Eee PC

A small laptop at a low price was released lately which indicates how computer use is changing.
The Eee PC by Asus is about the size of an A4 page folded in half.
It sells for US$400. Generally laptops of this size are much more expensive than regular laptops, but prices have fallen and the Eee PC is the first of a new breed of gadget/serious-tool crossovers which will change the market.
The device weighs 900g and runs for 3.5hrs on its battery. It has a 7" screen, WiFi, a USB port, and a webcam (on some models).
There are two reasons it's so cheap: it has no hard drive or CD/DVD drive, and it doesn't include Windows. Data is stored on 4Gb internal memory and the laptop runs a version of Linux. There are options for Windows XP, and more memory (plus you can add your own card), though both of these choices add significantly to the price; also, the 15-second boot-up time would triple under Windows.
The Eee PC is an ideal second computer. There's no way you could fit all your stuff on 4Gb, or live without a DVD drive, or always work with 7" of screen real estate, but if you've ever lugged a 15" laptop around it's tempting to consider a lite option.
These are selling like hot cakes right now. While Asus pitches them at kids and grandparents, it's the nerds who are adopting them early.

For a video walkthrough, YouTube has a demo here.

Link list: videos

Now that broadband is everywhere and data caps (at least in North America) are non-existent, online video is a reality rather than a jerky wait-a-bit ordeal. Here are a few of my favourite video sites.


Funny Or Die [link]
A collection of short comedy clips. The site was started by Will Ferrell, and his skits are probably the best.








The Internet Archive [link]
Thousands of complete films, including 'Reefer Madness', are available here. This is the site that hosts the WayBackMachine, a dead-page preservation tool. Also tens of thousands of audio files, books, and historical stuff.












The Whitest Kids U Know [link]
If you don't think this skit is funny, you are dead inside.

Mike's got one

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Michael has a blog, @

http://troublesontherun.blogspot.com/

I think he's in Cuba or something. For reals.
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-8 degrees overnight.

This picture taken last week, when it was a balmy 6 degrees. It's looking from the end of my road towards downtown. Look at the Calgary Tower, isn't it cute? (It's hiding away at the left.)

Kierkegaard

"The Internet is an amalgam of forms blurred under epistemological pressures. In Søren Kierkegaard’s words, under this flat shower of leveled information, where everybody is interested in everything and nothing is too trivial or too important, people just accumulate information and postpone decisions indefinitely, i.e., nobody takes action and nobody is responsible for truth — there is no mastery, just gossip. He called this the æsthetic sphere of existence, exhorting us to evolve to the ethical sphere, where we do not just accumulate information but take action and make commitments. Blogs are instruments to overcome flatness by creating opportunities for vertical activities."
http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/color/archive/2007/10/29/4914.html