Archive: August 21, 2003

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Thursday,  08/21/03  10:24 PM

I'm back!  Spent a week mountain bikin' in Utah.  Pictures to follow.  In the meantime...

During the past week I blogged over dial-up.  Not terrible but I certainly missed my cable modem.  Not to mention the 'phone bill was steeper than the summit at Brian Head.  Whew.

The results of my "Do you use an RSS reader?" survey are [mostly] in.  Yes = 59%, No = 30%, and Uh, what's RSS = 9%.  That's about what I expected.  I bet in another year - heck, in another six months - the 'No's will decline significantly.  Of course this is taken from an atypical sample, the people who read my blog.  (Actually a subsample, the people who read my blog and respond to surveys :)  When my mom and your mom are reading RSS, just like today they're reading email, then we'll be at critical mass.



Bigwig wonders, once the California recall election is over, what's to stop a liberal from recalling the conservative who wins.  But this ignores the fundamentals of the situation; although recalls have been technically possible for over 50 years, this is the first time voters have been dissatisfied enough with their governor to do something about it.

The Island Chronicles continue: Friends.

Man, does this ever raise my blood pressure: A textbook case of bad science.  "Defenders of evolutionary theory in Texas say creation scientists are getting sneakier -- and more successful -- in getting their views into public school educational materials."  Yeah, and the flat-Earth society is demanding equal time, too, to argue against the "theory" of a round Earth.  Man, some people just refuse to accept facts, you know?

I saw this a few days ago, but couldn't view it properly on dial-up; Paul Thurrott has published screenshots of Longhorn, which is Microsoft's next version of Windows.  There are lots of Microsofties claiming these aren't real, but whether they are or not they're certainly interesting.  Check 'em out.

PVRBlog thinks about Tivo's Apple problem.  I don't know if Tivo really has an "Apple problem"; they're a market leader in a new space, and there will be price-cutting and new competitors as the market matures.  Apple was never the market leader, despite being the innovator...

Motorola has released the first Linux-based cell phone.  "Announced last February, the A760 uses Linux as a core operating system, on top of which Java provides a multimedia application framework.  Software that ships with the device includes a PDA-style personal information management suite, a video player, music player, an instant messaging tool and more."  This could be the future of cell phones - imagine a bunch of open-source applications...

Panasonic's new "home theater in a box" includes a DVD recorder.  I bet nobody reading this is surprised or even amazed.  DVD recorders will take over, as surely as cassettes pushed out eight-tracks...

The new Matrix Revolutions trailer is out!  Yippee.  Mark your calendars - November 5, 2003, is the release date.  It looks excellent.  I predict this movie will demonstrate whether good movies can still be box office blockbusters...

 
 

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