Slashdot | Switch Different x180 writes "Those goofy hackers over at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in San Diego this week have, in a spate of fun, put together a series of Switch ad spoofs for the geeky ones. Writes Rael Dornfest in his blog, 'You've no doubt seen Apple's fabulous Switch campaign commercials. But what of the others? The geeky ones. The scripters. The sysadmins in their server cages. The command-line jockeys. Those through whom the source flows openly.' See the stories of hackers chucking Emacs in favor of Vi, leaving Perl to explore Python, and leaving the familiar home of Unix to play with XP." These, of course, aren't the only switch parodies. Their numbers are Legion.  ¶ 12:54 PM

  Top 100 Names of 2001 This page presents the most frequently used given names for births in the first 8 months of 2001. The data comes from a 1% sample of Social Security card applications for births from January through August 2001. The total number of males in the sample is 12,047 and the total number of females is 11,458. Criteria to be included in the sample is simply that a Social Security card application was filed and that the year of birth was 2001. Birth on United States soil was not a requirement. As always each unique spelling is considered a unique name. It may be appropriate for purposes of ranking popularity of names to combine similar spellings of the same name. This kind of grouping, however, is subjective and time consuming, and is beyond the scope of this document.   ¶ 12:40 AM

  Slashdot | Cable Companies Saying No to WiFi Sharing blastedtokyo writes: "According to this story from CNet, Time Warner Cable is going after people who share their wireless connections via NYC Wireless or other public share networks. All we need is a warchalking symbol that conveys 'I'm a lawyer who doesn't have time to figure out how to set up a WEP link.'" This might remind you of a story posted the other day about other ways cable ISPs are trying to lock down their networks.   ¶ 9:41 PM

  Shot of a raging bull bearing down on his camera An Irish photographer whose shot of a raging bull bearing down on his camera in Pamplona on July 7, 2002 sparked a flood of concern about his fate said July 7, 2002 that modern technology had kept him out of harm's way. Reuters' photographer Desmond Boylan's close-up of an enraged bull -- already bearing a T-shirt trophy on one of its horns -- was carried around the world and prompted numerous inquiries about the fate of the photographer.  ¶ 3:54 PM

  Cal-ISO issues a "Stage 2" emergency. Next targeted blackout block(s): 1. For more background and news on the energy crisis, visit the SF Gate Energy Special http://www.sfgate.com/energy/  ¶ 3:17 PM

  How to find a good preschool Good daycare centers and good preschools aren't all that different. They're licensed, accredited, and regulated by the same agencies, and both feature a structured environment and a regular curriculum. But preschools usually offer shorter programs than centers, which means you may have to pay more for extended hours if you want a full-time program. Preschools do tend to offer more age-appropriate activities because they don't take children from as many age groups as daycare centers. And some preschools have a more academic focus, so if that's important to you, add it to your list. Start your quest for a preschool early — applying at birth (we kid you not) isn't too early for the best schools in the biggest cities — and apply to more than one in case you don't get your first choice. Once you find two or three promising ones, take a few steps to make sure they're schools you want to stick with. We've outlined the process for you below.  ¶ 5:14 PM

  Slashdot | Video Games Found To Decrease Brain Activity Richard C writes "A Japanese researcher, Akio Mori, from the Nihon University's College of Humanities and Sciences, claims to have found a link between the playing of video games and the balance of activity in the brain. It is also claimed that this effect can cause behavioural changes, such as lack of concentration, difficulty with social association, and short temper. These effects are also thought to be, to some extent, nonreversible." I was gonna say something witty and insightful here, but I can't think of anything. At least I can't make a windows machine stable enough to run Neverwinter or my brain would be toast.  ¶ 5:13 PM

  Slashdot | A Quick Peek From the Matrix Set In Sydney We posted recently about the planned shutdown of part of Sydney for filming of the upcoming Matrix sequel. Now reader zobier points to a followup describing the shooting, and since he was on hand to see it first-hand, writes: "I went along to watch the filming, it was very cool (I love helicopters tho' ;) They didn't block off much city space, maybe (100 - 200m)˛, and the chopper flew down the square (Martin Place) between the buildings about 5 - 10m above our heads. Many onlookers were videoing and photographing the scene. At about 5pm when it got dark the camera flashes started going off, this pissed off the director as it was interfering with his film." GoogolPlexPlex adds a link to coverage in the Sydney Morning Herald.  ¶ 5:12 PM

  Slashdot | Will Earth Expire By 2050? _josh writes: "Will overconsumption force humanity off this planet in less than 50 years? It may sound sci-fi, but according to the WWF in this story at the Observer, it's entirely possible. Maybe now I can convince my brother not to buy that SUV ..." Take with as large a grain of salt as you think appropriate.  ¶ 5:10 PM

