Plastic Logic

Just saw some info on this new e-paper product from Plastic Logic.  This is good; a step in the right direction.  It seems like it has been years that people have been talking about e-paper and e-book readers, and there are several out there, but they are pricey and still don't seem to have great usability.  I'm going to keep an eye on this one (still some glitches apparent in the presentation in that company link).  If someone comes up with a good reader, I'll definitely look into buying on.  I do still love the physicalness of a real book, but this looks like a great way to carry around several, and to access other document types as well.

Here's some more video of the device at the DEMO convention earlier this week:

(remember to buy Brian's products from Zazzle!)

A lot of fish, bubbles, customer service, monitors, laterals, music

Here's a little link potpourri for you on:

• Plentyoffish: 1-man company might be worth $1 Billion. OK, that's impressive. In the article you find that he recently hired a second person.
• Bubblewrap, now in electronic form! And it is refreshable, so you can pop it over and over.
• The Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back. I haven't read through all of it yet, but looks like it might be a good resource for those unfortunate times when you don't get the service you need.
• Make the most of dual monitors. Some neat tips and freebies for those of us with two (or more) monitors.
• I'll close with a couple videos:
• Here was an amazing football clip showing a great (but unusual) use of laterals:
• And this last one... all I can say is brilliant:
• 
  

IT vision, student vision, future vision, bleak vision

Here's a small set of items for today:

• 10 little secrets you should know about working in IT - as an IT person myself, I saw some truth in these, though I thought it was a bit pessimistic.
• A Vision of Students Today (YouTube video) - I thought this was an interesting class project, but I'm not entirely sure the point they were trying to make, if any. I'm guessing it was that classes are too impersonal, but there was a little bit of students-are-slackers-that-don't-pay-attention-or-study in there too.
• The Smartest Futurist on Earth - a short article on Ray Kurzweil (someone most IT geeks have probably heard of already). His vision of the future is fascinating, and I'd like to hear more about the ethical aspects of how these technologies would be applied.
• Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time - This is a good list for fans of this type of movie (like me), but I completely agree with several of the posters that the author is really loosely using the term "dystopian". Many of the movies don't belong on the list.
  

Misery, email comprehension, year 2000, einstein

Hi there! Here's a random variety of things:

• 7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable - an article from Cracked.com that has some nice insights and food for thought (and some not suitable for work/rated R language).
• From that article, I also linked over to this one about why emails are so easily misunderstood. Another interesting one that puts a pretty low rate of actually comprehending emails correctly.
• Paleo-Future has another good find with these 1910 French postcards that depicted what life in the year 2000 would be like.
• Check out this amazing speedpainting of Albert Einstein (4 hours condensed to 3.5 minutes).
  

Monkey business, plumber problems, future visions

Hello there. Here are some stories for you to review:

• That whole hundred monkeys on a hundred typewriters thing? Probably not likely to produce the works of Shakespeare.
• Rookie plumber burns down $12 million mansion on his first day. Now that is sure to affect his performance review.
• AT&T "Visions of the Future" videos from 1993 (see links to parts 1 through 6 below). I actually remember seeing this way back when and thinking it was cool. Now I just mourn that it hasn't materialized or I dread that fashion and hair style will revert in the near future when this tech is available.

Super computers, double standard, double image, kong

Hello! After last week's blizzard, it is starting to actually get nice again here in whitmarshall. Crazy weather this spring. So whether you are huddled in to stay warm, or indoors escaping the heat, here are some links for you:

• Something only the geeks like me will appreciate: Things computers can do in movies.
• With Don Imus gone, critics turn towards rap. I saw another blog post where the author went through the Billboard Hip Hop top ten and found all kinds of examples much worse than what Imus said. I hope this criticism continues, because we've had a double standard for too long. I know rap supporters say that the language reflects the tough life and childhood of the performers, but allowing it in song just spreads that attitude instead of combatting it.
• Hybrid images may possibly creep you out. They are images that change as you distance yourself from the picture. I didn't have a lot of luck backing up to see the changes, but it worked OK if I took my glasses off.
  
• Some Post-It happy fellows at USCS created a work of Donkey Kong art on one of the campus buildings. Go Mario!
  

Feud disease, spy program, power point, robots, spoons

Happy Easter to you! Hope you are enjoying your day.
Here's some quick links:

• Rare, inherited disease may be underlying cause of Hatfield/McCoy feud. That, or the article also mentions inter-marrying. Hmmm.
• Ex-Wal-Mart employee claims he was part of elaborate surveillance program. So that's how they find ways to rollback prices?
• Power Point presentations are bad for your brain. I would like to see this article summarized in several easy slides.
• Finally, robot technology has caught up with our grandest imaginations. Sega's robot chicken.
• Help complete the feeding time illusion with this baby spoon with airplane wings.
  

Sea city, pyramids, senses, four square

Hello,
Here's some stuff to read:

• See the marvelous Sea City of the Future! coming in the year 2000!
• Has the ancient riddle of the Great Pyramids' construction been solved? Interesting new theory.
• Hacking your senses for cool new uses.
  
• Buying a new car? This former car salesman explains how the dealership uses the Four Square to rip you off.
  

Burgers, ads, time, teens, tech

Hello,
Here are some quick links for you today:

• McDonald's tests bigger burger, the Angus Third Pounder. I sure hope they make a Double Third Pounder.
• Subliminal Ads shown to work, or "wasn't this known years ago?". Liminal ads however are more effective - READ BRIAN'S BLOG DAILY.
• Scientists say you can't travel back in time. What a buzzkill! I'll show them! I'll go back and beat them up in high school.
• 73 percent of today's youth ineligible for the Army because they are “are morally, intellectually or physically” unfit for service. Ah, that's reassuring.
• Top 5 future technologies. What? Time travel isn't on the list? I particularly liked the sketch understanding system and touch hardware. Now only if they'd invent robot replacements for today's unfit youth.
  

