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Bad Robots: Rise of the
Machines
Wired News published an article
this week called, "How
Robots will Steal Your Job." It was an interview with
Marshall Brain, who predicts that many jobs will be taken by
robots in the coming decades. But I wouldn't worry about that --
er, unless you're a McDonald's
burger flipper. Or an opera
musician. Or a blackjack
dealer, wireless
security consultant, Chinese
astronaut, food
taster, soldier,
water
strider or
shark.
Holographic
Display Technology to Get Real
HoloTouch has
signed a license agreement with InfoPerks to use HoloTouch's
holographic display technology in New York sidewalk
kiosks. The technology projects computer screens in midair.
"Touching" the buttons activates commands, even
though the "button" is nothing more than light.
HoloTouch's president also said other companies are interested
in the technology for ATMs, entertainment, factory, medical
and military applications.
How Can You Save Money On Printer Ink?
Answer: Buy a new
printer each time you run out, then throw away the printer.
The printer price wars have created a bizarre situation, as
highlighted by a writer for the San Antonio Express-News: You can often buy a new printer fully loaded with ink
cartridges for less
than it costs to buy just the cartridges. He found an
Apollo P-2200 for $10 (after a rebate) loaded with
HP ink cartridges that, if purchased separately, would cost
more than $60.
Writing, Grooming, Eating All
Distract Drivers From Focusing On Their Cell Calls
While the
politicians are obsessed with drivers being distracted
because of cell phone calls, a new study by the AAA found
that all
drivers -- all drivers! -- in their study were distracted by
one thing or another. The list includes talking with
passengers, fiddling with the radio, eating, drinking,
grooming, taking pills, applying lipstick, reading, writing
and more. Some 25 percent of accidents are caused by
distracted drivers, according to the study.
Forget Fat
Camp. Kids Need Internet Addiction Camp!
A
new camp in Germany is aimed at breaking kids' addiction
to the Internet. They don't have to go cold turkey: Each
camper gets 30 minutes of quality web browsing per day. The
rest of their time at camp is spent outdoors, discovering
exotic new concepts like "trees" and
"grass" and "sunshine."
Tech Support
Sucks
One in three
consumers who calls tech support never
gets their problem resolved, according to the September
issue of Consumer Reports Magazine. The survey does not
compare American and Indian tech support.
Internal eBay
Memo Orders Staff to Keep Live Chat Feature Secret
This
internal memo from eBay orders customer service staff to
keep the online auction company's Live Chat support feature a
secret from customers because there aren't enough people to
support it.
For the Price of a Bad Lunch
at a Disreputable Restaurant...
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Toyota Goes
Nuts with the In-Car Navigation Systems
A
whopping 80%
of Toyota's car models will get the company's advanced in-dash
navigation system and G-BOOK network service over the next
couple of years. That should dramatically increase the appeal
of Toyota cars among geeks, as well as make Toyotas more
likely to cause horrible
accidents.
Web Obsession
May Become an Official Disorder
One of my favorite
escapist summer reading pleasures, "The Journal of
Depression and Anxiety," has published criteria for
identifying obsession with the Internet as a real disorder
calling for real drugs.
Cell Phone Follies
Brits can pay $38 per year to use
Carphone Warehouse's mapAmobile service, which enables
subscribers to zero
in on any cell phone, pinpointing the phone -- and its
owner's -- location. The service can track only those who have
consented and have their mobiles switched on.
Dialing for Dolphins: If you're
tired of talking to humans on your cell phone, soon you'll be
able to call a number and listen to the live clicks and squeaks
of dolphins in the Shannon estuary in Ireland. Marine biologist
Simon Berrow, of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation
based in Kilrush, Country Clare, plans to install underwater
microphones in the estuary and make those sounds available by
cell phone courtesy of Vodaphone. The purpose is... well, there
is no purpose, really, other than jacking up your minutes and
providing cheap publicity for Berrow and Vodaphone.
Pentagon's
New Plane Features 2,000,000 Lines of Code
The F/A-22
Raptor is a $200-million-per-plane stealth fighter that
can do it all. But what really sets the plane apart is
"its ability to process data on air and ground targets
using its own onboard radars and sensors, as well as those on
other aircraft. The airplane is, essentially, an extremely
advanced carriage loaded with computers running 2 million
lines of software code." Unfortunately, the plane
has to be rebooted during flights.
