21 Oct 2005
Google Print

Fascinating post on Google Print today over at Moore's Lore. Here's a teaser:

...fair use has enormous economic value. Through the magic of databasing, finding is now more valuable than having.

RTWT - it makes a lot of sense!

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Why 'filling-it-up' takes more than 'tank capacity'

Just in case you've ever wondered ...

You fill up your "empty" fuel tank at the gas station and the pump charges you for more gallons than the tank's rated capacity. Are you being deliberately overcharged? A NIST 's weight and measures expert explains in a recent paper why this may happen even at reputable gas stations.

(link) [EurekAlert! - Breaking News]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Company Claims Patent Over XML

Wow! I'm having a brainstorm ... finally! I've got a novel idea! I'll apply for a patent on a "related series of fictional incidents, in a data neutral format"...

Aviran Mordo writes "News.com reports that a small software developer plans to seek royalties from companies that use XML, the latest example of patent claims embroiling the tech industry. Charlotte, N.C-based Scientigo owns two patents (No. 5,842,213 and No. 6,393,426) covering the transfer of 'data in neutral forms.' These patents, one of which was applied for in 1997, are infringed upon by the data-formatting standard XML, Scientigo executives assert."

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Do antibacterial soaps work?

Lot's of folks tend to blame the growing resistance of microbes to antibiotics on their overuse by medical doctors. Or on the common practice of dosing ruminants with mass quantities so that they can more efficiently process the grain from the feedlot factory farms. No doubt those are important contributors to the problem. But ...

This article highlights the overuse of soaps as a contributing factor, but it's seemingly an epidemic (pun intended) to be "antibacterial" in many, many common household items, from pillows to cutting boards, rugs and even kitty litter. We are slowly suffusing our environment with antibiotics, and there's gonna be Hel to pay one of these days for our ignorance and arrogance.

Antibacterial soaps and body washes in the household aren't any more effective in reducing illness than regular soap, and could potentially contribute to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, experts told a government advisory panel Thursday.

(link) [CNN]

Update: Asahel follows up on this by trotting out a century old poem and revealing that one of the more common ingredients in modern antibacterial products is listed as a broad spectrum pesticide by the EPA! And it's not even a medical antibiotic - it's a chemical antiseptic which may harbor dioxins! What are we doing do ourselves, and why are we doing it?

00:00 /Agriculture | 2 comments | permanent link