In five years, this is the fifth or sixth time my account has been hacked and the second time this character has been stripped naked and my bank emptied. Other times weren’t as severe or they never actually logged in. It must be said that each time this has happened, Blizzard replaced all my gear an gold in full. Once I accidentally in-game emailed about 3000 gold worth of enchanting mats to a misspelled character and they had my stuff back to me that night.

But if you read the last two paragraphs, the two horrible stabbing pains I feel are the fact that all my thousands of gold worth of manditory enchants are gone, and items with random stats may be totally useless now. Ugh, that means there’s now a 100% chance I won’t play again till Cataclysm because the character is useless as-is. Le Sigh.

Hello there!

Account Name:
Realm:
Character Name:
Item(s) Restored: Aged Winter Cloak
Annhylde’s Ring
Bandit’s Insignia
Belt of False Dignity
Belt of Potent Chanting
Blistered Belt of Decay
Bone-Linked Amulet
Boots of Forlorn Wishes
Bracer of Worn Molars
Bracers of the Forgotten Vanquisher
Breastplate of the Lost Vanquisher
Cape of the Unworthy Wizard
Ceaseless Pity
Chain of Latent Energies
Charmed Cierge
Chestguard of the Recluse
Chestpiece of Suspicion
Circle of Arcane Streams
Cloak of the Shadowed Sun
Concealment Shoulderpads
Cowl of the Perished
Crown of the Lost Vanquisher
Deathchill Cloak
Defender’s Code
Dislocating Handguards
Dragon Hide Bag
Embrace of the Spider
Engraved Gargoyle Femur
Esteemed Bindings
Eye of the Broodmother
Fool’s Trial
Frayed Scoundrel’s Cap
Gauntlets of the Lost Vanquisher
Gaze of the Somber Keeper
Ghostly Wristwraps
Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets
Greensight Gogs
Headpiece of Fungal Bloom
Headpiece of Reconciliation
Hood of the Exodus
Hood of the Exodus
Ice Spire Scepter
Inevitable Defeat
Keystone Great-Ring
Leggings of the Lost Vanquisher
Leggings of the Wanton Spellcaster
Legwraps of the Defeated Dragon
Lost Jewel
Mechanist’s Bindings
Noth’s Curse
Pants of the Soothing Touch
Polar Boots
Polar Cord
Polar Vest
Punctilious Bindings
Robes of Mutation
Ruthlessness
Sandals of Crimson Fury
Sash of the Parlor
Serene Echoes
Seven-Fingered Claws
Sharp-Barbed Leather Belt
Shawl of the Old Maid
Signet of Manifested Pain
Signet of the Malevolent
Spaulders of the Monstrosity
Spire of Sunset
Staff of the Plague Beast
Swarm Bindings
Sympathy
The Impossible Dream
Thrusting Bands
Tunic of Prejudice
Vest of the Glowing Crescent
Wraith Strike
Wyrmrest Necklace of Power

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we investigated the situation that you reported. We have concluded our investigation of the above account, and we were able to restore as much missing items and gold as possible. We do apologize for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you.

Please note that items with random modifiers (of the Bear, of the Eagle, etc.) are randomly generated; therefore we are unable to guarantee that you will receive the same modifier you had on your original item. We are also unable to guarantee the restoration of trade skills, as well as enchantments or add-ons (such as gems, scopes, etc.) that your character’s items may have possessed. While we will make every effort to provide assistance in cases of loss, please keep in mind that the decision to go forward with a restoration is entirely at Blizzard’s discretion.

Um, and I have to again praise my trust Panasonic Lumix LX-3 camera for being so freaking awesome.

Click here to see the whole set on flickr, where you can zoom into thhttp://Spacewater.us/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=752e full size huge originals too.

As a prelude I would like to make sure everyone knows I love these little workhorse pens and I’m happy. The review comes across as a bit critical, but I use the same eyes to measure this pen as I would any other one and I am just trying to be thorough, and hopefully helpful to anyone considering getting one. Ok, resume your review now.

