] The city of Munich said on Wednesday it would switch
] 14,000 computers from Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news -
] people) Windows operating system to rival Linux in a deal
] estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros.
]
]
] The decision is a blow to U.S. giant Microsoft, whose
] chief executive Steve Ballmer had personally campaigned
] for Microsoft's counter-offer to the city, based on
] Windows XP.
]
]
] Microsoft has created two funds to discount its products
] against the emerging Linux software, which is eating into
] its most profitable business.
]
]
] "This strategic decision makes Munich less dependent on
] one IT supplier and sets a trend towards more
] competition," Munich mayor Christian Ude said in a
] statement.
]
]
] Analysts said Munich's decision to choose open source
] software, which means Linux, was a breakthrough.
]
]
] "It is one of the largest desktop migrations to Linux
] ever seen," said Gartner Dataquest analyst Nikos Drakos
] in London.

Microsoft even underbid IBM/SUSE by $3m, and Munich still went for Linux. Interesting.

Forbes.com: UPDATE 2-Microsoft loses city of Munich deal to Linux

] Among other problems, Berkowitz found that CIA analysts
] must bounce between multiple, isolated systems to gather
] information, including separate systems on each desk for
] accessing the CIA's classified network and using the
] public Internet.
]
] DI agents have no easy way to share classified
] information with authorized intelligence personnel
] outside of the CIA or access information stored in other
] classified information networks within the government,
] such as those at the U.S. Department of Defense.
]
] "The result is that DI analysts work in an IT environment
] that is largely isolated from the outside world. If they
] need to do work that is classified in any way, there is
] virtually no alternative other than to use the CIA's own,
] restricted system," the report said.
]
] Contrary to popular depictions of CIA agents using
] cutting-edge information-gathering technology, Berkowitz
] found that DI analysts lack access to even the most
] common information searching technology, such as
] Web-based search engines, for conducting intelligence
] analysis, relying largely on a 1970s-era database called
] CIRAS, for Corporate Information Retrieval and Storage.

Central Intelligence Agency. Does that name really apply anymore?

PCWorld.com - Study: CIA Behind the Times in IT

] In findings that should add to the national debate over
] rising obesity rates in the U.S., Duke University Medical
] Center researchers have demonstrated that physical
] inactivity leads to a significant increase in potentially
] dangerous visceral fat, while high amounts of exercise
] can lead to significant decreases in such fat over a
] fairly short time period.
]
] The researchers also found that while lower amounts of
] exercise prevented the significant accumulation of
] visceral fat seen in the controls, it did not lead to the
] improvements seen in participants with higher levels of
] exercise.
]
] Controlling visceral fat is important, the researchers
] say, because increased levels have been associated with
] insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and other
] metabolic syndromes. Visceral fat is located around the
] organs inside the belly and is deeper in the body than
] subcutaneous fat, which lies under the skin.

C'mon people, get up, get moving.

ScienceDaily News Release: Physical Inactivity Rapidly Increases Visceral Fat; Exercise Can Reverse Accumulation

] I know this whole SCO/Linux thing can be very confusing,
] so I created this summary page to explain what's going
] on.
]
] To make it easier to understand, I put it in familiar
] terms.
]
]
] Cast:
]
] Daisy - Linux
]
] Roscoe P. Coltrane - SCO
]
] Boss Hogg - Microsoft
]
] Bo - Free Software Foundation
]
] Luke - Open Source Initiative
]
] Cooter - Bruce Perens
]
] Uncle Jesse - Novell

Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will.

] In a plea for the life of "Reading Rainbow," host LeVar
] Burton returned to a familiar setting: the stage where he
] picked up the PBS show's seventh Emmy Award for best
] children's television series.
]
] "If you are a wealthy philanthropist out there, I'm not
] that difficult to find," said Burton, the show's
] executive producer and host since it began in 1983.
]
] He's still waiting. And "Reading Rainbow," which has
] counterintuitively used television to introduce children
] to a world of books, may only have a few months to live.
]
] "Reading Rainbow" has several strikes against it in the
] battle for funding. For starters, it has no access to
] merchandise licensing deals, an increasingly important
] part of PBS' funding scheme for children's shows. There
] are no "Reading Rainbow" action figures to sell, no
] "Reading Rainbow" jammies to keep kids warm at night.
]
] The series is also 20 years old when many corporate
] benefactors prefer being involved with something new. And
] the show's narrow audience -- children 6 to 8 who are
] just learning to read -- doesn't give sponsors the broad
] exposure they're seeking, said Amy Jordan, senior
] researcher on children and the media at the University of
] Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.

