January 2009
58 posts
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Apple vs. Palm →
In a fascinating analysis of each product’s user interface, Engadget shows how Apple’s iPhone and Palm’s forthcoming Pre phone each appear to be violating patents of the other company. (Via Daring Fireball)
Hopefully, the companies will cross-license their patents. Palm is the only company that appears to be making a true competitor of the iPhone. All the others are also-rans....
Are 'Netbook' Laptops the Next Hit Cell Phones? →
AT&T (and other wireless providers) are looking to increase their customer base by subsidizing cheap and small netbook laptops in exchange for 2 year cellular data contracts. For instance, an Acer netbook sells for only $99 with contract at Radio Shack. After the huge success of Apple’s and AT&T’s collaboration for the iPhone, AT&T would love to get back in bed with an...
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Better Web Browsing Without Flash
If you use a Mac, there’s a great new Internet browser plug-in that improves browser stability by preventing the automatic launch of Adobe Flash, the technology that underlies many splash pages, video pages, and ads. Flash on the Mac is particularly computer intensive, and often causes the browser to freeze. (Adobe has optimized Flash for Windows so that it is much less intensive and more...
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Despite Red Ink, Wall St. Paid $18 Billion in... →
The government is going to investigate the financial companies that paid big bonuses despite receiving federal handouts. (N.Y. Times)
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White House Loosens Its Buttoned-Up Style →
I think I’m in love with the new president. He’s more concerned with substance and being real than with style. (N.Y. Times)
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Obama Visits G.O.P. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill →
Obama reaches out to Republicans who don’t want to spend money on the stimulus plan by visiting them on the Hill, which the N.Y. Times calls “unusual for coming so early in his term, almost exactly a week after his inauguration.”
The Republicans are fine with spending trillions on unfounded war, but when it comes to spending on America, forget it. Plus, the main sticking point...
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Pope Reinstates Four Excommunicated Bishops →
“Pope Benedict XVI, reaching out to the far-right of the Roman Catholic Church, revoked the excommunications of four schismatic bishops on Saturday, including one whose comments denying the Holocaust have provoked outrage.” (N.Y. Times)
This is a shame.
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Approaching Brecht, by Way of Africa →
“Ruined” is an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children.” (N.Y Times)
I would love to see this play.
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Conyers Subpoenas Rove: Time to Talk About US... →
John Conyers, the Chair of the House Judiciary is pushing forward with the investigation of the Bush Administration’s role in politically-motivated firing of US Attorneys. (Talking Points Memo)
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U.S. Must Investigate Rumsfeld for War Crimes →
The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture said on CNN Monday that “Rumsfeld clearly authorized torture methods.” The Rapporteur, Manfred Nowak, said the United States has an “obligation” to investigate this, and he has passed his recommendation on to the United Nations. (The Progressive)
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Obama’s Reagan Transformation? →
Echoing my earlier comment on the parallels of Reagan and Obama, Lou Cannon, who has written five books on Reagan, also sees parallels. He thinks Obama should concentrate on the economy for now. (N.Y. Times)
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A Low-Tech Treatment for Bee Plague →
We need a common sense solution to the bee plague that threatens our food supply: Set aside land for bee sanctuaries so that farming relies less on “bees for rent.” (N.Y. Times)
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Neave Television →
Awesome video clips from Paul Neave. You should also check out the rest of his site as well. (via the Hal Project)
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How About a Stimulus for Financial Advice? →
People need to make better financial decisions. How can we make that possible? One possibility is subsidized financial advice. (N.Y. Times)
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Survivor IQ Quiz →
This survey is more curiosity than useful, but it’s fun. I’m a “Thinker” Survivor Type who can ”see problems clearly, using intelligence and creativity to overcome adversity, relying on [my] brain to meet challenges.” (Ben Sherwood/StepChange Group via N.Y. Times)
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“Up to 30 percent of the deaths in plane crashes are preventable if passengers...”
– Ben Sherwood in Who Survives a Plane Crash? (N.Y. Times)
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Worlds Collide in a Single Face →
“The Art of Two Germanys” opens at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (N.Y. Times)
It sounds like a fascinating exhibition.
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Henry Hudson’s View of New York →
Unlike other Europeans who were fleeing religious persecution or were intent on imposing — through violence when necessary — their own beliefs, the Dutch came to America to make money. Those who enlisted in that endeavor and did not disturb the peace of New Amsterdam, the name the Dutch gave their colony, were welcome. This helped form many of the values that we think of as American. (N.Y....
