1001 Arab inventions

The Independent Online Edition covers a story about the 20th most important and influential inventions comming from the Arabic world. In the article they are referred as "Islamic inventions" but actually they have little to do with the actual religion and belief in that region and more with the over-all culture (which definitely includes, but is not limited to Islam). They are:

1. Coffee
2. Pin-hole camera
3. Chess
4. Glider
5. Shampoo
6. Distillation
7. Crank-shaft
8. Quilting?
9. Pointed (gothic) arch
10. Many modern surgical instruments
11. Windmill
12. Inoculation
13. Fountain pen
14. Style of the numerals, algorithms, theory of trigonometry
15. Three-course meal
16. Carpets
17. Cheques
18. Earth as a sphere
19. Rocket and torpedo
20. Gardens

The exhibtion "1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World" is currently at the Science Museum in Manchester.

Facts on Internet Explorer, Firefox security

Yahoo!News reports that the computer security company Symantec released new facts measuring the security flaws in the browsers Internet Explorer and Firefox. Note the difference between vendor- and non-vendor-confirmed flaws:

In fact, when counting only vendor-confirmed bugs, Firefox appears to be significantly more vulnerable than IE over the last 18 months. During that period, the number of Firefox-admitted flaws easily topped 60. In the same period, IE posted fewer than half as many vendor-confirmed bugs.

But the new counting methodology, which Friedrichs said was the "more accurate" of the two, combines all vulnerabilities, including those made public but not necessarily confirmed by the vendor.In that count, IE comes out second-best: In the same six months, Firefox suffered from 17 total vulnerabilities, while IE had 24.

And the explanation for that difference?

Explaining the difference, Friedrichs said "In open source, more vulnerabilities will be acknowledged because of the transparency in development."

NASA Discovers Potential Liquid Water on Saturn's Moon

The NASA spaceship Cassini may have found liquid water on Saturn's moon Enceladus. From the NASA mission news:

NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs that erupt in Yellowstone-like geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The rare occurrence of liquid water so near the surface raises many new questions about the mysterious moon.

"We realize that this is a radical conclusion -- that we may have evidence for liquid water within a body so small and so cold," said Dr. Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. "However, if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms."

You can also find some nice pictures on that side. Also check NASA's side about Cassini: Unlocking Saturn's Secrets and the Cassini Homepage.

German Constitutional Court: No Compensation for SS massacre

The German Constitutional Court ruled on March 3rd, 2006, that Germany does not have to pay compensation to the descendant of Greeks who were killed by members of the SS during WW II.

July 10th, 1944, the partents of the plaintiffs were executed by the SS in the Greek town of Distomo. Taking revenge for killings by Greek partisans, the SS exterminated the town and murdered between 200 and 300 inhabitents, among them elder, women, and children. After that, the town was burnt to the ground.

The Court reasoned that Art. 3 of the Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV) does not provide any individual right of compensation. It is part of international law and only regulates a legal relationship between states, not between a state (i.e. Germany) and individuals (i.e. the plaintiffs).

Linux Distribution Chooser

For Linux, there is quit a variety of distributions to choose from. A Linux Distribuation is an operating system comprising the Linux kernel and other software (Source: Wikipedia). You might have a hard time choosing the right one for you.

The website Linux Distribution Chooser could be a great help for that task. It asks you some questions and then presents a quit resonable set of proposals. Have a look!

Personally, my favorite linux distribution is Debian GNU, which I only recommend for advanced users. For beginners, I think Novell's SUSE Linux is worth a look.

German Constitutional Court: Authorization to shoot down aircraft void

The German Constitutional Court decided on February 15th, 2006, that the authorization for armed forces to shoot down hijacked aircrafts is void. The law lacks a proper legislative competence and violates the fundamental rights of life and human dignity.

The law was made as a reaction to September 11th, 2001. It enabled the German air force to shoot down aircrafts which are supposedly used as weapons by terrorists.

Rocky Mountain high for open source

The small Colorado town Steamboat Springs moved some programs to open-source software. ZDNet covers an interview with Kent Morrison, the IT manager of the town:

ZDNet: Why do you think some local governments in the U.S. are reluctant to use open-source software?
Morrison: I think the main reason people don't use open source is due to lack of appropriate skills or familiarity--once the technicians or decision makers become aware of what's possible, they start to become really excited about open source. My boss was really skeptical five years ago when I told her about the direction we were going to take. But now, every month you can read in magazines about open source being used in the public sector.
ZDNet: Do you notice a change in attitude toward open source within the public sector?
Morrison: I believe the increased visibility and the ever-increasing environment of acceptance is helping quite a bit with open-source adoption in the commercial and government market. There is still some resistance--mainly from people who I believe are primarily motivated by fear.

Edubuntu: Linux for the little ones

Edebuntu is a Linux distribution focused on the software needs of schools and young human being.

"Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". Ubuntu also means "I am what I am because of who we all are". The Edubuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to schools, through its customised school environment.

Edubuntu is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with community based support.

The Edubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Edubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit.

These freedoms make Edubuntu fundamentally different from traditional proprietary software: not only are the tools you need available free of charge, you have the right to modify your software until it works the way you want it to.

Homer Simpson is man of the decade

FemaleFirst reports the Homer Simpson is the man of the decade:

The doughnut-loving cartoon dad was given a place in the poll by Britain's Men's Health magazine to find the greatest males of the past 10 years.

No surprise. Who doesn't want to be like him? Good looking, satisfying job, and just four fingers?

Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal died

As the FAZ reports on September 20th 2005 the famous Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal died in Vienna at the age of 96.

Wiesenthal was arrested 1941 by the NS security service (Sicherheitsdienst SD) and until his disentanglement in 1945 he survived twelve concentration camps. In order to hunt down free and unchallenged Nazi criminals he found the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He tracked around 1,110 Nazi criminals down and took them to court. Over 6,000 cases were investigated based on his information. The most important arrests were those of SS Leader Rajakowitsch, Eichmann's representative in the Netherlands, Franz Stangl, commander of the extermination camp of Treblinka, and Karl Silberbauer, who was in charge of the arrest of Anne Frank.