There is a tremendously well-researched, well-reasoned history of the OLPC, and it’s subsequent effects on the computer industry, at “Why Microsoft and Intel tried to kill the XO $100 laptop”. A minor quibble about the article: the author didn’t mention the ASUS Eee PC, which clearly owes it’s existence to the OLPC, and then went on to spark other ultraportables such as the HP 2133 Mini-Note.
Category Archives: bidness
Plugging the Holes in the Do-Not-Call-List
Come September 30, 2008, Canadians can register on the CRTC’s Do-Not-Call List (DNCL). “It was about time!” you may be saying to yourself. Unfortunately, by some estimates, 85% of outbound telemarketing calls will NOT be affected by this list. Which means only a meager 15% relief for the beleaguered Canadian consumer. Continue reading
From Windows to Mac: Another Convert
I’ve been using, playing and struggling with Windows since version 3.0. Before that, I used pretty much every version of MS-DOS. I’ve poured a lot of my money into Microsoft. I’ve watched them go from enthusiastic techno geeks, to arrogant robber barons.
When Vista was announced, I vowed not to donate another dime to the mighty Microsoft marketing machine. I was planning on going to Linux. But when push came to shove, I didn’t want to spend days struggling with obscure arcana. So I decided to go with an OS hailed as a paragon of ease of use: OS X. Continue reading
Why Peer-to-Peer Filesharing is Good For Big Media
Mom invited me over for dafina yesterday, and as my car was in the shop most of the day, I spent the afternoon with M&D. I had Bender with me and, to pass the time, I uploaded a few episodes of Weeds I had on my hard drive, to a jump drive. Then I played them on Mom’s Ubuntu computer.
I always enjoy watching TV and movies with my mom: she’s very emotional and expressive. Without fail, she’s more entertaining than the show itself. In fact, even though she was tired and had said she was going to have a nap, she watched six episodes back to back! She was hooked! Continue reading
Lexmark X9575 Loses Out
A few weeks ago I picked up a Lexmark X9575 Wireless 4-in-1 printer, scanner, dicer, chopper, at Costco. It’s sat in the box, unopened, since then; not because I’m a lazy sloth (I am, but that’s another post, probably written by my wife), but rather because I looked up whether it was supported in Ubuntu. The forums say, it isn’t. So we wouldn’t be able to print from our Ubuntu-based Toshiba laptop in the living room. Continue reading
Strategy Building Session With Michael Geist
They called it a “strategy building session”, but it sure felt like a pep rally to me. Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with pep rallies. Especially when they’re done right. And this one was done very well. From the hip and inspiring location, to the fresh snacks, to the articulate, well-informed, engaging speakers; it was a pleasure to participate in this event. Continue reading
Strangle the Yak Now!
The spectrum auction is over, and from all accounts, the big winner of the new entrants is Globalive, which runs the “I can’t believe it’s a phone company!” Yak Communications.
Myself, I can’t believe they’ve survived this long! These buffoons are so massively incompetent it staggers the imagination. Continue reading
Joss Whedon Does It Again!
What cool people I work with! Today at 12:30, we gathered in the boardroom with our lunches. Buddy Richard hooked up his MacBook Pro (oh! How I’m missing Bender. And it’s only the first day…) to the projector, and regaled us with the first episode of Joss Whedon’s latest effort: a micro-miniseries (3 episodes, 15 minutes apiece) entitled Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
It’s high camp, to be sure, and artfully showcases Harris’ impeccable comedic timing, as well as Whedon’s mastery of the genre. Continue reading
A Brief History of the Cows
Shawn Chittle writes that he was there at the beginning of Tucows, when it was just one cow. Before they had a barn, even. I love these impromptu histories. They remind me of my days as a young geek in my high school’s computer room.
Ann Cavoukian: Rock Star
Chad Hensler writes in his blog about Ontario’s Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, encouraging Google to challenge a ruling forcing them to turn private user logs over to Viacom. In Dr. Cavoukian’s words:
…business should not, in my opinion, rely on the surveillance of consumers to protect their copyright interests. It is not acceptable to allow copyright enforcement to come at the expense of users’ privacy.
My new personal hero.
Read the whole letter here. (Thanks, Richard, for the link.)