Are all mathematicians geeks?

By Mark O’Neill

I had to laugh at this one because to me, being viewed as a geek is probably not the only reason people don’t continue to study mathematics. I didn’t continue it because I sucked at it and my maths teacher begged me to leave her class before I forced her into a mental breakdown.

I have always adhered to the Billy Connolly philosophy when it comes to mathematics. He has always maintained that he has never seen the point of things like algebra and their practical use in the world. He famously told Conan O’Brien that the only two things that a school needs to teach kids today are “how to make money and how to get laid. Nothing else matters”. Conan choked on his coffee and the audience went into an uproar.

So do you agree with the study? Is it hard these days to get people to seriously study mathematics? Does the geek stereotype get in the way?



Control Your Appliances With Your Mind

By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Prepare yourself for what may be the most powerful remote ever made: the mind-reading hat.

Scientists from Taiwan have just finished developing the first protocol of this thing. Aside from a rather obvious antenna jutting out the back, the hat looks stylish enough. But this baby isn’t about fashion; it’s about function. Inside, its electrodes can monitor the EEG signals from your brain and translate them into action.

So far, the hat’s been tested to read how alert users are and tell them whether they should be driving. But it’s the future possibilities that will blow your mind.

The researchers say they’ll eventually be able to have the hat sense your thoughts about appliances like your TV or computer, then act on them. So you could think, “I wish my TV would turn on,” and — boom! — it happens.

Coolness aside, the technology would have huge implications for people with disabilities who can’t physically get to their televisions to adjust them. The engineers are also looking at using the hats for medical monitoring and exercise training.

The hat operates on a completely wireless system, sending data via Bluetooth to a remote receiver. Its batteries can power it for two days before a recharge is needed.

The research was published in a medical journal called IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. You can read more about it here.

Will MySpace Suicide Case Set Dangerous Legal Precedent?

By Mark O’Neill

A dangerous legal precedent could be set if a woman is convicted of harassing a clinically depressed girl on MySpace to later commit suicide. This is because the only crime in which prosecutors could charge the woman with was violating the MySpace Terms Of Service contract (TOS) which you agree to when you set up your MySpace profile for the first time.

Although what Lori Drew allegedly did to Megan Meier was despicable, it is a bit of a stretch to charge her with “unauthorized access” to MySpace’s computers. Since no cyber-bullying laws exist, they are using the fact that Drew used an account with false details to harass Meier – which is a violation of the MySpace TOS contract – to charge her under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. In other words, because she failed to give her real name on her online profile, she’s screwed.

Why is this dangerous? Because if Drew is convicted for violating the TOS of MySpace, then ANYONE in the future caught violating the TOS of any website can also theoretically be charged under the same law. As the Wired Story says, some TOS prohibit you from saying negative things about the company. So if you say anything bad about MySpace, can you be charged with a crime? Other TOS’s have also banned linking. Is that a crime too?

How many online social network users use false names? Are all these people in violation of the law too? Do they all have to be arrested for violating MySpace?

More to the point, how many people actually read a TOS before clicking “I accept”? So how many people could commit a crime without realizing it?

As I said, if Drew is guilty, then I don’t condone what she did in any way. But in their over-zealousness to get a conviction for the Meier family, prosecutors may have gone a bit too far.

So next time you are presented with a TOS on the screen, you might want to hesitate a few moments longer before clicking “I accept”.

Via Wired



Can someone be forced to hand over a domain they are wasting?

By Mark O’Neill

Now here’s the situation. There’s a domain I’ve had my eye on for the past several years but the current owner has had an “under construction” sign on it for as long as I can remember. About two years back, I started emailing him, asking him if he ever planned to use the domain, and if not, would he release it back into the public arena so I can take it? I have some big plans for it if I ever get my hands on it.

At first he ignored me, but I can be a pretty persistent stubborn kind of guy when I want to be (just ask my former journalism professors). Eventually he emailed me back and told me rather irritably that he had no intention of doing anything with the domain but he planned to keep it nonetheless – now get lost.

