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The cost of a CD should be exponentially higher, according to the RIAA

The Recording Industry Association of America hasn't been making too many friends these days. I guess I should say that the organization does have many friends inside the music industry, because that's who makes up the the RIAA.

I'm not here to argue whether it's right or wrong to download free music where it's available, or whether it's OK to listen to your friend's "Beach Boys Greatest Hits Album." I'm just here to point out what the RIAA wants you to believe about the cost of music and CDs.

Book review: 'Digital Fortress' by Dan Brown

For decades, the U.S. government has had the ability to encrypt and decrypt email messages. But now, a man claims he has rewritten the book on cryptography and can make messages perfectly undecipherable. At what lengths will the United States government go to keep the lid on him?

Change your canvas with the paintbrush

Coloring is a favorite past time of mine, as it is for probably many people under the age of 4. Besides being useful to keep track of the difference between midnight blue, cornflower and periwinkle, coloring is an extremely relaxing activity. That means that if you wanted to have a completely balanced evening, trying coloring while watching professional wrestling.

Find 'The Developers' at a library near you

I just recently found an interesting site that combines library listings from across the world. While it's not a comprehensive list of every single library, WorldCat promotes itself as having "Over 1 billion items in more than 10,000 libraries worldwide.

That's a lot of books!

Older than the UNIVAC

Most people understand that computers have technically been around for about a half century or so. But there have been multiple reports of computer-like items before that time, depending on your definition of a computer.

Then there's the Ancient Moon computer, which is about 2,000 years old. According to a recent article published in the journal Nature, this device may have been used to predict eclipses of the solar and lunar variety.

From the Archive

Friendster automatically re-inviting your friends

I have joined a fair number of social networking websites, primarily to see how each works differently. I rarely send invites through these websites, although I did a number of years ago when I initially joined Friendster.

Now I realize why that was a bad idea, because Friendster re-invites those individuals on an automated basis. It's clearly spelled out in the privacy policy:

Be prepared

Hard hat. Check.

Two years' worth of provisions, including 80 cans of Spam and 72 cans of beans. Check.

Can opener. Definite check.

Before preparing for the upcoming Y2K crisis, make a short checklist of necessary items. Because the problems could last until the Y3K crisis, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Is anyone really buying into this? Is a modern computer, which was invented sometime in the mid '50s, really going to believe it went back in time? Even without a flux capacitor or Michael J. Fox's Delorean?

GAC: Meeting online people without photos

QUESTION

Would you meet someone you met or chatted with online, even if you had never seen a picture of the person?

BEN: NO

Next stop: Baltimore Book Festival

I'm not exhibiting at the Baltimore Book Festival, for a couple of reasons. But that doesn't mean I won't be attending.

From the information on the website, it looks as if there's a lot going on at the festival, for all ages. Also, it begins Friday night and continues Saturday and Sunday, which means you should have the opportunity to check it out at some point.

Online unreality

The distinction between reality and not reality has intrigued society for thousands of years. When I say society, though, I suppose I'm discussing only those individuals who actually want to discern the difference between the two, since it is readily apparent that a great deal of people rather enjoy the blur between the two worlds. In the past, "unreality" could be considered anything from a dream sequence to joining a secret cult to playing/cheering for your favorite sports team. However, with technology at the helm, we have another life available: one that is virtual.

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