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Volume 3 Number 15
• Feature Article • TechNews • JobsNW
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TOOL BOX: The following news items are from The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2004.) This publication is distributed on line and is a free subscription service. NewsMac 3.1 Despite the presence of thousands of websites devoted to news, it is still difficult to sort out the proverbial wheat from the chaff, especially if one has very specific requirements. One such application that may help rectify this condition is NewsMac 3.1. This versatile RSS news aggregator allows users to view news headlines and story descriptions originating from over 120 built-in news feeds. Some of the features of the program include the ability to highlight keywords, the Feed Finder which lets users find new feeds quickly, and the ability to sync news stories to PDA units. This version of NewsMac is compatible with all systems running Mac OS X 10.3 Booby 0.3.4 With a name drawn from the rather distinctive bird that lives on the Galapagos islands, Booby is a web-based management tool for managing bookmarks, contacts, notes, and news. The application itself is based on plugins that are easy to add, delete or upgrade. Additionally, the application supports multiple languages and contains support for unlimited users. The site also has some nice screenshots of the application in action and documentation. Booby 0.3.4 is compatible with all operating systems. IN THE NEWS: The following news items are selected from NewsScan Daily an online publication distributed Monday through Friday. Readers are encouraged to subscribe to this free news summary.To subscribe or unsubscribe to the TEXT version of NewsScan Daily, send an e-mail message to NewsScan@NewsScan.com with 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. To subscribe to the HTML version of NewsScan Daily, send mail to NewsScan-html@NewsScan.com, with the word 'subscribe' as the subject.
PUBLIC FIBER TOUGH TO SWALLOW. During the past few years, public utilities across the United States began to expand their basic services from water, electricity and trash removal to include internet access, cable television and voice networks delivered over fiber optic networks. Municipalities say they are filling a void for a service essential to their community. According to Alan Harry, director of telecommunications at the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, having broadband access today can make or break a town's development. Source: Wired.Com. Read Full Story. CYBERCAFE LOOKS BACK ON A TEN-YEAR REVOLUTION Cafe Cyberia opened its doors ten years ago Wednesday in the heart of London as the brainchild of a Polish psychology student who had the savvy and foresight to combine coffee and e-mail. Eva Pascoe's cybercafe drew raves immediately, along with investments from the likes of rock star Mick Jagger. From the branch on Wiltshire Road, in London's bustling Tottenham Court Road area, it spawned outlets across Britain and abroad, showing up even inside Paris' Pompidou Center, the contemporary art museum in the heart of the French capital. (The Age 3 Sep 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp. Read Full Story. GOD GAMES. Celebrated video game designer Peter Molyneux, a 45-year-old Englishman, likes to ask people who've played his new game Fable: what were you like when you were playing it: were you kind or cruel? did you court fame or skulk in shadows? what kind of hero were you? Molyneux in the past has created such "god games" as Populous and Black and White, that cast the player as a deity whose whims influence the activities of a simulated world. Of his new game for Microsoft's Xbox console he says: "I want players to be themselves. I want them to play who and how they want, as opposed to who I think they should be or how I think they should play... Most role-playing games, you have to make an enormous amount of choices up front: I'm going to be a thief or a barbarian. And that just seems crazy to me. I hate being asked that question, because I have no idea what the game is going to be like... Computer games are different, and not like film and not like books and not like radio shows, because they can offer people a kind of personalized entertainment. I always thought as a designer, 'Who am I to tell you what type of character you should be?'" (New York Times 2 Sep 2004) Read Full Story. CUSTOM DESIGN ONLINE/ eMachineShop.com is giving tinkerers a new tool for designing and making their own creations -- its free design software not only tells customers whether a design can be made, but also provides a cost estimate. If the customer decides he or she wants to go ahead with the project, the design goes to a real-world machine shop for manufacturing. eMachineShop is the brainchild of Jim Lewis, a programmer and self-professed "tinkerer." (One claim to fame -- "the world's hardest sliding