Journalism

So one of my stories that I thought was running for Macworld, is already available today on the Playlist website, here. Imagine recording studio-quality audio using your iPod and a regular-old microphone. Or sitting on the commuter train, playing Othello, Pong, Tetris or Asteroids. All this and more is possible when you install Linux on your 3rd generation or earlier iPod. Best of all, one soft-reset and youÕre back in AppleÕs iPod operating system, listening to your tunes.

I’ve currently got two long-ish pieces in upcoming issues of Macworld, some online stuff for the Macworld spinoff iPod-centric magazine Playlist, an approval for a small piece for Wired . . . but the better news is that I’m working on a piece for Slate! Thanks to Paul Boutin‘s encouragement and kind recommendation, I’m doing a piece on some stuff happening in Estonia. No word on when it will run yet — I filed it late last week. In more…

My good buddy David Boyk has an excellent column in today’s Daily Cal. Through the magic of the Internet, I’m able to enjoy it even from the frozen tundra that is Estonia. I disagree with him though, about TMBG. I think it’s quite a good name. But somehow they messed up the photo. Boyk is much cooler than this dude.

02:00 AM Mar. 03, 2005 PT by Cyrus Farivar Checking out a new iPod now applies to more than shopping trips or web browsing. This week the South Huntington Public Library on Long Island, New York, became one of the first public libraries in the country to loan out iPod shuffles. For the past three weeks, the library ran a pilot program using the portable MP3 devices to store audio books downloaded from the Apple iTunes Music Store. They started…

by Cyrus Farivar 02:00 AM Feb. 25, 2005 PT Fans of the Star Trek: Enterprise TV show are protesting the show’s cancellation with street demonstrations in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, London and Tel Aviv. Trekkies are holding rallies worldwide on Friday to bring attention to their cause. Rallies will be held at the Paramount studios in Los Angeles and at the offices of CBS and the Sci-Fi channel in New York. Additional rallies are set for the local Fox…

So as you may recall, I wrote a story for the Times about podcasting back in October. Lo and behold, I discover that this morning, not only is there another story on podcasting in the Times — but that it’s on page A1! (Below the fold, but still.) The story really doesn’t add that much, besides the fact that it has the voices of more podcasters and mentions that there’s talk of sponsorship and so forth. Essentially it’s the same…

by Cyrus Farivar Some people climb mountains to achieve greatness. Some people try to win championship sports games. John Pultorak built a working replica of a 40-year-old computer. Late last year, Mr. Pultorak, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., completed a four-year project, a reconstruction of the Apollo Guidance Computer. The A.G.C. was onboard for many of the Apollo space missions from 1969 to 1972. It was the computer that Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins used in the command and…

Ed: The following is an assignment for my book writing class that is due tomorrow on the theme of “In the Shadows”. I just finished it. We’re supposed to practice writing narrative non-fiction. Comments always welcome. Lisa’s name has been changed at her request. Farivar, Cyrus Prof. Freedman February 7, 2005 “In the Shadows” WC: 2395 Maybe it was the tight “disquette” jeans that did it. Or perhaps it was the “bin-bins”. Either way, Lisa wanted to be noticed. She…

Yesterday, Dave Winer challenged me over lunch at 2nd Ave. Deli (which is amazing — and thanks again, Dave) to provide more journalistic transparency, by displaying my notes online — because he charged that when he’s been interviewed that the reporters bungled what he said, or didn’t focus on what he wanted them to. And I said if my editors were ok with it, that I would. And my editor at Wired News said he was ok with it. So,…

Wired News by Cyrus Farivar If a Los Angeles-area scientist has his way, car chases may become as antiquated as horse-mounted cavalry. James Tatoian, chief executive of Eureka Aerospace in Pasadena, California, is developing a system that uses microwave energy to interfere with microchips inside cars. Once the chip is overloaded with excessive current, the car ceases to function, and will gradually decelerate on its own, he said. “If you put approximately 10 or 15 kilovolts per meter on a…