Adam Fields (weblog) » JustLinks http://www.aquick.org/blog entertaining hundreds of millions of eyeball atoms every day Fri, 09 May 2008 13:38:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en PS3s used for science http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/03/13/ps3s-used-for-science/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/03/13/ps3s-used-for-science/#comments Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:37:06 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/03/13/ps3s-used-for-science/ It’s just extraordinary to me what a boon the PS3 is to the scientific community.

“Overall, a single PS3 performs better than the highest-end desktops available and compares to as many as 25 nodes of an IBM Blue Gene supercomputer. And there is still tremendous scope left for extracting more performance through further optimization. More on that soon.”

http://gravity.phy.umassd.edu/ps3.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/03/13/ps3s-used-for-science/feed/ All about audio options on HD discs http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/10/25/all-about-audio-options-on-hd-discs/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/10/25/all-about-audio-options-on-hd-discs/#comments Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:35:54 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/10/25/all-about-audio-options-on-hd-discs/ Just to add to the confusion:

“On Standard-Def DVD, there are essentially only two competing sound formats to choose from: Dolby Digital or DTS.[...]The reality of the situation is that both Dolby Digital and DTS are capable of delivering very good, sometimes even exceptional sound quality on DVD.[...]The advent of Blu-ray and HD DVD has brought a dramatic increase in picture quality from Standard Definition to High Definition.[...]High Definition video deserves High Definition audio to go with it.”

And thus begins the litany of the seven different options for audio tracks on HD discs, and how they’re supported on HD DVD vs. Blu-ray.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Joshua_Zyber/High-Def_FAQ:_Blu-ray_and_HD_DVD_Audio_Explained/1064

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/10/25/all-about-audio-options-on-hd-discs/feed/ I have been stunned into submission by Marc Andreessen’s new blog http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/06/19/i-have-been-stunned-into-submission-by-marc-andreessens-new-blog/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/06/19/i-have-been-stunned-into-submission-by-marc-andreessens-new-blog/#comments Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:49:24 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/06/19/i-have-been-stunned-into-submission-by-marc-andreessens-new-blog/ It is simply great. Post after post is just captivating, interesting, and relevant if you have anything to do with tech these days.

Go read that for a while:

http://blog.pmarca.com

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/06/19/i-have-been-stunned-into-submission-by-marc-andreessens-new-blog/feed/ Well that’s just about the strangest thing I’ve seen all day http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 01:14:30 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/ “This work began on the day when we had made a extra big candy like a bowling ball by ourselves.
Since that day, we had been licking the candy day after day for about six months.’

http://homepage.mac.com/m_plus_n/candy.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/feed/ New social networking features on Confabb launched today http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/new-social-networking-features-on-confabb-launched-today/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/new-social-networking-features-on-confabb-launched-today/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:41:55 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/new-social-networking-features-on-confabb-launched-today/ I’m extremely proud of the Confabb site, and it’s nice to see it evolving past the limited feature set we were able to squeeze in before launch. There’s a LOT more great stuff coming. The development team has been working very hard for the past few months, and a bunch of new social networking features went live today.

From the press release:

New Logged-in Homepage

Log in and check out ‘your new homepage.’ Above ‘your conferences’ is the new ‘your network,’ a bird’s-eye view of bulletin board messages from within your network (more on that below), your online Confabb connections and any messages sent to you by those within the Confabb community. Click on ‘My Account’ to see the full range of search and connection possibilities. Post your own messages for everyone to see on “your bulletin board,” which will be broadcast globally—Confabb pings no fewer than 68 of the major alerting services—or have a one-on-one discussion with other Confabb members. You can also see what others are talking about and invite new people, either from within or outside of Confabb, to join your network.

New Search!

There are two new forms of search on the site (you’ll all remember that the search function was Confabb’s Achilles Heel when we launched). There is now an advanced search for conferences which drills down into multiple parameters such as location, keyword, location, category and when the show date starts and stops. That nullifies one of the biggest knocks we got at launch. People will love it. We’ve also added a “User Search” which lets Confabb users search for and connect with other Confabb community members. Of course that sets us up for connecting people within the community and that’s the best part.

