SyncML is an XML-based, up-and-coming standard for synchronizing contact/calendar information across device types. Currently supported by a smattering of phone manufacturers (and others), on a smattering of their offerings.

I don’t see any mention of Palm at their site. Maybe their technology & data formats can solve my pet peeve of not being able to share data between my Visor (and Palm Desktop), Entourage X, and FaxSTF (which MacOS X’s built-in addressbook). If each of those applications can import & export in a standard XML format, they can all share data.

Israeli army reservists just say no. A bunch (more than 60) Israeli army reservists, half of whom are officers, are refusing to serve any longer in the occupied territories, because they believe that the Palestinians are being abused and humiliated. [kuro5hin.org]

the Reg revisits Microsoft’s plans to have a database at the heart of Windows’ filesystem. readers with sharp minds will recall that they’ve touched on the topic before.

in general, it sounds like the right direction to take — it reminds me of the Newton OS’s “soup” — but there are interesting questions about the underlying technology. David Winer’s notso-hotso for the relational database that’s purported to be at the heart of this thing and suggests a heirarchical, web-like store would a much better idea. [Radio blogaritaville@scriban.com]

I’m a former Newton developer, and the Newton’s “soup” was one of the coolest storage systems I’ve ever used.

On the Newton, everything is stored as a ‘frame’, including NewtonScript code. Each frame conists of any number of named bits of data called ‘slots’, and there can be a _parent and/or _proto slot which define inheritance. In most cases, when you access a slot, if it isn’t present in the frame itself, it will look at the frames referenced by the _parent & _proto slots.

A ‘soup’ basically consists of a collection of frames, which don’t have to contain the same data. Query functions make it very easy to get the data you want from a soup.

The Newton was a fantastic developer’s machine. The development environment was one of the best I’ve ever used, and the NewtonScript language is still one of my favorites. However, the Newton wasn’t as pleasant for users. it was too big, tried to do too much, and always seemed sluggish. Palm devices are generally more useful because they try to do less, but do those few things much better.

“Penis-Multilating Tampon” [Daypop Top 40]

Ouch!

kidnapperguy\@hotmail.com. A WSJ reporter has been taken hostage according to the BBC. The kidnappers want better treatment of the prisoners at camp X-ray and the release of Pakistani inmates. Intrestingly, the BBC article gives the email address used by the kidnappers, kidnapperguy\@hotmail.com. Giving you a chance to flame (and/or congratulate) the kidnappers directly. A great way to get an FBI file started! [kuro5hin.org]

If that isn’t a bogus address, it should be possible to locate them very easily. Hotmail isn’t very anonymous – it includes the IP address used to send the message in the headers.

Where I used to work, a former employee used hotmail to send a tasteless joke email to the entire company from his own computer. Since we used static IP addresses, it was very easy to see what computer it was sent from. Needless to say, his last day of work was cut short by several hours.

Necessary Military rule: Nigeria. One of the favorite discussions of Nigerians is about how bad things are in the country. During the last 15 years, there was always an entity to point accusing fingers at – the military government. But now, the military government is gone, and the real problems are pouring in. Prominent is the inter-tribal violence. During military rule, there were a few sporadic incidents of community violence, but nothing of the scale happening today. 10,000 people have died in such violence since an elected government took over. Ethnic groups are threatening to secede. The crime rate is soaring, and vigilante groups are springing up in various parts of the country to combat the criminals. But often, and ironically, these vigilante groups are more feared than the criminals themselves, and are often responsible for greater crimes, including dismembering captured persons, kidnapping and murdering crime suspects. Inflation is at a record high. Draconian Islamic law (Sharia) has been implemented in large parts of the mostly muslim north, which has had such ridiculous rulings as sentencing a woman to death for extra-marital sex. [kuro5hin.org]

Where’s Fela when we need him? His son, Femi Kuti, although he makes great music, doesn’t seem to have the same political impact.

This is VERY cool!

High Schooler Defends Against Non-Existent Drug Law [Plastic] On October 11, 2001, 15 year-old Joshua J. Krawiek went to his locker between classes to retrieve books from his backpack only to find that his backpack had been taken to the main office. Although no marijuana was found in his possession, Joshua was charged for possession of “drug paraphenalia,” three film canisters which he used to hold flies and hooks for fishing. In court, Joshua’s appointed attorney perjured himself, and did nothing to help Joshua with his case, so Joshua fired him. Representing himself, Josh looked up relevant law on the internet, and found that– in fact– in the state of Washington possession of drug paraphenalia is not a crime. Although Superior Court Judge Rebecca Baker eventually dismissed the case, she had this parting shot for Krawiek:

“Don’t laugh when you leave this courtroom, thinking you have beat the system because you have looked these things up yourself. We are going to get you down the road.”

Ashcroft sez to statue ‘Cover that tit!’. Attorney General Ashcroft has ordered the Justice Department to cover with draperies the single bare breast of the female statue Spirit of Justice which stands in the Great Hall at the Justice Department. [kuro5hin.org]

When I got my credit card statement today I noticed a charge that I didn’t recognize. There was a phone number on that charge, so I called them to ask what it was.

Turns out they’re a billing company that does billing for many online services. I asked what it was and they told me it was for an adult site (which I never visited). They were very nice and removed the charge. They also blocked all future charges to my credit card to prevent any future abuse.

I watch my credit card statement very carefully since I received bogus charges from Russia & Ukraine last year. After several such charges, I had my card cancelled and a new one issued. This is the second bogus charge I’ve seen on my new card.

I’m very careful when ordering online & I always avoid (if possible) using any “1-click” ordering options or anything else which stores my credit card info on the merchant’s site. I plan to track down how my number was stolen.