Promiscuous mode

A network card can act in “promiscuous mode“, a configuration in which the card accepts not only those packets destined for it, but also any packet on the network.

Spinning fans make me happy

I get an inordinate amount of enjoyment out of writing a computationally expensive program, making my computer execute it, and then hearing the computer’s fans start spinning frantically as heat build up in the processor, RAM, etc.

Why we fight

Following from my post here about the OLPC Give One Get One program (check it out at http://www.amazon.com/xo), I received this email today about a new ad that the OLPC foundation has put together:

Hello, and happy Thanksgiving from OLPC.

Help us change the world, one email at a time.

Our new commercial “Zimi” began airing on November 17th. Watch Zimi’s story to see how the life of a 7-year-old African girl can be changed by the XO:

http://tinyurl.com/zimiolpc [I've embedded the video below.]

While giving thanks this weekend for all that we have, share this story with friends and family and let them know about the opportunity to help children learn in the developing world.

And don’t forget to be part of the equation for change:

http://equation.laptop.org

Sincerely,

Nicholas Negroponte

Founder, One Laptop per Child

Consider giving the gift of knowledge.

Ubuntu Linux on Asus Eee PC

Ubuntu Eee makes me want to buy an Asus Eee PC. Beautiful.

Ubuntu Linux on Asus Eee PC

One Laptop Per Child: Give One Get One XO-1

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO-1 laptop

You might consider this Christmas season donating to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) campaign. If you donate $400, you can get one laptop for yourself to keep, but only if you donate during the brief give one, get one period. Of course, you can always donate without asking for a laptop in return.

The goal of OLPC is to create a laptop specifically for schoolchildren in developing nations. The idea is that only with free access to information (in concert with a good education) can we ensure a better future. The laptop itself is creative and intriguingly designed, in both hardware and software. It is not perfect, and the OLPC project recently experienced a resignation by a key player because of a violation of the project’s principles, but promoting this project is still a good thing. It is intended to be an education project as opposed to a laptop project, according to the project chairman, and this mission is worth advancing.

If you have a Facebook user account, consider adding OLPC to your Causes.

I know what I want

This little laptop.

Public Surplus auctions

This website auctions off surplus, confiscated, or otherwise unwanted items from government agencies. It looks like you can get a bunch of pretty cool stuff, but only if you’re near a state agency which uses this website. Some interesting sections:

• Guns, currently showing a lot of entries from Texas
• Confiscated from airports, currently showing Leatherman tools
• Computers, loads of cheap parts and lots of computers
• Dump trucks, awesome

If only I lived in the United States…