Triumph of the cyborg composer
Posted in computer stuff, music, technology on Feb 27th, 2010
From Miller-McCune.com: Triumph of the Cyborg Composer: David Cope’s software creates beautiful, original music. Why are people so angry about that?
Category Archive for 'computer stuff'
Review: Dell Linux laptop
Posted in Linux, computer stuff on Oct 13th, 2008
This is a review of my new Dell Linux laptop, an Inspiron 1525. Let’s start with
Visit China’s Forbidden City — as a virtual eunuch
Posted in computer stuff, history & archaeology on Oct 13th, 2008
From Reuters: Visit China’s Forbidden City — as a virtual eunuch.
Culture fans thousands of miles from Beijing can now visit its famous Forbidden City, through a three dimensional recreation of the vast palace that also allows them to dress up as an imperial eunuch and meet a courtesan.
One of the jewels in China’s cultural crown, [...]
Jhai PC: low-cost computer links villages to the web
Posted in computer stuff on Sep 12th, 2008
From csmonitor.com: Jhai PC: Low-cost computer links villages to the Web.
In the small Hmong village of Phonsavad in Laos, three hours upriver from the nearest road, the Jhai PC is a portal to another world. Built to withstand monsoon rains and extreme temperatures and linked to the Web by satellite, the tough computer brings villagers [...]
One dead computer
Posted in computer stuff, personal on Sep 8th, 2008
Last week my laptop said "ahem, I am feeling quite ill. Look at the problems I’m having! I might even die soon." And what do you know? On Saturday day the poor thing did die. I miss it. It was such a light and responsive machine.
After a bit of scrambling I’m using one of my [...]
Discovering how Greeks computed In 100 B.C.
Posted in computer stuff, history & archaeology on Jul 30th, 2008
From the New York Times: Discovering How Greeks Computed In 100 B.C..
After a closer examination of a surviving marvel of ancient Greek technology known as the Antikythera Mechanism, scientists have found that the device not only predicted solar eclipses but also organized the calendar in the four-year cycles of the Olympiad, forerunner of the modern [...]
Web-based personal organizers
Posted in computer stuff, internet on Jun 1st, 2008
I used to use a Palm Pilot to organize my life, and that worked perfectly for years. But the new Palm Pilots aren’t for me, so that’s out. Now I’m looking for a replacement system.
There are a number of interesting web-based personal organizers, and I’m thinking of trying one of those. I like David Allen’s [...]
Bacteria-run computer solves math puzzle
Posted in DNA, computer stuff on May 29th, 2008
From discovery.com: Bacteria-Run Computer Solves Math Puzzle.
A new living computer, bred from E. coli bacteria instead of stamped from silica, has for the first time successfully solved a classic mathematical puzzle known as the Burnt Pancake Problem.
While this bacteria-based computer is more proof of concept than practical, a living computer might one day solve complex [...]
Asus to embed Linux into all motherboards
Posted in Linux, computer stuff on May 16th, 2008
Happy geek news from zdnet.co.uk: Asus to embed Linux into all motherboards.
Asus is to embed a lightweight, instant-on version of Linux called "Splashtop" into all its motherboards, following good feedback from customers.
On Wednesday, DeviceVM, the company behind the distribution, said the hardware manufacturer would be putting Splashtop — which Asus calls "Express Gate" — into [...]
Is Dell logging your keystrokes?
Posted in computer stuff, privacy on May 14th, 2008
(Short answer: no, it’s a hoax. See comments.)
I’ve been thinking that I’d get a Dell laptop, because these days you can get Dells that come pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux. I wanted to support that.
Then I came across this horrifying article, which seems to indicate that Dell computers come with hardware keyloggers built in. Well. No [...]
Victorian ’supercomputer’ is reborn
Posted in computer stuff, history & archaeology on May 10th, 2008
Good heavens. Somebody’s gone and built a Difference Engine No 2, the computer Charles Babbage designed 160 years ago. The Beeb reports: Victorian ’supercomputer’ is reborn.
