In the Spirit of Gutenberg: Blogs and the Democracy of Ideas

By Lyle Bateman
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Johannes GutenbergFrom a perspective of some six centuries later, it’s pretty easy to see the revolution inherent in the idea of movable type and the printing press. Once a hugely expensive endeavor confined to the scriptoriums of only super-wealthy patrons, book production was suddenly a fraction of the cost.

Books, once highly valued original works of art, could now be copied en-masse… once the valued property only of the rich, the printing press brought books, language, and learning within reach of the masses. The first printing press was to books and literature what the first assembly line was to Ford and automobiles… the means to mass-produce what was once a unique work of art. Through that mass production, the democracy of ideas took a huge step forward.

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Amazon S3 Exceeds 99.99% Uptime

Amazon S3 Web ServiceBy David Peralty
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

As more people look for better hosting and better data services, Amazon’s S3 is the one that everyone continues to buzz about. They recently reported that during October, they were able to maintain more than 99.99 percent uptime, something that most hosting companies would not be able to match.

This exceeds the performance required by their recently introduced service level agreement. Starting in October, Amazon set up a SLA for their service so that users were guaranteed at least 99.9 percent of uptime. If Amazon’s S3 went below that mark, their customers could apply for a service credit of up to 25 percent of their total charges for the month, depending on how much Amazon fell below their 99.9 percent mark.

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Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play Launches Charity Drive 2007

Child's Play CharityBy David Peralty
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

My favorite web based comic, Penny Arcade, is starting their Child’s Play initiative once again. This is their fourth year of running the charity, and I hope to see it continue growing bigger and bigger every year.

The premise of the charity is simple, give gaming technology to hospitals to improve people’s stay at an otherwise not so fun-friendly place. Since 2003, the initiative has been able to give over $2 million in games, toys, and cash to hospitals worldwide.

From their site:

Now in its fifth year, Child’s Play has expanded its network of beneficiary hospitals to over 25 states and five countries across the globe with additional partner hospitals being added each month. Child’s Play works in conjunction with Amazon.com to create wish lists for participating hospitals. Individual donors can choose to give new items ranging from toddler toys to music CDs, videogames, game consoles and accessories. Gifts are delivered directly to hospitals in need and are tax deductible as denoted by law.

The annual Child’s Play Fundraiser Dinner Auction will be held Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington. The semi-formal evening features a silent auction, dinner and live auction. In 2006 the dinner raised over $200,000 in one night, with all fundraising proceeds going directly to the Child’s Play network of hospitals.

I really believe that this charity is doing great things for children’s hospitals around the world, and I hope that if you can, you will help by promoting the project, or sending a contribution to it. The Child’s Play Charity deserves your support and once you are done donating, be sure to read Penny Arcade.

How long until “Whois” dies?

ICANNThe Whois service, which reveals the identity of Web site owners, could soon be a thing of the past.

The service, even if highly useful to many, has been highly criticized by privacy advocates, who say individuals should have the right to remain anonymous on the Web.

I have to say that I use the service quite often, mostly to track and contact people who steal content from [GAS]. Most of the time, these people leave no contact information on their Web site, so Whois is often the only way to get in touch with them.

The Whois database falls under the responsibility of the ICANN, the organization responsible for managing domain names on the Web. Last Wednesday, ICANN called a meeting to analyze whether or not they should disband the service. Unfortunately, even after 7 years of debate, it was decided further discussions were needed before a decision could be taken.

So with this debate in mind, here’s a question for you readers: Do you think a service such as Whois is a necessary evil on the Web? The comments section is open and we’re eagerly waiting to know your opinion on the matter.

How to: Repair a CD or DVD with a microwave

This simple technique will help you bring those scratched CD’s and DVD’s back to life. Before proceeding, be sure that you have the following ingredients:

1- A regular household microwave
2- Ice cream
3- Chocolate syrup
4- An egg
5- A sliced dill pickle
6- A marshmallow hamburger

We’ve covered several technique on how to fix damaged CD’s in the past, but this one is the most innovative so far. See the following video for instructions:

I’ll say it once again BEFORE the video. Do NOT do try this! The following video is a JOKE. you should never put a CD or DVD in a microwave. It seems that even though the tone clearly humorous in the video and that I posted a warning saying that the video was a joke, some people actually thought it was real. the warning was extremely clear, so don’t come and blame us because you do not know how to read.

Sony releases great new PS3 commercial

It’s the holiday season and the creative departments of the console makers are working overtime. Here’s a new commercial called “Only on PlayStation 3” which Sony hopes will push a few of you to put a new Sony Console under the tree, (or next to the Menorah, whatever.)

[GAS] “How to” contest – Deadline reached

That’s it folks, we’re not accepting entries for the contest anymore. We’ll be announcing the big winners in the next few days, so please stay tuned!