Big switch’s “Where did the computer go?” where?

January 07, 2008

Excerpts: The Big Switch

The following is an excerpt from “Burden’s Wheel,” the first chapter of The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, which is being published today by W. W. Norton & Company.

At a conference in Paris during the summer of 2004, Apple introduced an updated version of its popular iMac computer. Since its debut in 1998, the iMac had always been distinguished by its unusual design, but the new model was particularly striking. It appeared to be nothing more than a flat-panel television, a rectangular screen encased in a thin block of white plastic and mounted on an aluminum pedestal. All the components of the computer itself – the chips, the drives, the cables, the connectors – were hidden behind the screen. The advertising tagline wittily anticipated the response of prospective buyers: “Where did the computer go?” Read the rest of the article at roughtype.com.

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Filed under: Books, Thoughts

“The Tree” – The GIMP’S way

As a GIMP learner, the final drawing has given me a perspective on how to present the GIMP’s graphics manipulation capability for a simple drawing of a tree straight from the book. You can read my first post here.

Level: Beginner
Skills learned: Creating Layers, Using Drawing Tool: Brush, Saving Files with different file extensions, Creating directory and familiarizing  ‘The Toolbox Window”, “The Layers Dialog”, and “The Image Window”.

My proposed process on how to create the FileName:MyTree if ever I would do it again “blind folded”.

Filed under: Beginners, Books, GIMP, Hobbies

Blog About Cool 2007 Books

What caught my attention today was Imran On Tech’s Blog entitled, “The Best Software Books of 2007”, when he mentioned, “Programming Erlang by Joe Armstrong” which then reminds me of the first time I saw the book and later borrowed not because as he puts it,

[…] this is the book that all the cool kids are reading.

but because I found the title funny. Again, I was wrong to think that way, as the adage says “don’t judge the book by its funny cover…” because it was a serious reading.

The book is very much available at the NY Queens Public Library!

Search and Request!

Filed under: Books, Education, Technology

What a reading!

Setting: Washington DC –The White house, November 2007.
The story started with the name Fran Tonwnsend. Her profile goes this way, she was President Bush j.r’s leading White House-based terrorism adviser, a spokesperson, confidant. Accordingly, Fran Townsend did some high profile press conferences, not as high as Karl Rove (ex-Adviser) or Donald Rumsfeld (ex-Defense Secretary) or Alberto Gonzales (ex-Justice man) because frankly the name Fran Townsend didn’t ring a bell to me, not until today. The story ended, like this, ” she too like the others had resigned as the white house terrorism adviser.”
———-
As the leak involving CIA-operative Valerie Plame was fading out in my memory, here comes the Scott McClellan’s book soon to be released, which I found the excerpts interesting, here is what Scott has to say:

“I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president’s chief of staff and the president himself.”

Well, that is just a teaser – a good one, a very effective marketing tool because it stir emotions, create controversy, open old wounds and e.t.c.

Filed under: Books, Thoughts, Updates, news, opinion, politics, reading, Updates

NY 5th Graders Goodluck!

I just remember that the 5th graders Elementary New York State Social Studies test was yesterday(Nov.14) and today(15) –for school year 2007-2008.

The purpose of the Social Studies Assessment test is,

“To assess student progress toward State and City standards in Social Studies”

I know that must be a little hard. I’ve read one of the books. Hey, those are heavy reading and good for your brains.

What I don’t like on that Social Studies book was the print in every frigging page!

Waaz up with the notice — in a Public School? How dare you? But hey, if the law is law what can I do? Even if I wanted to violate I couldn’t. The fifth graders themselves who read the notice (your notice) would remind me that I couldn’t do it because it is against the law.

Filed under: Books, Education, Thoughts