The Quick and Easy Guide to URL Encoding

(or: 'What are those "%20" codes in URLs?')

If TiVo Thinks You Are Gay…

Basil Iwanyk is not a neo-Nazi. Lukas Karlsson isn't a shadowy stalker. David S. Cohen is not Korean.
But all of them live with a machine that seems intent on giving them such labels. It's their TiVo, the digital videorecorder that records some programs it just assumes its owner will like, based on shows the viewer has chosen to record. A phone call the machine makes to TiVo, Inc., in San Jose, Calif., once a day provides key information. As these men learned, when TiVo thinks it has you pegged, there's just one way to change its "mind": outfox it.

Eyes in the Back of Your Mouth

The brain doesn.t care where visual input comes from. So why not see with a camera jacked into your tongue?

Scientist Burns Penis with Hot Laptop

I don't think I could come up with a funnier caption...

We spy

Spying on Canadians' online activities will not help anyone win the war on terrorism, a University of Toronto professor told a conference Thursday.
Attendees at the Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research (CACR) Information Security workshop heard a number of government and academic representatives speak about privacy and security issues. The event, organized for the third year by the Ontario Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner and University of Waterloo's CACR, focused on what effects post 9/11 legislation is having on Canadian's privacy rights.

Feeling Antigravity’s Pull

"Don't call it antigravity research," Ron Koczor pleads. He's a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and he's talking about a project he's been working on for almost a decade. "Call it 'gravity modification.' 'Gravity anomalies.' Anything but antigravity. That's a red flag."

Where’s the “Any” Key?

As a tech support rep., I know people ask stupid questions, but I have to hand it to Compaq. Generally,...

Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics

Technonerds go to movies strictly for entertainment, and of course, the most entertaining part comes after the movie when they...

Asian Pyramids?

So in the aftermath of the high-tech meltdown, folks in Silicon Valley--including the newer immigrant communities--are going back to basics. That's why my "once in a lifetime opportunity" hit twice in a month.

More Spaceship Sightings

[International Space Station]
Amateur astronomer Ulrich Beinert peered through the eyepiece of his 8-inch telescope and saw a colorful spaceship.