512 Pixels

Yes, you read that right.

First, some background from The New York Times:

Sun Microsystems and Rackable Systems were the first large hardware makers to embrace the idea of taking all of the servers, storage systems, networking gear and cooling and power units that make up a data center and packing them into a shipping container.

So, where does Dell fit in?

Microsoft has been the main advocate of containers, saying they will form the basis of its future data center designs. Some of Dell’s first containers will go to a new Microsoft data center near Chicago, according to Forrest Norrod, the vice president in charge of Dell’s Data Center Solutions business.

The container notion takes some getting used to for customers accustomed to housing their computing gear in a shimmering new facility. But those traditional data center concepts are starting to give way to practicality.

“The general perception of data centers as these pristine environments has been broken down,” said Drew Schulke, a product manager in Dell’s Data Center Solutions group. “These approaches are getting more credibility, especially with capital markets being where they are.”

My only advice? Have it all backed up in case a tornado decides to head toward the servers. They like trailers.

Macworld:

From the halls of a university research lab to the desks of hundreds of millions of computer users, the computer mouse has come a long way. Douglas Engelbart created the first prototypes of the now-familiar device in 1963 at Stanford Research Institute, but he first displayed his creation to the public in 1968 forty years ago Tuesday. During that unveiling, Engelbart presented what some have called “the mother of all demos,” outlining concepts that would presage the next 40 years of computing, including the use of a three-button palm-sized contraption called a “mouse.“

Wired has more on the ”mother of all demos." Neat stuff.

The New York Times:

The company was founded in 1847, when 400 copies of The Chicago Tribune were printed by hand in a one-room plant, according to the company’s official history. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the paper’s editor, Joseph Medill, was elected mayor. In 1911, company leadership was handed to two of his grandsons, Joseph Medill Patterson, who later founded The New York Daily News, and Robert R. McCormick. Under Mr. McCormick, the paper became known as a bastion of Midwestern conservatism. He also led the company into the new fields of radio and television, establishing stations WGN and WGN-TV, whose initials stood for World’s Greatest Newspaper.

A truly sad day for traditional media.

Computerworld:

To recap, here are the reasons, I believe that Apple will choose the ARM platform for their upcoming Netbook/Tablets.

1. Apple has an internal PA Semi team working on future ARM chips for the iPhone/iPod Touch
2. ARM chips cost an order of magnitude less (to license) than Intel equivalents
3. ARM chips take up less space on a motherboard
4. ARM chips use many times less power, enabling much longer battery life and much sleeker design.
5. You won’t need to virtualize Windows on these types of devices.  Most other Apple applications can be easily ported between chips.
6. Apple wants more control over the processors, which it can’t have with Intel.
7. While a variant of the iPhone version of OS X is the most likely of candidates, Snow Leopard’s optimization release might also be for ARM as well.

I agree. Apple has used ARM in the past (the Newton) and presently inside the iPhone and iPod Touch. The mobile version of OS X  already runs on these (and quote well, frankly). If Apple makes a netbook/tablet based on the mobile OS X, then an ARM chipset will be the engine running it.

From Obama’s weekly address:

We will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.

As we renew our schools and highways, we’ll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m President – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.

I’m excited about January 20.

Time magazine has published a photo essay of truly heartbreaking photographs taken around Detroit, which has been plagued by urban decay as the American automobile industry has shrunk over the yeas..

The Michigan Theatre Built in 1926, this glorious building functioned as a performance space until 1976, when it was converted into a parking garage.

If the Big 3 fail, only God knows what the city would look like in another 20 years.

AppleInsider:

Gottheil dismisses the notion of an artificial premium on Apple products, noting that they often compete well for the features, but is certain that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has reached a breaking point where perceived quality can’t override genuine financial woes from customers.

“It is too much to ask consumers to pay more than twice as much for a PC in these times,” the analyst says.

Instead, he and TBR are confident that Apple will release a computer in the netbook class within the first half of next year, but one that doesn’t obey many of the rules dictated by the industry. Like the MacBook Air ultraportable, this future system would be at least as thin and light as others in its category but would potentially have a larger surface area to allow a larger display or more comfortable input. Netbook owners carry their systems “in stacks with papers and books” and care more about thickness than footprint, according to Gottheil.

Here’s the kicker:

Crucially, he also takes to heart Jobs’ assertion that $500 systems are typically “junk” and believes that Apple will price the system at $599. The figure would be just low enough to draw customers who would pass over the plastic MacBook but high enough to avoid the risk Apple’s co-founder perceives in dropping the price particularly low.

This guy must get paid $200 every time he says “Apple” and “netbook” in the same sentence, and $500 when he ends up on ForkBombr. (I’m going to need a cut of that, buddy.)

I disagree with his point of “netbook owners… care more about thickness than footprint.” Footprint is what makes the netbook genre special. A netbook can fit easily just about anywhere. Apple seems to have gone for the thickness-over-footprint route with the MacBook Air, which while really, really thin, takes up the same number of square-inches on a desk. Ultra-portable does not always mean ultra-thin.