MY Connections (or “buddy lists”)

Just as you keep a list of people with home you correspond daily, the “My Connections” tab is your gateway to the personal contacts you’ve made within the Confabb community–people with whom you’ve connected before and want to stay in touch with going forward. This is your personal network; friends, colleagues and other contacts whose whereabouts and doings you want to follow as they prepare for and an attend events. Attendees can view a list of other conference participants, check out their profiles, invite them into their personal network and email them directly through Confabb’s personal messaging feature.

Personal Messaging

This is the Confabb community’s personal email service. We respect everyone’s right to privacy so messaging within the community is handled by us; simply use the “contact” link to jot a note to the person of your choice and we’ll send the message to the email that person has registered within our system. Responses are handled by us as well so your information is never revealed unless you choose to do that outside of the community.

Media

This is cool. “Media” is just that: everything that interests you from across the web, from text-based articles and links to photos, RSS feeds for breaking information and even full blown videos. The content comes from the web’s leading sources of open information, including Technorati, Google and Yahoo!, Feedster, Flickr and YouTube. Simply click the “Media” tab at the top of the navigation bar and find information on just about anything by searching for the subject’s name or the subject’s tag in the desired content source. The Media tab lets you experience the conference through everyone else’s eyes, and they experience it through content you create, find and share with them.

Bulletin Boards

Confabb now provides all of its users with their own personal blogs, or bulletin boards, from which they can share their thoughts, opinions on the issues and experiences. This is the community member’s space; it’s intensely individual, consisting of the member’s content and comments from their readers. People can also read the musing of others within their network by clicking on the “Bulletin Board Posts within My Network” tab, which shows what others within their network are saying too.

Each board–the individual blog and the personal network bulletin board–are completely searchable by the major search engines. You will build traffic from within the community as well as anyone from around the globe with an interest in what you have to say!

http://www.confabb.com

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/new-social-networking-features-on-confabb-launched-today/feed/ Open letter to Apple asking for help improving medical design http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:22:02 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/ http://www.diabetesmine.com/2007/04/an_open_letter_.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/feed/ Google to purge some data after 18-24 months http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/google-to-purge-some-data-after-18-24-months/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/google-to-purge-some-data-after-18-24-months/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:33:02 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/google-to-purge-some-data-after-18-24-months/ Well, that’s a nice start. Good for them.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/google_to_anony.html

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/taking-steps-to-further-improve-our.html

http://216.239.57.110/blog_resources/google_log_retention_policy_faq.pdf

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/google-to-purge-some-data-after-18-24-months/feed/ Confabb is hosting the Personal Democracy Forum 2007 site http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/confabb-is-hosting-the-personal-democracy-forum-2007-site/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/confabb-is-hosting-the-personal-democracy-forum-2007-site/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:39:06 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/confabb-is-hosting-the-personal-democracy-forum-2007-site/ Exciting! — Confabb is hosting the site for Personal Democracy Forum 2007.

The science of politics is changing, and these are the people who are doing interesting things about it.

You can browse information about the conference (news, events, sessions, speakers, and more), and register from the site. You can use your existing Confabb login, if you have one (OpenID is coming, but not yet).

http://pdf2007.confabb.com/

(Disclosure: I’m one of the co-founders of Confabb.)

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/14/confabb-is-hosting-the-personal-democracy-forum-2007-site/feed/ Daylight Savings Time updates this weekend http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/09/daylight-savings-time-updates-this-weekend/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/09/daylight-savings-time-updates-this-weekend/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2007 22:45:51 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/09/daylight-savings-time-updates-this-weekend/ Congress changed Daylight Savings Time, and the changes take effect this weekend.

Most Windows and Mac machines will auto update if allowed to do so. If you have a unix box, you probably already know about this.

Don’t forget to also update your Palm and other handhelds that are DST-aware.

If you have a network-aware Palm device, you can do this over the air, with this:

http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/dst_palmos.html#ota

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/09/daylight-savings-time-updates-this-weekend/feed/ Leopard has support for ZFS http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/07/leopard-has-support-for-zfs/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/07/leopard-has-support-for-zfs/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:06:20 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/07/leopard-has-support-for-zfs/ I’m probably a bit behind in hearing about this, but very cool nonetheless.

http://themachackers.com/2006/12/19/zfs-on-mac-os-x-105-a-closer-look/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/03/07/leopard-has-support-for-zfs/feed/ Jim Gray is missing, help find him http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/02/04/jim-gray-is-missing-help-find-him/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/02/04/jim-gray-is-missing-help-find-him/#comments Sun, 04 Feb 2007 19:59:41 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/02/04/jim-gray-is-missing-help-find-him/ Jim Gray, an influential computer scientist, is missing at sea. Amazon has provided satellite imagery and is using the distributed Amazon Mechanical Turk system to enlist the public to sift through the massive amounts of data to help find him.

http://www.mturk.com/mturk/preview?groupId=J0XZ58STDWJZ5QY4F9M0&signature=AiiDWIlwk21vgw1bn5UhVpRDZ2w%3D&iteratorSkipGroup=false&hitId=B8KZ23NCDS4ZY1ZVXVF0&externalHit=false

This is pretty extraordinary.

