The Null Device
2000/3/19
European researchers invent the next generation of data storage -- a roll of adhesive tape written to by a laser-pointer-strength laser. (via Slashdot)
Interesting software project of the day: GNU OCTAL, a tracker-style music system with unit generators and software synthesis. (via a Slashdot comment)
Is A Clockwork Orange past its view-by date? (BBC News)
"The art direction stuff in A Clockwork Orange looks really dated. You can't blame them for not predicting future technology, but it raises a laugh to watch characters sitting down in front of high-tech typewriters or playing music on dictaphones rather than CDs or MP3s."
Or maybe this makes it retrofuturistic?
Kubrick may have looked for inspiration to the battling mods and rockers of the late 60s. The skinheads and punks of the 70s were certainly further evidence that youthful rebellion could have a dark, violent edge... Dr Katie Milestone of the Manchester Institute for Popular Culture, thinks such groups are largely a thing of the past.
"Youth culture used to be played out on the streets, where it was easier to spot your enemies - those who didn't wear the same clothes as you. Today it has moved inside, into the clubs, where violence and confrontation are less relevant."
Or are today's kids just too 'sorted' on E to tolchock? -- acb
Extensive rant blowing the lid off the truth about James Cameron's role in the Atlantean Masonic Mind Control Conspiracy. (from Psychoceramics)
Interesting summary of Borland's Kylix, which has nothing to do with Australian pop stars but, instead, is a Linux port of their Pascal/C++ development environments and runtime libraries, and its differences from DOS/Windows. (from Slashdot)
WideChar is (still) 2 byte Unicode. The Linux widechar type, wchar_t, is actually 4 bytes per character. 4 bytes!!! Ouch! The complete UCS specification (here's a summary) calls for 4 bytes per character to ensure that there is enough room in the character set to adequately represent all known languages and texts, living and dead, and room for future expansion, such as planetary invasion by Vogons. It would be a shame if Earth's character set couldn't represent Vogon poetry in its true native iconographs.
Apple is giving their (and NeXT's) gcc changes back to the FSF. This could mean Objective C++ and a better ObjC runtime on Linux soon. (via Slashdot)
Radical animal liberationists launches campaign urging college students to drink beer instead of milk; incurs the wrath of anti-drink-driving campaigners. (CNN; via NtK)