Browse happy
The Web Standards Project has started a new campaign, called Browse Happy, as an attempt to get people to switch from the unsafe, non-pop-up ad blocking, inherently security unconscious, Internet Explorer. I recently installed Firefox on to my wife's PC, and showed her how it blocks the pop-up ads that annoy her with IE usage. It was a snap to install, and it brought over all of her bookmarks, preferences, etc. from IE. Not to mention that Safari, Camino, Firefox, and Mozilla all tend to be more standards-supporting than IE. Do yourself a favor and find an alternate browser. Do web developers everywhere a favor and find an alternate browser, so we don't have to keep coding for more than one type. (I'm looking at you, Internet Explorer.)
Wi-FiPods
MacMinute notes a report by The Register on open positions within the iPod team for wireless networking engineers. Tony Smith proceeds to pontificate over the possibilities of this, including the use of Wi-Fi to sync data and music with the iPod. Your reasoning for this, Tony, other than a certain coolness factor, would be? The best wireless speeds right now are 54 Mbps, which is great for surfing the web and downloading your e-mail, but I would hesitate to use it to load ripped CDs on to my iPod. Even 100Base-T Ethernet would be faster. With iPod iFireWire connectivity at 400 Mbps, why bother with wireless syncing? The wireless access does make sense for turning the iPod in to a remote control for iTunes and streaming music via Airport Express. However, Smith and The Register have a history for speculation that turns out to be incredibly wrong, so take this one with the usual grains of salt. Obviously, from the Apple job postings, the iPod team is looking at Wi-Fi integration for some reason, but it's too early to tell what that reason might be.
The Apple Table
For the Apple Macintosh lover who has everything, there is now the Apple Table. It's actually kind of ergonomic, in the way that the cutouts allow the user to slide up much closer to the table. (Via the PowerPage.)
Microsoft patents <i>sudo</i>
Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. (With a wave of the flipper to Lawson.)
About that halo effect
Apple's trendy iPod digital music player, which has revitalized the company, is giving laptop sales a boost during back-to-school season.
Many students, after falling in love with the iPod, are packing for college with new Apple Macintosh computers. Of course, the "journalists" at USA Today could head on over to Microsoft's Mactopia and verify that Outlook is not part of Office for Macintosh, but I suppose that would be too much trouble. I guess it's just one more rag I really need to stop reading...
Happy Birthday, MDJ!
Belated birthday wishes to Matt Deatherage and the entire MDJ on their eighth anniversary of publication. The August 12th issue of MDJ marked the special occasion.
Bleex
Could this Berkeley project be coming to a future-soldier project near you? (Wouldn't that just tick the lefties at Berkeley off...)
Auto theft reducer
DataDots are reducing auto theft in Australia, but have yet to make it in to the U.S. other than on Nissan headlamps.
Apple shoulda woulda coulda
It is analysis like this, on the "Apple should have licensed the Mac in the '80s" unconventional wisdom, which merited my support of Mr. Gruber.
Macintosh serial number fun
If you absolutely must know the week of your Mac's manufacture, or where the factory is it came from, you can use Chipmunk International's handy Mac serial number dissector. For systems passing the dozen-year mark, use the pickle's serial number decoder. (With a wave of the flipper to MDJ.)
Pool tunes
I have an Onkyo SE-U55 USB Digital Audio Processor hooked up to my Power Mac G4 Cube. This allows me to run all Cube audio through my Aiwa shelf stereo system (which happens to reside on my desk instead of a shelf). My wife and I have been wanting to get some speakers for use on the patio and by the pool, preferably wireless. We picked up a pair at The Sharper Image, and the set includes a 900 MHz transmitter. The transmitter plugs in to the headphone jack on the front of the Onkyo. This allows us to hear the audio on the Aiwa's speakers as well. So, for the pool party this Saturday, we will have iTunes playing the party mix on the Cube, and getting tunes out by the pool, without having to have the beloved iPod within drenching distance. (Yes, I know this could have been accomplished via Airport Express, but I would still have to have the speakers for outside, and in this instance, the transmitter was included.) But we're not done yet... Now we have Salling Clicker installed on the Cube, and synced with my Sony Ericsson T616 via Bluetooth. I can now control iTunes remotely with my phone, so long as I'm within thirty feet of the Bluetooth adapter hanging off the back of my Cube. The study, where said Cube is located, is in the back corner of the house, just outside of which is the patio and pool. Now I'm thinking of other possibilities. My clock radio has a crappy cassette deck built in to it, but I could put one of the speakers next to my nightstand. A cron job could start playing iTunes in the morning at the appointd time. And before you can say, "No snooze bar," don't forget about the phone! Just hit the appropriate control key for "Pause." This is how technology is supposed to work: enriching our lives, making it easier to accomplish a goal or dream, no matter how simple--or simple-minded--those might be.
