The EyeWriter

I have been making and porting skins for NucleusCMS so I decided some time a go to make a site for them. Now the first one is released. It is a port of a free Word Press theme. See it at WillyP's NucleusCMS Skin Site.

HTML5 Canvas and Audio Experiment Cool experiment with HTML5 and Canvas... The little pic above doesn't do this justice. Go see it. This is the future!

I was a little surprised to see these stats (January 2010) for my wife's blog:

Ok... who hitting Shirley's blog with IE6? My wife uses Firefox... it's not her! I guess someone didn't get the message... Friends don't let friends use IE6!

http://shirlsworld.net

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Modern browsers for modern applications

Hey, it's time... or is it? On one hand, IE6's shortcomings are well known. It is time... well past time, in fact... for people to drop IE6 for a modern browser. But the fact still remains that a significant number of people still use IE6 for one reason or another.

Two schools though on this issue: one, that people do use IE6, whether by choice or whatever reason, and we don't want to push them away from our sites, or two, that IE6 sucks to accommodate and if we drop support for IE6 less people will continue to use IE6. For my sites I have found, for January 2010, IE6 usage varies from just under 5% to just over 9%. Worldwide usage has been recently reported at 15%. Personally, I think in shades, not a yes or no sorta thing. That is to say, I will continue to test in IE6, but while I won't spend a lot of time fixing minor visual anomalies for IE6, I will make sure it looks decent, and everything is functional.

Yes, it is high time to drop IE6, but not everybody can.

 

Remember, friends don't let friends use IE6.

France and Germany call for the end of IE6 - The Web Standards Project As should we all. You probably know someone who is still using IE6. Talk to them. Inform them of how much IE6 sucks compared to modern browsers, whether you prefer a great browser like Firefox of prefer to stick with mediocrity like IE8. At least, if nothing else, make sure they are aware that Microsoft has finally released a patch to address some of the security flaws present in IE6. Tell them, if they insist on remaining in the dark ages with IE6, that this patch is a result of the Google hacking, and Microsoft would not have done anything if such a well publicized breach had not occurred. An that, while this patch will protect them from this particular vulnerability, IE6 is still, and will remain, a flawed browser. Friends don't let friends use IE6.

Stop Using Internet Explorer Warns German Government Internet Explorer has been blamed for the Chinese attacks on Google gmail and other systems. This article explains the vulnerability. This defect is so serious that, according to this article on Sitepoint, the German government and according to one commenter, the French government have warned against using Internet Explorer. Microsoft's response is that we should upgrade to the latest version and use a high security level. Even if this were enough, many users don't know how to upgrade a browser or change security level. Do you know how to run IE in protected mode? And would you be willing to do so? Consider that a great many sites now-days are not going to function correctly in a high security level. Actually, I'm not sure exactly what 'high security' or 'protected mode' would block. Ok, so maybe someone who uses IE could try it and let me know how that works for you. Ok, so let's say you are running the latest version of IE, and you do figure out how to block all manner of nasty scripting, executables, and whatever... The German advisment is this:

Running the Internet Explorer in protected mode and disabling scripting makes an attack more difficult but it can not completely prevented. Therefore, the BSI recommends using an alternative browser until Microsoft release a patch.

As an individual user, you are probably not in high danger of an attack, unless of course you are a Chinese dissident. So if you are really fond of your IE, i wouldn't worry too much about it. Except of course IE6 sucks. So, upgrade now or get a different browser, like Firefox.

Cool toy... needs a camera though. That would be something!

By placing electrode grids inside patients' skulls, researchers at the Mayo Clinic have created a way for people to type words using only their brainwaves. It's a major breakthrough for brain-computer interface research.

If you've seen the movie Buzz Lightyear you probably remember Zorg's 'Brain in a Jar' minions. Ok, haha, whatever... but now some scientists are experimenting with electrodes on the human brain. They can 'read' thoughts and by analyzing the patterns allow people to communicate through their brain waves only.

I could see having a camera connected to a computer, in turn stimulating the brain so a blind person could see, or a microphone for a deaf person to hear. Next step would be to remove the body, and pump blood through the brain artificially. Maybe someday instead of dying we will have our brains connected to the internet as media servers. Or maybe spam filters. Yeah!

A Device That Lets You Type With Your Mind - Brains - io9

Here's a related article... gives new meaning to the term, 'Intel Inside'!
Intel Is Developing Brain Implants So You Can Channel Surf With Your Mind

Or how about this one... This woman had a brain implant because of chronic pain, but she couldn't stop pleasuring herself. To the point she got an ulcer on her finger from pushing the button!
The Curious Case of a Woman Addicted to Her Brain Implant

brb... excuse me, I have to clean the lol's off my keyboard...