Liquid Diamonds and Cold Eyeballs

Older computers, new HTML/CSS/JavaScript stuff, and more.

Google Gravity

An example of what new browsers can do, this example is part of the Google [Chrome Experiments|http://www.chromeexperiments.com/]. This will work with Safari or Google Chrome only. Some of the other experiments will work in FireFox.

YouTube to charge $5 for some videos

YouTube this week begins a test to see if folks will pay to watch movies on its site.

The Web’s most popular video sharing site Friday will offer five films from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film Festival for a fee around $5 . It’s a way, YouTube says, to bring more exposure to independent films. But it’s also a test to see if viewers will pay for content, YouTube says.

The Gates Notes

The Gates Notes, which just launched, is an online forum where several times a week the Microsoft co-founder plans to shares his thoughts on the Gates Foundation and his personal interests in energy and the environment.

A good chunk of the blog is culled from thought leaders in fields such as global health, education, energy and the climate. His site is a collection of conversations, books, articles and opinions from people who have inspired and informed Bill, says Larry Cohen, a spokesman for Gates.

CBS Dooms Jack Benny to Oblivion

“Basically, CBS has decided that it could cost too much to pay a lawyer to figure out if they can release these films — or even turn them over to Benny’s fans and family for release — and so it has decided to simply abandon them, sealing them back up in the vault forever.”

Diamond Oceans and Icebergs

Oceans of liquid diamond, filled with solid diamond icebergs, could be floating on Neptune and Uranus, according to a recent article in the journal Nature Physics.

The research, based on the first detailed measurements of the melting point of diamond, found diamond behaves like water during freezing and melting, with solid forms floating atop liquid forms. The surprising revelation gives scientists a new understanding about diamonds and some of the most distant planets in our solar system.

Student Discovers New Pulsar

Shay Bloxton, 15 year old sophomore at Nicholas County High School in Summersville, West Virginia and participant in a project in which students analyze data from the radio telescope, spotted evidence of the pulsar on October 15 using data from the giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Bloxton, along with [NRAO|National Radio Astronomy Observatory] astronomers observed the object again one month later. The new observation confirmed that the object is a pulsar, a rotating, superdense neutron star.

Apple G4/1.25GHz eMac - Mac Of All Trades

Place for buying used Macs

Free App A Day for iPhone

Free App a Day lets you in on some fun and quirky free iPhone apps that you can download from the app store. Selected with care, Free App a Day is a good way to broaden your app horizons with games and utilities. Got an app you want featured? There’s a review process, but as long as your app has 20 reviews and at least three stars, you’re all good.

95% of email is spam

“The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) released its new spam report which looks at spam budgets, impact of spam and spam management.”

'Trivial' Passwords Enabled Huge Hack

The hackers who stole and published 33 million passwords from the Rockyou.com website in December needn’t have bothered, a security company has revealed. Many of them were so trivial they could have been guessed anyway.

Yuneec e430 electric plane to ship in 2011

No need to wait years for that single-seat electric plane from NASA — Yuneec offers the e430, a two-seat electro-plane that’s been flying for the past six months, and will be ready to buy next year. If the company delivers on its promise, this electrically powered plane could change the world, costing just two dollars per hour to power its flight.

The first planes will cost $89,000. That’s not too bad as far as private planes go, and who wouldn’t want to fly in a low-noise, emissions-free e430? Nice. If its whisper-quiet engine is too loud for you (or if you’ve run out of power during its 1.5- to 3-hour flight time), the plane’s 25:1 glide ratio will give you plenty of time to find a place to land.

Widespread Attacks Exploit Newly Patched IE Bug

“The first widespread attack to leverage a recently patched flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser has surfaced.”

The Great Australian Internet Blackout

The Australian government is pushing forward with a plan to force Internet Service Providers to censor the Internet for all Australians.

GEEK CLOCK | Math Formula Clock for Geeks

Time To Embrace Your Inner Geek
GEEK CLOCK

While everyone else was watching the clock, you were paying attention during math class, storing away square roots and factorials for a day where you could prove your mathematical prowess.

Well, my geeky friend, that day has come. Pictured before you is a clock, where all the numerals have been replaced by the equivalent notation! How will we ever know what time it is unless you solve them all?

NASA Extends the World Wide Web Out Into Space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station received a special software upgrade this week – personal access to the Internet and the World Wide Web via the ultimate wireless connection.

Expedition 22 Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer made first use of the new system Friday, when he posted the first unassisted update to his Twitter account, @Astro_TJ, from the space station. Previous tweets from space had to be e-mailed to the ground where support personnel posted them to the astronaut’s Twitter account.

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s”

Dominican Hams Attempt to Install Repeaters in Haiti

“Eight members of the Radio Club Dominicano (RCD) — the Dominican Republic’s IARU Member-Society — and Union Dominicana de Radio Aficionados (UDRA) arrived in Haiti on Friday, January 15, to install an emergency radio communications station and a mobile station. Shortly after they arrived, the hams returned to the Dominican Republic for safety reasons.”

Compact Impact USB Eye Warmer

Eye strain making computer work a pain? Strap on this soft padded eye mask and enjoy USB-powered warmth melting your eyeball tension away. You might not look super-productive while you sit at your computer in heated-eye bliss, but at least your retinas won’t be overly taxed. Includes temperature control and 4-foot cord. Requires powered USB port.

Dominican Hams Attempt to Install Repeaters in Haiti

“Eight members of the Radio Club Dominicano (RCD) — the Dominican Republic’s IARU Member-Society — and Union Dominicana de Radio Aficionados (UDRA) arrived in Haiti on Friday, January 15, to install an emergency radio communications station and a mobile station. Shortly after they arrived, the hams returned to the Dominican Republic for safety reasons.”