Dolls, animatronics, pricing practices

Hello,
I'm back from a nice vacation in Florida to find that Minnesota was buried in snow while I was gone. It was nice to avoid the huge storms that hit the Midwest in the last week and a half.

Anyway, I'm watching "The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll" as I write this; I am further convinced that this country is retarded. The "contestants", the dolls themselves, everyone involved, they are all vapid, clueless, two-dimensional people. There is so much focus on the veneer and none on the substance.

A couple quick links:

• Disney reanimates theme parks with "free-roaming, interacting audio-animatronic Muppets capable of 'seeing' and 'talking' without a human puppeteer in sight". Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker are the first up. Please, oh please tell me one of these will be running for president in '08!
• Best Buy web site pricing probed. Apparently there is an in-store employee site that looks like BestBuy.com but with different pricing. I'm a Best Buy shopper (use the RewardZone program) but this sounds awfully shady.
  

Applebee three, hogfather, computer interfaces

Hello!
I went to Applebee's the other night, and the meal was fine. The one thing I don't understand is why, every time I'm there, they have three girls standing by the door. Are they extra employees in case there is a rush? No, because it was busy there last night, but there were still always three or four of them there. They even sometimes send two of them to seat new patrons. So are they trainees? I don't think so, because it is always like that. I'm not sure why a manager would pay for them all to just stand around there. Maybe I don't understand the restaurant business.

Links for today:

• Terry Pratchett Discworld fan? The UK Sky One adaptation of Hogfather is online (not sure how official the links are, though).
• There are some interesting new interface projects out there, like the Bumptop (video on YouTube). I certainly think this one is cool, but I don't really see it as practical.
• Something else is the D'Fusion system of integrating CGI realtime with video. Very cool.

Apple phone, singing, sodium, virtual reality

Hello on this cold January weekend. A small potpourri of links for you today:

• One of the big tech stories recently has been the (currently named) Apple iPhone. Check out Gizmodo's Macworld 2007 iPhone coverage for details and pictures. Pricey, but I got to admit I checked out Cingular's website to find that, alas, they have no service in my area. That's probably for the best; I'd like to see this thing in the real world for a while to see if it lives up to the hype.
• Speaking of the hype, Conan O'Brien's show has captured it in this iPhone parody commercial.
• While we're linking videos, here's a couple more.
• An older one, but still good. Amazing splicing creates George W. Bush singing 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'.
• Here's an even older one; old newsreel footage of the government disposing of sodium by dumping it in a lake. What, didn't they pay attention in chemistry class?

• Lastly, here's an article about businesses embracing virtual reality. It has a mention of the Iowa State University facility. I saw a predecessor of it years ago, but I'm sure the new one is more impressive. (But not as impressive as the iPhone.)
  

Saddam spectacle, fringe economy, apple suits, back taxes

Last post of 2006! Hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's celebration!
A few items to read when you have the day off work tomorrow:

• Saddam execution shown on tv and web (links to a story about this; I'm not linking to any execution footage). I hope I'm not the only one that finds this absolutely horrendous. I will not be looking for this footage. I don't care what you thought of him, I think it is disturbing that anyone would want to watch footage of someone dying. It is vengeful thinking or extreme morbid curiosity. For it to be shown on CNN and Fox is no better, in my opinion, then terrorists floating around videos of killing captives. (And yes, I know those were available on the web too, and that people here would want to watch that makes me sick.) The trial and fact he was executed is certainly news, but that can be covered adequately without showing this footage. I fear it is only a few years before real executions are part of America's reality tv culture. Time to rebuild the Coliseum for gruesome entertainment!
  
• Millions living in America's "fringe economy". Read this if you get a chance, because it was fascinating and sad. It is amazing to think about how much money these people are losing, just in order to survive. It also will further divide the rich from the poor in this country.
• Apple facing more lawsuits: Is iTunes/iPod an illegal monopoly? Does the iBook G4 logic board fail at an unusually high rate? Does the Nike/iPod infringe on patents? Stay tuned in 2007 for the exciting answers!
• Mystery billionaire pays $200M in CA back taxes, almost single-handedly closing their revenue shortfall. That's a lot of tax, and my question is how did the state not know someone owed $200 million?
  

Tough job, expiring leader, apple options

Here's a few more links for you:

• Think your job is bad? This guy was arrested for barring his employees from leaving, under feeding them, and arranging beatings. But what is the health insurance like?
• Saddam to be hanged by Sunday. Or one of his many look-alikes will be hung. Hmmm.
• Questions raised in Apple stock options. But then they gave the investigator iPods and no one cared anymore.
  

Ageless turtles, coicidence, bad hack, vacuum shoes

Hi, just a few items for you today:

• Turtles may be immortal. Bow before the might of Turtle!
• 15 strange coincidences. Includes that tired Lincoln/Kennedy one. The others are interesting, but I wonder how many are just urban myth or stories.
• Logic bomb backfires on hacker and costs him $23,000. Well thought out, sir.
• Electrolux unveils "vacuum shoes" concept. Great, how am I supposed to walk under the coffee tables?
  

Country quiz, seven wonders, scams, txting

Here's a few items for the day:

• World geography quiz; a cool little test that I unfortunately did not do as well at as I'd hoped.
• The Seven Wonders of every US State, of the ones I looked at there are a lot of not so impressive wonders.
• Keep your eyes open for the top 10 scams of the year. I guess I take for granted that some of these scams would be obviously suspicious to most people, but apparently a lot of money is lost to them.
• Text messaging blamed for bad English. I'm totally fine with texting where appropriate, but I think it is disappointing that people can't write more formally, IMHO.