Need To Know 2001-11-16

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"Cookies form the fundamental transmission mechanic that powers the internet," said Danny Meadows-Klue, chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1653000/1653907.stm - the only clue here is the name, and he's even got *that* wrong... >> HARD NEWS << gumshoes For several weeks now, London has been abuzz with questions about the "WHO IS LUPO?" baby posters. Questions like: what shit idea of a teaser campaign is this? Didn't these idiots give up after that "Who is Dave Matthews" embarrassment? And, of course, I wonder how bad the fake grassroots website is? As you'd imagine, whoislupo.com is exactly what an amateur investigation into the Lupo phenomenon would look like - if, say, it were designed by an ad agency who learnt about viral marketing about three weeks ago. "Try the links to these amazing sister sites we've discovered", offers the peculiarly well-branded front page, pointing to utterly independent offerings at www.whoislupo.com/japanese and www.whoislupo.com/usa . Or why not try our our Flash games? But don't, whatever you do, actually take the hint and *do* a whois lookup on whoislupo.com. Because then you'll find out it's created by a Nathanesque Islington Web design company that delivers "innovative concepts and scalable back-end solutions across a diverse range of industries" - including Volkswagen, makers of the Lupo car. Which anyone using Google would have discovered weeks ago. http://www.whoislupo.com/ - almost an object lesson in how not to do this http://www.worldofamiga.com/ - "hosted by Ovate" - aha! another phantom product! http://www.tobyslater.com/ - thanks Toby; you doing anything with musicnit.com, btw? Information wants to be free: unless, of course, it's government information. In that case, with good behaviour, it could be out of chokey in five years. The Lord Chancellor and Grand Moff Irvine announced this week that the implementation of this new-fangled Freedom of Information Act is to be postponed until 2005 - three years after it was expected to start. The next few years will be usefully filled by government departments explaining what sort of thing they *will* be revealing, just as soon as they've checked for it behind the sofa. Canada, Ireland - heck, even Bosnia and Poland took less time than this to organise their FOIAs. The problem is: will the floodbanks hold until then? With the judiciary siding with those who use the Data Protection Act to grab their government files, and everyone and their mate mining what .gov.uk sites there are, who is now to stop a "Statistics Office In Exile" site, which could collate the unavoidable trickles of data into just the cohesive mass that the government doesn't seem to want let out? Hell, if the government wants companies to keep centralised permanent data on every citizens' doing, isn't it time that someone did the same to them? http://www.cfoi.org.uk/doubleblow131101pr.html - password protected. no, we jest. http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,593343,00.html - data minefields With the advertising and publishing industries healthier than they've ever been - plus of course the stunning lack of "cyber lifestyle" content available on the internet - now would indeed appear to be the perfect time to relaunch BLACK ICE, Brighton's answer to Mondo 2000 magazine (which, for those of you who don't - or choose not to - remember the early '90s, was kind of like "Wired", but less sane). "The first issue is filling up fast", reveals creator and visionary MARK BENNETT - though there are still opportunities (and maybe even a budget) for writers, photographers, illustrators, copy editors, ad managers, web designers and all-round "information omnivores" to contribute to its - sometimes almost achingly nostalgic - brand of cutting-edge futurism. But get those submissions in quickly - it's been 9 years since the previous print edition, so if you miss the issue 2 deadline, issue 3 might not appear until the year 2010, by which time we could all be keeping up with the latest high-tech trends via instantaneous computer communication networks, or something. http://www.blackicemedia.co.uk/press.html - "Image reproduced in Amiga Format article on 'Cyberpunk'" http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/archive/2001/11/14/BU235867.DTL - Rosetto's back too: and still not listening to Reason >> ANTI-NEWS << berating the obvious "PLEASE CONTACT THE FBI" if you can help identify the ALL CAPS bandit: http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/amerithrax/amerithrax.htm ... can't wait to hear about page 3 models called "Iran" and "Syria": http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/16/dohjordan.jpg ... ah, Jeeves - still trying to tempt people with those funny Easter