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/02/04/jim-gray-is-missing-help-find-him/feed/ NYT on the Iraqi version of the Daily Show http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/24/nyt-on-the-iraqi-version-of-the-daily-show/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/24/nyt-on-the-iraqi-version-of-the-daily-show/#comments Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:45:11 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/24/nyt-on-the-iraqi-version-of-the-daily-show/ This is a NYT article about an Iraqi show which seems to be called “Hurry Up, He’s Dead”.

The description is painful to read, a horrible ironic reminder of the awfulness:

“In a recent episode, the host, Saad Khalifa, reported that Iraq’s Ministry of Water and Sewage had decided to change its name to simply the Ministry of Sewage — because it had given up on the water part.”

“Mr. Sudani, the writer, said he has lost hope for his country. Iraq’s leaders are incompetent, he said. He fears that services will never be restored. The American experiment in democracy, he said, was born dead.

All anyone can do, he said, is laugh.”

Via Perry Metzger:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/world/middleeast/24show.html?ex=1319342400&en=1bf22396b7ede7a3&ei=5090&
partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/24/nyt-on-the-iraqi-version-of-the-daily-show/feed/ Songbird media player looks pretty cool http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/09/songbird-media-player-looks-pretty-cool/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/09/songbird-media-player-looks-pretty-cool/#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2006 17:03:27 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/09/songbird-media-player-looks-pretty-cool/ This looks VERY promsing.

Open source, cross-platform, extensible media player based on Mozilla to browse, collect, and play web and local media files. Sure.

http://www.songbirdnest.com/screencast/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/10/09/songbird-media-player-looks-pretty-cool/feed/ Step by step instructions on how to set up a webcam for security monitoring http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/29/step-by-step-instructions-on-how-to-set-up-a-webcam-for-security-monitoring/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/29/step-by-step-instructions-on-how-to-set-up-a-webcam-for-security-monitoring/#comments Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:21:59 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/29/step-by-step-instructions-on-how-to-set-up-a-webcam-for-security-monitoring/ With an open source monitoring program - Dorgem.

http://www.simplehelp.net/2006/09/27/how-to-use-your-pc-and-webcam-as-a-motion-detecting-and-recording-s
ecurity-camera/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/29/step-by-step-instructions-on-how-to-set-up-a-webcam-for-security-monitoring/feed/ Wikipedia refuses to censor in China http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/11/wikipedia-refuses-to-censor-in-china/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/11/wikipedia-refuses-to-censor-in-china/#comments Tue, 12 Sep 2006 04:10:16 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/11/wikipedia-refuses-to-censor-in-china/ Bravo.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1869074,00.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/11/wikipedia-refuses-to-censor-in-china/feed/ Who writes Wikipedia http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/05/who-writes-wikipedia/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/05/who-writes-wikipedia/#comments Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:46:15 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/05/who-writes-wikipedia/ Aaron Swartz, as part of his bid to join the Wikimedia board, has done some fascinating research into the posting habits of Wikipedia users. He’s come up with some patterns of how entries get created:

http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/whowriteswikipedia

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/09/05/who-writes-wikipedia/feed/ Open letter to John Warnock http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/#comments Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:36:56 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/ ‘Please consider releasing eight to twelve core fonts into the public domain. The amount of revenue lost from a small core set of fonts surely can’t have a significant impact on Adobe’s bottom line. And the gesture of releasing such a set into the public domain would have many positive ripple effects for years to come.’

http://www.designbyfire.com/?p=30

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[Update: I've been informed that John Warnock is no longer the CEO of Adobe.]

