Ubuntu Tips n Tricks

Weekly Ten (9-21-2009)

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:29 AM PDT

10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful:

1. Billionaire SAS co-founder keeps on coding
John Sall doesn't have to work. As one of SAS Institute Inc.'s four co-founders, the 60-year old has a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbes' estimate, ranking him the 196th richest person in the world (just ahead of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Ralph Lauren).
More @ Computerworld

2. UCLA scientists make paralyzed rats walk again after spinal-cord injury

UCLA researchers have discovered that a combination of drugs, electrical stimulation and regular exercise can enable paralyzed rats to walk and even run again while supporting their full weight on a treadmill.
More @ EurekAlert.org

3. Teaching computers to read: Google acquires reCAPTCHA
The image above is a CAPTCHA — you can read it, but computers have a harder time interpreting the letters. We tried to make it hard for computers to recognize because we wanted to give humans the scoop first, but we're happy to announce to everybody now that Google has acquired reCAPTCHA, a company that provides CAPTCHAs to help protect more than 100,000 websites from spam and fraud.
More @ Googleblog

4. PhoneTag helps you read your voicemail

More @ HackaDay

5. De-Programming Windows Refugees
Way back in the last millennium, in the very olden days of Linux, most Linux users were grizzled old Unix graybeards. They saw Linux as a cute little toy Unix, but it was Free and free and fun. And so it was that there was no anguish at the sight of a raw nekked command line, and learning and progress were rampant, and life was good. Now Linux is the easiest of all operating systems to use, and yet anguish abounds in the land.
More @ LinuxToday

6. Why Apple is betting on HTML 5: a web history
While the standard isn't yet finished, Apple is already using HTML 5 as an important component in the company's strategies, ranging from the iPod touch and iPhone's mobile browser to Safari on the Mac and PC, from Dashboard widgets to new iTunes LP content, and from MobileMe apps to the latest iTunes Store.
More @ AppleInsider

7. Fallacious Celebrations of Facebook Fans
Publishing "top 10" lists is unfortunately a staple of modern journalism. But alas, writers must drive readers' eyeballs, even when discussing serious topics like the government. And so we find a new list that mixes Web 2.0 with the government: "Top 10 agencies with the most Facebook fans."
More @ OreillyRadar

8. Crapgadget: 'Hopefully USB 3.0 can avoid this path' edition

More @ Engadget

9. Will Motorola Scratch Android's Back?
The long-anticipated march of the Androids onto the mobile device playing field has begun, and Motorola is near the front of the line with its new Cliq smartphone. The company is looking to the open source operating system to lift it out of the doldrums it's been in for the past few years. Motorola could be just as helpful to Android, though, which has been a little slow to take off.
More @ LinuxInsider

10. 10 Brilliant Writers Robbed of a Nobel Prize
Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised by the content of this list, after all, there are ten people that absolutely did not deserve the prize they got. This list looks at ten people who should absolutely have won a nobel prize for their contribution to writing.
More @ Listverse