Really?™

war2d2: Okay, but the question still stands: why would...

Aug 1st

Okay, but the question still stands: why...

Aug 1st

RedState: Ken Salazar: No OCS drilling, even...

Aug 1st

Um. That’s 6 comments in 3 minutes of...

Aug 1st

GOP congressman hints at support for sending...

Aug 1st

Energy Savings, Strange Attractors, ...

Aug 1st

Michael Savage booted from Los Angeles...

Aug 1st

war2d2: Um. That’s 6 comments in 3 minutes of airtime....

Aug 1st

Daily Kos: The Great White Hope

Aug 1st

RedState: New additions to the RedState Store

Jul 31st

YouTube introduces text search for political...

Jul 31st

Call Me Fishmeal.: “The Mojave Experiment:”...

Jul 31st

MIT researchers split water to store solar...

Jul 31st

Pollster.com: 2008 National Presidential General...

Jul 31st

Small Government Republicans

Jul 31st

Obama Leading . . . Good News for McCain!

Jul 31st

Amazon.com : Entertainment : Neal Stephenson...

Jul 31st

RedState: Conservative News and Community

Jul 31st

Spying

Jul 31st

Rep. Sessions held fundraiser at Vegas strip...

Jul 31st

Can't Work

Jul 31st

The Long Tail: Who needs a CIO?

Jul 30th

Gas Tax and the New Economics of Shame

Jul 30th

Patriotic Investors

Jul 29th

Toby Keith promotes pro-lynching song and...

Jul 29th

Average environments beget average work -...

Jul 29th

Goodling Screened DOJ Career Candidates For...

Jul 29th

Average environments beget average work -...

Jul 29th

Worked on another one of my little fireside chats. The topic was courtesy of espostor. So, you...

Jul 29th

On the Return of Fafblog

Me #1: Hooray! Fafblog is back!
Me #2: Pah, you only know that because Ryan told you it was back.
Me #1: Yeah, so?
Me #2: So, yeah. You know, you weren't all up on your shit like you thought you were.
Me #1: What shit?
Me #2: Look, you aren't as cool as you think you are.
Me #1: What in the hell are you on about?
Me #2: You can just drop all the UK-isms right now. That shit don't play here in America.
Me #1: Oh, and I suppose mimicking Baltimore street slang you pick up in The Wire is better?
Me #2: For real, yo. You come at the king, you best not miss. A'ight?
Me #1: This is preposterous.
Me #2: So is copying the Fafblog conversational tone. Can't you do anything original? And no, talking like James May from Top Gear is not original, it's boring. In case you were wondering.
Me #1: For your information, this style was not originated by Fafblog and I'm not trying to talk like James May. You dolt.
Me #2: It doesn't matter where it came from, that's where you picked it up. Frigtard.
Me #1: Whatever, Fake Steve.
Me #2: Weren't you going to try and make a point about Fafblog being back?
Me #1: Oh, yeah. Right. So, it's back and better than ever!
Me #2: That's a long way to go for just that...
Me #1: Yeah, I was really hoping it would be funnier.
Me #2: Really?

Jul 29th

Blonde Ambition - 13 Ways Pat Berry is...

Now available for pre-order at all fine content outlets.

Jul 29th

Iowans Attempt To Arrest Karl Rove, Four...

Jul 28th

PR Rule #1: People who are telling the truth...

Jul 27th

Little Fluffy Clouds

Jul 27th

I'm a Genius

So I was reading the “Ask Apple about the iPhone” challenge from FSF/Defective by Design...