  As WorldCom Goes, Will Net Also? WorldCom could suck a vast amount of cyberspace into its multibillion-dollar accounting black hole, but experts say it isn't likely that the Internet will implode along with the scandal-ridden telecommunications company. WorldCom's assets include MCI, the second-largest long-distance service provider, and UUNet, a vast, high-speed network that handles about half of the world's Internet traffic -- including about 70 percent of all e-mails sent within the United States and half of all e-mails sent in the world. Many who wonder how such a vast network can be properly maintained are concerned about the impending death of the Internet if WorldCom goes out of business, according to analysts and other industry observers such as Rob Rosenberger. "I keep hearing all these weird rumors about WorldCom turning off the Internet when they turn off the lights," Rosenberger said.   ¶ 11:34 PM

  Slashdot | A More In Depth Look at PS/2 Linux An anonymous reader writes "I have yet to see a GOOD review of the Linux (for Playstation 2) kit... until now... " The article takes awhile to get to the point, but covers a lot of information about what you can and can't do w/ the kit, and more interestingly what the author thinks the kit is intended to accomplish.  ¶ 11:46 AM

  Two Lackluster Reviews For LindowsOS on Wal-Mart PCs Eugenia writes: "Two individual reviews of LindowsOS running on the MicroTel/Wal-Mart hardware were published today. The first can be found over at NewsForge and the other one at BayArea.com. Both reviews are not positive for the Lindows solution and they are not excited about the idea of Click-n-Run."  ¶ 11:46 AM

  Action Figures at Kidrobot.com Welcome to KidRobot— devoted entirely to premium collectible Urban-style action figures. We specialize in soft vinyl figures, 12", mini-figures, & much more. Medicom’s ’Stylish Collection’ — Featuring characters from the hugely popular ’Lupin’ anime series. These figures take a cost is no object approach and feature extremely high quality clothing and accessories. The Next Generation of Estate! Eric So collobarates with LMF frontman MC Yan on a new line of Estate figures. This time depicting the twisted youth typical of low-income HK communal housing. Also new P.A.S.A. Mongkok Gang Nomo Variants, Spunk in Black and Red, NBC Soldier in Camo and Dancing with Gravity Kurt.  ¶ 10:55 PM

  Slashdot | Alternative Wireless Broadband for your Neighborhood An anonymous reader writes "TelephonyOnline reports Motorola has announced a new line of 5GHz *unlicensed* Wireless Broadband point to multi-point solution with a 2 mile range called Canopy. Pricing may allow neighborhoods to gang up and be their own ISP."  ¶ 9:33 AM

  Apple's Jaguar leaps ahead of schedule - Tech News - CNET.com The widely anticipated update to Apple Computer's Mac OS X will appear earlier than expected, sources say, which is good news for the company in a tough year. The new version, code-named Jaguar and officially known as Mac OS X 10.2, is now expected to ship in early August, barring unforeseen difficulties, said sources familiar with Apple's product strategy. In May, Apple indicated the OS would ship by the end of summer, which many analysts took to mean the end of September or even October. "It sort of seems like the same situation as the first release of OS X, which came at a time when Apple needed to generate some high-margin revenue," said Technology Business Research analyst Tim Deal. "It's quite possible we'll see (the new version) released ahead of schedule--again, at a time when Apple needs to maintain its margins and profitability." In typical fashion, Apple would not comment on the pending announcement--due at the upcoming MacWorld Expo, which starts in two weeks--or whether Jaguar will appear early.  ¶ 9:33 AM

  Ziff Davis' Yahoo Internet Life to fold - Tech News - CNET.com Yahoo Internet Life, the Ziff Davis Media publication chronicling Net culture, is shuttering operations, sources close to the company said Tuesday. The publication, which had a paid circulation base of 1.1 million subscribers, is the latest in Ziff Davis' family of technology magazines to cease operations. In November 2001, Ziff Davis stopped publication of Interactive Week, folding most of its editorial content into eWeek. In May, Ziff Davis also sold The Net Economy to trade publisher Advanstar. In a memo to employees, Ziff Davis Media CEO Robert Callahan attributed the closure to the struggling technology market after the dot-com bubble burst. He added that advertising dollars declined considerably since last year and the publication's market share decreased 52 percent, despite its large paying audience.  ¶ 3:05 PM

  Slashdot | Around the World In 14 Days An anonymous reader writes: "Adventurer Steve Fossett succeeded Tuesday on his sixth try to pilot a balloon solo around the world, crossing the meridian where he started his historic journey June 19, his ground crew at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, announced."  ¶ 3:04 PM