Mike's List on
the Radio
Craig Crossman's
Computer America features Mike Elgan every
Thursday night. The show runs from 7pm to 9pm SVT (Silicon Valley Time). Listen
to Computer America on your local Business TalkRadio station or
over
the Internet every weeknight. Don't miss Computer
America!
Yahoo
Launches 'American Idol' Style Search . . . For New Yodeler
"American
Yodel?" Yahoo this week kicked off a search
for an amateur yodeler at the Times Square Studios in New
York. The winner will win an appearance in an upcoming Yahoo!
TV spot and $10,000. Auditions will take place in San
Francisco, Kansas City, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, Los
Angeles and Austin, Texas.
Hollywood Spy
A documentary film
maker is shooting
a film about Craig's List, the Bay Area's best resource
for jobs, apartments and personal ads. Mike's List is next.
Reader Web Site o'
the Week
Mike's List
reader Roman Filippov runs an awesome web site called Your
Garage Sale Source. Buyers can search for local sales.
Sellers are given all kinds of resources, from advice to tools,
like a sign-making utility. If you're a garage sale enthusiast,
check it out!
Get YOUR web site on the high-traffic Mike's
List Reader Links page. HERE'S
HOW!
Gotta-Get-It
Gadgets
Sony
will introduce September 21 the new SMU-WR 1 optical wireless
USB mouse, which looks awkward to use but has a cool feature.
When you place the mouse in its cradle, it goes into sleep
mode, which conserves battery life. Clicking on the right or
left side of the giant button is like pushing the right or
left buttons on a standard two-button mouse. The scroll wheel is
in the middle of the button. Pricing has not been revealed.
Why take trumpet lessons when you
can just buy music and download it into your electronic trumpet.
Yamaha's Trumpet EZ-TP (sounds more like electronic toilet
paper) lets anyone play like a pro.
Lexar announced a 4
gigabyte CompactFlash card this week. The $1,500 40x card
holds 600 pictures taken at 6 megapixels.
Sharp's newest laptop, the
PC-SV1-7DB, plays TV, DVD and music CDs. What's unique and cool
is that you don't have to boot up the notebook. Just pop in a
DVD or CD or press the TV button and your media plays while the
laptop stays off. The PC-SV1-7DB becomes available August 28.
Pricing has not been announced.
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Mike's List, why not
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sign up.
Wacky
Web Sites
A web site simulates a monkey
typing, then checks it against a database containing the
complete works of William Shakespeare to see if this -- "If
you have enough monkeys banging randomly on typewriters, they
will eventually type the works of William Shakespeare"
-- is true. (This site, which features simulated chimps, is not
to be confused with a hoax site, that uses real fake
chimps and baboons to do software programming.)
If you like terrible movies, go
see Gigli, then visit the Bad
Movie Database.
Amazing PhotoShop
alterations galore! Check out the Galleries.
Twisted
Games
Butch
Mushroom
Bomber
Man
Bubble
Ball
Key
Ball
Soap
Bubble
Reader Comment
Mike,
I get about a dozen e-zines and this new Raw Feed tops them all. How do you find time to look for all this stuff. I have a habit of following links on sites. I'll never get the time to follow all of yours. I
sent one site to my humor list but I'm afraid to send the Raw Feed URL. I want to keep it for myself for a while. BIG QUESTION - Where can I send some money?
Devoted Reader
_______
Mike,
In your most recent newsletter you showed a site that sells modded computer mice with fans to cool the hot-palmed user. You mentioned an earlier article about a site that showed how to make your own mouse with fan, but you could no longer find the site.
Is this the site you were looking
for? The home page and other crazy mods can be found here.
What better to go along with a mouse with a fan than a mouse pad with a
fan and LED
lights. Thanks for the great newsletter!
Rick Cariello
Big Number o' the Week
20
- The percentage of enterprises that will experience a "serious
internet security incident" by the year 2005, according
to a Gartner prediction.
Mystery Pic o'
the Week
What is it? Send YOUR guess to [email protected] (be sure to say where you live).
If you're first with the right answer, I'll print your name in the
next issue of Mike's List!
 LAST WEEK'S
MYSTERY PIC:
No, it's not a "robotic dragonfly," a "low-flying water sprinkler" or even "Big Brother's little brother" as suggested by some readers. In fact it's a
remote control jet helicopter designed to map soy fields using a
built-in digital camera that records variations in growing conditions.
Congratulations to Connie Devine of Shingletown, California, for being first with the right answer!
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