I truly love an inexpensive little workhorse pen, so you can imagine how excited I was to order two of these New Old Stock German Piston-fillers from the Fountain Pen Network’s own Smeden (a.k.a. Peter). Reform is a strange company. You can buy 1745s and P120s by the freight car but finding anything out about their history is tough indeed.

I did find some things out: for anyone interested in the detailed history of Reform, our own Fountain Pen Network user “Kaweco” posted a brief summary just about three years ago in 2007, click here to read his original post and a quote follows.

During the second half of the 20th the KAWECO, one of the world`s greatest writing equipment producers in Heidelberg, Germany, immediately went down and Philipp Mutschler and some of his co-workers decided to leave the firm in 1928 to build up their own factory. 1929 the Kaweco actually went to bancrupty and the “Badische Federhalterfabrik Knust, Grube & Woringen” bought the Kaweco trade mark.

The first calculation of the new Mutschler works sounded fantastic. They had a small building, similar to a shed, 5 turnery machines, a chasing- and a polishing machine and 10 workers. The first real cash flow was expected after 6 weeks! (Today it sounds like: somebody had invented a money printing machine). But they managed it.

1932 was the worst economic year because the world monetary crisis swapped across the pond, but Mutschler expanded and had to build a new factory hall in 1938. They cooperated with the “Reform” works from Nieder- Ramstadt, which had a daughter firm in Heidelberg. After a fusion they changed their trademark from “Certo” to “Reform” with an “R” with wings. Mutschler was one of th first who used the injection moulding process for FP production and therefore they constructed their own machines. Reform delivered complete writing systems and parts to several other well known firms like Geha, Herlitz, Rotring, AT Cross, Elysee, Dunnhill, Dupont, Cartier, Caran d Ache or Christian Dior. They bought the “DEGUSSA”- and the “RUPP” nib factory and produced excellent nibs. Alas, after all nearly nobody knew “Reform”.

1963 Otto and Peter, the sons of Philipp Mutschler took over the firm. 10 years later they went to the large old building which once was a part of the Kaweco factory. But in 1999 they had to leave and to sell the house. Reform, a trade mark with its best reputation, which had produced 10 Million fountainpens per year in the early 90th (4 times as much as Lamy) went down. The rescues of Sanford and Ullrich Mutschler failed and the firm went to bancrupty in the late 2003.
The Machines were sold to far east, but the quality of the once produced “Iridium Point Germany” nibs is today only a shadow of the old stuff from Heidelberg. And I am also not sure which of the today sold fountainpens is actually “Reform New old stock”

A. Appearance & Design ( 8 / 10 )

First glance at these pens was just about what I expected — green plastic barrels with black plastic cap and section, with two-tone steel nib, size unmarked but most certainly a fine point. Compared to my Pelikan or even my Vanishing Point the first word that comes to mind is definitely “cheap” but I never expected these pens to last a lifetime for this price. The pens came well packaged in a simple envelope from Smeden (a.k.a. Peter) in Finland, wrapped to avoid scratching each other. The pens came to me in pristine condition, truly new old stock. The barrels were shiny and unused, stickers and all, and all the gold-colored plating was unmarred, as were the nibs. The overall fit and finish is very good for pens this inexpensive. I daresay overall a Kaweco Scout is not made nearly as well, notwithstanding manufacturing problems with some of the Reform nibs (see below).

The 1745’s design is classic Pelikan-style piston filler, with straight lines and a vaguely Pelikan-shaped clip on the very narrow  pen. Overall these pens look good, although the plastic is a bit slick in the hands with prolonged writing.