The reason the machine is so highly regarded is because it is seen as the first attempt at automated computing and viewed as something of a missing link in technology [...]
Kids’ response to the XO laptop
Posted in computer stuff, education on Jan 1st, 2008
Michael Tiemann gave his 8-year-old daughter an XO laptop for Christmas, and blogs about how that’s working out: Risks–and rewards–of XO laptop.
…the real fun began after we started to explore the XO’s games. I told her to open Pippy and we played the "guess the number" game. In Pippy, the source code appears on the [...]
A child’s view of the $100 laptop
Posted in computer stuff on Dec 12th, 2007
This story makes me happy. From the BBC: A child’s view of the $100 laptop.
In late November I returned from Nigeria with a sample of the XO laptop.
The computer, made by the One Laptop per Child charity, is a robust little machine designed to entertain and educate children while allowing them to learn by themselves.
I [...]
XO laptops, available at last!
Posted in Linux, computer stuff on Nov 12th, 2007
A recent New York Times article gives a good introduction: Laptop with a mission.
In November, you’ll be able to buy a new laptop that’s spillproof, rainproof, dustproof and drop-proof. It’s fanless, it’s silent and it weighs 3.2 pounds. One battery charge will power six hours of heavy activity, or 24 hours of reading. The laptop [...]
Jesuits say take word of God to Second Life
Posted in computer stuff, religion on Jul 29th, 2007
From Reuters: Jesuits say take word of God to Second Life.
Catholic missionaries have always trekked to dangerous parts of the Earth to spread the word of God — now they are being encouraged to go into the virtual realm of Second Life to save virtual souls.
In an article in Rome-based Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, [...]
Spyware with a badge: policeware
Posted in computer stuff, privacy on Jul 20th, 2007
From Ars Technica: The tricky issue of spyware with a badge: meet ‘policeware’.
It’s well known that organizations with nefarious and often criminal goals support and distribute malware and spyware that allows them to snoop on and/or manipulate people’s computers. However, what is less well-known is that some of the people behind spyware are ostensibly the [...]
Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems
Posted in computer stuff on Jul 17th, 2007
From Ars Technica: Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems.
It’s such a tremendously bad idea that it’s almost bound to succeed. Microsoft has filed another patent, this one for an "advertising framework" that uses "context data" from your hard drive to show you advertisements and "apportion and credit advertising revenue" to ad suppliers in [...]
Dell to offer Linux on laptops
Posted in Linux, computer stuff on May 1st, 2007
Oh, happy news! PC World reports that Dell is finally going to sell laptops with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed.. This will make switching to Linux easier than easy for all sorts of people. And for those who already use Linux, it’ll be so nice to buy a laptop that doesn’t come with an unwanted version of [...]
The Face of the $100 Laptop
Posted in computer stuff on Mar 2nd, 2007
From Business Week: The Face of the $100 Laptop.
The so-called $100 laptop that’s being designed for school children in developing nations is known for its bright green and white plastic shell, its power-generating hand crank, and for Nicholas Negroponte, the technology futurist who dreamed it up and who tirelessly promotes it everywhere from Bangkok to [...]
Developing nations to test new $150 laptops
Posted in Linux, computer stuff on Feb 16th, 2007
From Reuters: Developing nations to test new $150 laptops.
From Brazil to Pakistan, some of the world’s poorest children will peer across the digital divide this month — reading electronic books, shooting digital video, creating music and chatting with classmates online.
Founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology academics, the non-profit "One Laptop per Child" project will roll [...]
Action video games sharpen vision
Posted in computer stuff on Feb 11th, 2007
From the University of Rochester: Action Video Games Sharpen Vision 20 Percent.
Video games that contain high levels of action, such as Unreal Tournament, can actually improve your vision.
Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that people who played action video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month improved [...]