Welcome to Argalax
Hi, my name is Alexander and this is my website.
It describes my work, hobbies, various projects, intellectual pursuits, current interests, and whatever else seems important and/or interesting at the moment.
I live in Canada, just east of Toronto, and work as technical team leader in the IT industry.
In spare time I enjoy writing some code, developing web applications, working on my robot, and FreeBSD/Linux projects, reading sci-fi, finance and technical books, building my cabin in the wilderness and travel when I can.
Here are some technical news to read...
Technology
Cash for Pirate Bay file-sharers [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:33:18 GMT]New owners of file-sharing website The Pirate Bay say users will be paid for sharing files.
Innocents accused of net piracy [Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:16:58 GMT]
The crackdown on illegal file-sharers is catching innocent people alongside the pirates.
Cost of texting abroad comes down [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:20:01 GMT]
A cap on the cost of sending a text message while abroad in the European Union comes into force for the first time.
Cyber bullying case sentence due [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:56:36 GMT]
The woman tried in the US's first federal cyber bullying case, which led to a teenager's suicide, faces sentencing.
Workplaces set to get 'smarter' [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:17:12 GMT]
Technology will ensure that the office of the future is full of sensors that help workers be very productive, suggests a report.
China delays internet filter plan [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:48:25 GMT]
China delays a plan requiring new computers to be equipped with internet filtering software.
ID scheme is an 'embarrassment' [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:35:05 GMT]
The government's handling of ID cards is a "national embarrassment", says ex shadow home secretary David Davis.
Pirate Bay site sold to game firm [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:41:58 GMT]
Popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay has been sold to a Swedish gaming company GGF.
Mobile pollution sensors deployed [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:37:50 GMT]
Cyclists, buses, cars and even pedestrians become mobile pollution detectors in a UK initiative.
MPs to investigate UK net speeds [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:52:11 GMT]
The Commons Business and Enterprise Committee is to investigate if government broadband pledges go far enough.
Science
Tags to help solve puffin decline [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:50:55 GMT]Scientists hope hi-tech tags will help reveal why puffin numbers at one of the UK's key colonies have fallen by a third.
Chimpanzees learn from video demo [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:38:39 GMT]
Copycat chimps build their own tools after watching a video demonstration, say scientists.
Ariane lofts biggest 'space bird' [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:23:19 GMT]
TerreStar-1, the world's biggest commercial telecommunications satellite, is put into orbit.
Herschel captures galaxy image [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:21:56 GMT]
The European Space Agency releases a stunning image of the spiral "Whirlpool Galaxy".
UK 'yet to embrace space tourism' [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:18:19 GMT]
Virgin Galactic boss Will Whitehorn says the UK needs a proper regulatory framework to expand private spaceflight activity in the country.
Mobile pollution sensors deployed [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:37:50 GMT]
Cyclists, buses, cars and even pedestrians become mobile pollution detectors in a UK-based scientific project.
Wind 'can revolutionise UK power' [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:20:00 GMT]
Britain can massively expand wind power by 2030 without suffering power cuts, a report says.
Most complete Earth map published [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:07:49 GMT]
The most complete terrain map, covering 99% of the Earth's surface, has been published and will be free to use.
Is this ant mega-colony set for world domination? [Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:41:35 GMT]
Argentine ants living on three continents belong to the same colony, the largest of its kind ever known.
A dinosaur mummy reveals its remarkable secrets [Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:59:02 GMT]
A beautifully preserved dinosaur found in the US retains remarkable detail of skin cells.
App Development
iPhone 3GS: Overheating Fears, OS Update Nears []As buzz grows around reports of unexpectedly high temperatures and shortages in the store, the Apple smartphone inches closer to a software update.
PostgreSQL 8.4 Revs Up Database Admin, Security []
New open source database release adds 293 enhancements.
PHP 5.3 Accelerates PHP []
New release of open source dynamic language adds new functions and speeds up PHP.
Sun Releases NetBeans 6.7 IDE for Java, PHP []
Sun's Java IDE is not just for Java anymore.
Why Firefox Doesn't Take Google Chrome Features []
Google's Chrome introduces a number of new features to browsers, but don't expect Mozilla to be adopting them any time soon.


Robot Building
Space / Sci-Fi - Space exploration, Dawn Mission, long-term space missions, terraforming, space art, ...
My Work
FreeBSD
Our Small Cabin
Travel