Industry modeling
The bulk of Paul Graham's essay Great Hackers is about dealing with and cultivating great hackers in the corporate environment. I found this very insightful as well:
I think what a lot of VCs are looking for, at least unconsciously, is the next Microsoft. And of course if Microsoft is your model, you shouldn't be looking for companies that hope to win by writing great software. But VCs are mistaken to look for the next Microsoft, because no startup can be the next Microsoft unless some other company is prepared to bend over at just the right moment and be the next IBM.
It's a mistake to use Microsoft as a model, because their whole culture derives from that one lucky break. Microsoft is a bad data point. If you throw them out, you find that good products do tend to win in the market. What VCs should be looking for is the next Apple, or the next Google.
I think Bill Gates knows this. What worries him about Google is not the power of their brand, but the fact that they have better hackers. (With a wave of the flipper to Michael.)
Mobile round-up
The coming months will bear fruit for those in the market for the latest and greatest in mobile phones, as evidenced by the n3rdling's look at upcoming phone releases in the U.S.
ATPM 10.08
The August issue of About This Particular Macintosh is out. Ellyn reminds us to take some time out, while Ted dives in to mindmappers in his latest outlining column. Wes has the complete coverage of the Dashboard vs Konfabulator from the Mac blog world. Sylvester walks readers through making a silent movie, which, alas, was the last great task of his beloved FrankenMac before it gave up the ghost. This month's desktop pictures section is a bazaar of reader-submitted photos from around the world. Greg looks at Excel Hacks, and Kirk reviews the Rolls-Royce of mini-speakers, while Ellyn offers her thoughts on Wil Wheaton's Just a Geek. Finally, fellow Dallas metroplex resident Adam Zaner reviews the Belkin Media Reader, an iPod accessory I have long had my eye on. As always, the issue is available in regular, premium, and super.
Whip antenna for smallest PowerBook
As a 12-inch PowerBook owner, the blurb on MacMinute about QuickerTek's new Whip Antenna for the smallest PowerBook piqued my interest. However, after looking over the product page, I'm left wondering if this wouldn't just be something that would easily break off. It appears to be a permanent or semi-permanent installation; how does that affect my three-year AppleCare warranty? The kicker: 90 bucks. Sheesh. Fifty I could understand, but it seems a little overpriced as is.
New iPods Monday?
Engadget has the Newsweek cover with Steve and the new iPod. It's still white, reportedly has an even slimmer case, and sports the iPod mini-style scroll wheel, which I really like over my 40 GB iPod's multiple buttons. I'm curious to know if Espy Sans made the move from the mini as well. I am now depressed, as this appears to be the iPod I wish I could have had six months ago... (Thanks to Gruber's linked list for the link.)
War of the worlds
Last month's Wired has a short article with a lot of graphs and charts on the Free versus the Unfree worlds, as it relates to consumers and producers, IP registrations and pirates. It looks at four industries: media, medicine, agriculture, and software. Worth a look.
On buying DVDs
So today at Costco I picked up The Bourne Identity: Explosive Extended Edition, Widescreen, of course. I am seeing a trend in DVD releases lately. Release the movie as soon as feasible on to DVD after its theater tenure. Get the rental money back, then flood the retail market with copies. Nine months to a year later, release another version of the same DVD, only include myriad extras. This was done with the X-Men 1.5 edition, Black Hawk Down, and more recently with Saving Private Ryan. I had been keeping my eye on The Bourne Identity at Target, waiting for it to drop from $19.99 in to their $14.99 or even $9.99 line-ups. The new DVD version was $18.88 at Costco. So the lesson is becoming clear: if you really liked a movie enough to buy it on DVD, wait until the extras-filled DVD is released. Rent it from Netflix in the mean time.