Links

How the FBI hounded Bobby Fischer via Pathologically Polymathic

IBM has this cool tool: Multimodal browser extension. With this, I can create a textbox on my site, which you can fill in by speaking to the web page. The underlying standard is W3C’s XHTML+Voice.

Two years ago, I’d have downloaded it and had it on my site in a few hours. Today, I’m a married consultant. I don’t have a few hours. 🙁

Bought one of these Eicher Maps. They’re fantastic. I sure wish I had access to the GIS on their website! Have a whole bunch of cool ideas.

The Mumbai police are using a hacker to resolve some cybercrimes. It’s interesting to note some of his efforts: freeing the IDBI, HDFC sites from hackers, and tracking Chhota Shakeel’s money laundering. via FilterCoffee

An article in the Scientific American linking two-leggedness, non-vegetarianism and our brain size. Contrast that with this (funny) talk.origins post on the trade-off between a large brain and two-leggedness. via Ravikiran, via RobotWisdom

An intruiging case of 22 Patels in a cricket match. via Kamat

Gates beats Stallman in India. via RobotWisdom

Microsoft (2002) vs IBM (1982). An article on whether Microsoft will go the IBM Way.

Microsoft’s ability to adapt and prosper hinges on meeting a third main challenge: creating trust.

Does education really pay? An interesting article on Forbes arguing that education does not cause higher salaries, but is merely correlated with it. The logic sequence is broadly:

• Labour markets want smart people.
• Smart people tend to want education.
• Hence labour markets appear to want educated people.

Cute letters to Einstein from kids.

Dear Sir,

I probably would have written ages ago, only I was not aware that you were still alive. I am not interested in history, and I thought that you had lived in the 18th c., or somewhere around that time…

Tyfanny

Dear Tyfanny,

… I have to apologize to you that I am still among the living. There will be a remedy for this, however. …

Einstein

via MetaFilter