Random Bytes...by Ross Rader

Saturday, July 12

[01:27AM EDT]

Nick Starr "iPhone 3G battery down to 20%, after normal usage. I am going to need to carry my charger with me all the time..."

Others are seeing a better experience.

With some luck, mine will show up on Monday and I'll be able to find out for myself firsthand. Can't say I'm disappointed by a three day lag given the problems everyone was having today with activations.

Scoble calls today "the Ipocolypse".

Guy Kawasaki is endlessly fiddling around with Exchange support.

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[01:00AM EDT]

By the looks of it, new URL encoding service, Bit.ly, is handling approximately 7-10k new URLs per day in recent days. Dave Winer wonders how long they'll be able to keep up with this level of growth.

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Friday, July 11

[10:04PM EDT]

Attack of the Photoshopped Missiles: "Iran's propagandists aren't only ones who can photoshop a missile launch. We know how to do that on the intertubes, too"

(Via Wired.)

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Thursday, July 10

[03:48PM EDT]

As news spread across the world of Iran’s provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison. Unfortunately, it appeared to contain one too many missiles...

(Via The Lede)

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Wednesday, July 9

[05:20PM EDT] Andrew over at Domain Name Wire discusses something very near and dear to me - domain name services usability.

He suggests, as I have been for years, that the domain services industry has their collective heads up their collective asses when it comes to creating a decent experience for their customers.

I'm guilty - Domain Direct, NetIdentity, IYD - all suffer in the usability department. Domain Direct is probably the worst of the bunch - very confusing, unclear and not very welcoming, but NI and IYD aren't much better.

The good news is that we're working on it. More on that soon. C | T (15) | #

[02:21PM EDT]

I was in Paris for the ICANN Nominating Committee meeting last week and while I didn't get much of a chance to see the city (that's twice now) I did finally get a chance to check out their bicycle rental program first-hand. While I didn't actually rent a bike, I did like what I saw in terms of convenience and access.

These bike stands are all over the place, and to rent one, all you need to do is swipe your credit card and your bike is unlocked. You can ride it all over the city, and when you return it, your credit card is charged for the amount of time you had the bike. Very slick.

Toronto needs something like this. C | T (43) | #

Tuesday, July 8

[06:16PM EDT] Not really news, but definitely a worthwhile reminder.

Read Meat Consumption Linked Yet Again to Increased Cancer Risk: "Researchers found that people who consumed the most red meat had a 25 percent higher risk of developing colorectal cancer in the study period compared with those who ate the least, and a 20 percent higher risk of developing lung cancer. The risk of esophageal and liver cancer was increased by between 20 and 60 percent.
"

(Via NaturalNews.com.)

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[05:48PM EDT] This is a pretty neat prank.

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Friday, July 4

[11:39AM EDT] An awesome insight about cycling from BKW:

"Cycling gives us the ability to achieve more than we could without it. Our relationship to cycling is a sort of marriage. But it’s married to more than us—we’ve wedded it to our lives. When it works, it can teach us not the value of sticking with something, but how walking away from anything robs us of more than the thing itself."

- Belgium Knee Warmers

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Thursday, July 3

[11:27PM EDT] 37 years ago today, Jim Morrison died. How do I remember this every year?

He had the good taste to kick off the day I was born :) C | T (16) | #