Eggs?: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/16/dohjeeves.jpg ... Anthrax vaccination Flash ad, a guide to "handling dead human remains" - you don't have to be mad to work here, but this might help: http://www.armymentalhealth.com/ ... at last - "Ground Zero: The WAP Game": http://www.sonyericssonmobile.com/A2628/ ... "Did the trippy keyboard scare them off?" thinks PC on right: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1640000/1640236.stm ... or laugh at the size of the Americans' puny game console!: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1634000/1634318.stm ... end of the line for http://www.totaljourney.com/ ... FALCO: http://www.wellbeing.com/features/feature.jsp?articleId=1001020 ... BT OPENWORLD helps prevent 404 errors, banner ad reveals: http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/viewad/628472/1-bt_opendown5.gif ... GUARDIAN calls "80C" and "120C" "hat and scarf weather": http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,1271,-1300858,00.html - woolly liberals... suspicions about NT engineers confirmed: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/16/dohclone.jpg ... isn't that Dudley Dursley?: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/16/dohharry.jpg ... Nooooooo! My creations - they're TURNING AGAINST MEEEE!: http://www.ntk.net/2001/11/16/dohbill.png ... >> EVENT QUEUE << goto's considered non-harmful We'd expect a slightly more muted version of this weekend's STOP THE WAR demonstration (from 12noon, Sunday 2001-11-18, Hyde Park, London) - they've now moved on to protesting against the inevitable ethnic infighting caused by installing an oil-export-friendly puppet administration in Afghanistan, the patriotism-fuelled restriction of civil liberties in this country, and the potential expansion of the conflict to Iraq. Christ, some people are never happy. Of course, you shouldn't even be reading this if you're already taking part in today's IRELAND OFFLINE web boycott, intended to highlight the high- tech magnet's alleged 3000% percent markup in dialup pricing - and lack of broadband or unmetered services - compared to the UK. All in all, perhaps the perfect opportunity to catch this year's LEONID METEOR SHOWERS (this weekend, various venues) - assuming that they *are* in fact meteors, and not "Day Of The Triffids"-style satellite weapons platforms dumping their payloads in the upper atmosphere. http://www.stopwar.org.uk/news.htm - "Just mercy killings" ( http://thesmokehammer.warprecords.com/ ) http://www.irelandoffline.com/ - of course they leave *their* site up, the hypocrites http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/leonids_2001.html - see, we *do* cover events outside London (every 33 years) >> TRACKING << sufficiently advanced technology : the gathering There are a million stories in Turing city and SWEETCODE.ORG, a site humbly devoted to "innovative free software", has all of the interesting ones. The bastards. From ROCKS, a program that sets up permanent Net connections (it's "screen" for all your other ports, CLI fans); to HASAS, a passive sonar analysis algorithm that finds exactly which floorboard that rat is under; to a better Graffiti for Palms; to a P2P PKI; to a new routine for making mosaics of Christy Turlington out of porn GIFs; to Image Analogies, a staggering demonstration of where equations can get you when you throw them at a Van Gogh painting. It's all there, in one convenient archive. As opposed to dragged out tantalisingly here for the next twelve weeks, with no indication of where we nicked each of the links. And god, we were tempted. http://www.sweetcode.org/ - it's the thinking person's memepool http://www.dumbcode.org/ - looking for a new maintainer, they do say >> MEMEPOOL << hasta la altavista EBAY, the gathering: http://www.journeymanpress.com/game_ebay.htm ... consider yourself lucky we even answered your http request: http://www.byjove.com/ ... where your VIM donations go to: http://www.vim.org/iccf/news.html ... what your BT "donation" goes on: http://www.genie.co.uk/public/gmail/hotsmsF.html ... CARMACK's rockets getting close to launching deep space strike against the Strogg: http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/ ... AMIGA POWER "Canoe Squad"spinoff: http://kreskytv.com/ ... soon, they'll be building themselves: http://jpbrown.i8.com/cubesolver.html ... praising God, infringing Lego, and confusing capalert: http://www.thereverend.com/brick_testament/cain_and_abel/gn04_01a.html ... those Christmas gift dilemmas: http://www.eyeties.com/ or http://www.bulletprooftie.com/Product%20Information.htm ?... win wars with POSITIVE THINKING: http://www.citizenwarrior.com/ ... is it JOHN ASHCROFT - or CANCER MAN from the X-Files?: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1646000/1646295.stm telnet://towel.blinkenlights.nl/ ... FUCKEDCOMPANY vs FASCISM: http://forum.fuckedcompany.