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/feed/ AOL releases “anonymized” search data for 500k users http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/07/aol-releases-anonymized-search-data-for-500k-users/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/07/aol-releases-anonymized-search-data-for-500k-users/#comments Mon, 07 Aug 2006 16:03:26 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/07/aol-releases-anonymized-search-data-for-500k-users/ This is a serious breach of user privacy, and I can’t imagine there won’t be lawsuits over this.

Either they didn’t think this through, or this is the best way they could think of to raise a public outrage.

http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200608/msg00027.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/07/aol-releases-anonymized-search-data-for-500k-users/feed/ A chef’s response on Foie Gras http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/04/a-chefs-response-on-foie-gras/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/04/a-chefs-response-on-foie-gras/#comments Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:50:33 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/04/a-chefs-response-on-foie-gras/ From Eve Felder, CIA dean, someone who’s spent time actually feeding the ducks.

“It was an extremely gentle and intimate experience. The animal does not have a gag reflex. They always waddled away perfectly happy and full and ready for a nap.”

http://www.megnut.com/2006/08/foie-one-chefs-response

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/04/a-chefs-response-on-foie-gras/feed/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/03/1142/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/03/1142/#comments Thu, 03 Aug 2006 15:02:46 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/03/1142/ This is a great video of the ZDNet Executive Editor explaining what’s wrong with DRM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKI_w_VBoTQ&search=d.r.m.%20crap

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/03/1142/feed/ Designing community http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/29/designing-community/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/29/designing-community/#comments Sat, 29 Jul 2006 19:33:01 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/29/designing-community/ There’s something really important in here about designing community.

And also, it’s about Snakes on a Plane.

http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2006/060706_mfe_August_06_Klosterman.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/29/designing-community/feed/ This is seriously badass http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/18/this-is-seriously-badass/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/18/this-is-seriously-badass/#comments Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:00:20 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/18/this-is-seriously-badass/ “This is a HOWTO that describes how to take a stock RedHat9 system and convert it to Gentoo, remotely over ssh and while it is running.”

http://www.darkridge.com/~jpr5/doc/rh-gentoo.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/18/this-is-seriously-badass/feed/ How to troubleshoot your HD picture http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/how-to-troubleshoot-your-hd-picture/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/how-to-troubleshoot-your-hd-picture/#comments Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:46:36 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/how-to-troubleshoot-your-hd-picture/ Seems like a useful article from Popular Mechanics on some common things that can go wrong with HD.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/television/2826881.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/how-to-troubleshoot-your-hd-picture/feed/ Skype protocol reportedly broken http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/skype-protocol-reportedly-broken/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/skype-protocol-reportedly-broken/#comments Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:43:19 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/skype-protocol-reportedly-broken/ A Chinese company is claiming to have produced software that will seamlessly integrate with Skype.
http://www.voipwiki.com/blog/?p=16

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/14/skype-protocol-reportedly-broken/feed/ Finally, a good use for Flash http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/#comments Sat, 01 Jul 2006 22:37:36 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/ Gliffy is an online diagram maker (a la Visio).

You all know how I feel about diagrams. This rocks!

http://www.gliffy.com

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/feed/ Apple is about to lose a few hundred thousand users http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/30/apple-is-about-to-lose-a-few-hundred-thousand-users/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/30/apple-is-about-to-lose-a-few-hundred-thousand-users/#comments Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:05:51 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/30/apple-is-about-to-lose-a-few-hundred-thousand-users/ Cory Doctorow switches to Ubuntu, following Mark Pilgrim:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/29/mark_pilgrims_list_o.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/30/apple-is-about-to-lose-a-few-hundred-thousand-users/feed/ Jim Baen died yesterday http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/29/jim-baen-died-yesterday/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/29/jim-baen-died-yesterday/#comments Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:34:40 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/29/jim-baen-died-yesterday/ Not just a luminary in science fiction, but also a guiding light on free ebooks.

http://www.david-drake.com/baen.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/29/jim-baen-died-yesterday/feed/ Why Mark Pilgrim is switching to Linux http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/24/why-mark-pilgrim-is-switching-to-linux/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/24/why-mark-pilgrim-is-switching-to-linux/#comments Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:02:59 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/24/why-mark-pilgrim-is-switching-to-linux/ John Gruber has written this great piece analyzing the rationale behind Mark Pilgrim’s switch from OSX to Linux and the critics of the argument.

