One day I’m going to get around to redesigning this site and more importantly, this blog. So to get started, I need you, dear reader, to point me in the direction in which you’d like the blog to head. Here’s a quick poll with some proposed features (some suggested by you guys already). Please let me know which of these features you’d like to see (you can select up to 5) and feel free to make comments on this post for anything else you’d like me to include. Thanks.
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Sim
3rd July 2009
If you have a spare one, make it along.
Sim
16th June 2009
Here’s Kingsmill’s Hottest 100 of all time. Interesting. I agree with him on quite a few. But not as much as I do with Gary Numan’s selection the other week (up until just after 1:30 of course).
Of course you can have your say. I really can’t pick my top ten of all time, let alone top 100. I’m quite happy to go with something like the list from 98. Depending on your age, background, influences and upbringing, you’ll have your own response. So, with that in mind, this year’s ‘Hottest 100 Of All Time’ will no doubt reflect the current generation of dedicated Triple J listeners (ie. no longer me).
Sim
16th June 2009
I thought it was about time I wrote about something that I know: what’s under the hood in Snow Leopard (10.6). Specifically, I am excited about the increased 64-bit architecture. Certainly, one of the saddest things to see in recent years has been the introduction of 64-bit hardware into the marketplace without the required software support. I can still remember getting my 64-bit Athlon Linux box up and running. I was excited – until I realised that there was virtually no 64-bit software available. Although I was quick to install an appropriate operating system – the software within was limited to 32-bits. Think: running a formula one racing care in first gear. Despite the advanced hardware, my linux box could never put its power down.
Although the various releases of OSX have progressively introduced 64-bit support, it wasn’t until 10.5 that this was extended throughout the software stack. Finally with 10.6 we see the much-awaited rewrite of most system software. The end result of this will be a faster, more responsive operating system for the user. Other, probably unseen benefits will be greater reliability and security.
I suppose my point is that Snow Leopard is now the most advanced operating system in terms of architecture. For now it is the closest we are going to get to the ‘real deal’ (until they rewrite DVD Player, Front Row, Grapher, iTunes and X11 into 64-bit code!).
While people still fight the Mac vs. PC wars over issues such as the “user-interface” and printer drivers – for me it is all about what lies within.
Of course, nobody has said anything about 3rd party software… but that is for another post.
Read all about it.
Charles
11th June 2009
You’re about to get Mac-swamped and you know it. Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iPhone 3.0, etc, etc. So on the eve of the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, starting in San Francisco tomorrow (our time), I thought we’d take a look at the latest in non-Apple technology and see how this relates to upcoming confirmed and rumoured Apple hardware and software.
Let’s start with the Palm Pre. This little device, recently released in the US, is a beautifully designed smartphone, which holds a slide-out keyboard as well as Multi-Touch on screen. The Pre runs on Palm’s brand new operating system, webOS. This system allows multiple applications to be running simultaneously, including a WebKit-based browser, email, calendar, instant messaging, maps, photos and video. Adobe has also developed a version of Flash for webOS, alongside it’s Open Screen Project, which it has launched with the participation of other mobile developers. Anyway, back to the Pre — what’s so good about it? I think alongside it’s bottom-up design approach to both hardware and software, it’s beautiful exterior and interface, it has a US price tag of $199 (after cash back). But I’m sure this will be an initial price to woo potential iPhone customers. You can read about the design process of the Pre as well as an interview with user experience designer, Michelle Koh (links via Gizmodo). Also check out Engadget’s review or the official Palm site for some extra cheesy vids.
Having used a virtual keyboard on the iPhone for over a year now, I think that the physical vs. virtual keyboard battle is actually a preference issue.
– Michelle Koh
Human Interface Team, Palm
Next up is the Zune HD. I’m really not going to spend much time on this one. I’d be better off doing a review of the Bing search engine. Or maybe, seeing as though there have been rumours of Apple tablets and such, how Asus looks to have made some R&D of its own.