B. Construction & Quality ( 6 / 10 )

For eight dollars you can’t expect too much from a pen, and that definitely holds true with the Reform 1745 as well. I originally ordered two Reform 1745s but when they arrived I saw quickly that neither one would write for any significant amount of time. In fact, one of them wouldn’t even write when dipped. The short answer reason for this is that the nibs were faulty. Click on the “Nib and Performance” picture below and view the original magnification to see that the nibs were not split down the middle as you might expect. When Peter (FPN’s Smeden) found out, he immediately posted me two new pens (that he had obviously tested himself before they left, judging from the water droplets left in the barrels), as well as a bonus Dollar Student Pen for my trouble. Thanks Peter!

I eventually ended up with two working pens out of four complete pens sent to me (see below), but other than manufacturing problems with some of the nibs, the fit and finish of the pens is good, all the parts worked smoothly, and everything fit together as it should. I have a bit of a problem sometimes with the posted caps sticking to the blind cap and partially unscrewing the piston, but I soon learned not to post them so hard! Also, the clips tend to unscrew from the end cap as you unscrew them from the barrel or unpost them from the end. Not a huge deal, but I had to get used to grabbing the whole cap to unscrew or unpost it.

C. Weight & Dimensions ( 7.5 / 10 )

The pen is 12.95 cm (little over 5 in) capped, and 14.88 cm (5.86 in) posted in length, and the diameter is 1 cm (.390 in) at the body, and .86 cm (.340 in) at the section. It is a small pen, but not uncomfortable to my big hands. The Reform 1745 is a thin pen but not very short. It would be most comfortable in a smaller hand, but this pen is the perfect size for carrying in your organizer or slip in your pocket. Ergonomically, I always feel like I have good control of the pen — but as I mentioned before the plastic is a bit slippery compared to Ebonite or Celluloid. I have written for extended periods of time with this Reform and I not only enjoy it, I keep coming back to it, even if it is a bit thin.

D. Nib & Performance ( 6 / 10 )

It must be said that the nibs on these N.O.S. Reform 1745s are hit-or-miss. A good long soaking, with the pens completely disassembled goes a long way to improving ink flow, but obviously from my experience it’s about a 50/50 proposition. Of the four pens I eventually received, I was able to Frankenstein two complete pens ultimately. A nice side effect of this is that I have extra barrels, caps and clips for these two as they wear out from use.

Of the two rescued nibs, my favorite one turned out to write a wet fine, with good flow. The pen glides across the page with the perfect amount of tooth and it’s a pleasure to write with. The second nib ended up writing a fairly dry extra-fine line. It’s not suitable for long writing sessions but it’s absolutely perfect for sketching and fine lettering, and so I’m very happy about it.

E. Filling System & Maintenance ( 9 / 10 )

It should come as no surprise that the tried-and-true German Piston filling system in the Reform 1745 works exactly as promised. Of the four barrels I have, only one of them was a little faulty — only drawing up half a cylinder of ink at a time — so I swapped it with one of my spares. I don’t have any way to measure the exact ink capacity of these pens, but it is certainly larger than any converter or cartridge. Piston filling pens really deliver when you have to write a lot, and this pen does the job very well.

Maintenance on these pens is beyond easy for such an inexpensive instrument. The ability to fully clean your pens as a feature gets swept under the rug sometimes by pen designers, but the Reform 1745’s nibs and feeds are fully removeable from the section with a twist a la Pelikan and Esterbrook. It’s hard to see anyone letting these get very dirty of clogged. In fact, the ease of disassembling and cleaning these runs at the head of the pack of reason for my delight with the 1745 because that’s why I was able to piece together these two examples.

F. Cost & Value ( 10 / 10 )

Here is another area where these pens really shine like gems. I paid us$8 each for these, and when Peter (again, FPN’s own Smeden) found out my first two were duds he immediately posted two replacements to me, free of charge, from Finland. I can’t say enough nice things about Peter, but I will say at least his primary concern was making sure I had working pens that I was happy with. Mission accomplished, thanks Peter!

