August 2003 Archives

Quote of the day from The Register:

Seamless, auto-updating without user intervention is something that Microsoft has wanted for a long time, as The Reg has frequently pointed out, sometimes without even using words like "evil", "bunch of" and "control-freaks".

Of course, once you get past the venom, this gives a pretty good summary of many of the issues surrounding Microsoft's desire to automatically update Windows installations.

While searching for some information on the failure of the Northeast power grid, I stumbled across an interesting site on previous NYC power outages. The Blackout History Project documents the 1965 and 1977 blackouts; fascinating reading.

Microsoft is planning an improvement to their most valuable innovation of the past decade: Their next generation of mouse wheels will have a tilt function for horizontal scrolling. Gamers will, of course, have their own uses for this new axis of control -- strafing, rotation, etc. My biggest decision will be whether to get the Microsoft model as soon as it hits shelves, or wait a few months for the inevitable Logitech knockoff.

Trying to do some maintenance on the website today; upgrading my Movable Type install, adding some new scripts and new features. I might be doing some odd posting or other things for testing purposes.

As if I didn't already have enough reason to avoid commercial air travel, airport security screeners are being advised to perform closer inspections of personal electronics. As someone who routinely carries a number of gadgets, especially when facing a long wait (such as at an airport), this only increases my dread of security checkpoints. [via Gizmodo]