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::: Friday, November 30 ::: |
Damn: Harrison mourned around the world
I never went through a George phase. There was a time I was enamored of John Lennon... particularly around the time of Double Fantasy. After that I went into a McCartney phase, which peaked a year or so after Give My Regards to Broad Street was released. I even experimented briefly with being a Ringo fan when Drumming Is My Madness was on the radio and the movie Caveman was on HBO (I doubt anyone saw it in the theatre).
I guess I really don't know much about George. I do know, however, that he will be missed.
2:33 PM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Thursday, November 29 ::: |
Schweet: LoopLabs
One of the best and cleanest uses of Flash I've seen in ages. You begin by selecting a musical style. The site then gives you a virtual mixing board to adjust the volume and panning of several samples. You can even store presets of combinations you particularly enjoy. This one is a major time-suck.
9:38 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Cool: The Brick Testament
Bible stories told with Lego including ratings to let you know which illustrations might contain nudity, sexual content, violence, or cursing. The attention to detail in this sort of Lego art always astounds me.
9:25 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Hmm: Google votes to put surfers in charge
While I'm dubious that Google can keep spammers from stuffing the ballot box, I think a voting system might help in certain situations. Regardless of how "junky" Google thinks their index is getting, it still blows away any of the competition in both speed and accuracy.
6:40 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Wednesday, November 28 ::: |
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Thppt: Apple joins critics of Microsoft deal
The one thing that nobody seems to be talking about is that Microsoft is proposing to provide the OS only. The schools will still be required to purchase licenses for any other software they need such as Microsoft Office.
What this boils down to is that Microsoft dumps a few million refurbished 486's and Pentium I's into the schools at $50 a pop. They give the schools an equal number of licenses for WinXP which won't run on most of the refurbished hardware. The schools buy hardware to run their new "free" software and then have to turn around and buy Office licenses. Microsoft gets a new monopoly for the cost of a few blank CD's.
That said, Microsoft knows it is very hard for lawmakers to pass up free stuff for schools. They know that anyone who wants to be re-elected next term will think long and hard before turning this offer down.
9:45 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Heh: Autodesk 'not concerned' by Microsoft motto mishap
Of course their decision wouldn't have anything to do with the fact Microsoft has pretty much left AutoCAD alone to enjoy it's own pseudo-monopoly over the years. Look at it this way... how long would it take Microsoft to rework Visio into a full-blown CAD environment? Not long at all. Yes, AutoCAD is firmly entrenched, but then again so was Netscape.
9:15 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Tuesday, November 27 ::: |
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Hmm: Infineon freed from future Rambus DDR lawsuits
This is just one more step toward a leveling the playing field for DDR manufacturers. I'm beginning to wonder how long Intel will continue to fill Rambus' coffers since it is becoming quite clear that they aren't going to be a monopoly after all.
[edited to add that DDR refers to Double Data Rate in this case not Dance, Dance, Revolution]
8:43 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Monday, November 26 ::: |
Amen: Real Life (11-26-2001)
It's funny because it's true. How about this: game designers can publish the game and a book at the same time. If I want to be bogged down with hours of reading and pointless dialog I can read the book. Otherwise, I'll *play* the damn game. Simple, no?
10:39 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Whatever: E-mail overhaul to avoid overload?
I think this guy is missing something fairly obvious. As soon as a message can sort itself, spammers will find a way to make their messages appear with a higher priority than legitimate mail. At least the way things are now spam gets equal billing rather than shunting my actual mail into the background.
9:26 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Tuesday, November 20 ::: |
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::: Monday, November 19 ::: |
Whatever: TechTV | Inside the Xbox
What's in an Xbox anyway? Well, not much more than what Microsoft told us in the first place. It will, however, be interesting to see the first LinuXbox and you just *know* it will happen sooner or later. If for no other reason than a really cool combiname.
9:55 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Friday, November 16 ::: |
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Ugh: Iron Chef USA
My fervent hope was that this idea would tank like the Rosanne-sponsored American AbFab did. No such luck I guess.This is going to suck so bad. I still can't believe anyone thought William Shatner was a good casting decision.
It really doesn't matter though, even if they had selected someone more appropriate, the US just can't produce entertainment with the level of unabashed silliness that Iron Chef requires.
10:01 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Uhm, no: Xbox speeds up PS3 development
Kunitake Ando, president and CEO of Sony, was quoted a few weeks back stating that Sony wasn't going to reduce their price for the PS2 because Nintendo and Microsoft "are not [their] competition". Now he says that the PS2 life-cycle might be cut by as much as two years because of the popularity of the Xbox. Which is it?
I think his first statement is more patently true of the PS3. The PS2, while it does contain some components which position it as a multiple purpose broadband console, is, at heart, a game machine. It remains to be seen if the public even has a use for a broadband device such as the PS3.
9:18 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Hmm: Judge urged to accept Microsoft deal
From what I've seen, judges don't particularly appreciate it when an attorney attempts to dictate what the judge should and shouldn't consider in a case. One assumes that by practicing law long enough to become a judge, that they should have a pretty clear idea of what the job entails. My feeling is that this "competitive impact statement" is little more than the DoJ trying to keep Kollar-Kotelly from embarassing them by rejecting the settlement for what it is: a complete and utter reversal of the government's initial goals in this case.
9:09 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Thursday, November 15 ::: |
Hmm: Log on as admin if you want to play games, MP3s?
