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.



Preview of “Makers” – The Star Wheel

By Brian Boyko
[GAS] Contributor

I’ve been holding onto this one for a while, and I’m glad it’s coming out now.

As I mentioned earlier in my post on my new MacBook, I’m getting into documentary filmmaking. Currently I’m working on two projects. One of them is “Makers,” a documentary about do-it-yourselfers at the Austin Maker Faire. I’m working on putting together a rough cut right now after capturing all of the tapes I shot for the project, but before I do that, I wanted to present to you a short sneak preview.

This preview is about five minutes long, and it deals with one of the attractions at the Maker Faire, a pedal-powered, mobile ferris wheel. It features in-action shots that, around the three minute mark, “take a turn for the shocking.”

My friend Chris Morley – my old boss at HardOCP – is also part of the project and you can see that he has a particularly timely line in this video.

One last thing – while you can find the standard definition of the video embedded below, if you’ve got the hardware and bandwidth for it, you can head to the Vimeo Web site to view this movie in 720p High Definition, and download a copy for you to keep, share, or send out on P2P networks. Because while you can’t sell it for money, you’re free to copy the movie and share it.

I’m still working on the rough cut – and even this little clip will probably be a little changed from the version you see here in the final movie. But if you happen to have a distribution network for the final product – I’m looking for one and feel free to contact me at the e-mail address at the end of the film.

Feel free to make suggestions or ask questions in the Comments section. More previews to come.

— Brian.

How to run Mac OS X Leopard on your PC

OSX Leopard on your PC?Yes folks, it’s true! Now any PC users can experience the joys of running Leopard on their system. The DailyApps blog describes how you can do it in three easy steps.

Well its been only a day since the Mac OSX Leopard was released officially by Apple and the hackers have managed to create a patched DVD that everyone like you and me can use to install Leopard on PC’s without having to buy a Mac.

Hack Attack : Install Leopard on your PC in 3 easy steps!

Google GrandCentral: One (Phone) Ring to Rule Them All

GrandCentral logo

By Rob Dunn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

GrandCentral is a new and exciting telco/Web 2.0 service. Created by Craig Walker (ex-CEO Dialpad Communications) and Vincent Paquet (ex-Director of Business Development at Yahoo!), their new service offers users a way to take some serious control over their “tele-identity.” GrandCentral boasts a myriad of features that would surely cost a mint if provided by a conventional telco/cellular provider.

Continue reading ›

PC games on Sony PS3 using Game Streams

By David Peralty
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Want to play Bioshock on the PlayStation 3? What about Halo 3? Well, that might just be an option of a new service via IPTV channels called Game Streams.

The CEO, Richard Faria, says that the members of StreamMyGame will get a free plug-in that converts games into the IPTV channels and will let the gamers play remotely by sending it over a home network.

Members to www.StreamMyGame.com can:

  • Build gaming communities
  • Record gameplay to video and upload these videos to the web
  • Broadcast games live over networks and at LAN parties
  • Stream games over their local network so they can be played on any computer in their home
  • Stream games over their local network so they can be played on any Linux and UPnP based device in their home
  • Share their games over the internet so they can be played at remote locations by other gamers
  • Improve their game skills with dual play of single player games

Seems like the idea is that you have your computer running the game, you send out what the computer sees over your home network, and software on the PS3 will allow you to connect to that video stream, and send inputs via the controller back to the computer. Seems like it could be quite laggy, but StreamMyGame says there will be little to no lag issues with their system. I guess it all depends on how decent your network is, though with gigabit ethernet catching on, I suppose sending high definition video over the home network isn’t too inconceivable.

In the fourth quarter of this year we will see a Linux version released that will enable PC games to be played on the PlayStation 3. Could this become the nail in the coffin for the Xbox 360 or will this be a vaporware joke we will soon forget about?

I personally think that the PlayStation 3 needs to be extended in anyway it can, as Xbox 360 has the better titles, and while the community might not be as devoted, the overall experience is still better on the Xbox 360 than the PS3. I fail to see the real value in something like this, as playing it on the computer would be a better experience than trying to play it through the network on the PlayStation 3. I do think that this could just be another geeky thing that PlayStation 3 fanboys do to show off the versatility of their console.

Mozilla launches Prism

Mozilla PrismMozilla just announced a new project, Prism, which transforms Web applications into traditional, desktop-based programs.

As time passes, the growth of the online world has encouraged many corporations to develop software that can run exclusively online. This can be problematic for some people who do not wish to operate inside a Web browser, or who want to remain offline while working.

With the aid of Mozilla Prism (Windows only for now), users can execute a Web application inside its own, independent Windows screen. This allows them to better control how software is displayed and how it reacts to user manipulation.

Prism is only in an early development stage right now, but it should soon be supported under other operating systems and could even be directly integrated within the upcoming Firefox 3 Web browser.

Getting started with Prism (Mozilla Labs).