There are some truths in there:

“Telling Pilgrim that he’s making a mistake because Ubuntu doesn’t have as refined or cohesive a UI as Mac OS X is like telling someone who is switching from a Chevy Tahoe to a Toyota Prius that he’s not going to have as much cargo room. He knows it.”

“If your reaction to Pilgrim’s announcement was a snap judgment that he’s lost it, or that he’s being an asshole who’s just looking for attention as the guy who switched away from the Mac just at the time when it (the Mac) seems poised to become more popular than ever, or that he’s an open source fanatic who just can’t be reasoned with or trusted — are you sure that the zealotry at play is his?”

“I’m deeply suspicious of Mac users who claim to be perfectly happy with Mac OS X. Real Mac users, to me, are people with much higher standards, impossibly high standards, and who use Macs not because they’re great, but because they suck less than everything else. Pilgrim, to me, is a quintessential Mac user in that regard; and what he’s doing is wondering if maybe things might suck less somewhere else.”

I find myself thinking the same thoughts often as I struggle with switching my desktop away from Windows to Linux. I’ve done it in the past, but the simple fact is that there are things on Windows that need in order to get my work done that don’t exist on Linux yet. Someday. I highly recommend reading the whole thing.

http://daringfireball.net/2006/06/and_oranges

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/24/why-mark-pilgrim-is-switching-to-linux/feed/ Coffee cups with stamps in the bottom http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/#comments Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:09:16 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/ Instead of corporate logos, they leave behind pretty floral patterns.

http://www.gnr8.biz/product_info.php?products_id=182

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/feed/ Paul McCartney is 64 today http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/18/paul-mccartney-is-64-today/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/18/paul-mccartney-is-64-today/#comments Sun, 18 Jun 2006 22:19:18 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/18/paul-mccartney-is-64-today/ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/17/arts/music/17paul.html?ex=1308196800&en=51c8ced2d4c73b63&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/18/paul-mccartney-is-64-today/feed/ NYC restaurant reviews organized by subway stop http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/12/nyc-restaurant-reviews-organized-by-subway-stop/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/12/nyc-restaurant-reviews-organized-by-subway-stop/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2006 13:43:44 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/12/nyc-restaurant-reviews-organized-by-subway-stop/ http://idlewords.com/taste_of_subway/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/12/nyc-restaurant-reviews-organized-by-subway-stop/feed/ The Shot Behind the Shot http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/#comments Tue, 30 May 2006 20:25:26 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/ A while back, I started a Flickr group called “The Shot Behind the Shot”. There aren’t many photos in it, but I like them all.

These are the rules for pictures in the group:

Every photograph tells a story. Some photographs capture a photographer trying to tell a story, and in doing so tell a completely different story.

This group is for those different stories.

Please be encouraged to add comments about why you felt compelled to capture the photographer capturing something else and what that means to you.

All shots must 1) have another photographer in the shot, 2) also include at least some of the subject of that photographer’s shot (no pictures of just photographers, and no pictures where you are the other photographer’s subject unless they otherwise meet the qualifications), and 3) tell a story different from the one that the photographer is telling. If the shot does not show what the other photographer is taking a picture of, this is the wrong group for it. Gratuitous pictures of public asses and/or nudity are acceptable, if they meet these qualifications. However, pictures may be arbitrarily deleted from the pool without comment at the discretion of the admins. Keep it tasteful and interesting. You have been warned.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/shotbehind/pool/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/feed/ Oh, the hairmanity. http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/24/oh-the-hairmanity/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/24/oh-the-hairmanity/#comments Wed, 24 May 2006 22:01:04 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/24/oh-the-hairmanity/ Some sort of canonical list of bad 80s videos on YouTube.

http://www.milinkito.com/los80.php

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/24/oh-the-hairmanity/feed/ Autonomous robot does heart surgery! http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/20/autonomous-robot-does-heart-surgery/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/20/autonomous-robot-does-heart-surgery/#comments Sat, 20 May 2006 14:28:05 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/20/autonomous-robot-does-heart-surgery/ Wow, the future is now!