Microsoft says they don't need to fix older operating systems because XP won't let "hostile" code run at all. This, I assume, requires that the user be logged in as a "lesser account" rather than as Administrator. So let's say I'm playing an online game and I come into contact with some "hostile" code... since XP requires me to be logged in as Administrator to play the game that grants Admin rights to the hostile code.
This is gonna get ugly.
12:17 PM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Wednesday, November 14 ::: |
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Wow: Bug secrecy vs. full disclosure
Although it is a bit long, this article gives an amazingly comprehensive look at both sides of this debate. Personally, I fall on the full disclosure side of the fence. If bugs aren't published, then the vendors have no reason to produce patches.
10:39 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Monday, November 12 ::: |
Ugh: You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP (Q312369)
I love this part:
This problem can occur after you performing any of the following actions on a computer that has Windows XP preinstalled by a computer manufacturer:
* You reinstall Windows XP in the same folder by clicking "Upgrade (Recommended)" after you run Winnt32.exe, or by clicking the "Install Windows XP" link on the "Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP" screen that appears when you insert the Windows XP CD-ROM. This is also known as performing an in-place upgrade or an in-place installation.
In other words, if you select the option which Microsoft has marked "recommended" then the system could hose your data. I simply cannot wait until I can hand over all my personal and financial information to Microsoft for safe keeping. Bankruptcy can be so freeing, you know?
10:43 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Cool: Cigarette Machines to Say 'No' to Minors
This may be a big first step toward moneyless vending. Think about it... if you have a person's birthdate on an IC, why not put a simple debit/credit system on one? Stop by the bank, or an ATM, or the corner gas station and refill your credit chip. Taking it one step further, why not put a thumb print reader on your chip so it only works if you are holding it?
Physical money is so nineties. ;)
10:28 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Heh: MS opens .NET benchmarking wars
This could get ugly if Microsoft really intends to market XP based on its performance. Everyone knows that Microsoft builds "beyond the curve", if you will. They write software to run on next year's computers. XP is just the next step in the Wintel cyclic redundancy program which has been in effect since Windows 3.1 hit the shelves. Saying that XP will run faster on current hardware than *any* established product is a tenuous claim at best.
I suppose the real question becomes, how long can Microsoft prop up Intel and vice versa when we are rapidly reaching the point where we have all the performance we will ever need? Some folks argue, and quite convincingly so, that this point has already been reached. This is the main reason that Microsoft has been retiring old operating systems so quickly and that Intel keep changing the sockets for their chips. It forces people to move onward rather than maintaining their current investment.
10:15 AM CST :: tell me a story
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Ahem: Games Don't Live Up to the Xbox Platform
Not that I want Microsoft to succeed or anything, but I think it's a bit premature to dismiss the Xbox based upon first gen games. Every system, with the possible exception of the N64, has a weak set of first gen games. It just takes developers a while to feel out their dev kits and produce solid titles. First gen games are all about getting code out the door. Finesse comes later.
10:00 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Friday, November 9 ::: |
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Pfft: Amended Microsoft Settlement
This is a "redlined" document intended to show the modifications to the Microsoft settlement as agreed to by the plaintiff states. There really aren't any significant changes here other than, possibly, a wider definition of "Communications Protocol". It still doesn't address any of the issues for which Microsoft has been found guilty.
The final hope lies in the remaining plaintiff states, which have not yet agreed to a settlement, putting some real teeth into their documents. This may or may not happen and even if it does I'm not entirely certain Microsoft intends to obey the "spirit" of any settlement. In fact, they can be reasonably sure that even if they publicly thumb their nose at the eventual agreement that the DOJ won't try to slap their wrist again. This case has consumed far too much time and money for the DOJ to risk a repeat and Microsoft knows it.
[link courtesy of The Reg]
10:40 AM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Thursday, November 8 ::: |
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w00t: Monsters, Inc.
I completely forgot to tell you guys that Chele and I saw Monsters, Inc. over the weekend. I have been a fan of Pixar since the Luxo, Jr. days. At the time I was taking programming classes at NeXT and Jobs had just introduced Pixar to a less than enthused public. Me, I loved 'em.
I need to see it again though. There were so many times I was engrossed in watching the movement of Sully's hair or the flitter of a group of leaves that I probably missed a good sized chunk of the punchlines. Then again, with rendering this flawless who needs punchlines?
All kidding aside, even if you don't usually like kid stuff, there's plenty for everyone in this one. My only gripe is that they telegraph the ending so badly, but that's a minor annoyance.
12:55 PM CST :: tell me a story
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Whatever: Indian Cipro Copies Don't Pay Off
This article confuses me a little. Just because Bayer owns a domestic patent on the Anthrax drug, does that really give them a right to turn away a plentiful supply of a cheaper alternative? It seems particularly gastly considering they might not be able to meet the demand on their own.
I suppose this is just one more peril of engendering an overly capitalist society.
12:44 PM CST :: tell me a story
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Hmm: Senators push home-PC tax credit
As much as I hate to agree with any politician, this doesn't seem like a bad idea to me. It eases the tax burden on families while simultaneously invigorating the economy. The only downside I can see is that the economy will likely be on the come-back trail long before such laws are enacted.
12:08 PM CST :: tell me a story
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::: Wednesday, November 7 ::: |
Damn straight: Packard joins HP-Compaq family feud
"For some time I have been skeptical about management's confidence that it can aggressively reinvent HP culture overnight," Packard said in the statement.
Which is exactly what everyone else has been saying for months. This merger comes down to corporate culture and these two companies are on opposite ends of the culture spectrum.
2:28 PM CST :: tell me a story
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dinoneil[at]newdream[dot]net
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