Propeller.com Stories submitted by jordan

Stone Age Art Caves May Have Been Concert Halls

Jordan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:36:58 EDT

Prehistoric peoples chose places of natural resonant sound to draw their famed cave sketches, according to new analyses of paleolithic caves in France. In at least ten locations, drawings of horses, bison, and mammoths seem to match locations that focus, amplify, and transform the sounds of human voices and musical instruments.

Channel: Science Tags: stone cave art music sound concert halls resonance

Google wins YouTube source code ruling against Viacom

Jordan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:03:06 EDT

Google won a legal ruling that allows it to keep secret from Viacom the source code central to search functions on YouTube. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the search giant doesn't have to turn over the code to Viacom, which filed a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against Google in 2007.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: google verizon lawsuit youtube source code search

The World's First Album Cover

Jordan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:37:05 EDT

Alex Steinwess, a then 23 years old designer, convinced Columbia's suits to create the first true album cover. Until then, 78s were sold in generic sleeves.

Channel: Music Tags: album cover history art first

Australians making odd choices for funeral songs

Jordan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:09:36 EDT

Australia - Hymns are being replaced at funerals in one Australian city by popular rock classics like Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," a cemetery manager said Wednesday. ... Leading the funeral chart is crooner Frank Sinatra's classic hit "My Way," followed by Louis Armstrong's version of "Wonderful World," a state

Channel: Music Tags: funeral australia

The King of Green Investing

Jordan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:23:46 EDT

Vinod Khosla is pouring his own millions into science experiments to counter global warming -- and to prove he's the smartest guy in the Valley.

Channel: Money Tags: investing green vinod khosla propeller eco news

Hands-free cellphone use isn't safer: Study

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:43:38 EDT

Scientists say that when mixing cellphones and driving, the number of hands available for the tasks is not the limiting factor. Instead, it's a driver's attention and processing capacity. These are often stretched beyond safe limits when someone juggles the complex tasks of negotiating traffic and conversing with another remotely.

Channel: Autos Tags: driving cell phone safety hands free mobile phone

Spectators see lion kill eagle at Greater Vancouver Zoo

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:42:38 EDT

A lion pounced on and killed a trained golden eagle in front of spectators at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. A zoo visitor who saw the incident, Pablo Su, said crows were harassing the eagle on Friday as it sat on a log. That attracted the attention of two approaching lions.

Channel: News Tags: lion eagle killed zoo vancouver

Truck hauling 12 million bees overturns

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:41:33 EDT

Beekeepers in New Brunswick had the unenviable task today of recovering 12 million honey bees from a truck that overturned on the Trans-Canada Highway in the northwest corner of the province. One beekeeper described the bees as "nasty" after their ordeal.

Channel: News Tags: truck accident bees

Dry times in venture-land: IPOs drop to zero in Q2

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:41:18 EDT

If you're wondering why we haven't been covering much IPO news recently, it's because there hasn't been any... This is the first quarter since 1978 that has gone by without a single venture-backed IPO, according to a new report from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: ipo venture capital

Study Confirms: People Hate Fake Personalized Messages

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:08:24 EDT

A new study from the University of Illinois confirms what many of us may have suspected privately: "personalized" marketing communication online can often make us actively dislike the message's sender.

Channel: News Tags: marketing business personalized fake impersonal study

The Weirdest Examples of Mass Hysteria

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:55:22 EDT

Things supposedly started innocently enough. Kashasha, near Lake Victoria in Tanzania in 1962: One girl in a boarding school there told another girl a joke. But then things went dark, weird, and creepy: one girl laughed, but then so did another, and then another, and then another, and then another...

Channel: News Tags: mass hysteria history medicine laughter laughing

It's a Done Deal: Microsoft To Acquire Powerset

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:31:18 EDT

Microsoft will announce today that they have acquired San Francisco based semantic search engine Powerset. The acquisition price is not being disclosed, but our understanding from sources close to the deal is that the previously rumored $100 million is "roughly accurate."

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: microsoft search powerset acquired acquisition

Jerry Yang And Sue Decker's Days Are Numbered At Yahoo

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:45:31 EDT

The board is considering replacing Jerry Yang and Sue Decker, who have lost the confidence of investors and employees. The "nice" way to do this (more likely) would be to allow Jerry to retire to non-executive Chairman. The harsh way (less likely) would be for the board to can him. Sue, meanwhile, is too linked to Jerry to survive.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: jerry yang yahoo sue decker

The Myth of Multitasking

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:44:57 EDT

In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: "There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time."

