Red Pandas in the News

Twelve-week-old red panda cubs Tenzin (held by zookeeper Lisa Abra at left) and Jishnu (held by Bobby-Jo Vial at right) are displayed to the media at Taranga Zoo on Wednesday.

The term fire-fox, as used to describe the Red Panda, has been propagated by its use as the logo for the web browser Mozilla Firefox. The old Chinese designation of Red Panda as “fire fox“ refers to the Red Panda’s fur color, but its new firefox sanction as “the godfather of the browsers“ has caught on in China. – Wikipedia

SYDNEY, Australia – Twin red pandas made their public debut at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo on Wednesday, the latest additions to a breeding program that aims to ensure the survival of the endangered species.

Zookeepers cuddled and showed off the 3-month-old males as they tried to weigh the wriggling cubs on some scales. One is named Jishnu, Nepalese for “bright” or “triumphant,” and the other is named Tenzin after the famed Everest climber Tenzing Norgay.

News Source: MSNBC

Google TiSP (Beta) Free Broadband Service

Are you in an area where getting Broadband (or any) Internet service is a pain? Stuck with one provider who rates are going up faster than the price of a gallon of gasoline? You can get free, yes free Broadband Internet Service from Goggle. Best of all you need is a toilet. Here is the press-release on the new Google TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider) Service (Beta):

Google announces free in-home wireless broadband service

“Dark porcelain” project offers self-installed plumbing-based Internet access

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 1, 2007 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the launch of Google TiSP (BETA)™, a free in-home wireless broadband service that delivers online connectivity via users’ plumbing systems. The Toilet Internet Service Provider (TiSP) project is a self-installed, ad-supported online service that will be offered entirely free to any consumer with a WiFi-capable PC and a toilet connected to a local municipal sewage system.

“We’ve got that whole organizing-the-world’s-information thing more or less under control,” said Google Co-founder and President Larry Page, a longtime supporter of so-called “dark porcelain” research and development. “What’s interesting, though, is how many different modalities there are for actually getting that information to you – not to mention from you.”

So how does it work?

Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.

Again this is a free service with personalized ads (see below). Here is more info from the Google TiSP FAQs:

How can Google offer this service for free?
We believe that all users deserve free, fast and sanitary online access. To offset the cost of providing the TiSP service, we use information gathered by discreet DNA sequencing of your personal bodily output to display online ads that are contextually relevant to your culinary preferences, current health status and likelihood of developing particular medical conditions going forward. Google also offers premium levels of service for a monthly fee (see below).
Note: We take your privacy very seriously. So we treat all TiSP users’ waste-related personal information with tremendous discretion, in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Is this offering a tiered service? How does Google’s position on Net Neutrality effect TiSP?
Although we understand that there’s a lot of crap on the web, we also believe strongly in providing equal opportunity access to all our users. While we won’t limit your surfing choices, we do offer three levels of TiSP service:

	Trickle	The #2	Royal Flush
Download speed (max)	8 Mbps (10X basic DSL)	16 Mbps (20X basic DSL)	32 Mbps (40X basic DSL)
Upload speed (max)	2 Mbps	4 Mbps	8 Mbps
Price	Free	$9.95/mo.	$24.95/mo.
	Actual speeds will vary, depending on network traffic and sewer line conditions. Users with low-flow toilets may simultaneously experience a saving-the-environment glow and slower-data-speed blues

Be sure to check out the Google TiSP Group for more information and real end-user feedback. Oh and one more thing…if you buy this and the Gmail Paper (Beta), “I got some ocean front property in Arizona.” Once again the folks at Google have managed to pull of a couple great April Fools Jokes!

Source: CyberNet News

GMail Three Years Later

Back on April 1, 2004, Google introduced their own web based e-mail service as an beta by invitation only service. Many folks thought it would never take off, but earlier this year, it was announced: Gmail open to all…

Now, to celebrate their three-year birthday GMail is proud to introduce Gmail Paper (Beta):

Everyone loves Gmail. But not everyone loves email, or the digital era. What ever happened to stamps, filing cabinets, and the mailman? Well, you asked for it, and it’s here. We’re bringing it back.

A New Button
Now in Gmail, you can request a physical copy of any message with the click of a button, and we’ll send it to you in the mail.

Simplicity Squared
Google will print all messages instantly and prepare them for delivery. Allow 2-4 business days for a parcel to arrive via post.

Total Control
A stack of Gmail Paper arrives in a box at your doorstep, and it’s yours to keep forever. You can read it, sort it, search it, touch it. Or even move it to the trash—the real trash. (Recycling is encouraged.)

Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe
Google takes privacy very seriously. But once your email is physically in your hands, it’s as secure as you want to make it.

Here are some more details that Google is careful to note about the service:

• It’s free, but has ads.
• They even print attachments…except for MP3 and WAV files.
• No limit on how much you can print.
• Printed on 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputum so that it is environment friendly.

Also Google is now getting into the ISP business be sure to read all about the new and FREE (some restrictions apply) Google TiSP (Beta) Broadband Internet service.

Source: CyberNet News