Jul 27th

Answers to Questions

FSF: Why do all developers have to submit their applications to Apple before they can be loaded onto an iPhone?
Genius Me: Well, I can see this is going to get pedantic really quick, so I'll just go there. Technically a developer can load their application onto their own phone without submitting the application to Apple. In addition, a developer can distribute an application to other users that have a signing certificate. That signing certificate does indeed cost money. For companies we have the ability to distribute applications without any interaction with Apple. Now, to the more general tone of the question, because we're control freaks. Next.
FSF: Oh, so that's how we're going to play it, eh?
Genius Me: You came to us...
FSF: Why does iTunes still contain so much DRM-laden music?
Genius Me: It's in our licensing agreement. You may have noticed that we don't own the copyright on the music we distribute.
FSF: Ah ha! I have a follow-up! What is Apple doing to fix this?
Genius Me: Steve Jobs asked for DRM-free music to sell.
FSF: AH HA! I have yet another follow-up! If it really is the RIAA's fault, can you tell me specifically what the RIAA said to Jobs when he asked for the ability to sell DRM-free music?
Genius Me: Well, I'm paraphrasing here, but it went something like, "Steve, we're going give all these other companies what you want to try and screw you."
FSF: AH HA! Wait...what?
Genius Me: Yeah, seems the music companies figured out they gave us the keys to the kingdom and got a little miffed about it. Something about business models and unethical operations, you might not understand it.
FSF: Oh. Well. Anyway... The iPhone 3G has GPS support. How can users be sure that the GPS cannot be used to track their position, without their permission?
Genius Me: Really?
FSF: Yeah, man! Come on, fess up! You're watching my every move, I just know it!
Genius Me: Well, you know what they say.
FSF: What?
Genius Me: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
FSF: I knew it...
Genius Me: I honestly don't know how to answer that one to your satisfaction.
FSF: Okay, point for me! I guess I'll skip the follow-ups on that one.
Genius Me: Appreciated.
FSF: Onward! In 'Thoughts on Music', Steve Jobs said, "it is useful to remember that all iPods play music that is free of any DRM and encoded in 'open' licensable formats such as MP3 and AAC".
Genius Me: That's not actually a question.
FSF: Oh, right. Um, a follow-up then... If Jobs really wants to see open formats, why doesn't the iPhone play Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Theora video and FLAC?
Genius Me: Apple would likely be sued for patent infringement.
FSF: Ah ha! So you aren't willing to fight for your customers.
Genius Me: Dude.
FSF: Okay, okay... Last question. Why can the iPhone 3G only be activated by Apple and AT&T?
Genius Me: Licensing.
FSF: Ah ha! Gotcha! In the United States, the Register of Copyrights has ruled that consumers have the right to unlock their phones and switch to a different carrier. How does Apple plan to remedy this discrepancy?
Genius Me: Security!
FSF: Ah! Now we see the violence inherent in the system!
Security Guard #1: Come with us sir.
FSF: Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
Genius Me: Really?
Security Guard #2: Sir, please.
FSF: Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about! Did you see him repressing me? You saw him, Didn't you?

Jul 27th

Staff Blog / New upload rules

Jul 27th

NYT's roundup of home electricity...

Jul 27th

great sync machine

Jul 27th

Join us this summer for Campus Technology...

Jul 26th

Deep Thought

Jul 26th

Views of Jupiter

Jul 26th

On Twitter vs FriendFeed

Me #1: So, clearly I'm missing something...how are Twitter and FriendFeed even remotely comparable?
Me #2: Pat, sometimes you're so dumb I hate being you.
Me #1: Dude!
Me #2: The list of things that make these services similar is long and deep.
Me #1: Go on...
Me #2: Well, for starters they are both web-based.
Me #1: You're starting off pretty strong there.
Me #2: Just wait, punk. Next, they are both Web 2.0 apps.
Me #1: So Google Maps is now the same as Twitter too?
Me #2: Can I finish? Can I finish?!
Me #1: By all means...continue. I'll hold my applause until the end.
Me #2: Thanks you oafish dolt. You can use both systems to broadcast a message to people. They both have privacy models. They both foster ad-hoc communities. They both have an API. They both offer RSS feeds! I could keep going, but I see you're already starting to fall asleep.
Me #1: Oh, what? Sorry, I drifted off on you there for a second. May I present my rebuttal?
Me #2: If you must...
Me #1: FriendFeed is an aggregator of your other Web 2.0 junk and Twitter is a Web 2.0 messaging system. They are fundamentally different in that aspect. Oh, and about that XMPP and SMS support for FriendFeed...
Me #2: I'm loathe to admit this, but you make some valid points. Still, you can't deny that you can use both system to broadcast to people.
Me #1: No, I concede that both systems do that, but until FriendFeed can send messages out over other protocols besides HTTP, I stand by my pedantic hypothesis that they are different systems. One could also postulate that the relationship between FriendFeed and Twitter (and every other system they feed off of) is parasitic. It's a stretch, but an argument could be made.
Me #2: Except for the fact that FriendFeed could still drive some traffic to the Twitter web site.
Me #1: True.
Me #2: So, uh...who won?
Me #1: I did.
Me #2: Really?

Jul 26th

My Hiatus From Twitter - Why You Should Join...

Jul 26th

"Do these pressure-pants make my butt...

Jul 26th

Mike Patton | The A.V. Club

Jul 25th

Twitter

Jul 25th

Ubisoft Steals ‘No-CD Crack’ to Fix Rainbox...

Jul 25th

FUCKING NDA

Jul 25th

Oil Survey Says Arctic Has Riches -...

Jul 25th

“Maybe it didn’t have to be an actual war, though. Maybe you...”
— Fafblog Interviews: HILLARY...

Jul 24th

NDA

Jul 24th

Kagan: ‘The only way’ to ‘force’ Iran to halt...

