What a great idea!
Turning a camera phone into a bluetooth mouse using a Java application!
At the moment it uses Nokia software suite to transfer data, ideally it should use the standard bluetooth HiD spec which he says he’s developing.
Brilliant!
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REDMOND, WA—In what CEO Bill Gates called “an unfortunate but necessary step to protect our intellectual property from theft and exploitation by competitors,” the Microsoft Corporation patented the numbers one and zero Monday.
At a press conference beamed live to Microsoft shareholders around the globe, Bill Gates announces the company’s patenting of the binary system.
With the patent, Microsoft’s rivals are prohibited from manufacturing or selling products containing zeroes and ones—the mathematical building blocks of all computer languages and programs—unless a royalty fee of 10 cents per digit used is paid to the software giant.
“Microsoft has been using the binary system of ones and zeroes ever since its inception in 1975,” Gates told reporters. “For years, in the interest of the overall health of the computer industry, we permitted the free and unfettered use of our proprietary numeric systems. However, changing marketplace conditions and the increasingly predatory practices of certain competitors now leave us with no choice but to seek compensation for the use of our numerals.”
A number of major Silicon Valley players, including Apple Computer, Netscape and Sun Microsystems, said they will challenge the Microsoft patent as monopolistic and anti-competitive, claiming that the 10-cent-per-digit licensing fee would bankrupt them instantly.
“While, technically, Java is a complex system of algorithms used to create a platform-independent programming environment, it is, at its core, just a string of trillions of ones and zeroes,” said Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy, whose company created the Java programming environment used in many Internet applications. “The licensing fees we’d have to pay Microsoft every day would be approximately 327,000 times the total net worth of this company.”
“If this patent holds up in federal court, Apple will have no choice but to convert to analog,” said Apple interim CEO Steve Jobs, “and I have serious doubts whether this company would be able to remain competitive selling pedal-operated computers running software off vinyl LPs.”
As a result of the Microsoft patent, many other companies have begun radically revising their product lines: Database manufacturer Oracle has embarked on a crash program to develop “an abacus for the next millennium.” Novell, whose communications and networking systems are also subject to Microsoft licensing fees, is working with top animal trainers on a chimpanzee-based message-transmission system. Hewlett-Packard is developing a revolutionary new steam-powered printer.
Despite the swarm of protest, Gates is standing his ground, maintaining that ones and zeroes are the undisputed property of Microsoft.
“We will vigorously enforce our patents of these numbers, as they are legally ours,” Gates said. “Among Microsoft’s vast historical archives are Sanskrit cuneiform tablets from 1800 B.C. clearly showing ones and a symbol known as ’sunya,’ or nothing. We also own: papyrus scrolls written by Pythagoras himself in which he explains the idea of singular notation, or ‘one’; early tracts by Mohammed ibn Musa al Kwarizimi explaining the concept of al-sifr, or ‘the cipher’; original mathematical manuscripts by Heisenberg, Einstein and Planck; and a signed first-edition copy of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being And Nothingness. Should the need arise, Microsoft will have no difficulty proving to the Justice Department or anyone else that we own the rights to these numbers.”
Added Gates: “My salary also has lots of zeroes. I’m the richest man in the world.”
Gates explains the new patent to Apple Computer’s board of directors.
According to experts, the full ramifications of Microsoft’s patenting of one and zero have yet to be realized.
“Because all integers and natural numbers derive from one and zero, Microsoft may, by extension, lay claim to ownership of all mathematics and logic systems, including Euclidean geometry, pulleys and levers, gravity, and the basic Newtonian principles of motion, as well as the concepts of existence and nonexistence,” Yale University theoretical mathematics professor J. Edmund Lattimore said. “In other words, pretty much everything.”
Lattimore said that the only mathematical constructs of which Microsoft may not be able to claim ownership are infinity and transcendental numbers like pi. Microsoft lawyers are expected to file liens on infinity and pi this week.