  Anonymous Will Award $200,000 for Xbox Linux An anonymous reader writes: "The X-box Linux Project at Sourceforge reports today that an anonymous donor will award nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the individuals responsible for the completion of a two-phased effort to run Linux on the Xbox. One can't help but wonder if this will help or hurt the community. On one hand, it is likely to generate additional interest in the project, on the other, some people may be less inclinded to share their discoveries with money on the line. Then again, getting both Money and Glory sounds pretty good."  ¶ 2:50 PM

  AOL blocks access to bCentral - Tech News - CNET.com America Online said Monday that it temporarily had blocked e-mail coming through servers from Microsoft's bCentral, a Web service focused on small businesses. An AOL representative said the problem cropped up when bCentral servers did not respond to queries from AOL to determine where the mail was coming from, leading the system to "time out." As a result, AOL temporarily suspended access to bCentral servers, the representative said. Access was restored by Monday evening, he added. Microsoft said it was aware of the problem and has been working to resolve it.  ¶ 7:14 AM

  Start-up spins MP3s for GameBoy - Tech News - CNET.com Santa Monica, Calif.-based SongPro plans to launch a device that will sell for less than $99 this fall that will play digital music in various formats on any of the tens of millions of GameBoy game consoles worldwide. The GameBoy line--both the older GameBoy Color and the newer GameBoy Advance--is a product of Japanese game giant Nintendo, and it has a virtual monopoly on the handheld gaming market worldwide. The company says it has Nintendo's support for first-of-its-kind device.  ¶ 7:13 AM

  What If Kids Built the Cities? But a new public art project in Ohio encourages kids to think bigger than that new porch swing: using software and digital cameras, the youngsters are collaborating to re-design their city. This summer, these digital collages will be displayed on computer monitors in 8-foot-tall colorful, fiberglass kiosks throughout Columbus. Rotterdam artist Jeanne van Heeswijk -- known for installations that combine art, community and urban life -- developed the Face Your World project at the invitation of the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University and in collaboration with the Greater Columbus Arts Council's Children of the Future program.   ¶ 12:08 AM

  Harriet the Online Book Reviewer Not many people have heard of Harriet Klausner. But chances are that anyone who frequents Amazon.com has read her work. "I like to hit the largest audience I possibly can and Amazon is the largest site," said Klausner, Amazon's most prolific reviewer. "The online experience has more readers to get reviews and it's more accessible." While online reviewers like Klausner aren't nearly as well known as Oprah, they may still wield significant influence in the publishing world. "She reaches more readers than most book reviewers because she's seen by thousands of people," said Steve Gordon, founder of AllReaders.com. "I think she has more reach than many of the top newspapers."   ¶ 12:06 AM

  Slashdot | Anime Stores, Rentals and Theaters? ajaygautam asks: "For the past few months (on and off), I have been trying to locate Anime stores, rentals and theaters in and around Central New Jersey, but have not been able to find much. Only Blockbuster, which carries a very limited selection. I was wondering if there is a list of such things on the Internet somewhere. I propose that we create this 'Ask Slashdot' a comprehensive list of Anime stores, rental locations and theaters that do show Anime movies."  ¶ 12:00 AM

  Insecure networks could lead to lawsuits - Tech News - CNET.com Hundreds of wireless networks have no security, leaving hackers everywhere to hide. Is your network safe?   ¶ 10:14 AM

  Brace for new wave of attacks The Web is currently more vulnerable to attack than ever before, as a result of several serious security flaws for different server applications being published within a few days of one another, according to a survey from British network security firm Netcraft. Microsoft published a trio of security advisories on June 12 related to its Internet Information Server (IIS), and this was followed on June 17 by the publication of a bug in the Apache Web server application that leaves the software open to a buffer overflow attack. Together, Apache and IIS make up nearly 90 percent of active Web servers, according to Netcraft, although it has not yet been conclusively proven that the Apache flaw affects versions running on the Linux ( news - web sites) and Solaris operating systems.   ¶ 10:10 AM

  Slashdot | News Sites Getting to Know You The Online Journalism Review has a story about more and more news sites requiring registration. Has assorted facts and figures, including how much sites' traffic dropped when registration was required. Even though a fair percentage of people just make up the data they are asked to provide, I'd guess that as a statistical measure it's probably pretty accurate - many people would tell the truth without caring that they're being tracked. As a general matter, Slashdot's policy on linking to registration-required websites goes something like this: The New York Times is okay, because they've got a lot of high-quality stories and they were essentially grandfathered in;  ¶ 10:08 AM