YPOPS

This background utility allows you to read Yahoo mail from your Outlook Express (or other pop mail client).

-- from WinXPNews #167

Chinese Practice

[from the author] I wrote Chinese Practice when I started to study Chinese and couldn't find any program that would offer the features I needed. Since that time I keep to update it with things that come handy as one slowly (in my case really too slowly) moves from beginning to intermediate phase. Chinese Practice is free and always will be including all the lessons published on this site, but I will not translate my own lessons anymore.

-- from frwr-news

Can Wi-Fi be stopped?

As you might expect, the cellular industry is less than happy to see the spread of Wi-Fi technology that threatens to make their systems obsolete--at least in urban areas. Not only does Wi-Fi do more, and usually faster, it's generally free or available for very little money. That's a tough combination to beat.

AOL unveils free Web TV

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc.'s AOL said on Monday it planned to launch a free Internet television service by early 2006, in one of the technology and media industry's most ambitious designs to reach TV viewers online.

Yahoo Inc. (Research) and Google Inc. (Research) threaten to bypass traditional media outlets by linking computer users with TV shows online, striking partnerships with programmers or creating content. What they lack AOL now possess in abundance -- the shows themselves.

In its first year, in an exclusive deal, the advertising-supported service, In2TV, will feature approximately 3,400 hours of programming from 4,800 episodes spanning 100 series of Warner Bros.-produced shows from the past.

They include past prime time hits "Welcome Back Kotter," "Growing Pains" and "Kung Fu" organized under six channels divided by comedy, drama, animation, action, classic and superhero/villain genres. Two more channels may launch in 2006.

-- talked about on cnbc

Woot.com

Here's an interesting e-commerce site, woot.com. At the rate they're going, they're not about to put ebay, amazon, or even overstock.com out of business. They sell one (1) item per day and, according to their faq, are anticipating profitability by 2043. I think they're modest (another word for lying) and are already profitable.

-- fool.com story

The Archimedes Death Ray

A team from MIT produces smoldering from 150 feet away

- starbulletin, 10/23/05

Razza The Rat

Razza the rat eluded traps, baits, and sniffer dogs for over four months.

- starbulletin, 10/23/05