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/180558.html ... >> GEEK MEDIA << get out less TV>> the ever-reliable C5 provides a misanthropic alternative to CHILDREN IN NEED NIGHT (from 7pm, Fri, BBC1) with Arnie- free innercity slaughterfest PREDATOR 2 (10pm, Fri, C5)... Iain "The 11 O'Clock Show" Lee continues to deny his inner nerd in intriguingly rebranded "Bits - Minus Two Of The Girl Presenters" videogame show THUMB BANDITS (11.25pm and 1.45am, Fri, C4)... and, searching the poorly-publicised listings for ROCK PROFILE NIGHT (from 10.15pm, Sat, PlayUK), we stumbled across the curiously low-profile "from the makers of TVGoHome (soon to be its own TV show)" website adaptation UNNOVATIONS (10.20pm, Fri, PlayUK)... the hideous "Rock Profile"-style pop caricatures continue on Sat, when a former Take Thatter becomes a bland Frank Sinatra impersonator in ONE NIGHT WITH ROBBIE WILLIAMS (9pm, Sat, BBC1), while Cliff Richard sings songs that were hits for others during his epic career, including a scorching "God Save The Queen"/ "Anarchy In The UK" medley of classics by the Sex Pistols... fleeing this titanic ratings clash, everyone else gives up with efforts like I LOVE BLUE PETER (9pm, Sat, BBC2), and period medical mystery yawn THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE (8.15pm, Sat, C4) - both lacking the true historical significance of OMNIBUS: CHUCK JONES - MR BUGS BUNNY (8.10pm, Sat, BBC2)... the BBC tackles those "dumbing down" accusations head on in ROLF [HARRIS] ON ART (6.55pm, Sun, BBC1), to be followed by "Jeffrey Archer's Guide To Great Literature" and "S Club 7's History Of Classical Music"... and Mon is overrated cult movie night, with both EASY RIDER (1am, Mon, C4) and RESERVOIR DOGS (10pm, Mon, C4) - "Let me tell you what Madonna's 'Into The Groove' is about: it's about Luke Skywalker attacking the trench on the Death Star"... there's a Japanese special of animation anthology HOT REELS (12.05am, Tue, C4)... NTK staff don't appear until the final episode of "I Love Our Liberated Modern Age" nudity clip-show TABOO (9.50pm, Wed, BBC2)... Mick Jagger debates the ending of his "Enigma" movie in BEING MICK (9pm, Thu, C4)... and middle-class psychotic Jimmy Carr, former host of "Drunk Review" on E4's short-lived "Show Me The Funny", presents COMEDY LAB's promising "World Of Corporate Video" (11.55pm, Thu, C4)... FILM>> hey kids: chances are, you are *not* the orphaned secretly-gifted wizard messiah who excitingly flies around before apparently "turning to the dark side" in the later films - like that's going to stop you going to overlong CGI posh kids irritant HARRY POTTER AND THE FRANCHISER'S DREAM (http://www.capalert.com/capreports/harrypottersorc.htm : Christmas without Jesus; magic to grow tail on a boy; boy conversing with a snake; one of the characters is 665.5 years old; ingenious planning and outstanding attention to detail rivaling commercial nuclear power production; and all to present evil as good)... annoyingly, the alternatives aren't much better, despite the supposed acclaim for teen "American Beauty"/ "Daria: The Movie" comic-book aimlessness GHOST WORLD (http://www.screenit.com/movies/2001/ghost_world.html : Enid [Thora Birch] shows some cleavage; Enid tears up a notice and throws it to the ground; Enid briefly sports a multi-colored dye job in her hair)... and completing the "pesky kids" theme, two vaguely incestuous coming-of-age limited releases: DISCO PIGS (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/ : rated 15 for coarse language and some strong violence and sexual references) and MY BROTHER TOM (imdb comment: utterly facile, regressive, self-indulgent, anti-establishment, anti-civilisation juvenilia)... >> SMALL PRINT << Need to Know is a useful and interesting UK digest of things that happened last week or might happen next week. You can read it on Friday afternoon or print it out then take it home if you have nothing better to do. It is compiled by NTK from stuff they get sent. Registered at the Post Office as "pretty, I feel pretty" http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ntk+prettiest NEED TO KNOW THEY STOLE OUR REVOLUTION. NOW WE'RE STEALING IT BACK. Archive - http://www.ntk.net/ Unsubscribe? Mail ntknow-unsubscribe@lists.ntk.net Subscribe? Mail ntknow-subscribe@lists.ntk.net NTK now is supported by UNFORTU.NET, and by you: http://www.geekstyle.co.uk/ (K) 2001 Special Projects. Copying is fine, but include URL: http://www.ntk.net/ Tips, news and gossip to tips@spesh.com All communication is for publication, unless you beg. Press releases from naive PR people to pr@spesh.com Remember: Your work email may be monitored if sending sensitive material. Sending >500KB attachments is forbidden by the Geneva Convention. Your country may be at risk if you fail to comply.