cell phones? And how do you get accurate ratings when the cell-phone-onlies tend to come from certain key demographics? "Arbitron is moving from a phone-based sample frame to one based on addresses. The company has purchased an address-based sample from Philadelphia-based Marketing Systems Group. While 60% of the address-based sample can be matched to phone numbers, the remaining 40% cannot. That's where Arbitron goes fishing for cell-only households, using mailing incentives as bait. The process involves mailing pre-surveys to the address-based sample. Pre-surveys returned by households that identify themselves as cell phone-only (and that give Arbitron permission to contact them on their cell phone) are earmarked to receive a ratings diary."
Dell Computers - Change Service Tag
When you install a replacement motherboard on a Dell laptop, the service tag number in NVRAM on the replacement mobo won't match the actual service tag on the bottom of the case. Here's how to fix that.
Road Weary: This Time Marriott Has Gone Too Far
When I used Superclick during a recent hotel stay, it modified every URL and broke the functionality of some websites. Forget about using the "back" button. But the inconvenience is nothing compared to the invasiveness of Superclick. (A Slashdot thread explains how to get around Superclick.)
flightglobal.com: flightglobal.com: PICTURE: Boeing installs laser weapon on C-130
Cool. A propeller-driven airplane with a laser weapon.
Historic Naval Ships Association: Introduction to Radio Equipment - Chapter 20
How an antenna works, and why length really does matter. (Via Arcane Radio Trivia.)
