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Google's PageRank Algorithm, in 126 Lines of Python


Quite possibly the most disturbing PageRank graphic out there.

[via reddit] Here's something interesting: Vincent Kräutler has written up some code and accompanying documentation that purports to show the inner workings of Google's PageRank algorithm — and in a mere 126 of Python code to boot.

I'll have to give it a look see and perhaps “laymanize” it in a future article.

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Nintendo's To Ship Replacement Wiimote Straps

Side0by-side comparison of new and old wiimote straps.

Engadget is reporting that Nintendo is issuing new straps to all Wii users in the light of so many reports of strap breakages (and flying wiimote controllers):

So yeah, your strap is on the list for recall if you own a Wii. Whether the broken strap claims were bogus or not is now moot, the perception certainly exists that there's a problem with California class-actions sure to follow. So kudos to Nintendo for acting relatively quickly to address the issue before it snowballed into another Sony “rootkit” fiasco.

You don't have to return your Wii or any part of it; simply fill out the Wii Strap Relacement Form to get your replacement straps.

Of course, those new straps still look pretty wimpy next to this solution:

Wiimote with handcuffs used a strap.

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Cryptic Announcement on Gizmodo Says iPhone Will Be Announced on Monday

'Say Hello to the iPhone' fake ad from Russell Beattie's blog.
“iPhone ad” from Russell Beattie's blog. Click the photo to see it on its original page.

For those of you who've been following the rumors of an Apple iPhone, this posting on Gizmodo is just too tantalizing:

Gizmodo Knows: iPhone Will Be Announced On Monday

I guarantee it. It isn't what I expected at all. And I've already said too much. — Brian Lam

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The Real Reason Linux Lags on the Desktop

It's summed up rather nicely in the latest installment of the webcomic xkcd

xkcd comic.
Click the comic to see it at full size on its original page.

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Fun With MyHeritage's Face Recognition

Given this input…

Photo of some kind of messy food, shown in the

…here's one match from MyHeritage.com's face recognition feature:

MyHeritage's match -- Ashton Kutcher.

Yes…I can see a resemblance!

(Courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele and Hardhat.)

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No Reddit for You!

I paid my usual visit to Reddit and found this:

Screenshot of my browser showing that reddit.com doesn't resolve.

Using my super-seekrit domain registrar powers vested in me by the authority of my employer, I found that the domain record had been updated today…

Domain Name: REDDIT.COM
Registrar: DSTR ACQUISITION PA I, LLC DBA DOMAINBANK.COM
Whois Server: rs.domainbank.net
Referral URL: http://www.domainbank.net
Name Server: NS2.ADVANCEMAGS.COM
Name Server: NS3.ADVANCEMAGS.COM
Name Server: NS4.ADVANCEPUBS.NET
RRP Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 13-Dec-2006
Creation Date: 29-Apr-2005
Expiration Date: 29-Apr-2008

Somebody did something today, and that something caused reddit.com to no longer resolve. Hopefully this will get resolved soon.

The 'Soup Nazi' from 'Seinfeld' saying 'No Reddit for you!'.

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Amanda Congdon: Today, ABC News; Tomorrow, "The View"

Amanda Congdon

Amanda Congdon, this website defector of 2006, has landed a position at ABC News' website, and the New York Times has covered this latest career move:

Now in the warm embrace of the mainstream media, this onetime indie figure is making online video segments on eclectic subjects. And ABC is meanwhile promising its groovy young girlfriend that she won't have change a bit, even for corporate events: no first-lady suits, no hot-roller hair, no mannequin makeup. Ever. On her first minishow, which became available yesterday on ABC's Web site, Ms. Congdon shows up in a taut Steely Dan T-shirt and opens with her trademark girly casualness: “O.K., this is weird.”

Is it me, or are the staff writers at the Times really aping the style of the Daily Show these days?

The article skips the boring stuff, such as the details about her new position at ABC and a guesstimate of what it pays and jumps to what readers really want: an analysis of her trademark “cute girl at the comic book store” style, complete with references to Peter Jennings' “Apollonian reason” and drawing parallels between her and Walter Cronkite.

As Amanda herself would say, “O.K., that was weird.”

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