Hiatus

OK,
We've decided to stop posting. It was fun while it lasted, but there doesn't seem to be enough readers to keep going.

Thanks for the 15 minutes of fame, and perhaps with a little encouragement, we will restart this tabloid. =)

Love,
HotfixUpdate Blogger

Computer chips becoming as common as potato chips

Everyday new ways of harnessing computer processors are being created around the world. Crafty inventors are finding new ways of harnessing the power of computers in items as mundane as umbrellas and clothes.

Here's one example from a New York Times article:

The umbrella might be free — if you’re willing to listen to it whisper advertising offers in your ear: “Psst. You know that raspberry-pimento-vanilla coffee you like? The store you’re about to pass just took a fresh batch out of the roaster 12 minutes and 34 seconds ago. Oops. 35 seconds.”

Has the world become so disconnected that people have to hope it rains to get a decent conversation?

Los Angeles residents can drive free and clear through the purple skies

Microsoft plans to introduce a Web-based service for driving directions that incorporates complex software models to help users avoid traffic jams. Using artificial intelligence,

[t]he system is intended to reflect the complex traffic interactions that occur as traffic backs up on freeways and spills over onto city streets.

Now Angelinos can drive 80mph through the purple hazy fog of pollution. Sounds a bit dangerous.

If the residue fit, you must convict

Scientists in Texas are reporting development of a highly dependable, rapid and inexpensive new method for identifying the presence of gunshot residue.

It extracts almost all components of gunpowder residue from particles about 15 times smaller than the width of a human hair, without the use of chemical
reagents.

OJ Simpson is probably loving those double jeopardy laws.

"Say Cheese" will be a thing of the past

New technology from Omron Corp. is able to analyze the curves of the lips, eye movement and other facial characteristics to decide how much a person is smiling.

Sony already has a similar Smile Shutter function for its digital cameras which automatically clicks the shutter when people in the image break into a smile.

The problem is, parents of pouty teenagers will not only face kids who won't take pictures, but will also face cameras that won't take pictures of pouty teenagers!

Free speech is not for all on eBay

In mid-May, only buyers on eBay will be able to give feedback ratings in order to prevent sellers from retaliating against buyers who speak out.

This change has upset many of eBay's 82.3 million active users. But it might also be a lesson for sites trying to encourage strangers to get along.

Seems like just another take on the ol' adage, "good fences make good neighbors."

Hummer greener than Prius

Disclaimer: the source of this entry is an editorial.

But if it is true, the Toyota Prius, the ultimate "green car," is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.

Photo credit: Marcin Rolicki

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

Boy, we can just see all the guppies, yuppies, hipsters, and hippies having a ball with this.