New Internet Land Rush?

ICANN has kept a tight reign on top-level-domain names (they are at the end of a domain name - things like .com, .net, .biz, etc.). Now they are mulling over* the idea of opening these TLD's up completely. This means we could soon see the long awaited .sucks TLD (think of the possibilities!), not to mention .xxx (which I have always favored contra the ridiculous and futile protests of tech-ignorant social conservatives).

So if you missed out on the .com cybersquatting boom, this might be your chance.

* The article is confusing because it confuses domain names and top-level domain names, which are different things. Unintentionally humorous (to geeks like me) quote: Hundreds of new domain names could be created by the end of the year, rising to thousands in the future.

Distraction Device

More on One-Laptop-Per-Child with some academic research showing it's worse than a waste of time and money - it could actually harm the kids who get it!

Let me take this opportunity to pile on OLPC even more. One of their fund-raising mechanisms was called "Give one, get one" or "Get one, give one". Something like that, with the emphasis on "get one". The way it worked was If I paid for two, one would be sent to the poor kid with a bright shining smile in some far-away country. Then I would not only get the warm feeling inside from my own wonderful do-goodery, but I would also get my very own OLPC PC! This perfectly sums up everything that is wrong with America and American charity. I do something that someone tells me is charitable, noble, and self-sacrificial, and then I get a shiny new toy. The really funny thing about this is that I'm certain all the geeks and semi-geeks who participated in this program unboxed the thing, played with it for an hour, and then left it in a corner. Now it's covered with pizza delivery boxes, iPhone 2.0 packaging materials*, and a couple of issues of Computer Gaming World.

* Or will be, after July 11th.

OLPC 2G2BT

The One Laptop Per Child initiative has not lived up to the dreams of its progenitors. I am grateful for failures like this. And to think they wanted to make 150 million of these useless toys. I am a skeptic concerning technology in education, but more like a rabid reactionary when it comes to shipping computers to countries plagued by food riots.

iPhone 2 Breaking News

The hype, insanity, and idolatry surrounding the iPhone always amazes me, but I keep having to add a few extra ticks to my amazement meter. Check out this article in Forbes (yes Forbes) about mysterious pallets at an Apple warehouse. It even comes with an impossible-to-parody slideshow. Stop the presses: we may have found where Apple is storing the new iPhone.

For me, this sums up everything that is wrong about America.