Conclusion ( 7.75 / 10 )

If you’re reading this review, you’re probably considering picking up a couple of these for spares, school, loaners, fun ink colors, or just curiosity. In any case, even with the trouble I had it’s hard to argue with the price tag of these well-made, if inconsistent, German piston-fillers. Aside from simply faulty nibs, the only lasting problem I had with these pens was one aenemic plunger, which didn’t even interfere with the use of the pen. I would recommend anyone interested pick up several of these. At the prices these go for, they’re easily within reach of any curious Fountain Pen user, and for the budget-minded, although it’s true that you could spend more and get something 100% reliable out of the box, you will be spending a lot more, not a little more. With a careful initial cleaning and a little luck, you could hardly lay your hands on a more reliable daily writer to toss in your bag.

So I give the Reform 1745 a strong buy, but Caveat Emptor, you might have to give it a couple of tries to get one right for you.

I welcome your comments and corrections. Thanks.

Spokanistan was no team in particular, just one of the names I thought was funny and used for my scorecard rivalry fun.

I made a little scoreboard while I was there tonight:

Sorry, it was taken with my iPhone, so it sucks. But I’m excited for the season!

GO AWKWARD SPOONING!

The inscription “PELIKAN 140 GERMANY” is visible on the cap band, although there is some brassing along the cap band and on the clip, to be expected on all pens of this era. The Clip also has a small perpendicular scar, visible in the pictures, and the body has some compression marks from normal use on the rear end, totally invisible in any photograph and only obvious if you really really feel this pen a lot. Which I do, haha.

This pen is seriously a treasure to own. It’s 58 years old and it writes like it’s brand new. It feels perfect, looks beautiful, and I just hate putting it away when I’m finished. The nib is a bit wet, though, and I think a new F-nib will be in order eventually.

The Box!

The Box opens!

A couple of small flaws

Original beautiful and perfect Pelikan 14K 585 M-nib

Totally 100% transparency

Took it apart to clean it. That is dust not mars.

Looking down the barrel…

It’s resting before I re-ink it

The original (slightly misleading) ebay photo

I’ve been wanting a Namiki / Pilot Vanishing Point Capless fountain pen since I first heard of them, but I had never pursued it very seriously, priorities being what they are. But one day during a visit to World Lux (nee Seattle Pen) I struck up a conversation with Todd Craver — an enthusiastic FP writer from way back — about this and that and what pens I have on my lists. I must have seemed excited about the VP because at one point he offered to sell me a ‘94 Vanishing Point from his personal collection at a great price. Obviously I said Yes!

This pen came in a nice Pilot box with the manual and even the original ink cartridge and cartridge cover. The box itself isn’t going to win any design awards, but it has a pleasing rubber cover and does the job just fine. In fact, I can’t criticize the packaging, you’d hardly expect a Mahogany box for a shirt-pocket People’s pen, would you?

I suspect the box is from a new VP, as the instructions are dated 12/08, fourteen years after this pen was made, so that made it especially nice that Todd threw that in. When I picked it up I was so excited to own my own Capless that I actually left the store and made it to the end of the street before I realized I’d left the pen in it’s box on the counter back at World Lux. We all had a good laugh about that.

Appearance & Design ( 9 / 10 )

My Namiki VP was made in 1994, and these pens have the colest retro-60’s look that I absolutely love. The faceted plastic body is a bit dated-looking now, but you can’t help but want to high-five the designer of this pen for that fantastic clip covering the section and the overall look of the pen.

I gave this pen a 9 here because of my personal predelection for it’s ingenoius design and just pure utility. It looks cool and people do a double-take when I hand it to them befcause after they click that big button they’re expecting a ballpoint in there.

Construction & Quality ( 7 / 10 )

This pen is just about exactly what you’d expect from an inexpensive pen in the ’90s. It’s well-made and works beautifully but the faceted barrel feels cheap and I worry about the barrel cracking around the screws holding the body together.

One small flaw in my particular pen is that there are two or three scratches on the barrl alongside the clip in parallel. I’m not concerned at all about the fact that they’re there, but rather it makes me question the longevity of this pen. Can it last thirty more years? Under normal use, most certainly, but it’s not going to look very good.