$2m a year - jeez, we spend many times that on those useless "drugs are bad, mmmkay" ad campaigns, don't we? Somebody give this show a budget. At least they're doing some good.

'Reading Rainbow' fights for survival - May. 29, 2003

] A simple test could one day help police to catch
] psychopathic potential serial killers.
]
] Psychologists in Wales have adapted an existing
] psychological test to identify people with psychopathic
] tendencies.
]
] The 10 minute test is based on the Implicit Association
] Test, developed in the United States, and used to reveal
] people's deepest thoughts and feelings.
]
] Psychopaths may be capable of committing violent or
] antisocial acts but rarely demonstrate any remorse or
] guilt.
]
] They are often highly skilled at lying, can be charming
] and are adept at faking the emotions they lack.
]
] For this reason, many psychopathic serial killers can go
] on murdering without detection for years.
]
] Serial killers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Harold
] Shipman have each been branded psychopaths.

A good test to give a potential signficant other?

BBC NEWS | Health | Ten minute test could spot killers

] Microsoft pulled a security improvement for its Windows
] XP operating system after it apparently crippled many of
] the Internet connections of the roughly 600,000 users who
] installed it. According to this Associated Press report,
] the patch ('recommended' update 818043) was posted on the
] Windows-Update service last Friday, but didn't quite get
] along with Symantec products. The patch was intended to
] modify the way IPSec encryption was utilized by machines
] behind firewalls, as well as to improve the support of
] virtual private network VPN clients behind network
] address translation (NAT) hardware.

So what else is new?

broadband » News » MS Recalls Troublesome Patch - Windows XP Update pulls internet plug for many

] Is your brain feeling under utilized? Not enough mental
] challenge in your day job?
]
]
] We can fix that.
]
]
] Map the outer limits of your intellectual acuity by
] registering for the Google U.S. Puzzle Championship, a
] national online competition to identify America%u2019s
] most logical minds.
]
]
] Two winners receive slots on the US Puzzle Team and all
] expense paid trips to the Netherlands for the World
] Puzzle Championship in October. The top 25 finishers
] receive prizes as well as the satisfaction of knowing
] that what they know is well, pretty remarkable.
]
]
] There's no entry fee. No special equipment is required.
] And the questions don't favor a specific cultural
] background. To get a feel for what you%u2019ll be up
] against, try the puzzles below. Solve them and we may
] have a slot for you in our engineering department (we
] love logical thinkers). If you'd prefer to see how others
] tackled the problems, click on the answers link below.
]
]
] The Google U.S. Puzzle Championship will be held on May
] 31, 2003 at 1pm EDT (GMT-4). The 12th World Puzzle
] Championship will be held in Papendal, the Netherlands,
] October 14-19, 2003.

Think you're smart?

Google US Puzzle Championship

When icons go bad...

Icon War

] When June Medford came up with the idea to use tiny weeds
] as weapons in the war against terrorism, she figured most
] people would call it a joke. But the federal government
] didn't laugh.
]
] Now, armed with a half million-dollar grant from the
] Pentagon, the Colorado State University plant biologist
] is trying to genetically engineer Arabidopsis plants to
] change color rapidly if they sense a biological or
] chemical agent.
]
] If her plan works, the technology could be used to turn
] forest evergreens, backyard shrubs or even pond algae
] into sentinels for scientists. One day, everyone in
] America might be able to use a cheap houseplant as an
] early-warning system. It could be the proverbial canary
] in a coal mine for the post-Sept. 11 age.

Bugs, weeds, houseplants could join the war on terror