Airport Screening

I think this is the best description of airport security yet. Most people just don't grasp the real purpose of it.

Remember the point of passenger screening. We're not trying to catch the clever, organized, well-funded terrorists. We're trying to catch the amateurs and the incompetent. We're trying to catch the unstable. We're trying to catch the copycats. These are all legitimate threats, and we're smart to defend against them. Against the professionals, we're just trying to add enough uncertainty into the system that they'll choose other targets instead.

Read more at http://www.schneier.com...

Daring Fireball: Familiarity Breeds a User Base

Also known as inertia. The reason for a lot of Windows users not willing to switch to a Mac is just a lack of familiarity to it.

I went through this switch almost five years ago. I had used a PC, in some form or another, for about 8 years at that point. I was reluctant to leave the comfort of commodity hardware, but I had just reached the point where I was sick of having to fix things on my computer. My day-job requires a lot of tinkering, and I just wanted a computer that I could work with and rely on without all that extra tinkering.

Probably the biggest reason, though, for the switch, was that I was never really ingrained into the Windows world. My first computer was a Coleco Adam, which taught me a lot about BASIC. My next computer, which I fell in love with, was a Commodore Amiga 500. That computer was just so far ahead of it's time... It was truly a computer for artists, and I still really identify with that. I learned so much on that computer that it's ridiculous. I entered the wider world with BBSes, I learned graphics animation, photo editing, music composition, video game creation, and C programming.

The first PC I bought (a Dell) actually started with OS/2 on it. This was pre-Windows 95, but I tried to keep that thing running for awhile. After eventually moving to Windows 95, I tried BeOS for awhile. That OS had some promise, but just no market share. The file system was brilliant. I then experimented with Linux for awhile, but I couldn't get much past that. There was just too much to tweak with, and I ended up not getting anything else done.

Shortly after OS X 10.0 was released, I took the plunge with an iBook. Now, 5 years later, I don't want to go anywhere else. Things on the Mac just get out of the way and let you get to the work you want to do... I can't explain it much better than that.

To sum it up, I didn't have a lot of inertia, so it was never much of a pain for me. I think change is good, and with computers, you need to be prepared to jump ship whenever a better ship comes along. This is why open data formats are so important. Sink or Swim, baby.

Inspired by daringfireball.net/2006...

Apple SVP Schiller: Co. Isn't 'Trying to Replace TiVo' || The Mac Observer

At least not yet, anyway. I keep wondering why people are all speculating about a new "Airport Express" that will also have a "Front Row" like app embedded in it. It's a great idea, and the addition of Bonjour to the software will make this much easier to implement, as you're just going to be pulling off media from other computers on your network. The price isn't right, yet, for a Mac Mini to be this device, and it just does more than necessary for a media box.

Incorporating Front Row into an "Airport Express" may prove more difficult, as that device just isn't a computer. I would look for this functionality to come from a totally new device, probably after the Intel transition is complete. Another intriguing option would be to push the new wireless networking standard (802.11n) to with a new device. There is much more bandwidth with this protocol, and would be better suited to video. Perhaps that would fit into a larger base-station device, and not an 'Express'.

Read more at www.macobserver.com/art...

PaulStamatiou.com » Intel Mac Mini is Upgradable

This is exciting news. With the new pictures surfacing of the Mac Mini's internals, it looks like they are using socket-based processors. This makes it fairly easy to upgrade, if there aren't any other changes between the base and upgraded models.

I am having flashbacks to the old days, when I used to build my own PC, before I went Mac. There also used to be some jumpers you'd have to set, and perhaps a BIOS setting. I have no idea how this works in a modern Intel system, with EFI. Perhaps it is all handled for you now, and the hardware just adapts to the new chip.

Read more at www.limeprint.com/2006/...

Why Peak Oil is Probably About Now

This article is for all those people who keep asking why the price of gas isn't going down. It is a good summary of oil production levels. Now, keep in mind that as production stays flat, demand certainly isn't going down. Supply < Demand = Higher Prices.

Read more at www.theoildrum.com/stor...

In Defense of Apple's Announcments - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Now these guys have it. The big thing about all the new Macs is how little the change looks on the outside of the box.

Apple has so far transitioned half of it's product lines into a completely new chip architecture, and no one is batting an eye. In fact, people are clammoring, "Is that all ?"

They are pulling this off by only introducing minor external changes, and just adding a sprinkling of new features -- making it look like a small upgrade. These new boxes are anything but a small upgrade.

By the time they are done with this transition, they have paved the way to allow another revision of hardware fairly quickly, and can introduce new physical designs to increase demand. The whole key to this chip swap is to reassure everyone on how little has changed, and to not rock the boat just yet. Rock the boat later, when you don't have to explain to everyone how stable the product lines are.

Read more at www.tuaw.com/2006/03/01...

China gives itself its own top-level domains

The golden age of the Internet is about to end. In this dream that is now coming to and end, there was no confusion about how to resolve DNS addresses. It was a simple, fairly straightforward process. Once this is broken, and certain rules are no longer followed, we may all need to purchase update 'maps' to the information superhighway at regular intervals. Certain roads may also be closed occasionally, and on the authority of whoever controls them.

Read more at arstechnica.com/news.ar...

YouTube - Microsoft iPod Packaging Parody

This just shows what is wrong with most computer packaging out there, and how more isn't always better.