Now to me this is inexplicable. Why keep a website domain if you don’t plan to use it? Why waste it? Why not release it back into the public arena so it can be claimed by someone else? But he wasn’t willing to explain his reasons and I suppose he doesn’t have to. If he wants to act weird, I guess that’s his perogative.

Now before anyone asks, I’m not going to name the domain. The domain owner and I are not getting along and naming the domain would just inflame things between me and him. But what I started thinking today is ‘can someone be forced into giving up a domain? If someone has a domain and they are needlessly wasting it, is there a procedure in place to force them to relinquish it? If so, what is that procedure? If not, why the hell is there not a procedure?’

If there is such a procedure, has anyone here been through such a procedure and what was the outcome?

Disney Develops Real-life Animatronic WALL-E

Look at what the brilliant minds at Disney / Pixar have been working on: A real, working version of WALL-E, the hero of the upcoming Disney movie going by the same name. I wonder how long it will take for this thing to end up on eBay?

TED: The Science of Juggling

In the following video, professional juggler Michael Moschen puts on a quietly mesmerizing show of juggling. Don’t think juggling is an art? You might just change your mind after watching this guy in motion. Enjoy the show!

Cell Phone Security: Using your Phone to Monitor your Home





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By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

This week, we’re talking cell phone secrets — easy-to-use services that can help you unlock the hidden powers of your phone. I started by showing you a bunch of ways to get more for your money with cool services like Braincast and Cellfire.

But today, we’re taking on a different kind of underused force in your phone: its ability to keep your family safer. We’ve seen how cell phones can be used to let other people spy on you. This trick, though, turns the tables and lets you watch them.

Easy access

Imagine this: You’re at work for the day. With a few clicks on your phone, you pull up live images of your home from every possible angle. You see what doors are unlocked, who’s inside, and what they’re doing. You check up on the babysitter trusted with your kids. Or maybe you dial in from the road and look at images of your office to see if your staff really showed up to work when you were out of town. Whatever the need may be, it’s all possible — and not terribly hard to achieve.

There are a number of systems out there that can let you do this. I’m going to focus on the one I’ve seen in action: the WiLife (formerly Lukwerks) Home Surveillance System.



A simple setup

Who wouldn’t want to watch their property when they’re not around? A system like the one WiLife offers makes it easy. You just set up a series of cameras, configure your account, and you’re ready to roll. These things operate through the electrical wires you already have, too — you just plug the cameras into the wall and plug an adaptor into your computer — so there’s no need for any elaborate installation. You’re probably looking at 15 to 20 minutes tops.

Once you’re all set up, the rest is automatic. You dial some digits on your phone, and you’re tapped in. You can monitor the live feeds at your disposal, provided your phone or PDA can handle the streaming video. But the cooler part is how the system can do the work for you.

Instant alerts

WiLife’s alerts will watch your property and let you know any time anything changes. If someone comes in, if a light turns on, or if any motion at all is detected, WiLife sees it and alerts you. You set the level of sensitivity, then you can choose to get a text message, a picture message, or even a video message as soon as WiLife finds trouble. Now, the second something happens, you know it — and you’re watching.

Link to the law

If you do discover something amiss, the system makes it easy to alert police right from your phone, too. And the best part: It’s recording it all for you, so you can pass off a single evidence file to the officers the minute they arrive.

The WiLife kits start at $269 ($449 for a 2-camera system) and include the text and video messaging alerts for the life of the hardware, without any additional monthly fees or subscriptions. From what I’ve seen, they work pretty darned well. Speaking of which, nice shirt.

The Truth Behind File Trading Traps

By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Ever wonder how the record industry catches all those people trading music? Today, we’re getting some insight.

The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) says it uses the same exact tools familiar to file sharers to track them down. Specifically, RIAA officials told the Chronicle of Higher Education it watches LimeWire for a list of copyrighted songs. It’s actually hired a full-time company to monitor those titles and look for anyone trading them.

From there, the virtual cops use software to scan through the hosts and find individual IP addresses, then go after the violators. This program is only focused on college-based servers at the moment.