Josh Eastburn.com

Today TiVo unveiled the long-awaited Series3 DVR. It has most of the features that were promised: record 2 shows at once, HD support, CableCard slots, and an upgraded remote. Sadly, several features are “disabled” for now–the external hard drive port and TiVoToGo–most likely at the request of the Cable Labs group which hands out CableCard certifications. As much as I’d love to swap out my DirecTV TiVo for the Series3, I’m not ready to spend $799 plus subscription costs. Read the full review here.

Listen to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) explain how the Internet works during his speech against Net Neutrality.

The Internet is a series of tubes. And if you don’t understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

It is a bit disturbing that these are the people writing legislation for the Internet.

While getting my hair cut today, I was watching the World Cup on ESPN2. As soon as the France vs. Togo game had ended, they quickly cut to live coverage of the World Domino Championships. Since I was immobilized by the hair-cutting sheet-thing they put over you, I had no choice but to learn more about the World Domino Championships. Interviews of the top players were conducted and there were quotes like “there are good domino players and there are bad domino players, there is no in-between.” I suppose I am a bad domino player then.

But the WDC is not the only high-stakes competition this summer. Toronto will soon be hosting the 2006 Rock Paper Scissors International Championships. To help you prepare, here is an excerpt from the rulebook:

For those new to the game, the only acceptable throws are Rock, Paper and Scissors. Any use of Dynamite, Bird, Well, Spock, Water, Match, Fire, God, Lightning, Bomb, Texas Longhorn, or other non-sanctioned throws, will result in automatic disqualification.

All competitors are reminded that they PLAY AT THEIR OWN RISK.

Five weeks ago, several students from my alma mater, Taylor University, died in an accident on I-69 when a truck crossed the median and slammed into a school van. Four students and one staff member were killed.

In a tragic turn of events, it has been revealed this week that there has been a case of mistaken identity with two of the students. From the TU web site:

We had believed that Laura VanRyn was airlifted to Parkview Hospital and has recently begun to emerge from the coma she was in since the night of the accident. The Coroner’s office has notified us that Laura was instead one of the five people who died that evening and that it was Whitney Cerak who was airlifted to Parkview and is today convalescing at a hospital in Grand Rapids, MI.

It is hard to comprehend the extent of this mixup. Imagine waking from a coma and being surrounded by people you have never seen before, or missing your daughter’s funeral because she was buried as someone else. On the other hand, it is a moment of great joy for the family who thought their daughter was dead to find that she is still alive. Link

Microsoft announced their new “Windows Live OneCare” product today. For $50 a year, you can protect up to 3 computers from viruses, spam, and data loss. While all of these products were available before from other vendors (often for free), this is the first time Microsoft has thrown its weight into this segment of the software market–certainly to the chagrin of their “business partners” Symantec and McAfee.

This new product release makes me wonder why protecting your operating system isn’t part of the operating system itself, but it will certainly be a lucrative business for Microsoft. It will be an all-inclusive package from a well-known name for people who don’t want to bother assembling their anti-spy, anti-spam solution on their own. Link

Sala, an artist in Zürich, Switzerland is selling 1000 paintings of. . .the numbers 1 through 1000. But you should move fast if you are interested. There is an interesting formula involved that makes the paintings more expensive as fewer become available:

Value = 1000 – number
Initial discount: 90%
Current discount: 80%
The discount will decrease by an absolute 10% for every 100 paintings sold.
Min. price: $40.

So for example, the painting of “755″ is now $49, but after 900 paintings are sold, it will cost you $245. Link

Starting in July, you might find that your phone bill is a little less expensive. Congress recently voted to put an end to the “federal excise tax” on long distance calls. The 3% tax was started in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War. Glad we got that paid off.

Not only is the tax ending, but the last 3 years of taxes will be refunded as part of your 2006 tax return. However, unless you routinely call Albuquerque for the local time, don’t expect a windfall in 2007.

Students in the UK have been caught using a cell phone ringtone in class that can’t be heard by older people, including teachers. Due to the progressive loss of hearing as we age, most people lose the ability to hear this high-pitched sound sometime in their 20’s. Link

The ringtone was adapted from the Mosquito Alarm which is marketed to store owners in order to keep teenagers from congregating nearby.

Can you hear it? If you don’t hear a high-pitched chirping sound and only hear some background noise, consider yourself immune to this “teenager repellant.”