Watch it at www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Update

Looks like Microsoft commissioned the video for a little internal education. See http://www.ipodobserver.com/story/25957

Writers Block Live » Blog Archive » The HD Boycott Begins Now

It sure looks like I'm going to enjoy a lot more free time in the future, because I won't be able afford to own a lot of media

Read more at writersblocklive.com/pa...

Why formats like RSS 2.0 work

It's really nice to see the acknowledgement of how important a stable platform is for development. I think a lot of new developers miss that point, in their quest to bend the computer to their will. Data formats, like RSS, are such a crucial thing to keep stable. A clear evolution path helps keep the temptation to reinvent the wheel at bay.

Read more at www.scripting.com/2006/...

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

Speaking of marketing prowess, I just read this article about DeBeers and the history of diamond marketing. Some of the advertising may seem a bit morally questionable, but you can't argue that this kind of stuff doesn't still happen today.

Read more at www.theatlantic.com/doc...

I was also listening to TWiT this morning, and they were discussing the paid use of bloggers to pump up products on the web. One might go as far as saying that it is now even easier to manipulate the media to get your message out to a large audience. There is a need for a course that teaches people how to be critical of media. There was a bit of talk in this episode about how this used to be a part of Home Economics, which has all but disappeared from modern curriculum.

I have not doubt that kids today are much more adept at handling all the messages that are being driven toward them, because of the sheer quantity of media available, but I'm not so sure how easy it is to process. It would be good to at least confront media with kids and open up a dialog that questions it's intent. Ignoring media, or disallowing access to media doesn't really prepare them for the onslaught that will eventually happen. I think kids need to learn to question the messages coming from media at an early age, because companies are marketing to them at ever younger ages.

‘Fun New Products’ Coming From Apple

The rumor mills are working overtime to speculate on the latest announced Apple event. You just have to admire how a company can keep people in anticipatation like this, and crank up the buzz. Apple is a marketing machine.

My two cents: I just can't get out of my head how much fun Steve had demoing PhotoBooth when that was first introduced.

Read more at writersblocklive.com/pa...

Update
Mike is now guessing for a Mac Mini update. Think they might throw in an iSight update (the non-embedded version)?

Update 2 - 23 Feb
With Apple halting bulk orders of Mac Minis, it is looking like a good candidate for updates or replacement.

PunxsutawneyPhil.com

Six more weeks of "mild" winter!

Read more at www.groundhog.org...

And more at Punxsutawney Groundhog Sees His Shadow...

Newsvine - Activist Cindy Sheehan Arrested at Capitol

Now, I'm usually one to tell people to "move on", for things like this, but if this article is accurate, I am gravely concerned for this country.

To summarize, Cindy Sheehan, known anti-war activist, was arrested at the State of the Union address for wearing a T-shirt with an anti-war slogan on it. Police warned her that it would not be allowed. WTF? That seems like a reasonably peaceful demonstration to me. Tread lightly, folks, we still have almost two full years left.

Read more at www.newsvine.com/_news/...

[update] I've been reading some of the comments on the original article, and I thought I'd add to this post. T-shirts are explicitly exempted from the Capitol anti-demonstration law, which is what the original charge was originating from (it was lessened to something else). Other posters wanted to point out that this was a political move by the Democrats that invited her, and all I can say to that is "Of course it was!". That still doesn't lessen the seriousness of this issue to me. [update] All charges were dropped, and the police issued an apology.

AT&T chief says that people are only paying for half the Internet

This article is clearly showing how AT&T is becoming more and more a dinosaur. They just don't get it, do they? We are talking about a global network, not just some leased lines here.I say it's time for a change. There needs to be more competition in this space. Right now, in the US, at least, most people have about two broadband choices -- cable or DSL. The two are competing, but neither will really allow others access to their endpoints -- at least not in a meaningful, price-competitive way.

It's a shame that my electric bill can be more competitive than my broadband Internet access.

Read more at arstechnica.com/news.ar...

bynkii.com: They'll never know what hit them

I agree. The Disney board is about to get a big dose of RDF.

Read more at www.bynkii.com/archives...

Outsourcing World

This was an interesting podcast talking about the business behind outsourcing. For all the talk about how efficient it is to outsource "information workers", when the reporter is point blank asked if outsourcing his job would be effective, he dodges around and comes to the conclusion that "no it wouldn't be effective, because reporters create things." That is paraphrasing a bit, but it was the general idea put across.

So, when we are talking about outsourcing engineering jobs, what exactly do engineers do again? Oh, yeah, they create things...

Read more at www.businessweek.com/me...

deeje.com/musings: MacBook Pro is a marketing experiment?

This is a very insightful blog posting about Apple new MacBook Pro. Apple is using this product to test the waters. They want to know exactly how to position their new products when they are all out there.

Read more at blog.deeje.tv/musings/2...

HD TiVo Series 3 @ CES | PVRblog

Woo hoo!&nbsp; Finally!&nbsp; This looks like it is everything I was hoping for.

Read more at www.pvrblog.com/pvr/200...

"Analog hole" legislation introduced

This is really getting out of hand. It is going to get to the point where we won't be able to listen to or watch anything at any time without paying something. And to blame piracy, which will not be affected at all by this legislation, is just ridiculous. This kind of legislation is really going to limit the growth of technology. I am tired of these companies out there protecting their old business models, and trying to legislate new business models without letting the market decide. This is not what this country is supposed to be about. Read more at arstechnica.com/news.ar...