January 2012
20 posts
Ubuntu Wants to Replace Menus with a HUD →
Just a bad idea, why would I want to press a button/combo to get a box to appear so I can type ‘undo’ instead of just hit the undo button? Not to mention having to remember strange codes or names to perform specific actions. Unity was bad, this might be worse.
They’re going the wrong way, people want to use the keyboard less!
Too many gadget choices: product lines simplify as... →
Got to agree with that, we don’t need a million different versions of things. I’m surprised the computer industry hasn’t followed car manufacturers and set up platforms and classes, so each manufacturer has a super-mini, a family, an exec and a luxury model, largely on the same platform. The huge amount of choice just confuses users.
Joel Spolsky - Two things about SOPA/PIPA and then... →
Some good points, not just for the US. I’m still perplexed as to why copyright is so long, especially compared to patents, and why they continue after death.
Apple, America and a Squeezed Middle Class →
An interesting piece about why manufacturing has moved to China and other Asian countries, and it’s largely not down to labour costs. It equally applies to the UK.
It certainly indicates why the UK may never be able to compete in manufacturing again, at least until 3D printing encompasses a great many more materials.
Maybe we need to look to Germany and other developed nations who still...
Self-Published Authors Still Rarely Make the Jump... →
The Unprecedented Audacity of the iBooks Author... →
dwineman:
Apple just released iBooks Author, a free Mac app for creating digital books for the new version of iBooks. I haven’t played with it much, but so far it looks like a very good tool. However, a curious thing happens when you go to export your work in iBooks format:
This restriction — that…
As demand for e-books soars, libraries struggle to... →
I’m not sure if we even have e-book rental in the UK yet, but the I love the fact there are limits on something that is, basically, infinite. There must be a way to loan out as many copies at they want at any time and charge per rental?
Teenagers Sharing Passwords as Show of Affection →
Pub installs customer operated beer dispenser →
Ten 100-year predictions that came true →
Windows Phone 7, Windows 8: How Microsoft can... →
Microsoft hasn’t yet said whether it will let today’s Windows programs run on Windows 8 tablets. Jettisoning the old apps would be the right decision; no program developed for the desktop interface is going to work very well on a tablet, and trying to blend the two interfaces will turn Windows tablets into a neither-fish-nor-fowl mess
This is one thing that could help differentiate them, allow...
The authors who are going it alone online - and... →
You could argue that those who are doing it as successfully as Locke and Hocking would probably have succeeded in traditional publishing, but if you’ve got a choice of endless rejections from agents and then publishers against allowing people to read your book now, which would you choose? Publishers need to get faster going forward.
UK films urged to be more 'mainstream' in new... →
I tend to agree with need to fund some more mainstream movies, we need to make films that people actually watch!
Roku coming to UK and Ireland at end of January →
Along with the announcement that Netflix is coming to the UK (at last) and Lovefilm have (re-)launched their streaming-only account, does that mean the UK may finally get some reasonably streaming movie services? I hope so!
The Race to Nab Web Addresses →
This week will bring the long-awaited opening up of a new realm of Web addresses in which just about any word—such as dot-furniture or dot-arcticvacations—can serve as a domain name. And to some, that spells opportunity.
And who will be the major benefactor of this change? Google. Now you won’t be able to guess a domain name (i.e. stick in a name and whack .com on the end) you’ll...
Why Android tablets failed: A postmortem |... →
I agree, Android tablets have been a disappointment so far, they need to get a more coordinated plan and make them cheaper.
February 2008
8 posts
Close to the wire - the joys of speedcabling →
Obituary of Charles Fawcett →
How to make better decisions by understanding... →
How To Shave Like Your Grandpa form The Art of... →
When copies are so easy to make everything free,... →
Holly Shelf Unit, Batman! →
Self-build shelving that uses a book to allow you to open it and reveal a hidden cupboard
There Are 200 'Real' Superheroes In The United... →
Reminds me a bit of the scene in Only Fools and Horses, amazed none of them have been killed or injured and that they have the nerve to go out looking like that.
Frozen Grand Central at Improv Everywhere →
January 2008
12 posts
Making the games in Ender's Game →
Not long finished the novel and this is a cracking idea.
Concept Architecture: A Two-Mile High Eco-Tower to... →
Creepy Cyberpunk Fantasies Come to Life in... →
[Tardis entertainment cabinet] Presumably because... →
Not sure I’d want one in my house, but a great idea.
Why companies need female managers →
Interesting article comparing men and women’s psychology and skills
Honour sought for Polish 'Soldier Bear' Voytek →
The concerns of copyright reform in Canada →
US to study Morgellons - weird condition where... →
Really liking the work being done on Spicebird,... →
Brain Scans Reveal That Buying Expensive Items... →
From 10 Hours a Week, $10 Million a Year, not the... →
Seems the UK Education Department knows something,... →
November 2007
14 posts
Amazon: Reinventing the Book →
Save you breath, Jeff, we’re a long way from replacing the humble paperback yet.
Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men beats Lions... →
Woman fined for kissing painting →
To be fair, take a look at the picture of the ‘painting’ in the article, it’s a blank, white canvass, that makes anyone doing their living room with a can of Dulux an artist. What a pile of crap.
Blendie is a blender built by Kelly Dobson that... →
You have to growl (make the sound of a blender) to get it to work, the pitch you growl at changes the speed. I can see plenty of applications for this for kids and interactive products for people with poor motor skills.
Cat's daily routine baffles owner →
Some people will do anything for their pets it seems.
Man marries bitch to beat curse →
You have got to be kidding me, this is the 21st century we’re living in, right?
Rands In Repose: The Nerd Handbook →
A definite contender for the headline of the year →
Top 87 Bad Predictions about the Future →
Never underestimate how dumb and narrow-minded our ancestors were, and the worrying thing is they’ll look back at us and find some stupid quotes like this too.
Spam One-liners photoset →