But my absolute favorite suggestion came from several people who’d probably appreciate it if I keep their identities under wraps. When junk faxes proliferate, they say, they take some black crepe paper, feed it into their fax machines and then tape it into a never-ending loop.

Then they dial the number of the junk faxer and allow the Black Fax of Doom to do its dirty work at the other end of the line, wherever that may be.

I hope the original sender didn’t use an innocent from: fax number when they sent their junk fax . . . as you could inadvertently end up attacking an innocent fax machine with this “countermeasure”.

advertising, blowback, countermeasure, junk fax

The Good:

• Great Interface . . . one that only Apple could envision and execute!
• Well Rounded Feature Set!
• Marvelous Design!
• It’s Gorgeous!

But I’ve got a few issues that will need to be resolved before I will buy one:

1. EDGE?!?!? Apple, are you serious? Have you tried an EDGE data connection on Cingular? Calling it painful is generous . . . at best! A couple of facts about EDGE:
• It’s inadequate for video streaming and/or near real time media downloads. Less than 80k of throughput . . . in real world use, much less!
• Cingular is in the process of deploying UTMS/HSDPA 3G networking, and there should be a fair amount of coverage in metro areas within the year.
• There are many phones on the market with combined GPRS/EDGE/UTMS data support, why limit the iPhone?
• This handset has to be usable for at least as long as the carrier commitment (2 years minimum for this deal). Launching a “revolutionary” phone with yesterdays data access is inexcusable.
• The cellular ecosystem does not allow for the same upgrade cycle that Apple has enjoyed previously with the iPod. The cost of upgrading hardware mid-contract is prohibitively expensive. Who here has experienced the sticker shock of replacing a lost or damaged handset? What’s the price of this phone without a “carrier subsidy”? Enough said.
• I really hope the hardware is capable of 3G/UTMS/HSDPA out of the box . . . just waiting for a code to activate, like the recent stealth roll out of the Pre-N WiFi cards in recent Apple hardware?
2. 4/8Gb Storage? Not enough to use it for a video media player
• I hope the slot below the camera lens (on the left side of the phone) is a removable media bay (CompactFlash I Hope, but I’ll settle for SD).
3. WiFi Access:
• Where is the seamless VoIP integration that can roam between the Cingular and WiFi network?
• Open WiFi is not ubiquitous in the US, and most public access is fee based.
• Cingular, your signal sucks in my house but I have great WiFi coverage.
4. And now no user installable applications . . . according to The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

apple, cellular, cingular, wifi, iphone

Looks like GM (of all companies) may have the first working, commercially available, electric vehicle on the market.  Dubbed the “Volt” . . .  expect the name to change before it is released.  The new EV is expected to have a 40 mile battery only range, with a small fuel powered engine that exists solely to charge the battery . . . that’s right, this car has no direct drive linkage to the fuel powered motor making it an EV rather than a hybrid!  The EV batteries are expected to be fully charged by the fuel motor within 30 minutes . . . even as the car cruises at 70MPH!

Concept and marketing photos of the Volt are available at AutoBlogGreen.
It appears that the new EV will have a modular architecture that allows for different charging motor technologies to be installed based on local markets for alternate fuels . . . such as E85, E100, Hydrogen and Biodiesel.

I want one . . . with my current driving commute of less than 3 miles a day . . . I’ve already been looking at a long available EV . . . the Segway to fully eliminate all fossil fuel burning from my commute . . . after all, I can’t force BART to use solar, hydro or wind power for the trains . . . at least not yet
This could actually be considered for my next car.  I refuse to buy another gasoline driven vehicle.  Yes, this even means a hybrid is out of the question.  World events and true national security requirements dictates that we remove ourselves from the global oil economy sooner rather than latter.  I don’t think that the current generation of cars being sold today will have a useful life span beyond 5-7 years due to the expected high price (in dollars and lives) or crude oil.  Those in the oil business in the US better get in gear and figure out what their business continuity plans are post Oil . . . or they go the way of the dinosaurs.  Come to think of it . . . maybe they will be THE next energy source, quite literally

ev, alternative energy, crude oil, energy independence, hybrid, oil, real national security, electric vehicle

Image Courtesy of NASA

nasa, spaceflight, spacewalk, space

Gives new meaning to factory fresh . . . the weird part . . . they shipped it Ground!!!

china, fedex, ipod, ipod video, apple

So I took to milking my corncobs . . . labor-intensive, but easy process if you have the right tools. After about 5 minutes, I had amassed a total of about 4 cups of a wonderful sweet corn pulp . . . And then it hit me, out of the 10 ears of corn that I started with, I had only gathered 4 cups of pulp. Glancing in the sink full of cornhusks and cobs I came to a conclusion . . . this was a very bio-inefficient process.

You see, on average a single corn plant produces about 2 ears of corn (speaking from my experience of growing organic corn in my backyard), with an average stalk height of about 6 feet. Now, those ears are roughly (by volume) 1/3 kernel pulp and 2/3 inedible husk and cob – to break it down by volume of material, per corn plant that’s roughly:

• 10% usable corn pulp
• 30% waste husk and cob
• 60% waste corn stalk

Not taking into account the water and fertilizer required to grow the corn, that makes the plant about 10% efficient in producing a usable raw material for anything from human fuel (creamed corn) to car fuel (ethanol).

While great strides are being made in the field of cellulosic ethanol, it just shows that corn is the wrong material for long-term bio-fuel production. In addition, diverting corn from the food supply will only serve to drive up the cost of everyday products that make use of corn such as corn chips, soft drinks, and steaks . . . and, well, corn itself. This ignores completely the fact that we can’t produce enough corn in the US to completely rid ourselves of imported fossil fuels.

What’s needed is a way to utilize existing residential, commercial and industrial bio-waste as the raw material for ethanol production. This is where large scale, distributed cellulosic ethanol production makes sense. Everyday in the US, many bio-waste products from scrap wood and saw-dust to yard clippings are produced, and large percentage of these materials are just disposed of in a landfill. Use of these materials could yield ‘free’ fuel to power our cars.

If additional materials are needed for ethanol generation, we could harvest fast growing native plants, or we could cultivate plant species with low environmental impact in marginal farming locations so not to increase the use of chemical fertilizers and ground water, or to compete with the existing food supply.

Over the longer-term, we must find a fuel source that allows us to wean ourselves from fossil fuels without destroying our land in the process.

In the mean time, I’ll just keep making creamed corn.

bio-waste, cellulosic ethanol, corn, creamed corn, energy, fossil fuels, ethanol

LG has released a new cell phone in South Korea that includes a built-in breathalyzer . . . it can even block you from dialing certain numbers when your blood-alcohol level is too high! Even better . . . It’s even coming to the US soon!
I’ve got a few friends that need this feature in a cell phone!

Via Schneier on Security

drunk dial, cellular phone

I’ve got to get out to Florida to see one of these in person before they stop flying them!

discovery, hdnet, nasa, space shuttle, sts-121

Ad 1 and Ad 2 Via YouTube

And people wonder why I carry my PowerMac around to security conferences

EDIT: Looks like the official Apple site has all six ads . . . Â

mac, marketing, microsoft, security, apple