It’s about time some of these corporate knobs wake up and use technology to their advantage. Would I be blogging about these books otherwise? I think not. Considering I don’t understand the “cult”, I’ll be giving the PDF a glance. If I like it, I’ll buy the paper version, as many, many others will do.
Update: So I snatched The Cult of Mac and had a look over the weekend, I’m not really any closer in understanding Macheads. To me, it’s no different than any other brand fanaticism, something I just cannot relate too. I guess I understand it in the way that I just don’t get any sort of product obsession, whether it be Harleys, Star Trek, Croc’s or whatever.
I would like to applaud both the author, Leander Kahney and No Starch, for their forward thinking. However, having skimmed the book, I won’t be buying a copy, which, in reality, is no different than going to a bookstore and skimming the print version, and making a purchasing decision based on the content in it’s entirety. Only this way, there is virtually no cost involved for myself or the publisher.
Last week my wife and I went out to get her a new cell phone. She has always liked my Sony Ericsson K790i with the 3.2MP camera. I like it too, while not a good camera, it makes for a pretty good cameraphone. I’ve never seen the logic in almost unusable 1.3MP cameraphones. To my surprise, the vendor had displayed front, center and shiny the 5MP Sony Ericsson K850i.
Nuts! Now my wife has a better cameraphone than I do.
“Are you jealous that I have a better phone than you?” She asks with a smirk,
“No, Moore’s Law dictates when it comes time for my phone replacement, I’ll be getting a better camera than you.” I said, concealing my gadget envy.
Turns out I didn’t have to deal with the envy for long, here’s my next cameraphone, well the sensor at least, Samsung has announced a 8MP CMOS sensor that is the worlds smallest, specifically designed for cell phones. Due for production this fall. Moore’s Law, I love you.
The new module, which is 10% more compact than current solutions, will have an ISO 1600 sensitivity, anti-shake capability, face detection technology, 1-cm macro and an automated shoot mode that is activated by silly, smiling faces.
Banksy is probably my favorite graffiti artist, witty and elusive. This appears to be his latest work. While you’re there, check out the shop, for your very own piece of banksy’s work - free, everyone’s favorite price.
On the subject of shopping bags, check out my wife’s post on the evils of the plastic bag, and how to make your own fabric bags.
As you may know, I’m a fan of TED, having posted a few of their videos. Tonight, TED2008 opens with a live webcast, follow this link, and it starts at 5:15pm Pacific time. From TED’s newsletter:
…we are opening up one complete session of TED free to the world, streamed live over the web. It’s the dramatic session tomorrow evening when three remarkable individuals each unveil their TED Prize wish. (”One wish to change the world. No restrictions. Think big. Be creative.”)
For the Mac junky that must have everything, the Air Poo. Perfect for remaining productive while defecating. With wireless, Mac Air docking port, iPod support with fully integrated surround sound, heated seat, and my favorite feature, the multi-touch flusher;
A multi-touch flusher allows you to easily specify how much force needed to flush. Simply tap with one finger to flush away urine. A double tap with two fingers brings a large force of water guaranteed to be able to flush away even the largest loads*.
* Proven to work up to 10lbs of feces and toilet paper.
I’m not making this up, honest, Lolz LLC might be though.
via Core77
I’ve been a fan of dpreview ever since a friend introduced me to the site. Yesterday they launched a lens review section, well needed in my opinion, with 4 reviews at the time of writing. You can read about the technical end of the lens review process, as well as the development of the new section here. Here’s an excerpt:
At the heart of the reviews is a unique interactive ‘widget’ has been designed to present the test results in a way that allows visitors to experiment visually with variables such as focal length and aperture and see immediately the effect such changes have on overall image quality, and to compare the performance of different lenses. The user-friendly presentation ensures that even those with limited technical knowledge of optics or digital imaging will be able to use the reviews.
As an artificial limb designer and hobbyist robotics engineer, artist Christopher Conte rarely uses blueprints or sketches to craft his elaborate biomechanical sculptures.
