If you make it one of your life's missions, you can learn at least one thing new every day. I was pleased to learn that our otherwise dopey copyright laws make provisions for people with visual and learning disabilities. In essence, it's possible to make electronic copies of books for the legally blind and dyslexic, provided those titles are distributed in a controlled manner. Awesome. And for $25 a year plus proof of one's disability, BookShare will give you access to almost 8,000 books. If the National Library Service were compared to CDs, BookShare would be like a Web-based media player.

State of the tuber

world.std.com/~fwhite/spud/

So, some wag makes a joke about a potato-powered Web server and it becomes an infectious meme. When this kind of thing happens, geeks forward it to other geeks and eventually one of them will produce the item in question. Engineering types find this kind of thing fascinating and hysterically funny. On this page you'll find a link to the original gag plus a detailed description of how Fredric White pulled the whole thing off. Brilliant.

Beating the spyware

NewsBytes.com/news/02/175035.html

www.Mozilla.com

I like my privacy. When I have to give it up for some reason, such as flying, I'm okay with that as long as I know about it. It's a tradeoff between my knowing that I'm being scrutinized and receiving something I want. And I expect the same thing from my software. When I'm using Windows, I don't expect my media player to phone home to tell Microsoft what I'm watching and I don't expect my Netscape 6 Web browser to tell on me either. Maybe it's one more reason to run open source software such as the Mozilla browser. It and Netscape 6 have a similar base, but Mozilla doesn't have the spyware bits. The latest prerelease version of the Mozilla has been quite stable, so if you don't like being watched it might be worth a try.

PDA protection

Kensington.com/products/pro_mob_d1441.html

Those Kensington folks have come out with a handsome line of aluminum PDA cases. They're tucked in somewhere between the hip-yet-expensive Rhinoskin Titanium models and the stylish-yet-useless leather ones. I liked the solid feel of the thing but was on the fence about having a magnet instead of a clasp to keep the clamshell-like case closed. Yes, it's probably safe but magnets around media such as Zip disks make me nervous. If you get one, air it out for a few days before stuffing it in your bag unless you want your executive goodies to smell like burned tires. Recommended (but smelly) and a hair under $30.

Little hacks at large

www.iPodOrganizer.com/

I really dig my iPod. It's one of those items I rarely go anywhere without. Music is a joy for me and having the best of what I listen to at any time is almost as good as an oversize slice of cheesecake. If you're an iPod owner and are shopping for a PDA, here's a $20 utility that will turn your iPod into a simple phone number database. No, it doesn't take notes, have a calendar or do the dishes, but it is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than a real PDA. If all you do is look up phone numbers, it could work for you.

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