Really though, I want an Apple netbook, but it’s not going to happen. Not yet, at least.

Back in September, Steve Jobs promised new earbuds at the event that unveiled the new iPod Nano and other goodies. They were supposed to be out in October, but things… well… didn’t work out, and the new buds just hit shelves this week. Here’s a nugget of CNET’s review of the $79 earbuds:

I’ve only been listening for a few minutes, but so far, it looks like Apple has delivered a worthwhile pair of headphones. They don’t quite have the crisp, high frequency detail of the Etymotic HF2 headphones I had at my desk, but they blow away Apple’s stock earbuds (not too difficult a feat) with a buttery low end and pleasant mids and highs.

God, I love reviews that include the phrase “buttery low end.”

The weird thing about this earbuds is that they aren’t fully supported by the iPhone 3G. Yeah, that’s not a typo. Again, CNET:

On the iPhone 3G and first-generation iPhone, the headphone clicker seems to work fine for playing, pausing, and skipping tracks, as well as answering/ending calls, however, the headphone volume control clicker is unresponsive.

For the first-gen iPod Touch, the headphone’s clicker, mic, and volume controls are useless, but the headphones themselves work just fine.

For you visual types, CNET’s photo gallery of the new buds is pretty sweet.

The Boy Genius Report:

We’re not exactly sure if this is one of the worst marketing ploys ever, or one of the best. All we know for sure however, is that you can bet the bank that you will definitely find an MS DOS shirt added to our wardrobe once this new line kicks off. You hear that Microsoft? Hook it up! Microsoft is reportedly turning to seasoned ad vet Crispin, Porter & Bogusky to help it launch a line of graphic tees brilliantly dubbed “Softwear by Microsoft”. Cute.

Crispin isn’t the only help Microsoft enlisted for Softwear however - and no, it wasn’t Jerry again - several of the shirt designs were handled by long-time respected artist, short-time Serena Williams-dater Common. Microsoft says of the campaign: “[Softwear is] a clothing line that taps the nostalgia of when PCs were just starting to change our lives.” This latest addition to the “I’m a PC” campaign will find its way to select stores (Urban Outfitters we’re guessing?) on December 15.

I like the idea, but I like retro computer stuff (and puns). I own this shirt of Apple’s historic products and would add a Microsoft shirt to the mix. Hit that link for photos.

Gizmodo:

If you have the iPhone 2.2 operating system, you can turn off the auto-correction entirely. But that will make things ducking inconvenient, though. The auto-correction in the iPhone is what makes the touchscreen usable and fast when it’s time to write an email or SMS.

Fortunately, TJ Luoma has had a great idea to fix it: You only need to load your favorite swear words as contacts. Remember to put them all in lowercase, and every time you write duck or ducking or motherduckers, the iPhone will not try to correct them.

The iPhone doesn’t like swear words. Not one ducking bit, that son of a witch. You get the dam point. The puns are endless, dear readers. One more:

What did the hunter say when he missed his flying target?

I dunno, what?

Stupid ducking* ducks!

\\\________

*Two for the price of one there.

CNBC:

Apple now says that iPhone users have “downloaded over 300 million” applications from the App Store, from games to business programs. Why is that stunning? Consider that on the company’s conference call on October 21, Apple disclosed that the following day, Apple expected users to download their 200 millionth app. Which means, as of today, users have downloaded a staggering 100 million apps in just the past 6 weeks.

“It’s unbelievable,” says Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. “It’s a differentiator. We think in ’09, it’s going to be a $1 billion market place and Apple will probably take about 30 percent of that. There’s virtually no operating expense for them. They just approve the apps. It increases our confidence that” Apple can make these numbers.

There’s the genius of the App Store.

The tap tap tap blog on the App Store:

iPhone apps are typically much smaller and more focused than desktop apps and as such, should be priced accordingly. In addition, you need to take into account the much larger market that you’re dealing with here… Apple is selling well over 10,000 iPhones per day and these are all potential new customers, plus all the existing iPhone owners and iPod touch sales.

This dollar store mentality even goes beyond the iPhone as most of the Mac developers we know have been experiencing significant downward trends in their software sales since the App Store opened. It appears that the “instant-gratification-on-the-cheap” factor has implications on the desktop, too. It’s going to be tough to compete with impulse purchases when you can get around 20 iPhone apps for what a typical desktop app costs.

What’s important to consider here is that we’re absolutely not suggesting that we feel that there’s no room for 99¢ apps in the store. We have no problem with discounted software. The issue is that the current situation punishes most who feel that their apps are worth more than 99¢, while rewarding those at 99¢. And this shouldn’t be the case

Personally, I don’t minding pay for an iPhone app. I estimate 40% of the apps on my iPhone were free. In the App Store, the general rule seems to be “you get what you pay for.”