What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an
answer. Certainly there be, that delight in giddiness, and count it
a bondage to fix a belief; affecting free-will in thinking, as well as
in acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be
gone, yet there remain certain discoursing wits, which are of the same
veins, though there be not so much blood in them, as was in those of
the ancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labor, which men
take in finding out of truth, nor again, that when it is found, it
imposeth upon men’s thoughts, that doth bring lies in favor; but a
natural though corrupt love, of the lie itself. One of the later
school of the Grecians, examineth the matter, and is at a stand, to
think what should be in it, that men should love lies; where neither
they make for pleasure, as with poets, nor for advantage, as with
the merchant; but for the lie’s sake. But I cannot tell; this same
truth, is a naked, and open day-light, that doth not show the masks,
and mummeries, and triumphs, of the world, half so stately and
daintily as candle-lights. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a
pearl, that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price
of a diamond, or carbuncle, that showeth best in varied lights. A
mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure. Doth any man doubt, that if
there were taken out of men’s minds, vain opinions, flattering
hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would, and the like,
but it would leave the minds, of a number of men, poor shrunken
things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and unpleasing to
themselves?

Michael Arrington

90 comments »

To say what happened today on Digg was a “user revolt” is an understatement. The Digg team deleted a story that linked to the decryption key for HD DVDs after receiving a take down demandhttp://shots.snap.com/images/v2.2.0.1/theme/silver/en-us/palette.gif');background-position:-535px 0;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-decoration:none;visibility:visible;vertical-align:top;margin:0;padding:1px 0 0;" class="snap_preview_icon" /> and all hell broke loose. More stories appeared and were deleted, and usershttp://shots.snap.com/images/v2.2.0.1/theme/silver/en-us/palette.gif');background-position:-535px 0;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-decoration:none;visibility:visible;vertical-align:top;margin:0;padding:1px 0 0;" class="snap_preview_icon" /> posting the stories were suspended.

That just got the Digg community fired up, and soon the entire Digg home page was filled with stories containing the decryption key. The users had taken control of the site, and unless Digg went into wholesale deletion mode and suspended a large portion of their users, there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop it.

Digg CEO Jay Adelson respondedhttp://shots.snap.com/images/v2.2.0.1/theme/silver/en-us/palette.gif');background-position:-535px 0;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-decoration:none;visibility:visible;vertical-align:top;margin:0;padding:1px 0 0;" class="snap_preview_icon" /> on the Digg blog earlier this afternoon but it was clear he did not yet understand the chaos that was coming. The post only added fuel to the fire. Just now, co-founder Kevin Rose posted yet againhttp://shots.snap.com/images/v2.2.0.1/theme/silver/en-us/palette.gif');background-position:-535px 0;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-decoration:none;visibility:visible;vertical-align:top;margin:0;padding:1px 0 0;" class="snap_preview_icon" /> on the Digg blog, effectively capitulating to the mob’s demands: He says

But now, after seeing hundreds of stories and reading thousands of comments, you’ve made it clear. You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be.

If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying.

Until today, it seems, even Digg didn’t fully understand the power of its community to determine what is “news.” I think the community made their point crystal clear.

Vive La Revolution.

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NEW YORK, April 10 /PRNewswire/ — Graffiti art and street design collide in the new End to End footwear collection, unveiled today by adidas Originals and Foot Locker. These unique, original designs were crafted by seven of the world’s most celebrated graffiti masters — from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France — who were brought together in a collaborative effort to create a unique style that takes their artwork from the sketchbook to the streets. The artists were on hand to paint a full-size replica subway car to demonstrate their craftsmanship, while showcasing their creativity and artwork, from end-to-end.
 
Available exclusively at Foot Locker stores globally, the End to End Collection features the All City Collection, the Burner Collection and the King’s Collection.
 
“Together with Foot Locker, we were able to create a ‘think tank’ where these artisans could amplify their creativity and design one of our most vibrant collections to date,” says Liad Krispin, Head of adidas Trend & Lifestyle Marketing/US. “Never before has a project like this taken place where the collection is designed alongside developers to ensure that the product correctly represents the artist, their style and their artwork.”
 
The End to End Project: A Unique Collaboration

Source: sev.prnewswire.com

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A quarter of teenagers in the US say they are prepared to shell out $500 for an iPhone when it launches in June.
 
The Piper Jaffray survey also found that 84 per cent of American teens were aware of the Apple iPhone.
 
13th bi-annual teen market survey was conducted by analysts at Piper Jaffray among 500 teenagers at 11 high schools across the US. The researchers found that 82 per cent of the teens surveyed owned an iPod, up from 79 per cent last autumn.
 
The survey also found that 64 per cent of teens are getting their music free from peer-to-peer file sharing services while 36 per cent purchase music from online stores like iTunes. The good news for the music industry is that Piper Jaffray’s autumn survey last year found that 28 per cent were purchasing tracks from online music stores. Two years ago that figure was just 20 per cent.
 
Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster commented: “We believe that the teen demographic is a critical component of long-term growth in both markets, and Apple is clearly leading the category.”

Source: macworld.co.uk

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CHICAGO: Some may see a cup of tea as soothing but chocolate is more likely to lower one’s blood pressure, German researchers reported on Monday. Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking green and black tea may not, according to an analysis in the US research magazine Archives of Internal Medicine. The drop in blood pressure among participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks was in the same range as achieved by someone taking drugs commonly prescribed to control high blood pressure. The fall in blood pressure credited to cocoa could be expected to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks by 10-20%. Both cocoa and tea contain polyphenols, a class of chemicals known to help prevent cardiovascular disease that are present in most fruits and vegetables. But cocoa has a different type than tea — procyanids — that appear to be more active. But don’t start gobbling up chocolate bars just yet, wrote study author Dirk Taubert of the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany. Treats such as dark chocolate might be substituted for other high-calorie desserts, based on the study’s findings, but “we believe that any dietary advice must account for the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with most cocoa products. reuters

Source: dailytimes.com.pk

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Chemical weapons have been an international taboo for decades.  But now, some in the United States Air Force are pushing to use them again. A recent study out of the Air War College calls for using chemicals as “first-use weapons against terrorists” — part of a larger pitch to rethink the long-time pariah of military warfare:

Source: blog.wired.com

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BMW introduces the all-new BMW M3 with a new V8 309 kW/420 hp engine.
 
The engine of the M3 takes pointers from the BMW Sauber Formula 1 engines and is made in the same plant. Specifications of the engine are 3,999 cc, peak torque of 400 Newton-meters or 295 lb-ft as well as maximum engine speed of 8,400 rpm.
 
The new BMW M3 accelerates 100 km/h comes in just 4.8s; top speed is 250km/h or 155mph. To lower the weight the M3 features a carbon fiber roof.

Source: i4u.com

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