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15 January, 2003

More Product Activation Woes

Last week I noted that many loyal customers were irked at Intuit for using product activation in their Turbo Tax software. The Register now reports that users are having problems with the product activation feature in Microsoft's new "Windows XP, Plus! Digital Media Edition" product. Simply put, it does not allow legitimate users to install the product.

Frankly, I just love to read these types of stories in which honest customers get screwed. People who buy crippled software deserve what they get. The solution? Don't buy it!

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Bush Approval Ratings

The pollingreport.com web site has a variety of data regarding public opinion, including results from seven different polls that rate Bush's performance.

I created a chart from the CNN/USA Today/Gallop Poll data. The most recent polling period was January 10-12, 2003.

George is undoubtedly thinking, "Now what can I do to get my approval rating back to the 9/11 level?"

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Dangerous Games

Take your pick (both require Flash):

• Russian Roulette: Something about this game really cracks me up. A perfect choice of music, and the expressions on the faces are great.
• Five Finger Fillet: Very realistic graphics, and superb sound effects.

Posted on 15 January, 2003

What's Monica Lewinsky Doing These Days?

Five years ago, she was at the peak of her popularity.

Now it seems that she's selling hand-made purses. Here's a link to a not-very-flattering photo of Monica, carrying one of her purses.

Posted on 15 January, 2003

John LeCarre: USA Has Gone Mad

From an article by British spy novelist John LeCarre, published today in Times Online:

America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War.

The reaction to 9/11 is beyond anything Osama bin Laden could have hoped for in his nastiest dreams. As in McCarthy times, the freedoms that have made America the envy of the world are being systematically eroded.

Posted on 15 January, 2003

The Sockman Calculator is Broken

According to the Sockman Calculator:

In 50 years, you have worn approximately 13000 pairs of socks, and you have owned approximately 1500 pairs of socks.

Total nonsense. At best, I've owned about 120 pairs of socks during my lifetime.

(via The Presurfer)

Posted on 15 January, 2003

When Icons Clash

I don't understand it, but here it is (Flash).

(via Everlasting Blort)

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Boing Boing is in Mourning

Cory Doctorow's Boing Boing blog takes on a new look today: white text on a black background. He's mourning today's Supreme Court decision that...

...upheld lengthier copyrights protecting the profits of songs, books and cartoon characters - a huge victory for Disney and other companies. The 7-2 ruling, while not unexpected, was a blow to Internet publishers and others who wanted to make old books available online and use the likenesses of a Mickey Mouse cartoon and other old creations without paying high royalties.

The U.S. Constitution allows Congress to give authors and inventors the exclusive right to their works for a "limited" time.

I guess limited = forever

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Innumeracy

Illiteracy is the inability to read and write. Innumeracy is the inability to deal with mathematical concepts and methods.

I just finished reading John Allen Paulos' Innumeracy book. I don't qualify as an innumerate, but I found the book very entertaining, and even enlightening. Innumeracy is very common (even among intelligent people), and it has a significant impact on society.

It turns out that there is a web site (innumeracy.com) devoted to this topic. It's actually an online magazine, and its extensive archives are available. Its section called the nature of chance is particularly interesting.

Paulos also has a web site. I'm sure it has some good information, but his use of an obnoxious background image makes the content virtually illegible and painful to read. What's the term for an inability to present information in a legible manner? Whatever it is, Paulos suffers from it.

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Amazing Online Psychic Trick

This trick is very clever. See if you can figure out how it's done.

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Caricature Generator

Create your own caricatures. All it takes is a few mouse clicks.

This site also has an extensive collection (i.e., 1,000+) of caricatures of famous people. Shown here is Miles Davis.

 

Posted on 15 January, 2003

Earth as Art

Lots of fine-looking photos of our planet, courtesy of EROS Data Center.

Posted on 15 January, 2003