Eliza was the first chatterbot — a computer program that mimics human conversation. In only about 200 lines of computer code, Eliza models the behavior of a psychiatrist (or, more specifically, the “active listening” strategies of a touchy-feely 1960s Rogerian therapist). Dennis G. Jerz —Doctor Eliza is in Similar:Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg strides past fettered…
“I was strolling past some Korean shops in Chinatown when I overheard members of a Cambodian mafia having a powwow. One of these heathens had welshed on a deal to buy a ghetto blaster and was shanghaied off to the Near East. As if that weren’t hurtful enough, it was Dutch treat all the way.”…
Most teachers I know cringe when students who missed class e-mail to request a transcript of the class they missed. My policy is to say, “Get the notes from a classmate.” Dennis G. Jerz —I Missed Class…Did I Miss Anything Important? Similar:Technology won’t fix America’s neediest schools. It makes bad education worse.[N]o matter how good the…
As Napster wavers, file-trading network Aimster is using an unusual shield to protect its users from snooping: copyright law sponsored by the recording industry. Wired.com Similar:What is Technical Writing?I noticed an uptick in traffic to an old…AestheticsParrots learn to make video calls to chat with other parrots, then develop friendships, No…A new study from researchers…
It would only take an hour to drive out to the crash site, but Uncle Owen will kill you if you don’t finish this repair by sundown. Do you repair the vaporator or investigate the crash? Mike Helba —Star Wars Legos Choose Your Own Adventure Similar:Without ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off…
Publishing giant Random House goes after tiny RosettaBooks, which has published e-texts of some popular Random House authors. RosettaBooks says they got permission directly from the authors. —Styron, Vonnegut E-Books Spark Random House Lawsuit Similar:Boosting the Signal: Peaceful Protesters in Baltimore are the NormVideo of people throwing rocks or burnin…CultureReady to teach another set of…
A new generation of three-dimensional printers can create nearly any solid shape as easily as an inkjet printer creates a letter. The trick is to spray layer after layer of thin, fast-drying resin. Rick Overton Similar:Journalism In The Service of Democracy: A Summit Of Deans, Faculty, Students And Journalis…This morning in my mail I found…
“Content certainly has all the glamor. What content does not have is money.” Andrew Odlyzko. —Content is Not King. Similar:Terms of ServiceFascinating example of new media journal…AestheticsPhoto of William Crowther, 2012I just noticed that a few days ago, a Wi…CybercultureAs part of an ongoing feud over the rights to use a particular shade of ultra-black…
Tom Van Vleck. (Rather dry reading, but offers an opposing view to The First E-Mail Message) —The History of Electronic Mail Similar:Computers and Writing workshop on Inform 7. (Happening now. In an asynchronous way.)https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa8nP…AcademiaThe bots are coming. And they have poems. Yet in a circle pallid as it f…CybercultureShip in a Bottle (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch,…
A reporter drops in on a Britney Spears chat room and talks about politics. Sort of. —You are in BRITNEY SPEARS Similar:Covfefe chaos: What Trump’s typos say about his administrationMisspelled tweets and typos in press rel…Culture11 Tips H.P. Lovecraft Had for Novice Writers”Avoid reading so as not to taint your c…CultureThe Battle (TNG Rewatch, Season…
“In addition to selling e-books from their online sites, the stores will be testing numerous methods to cross-market e-books with traditional forms, including in-store kiosks, author appearances and e-book demonstrations.” M. J. Rose —E-Books Are Now on the Shelf Similar:Details on the disappearance of the Utah monolith Mr. Bernards, 34, of Edwards, Colo., w…ArtArtificial StupidityThis…
go hand in hand; and nobody really wants to slow down progress. Jennifer Kahn —Noise and progress Similar:Fact Check: No, an NPR story on the Trump supporters' attempted coup dated January 6, 2021…A conspiracy theory featuring a news sto…CultureThe Irreversible Damage of Mark Zuckerberg’s SilenceWired, obviously having worked on a thin…BusinessYesterday we took advantage of…
A longtime technology critic has fashioned a prototype of a device that he says could do away with traditional colleges and teachers, replacing them with knowledge-dispensing terminals that look like A.T.M.’s. Jeffrey R. Young —Behold the “Automatic Professor Machine” Similar:"Oliver Twist" is a story of redemption for PICT Classic Theatre.Carolyn started rehearsals for PICT Clas…BooksI’ve…
The Navy is providing handheld computers to almost all of its new officers and giving them to graduates of the Naval Academy and other naval programs. CNN.com Similar:I did not bother to click on the llama story or the dress story, and now you don't have to… Now I’m going to bed.AmusingClickbait Tactics Drive the…
More proof that the apocalypse is nigh: “Typing of the Dead” is a typing tutorial that also just so happens to be 3-D computerized gorefest. GamesDoman review of Typing of the Dead. Similar:[2.5] FPS MouseLook ScriptYay, me. I got the MouseLook script to w…DesignChallenger Disaster: 30 YearsI was a high school senior, watching on …Cyberculture10…
(See also: Digital Hollywood- No Resolution) —Latest on Napster Update, Feb 27, 2021 The above links are dead, but here’s a screenshot of what the Yahoo News “Technology Full Coverage” section looked like on February 23, 2001. (Courtesy the invaluable Internet Archive Wayback Machine) Similar:Being a deaf lipreader during a pandemic means increased social anxietyEven…
Copyright: Your Right or Theirs? In Defense of Copyleft Timeline- A History of Copyright in the U.S. SUL- Copyright & Fair Use- Copyright FAQ Digital Copyright Reading List Similar:NASA has flown a drone on Mars. A tiny robot. A flying robot. On. Another. Planet. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succe…AwesomeJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureDCNF,…
“Now, let’s look a bit more closely at this data, remembering that it is absolutely first-rate. Do you see the exponential dependence? I sure don’t. I see a bunch of crap.” Undergraduate physics student Lucas Kovar reconsiders his career choice. —Electron Band Structure In Germanium, My Ass Similar:Blessing the “American sweet gum tree” that grew…
“Amateur and professional are mutually interconnected. Amateurs are sometimes professionals; professionals are sometimes amateurs. Moreover — brace yourself — history exists.” Marjorie Garber‘s Academic Instincts blows kisses at the literary establishment. Review by Russell Jacoby. Similar:Professional or college Shakespeare productions in the Pittsburgh area this fall?Does anybody know of any local (within a…AcademiaWhy liberal arts…
“Twice upon a time there lived a boy named Jack in the twoderful land of Califivenia.” Read a sample of the late comedian Victor Borge’s inflationary language. Richard Lederer. Similar:Quebec teen discovers ancient Mayan ruins by studying the starsThis sounds like the plot of a Young Ind…CultureWhy Drag It Out?The ways that the informal speech…