Instagram, which was recently acquired by Facebook, has announced that it is updating its terms of service and privacy policy. Some of the new changes, that will be effective on January 16, 2013, have sparked off protests from users.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.co...-told/311130-11.html

British astronomer and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore has died, aged 89, his friends and colleagues have said.

He "passed away peacefully at 12:25 this afternoon" at his home in Selsey, West Sussex, they said in a statement.

Sir Patrick presented the BBC programme The Sky At Night for over 50 years, making him the longest-running host of the same television show ever.

He wrote dozens of books on astronomy and his research was used by the US and the Russians in their space programmes.

Described by one of his close friends as "fearlessly eccentric", Sir Patrick was notable for his habit of wearing a monocle on screen and his idiosyncratic style.

Sir Patrick presented the first edition of The Sky at Night on 24 April 1957. He last appeared in an episode broadcast on Monday.

A statement by his friends and staff said: "After a short spell in hospital last week, it was determined that no further treatment would benefit him, and it was his wish to spend his last days in his own home, Farthings, where he today passed on, in the company of close friends and carers and his cat Ptolemy.

"Over the past few years, Patrick, an inspiration to generations of astronomers, fought his way back from many serious spells of illness and continued to work and write at a great rate, but this time his body was too weak to overcome the infection which set in, a few weeks ago.
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Through his regular monthly programmes he was telling us what to look for and what was out there and that was a real inspiration”
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Space scientist
Sky At Night profile of Sir Patrick

"He was able to perform on his world record-holding TV programme The Sky at Night right up until the most recent episode .

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20657939

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R.I.P Sir Patrick.

1. Newsletter Editorial

Hello dear readers.  It's been nearly five months since the last DonationCoder.com newsletter, so this is no doubt the first newsletter that many of you will have received from me.  If so, welcome.

What you'll find here is a collection of some of the more interesting discussion topics that have taken place on our forum in the last few months, as well as a list of new software updates from us, and a personal invitation from me to participate in our yearly "New Apps for the New Year (N.A.N.Y.)" event, which starts now and ends on January 1st, 2013.

Let's get the boring stuff out of the way first:  For those of you who are users of my software (Screenshot Captor, Launchbar Commander, Find and Run Robot, etc.) there have been some substantial updates recently, including a new beta release of Screenshot Captor with a few very big new features (and more coming over in the following months).

Now to the main point of today's newsletter, to announce and invite you to participate in the DonationCoder.com "New Apps for the New Year (N.A.N.Y.) 2013" event.  This is our yearly celebration of programming, where we invite coders of all skills to help ring in the new year by releasing some new piece of free software to the public by New Year's Day.  It's not a competition -- there are no winners or losers.  Everyone is welcome to take part and all the participants get a DonationCoder mug commemorating the event. 

NANY is one of the funnest things we do, and the last few years have produced some great new programs.  If you're a programmer (hobbyist or pro), we want your participation!  If you're not a coder, we still want your participation -- drop by the NANY 2013 section, and help test new releases and suggest ideas for the programmers.

Do you know a friend who might be interested? Or do you write a blog or newsletter?  If so, please help us spread the word!  Whether you are a long time DonationCoder member or someone who has never visited the site before, everyone is welcome.  30 days is plenty of time to come up a fun little project to work on -- a game, a utility, whatever, and share it with our readers.   What can you create in 30 days?

Visit the NANY 2013 section of our forum to read more and ask questions: https://www.donation...ndex.php?board=313.0

Nice site of a hacker who works on lots of different projects, including one that is for adults only:

Making a Vibrator That Listens to Your Body

This project has been an astonishing little journey. Many of my previous projects were characterized by an amazing outpouring of effort to build something highly intricate and ultimately invisible.

This is the opposite kind of project. A little bit of work and a little custom design to create something new and exciting that I can immediately use in my everyday life. It also happens to be a sex toy.

In other words, I wanted to hack something I actually use: my vagina.
The Inspiration

I love feedback loops. Servo motors, thermostats, op-amps, DC-DC converters, social networks, flocking behavior. Our bodies. Massages, cuddling, sex– these are all ways of bringing a partner into your body’s most fun closed-loop systems.

To me, a good sex toy helps form feedback loops. It doesn’t get in the way. A good toy gives you simple ways of exchanging signals with a partner or with your own body. It acts as a conduit. A good sex toy is analog.

I was in the market for a remote-controlled vibrator recently, and I ended up with LELO’s Lyla vibe:

Read Full... http://scanlime.org/...1/hacking-my-vagina/

I'm not sure why it never occurred to me, but i have thrown out keyboards after they got too disgustingly dirty, under the assumption that they were too grimey to get clean without getting soap and water in them..

Then it occurred to me that maybe you could wash a keyboard with water as long as you let it completely dry before plugging it in.

Some searching on the internet suggests that it can be done safely.

So I gave the theory a real test, submerging and soaking my keyboard in a bathtub of water and then power washing it with a garden hose.

By the time i was done it looked brand new.  A couple of hours left in front of a strong fan and then a week left to dry, and it works 100%.

Don't know why no one ever told me about this before..

The social media economy is explained in this great O-talk: