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Friday, January 13, 2012

The Browser daily newsletter [13 Jan 2012]

13 January 2012

 Best of the Moment

Do Some Cultures Have Their Own Ways Of Going Mad?

Latif Nasser | Boston Globe | 8 January 2012

"Arctic hysteria" afflicts only Greenland Inuit. "Dhat syndrome" is peculiar to India. Cape Verdians fear "sleeping blood". What about Westerners? Are their mental illnesses also bound to national and local cultures? Comments

The Revolt Of The Salaried Bourgeoisie

Slavoj Žižek | LRB | 11 January 2012

Thought-provoking essay on employment, shortfalls of capitalism. Heightened productivity, increased efficiencies mean just one thing: "The chance of being exploited in a long-term job is now experienced as a privilege" Comments

Steve Ballmer Reboots

Ashlee Vance | Businessweek | 12 January 2012

"You get the sense he could beat you up." But he's a smart cat too. Got the Cloud right. Skype, X-Box, Kinect doing nicely. Smartphone OS improving fast. The word on Windows 8 is good. Is the supertanker turning round? Comments

Warming To Life In The Hot Zone

David Mould | Times Higher Education | 12 January 2012

Two American researchers head to a village in northern Kazakhstan to see what life is like on a former nuclear test site. Their first thought, on arrival? The inhabitants simply must be relocated. Here's why they changed their minds Comments

Lockdown: The Coming War On General-Purpose Computing

Cory Doctorow | Boing Boing | 10 January 2012

"Can't you just make us a general-purpose computer that runs all the programs, except the ones that scare and anger us?" Fine essay on Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), implausability of regulating Internet and computing effectively Comments

Who Pinched My Ride?

Patrick Symmes | Outside | 9 January 2012

"In America’s rough streets, there are four forms of currency—cash, sex, drugs, and bicycles. Of those, only one is routinely left outside unattended." Cyclist investigates what happens when your prized possession is stolen Comments

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