Channel: Careers & Jobs Tags: multitasking myth productivity

Official Google Blog: Google learns to crawl Flash sites

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:43:00 EDT

Google has been developing a new algorithm for indexing textual content in Flash files of all kinds, from Flash menus, buttons and banners, to self-contained Flash websites.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: google flash crawler search seo

House Resolution Calls for Naval Blockade Against Iran

Jordan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:40:11 EDT

A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran seems fast tracked for passage, gaining co-sponsors at a remarkable speed, but experts say the measures called for in the resolutions amount to an act of war.

Channel: Politics Tags: iran war house resolution

Gene Editing Could Make Anyone Immune to AIDS

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:45:17 EDT

Some people have a mutation that makes them amazingly resistant to HIV -- and now, scientists may have found a way to give that immunity to anyone.

Channel: Science Tags: aids resistance immunity gene genetics disease

McKellan and Caviezel captured for AMC's The Prisoner remake

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:41:10 EDT

[AMC has] managed to snag two big-time Hollywood names to join the cast of their remake of one of the smartest shows in television history. What started as rumor, that even we at TV Squad had a hard time believing, is now fact. Both Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellan have been cast in AMC's remake of The Prisoner.

Channel: Television Tags: the prisoner remake amc jim caviezel ian mckellan casting tv squad

Flaws in medical coding can kill

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:38:31 EDT

... The team's discovery - a flaw in a computer code that caused a drug pump to administer heavy overdoses - led to a recall, warnings and rewriting of the equipment's software. The discovery also illustrated a new threat behind some lifesaving medical devices.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: medicine coding

Slide And VH1 Team Up To Annoy The Hell Out Of You

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:36:50 EDT

Slide and Vh1 excel at making products geared towards America's lowest common denominator. The first makes SuperPoke, a popular social network app... The latter produces reality show classics like "Flavor of Love"... Next week, their powers will combine to bring you VH1's SuperPoke!Fest: a four day reality show marathon...

Channel: Television Tags: slide vh1 reality shows superpoke facebook social networking

Town Finds Drug Agent Is Really an Impostor

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:16:33 EDT

"Sergeant Bill" boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter their homes because he worked for the federal government. ... Sergeant Bill, it turned out, was no federal agent, but Bill A. Jakob, an unemployed former trucking company owner, a former security guard, a former minister, a former small-town cop from 23 miles down the r

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: sargeant bill impostor warrant

Netflix Hears Customer Outcry, OptsTo Keep Profiles

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:29:38 EDT

Today, Netflix users received this email: "You spoke and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint you. -Your friends at Netflix"

Channel: Movies Tags: netflix profiles customers outcry

Can past nuclear explosions help detect forgeries?

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:52:25 EDT

Can nuclear explosions advance art history? A former curator from the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg believes they can. She has developed a new method for dating paintings in collaboration with Russian scientists which, she says, provides "indisputable" evidence of whether a painting was made before or after 1945.

Channel: Art & Design Tags: nuclear explosions history art forgeries painting authenticity

Face to Face: A Council of Eve Online Gamers

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:51:00 EDT

For the more than 200,000 players of the science-fiction game Eve Online; for the company here that created it, CCP; indeed for the broader concept of how companies relate to their customers, the inaugural meeting of the Council of Stellar Management was a watershed in the evolution of online democracy.

Channel: Video Games Tags: eve online mmorpg democracy meeting council

Yahoo's Yang to Shareholders: Please Dont Fire Me

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:38:54 EDT

As Yahoo's shareholder meeting looms and Yahoo's stock continues to drop, Yahoo management is pulling out all the stops to try to persuade you not to fire them. The pitch? This detailed slide show, filed with the SEC.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: yahoo jerry yang shareholders fire

Web Pioneer Andreessen Joins Facebook Board Of Directors

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:22:16 EDT

Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, Opsware and Ning and the former CTO of AOL, is adding a new notch in his belt: he has joined the board of directors of Facebook, two sources close to the company confirmed to us. The company should be announcing it shortly, perhaps this week.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: marc andreessen facebook board of directors

The Home Depot Shed Prank

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:17:12 EDT

Despite an ambitious number of signs, I felt my local home depot wasn't addressing some of the strongest benefits of owning a garden/storage/privacy shed/mini-garage/closet. I decided to make some new signs and try them out!

