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New traffic shaping can disrupt a Comcast Internet connection Recently, it has been observed that Comcast is disrupting TCP connections using forged TCP reset (RST) packets [1]. These reset packets were originally targeted at TCP connections associated with the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol.

The man who spoke for Comcast at Harvard last month has told the Federal Communications Commission that the agency has no legal power to stop the cable giant from engaging in what it calls "network management practices" (critics call it peer-to-peer traffic blocking). Comcast vice president David L. Cohen's latest filing with the Commission claims that regulators can do nothing even if they conclude that Comcast's behavior runs afoul of the FCC's Internet neutrality guidelines. "The congressional policy and agency practice of relying on the marketplace instead of regulation to maximize consumer welfare has been proven by experience (including the...

Whatever your feeling on smoking bans, you kind of have to admire the way some bars in Minnesota are getting around their state's tough new restrictions on the practice. Like Toronto, Minnesota has banned smoking in its pubs and nightclubs, but the legislators did leave one loophole - actors on stage are allowed to light up a cigarette if it's something their characters would do in the context of a play.

Ikea walking all over us, say angry Danes Imperialism claim as Swedes give their mats Danish names. POWER games between Scandinavian neighbours are nothing new – generations of monarchs fought bitter battles over land for the best part of a millennium. But now Sweden and Denmark are involved in a new spat – over the unlikely matter of floor coverings. And Sweden's omnipresent homeware retailer, Ikea, is at the heart of the row.

For those awaiting the HBO John Adams, HBO is now playing over the next few days a 30 minute description of how the movie was made with particular emphasis on the technical aspects. It is well worth watching particularly if you can find one of the HD broadcasts. Now I begin to understand why movies are so expensive and how much artistic technology is involved. The link to an HBO schedule for this technical preview is at http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=664475. The schedule for the actual HBO series is at http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_SEARCH=GO&KEY=TITLE&VALUE=adams.Enjoy

Article by Thomas Sowell, National Review Online Sunday, March 2, 2008 (For some reason I could not find the this article on National Review Online) It has almost become something of a joke when some “global warming” conference has to be cancelled because of a snowstorm or bitterly cold weather. But stampedes and hysteria are no joke - and creating stampedes and hysteria has become a major activity of those hyping a global-warming “crisis.” They mobilize like-minded people from a variety of occupations, call them all “scientists” and then claim that “all” the experts agree on a global-warming crisis. Their...

(This has become increasingly irritating. Why do I need three or four things running to do ONE job!) Unfortunately, eweek doesn't want anyone a FR to read them! The link to the above titled article is here.The resulting Slashdot discussion is here.

When Hollywood's movie-makers and docu-dramatists get their hands on American history, accuracy, reality and truth often are tortured beyond recognition. But starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 16, HBO Films will be delivering the seven-part, nine-hour mini-series "John Adams." ... it is by all accounts a high-quality, historically accurate and meticulously faithful adaptation of super-historian David McCullough's blockbuster 2001 book of the same name. I talked to McCullough about the making of the HBO series Tuesday by phone from his home in West Tisbury, Mass.

(Dog owners eat your heart out: doesn't work with dogs!)New study says they (cat owners) are less likely to die of heart attack or stroke Cat owners are less likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than people who, well, don't own cats, a new study suggests. The study, by researchers at the University of Minnesota, found that felineless people were 30 percent to 40 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with cats.

"Scooby came up with the idea in a recent blog post to make a list of 'obsolete skills.' He describes these skills as things we used to know that no longer are very useful to us, and provided few examples including: * Dialing a rotary phone * Putting a needle on a vinyl record * Changing tracks on an eight-track tape * Shorthand? * Using a slide rule * Optimizing 640K-worth of memory * .... The community has started to create a much larger list of these obsolete skills, check out the full A-Z list (link below). Feel free to...

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has sponsored an unusual provision at the urging of the nation's banks granting them immunity against an active patent lawsuit, potentially saving them billions of dollars. The federal government would have to pay $1 billion to the owner, DataTreasury, over 10 years as compensation ....... The provision, passed without dissent by the Senate Judiciary Committee in July and inserted into legislation scheduled for a vote by the full Senate this month ....... Political action committees of financial institutions were the largest single category of industry donors to Sessions, with $52,300 in the current election cycle, the...

Finally Court TV has something worth watching: Tiger Team - NEW! TODAY [Tuesday, December 25] at 11:00pm and 11:30pm E/P This vérité action series follows Tiger Team – a group of elite professionals hired to infiltrate major business and corporate interests with the objective of exposing weaknesses in the world’s most sophisticated security systems, defeating criminals at their own game. Tiger Team is comprised of Security Audit Specialists Chris Nickerson, Luke McOmie and Ryan Jones who employ a variety of covert techniques – electronic, psychological and tactical - as they take on a new assignment in each episode. TV-PG L...

Last week, a 33-foot-tall windmill was installed to generate electricity for the oceanfront home of former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. The Bushes decided to buy and install a windmill after being approached by Southwest Windpower, a nationwide company that manufactures wind turbines, said Jim Appleby, personal aide to the former president. "After looking at the specifications, the pros and the cons, they decided that they'd give it a try," he said. The wind turbine, a Skystream 3.7 model, is capable of generating electricity once wind speed reaches 8 mph, said Bob Greig, president of All Season...

Today, Con Edison will end 125 years of direct current electricity service that began when Thomas Edison opened his Pearl Street power station on Sept. 4, 1882. Con Ed will now only provide alternating current, in a final, vestigial triumph by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, Mr. Edison’s rivals who were the main proponents of alternating current in the AC/DC debates of the turn of the 20th century.

In the last ten years, the off switch has seen something of a decline, being replaced by its trendier sibling, the standby button. But we miss good old offy -- his sturdy construction and good humour were a welcome break from the monotony of day-to-day life. There's good news though. With the environmentalists throwing a fit pretty much every couple of hours about how much carbon we're blowing out of our electronic bottoms, trendy standby is becoming a technological leper. Does this mean we'll see the glorious return of our old friend? Whatever happens, it will be years before all...

DARPA has selected the 11 teams that will compete in the Urban Challenge Final Event on Saturday, November 3 at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif. The 11 teams will compete for cash prizes worth $2 million for first, $1 million for second, and $500,000 for third place. The teams will attempt to complete a complex 60-mile urban course with live traffic in less than six hours. The finalists will operate on the course roads with approximately 50 human-driven traffic vehicles. Speed is not the only factor in determining the winners, as vehicles must also meet the...

The DARPA Urban Challenge is an autonomous vehicle research and development program with the goal of developing technology that will keep warfighters off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. The Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.

I have lumped these together as they are symptomatic of underlying interesting issues on corporations vs internet issues: The first is Verizon's definition of unlimited: New York State has given Verizon Wireless a million new reasons understand that the word “unlimited” when used in advertising should mean what it means elsewhere in polite society.The second is a Congressman's comments on Comcast's forging of reset commands to stop BitTorrent legal downloads: "Comcast has made a major mistake in attempting to hinder peer-to-peer file sharing as an aspect of its network management," Boucher said. "The inability of customers to (share files) significantly...

On a rainy night in 1971, the notorious skyjacker jumped out of a 727 and into American legend. But recently, a chance lead to a Manhattan P.I. may have finally cracked the case.

Story of recent attempt by Roy and Fyshe to break record cross-country driving record of some 32 hours known as the Cannonball Run that was set earlier by Diem and Turner. The article is quite detailed and long. It is here at Wired com. However, this does have a dark side such as this accident death from someone else's earlier try.