Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Blister Packaging Attacked

Looks like Chris Pirillo and I aren't the only ones writing about the idiocy behind the crazy blister packaging that can cleave off a digit when you go to open a package. The Washington Post has an article on the dangerous practice today. All I can say is two words: Package Shark.

Actually I'll say one more thing. Make every executive of every company that sells a product with the blister packaging surrounding it to protect their profits, open the packaging of their products themselves.

Did You Know You Could Buy Polonium?

I didn't. But I guess you can. Apparently the radioactive poision that got the Russian spy and is causing such an international furor can be bought on the Internet and actually has some common industrial uses. And the bad guys went to all that trouble. Check it out here.

DRM Free MP3 Player?

So, an idea is bouncing around that recently unemployed Jason Calacanis, Peter Rojas, and Dave Winer should fire up a start-up to develop a DRM free MP3 player targeted at the podcast market (yeah only at that, sure.)  Michael Gartenberg blogged a list of things that should be included. Rojas says he's game.  Whether it comes to be or not, it will be fun to watch.

This Will Make Every One Feel Safer. Not.

So it is not news that organized crime is trying to bust the ATM market and still your info and your cash. (They got mine-it was refunded-last spring.) But now comes word that workers from an Israeli company have discovered a security hole in the system large enough to undermine the entire network. Don't you feel good about that debit card purchase now?

Via MSNBC Red Tape Chronicles

A Gauntlet Tossed Down In the MP3 Player Wars?

So did Bill Gates toss down a gauntlet in the MP3 player wars or not? In an interview prior to the big launch of Vista and Office 2007 with Kevin Maney of USA Today, Gates said,

"If Apple said any song on the iPod could be played on Zune, we’d say the same thing. Because they have such a high market share, they’re not interested in interoperability, but that’s too bad."

Don't count on the gauntlet being picked up any time soon.

Death by Radiation Case Just Keeps Getting More and More Bizarre

As if things weren't bizarre enough in the mysterious radiation poisioning death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, (I love the one that he did it to himself,) each day brings new and interesting twists. Now comes word that traces of the deadly substance have been found on two British Airways planes and passengers are being brought in for testing. Yeesh.

Floating The Stem Free Speech Balloon

Newt Gingrich suggests we need to stifle some free speech rights to win the war on terroism. Staking out new ground fo the race for the White House, floating trail balloons, or just going out on a limb? Oh well we need something to debate in this country now that the mid-terms are over.

Via MSNBC

TechMeme Goes Mobile

Michael Parekh links to news that Techmeme now has a "mini" mode for reading on mobile phones. (Of course the other Meme sites have the same treatment. Simply add mini at the end of the url. Good news. Thanks, Gabe.

The MPAA Wants To Regulate Your Home Theatre

Yeah, that's the ticket. Let's charge everyone who has a large screen TV (29" or bigger), two comfy chairs, a couch or a futon, a registration fee of $50.

Ok, it is blog satire from BBSpot, but I bet you thought twice about it didn't you? I bet somebody in the MPAA is right now trying to figure out how to make this one fly as well and kicking themselves for not thinking of it first.

That's One Spicy Video Camera!

So what would you do if you plunked $1600 down at Best Buy for a new video camera, came home, opened the package and instead of a camera found a jar of Classico Pasta Sauce?

Sony made good and sent them a camera but the Best Buy in question wasn't so quick on the uptake. Me, I take my gadgets with a nice white clam sauce, thank you.

Via MSNBC