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This was a duplicate entry. Sorry!

Slashdot has evidently chosen not to run the story, perhaps because of my accidental duplicate submission of it. So here it is.

Yes, as a matter of fact I do have an axe to grind.

This is the funniest Daily Show sketch I've seen in a long time. It's about Second Life.

Rep. Jane Harman said that al-Qaeda is recruiting terrorists there. During a Congressional hearing into the matter, no less.

You can't make this stuff up.

My itinerary for the upcoming Eaton Conference. Where I'll be just a face in the crowd.

Friday, May 16

2:00-5:00 p.m.
Howard Hendrix, Frederik Pohl (among others)

5:00-6:00 p.m.
The Killer Bees
Panelists: Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, David Brin

Saturday, May 17

1:30-3:00 p.m.
David Hartwell (among others)

3:00-3:30 p.m.
Kim Stanley Robinson

4:00-5:00 p.m.
Presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ray Bradbury

5:00-5:30 p.m.
Book signing by Ray Bradbury (one book per person)

5:30-6:00 p.m.
Panelists: Ray Bradbury, Frederik Pohl
Moderator: George Slusser

6:00-7:00 p.m.
Book signing by conference speakers

Sunday, May 18

11:15-11-30 a.m.
Student Short Story Contest award winners

11:30-12:30 p.m.
Panelists: David Hartwell, Geoffrey Landis, Larry Niven

Sunday, May 25

Phoenix lands on Mars

Cory Doctorow has a few thoughts to share about the iPhone. Here are some fair-use quotes.

"An Apple lawyer has gone on record saying that Apple would use DRM even if the music industry didn't want it."

"The iTunes/iPhone/iPod combo is a roach-motel: customers check in, but they can't check out."

"FairPlay copy protection will, sooner or later, cause you grief. You are always going to have to buy Apple stuff. Forever and ever. Because your iTunes will not play on anyone elses hardware."

My advice to Cory Doctorow is: Consider the Nokia N800 Linux Internet Tablet. It runs on software that's being developed by an impressive open source project called Maemo.

It's not a cell phone, it's a Skype phone. The iPhone with Cingular will have a much higher monthly bill.

Cingular will soon be rebranded AT&T. Will all of the Baby Bells and cellular providers eventually merge to become The Phone Company?

The N800 has an integrated webcam for videoconferencing on the move. GPS is optional. It has a stylus--the iPhone doesn't. It has a bigger screen for web browsing and costs less.

Using a Nokia Internet Tablet to create small line drawings is a fad among a certain set of digital artists. It must be quite a challenge. I suppose with an iPhone they could possibly do finger painting.

Cartoonist Shannon Wheeler has given a Christmas present to the blogosphere in his Too Much Coffee Man LiveJournal.

This guy is consistently too generous--365 days a year.