block puzzle.") Do-it-yourself types have used the eMachineShop process to manufacture more than 1,000 orders for things like door signs, motorcycle seats, robot frames, car engine covers, guitar plates and camera parts. "Being able to sit at your home computer, draw up some parts, submit them and 30 days later they are on your doorstep, all without human contact, is mind-blowing," says hobbyist Dennis Vegh. Lewis's next project? An application called Pad2Pad that focuses on electronics components. Lewis plans to take the design process beyond machine parts to the custom manufacture of printed circuit boards, including components like resistors, capacitors and chips. "My dream is essentially to become the Amazon in the manufacturing segment," says Lewis. (AP/CNN.com 26 Aug 2004) Read Full Story. SONY VS. APPLE, TRA-LA, TRA-LA. Sony, the electronics giant that developed the legendary Walkman personal stereo, is launching a new version meant to capture the Apple's iPod's current position as today's leading digital music player. Called the Network Walkman NW-HD1, the device uses a proprietary file format, works only on a Windows PC, and will cost $100 more than an iPod when it's released later this month. Technology analyst Matthew Fordahl of the Associated Press says the Sony's software doesn't rise to the level of the hardware and adds, "Sony's format does produce good sound quality while taking up less space, but users aren't given a choice. What happens if the iTUNES AND LINUX MAKE SWEET MUSIC TOGETHER. CodeWeavers, a startup that specializes in software designed to enable Windows software to run on Linux, says its CrossOver Office 3.1 software now adds support for Apple's iTunes. The version is currently in preview format and will be generally available later this year. "iTunes has been our No. 1 most requested application," says CodeWeavers CEO Jeremy White. "We remain confident that by the end of 2005, the majority of Windows applications will be supported by CrossOver Office. Until then, we're pleased to be bringing the appeal of iTunes to Linux users through the development of version 3.1." (CNet News.com 2 Aug 2004) Read Full Story 'EXAM THEFT' VIRUS HITS CHINA A Beijing technology firm, Jiangmin Science Technology, is reporting the discovery of a computer virus specifically designed to steal files labeled "exam" or "test questions." The "exam theft" virus targets Microsoft Word and Excel files, and some observers speculate the virus creators may have been motivated by the thriving trade in black-market exam papers in that region. (The Register 26 Aug 2004). Read Full Story. SEARCH ENGINES SECOND ONLY TO E-MAIL IN INTERNET USE About 107 million people -- 84% of online users in the U.S. -- have used a search engine, according to a recent phone survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. More than two thirds of Internet users report employing a search engine at least a couple of times a week, and on any given day, more than half seek information on the Web using a search engine. Pew reports that Web search ranks second only to e-mail as the most popular online activity, and 87% of search engine users say they find the information they want most of the time. (Pew Internet & American Life Project 12 Aug 2004) Read Full Story. GAMING THE SYSTEM (ALL SYSTEMS) Training Magazine says that U.S. companies are eager to shift from classroom-based training to interactive education (so-called "e-learning,"and that advances in computer graphics and the increasing availability of broadband lines have created interest in a new generation of video games to support serious education. Just two of many possible examples: Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has developed a game to prepare police and fire departments for terrorist attacks involving biological or chemical hazards, and MIT is developing ways to use video games to teach math, science, engineering and other subjects. (AP/USA Today 11 Aug 2004) Read Full Story. THE 'STICKEY' WEB. 'Stickiness' is the term Web marketers use for their highest goal: the creation of sites that hold visitors with special features. The Expedia travel site, for example, offers virtual tours that provide panoramic views of hotel rooms, beaches, etc., and lets viewers guide themselves through the tour to focus on what they're most interested in. Expedia executive Stuart MacDonald says, "We've always seen content as very important, but recently we've taken it to the next level. For a lot of people, the trip almost starts when they start to plan. To the extent we can make that easier and more fun, it's good for business." But is stickiness really possible at dialup speeds? Possible -- but perhaps not as likely. MacDonald says, "Broadband is absolutely a part of it," because people's expectations have increased and they now expect to see video clips on commerce sites. (New York Times 9 Aug 2004) Read Full Story.
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