Peeping Tom Worms

I thought I'd heard everything. A new report from Sophos describes a worm that can allow its creator to spy on you through your webcam. Don't we have a few of those around the office?

mind-gamers and applet power

i've noticed the use applets is often dismissed on the basis of browser war paranoia or other dubious reasons. but do non-applet/non-java alternatives really avoid the ongoing problems of dealing with diverse browser technologies? (ahem...rhetorical question)

here are two examples of purely java-driven, free strategy game sites that have worked reliably under netscape and ie for a long time. the first has been around a loooong time and is used by players all over the planet. it has remained essentially unchanged. the second is evolving very rapidly and is real-time, but i've never met anyone there outside the US:

turn based--challenge me to havannah, or pente or chess if u want:
http://www.mindsports.net

real time--you can play against an AI opponent or other members logged in. too many other features too mention!
http://www.pente.org

gamers have fun

NearMe - the Japanese robot cat

This new toy cat is just like the real thing- it plays, has expressional movements and is affectionate. But unlike the real thing, it doesn't tear up your furniture and defecate in your kitchen sink (from what I can tell). The low-maintenance cat has been replaced with the pet that is maintenance-free, except possibly for routine maintenance, like oil changes, joint lubrication, or sending him back to the manufacturer for repairs.

Did anyone else get this email?

It's Time to Sell Your Garmin PDA, Steve

Saying goodbye to the gigantic PDA form facter, Garmin now brings us the the convenience of GPS mapping on a watch. That would have saved me a lost hour and late meeting on a trip to New York a few years back (which I still get teased about now and then.) You can snag one at Amazon for $117.94.

Site Dedicated to Dumping Internet Explorer

Gary's' gotta love this one. Here's a site that explains why it's smart to stop using IE and includes testimonials from happy switchers, as well as alternative browser choices. It was created by the The Web Standards Project a grassroots coalition fighting for standards that ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.

The site must be getting a lot of hits, because it's been timing out most of the early morning.

$700 in hand is worth 2 gigs in the memory stick

Sony is working on a new memory stick this fall that will store a whopping 2GB and will support read and write speeds of up to 80Mbps. This will be a nice addition to the $700 digital camera due out in September.

Welcome

If you are an Asynchrony employee, contractor or client, you can post here on the new community blog I've set up. You should have received an invitation to register, unless our spam filter nabbed it.

My personal blog has moved to interbeing.blogspot.com.