So I definitely will be avoiding dropping this pen, for it would surely mar. And accidentally stepping on this pen would almost certainly crack the barrel.

Weight & Dimensions ( 9 / 10 )

The VP is a lightweight pen and very comfortable to write with. I have large hands and the gentle taper of the barrel makes it very easy to hold. Later VPs got a wider barrel circumference, and that’s about the only thing I would wish for.

Some have complained about the clip placement on these pens interfering with the way they hold the pen but I don’t have a significant problem with it. The takeaway point here is make sure to think about holding one of these and writing a whole page before you buy one.

I scored the pen a 9 in this category because the size and design are nearly perfect for it’s intended use — a carry-around pen you can throw in any bag or clip to any pocket.

Nib & Performance ( 8.5 / 10 )

My particular VP came with a rarely-seen-in-the-wild B nib, and writes what I would call medium-wet. I feel like the nib has a bit of a sweet spot that’s minutely opposed to my natural writing angle but it’s so minor I am only mentioning it because I think it’s possible it could drive some writers crazy.

Writing is smooth and the pen easily keeps up with my most furious scribbling. This wasn’t the case initially, as you can see from the photo below, but soon enough the pen smoothed out for me after a few more pages. The pen also starts up every time I click it out of it’s little rabbit-hole, which is something I can’t honestly say about even my beloved Estie J.

I rated the pen an 8.5 in this category because it works exactly as I hoped it would — medium wet, teeny bit of tooth, and it’s a one-handed click away from gliding across any page.

Filling System & Maintenance ( 8 / 10 )

The VP comes with the ability to use cartridges or a cheap but functional standard-issue plate-press type converter that is simple to use and easy to clean.

One could certainly find fault with the small amount of ink the converter holds relative to a piston filler, but to me this is a necessary trade-off because of the one-handed design. I write quite a bit and I only have to fill up the pen every other day or less, so it holds plenty of ink for daily use. My cell phone requires a lot more maintenance than this pen.

Cost & Value ( 8.5 / 10 )

This pen cost me us$80 and I feel like I got a great deal. That is just about the lower end of the going rate for these and because I bought it from a private local seller, I was able to save tax and shipping.

I must point out thought that if I were buying a new pen today, and not a vintage one, the plastic-y barrel would probably not be acceptable at that price. In fact that’s the only reason I rated the VP an 8.5 in this category instead of a 9.

Conclusion ( 8.5 / 10 )

My only real complaint about the Namiki Vanishing Poing is the plastic barrel. Taken as a whole, this pen delivers exactly what it advertises: an extremely stylish, ingenious, one-handed retractable fountain pen that is a pleasure to write with and never seems to leak or fail me.

I was very moved by the story of how Carl and Ann fell in love, especially at the end where you find her brain waves were recorded while she meditated on being in love, and sent along on the Golden Record. I’ve always been totally in awe of Carl Sagan, since I was a small child in Dallas watching COSMOS as a kid on our local PBS station. He was my first exposure to any kind of popularizing of science and he became the very symbol of that curiosity and wonder and awe that only science can bring to you. He and maybe Stephen Jay Gould, with Neil deGrasse Tyson a good recent example, set the standard for bringing science to the layman. And of course then there are the rest of his many achievements, including a killer movie.

So I will always hold memories of him dearly, what an awesome guy.

Click here to read the story.

Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc.

Italian scientists have developed a new “wood-derived bone substitute” that promises to be better than ceramic or metal implants. They start with a block of wood like red oak, burn it until the block is essentially charcoal and then coat the substance with calcium.

The “bone” takes about a week to produce at a cost of around $850. And while it’s not quite as cool as titanium, the spongier structure handles natural impact better, and other bones prefer the calcium carbon mix to space shuttle alloys.

So much for my awesome robot legs. [Discovery]

From Google plans to bypass Apple’s App Store on the Web, on Appleinsider.

