Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Building disaster into the network: how UK.gov does IT | The Register
Building disaster into the network: how UK.gov does IT | The Register
A discussion of why the DWP system crash happened - and why it will almost certainly happen again.
A discussion of why the DWP system crash happened - and why it will almost certainly happen again.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Punishing bad grammar
EducationGuardian.co.uk | News crumb | Pupils face penalties for bad grammar
. . . any connection to this . . .
Techdirt:Will Teaching Kids To Write Infringe On MS Patent?
. . . any connection to this . . .
Techdirt:Will Teaching Kids To Write Infringe On MS Patent?
BBC Radio Streams
BBC Radio Streams - excellent, and pretty full list.
J-Walk Blog:? Designer Eyepatches
J-Walk Blog:? Road Rage Cards
Slashdot | Another Internet2 Speed Record Broken
Wired News: Wikipedia Creators Move Into News
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Slashdot | User-centric GUI Design Explained to All
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
J-Walk Blog:? Self-Esteem Game
Foreigners Around the World
Don't view this if you are easily offended.
Foreigners Around the World - classic P J O'Rourke lambasting of other nations - from 1976, National Lampoon mag and VERY un-PC.
Foreigners Around the World - classic P J O'Rourke lambasting of other nations - from 1976, National Lampoon mag and VERY un-PC.
DIY fingerprint idea thwarts ID thieves | The Register
Slashdot | Home-made Portable PlayStation 2
Slashdot | Home-made Portable PlayStation 2 - brilliant.
The Stirling engine poised for a breakout?
The Stirling engine poised for a breakout?
Perhaps these will see better development soon - links to explanations as well.
Perhaps these will see better development soon - links to explanations as well.
Antisocial Antics - The best guide to avoiding people
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Boing Boing: Color laser printers add hidden ID number to print-outs
Monday, November 22, 2004
Spyware removal tools : Page 1
Boing Boing: Internet "Hopkin" meme unravelled
Sunday, November 21, 2004
The Invisibility Game!
The Invisibility Game! - flash game where you navigate a maze with the pointer and your mouse - only you can't see the pointer.
Why I don't do tech support for family and friends
A nice thread on Slashdot - about what s/w you'd take home for 'Thanksgiving' to fix the relatives computers.
Further down is one message which includes the following that is worth keeping here:
I stopped doing that stuff years ago. It just ain't worth the hassle.
Typical genuine scenarios that have contributed to my attitude...
Further down is one message which includes the following that is worth keeping here:
I stopped doing that stuff years ago. It just ain't worth the hassle.
Typical genuine scenarios that have contributed to my attitude...
- as you've mentioned, folks whining for help before even attempting to solve their own problem
- when they stop offering any kind of token reward or payment (some never offer anything in the first place), regardless of whether you normally accept such gifts. It's not so bad if it's a two minute job, but some of these morons are so convinced of your passion for IT
problem-solving that they think it's perfectly reasonable for you to spend half a day in their spare room without so much as a cup of tea and a biscuit - when they start recommending you to their friends and handing out your number
- when they start with "my neighbour's brother is having trouble..."
- when the "problem" is clearly a veiled request for you to obtain a pirated copy of AutoCAD for them
- "My graphics card has gone faulty. You must have done something to it when you upgraded my hard drive in March" (i.e. they want you to buy and fit them a new card, cos it's your fault that it's busted)
- asking for advice and then ignoring it ("don't buy it at Dixons", "You'll need more memory than that", "D-Link sucks", "Ethernet is better
than USB for networking", "You should really have some Antivirus", etc.) - "Selective memory" when, after ignoring your advice, they experience an expensive problem
- when they call you at 21:30 on Christmas Eve with a computer problem
- they decide to save money by building their own system, except that they want you to spec it up, price it up, order the bits (they'll pay you back once it's working), take delivery of the bits and, of course, build it
- you get into the office and find that some ancient filthy hulk of a home PC has been deposited on your desk chair - with a note vaguely
describing a problem, specifying the day that it needs to be fixed by, and warning you against losing any of their (unspecified) data. Lots of
exclamation marks, and a smiley face at the bottom - when they happen to be a millionaire but they won't upgrade their Amstrad 1640 and dot matrix printer
- they start forwarding every hoax virus warning to you, merely adding a "?" to the top
- they want you to arrange for them to no longer receive any spam
- they show up unannounced at the front door brandishing a laptop that they found at some car boot sale or something. They invite themselves in
and won't leave until you take a look at it. It almost seems to be your fault when it turns out to be missing some vital part - you know, like
the charger or the battery. They get mad at *you* when you tell them how much the replacement part is likely to cost for their lovely "new" £10 laptop - they haven't got a CD burner, but they know that you have
- they *have* got a burner, but can't be arsed to learn how to work Nero
- they have access to at least a dozen spotty little geeks who are capable of hooking their new Deskjet up, but they still come to you
- they have a novel requirement - say ripping-off audio tapes to CD and scanning, resizing and printing the case inserts. You know that if you
listen to them, it'll suddenly be up to you to do all the research on the hardware required, pirate the software, make it all work, write step-by-step instructions, and be available on the phone the first ten times they try to do it - describing an apparently easy-to-fix problem in order to get you to visit, then revealing the true, massive, extent of the task once you're
onsite
Saturday, November 20, 2004
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | UK timekeepers get very precise
A PC in the toaster? How mod! | CNET News.com
Penny Arcade - John Gabriels Theory
John Gabriels Theory - the greater internet fuckwad. (Posted to the past to move away from front page viewing)
Friday, November 19, 2004
UK data protection laws are 'chaotic' | The Register
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | A typical Briton: uptight but witty
Paper airplane - The best paper airplane in the world!