Channel: Humor Tags: home depot prank cockeyed rob cockerham shed

Devo Sues McDonald's Over Happy Meal Toy

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:12:36 EDT

Quirky rockers Devo are suing the bosses of fast food chain McDonald's over the use of the band's likeness in a Happy Meal toy. The hitmakers claim the "American Idol" tribute figure, New Wave Nigel, was based on their famous image, as seen in their "Whip It" video.

Channel: Music Tags: devo lawsuit music mcdonalds american idol toy happy meal

'Into the Wild' pilgrimages increase in Alaska

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:09:27 EDT

The film adaptation of the book "Into the Wild" only cemented the mystique for Alexander and others heading to Alaska this summer, hoping to retrace the last steps of Christopher McCandless along the Stampede Road near Denali National Park.

Channel: Travel Tags: into the wild pilgrimage movies alaska

June 30, 1908: A Very Close Encounter of the Second Kind

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:06:48 EDT

1908: A fireball streaking across the sky and a massive explosion in the Siberian hinterlands marks the largest recorded collision ever between Earth and an object from space. The Tunguska event flattened 80 million trees covering 830 square miles of sparsely populated (but not unpopulated) Russian outback...

Channel: News Tags: tunguska meteor anniversary

Tech majors to join hands against patent suits: report

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:04:51 EDT

Information technology giants are teaming up in defense against potential patent-infringement lawsuits, the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies plan to buy up key intellectual property before it falls into the hands of parties that could use it against them, the paper said.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: patents

Is a 'Battlestar Galactica' TV movie deal nearly done?

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:59:31 EDT

Last month, Maureen Ryan was the first to report that as many as three "Battlestar Galactica" TV films were under discussion at the Sci Fi network. ... But! "I just heard about the first Battlestar movie being greenlit," said Grace Park, "Battlestar's" Cylon No. 8, yesterday by phone from Vancouver, Canada.

Channel: Television Tags: battlestar galactica movie tv movie grace park sci fi

WebGuild: Google New CFO Starts Job At $4 Million

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:51:33 EDT

Google's new CFO has already taken care of finances (for himself) even before he starts his new job on August 1. Patrick Pichette, who was previously the president of operations at Bell Canada will take over from George Reyes.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: google patrick pichette cfo salary

The Steve Jobs Premium

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:50:35 EDT

You know you may have to pay $50 to get a cable, buy you also know it would work and deliver more capability than you might think you need. You also know if you go into a store, you're going to get thoughtful answers. You won't get half-baked products or service.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: steve jobs apple premium price

World of Warcraft No Longer World's Biggest MMO?

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:34:14 EDT

Based on publicly available data, it looks like an Internet milestone will be passed by the end of next month: World of Warcraft will lose its undisputed status as the most popular massively multiplayer online world. It's struggling to defend that title as Habbo Hotel, the web-based, social MMO from Finland's Sulake Corp., is nipping at its heels.

Channel: Video Games Tags: wow world of warcraft habbo hotel mmo mmorpg

Lost and Heroes executive producer interested in "pirates"

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:59:38 EDT

Jesse Alexander is teaming up with Matt Mason, author of The Pirate's Dilemma for a show about modern-day piracy and how important it is for today's society. ... The show will aim to educate people on how piracy has been an innovator in our society and how it will shape our future.

Channel: Television Tags: piracy matt mason jesse alexander pirates dilemma

Twitter Interview: Useful Tool or Over-Hyped Outlet for Narcissists

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:49:05 EDT

Gelf was somewhat skeptical about the rise of Twitter and microblogging. ... We sent out Twitter expert Melissa Sconyers to interview the blogger, author, and Twitter proponent Rands--aka Michael Lopp--and see what we're missing out on.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: twitter interview rands michael lopp

MySpace users struggle to overcome cybervandalism

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:46:59 EDT

MySpace is facing continuing security problems that threaten to spoil many of the innovative features that make the site useful. Hackers, spammers and Internet malcontents have turned many of the "group" sites, which are dedicated to interests such as home beer brewing, animal welfare and gay rights issues, into cyber-graffiti walls...

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: myspace spam vandalism groups social networking security

Anivers: Birth of aÃ;Â typeface

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:45:46 EDT

When I was asked by Smashing Magazine in 2007 if I could release a free font to celebrate their first anniversary ... I started to play around with some sharp elements I liked to see if something could grow out of it.

Channel: Art & Design Tags: fonts typeface anivers smashing magazine

Cheap laptops are everywhere

Jordan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:42:48 EDT

Don't believe me that there are many cheap laptops available that can compete with (and outperform) these larger minis? Here's a quick look around the laptopscape this morning:

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: laptops mini cheap