Ed Foster: “When Baker walked into that CompUSA almost two years ago, there was basically no way for her to see the Windows XP or Norton AntiVirus EULA before she put her money down.” [Scripting News]
Christmas with Amazon and FedEx
Christmas with Amazon and FedEx. One of the wonders of the web is last-minute Christmas shopping, but the ability to reel in gifts at the last minute can introduce new stresses that were unknown by our forebears browsing their Sears catalogs (actually, that's how I picked out Christmas gifts as a kid). This year, I… Continue reading Christmas with Amazon and FedEx
Wal-Mart breaks price barrier with Linspire Linux laptop
Wal-Mart breaks price barrier with Linspire Linux laptop. Wal-Mart is offering a laptop that dives below the $500 pricepoint, and it's no accident the machine, from Linspire, runs a Linux-based operating system. The Balance laptop, at $498, enters a mass market at a price that will undoubtedly accelerate Linux adoption. The laptop comes with the… Continue reading Wal-Mart breaks price barrier with Linspire Linux laptop
Electronic Voting in Ireland
Electronic Voting in Ireland. The Irish Commission on Electronic Voting has released a 433-page report. It's an excellent and detailed analysis of the e-voting system purchased by the Irish government. [Schneier on Security]
The Savvy Blawgger Panel, Version 1.0
The Savvy Blawgger Panel, Version 1.0. Bruce “Adam Smith, Esq.” MacEwen has launched the first iteration of his Savvy Blawger Panel, a feature in which he poses important questions to a panel of, well, savvy blawgers. This edition looks into the future and the question was: “Looking out five to ten years, what will the… Continue reading The Savvy Blawgger Panel, Version 1.0
Project Page
Project Page. Jill Walker has opened a project page onto her new research project on distributed narrative. It's a Tinderbox-driven portal onto her blog posts, papers, lectures, and teaching on the subject. This interesting Tinderbox application will, I expect, be an influential genre-shaper. Researchers often have diverse interests; the project page is an interesting application… Continue reading Project Page
The Care and Feeding of the Creative Class
The Care and Feeding of the Creative Class. Secrets for fielding teams that are passionate, playful, and high performance. [Fast Company]
Congress enacts comprehensive travel surveillance law
Congress enacts comprehensive travel surveillance law. This Tuesday, 7 December 2004, as its final act before adjourning until after newly-elected members take office in January, the lame-duck Congress of the USA gave final approval for the creation of a comprehensive system of government credentialling, tracking, and control of domestic and international travellers, as part of… Continue reading Congress enacts comprehensive travel surveillance law
Linux user advocates switching from Windows
Linux user advocates switching from Windows. Chris Spencer: It's time for anyone running a Windows PC to switch to Linux. OK, I'm off to switch. A few problems: does Outlook run on Linux? Reliably? Does Linux have a ton of ink-enabled applications for my Tablet PC? Does Photoshop run on it reliably? Does Microsoft Office?… Continue reading Linux user advocates switching from Windows
Ron Owens: Intervoice
Ron Owens: Intervoice. I've mentioned Amtrak Julie a couple of times before. In today's podcast I interview Ron Owens, director of software application engineering and professional services for Intervoice, the company responsible for the Julie application. Topics include voiceprint authentication, SALT and VoiceXML, the relationship between speech servers and IVR (interactive voice response) systems, and… Continue reading Ron Owens: Intervoice