Paper airplane - The best paper airplane in the world! - have I linked to this before?
Boing Boing: Adventure game responses to cursing
Slashdot | Largest Digital Photograph in the World
Slashdot | Largest Digital Photograph in the World - this is a BIG picture - gigapixels in size.
Monday, November 15, 2004
J-Walk Blog:? Hollow Face Illusion
J-Walk Blog:? Hollow Face Illusion
Illusion(s) to do with the way we view a hollow 'face'. Links to 2 videos which show this well - Hollow Face Illusion and Dragon Illusion.
Illusion(s) to do with the way we view a hollow 'face'. Links to 2 videos which show this well - Hollow Face Illusion and Dragon Illusion.
Slashdot | DIY LED-Illuminated Sleep Chamber
Wired News: Dark Side of the Band
Boffins unleash robotic cockroach | The Register
Sunday, November 14, 2004
J-Walk Blog:? Illusive Reality
How to fine tune, fix your hard drive
Inquirer article - How to fine tune, fix your hard drive - includes a LEGO link as well.
US election - red-blue states - average IQ
Apparently serious thoughts about voting habits and why certain states voted Bush rather than Kerry:
Voting and IQ
Snopes - Urban Legends site - debunks it all:
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Fool Me Twice)
Some discussion about the red-blue and IQ chart on Snopes:
snopes.com: discussion thread
Voting and IQ
Snopes - Urban Legends site - debunks it all:
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Fool Me Twice)
Some discussion about the red-blue and IQ chart on Snopes:
snopes.com: discussion thread
BBC NEWS | Technology | How to smash a home computer
This is really about people doing silly things to and with their computers - BBC NEWS | Technology | How to smash a home computer
Cardstacker
Found via J-Walk - yes, it's CardStacker - the guy who stacks cards higher than you'd ever think.
Cardstacker.com - Home
Cardstacker.com - Home
Saturday, November 13, 2004
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Search wars - which is the best?
A very timely comparison of search engines by the Beeb.
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Search wars - which is the best?
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Search wars - which is the best?
Photoshop Contests - If Pirates Ruled the World
If Pirates Ruled the World - an excellent gallery of entries to this contest.
Slashdot | Making Holograms In The Kitchen
Friday, November 12, 2004
SMART 1 - Probe arrives at Moon's gateway
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Probe arrives at Moon's gateway
Guardian Unlimited | Life | European scientists envisage robotic village on moon
Guardian Unlimited | Life | European scientists envisage robotic village on moon
Slashdot | How Computers Work... in 1971
Boing Boing: Jeopardy winner wagers $1337
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Boing Boing: 21st century googie: a house built around a cylinder
Photos: Pocket-size PCs | CNET News.com
J-Walk Blog:? Large-Type Keyboard
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
J-Walk Blog:? Thinking Machine
J-Walk Blog:? Thinking Machine - chess-playing java-interface which shows the moves it is thinking about. Bit slow though.
Fuck the South
J-Walk Blog:? The Snail Shell System
Boing Boing: Embarrassing sweater gallery
J-Walk Blog:? Payphones
Monday, November 08, 2004
Boing Boing: Vintage glasses-frames at decent prices
Which is better: Microdrive or flash memory?
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Boing Boing: Special-purpose clubbing phone
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Boing Boing: Save Canada's Internet from WIPO
Boing Boing: Save Canada's Internet from WIPO - Cory is in form today - this isn't just about Canada - good description of what's wrong with Internet censorship/control at the moment.
Boing Boing: Brands aren't worth as much as we thought
Boing Boing: Brands aren't worth as much as we thought - maybe the end of slavishly following the latest trends too - perhaps not.
Top tech nations revealed | The Register
Top tech nations revealed | The Register - good link to interactive IDC site.
BBC develops Welsh-English tooltip translator | The Register
BBC develops Welsh-English tooltip translator | The Register - this looks like it will have many wider uses.
Processor Fabrication
Sudhian Media - Processor Fabrication - how a CPU is made - rather dry article.
There's always the Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics - detailed as well as pix of the girl for those who can't cope.
There's always the Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics - detailed as well as pix of the girl for those who can't cope.
Friday, November 05, 2004
You Can't Fool All The People All The Time
J-Walk Blog:? Put Up A Sign
J-Walk Blog:? Put Up A Sign - some good joke signs for work etc.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Gastronomica | Chunky Soup: The Sumotori Diet
Gastronomica | Chunky Soup: The Sumotori Diet - eat like a Sumo wrestler.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Epson uses inkjet technology to create world's first 20-layer, ultra-thin circuit board
Schoolboy query taxed British officials for years. 02/11/2004. ABC News Online
Monday, November 01, 2004
J-Walk Blog:? Folding A Shirt Revisited
J-Walk revisits the shirt-folding stuff. Good links. Nice video (in Japanese). Quite nifty.
J-Walk Blog:? Folding A Shirt Revisited
"Some of you may remember that spiffy shirt-folding technique that I linked to back in May. More on the subject from ReadyMade: Four Laundry Experts Judge a Neat New Trick."
J-Walk Blog:? Folding A Shirt Revisited
"Some of you may remember that spiffy shirt-folding technique that I linked to back in May. More on the subject from ReadyMade: Four Laundry Experts Judge a Neat New Trick."
Electoral Vote Predictor site
A link from the Lawrence Lessig (Creative Commons) blog - Electoral Vote Predictor site - is to a ste using Excel data to track the 2004 Presidential Election. Interesting.
