Cyberkinetics has begun testing a nural implant that allows people to control electronic devices with their thoughts.

The goal of the BrainGate^tm Neural Interface System development program is to create a product that can potentially allow quadriplegic patients to recover a host of abilities that normally rely on the hands. The system could be used in the individual’s home environment or even be mobile with the patient.

Such a system could someday potentially restore the ability to interface with a computer and other devices at a level of speed, accuracy and precision that is comparable to the use of hands by a non-disabled person.

If this works it will radically change the way we do things, and not just for disabled people I think. Could you imagine playing computer games with this? Or how about the ability to write documents in a word processor by thinking it. I know that’s a fair way off compared to what they’re doing now, but it brings it all one step closer.

[via Forever Geek]

Being an AFL mad Victorian (is there any other kind?) stuck up in Sydney, I get precious little news about ALF unless it’s the swannies playing. And seeing as my poor doggies aren’t exactly top of the ladder at the moment, I can’t remember the last time they were mentioned in the news. So all my news has to come from the ALF site (and a few sporting blogs).

Long story short, I’ve scraped the Bulldogs news site to generate an RSS feed*of all the news items. If you have Feed Demon, or some other aggregator that understands the feed:// protocol just click on this link: feed://feeds.slaven.net.au/westernbulldogs.rss, otherwise copy this link into your aggregator: http://feeds.slaven.net.au/westernbulldogs.rss.

If you don’t have an aggregator I highly recommend Nick Bradbury’s Feed Demon. And if you get it from here, you help me out too!

And for those poor un-enlightened souls who don’t support the Bulldogs, if you ask me nicely I might be persuaded to give your team a feed too. Bribery works too.

* If you don’t know what RSS is, I’ve got a brief intro to the topic.

Family First have been called many names in the Australian media in the last few months, ranging from Political newcomer and right-wing conservative to a conspiratorial setup and the lunatic Right. To these colourful titles we can now add Simon Hayes and Jennifer Foreshew’s bogeyman for the IT industry.

CONSERVATIVE Christian party Family First has emerged as a new bogeyman for the IT industry, which is worried a reinvigorated Howard Government will trade the full sale of Telstra for a package of measures including mandatory internet filtering.

…

Internet Industry Association chief executive Peter Coroneos is promising to speak to Family First on the "realities of internet governance" in an effort to stymie the filter plans.

"We are highly concerned about statements that this party has made regarding the internet and we think it is particularly unhelpful and uninformed," he said.

Being a conservative Christian myself, I thought I’d have a bit of a look at this policy _{(pdf, 211KB)}, and see if it wasn’t just a bit more media beatup. The answer is: no, it’s not.

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DRUDGE REPORT is reporting that Christopher Reeve is dead.

12:30:02 ET: Veteran Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke has learned that actor Christopher Reeve is dead, according to sources close to the actor. He died suddenly Sunday. News of his death has not been reported publicly yet. His family will make an announcement Monday at the earliest.

Reeve was just mentioned Friday in the second live presidential debate by John Kerry. Noting he was a friend of the paralysed Reeve, Kerry said he was in favor of further stem cell research because Reeve could walk again one day thanks to such science.

No confirmation anywhere else yet. XFM in London announced it, but their source was Drudge. Dead or Alive is also reporting, but no source or info listed there, so one would guess that it’s just from Drudge too.

UPDATE: Major news sources now reporting the story.

CNN reports:

Reeve fell into a coma Saturday after going into cardiac arrest while at his New York home, his publicist, Wesley Combs, told The Associated Press by phone from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.

Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure wound that he developed, a common complication for people living with paralysis. In the past week, the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection.

Story also being reported by the Daily Telegraph & SMH.

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