The Italian expert has used the robot surgeon for at least 40 previous operations, some of which have been described in detail in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The novelty of this latest experience is that the robot was able to conduct the entire procedure by itself. In the past it needed specific orders from its operator along the way.

http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2006-05-18_1186367.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/20/autonomous-robot-does-heart-surgery/feed/ Au-16 is a golden buckyball-like cage http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/17/au-16-is-a-golden-buckyball-like-cage/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/17/au-16-is-a-golden-buckyball-like-cage/#comments Wed, 17 May 2006 15:46:35 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/17/au-16-is-a-golden-buckyball-like-cage/ Wow. That’s pretty.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/dnnl-bmr051206.php

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/17/au-16-is-a-golden-buckyball-like-cage/feed/ Towards the zero-energy home http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/16/towards-the-zero-energy-home/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/16/towards-the-zero-energy-home/#comments Tue, 16 May 2006 15:30:01 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/16/towards-the-zero-energy-home/ A developer in Oklahoma has built a zero-energy home prototype for $200k. It’s a combination of energy efficiency, and photovoltaic and geothermal power production, mostly built with readily available off-the-shelf components. That’s fantastic.

“Ideal Homes built the first zero energy home in the country priced under $200,000. The modest one-story, three-bedroom, two bathroom home produces as much energy as it consumes in a year, achieving net zero energy consumption.”

http://www.housingzone.com/article/CA6332828.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/16/towards-the-zero-energy-home/feed/ MIT hacked out party dorm room http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/13/mit-hacked-out-party-dorm-room/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/13/mit-hacked-out-party-dorm-room/#comments Sat, 13 May 2006 14:21:27 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/13/mit-hacked-out-party-dorm-room/ “Since moving into my dorm this last fall, my roommate RJ Ryan and I have been working on creating the most elaborate automation system we could envision. Featuring everything from web control, voice activation, and a security system, to large continuously running information displays, electric blinds, and one-touch parties, the
custom designed MIDAS Automation System has brought ease to our lives (if one doesn’t count all the time it took to actually build and program the system).”

One doesn’t.

Awesome.

http://web.mit.edu/zacka/www/midas.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/13/mit-hacked-out-party-dorm-room/feed/ Tamiflu goes open source http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/11/tamiflu-goes-open-source/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/11/tamiflu-goes-open-source/#comments Fri, 12 May 2006 01:49:38 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/11/tamiflu-goes-open-source/ http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/05/how_to_make_tamiflu.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/11/tamiflu-goes-open-source/feed/ An Inconvenient Truth http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/22/an-inconvenient-truth/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/22/an-inconvenient-truth/#comments Sat, 22 Apr 2006 17:09:27 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/22/an-inconvenient-truth/ Al Gore has made a movie about global warming, in case you needed some more convincing.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_classics/aninconvenienttruth/trailer/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/22/an-inconvenient-truth/feed/ I’m reading this on my left monitor http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/20/im-reading-this-on-my-left-monitor/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/20/im-reading-this-on-my-left-monitor/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:37:12 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/20/im-reading-this-on-my-left-monitor/ I’ve been a convert to a dual-head display for a long time now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/technology/20basics.html?ex=1303185600&en=6fc17b9bf54ea2ef&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/20/im-reading-this-on-my-left-monitor/feed/ Where to buy linux laptops http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/where-to-buy-linux-laptops/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/where-to-buy-linux-laptops/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:00:48 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/where-to-buy-linux-laptops/ I found this pretty comprehensive list of which laptops support linux:

http://tuxmobil.org/laptop_manufacturer.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/where-to-buy-linux-laptops/feed/ Apple introduces dual booting XP on Intel Macs http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/apple-introduces-dual-booting-xp-on-intel-macs/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/apple-introduces-dual-booting-xp-on-intel-macs/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2006 13:57:56 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/apple-introduces-dual-booting-xp-on-intel-macs/ “Boot Camp simplifies Windows installation on an Intel-based Mac by providing a simple graphical step-by-step assistant application to dynamically create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, to burn a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers, and to install Windows from a Windows XP installation CD. After installation is complete, users can choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer.”

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/apr/05bootcamp.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/04/05/apple-introduces-dual-booting-xp-on-intel-macs/feed/ Someone’s been painting directional signs on the ground outside subway stop in NYC http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/#comments Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:29:35 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/ Great idea.

http://backspace.com/notes/2006/03/28/x.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/feed/ Claim your settlement from Sony http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/claim-your-settlement-from-sony/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/claim-your-settlement-from-sony/#comments Thu, 16 Mar 2006 00:11:48 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/claim-your-settlement-from-sony/ If you bought an infected CD from Sony, you’re entitled to some benefits under the lawsuit settlement:

http://www.eff.org/sony

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/claim-your-settlement-from-sony/feed/ Zfone is simple encrypted voip telephony http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/zfone-is-simple-encrypted-voip-telephony/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/zfone-is-simple-encrypted-voip-telephony/#comments Wed, 15 Mar 2006 14:30:11 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/zfon-is-simple-encrypted-voip-telephony/ Phil Zimmermann, the guy who brought you PGP, has just released a public beta of his new open source encrypted VOIP software - Zfone. The beta is Mac/linux only, the Windows version will be out in a month or so.