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'Via' vs. 'From'
The cardinal rule (borrowed from journalism) of any communication is that you consider the source, and it should be as close to prime as possible. Information from secondary sources is always more suspect, or at least it warrants additional consideration.
That’s why when I link to something, I always disclose the source, usually in parentheses for the reader’s convenience. If I heard...
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Court Reaffirms Marriages of Lesbian and Gay New... →
Marriages performed outside of New York will be recognized inside the state thanks to a court case from my hometown of Rochester, New York. (N.Y. Civil Liberties Union via Towleroad)
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Bush Lied: Government Spied on All of Us →
The National Security Agency (NSA) collected every electronic communication (phone, fax, and computer) of every American 24 hours a day for years under the Bush administration according to an NSA whistleblower. (MSNBC via Towleroad)
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Fitness Isn’t an Overnight Sensation →
Getting in shape takes months of work. (N.Y. Times)
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Flush Those Toxins! (or Not) →
There is no scientific evidence that you need to flush toxins out of your body. They are excreted naturally. (N.Y. Times)
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Soldiers and Protesters, Seeking Common Ground →
Support our troops; bring them home! (N.Y. Times)
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There's No One as Irish as Barack O'Bama →
“Some of Barack Obama’s family emigrated from County Offaly, Ireland in 1850 and lately inspired an Irish pop song, ‘There’s No One as Irish as Barack O’Bama.’” (N.Y. Times)
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Portrait of Change: In First Family, a Nation’s... →
“The family that produced Barack and Michelle Obama is black and white and Asian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish. They speak English; Indonesian; French; Cantonese; German; Hebrew; African languages including Swahili, Luo and Igbo; and even a few phrases of Gullah, the Creole dialect of the South Carolina Lowcountry.” (N.Y. Times)
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Our First Black President - It's Not Obama →
Nate Silver, the genius polling analyst, argues that Obama may be the first urban president. Bill Clinton may be the first black one. (Esquire via Five Thirty Eight)
In a Saturday Night Live skit a few weeks ago, “Hillary Clinton” called her husband the first black president. Now, we see that it’s no joke!
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Hello Mr. President
A few comments on President Obama’s Inauguration today:
Obama reminded me of the best professors when he took a step back in his speech to examine the big picture — what America is about at its core. This day isn’t about him or our politics but about America returning to its roots. It’s about making a better world for everyone — American and non-American alike.
The...
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A Retrospective of the Bush Era in Numbers →
Thank God it’s over! (Harper’s Weekly via Daring Fireball)
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Gay but Equal? →
We need a new civil rights commission to be the “conscience of the government.” (N.Y. Times)
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At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the... →
It’s about time that large lecture classes are rethought. The problem is that it costs a lot of money. (N.Y. Times)
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Politicized Hiring at Justice Dept. →
Because justice isn’t supposed to be politicized, right? (N.Y. Times)
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Why House Calls Save Money →
It may be time to bring house calls and other innovations back to American health care. (N.Y. Times)
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A Tactic to Cut I.C.U. Trauma: Get Patients Up →
Doctors are studying whether getting I.C.U. patients up may improve their long-term recovery. (N.Y. Times)
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Will Someone Please Invent iTunes for News? →
It’s time for Apple or Amazon to invent an iTunes Store for newspapers and magazines. (N.Y. Times)
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Ideas for Obama →
Paul Krugman advocates that the economic bailout plan include long-term investments in addition to the quick, “jump-start” ones. (N.Y. Times)
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Wedgwood, Innovation Lost, Is Going Bankrupt →
Wedgwood, one of the true innovators of the past 250 years, lost its edge and is now going bankrupt. (N.Y. Times)
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Roland Burris and St. Augustine →
You shouldn’t have to be a saint in order to be a proper office-holder. (N.Y. Times)
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Fear Factor in the Workplace →
How anxieties over job security are affecting workers. (N.Y. Times)
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Atheists Send a Message, on 800 British Buses →
“There’s probably no God,” the advertisements say. “Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” (N.Y. Times)
I like how “probably” leaves open the possibility of God. And who can argue with “Now stop worrying and enjoy your life?”
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A Hard Habit to Break, Even With Gas at $10 a... →
This article is from last August, but it’s still relevant. In Europe, despite $10 a gallon gas prices, people are still driving a lot. Part of the problem is that many people’s lives are entirely structured around the car. People live far from work, mass transit needs improvements, etc. (N.Y. Times)