Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Halloween Fun on the Intertubes

Some Halloween fun to share from the Internet:

This guy had his UMPC swallowed by a pumpkin, while he was showing us how to carve a pumpkin with the stylus from a UMPC.

A "Do-Not-Track" List for the Web?

Consumer advocates are asking the Feds to create a Do-Not-Track list for the Internet, that would work similarly to the Do-Not-Call list for phones. Would it work? Well it come to be? Will it burst the advertising bubble that Web 2.0 is built on? I still find it hard to believe that folks actually click on all those ads. In the wake of Google's stock hitting 700, this is certainly an interesting development and one worth following.

My $.02? If that many folks are clicking on that many ads and providing that much data, I'm not sure it would have much effect in protecting privacy, except for those who are really concerned and care to lock their personal info up tight. But then maybe that's the point.

Via The New York Times

Technorati Tags: Do-Not-Track List , Google , Privacy , VRM

Are Sprint and HTC Playing Trick or Treat with Mogul Firmware Updates?

You might want to check your Halloween bag for a trick or two if you're a Sprint (HTC) Mogul user. Last week, HTC rolled out a firmware update (2.16) for the Mogul and, since it was eagerly anticipated, everyone jumped at the chance to download and upgrade. Of course the biggest anticipation was that it would contain EVDO Rev A. It did not.

After a few days of trying things out, some, (not all) Mogul users discovered some issues with the update. The biggest being that when your phone entered a roaming area it would freeze up. Other commonly reported issues were that BlueTooth would mysteriously turn off, and that the DPad would stop functioning after the phone awoke from sleep.

Word then began to trickle out that another update would be released today, October 31. Then more word (words?) that it would be soon.

Then HTC pulled the 2.16 update and the site now takes you back to the previous ROM update 2.09. Word is also out and about that Sprint and HTC are recommending that users roll back to 2.09, although I've seen nothing official on this yet.

For the record I'm having none of the issues on a recurring basis, although I've experienced them intermittently. Trying to reproduce them doesn't always yield a positive (or would that be negative) result. Of course that is frustrating as well.

The info is hot and heavy on the forums that deal with these issues, so I'll keep following this along. But suffice it to say, I'm not sure if this is a Halloween trick or treat, or just more of the same old same old. Some clarity would be nice here, Sprint and HTC.

Technorati Tags:  Sprint ,  HTC ,  Mogul ,  PPC6800

Happy Halloween

Halloween and Tablet PCs do mix.

A Theremin In A Matryoska Doll, Lots of Them

Amazing. We're using a theremin in our production of Shadow of the Raven: Stories of Edgar Allan Poe. But not like this. Japanese theremin maker Mandarin Electron embedded theremin's in Russian matryoska dolls and you have a whole chorus of Matryomin's.

Amazing.

Via Gizmodo

Technorati Tags: theremin

From Giraffe Fights To Camel Wrestling

Last month we brought you Giraffe fights. This month we've got Camel wrestling. Who knew these mammals liked such rough stuff.

Via The J-Walk Blog

Technorati Tags:  camel fighting

A Spider From Scissors

This looks cool, it also looks spooky. A spider made from scissors. But not just any scissors mind you, scissors that have been confiscated by the TSA and sold at auction.

Via BoingBoing

Chicken Foot USB Drive. Why?

The parade of bizarre USB drives just keeps on marching. Now we have one shaped like a chicken foot. Does anybody buy this stuff? Especially at $44.95.

Via Crave

That's Some Retirement Package

So, let's see. Your company suffers its largest loss ever and you take the rap and are gone. But you get to walk out with $161.5 million. That's some parachute that the head of Merrill Lynch is hanging from. You also get an office and an executive assistant  for 3 years.

I'll never understand how that works.

Via MSNBC

Vinyl Coming Back

I've blogged about this before, and in some bizarre way I hope it is true. Supposedly vinyl is making a comeback in the music biz, especially on the Indie circuit. Interesting quote:

"For many of us, and certainly for many of our artists, the vinyl is the true version of the release," said Matador's Patrick Amory. "The size and presence of the artwork, the division into sides, the better sound quality, above all the involvement and work the listener has to put in, all make it the format of choice for people who really care about music."

I didn't know until I read the Wired Article on this topic that Amazon had launched a Vinyl section for music sales and from the sound of it, some bands are looking a combination vinyl/mp3 release strategy.

Now, where did I put that turntable?

Technorati Tags: vinyl , mp3