All the hatred and frustration with AT&T will most likely happen again with Verizon several years down the road. The resistance against dumb carrier policies is a war that will go on indefinitely. Those participating in the resistance are often criticized as whiners and dreamers, as if their efforts are entirely fruitless. There’s a big difference between simply whining and complaining and working to raise awareness on a significant and troublesome policy change.
Category: General Tech
R2-D2 Droid 2 Unveiled
Awesome, but this line from C–3P0 comes to mind:
I’m standing here in pieces and you’re having delusions of grandeur!
On Desks
Shawn Blanc, in an interview with Brett Kelly:
An oversized desk is the only sort worth owning. For one, they’re there for you when you need that extra space for papers and other work (when you need the space, there never seems to be enough). Secondly, when your oversized desk is clean and empty, the unused acreage is a sight to behold.
When a small desktop is clean it merely looks tidy, as it should. But when an oversized desk is clean? That’s conversation worthy.
Why Comparing Mobile Devices and Computers is Difficult and Probably Pointless
Fellow Memphian and nerd Jen Simmons said this on Twitter last night:
I guess Android vs iPhone is the new Mac vs PC. Except iPhone is PC.
Which, of course, blew up the Memphis+Nerd Twitter conversation last night.
I think comparing computers and mobile devices is a fundamentally flawed activity. Smartphones and computers are similar devices, but at the same time, they are very different. Computers are usually long-term purchases, but without strings attached. Computers don’t come with cell phone carriers. Computers aren’t hopelessly out-dated in just 2–3 years like smartphones. Don’t like the Mac? Buy a PC. Don’t like Windows? Move to the Mac. Most people aren’t tied to a single platform in the age of webmail and online photo services anyways. Mark Sigal posted a whole long thing on is just a few months ago. Go read it.
The Apple Extended II
Dave Caolo, on his favorite keyboard:
First is the sound. That lovely wooden-stick-on-a-hollow-log “thonk” that announces each keystroke is yet to be duplicated. It’s satisfying in a way that affirms your productivity. Much like the jackhammer operator feels content at the end of a noisy day’s work, I feel that I got much accomplished with all that thonking and clacking.
[…]
I also love the keyboard’s feel. Apple’s Bluetooth keyboards are nice, but the keys barely move when pressed. In contrast, the Extended Keyboard’s keys just drop when pressed, providing wonderful tactile feedback. They then spring back with perfectly appropriate force. I’ve used some keyboards that either repelled my fingers on the upstroke or yielded like cold oatmeal when pressed. They’ve all made me long for the ancient artifact in my office.
Missing That New Car Smell
The first Mac I did serious work on was a 450 Mhz Blue and White PowerMac G3. It was a few years old when I started laying out pages and mixing audio on it, but with OS 9 and 512 MB of RAM it was by no means a slouch. Even so, it wasn’t able to do much more than one intensive thing at a time. The computer’s limitations necessitated doing one thing at a time — the hardware just couldn’t cut it.
Google, Verizon on an Open Internet
From the Google Public Policy blog:
It is imperative that we find ways to protect the future openness of the Internet and encourage the rapid deployment of broadband. Verizon and Google are pleased to discuss the principled compromise our companies have developed over the last year concerning the thorny issue of “network neutrality.”
The two companies aren’t quite ready to embrace full-blown net neutrality on the wireless side of things quite yet, however. Darren Murph at Engadget:
AT&T Not Expecting ‘Material Negative Impact’ Over Future Loss of iPhone Exclusivity
AT&T Inc. said Friday it doesn’t expect to suffer a “material negative impact” from the end of its exclusive arrangements to carry handsets, including its lucrative deal for Apple Inc.’s iPhone.
[…]
“We do not expect any such terminations to have a material negative impact on our wireless segment income, consolidated operating margin or our cash from operations,” AT&T said in the filing with regulators on Friday.
Billionaires Giving Away Wealth to Charity at Bill Gates’ Request
A little over a year after Bill Gates and Warren Buffett began hatching a plan over dinner to persuade America’s wealthiest people to give most of their fortunes to charity, more than three-dozen individuals and families have agreed to take part, campaign organizers announced Wednesday.
[…]
The pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting one cause or organization. It’s up to each person who signs the pledge how to divvy up their wealth.
Mashable, On Geeky Tattoos
My dogcow tattoo is on the list!
Droid 2.2 Update Missing Tethering, Hotspot
Motorola Droid users better not get too excited by Android 2.2, also known as “Froyo.” While Verizon Wireless is set to push out the latest version of the Android operating system to Droid users starting this week, two key features will be missing: tethering and Wi-Fi hot spot capability.
Verizon says the Droid won’t get these two features, which are built into the Android 2.2 OS, because the device’s hardware isn’t capable of supporting it.
The CSS Keyboard
Chris Michel created an Apple aluminum keyboard out of nothing but CSS and HTML5:
I began with the function keys and thought I would just leave the icons out, just using the “F1”, “F2”, to keep it simple. But once I got that row done, I just had to take a crack at creating the little icons with some beautiful CSS. I started with the sound-off icon, and successfully rendered it close enough for what I was going for. That little icon started a monster, because some of these icons were quite tedious to design. I spent a couple hours just on the function row icons, after that things started to speed up. I mainly focused on Safari and Chrome for this, so those will render the keyboard most accurately.