Jul 24th

Lieberman Compares Hagee To Moses, Says...

Jul 23rd

[On Writing] "The Omnivore's Dilemma" is a...

Jul 23rd

Baby’s First Internet - The Morning News

Jul 23rd

MacJournals News : Why Q3FY08 iPhone revenues...

Jul 22nd

Anathem, by Neal Stephenson You know how it’s going to go when the review starts with...

Jul 22nd

Modern Capitalism

Jul 22nd

“I’m also staggered to think how many people are...”
— James May - Top Gear

Jul 22nd

“I met my maker, I made him cry And on my shoulder he asked...”
— Oasis | D’you Know What I...

Jul 22nd

Linux Hater's Blog: Of silos and samba

Jul 22nd

Presenting Side A

Jul 22nd

Apple Shares Fall in After Hours Trading

Jul 22nd

TechCrunchIT » Blog Archive » The...

Jul 22nd

RedHatContributions - FedoraProject

Jul 22nd

Beijing 2008 Preparations - Three Weeks to Go

Jul 21st

Pilgrim Power

Jul 19th

jwz - smoking ban: level up!

Jul 19th

Iglesias: Rove Won’t Testify ‘To Keep Himself...

Jul 19th

Jul 19th

iGoogle

Jul 19th

George W. Bush Sewage Treatment Plant...

Jul 18th

BigDog Quadruped Robot

Jul 18th

Online articles lead to rapid scientific...

Jul 18th

Sadly, No! » It Gets Worse

Jul 18th

TRENDNET | TEW-632BRP Utility

Jul 18th

This cartoon wrote a sweary word on your...

Jul 17th

Linus Torvalds: Don't glorify the...

Jul 17th

The Mac owns the US. Windows owns the world....

Jul 17th

Feith: ‘Removal of clothes is different from...

Jul 17th

[from wearehugh] inessential.com: iPhone...

Jul 17th

Watch

Ze Frank!

Jul 17th

Twin Towers Billboard Sponsor: ‘9/11 could...

Jul 17th

Recent Volcanic Activity

Jul 17th

Amazon.com: Capture / Release: MP3 Downloads:...

Jul 17th

Watch out for everyone or no one

Jul 17th

Obama's War Speech

Jul 17th

Twitter

Jul 16th

Fox News host: 15 year-old detainee ‘maybe...

Jul 16th

Feith Lies To Congress: ‘I Championed A...

Jul 16th

Gmail - Inbox - pberry@gmail.com

Jul 16th

Myth Buster: TSA's Watch List is More...

Jul 15th

Bolton Claims He Has ‘Always Said’ Striking...

Jul 15th

Billboard displaying burning twin towers...

Jul 15th

Got It Right

Jul 15th

Would the cloud have saved Apple's iPhone...

Jul 15th

When bad air is worse - sacbee.com

Jul 15th

2008 Tour de France - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Jul 14th

Let Them Fail

Jul 14th

Chyrons

Jul 14th

Picture 1

Jul 14th

Apple - Trailers - College - HD

Jul 14th

Tom Shales - On HBO, The Fierce Tug of War -...

Jul 14th

DNA Lounge: DNA Sequencing

Jul 13th

NIKE+ : Runs

Jul 13th

Schwarzenegger Confirms Link Between Global...

Jul 13th

George Will Sticks Up For Gramm: Americans...

Jul 13th

[from wearehugh] iPhone launch-o-mess-o-rama...

Jul 13th

Modern Capitalism

Jul 13th

Jul 12, 2008: Chico Outlaws vs Yuma at...

Jul 13th

learnr.org dev blog - Windows iTunes

Jul 13th

More psychology

Jul 12th

Watch

iPhone Customers Strike Back at KTLA Reporter Eric Spillman (via KTLA) …and that’s why...

Jul 12th

You say you have read the Bible

Jul 12th

Iran: You Suck At Photoshop (updated) - Boing Boing ...

Jul 12th

[from wearehugh] Lessig really is as big a...

Jul 12th

Where art thou MobileMe?

Jul 12th

When you're Robert Scoble, you don't...

Jul 11th

McCain slams Obama for missing a vote he also...

Jul 11th

FCC chief plans to recommend sanctions...

Jul 11th

Running with the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain -...

Jul 11th

Pharyngula: Another off-the-wall argument...

Jul 11th

Iranian Missle Photo Faked - Weblog - Mxrk

Jul 11th

Obama on Gramm's "Nation of...

Jul 11th

Kucinich introduces article of impeachment...

Jul 11th

Photo of the day: Rove’s empty chair.

Jul 11th

How To Shorten URLs With Bit.ly Using...