And now on to Nintendo. The DSi seems to be quickly becoming a mobile platform with teeth. With it’s touch interface, multiple-user interaction and ability to create animation, it’s definitely a powerful device. Not to mention the Wii’s ability to track motion, keep track of your fitness levels and measure your heartbeat. But that doesn’t seem to stop CEO Satoru Iwata from believing that his products are not competing with the iPhone and the Mac. In an interview with VentureBeat, he said exactly that.
If I thought our companies were in direct competition, I would not use a Mac in my presentations… If, in the future, this overlap becomes bigger to the extent we should call it direct competition, I have to be more careful. I can’t bring out the iPhone during an interview anymore. Today, I don’t worry about it.
– Satoru Iwata
Chief Executive, Nintendo
Phew! Well, that’s all I have time for, and I didn’t even get time to mention Android. But thanks to TK, there’s plenty to read on that. Enjoy the WWDC announcement and may all your wildest Mac fantasies come true 
Sim
8th June 2009
Came across this article on Yahoo and reminded me of that decline in the quality of journalism we talked about recently.
Sydney gunman intended to kill: police
Firstly, I would like to know how many cases there are of someone shooting at people multiple times to just scare them a little bit. For the future reference of whoever approved that title; when bullets are fired from guns at other people, the intention is usually to kill.
Secondly, Yahoo needs to pick up the act with regard to editing the actual copy. Grammatical / typo errors (from the article above) are a common occurrence in Yahoo news:
He was at shot five times
But he did say police previously had attended the Castle Cove home although he would not reveal how many times or why
I know, it’s Yahoo, but they are only acting as a syndicator of content anyway. All I’m asking of them is to do their basic editing job.
Tristan
6th June 2009
Only two types of people wear dark-rimmed spectacles: trendy corporate types and inner-city hipsters. The first usually work “in finance” and team their specs with charcoal suits and cashmere scarves.
The second are a more complex breed. Males are identified by their beards, vintage T-shirts and khaki canvas knapsacks. Often, they can be seen reading dog-eared paperbacks in bars where all the furniture is second-hand and upholstered in green vinyl. Many claim to be musicians, even though they’ve never sought or received any formal musical training (”because it would ruin my creativity”).
Read on at The Age.
Charles
2nd June 2009
You love my puns! You know you do.
Do you ever feel like you’re living a dream because your surroundings are so ridiculous? Let me give you an example, ads. Yes, advertisements. Like Catherine Deveny has pointed out before, you can say the word ’sex’ on prime-time television, in education and even in religious class, but for some reason the word must be censored on a billboard. Go figure. Here’s some more stupidity…
Last week I was walking down Smith Street and noticed some stencils on the footpath. No big deal. Campaigns from selling Lily Allen’s debut album to plugging psychic hotlines have used this medium in Melbourne to advertise in the past. But if there’s one establishment that has a strong stance against graffiti, claiming that there is no distinction between so-called vandalism and so-called street art, it’s the government. And granted that it’s usually local or state government rather than federal, but I thought it was rather curious that nonetheless, the federal government had chosen stencil sprayed on the footpath to advertise their anti-drugs campaign. I understand that they’re trying to reach their target audience, an audience that mainstream media industries find almost impossible to reach, but I can’t help but smell a whiff of hypocrisy. Well, it might not stop the graffiti, but at least kids will stop taking ecstasy, right?
Before I step down from my soapbox, here’s another: I was walking home from work, right outside the commission flats in Collingwood, and noticed this advertisement…
Another great campaign, reaching the appropriate audience 
EDIT (at the risk of violating blogosphere ethics here, thought I’d edit this, rather than comment, so our audience (Charles?) can see another fine example of hypocrisy I snapped when in Hong Kong).
Sim & Tris
26th May 2009
An interesting talk from TED.com about the future of the web, by the father of the web, Tim Berners-Lee.
Sim
25th May 2009
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