It’s an encrypting proxy for SIP calls using pre-existing software. I don’t know enough about how the protocol works to say if this would work with things like Vonage or not.

“In the future, the Zfone protocol will be integrated into standalone secure VoIP clients, but today we have a software product that lets you turn your existing VoIP client into a secure phone. The current Zfone software runs in the Internet Protocol stack on any Windows XP, Mac OS X, or Linux PC, and intercepts and filters all the VoIP packets as they go in and out of the machine, and secures the call on the fly. You can use a variety of different software VoIP clients to make a VoIP call. The Zfone software detects when the call starts, and initiates a cryptographic key agreement between the two parties, and then proceeds to encrypt and decrypt the voice packets on the fly. It has its own little separate GUI, telling the user if the call is secure.”

Zfone has been tested with these VoIP clients and VoIP services:
VoIP clients: X-Lite, Gizmo, and SJphone.
VoIP service providers: Free World Dialup, iptel.org, and SIPphone.

http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/zfone/index.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/15/zfone-is-simple-encrypted-voip-telephony/feed/ Google forced to release records by the court http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/14/google-forced-to-release-records-by-the-court/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/14/google-forced-to-release-records-by-the-court/#comments Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:37:28 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/14/google-forced-to-release-records-by-the-court/ As predicted, U.S. Judge James Ware intends to force Google to hand over the requested data to the DoJ.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/03/14/google.hearing.ap/index.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/14/google-forced-to-release-records-by-the-court/feed/ Outrage fatigue roundup 3/2/2006 http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/outrage-fatigue-roundup-322006/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/outrage-fatigue-roundup-322006/#comments Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:26:59 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/outrage-fatigue-roundup-322006/ The big news this week - video that Bush knew that Katrina would destroy New Orleans a day before the storm hit:
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
http://websrvr20.audiovideoweb.com/avwebdswebsrvr2143/news_video/apbushkatrina512K.mov

Asking for complaint forms in Flordia Police stations gets you harassed and threatened:
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_033170755.html

Greek cell phone taps of high officials were enabled by embedded surveillance tech:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/more_on_greek_w.html

Zogby poll shows 72% of troops want to get out of Iraq in the next year, but also that 85% of them think they’re there to retaliate for Saddam’s attacking us on 9/11. So, there’s that:
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=35385

Human rights abuses in Iraq are worse than under Saddam (oops, Freudian slip - I typed Bush there first):
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3696105.html

Daily Kos is mumbling something about State-initiated impeachment:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/1/235828/9378

And, a kitten:
http://www.dailykitten.com/archives/340-Poppy.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/outrage-fatigue-roundup-322006/feed/ Firefly complete series on Amazon for $20 http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/#comments Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:31:56 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/ We watched the broadcast, and thought it was stupid, and didn’t give it an adequate chance. Turns out the part we watched was the worst 15 minutes of the series. I was prodded by a few people to give it another try, and was pleasantly surprised.

If you haven’t watched it, you should. Amazon has the DVD series for $20:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=as2&path=ASIN/B0000AQS0F&tag=buyadam-20&camp=1789&creative=9325

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/feed/ Conversation about CC licenses http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/01/conversation-about-cc-licenses/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/01/conversation-about-cc-licenses/#comments Wed, 01 Mar 2006 20:18:40 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/01/conversation-about-cc-licenses/ Joe Gratz and I are having an interesting discussion about Creative Commons licenses over in the comments of his blog post about Schmap:

http://www.joegratz.net/archives/2006/02/23/schmap/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/01/conversation-about-cc-licenses/feed/ Flash physics engine http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/28/flash-physics-engine/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/28/flash-physics-engine/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:17:37 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/28/flash-physics-engine/ Someone had fun with the Flash physics engine.

Warning: not porn, but does include bra-related breast physics.

http://www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounceometer/shock.html

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