With its native Google Voice application rejected from the iPhone App Store, the software maker is planning a full-featured Web application in its place.

[Read Original]

From Apple’s next iMacs rumored with compelling new features, on AppleInsider.

A couple of new features rumored to be in the cards for Apple’s forthcoming iMac refresh will up the value proposition for prospective buyers in the market for an all-in-one desktop system, AppleInsider has been told.

[Read Original]

Two Blizzard releases in 2010, company coy on specifics – Ars Technica.

Ben Kuchera over at ArsTechnica, on Blizzard’s two 2010 releases. I’m with him, I think it’s going to be Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3.

On demand in command; 51% of young ‘Net users view TV online – Ars Technica.

ArsTechnica has a little story about how young viewers 18-24 are watching a lot of TV online. I’m not sure exactly how the networks are calculating ratings, but isn’t it time they fully account for online TV viewing? I know that in my case I watch nearly all my TV online on Hulu because it gives me full control of my schedule.

CNBC has reported this morning that Google CEO Eric Schmidt, right, has resigned from Apple’s board of directors after three years. This comes a week after Apple pulled GV Mobile and Voice Central from the App Store, along with the uproar and FCC letters that followed.

In a press release, Steve Jobs said the following: “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.”

Do you think Schmidt stepping down had anything to do with the events of last week? Let us know in the comments!

TUAWCNBC: Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BusyCal public beta is out! I got a preview of BusyCal while at WWDC this year, and have been anxiously awaiting the chance to put it into action. As the developers state on the homepage: “Think of it as iCal Pro.” The next step from the makers of BusySync, BusyCal offers a full calendaring system with Bonjour and Google Calendar sync, iPhone sync via iTunes or MobileMe, full read-write access for multi-user calendars, and a plethora of other features and goodies.

Dated to-dos are embedded in the calendar, optionally carrying forward if not completed on their due date. You can add recurring to-do items with the same carry-forward functionality. There are customizable views, including sortable list views, plus shared sticky notes, customizable graphics, live weather and forecasts (with sunrise/set times and moon phases), all in an easy-to-grasp, iCal-like interface.

If you’ve ever thought, “Gosh, I like iCal, I just wish it had about 20 more useful features and could sync across my LAN and the internet,” take the public beta of BusyCal for a spin. BusyCal will cost $40US per computer, or $10/computer for BusySync owners. Doing the math, BusySync is $25, plus the $10 upgrade is $35, so you could save yourself $5 taking the upgrade path, even with a new purchase of BusySync.

TUAWBeta Beat: BusyCal from BusyMac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m sure it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but I think this video is really cute and it made me smile. Happy Monday!

YouTuber CBGFilms put together a great compilation of why his generation uses a Mac. Interestingly, these are the same reasons I use a Mac. Stability, usability, tight product integration and elegant design are reasons why Mac users of all all ages drink the Kool-Aid (or the unicorn tears, as it were).

Great job, Charlie!

So why do you use a Mac?

[H/T Chris Pirillo]

TUAWFound Footage: Why we use a Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seamless white boxes? Pfft. Brando doesn’t need any of white plastic’s pomp and circumstance. Instead, their Darwinian hard drive dock gets another upgrade. Now it’s an HD media player.

Accepting 2.5 and 3.5-inch SATA drives through a cartridge-like loading system, the $200 player streams 1080P content (H.264, MPEG1/2/4, DIVX, XVID, TS, MKV, RM/RMVB, TP, AVI, M2TS, VOB, DAT, MPG, MPEG and MOV) through HDMI and component outputs. If hard drives and movies aren’t enough, it also reads SD, SDHC, MMC and MS cards and supports e-books and music.

So what’s up next for Brando’s infamous hard drive dock? Let’s just say that if there’s no laser or disco ball involvement we’ll be vastly disappointed. [Brando]

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Like sand through the hourglass, the browser ballot soap opera continues with a a whole new set of interesting developments.

