The Bangus Ultimatum

These are my links for May 28th through June 1st:

• Dobbs Code Talk – The web vs. the fallacies of distributed computing – "I recently read a post by Tim Bray where he states that building on web technologies let you get away with believing some of the fallacies of distributed computing.

  I personally thinks he is a little optimistic in that claim."

• Lifehacker – TypingWeb Offers Free Typing Lessons – Typing – Whether you're an able but slow touch typist, or you never graduated beyond hunting and pecking, TypingWeb is a free and easy to use online typing tutor that will help you hone your keyboard chops.
• Eve Ensler and "Rape-Free" Gadgets | Boing Boing Gadgets – In the Congo, explains Eve Ensler, militias use rape to fracture communities and the threat of sexual violence to coerce slave labor to mine coltan (a colloquial name for columbite-tantalite ore) which is used to produce capacitors that power cell phones, iPods, and other gadgets.
• Dobbs Code Talk – Happy Birthday COBOL! 50 Years Old and Still Kicking Butt – Could it be? COBOL is 50 years old? That's right. It's been 50 years since May 28, 1959, when the first meeting of the committee that would develop the COBOL language convened. Since then, according to estimates, 60-80 percent of the world's enterprises still rely on COBOL to run their business.
• nrc.nl – International – Netherlands to close prisons for lack of criminals – The Dutch justice ministry has announced it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in the prison system. A decline in crime has left many cells empty.