The Null Device
2005/8/2
A Dutch chip musician has designed a GameBoy-synced tape scratching unit comprised of a Walkman and a box with a bunch of knobs, which plugs into the GameBoy. There are rather impressive sound samples on the site, as well as a link to his page on it, which has pictures but is somewhat harder to read.
Apple have broken with another tradition; this time they have acknowledged that Mac users may be able to cope with the idea of (gasp!) more than one mouse button. Of course, just making a 2-button mouse would be too obvious; Apple's Mighty Mouse (whose name they seem to have licensed from Viacom, owners of the old cartoon series) has either one or no buttons but rather and a touch sensor to detect which side of the shell you are pressing. There's also a scroll wheel and buttons on the side, which can be programmed to trigger your favourite OSX window-shuffling effect. And apparently it includes a small speaker which plays a clicking sound every time you press a button.
The Australian federal government has failed in its attempt to have the film Mysterious Skin banned, with the Office of Film and Literature Classification deciding that it should keep its R rating. The government, along with various conservative Christian groups, requested a review of the film's rating.
I wonder whether the government will now move to tighten up censorship laws and/or stack change the composition of the OFLC's board on the grounds that it is "too liberal" and does not represent "community values" (you know, of communities such as the Festival of Light and the Assembly of God).
The biggest threat to troops in Iraq is, apparently, dog bombs, which imitate the numerous stray dogs roaming the country:
The terrorists have apparently used florescent tape to create eyes in their canine cut-outs to make them look more realistic in a vehicle's headlights.(Hang on, aren't attacks on soldiers by definition not terrorist acts? Unless, of course, we define "terrorist" to mean "anyone fighting against us".)
The device includes two metal plates that, when hit by a bullet or the wheel of a truck, are jammed together, closing an electric circuit and setting off the bomb. Coalition soldiers say the dog bombs are the biggest threat they face in Iraq.