Yesterday, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley poked around the small print of the Microsoft proposal and noticed existing Windows XP and Vista users are slated to receive the ballot screen via Windows update. From the release:

“Microsoft will distribute a Ballot Screen software update to users within the EEA of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Client PC Operating Systems, by means of Windows Update as described hereafter: A software update enabling the Ballot Screen to be displayed will be made available to all current and future users of Windows XP and Windows Vista who receive updates from Windows Update.”

So in addition to Windows 7E customers getting the screen, users who already own Windows will be shown the ballot at some point in the future when an Update runs.

Here’s where the plot thickens. We know that the EC likes the idea of the ballot screen. We know Opera CEO Hakon Wium Lie said “We’re very happy with Microsoft’s proposal.” That doesn’t mean they’re done complaining yet.

Continue reading Ballot scren headed to XP, Vista, Opera worries about IE logo recognition

Ballot scren headed to XP, Vista, Opera worries about IE logo recognition originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The government could be building a giant map of social networks using Facebook and Twitter, scraping MySpace pages, or mining the metadata associated with cellular phone calls in order to look for communication patterns. On the other hand, all of that computer power that the NSA is aggregating at the datacenters that are coming online could just be for the limited purpose of snooping voice calls and e-mail coming into and out of the US, but such narrow use is unlikely. 

What the NSA is doing with its massive and growing capabilities is still a secret, but it’s probably an extension of DoD efforts at mapping social networks that extend back to the early part of the decade. A new EFF lawsuit filed this week could finally shed at least a little more light on the nature of these classified activities, so that we can know for sure whether some descendent of John Poindexter’s Total Information Awareness program lives on at the NSA.

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Shared by Juicyjones

Lolz imitation is the best form of flattery, and M$ has been imitating Apple for a long long time.

A leaked presentation has exposed Microsoft's tentative plans for its retail stores — and the high degree to which they'll imitate Apple stores, down to their layouts and even the presence of a dedicated "Guru Bar" for help.
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As capable as most computers are today, typical OEM systems have fairly limited gaming prowess since it isn’t their market. Enthusiasts need more memory, more video card, more processor, more something beyond the basics that usually ship with the average pre-built box. And selecting your own components to fill your exact needs is much more fun and often cheaper once you start talking $1,000+ systems. The various enthusiast System Guides around the Internet can help, but here in our Gaming Boxes Guide, we aim to provide a little more gaming focus than we do in our main three-box System Guide.

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Every once in a while, I get reminded about a cool tool that I’ve used and then totally forgotten about. In today’s example, the reminder came in the form of a post on UNEASYsilence about how to change your Mac’s boot image.

The boot image, in case you're new to the Mac world, is that gray Apple logo that you see after the startup chime when booting up your machine. It's surprisingly boring, so back in December of 2007 Jésus Álvarez wrote a small tool to replace that drab gray Apple with something more exciting.

BootXChanger is free, and it changes the Mac’s boot image. There are limitations to what you can replace the gray Apple with — the background must remain the boring #BFBFBF gray, the image can’t be too complex, and the image should be sized at 128 x 128 pixels — but you can do a lot within those borders. BootXChanger comes with a dozen sample images (below), and instructions are provided on how to create your own.

I was torn between “Colour Apple Logo” and “Radioactive”, so I ended up trying both. You simply drag and drop an icon file to the application window, or you can click “Default Image” if you decide to go back to the current Apple icon. Here are a couple of photos of my MacBook Air starting up with the new boot images for your entertainment:

TUAWCool tool: Change your Mac’s boot image with BootXChanger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read this:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146528.html

Excuse me while I go get in line.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/image_viewer/frame.php?pid=&img=1&sid=6145786

13 pictures, flip through them!

Dude!! Multiplayer?! And you KNOW it’s online… And of course, Nintendo doesn’t charge for DS online.

Man, Sean, you need to hand over the DS, man.

Mo’ Info: http://news.spong.com/article/9745