Monthly Archives: February 2006

Homeland Security Expands the Scope of Their Duties?

If I were a xenophobic isolationist crackpot, I would be more scared of the Department of Homeland Security than the UN and the “New World Order”.

From the Washington Post:

bq.. Two uniformed men strolled into the main room of the Little Falls library in Bethesda one day last week and demanded the attention of all patrons using the computers. Then they made their announcement: The viewing of Internet pornography was forbidden.

The men looked stern and wore baseball caps emblazoned with the words “Homeland Security.” The bizarre scene unfolded Feb. 9, leaving some residents confused and forcing county officials to explain how employees assigned to protect county buildings against terrorists came to see it as their job to police the viewing of pornography.

After the two men made their announcement, one of them challenged an Internet user’s choice of viewing material and asked him to step outside, according to a witness. A librarian intervened, and the two men went into the library’s work area to discuss the matter. A police officer arrived. In the end, no one had to step outside except the uniformed men.

They were officers of the security division of Montgomery County’s Homeland Security Department, an unarmed force that patrols about 300 county buildings — but is not responsible for enforcing obscenity laws.

Posted in Politics, Stupidity | Leave a comment

Bye Bye, PalmOS

PalmOS is officially dead and replaced by Linux. From the press release:

bq.. ACCESS Co., Ltd., and its wholly owned subsidiary, PalmSource, Inc., today announced the ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP), the latest evolution of Palm OS(R) for Linux. The ACCESS Linux Platform is designed to be an integrated, open and flexible Linux-based platform tailored for smartphones and mobile devices.

p. From Wired Gear Factor:

bq.. The four horsemen of the PDA apocalypse are mounted up and ready to ride, and Palm OS is now officially dead. With Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 now running on Palm devices and Palm OS developer PalmSource long since sold to the Japanese company Access, it was only a matter of time. Access is putting Palm OS to bed in favor of a completely rebranded and totally redesigned mobile operating system built entirely on Linux. The new OS will still run legacy Palm software in addition to lots of Linux-based apps, but it won’t even have the word “palm” in the name. Instead, it’ll be called Access Linux Platform. Of course, it’ll be a while before the new OS comes to a handheld near you, as the developer’s kit won’t even be available until much later this year.

Posted in Tech | Leave a comment

1337 Emoticon of the Day

Just saw this one on Ars Technica:

\m/ (>.<) \m/

D0000000000d! :-)

Posted in Amusements | Leave a comment