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New Zealand Bible Society Church hits Second Life
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Misc. Tech, Video Games,
Several ministries in New Zealand have decided that praying online is cool. The Rev. Paul Stanaway claims that much of his work is done with younger members through texting and plans a website where followers can light a virtual candle or go in a private chatroom for counseling. Rev. Wally Behan streams sermons via his website and claims that he gets thousands of hits per week. Mark Brown of the Bible Society created a cathedral last year in Second Life. Rev. Bosco Peters also has a site with a reported 1000 hits per day and twice that on holidays. We expect that if God truly exists everywhere, she/he wouldn’t mind.
Read More 
| Stuff
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Woman in Legal Battle with UMP Over YouTube Clip
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Music,
Stephanie Lenz uploaded a 30 second clip of her toddler son dancing to Prince’s song “Let’s Go Crazy” to share with family and friends back in February 2007. Universal Music Publishing insisted the music was “not authorized by the copyright owner” and asked that it be removed. To make a long story short, Stephanie is now involved in a lengthy legal battle, backed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The clip has received almost 700,000 hits because of the publicity.
We know how she feels. We were recently notified that a video we shot of the Village People was taken down from YouTube after it was considered to be a copyright infringement. Considering they only have one surviving member singing in the group, you think they would have appreciated the extra publicity.
Read More | Telegraph
It is so easy to register to vote now that we at Gear Live want to encourage you to do so if you have not already. We admit we have been apathetic in the past, but to not vote means you will not be heard. If you are 18 or older, head over to Declare Yourself to register online (at least 30 days before Nov. 4,) request an absentee ballot, or find specific election locations for your area. There are links to candidates, stands, and issues. Launched in 2003, the site is perfect for finding answers, no matter what the questions. So vote, tell your friends to, and be grateful that we live in a country where we can choose our leaders, rather than having them thrust upon us.
Read More | Declare Yourself
Latest Gear Live Videos
Albert Einstein’s Watch Auction
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Wearables, Internet, Misc. Tech, Science,
Want to own a piece of Albert Einstein? Antiquorum is auctioning off one of his watches on October 16. Pleasure.dk says that the watch, dated when Einstein was 51 years old, is made of 14 carat gold. He was given it February 16, 1931, in Los Angeles. (Einstein was 51 years old at the time.) The Longines timepiece is expected to bring in from $25,000.00 to $35,000, a hefty price, but not if you are one of those who are geeky enough have Einstein’s picture over your cubicle.
Read More | Pleasure
Watch out, Mascugeeks. There is a new Femgeek in town. Not long ago, we met Maria Webster. It is really refreshing to find other females who are geekily inclined, (not that we don’t adore our male counterparts,) so we chatted with the development engineer/webmistress about her new site .51 aka Geekspace for Women. The site, up since May, features what “geeky women are doing/building/making/hacking right now.” By the way, Maria came up with the name after reading that women are 51% of the population and may soon be taking over the Internet.
Read More | .51
Want to find out what effect your life is having on the planet? Take the Earthday Network’s Footprint Calculator Quiz. The short test asks questions about your energy usage in and outside your home, then suggests ways you can cut back. We were told that it would take 4 planet Earths to provide enough resources for us. Excuse us while we put up our tepee and begin to grow our own in the back yard.
Read More | Earthday Network
Google to Launch Chrome, an Open Source Web Browser
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet,
Google announced today that it is launching its new beta browser, named Chrome. Available in more than 100 countries supposedly tomorrow, so far it is only for those with Microsoft Windows. (The company says it is still working on the Mac and Linux versions.) Google’s official blog almost apologized for their comic that discussed the joys of their new browser, saying that they tend to “launch early and iterate” and that the mailroom was a bit hasty letting it out. Be that as it may, it took us long enough to get used to Firefox, so we think we will let the hardcores try it first.
Read More | MSNBC
Comcast to cap Internet bandwidth to 250GB per month, starting October 1
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Movies,
Comcast has decided to change its users agreement so that as of Oct. 1, users will only be allowed 250GB per month. This means you can still download about 4 standard def movies per day.
“We know from experience the vast majority of customers we ask to curb usage do so voluntarily,” the company said. While they already reserve the right to eliminate those who use too much, now subscribers will be contacted by the company, as if we don’t already get enough nasty phone calls and letters.
Read More | USA Today
Mash subscribers received this email message: “Thank you for trying out our Mash Beta service. We hope you had fun with it. Please note that we will shut down Mash on September 29, 2008. As a result, your current profile on Mash will no longer be available.”
So ends Yahoo’s second attempt at social networking, following the former demise of Mixd. One of Mash’s features was that you could create a profile for one of your friends, then ask her/him to customize it. Sounds a little creepy to us. We will now share about a nanosecond of silence to commemorate the loss, and ask Yahoo to stick to what it does best, if they ever figure out what that is.
Read More | Daily Tech
Woman Stalks Man She Met on Second Life
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Video Games,
Think that Second Life is a safe haven for your kids? Thirty three year-old Kimberly Jernigan from North Carolina met a man, aged 52, on the site, but he broke off the relationship when they got together in person. She apparently went to his Delaware apartment with a stun gun, handcuffs, and the always necessary duct tape. Although she fled when he got home, the man called the police. Now the woman faces charges including attempted kidnapping. Jernigan is being held on $65,000 bail.
Read More | MSNBC