Microsoft has not yet announced whether it will charge a user fee to individuals who wish to engage in such mathematically rooted motions as walking, stretching and smiling.
In an address beamed live to billions of people around the globe Monday, Gates expressed confidence that his company’s latest move will, ultimately, benefit all humankind.
“Think of this as a partnership,” Gates said. “Like the ones and zeroes of the binary code itself, we must all work together to make the promise of the computer revolution a reality. As the world’s richest, most powerful software company, Microsoft is number one. And you, the millions of consumers who use our products, are the zeroes.”
From the most read newspaper in the Happiest nation on earth.
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Seems the MySpace craze as come to Europe.
After the success of Hi5, Orkut and Friendster, MySpace is taking over the “social networking” with a good dose of music, ease of use and huge user-base.
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1968. It was the height of the Vietnam War, the year of My Lai and the Tet offensive. Student riots in Paris nearly brought down the French government. Soviet tanks put a premature end to Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring.In the United States, the streets were teeming with antiwar protesters and civil rights demonstrators. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated within two months of each other. The Democratic convention in Chicago dissolved into chaos. And by the summer, America’s cities were in flames.
The world was seething, and for good reason. There was a lot to be angry about. It was a lousy year, 1968.
This is the start of a damn good and inspiring article by Wired News copy chief Tony Long.
And don’t think you’re safe and sound because you’re not American, what he says applies to all civilized countries in the world. Read on!
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In the beginning there was rolling tobacco, and home-made alcohol. And there was much rejoice.
Then came the cigarettes. Oh those cigarettes! So glamorous in the 20’s and oh-so-cool in the 80’s. But the 90’s brought to light the reality of their dangers: highly addictive and cancer inducing.
Coming from a Mediterranean country myself, it doesn’t come as a surprise that I found myself smoking through my teens and, as I reached twenty, addicted to them. It took some time (and some sporadic weeks without smoking) before I realised that although they do reduce your life-span (which, honestly, am not really worried about) the worst part is they reduce your quality of life in a great extent. After a few weeks without smoking I felt I woke up fresh and didn’t have to sleep so many hours as I used to. I also enjoyed fresh air a lot more and even started, for the first time, to notice the beautiful smell of the flowers that had always been on sale outside my tube station. Chicken now actually had some taste. So did rice. And all of the sudden fish had all these hidden layers of delicacy I had forgotten a long time ago. But most important of all, I had energy. I could finish a day’s work and still wide awake and ready to go out. I could run 5 miles and still go back for more. It was great. Was, not is, because I also enjoy other things in life such as a nice drink when going out at night. And cigarettes with it. So something had to give, and for a while it was a bouncing back and forth from smoking and quiting, not quite sure what I would be doing in a particular week.
Then I went to Sweden.
These Swedes surely know how to throw a party! This was the first time I realised you could not smoke anywhere, night clubs included. It’s great fun but I want the nicotine, the rush in your blood, the relaxing effect afterwards. You know how it is.
This is when I was introduced to “Snus” but apparently it has been around for as long as any other form of enjoying the pleasure of tobacco. It is a mix of grounded tobacco leaves mixed with salt and water in its basic form, with different flavours added for the connoisseurs. If you’re tired of the ill-effects of smoking but don’t want to quit, do it the Swedish way and say goodbye to the terrible smell on your clothes!
Buying Snus on the web
Although Snus can be easily bough in Sweden, due to European restrictions it is not found anywhere (actually this is not true, but anyway…). There are, however, several websites selling Snus online, some even with a subscription facility (quite handy actually!). But just like the dozens of different varieties of Snus not all websites are the same. A quick search will return hundreds of online sellers, with prices varying immensely depending on the seller. In my search for excellence I compiled my experience with these online sellers, their prices and professional appearance.
Since I was looking to buy 2 “rolls” (packs of 10 “cans”), one of “General White Portion” and another of “Grovsnus White Portion”, all the prices quoted are for these two rolls plus delivery to London, UK. This should be enough as a general guide to online prices.
