Computer Chess Visualisations

This has been around quite a while, but it remains incredibly clever and very cool to watch. And of course you can bone up on your chess skillz to boot!

Brew that man a pot of Barrys

MacNN | Dublin man plans Apple “walk of shame”
Following a week of waiting for Apple to arrange for the pickup of a malfunctioning iMac G5, a Dublin says he has decided to prove that he can walk to Cork — the location of the nearest Apple repair center — faster than Apple can arrange for the pickup of his broken Mac. “I think there comes a time when the only thing that works with these companies is to show them up publicly and shame them into taking you seriously,” said Karl Hayden, who is frustrated after repeated efforts to resolve the issue with Apple customer care.

Well said Karl! Great to see an Irishman taking the bull by the horns and actually doing something about the woeful customer service we experience (in every sector), instead of just bitching about it to friends and family like the majority. Karl, if you’re out there, email me an ETA and I’ll be up in Hollyhill waiting for you with a flask of tea!

SoaP

SoaP I really can’t put the title in a post, it would just be too hip. (Bad hip, not good hip.) TBH I don’t want to post about SoaP at all, for the aforementioned reason, but I had to point this article out, because it’s the most sensible thing I’ve seen written about it. Not that the entire situation isn’t funny; it is, it’s just too hip. Like I said. I may cruise Digg, but its soooo last week, you know? ;)

The Three Laws of Clusters

Well, more like Two Laws, but the wording in the clause these lads have added to their software licence to effectively prevent military use of their work sounds very similar to Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.

It’s a pity this exception and others like it can’t be built into the GPL and similar licences, but they really can’t: the GPL’s beauty is it’s simplicity, if you take that away you defeat the entire purpose.

EU Domain Dream in Disarray

JMCC in Wired

Europe must reboot its fledgling domain name to avoid a system crash, critics say, after alleged missteps allowed cybersquatters to stockpile trademarks for auction.