Jul 11th

pandagon.net

Jul 10th

George F. Will - Survival of the Sudsiest -...

Jul 10th

Talking Points Memo | Beliefs

Jul 10th

Bit.ly: Please Use This TinyURL of the Future...

Jul 10th

before on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Jul 10th

Balloon Juice

Jul 10th

What's The Joke?

Jul 9th

but the lease said no pets

Jul 9th

My own totally crazy thought

Jul 9th

Too Old For This Shit

Jul 9th

A sad message, indeed. | The Macalope: An...

Jul 9th

Beck - Odelay Amazon Metadata

Jul 9th

The Flickr Collection on Getty Images

Jul 9th

Fiorina touts insurance plans that cover...

Jul 9th

APO_responsibilities

Jul 8th

Fighting phishing with eBay and PayPal

Jul 8th

Jonah Goldberg compares Obama’s national...

Jul 8th

Loving Jesse

Jul 8th

Photo

Jul 8th

Drobo 4-Bay FireWire800 & USB2.0 Storage...

Jul 8th

Yippie Kay Yay America

Jul 8th

How You Feelin’?

Jul 8th

The tyranny of "free" - MacUser

Jul 8th

The Big Picture: The Fires

Jul 8th

Everyone's A Hitler

Jul 8th

Watch

maniacalrage: Fruit Loopt That poor bastard. (There’s also an original higher quality...

Jul 7th

California's Continuing Fires - The Big...

Jul 7th

Butterflies are free, so why aren't...

Jul 7th

“So, you know, screw those who see a pessimistic or partisan...”
— Comment in crazy metafilter...

Jul 7th

Extreme Croquet

Jul 7th

on Indecision 2008

me: I'm not sure I can survive until November
Greg: quitter!
well of course not, you're a liberal
you have to surrender
it's in your nature
me: It's not that I want to quit, I just want to stop living
Greg: oh that
you just need a drink
or two
me: make it three

Jul 7th

via jwz

Jul 7th

Boo Fucking Hoo

Jul 7th

Uncapped Upload?

Jul 6th

DNA Lounge: DNA Sequencing

Jul 6th

TED | About TED | TEDTalks

Jul 6th

Disney Tells NRA to Fuck Off

Jul 5th

Condoleezza Rice: ‘I Am Proud Of The...

Jul 5th

Just how do Californians perceive their...

Jul 5th

Klaatu Barada FUCK NO.

Jul 5th

Obama to Nerds: Let Me Handle This One

Jul 5th

Just how do Californians perceive their...

Jul 4th

Judge Orders Google to Turn Over YouTube...

Jul 4th

“Security is the natural prey of scale. You can’t make...”
— Amazon: Hey Spammers, Get Off...

Jul 3rd

On the presidential campaign

Greg: I demand that Obama be appointed President by the Queen!
Oh wait, we can't do that.
"The People" have to have their say
me: what about the Lady of the Lake
she can throw a sword at him
Greg: hey yeah! can we get her?
what's she charge for that shit?
me: I think she's on vacation
Greg: Well get her agent on the phone, pronto!

Jul 3rd

Renewed artistic direction for Diablo 3...

Jul 3rd

Fox News distorts photos of New York Times...

Jul 3rd

Lars Larson Rips Wall-E As ‘Propaganda’; It...

Jul 3rd

A YUI Grids-based WordPress Theme — YUI...

Jul 3rd

American Spectator: Obama would lead to...

Jul 3rd

Even McCain can't answer the question

Jul 3rd

"So while we have spent six years...

Jul 3rd

WordPress Gears « WordPress.com

Jul 3rd

Taking On the System: Rules for Radical...

Jul 3rd

How to Choose the Correct Mask to...

Choose a mask called a “particulate respirator” that has the word “NIOSH”...

Jul 2nd

Buy n Large

Jul 2nd

The most pathetic plea for school prayer I’ve seen yet...

Jul 2nd

Zack Rusin: Git cheat sheet

Jul 2nd

Fast and the spurious? - News - Top Gear

Jul 2nd

U.S. leads world in substance abuse, WHO...

Jul 2nd

Happy Canada Day!

Jul 2nd

Snow in July? A Mixed Blessing in the...

Jul 2nd

EchoDitto Blog | How to get Web 2.0 resourced...

Jul 2nd

Jamendo : Home

Jul 2nd

Can Haz Twitter Account?

Jul 2nd

Features are a one-way street

Jul 2nd

TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo |...

Jul 1st

Fox News Guest: Gitmo Is ‘Really More Like A...

Jul 1st

Right-Wing Apoplectic Over Pixar’s WALL-E:...

Jul 1st

Java, FTW!

Jul 1st

DAS CGI-BIN?

Jul 1st