One important issue is tobacco tax. In theory, and as one of the web sellers puts it:
CUSTOMS
For customer living within EU, you have to pay tobacco tax. If you are outside of EU you do not need to pay VAT, but you are responsible for any import duties on tobacco product that may be payable. If in doubt, please contact your local Custom office.
I do not know if you will really be forced to pay any import tax, since they all say this is included in the price (Swedish tobacco tax). When I bought mine I was charged V.A.T. at 17.5%, so I guess that was alright.
The Snus web sellers
A very professional website selling directly from Sweden, not only Snus but all things Scandinavian (except the girls).
The website is relatively easy to use but it helps if you know what you’re looking for (I spent 5 minutes trying to figure out where the Snus I wanted was because I didn’t know there were that many different categories of Snus!).
The shopping cart could be easier to use for those who want to buy more than 1 product and there was a 404 error half way through my order (not nice). I only found prices in USD, which is a shame. Still, they quoted:
$65.80 (USD) . Not bad!
Extremely easy to use. Fantastic shopping cart, tells you how much weight is your order and how much you have left till the delivery price goes up. Easy to add more than 1 item to your order and convert between currencies! The price isn’t the best, but it might be worth it if you prefer to pay for quality service. Quote (in USD):
$70,51 (USD)
€59,78 (EUR)
http://www.snusdirect.com
This website has got to be the fastest of them all. It is very straight forward, the list of products is all in one menu (you have to know the name of the Snus you’re looking for. I only knew how the can looked like.) How do they manage to have such expensive prices, and still make business, strikes me. Quote:
$107.00 (USD)
€77.50 (EUR)
http://www.websnus.com
This was a funny one. It has great ideas, like a subscription service where you have the same order delivered to you every 3 or 6 months. It looks very professional as well. It has important drawbacks, though, like the fact you cannot see how much is the total of your order (you have a list of prices and another separate form to fill for your order) and the weirdest part was not finding “United Kingdom” in the their country list. So, I guess I cannot order from them. I also struggled to find how much do they charge for delivery, but here it is. The only reason this website is alive must be the subscription service, for I see no other reason to pick this one up instead of any of the other sellers. Quote:
€75.50 (EUR)
http://www.swedsnus.com
SwedSnus sells several Swedish articles, Snus being one of them. They have a comprehensive list of products, including interesting accessories for the snus connoisseur all with competitive prices. As with some other ones, finding the delivery charge is a bit of a struggle and when you find it, they quote prices according to weight (fair enough I guess).
They are also the only ones where I could visibly see a warning about Customs and tobacco tax which you could be liable to pay for.
I couldn’t get a quote because most products do not show in the catalogue after choosing “Swedish” price sets, which is indicated for EU countries. Oh well, they didn’t seem that cheap anyway!
I could not find any other online seller of Snus, with at least some professional appearance. Heck I couldn’t find any at all. I’m pretty sure there are some more, but they are not showing up on google, so their web masters ought to work harder on the web marketing bit (I can give em some tips if they want ;)
In the end I actually bought the “Goteborgs Rape” white-portions. They are absolutely great and my favourite so far. I would really recommend these if you have not tried them yet.
I ordered from the Northerner and they arrived quicker than I expected (only 2 days from Sweden to London). The packaging was impecable. I also found the prices shown do not include VAT, so beware!
One last thought… while trying to save on postage costs I ordered 4 rolls (40 cans) of the stuff before I realised they have an expiry date… and it is not that long! I stored the unopened cans in the fridge, which helps a lot, but the last few cans are not nearly as good as the first ones so only order what you expect to use for the next couple of months!
That is all!! Enjoy your Snus!
External Links:
Why lie about smokeless tobacco when a misleading half-truth will do?
Tags: cigarretes, health, Ideas, quit-smoking, smoke, snus, tobaccoRelated posts:
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