In Poland, the mobile operator Orange has admitted to hiring actors to stand in line (picture and video) and talk to passers-by in order to hype the launch of the iPhone 3G. Some offered to sell their place for 100-300 zlotys (30-90 euros, 45-135 dollars). Wojciech Jabczynski, a spokesman for Telekomunikacja Polska said "It was a marketing move. We thought it was a pretty interesting strategy,"

Microsoft is making sizable technological contributions to the upcoming Democrat and Republican National Conventions. (August 25-28 and September 1-4 respectively) Both parties will take advantage of Microsoft software and services for online collaboration, document management, instant messaging, email, scheduling, and web conferencing, as well as Microsoft Surface Computing to deliver local information about transportation, restaurants, and hotels, as well as media of the current and past conventions.

For virtual attendees, the Democrat convention site is providing a progressive web experience (high definition Silverlight video , Digital Rights Management), while the Republican convention site is providing a more conservative web experience (low definition Flash video , downloadable MP3 audio). It would be going too far to say that Microsoft has a monopoly on the election process, but one could confidently say that the next President will have made judicious use of Microsoft technology.

The California Senate recently approved a bill to fund a committee, and enhance the states $15.2-billion shortfall, that will study making those quiet electric cars... noisy.

As concerns over high gas prices, pollution, and conservation rise, so does the number of hybrids and electric cars on public streets. While these vehicles consume less resources, they also produce less noise, which for the most part is great, but at low speeds some are virtually silent thus making them a hazard to others sharing the road. Headlights and running lights are used to make oneself seen, similarly sound solutions are being called for and developed to make oneself heard. If vehicle manufactures don't proactively institute a solution themselves, then governments may form various commitees that will then each pass a different set of standards for each of their respective jurisdictions.

After the Fairness Doctrine wall was torn down in the 1980s, free speech and outlets for it have flourished, providing people with more options for getting information than anytime in history. But some politicians have been reminiscing about the good old days when news only had a limited number of portals, and those few could have their license threatened if they displeased the wrong politician. While some news organizations have been willing to keep silent in exchange for staying in business, others like FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell have been willing to speak out.

"I think it won't be called the Fairness Doctrine by folks who are promoting it. I think it will be called something else, and I think it'll be intertwined into the Net Neutrality debate." also "if you have government dictating content policy, which by the way is a big 1st Amendment problem, then whoever is in charge of government is going to determine what is fair." and "will websites, will bloggers have to give equal time, or equal space on their website to opposing views rather than letting the marketplace of ideas determine that." closing with "Stay tuned for 09 and 2010." video interview (2:04)

Ground temperatures exceeding 800 degrees (C? F? HOT!) are being recorded at the Los Padres Forest in Ventura County, California. Geologists are uncertain why, but a popular theory is that hydrocarbons in some form (petroleum, gas, coal) are being exposed to air through cracks formed in dry ground. (Fuel + Oxygen + Heat = Fire Triangle) The last thing California needs are forest fires from below, after so recently fighting off forest fires from lightning above, so firefighters are closely monitoring the area.

Going on work/vacation to crusty old Europe for the next four weeks (well actually 2 work and 2 pleasure).

Have fun, behave and paste new sockpuppets and trollpuppets below *grin*

For those of you who read my journal, be aware that he has a new account.

http://slashdot.org/~myCopyWrong

It's the same old tired offal, but he hasn't used it as a sockpuppet (yet), so it doesn't go into the log. Yet. (Update: Never mind that)

Thanks to the person who emailed me with this. I know it's a pain to decode that Slashdot spam armoring thing sometimes...

The sockpuppet/trollpuppet lists are now maintained here: http://slashdot.org/~SockDisclosure/journal/

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Because of heavy trolling, this is a separate journal entry used to discuss the twitter sockpuppet log . As each one of these are archived by Slashdot, I'll create a new one.

Previous discussions (be aware there are some really insulting trols in some of these):

Here

The sockpuppet/trollpuppet lists are now maintained here: http://slashdot.org/~SockDisclosure/journal/

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Due to some seriously heavy trolling in the comments, I've moved the contents of the sockpuppet log here . We can still discuss below if needed, just ignore the crapflooders.

Update: Fresh discussion space here.

Imagine the path of a single seed, that grows into a tree, and is harvested to manufacture paper. Paper that is sold as stationary, used to print out a four page letter, and is signed by 41 Democratic U.S. Senators. In less than a single month, a letter only four pages long, became worth more that two million dollars. Amazing.

Now that two million will be matched by the patriotic U.S. citizen that is holding that auction to become over four million total, and donated to a charity that aids children of fallen soldiers and officers. Free Speech is hard to put a price on, but the Free Market has just spoken about its value, and that should send a clear message to those that would abuse their official power, and seek to deny us our sacred 1st Amendment Rights

Have you ever asked someone for their email address? Have you ever read a joke about President Bush on the internet? Have you ever refered to yourself as an 'Internet Expert'? Because Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea has done all three. During summit talks this week between North Korea and South Korea, Kim Jong Il replied "I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired" showing how clearly he understands the danger the internet poses to the people of North Korea.

Imagine how great your own government would be, if it had 'Internet Experts' like Kim Jong Il to protect you, and censor dangerous speech on the internet, TV, and radio.

Traditional media like newspapers, radio, and television are sometimes refered to as the fourth branch of goverment. This unoffical branch serves the public by keeping them informed of political and social events. YouTube on the other hand is mostly just a search repository for short video clips, but in the hands of citizens, armed with cameras, it can prove to be a powerful force for democracy. This power can be witnessed with how quickly news has spread of a recent incident involving University of Florida students, John Kerry, an annoying questioner, and six police officers that felt threatened enough to warrant use of a taser gun. YouTube1 YouTube2 Article1