Technobabble

Give me a hand
For you older Chicoans, imagine the Six Million Dollar Man’s bionic five-digit appendage. That’s right, the iHand is here. Dangerous XSports and BSI (band sawing while intoxicated) are no longer a worry. OK, losing a hand is not a joking matter, but I am excited about this. Just goes to show that technology and robotics are our friends (until the machines take over, that is). Check out this incredible video: www.youtube.com /watch?v=5MkJk6797mI

Social Anxiety
MySpace and Facebook are all over the news. MySpace found and booted 29,000 convicted sex offenders from its service in July. The Rupert Murdoch/News Corp.-owned site reported a four-fold increase in sex offenders with profiles since May. Individuals and politicians are calling for stronger laws for the sixth most popular English-language Web site in the world with its more than 100 million users.

The fast-growing Facebook is facing its own problems in court. Its founder, 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, is being accused of stealing source code, interface design and the business plan for his site from ConnectU.com, where he worked as a programmer for four years.

In the face of all of this, online address book Plaxo is launching a new social networking site called Pulse. The major difference with its service seems to be that users control the aggregation of photos, video, blogs, etc., from sites such as Flickr, YouTube and Blogger. You can give total access to some of your friends/family/workmates and limited access to others. But will users trust Plaxo after a rash of spam problems earlier this year? Who knows.

Do Your iPart
Want to do your part to save the world? Want to get those huge CRT monitors out of your garage? Have an old VCR, computer or printer sitting around collecting dust? Old cell phones clogging up your junk drawer? Computers for Classrooms to the rescue—but you have to act fast. You’ll have a five-hour window Sat., Aug. 18, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. to get these items, plus unwanted computers, laptops, keyboards, TVs, radios, DVD players, camcorders and other “loose electronic parts,” down to its store.

But that’s not all! Low-income families can buy Pentium III desktops with Windows 2000 for $90, or a faster computer with Windows XP for $130. These systems come with a 17-inch monitor, keyboard, mouse and a one-year warranty. A few Macs and laptops also will be available. It’s cash only and you should call to see what proof of low-income status they’ll accept.

If you miss the Saturday event you can still stop by every weekday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at 315 Huss Drive for drop-off or pick-up. More info: 895-4175, or www.ComputersForClassrooms.org.

Wacky Web site of the Week
That person sitting next to you at Naked Lounge with the Chinese character tattoo on her lower back thinks it reads “Love is blind” when it really says, “broccoli with oyster sauce.” www.hanzismatter.com