Jan 20

David’s links of the week January 10th through January 15th:

  • Why Vista’s DRM Is Bad For You – quot;Windows Vista includes an array of quot;featuresquot; that you don#039;t want. These features will make your computer less reliable and less secure. They#039;ll make your computer less stable and run slower. They will cause technical support problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of your peripheral hardware and existing software. And these features won#039;t do anything useful. In fact, they#039;re working against you. They#039;re digital rights management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of the entertainment industry. quot;
  • http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/09/tweetbacks-plugin-for-wordpress/ -
  • The Ever Expanding Universe in Modern Cosmology – Since 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, here is something I thought I’d pull out of my personal archive. It is a dissertation I wrote for the third year of my MPhys, reviewing achievements in cosmology between 1916 and 1999. I invite everyone who reads this to add any achievements in cosmology since then in the comments!
  • Laying Schrödinger’s Cat to rest – We’re talking about Quantum Physics today, and how one of the most difficult to understand concepts is made twice as confusing as is necessary by one of the most poular popular-science gedankenexperiments (that’s German for “thought experiment”). If you don’t know about Schrödinger’s Cat, then this post probably isn’t for you. Although if you are a fan of physics or popular science (for which I applaud you), then read on.Firstly, I’m going to outline what the “Schrödinger’s Cat” gedankenexperiment is actually meant to demonstrate, then once we understand that, I’ll look at what’s wrong with how the gedankenexperiment is presented to the public.
  • Turn your thumb drive into your digital lifeboat Part 2 – Last time we ended with showing you how to encrypt your thumb drive. Now we’ll resume and show you how to make using encryption a little less inconvenient.
  • Top five Security #038; Privacy extensions for Firefox – Following on from last week, this is my top five security amp; privacy extensions for Firefox.
  • Turn your thumb drive into your digital lifeboat Part 1 – This is a series showing you how you can load up a basic USB thumb drive with some practical tools which will ensure you can keep your data safe from theft and hard drive failure.
  • Top 5 most useful Firefox extensions – If you’re not already using it, hopefully you’ll be aware of the Firefox web browser. One of it’s killer features is that you can add “extensions” to expand it’s functionality. For the next two weeks I’m going to post a list of extensions that I think you should use. This week, I’ll post up extensions I use that are just generally useful. Next week, I’ll post up extensions that are for your privacy and security.
  • How to become an e-mail ninja – Part 3 – Okay this is due to a Google video I watched of a talk given by Merlin Mann, about “Inbox Zero (Google video)” (which I’ll show you at the end of this series), you can download the audio here (MP3 59Minutes 40MB). I’m not going to rehash the whole talk, but listening to this really changed the way I have looked at e-mail. (He talks a lot more about time management than I do).
  • How to become an e-mail ninja – Part 2 – Picking up from where we left off last time. If you use POP mail and need to access old messages when you’re away from home, you can’t because it’s all stored inside your home computer!So, if you need to access your e-mail when you’re not at home, the alternative of web mail would seem to be the solution. However, if you want to have a home copy of your e-mail for back up purposes and for off-line access too, then web mail is no help.
  • How to become an e-mail ninja – Part 1 – We all depend on e-mail these days, most of the world runs on it. It’s definitely something we all take for granted, although it’s a lot more complicated than most of us realise. This series of posts will cover the pro’s and cons of whether you should download it to your home computer or keep it in the cloud and also how to keep on top of your e-mail, and not let your e-mail get on top of you!Part 1 discusses the good and bad points of getting your mail downloaded to your home computer. Part 2 goes into more sophisticated methods that allow you to have your e-mail stored at home, but still accessible from anywhere. Part 3 then talks about how you process your incoming e-mail and keep your inbox from overflowing!

Dec 31

Last year, I made a post on my LiveJournal, with my predictions for what the tech world had in store for us through 2008. Given that today is New Year’s Eve, I thought it would be a good time to review my predictions!

Here’s a summary of my list; underlined are the ones I think I got right:

  1. There will be a successful Linux phone
  2. Microsoft will extend support for XP
  3. The bandwidth draught of 2008
  4. Some computer builders to drop desktop PC’s and focus only on laptops
  5. Google will make a chat bot which will answer all your search questions
  6. There will be a Facebook killer
  7. DRM free music sales will take over DRM music sales
  8. Wireless chargers will trickle through, at last
  9. Green computing will become a big issue
  10. Some TV shows will be available on-line before they are broadcast on TV

So, my predictions were about 40% accurate. :-)

There was a Linux phone, the G1, based on Google’s “Android” platform. Sure it may be early to call it a success, but it’s had plenty of attention on the tech press.

Microsoft did indeed grant XP a six month stay of execution, by means of extending the “Vista Business downgrade” loop hole.

DRM free music world wide really took off this year. In the UK alone, we now have four major DRM free music stores: Tesco Digital, Play.com, 7digital and Amazon.

Green computing is an issue, particularly with the super efficient “Atom” CPU’s found in netbooks.

I was disappointed about the wireless chargers. We were seeing lots of prototypes and hearing lots of talk during 2007, but come 2008 it all went quiet.

So there we have it, looking back on what actually happened in 2008, it’s been a heck of a roller coaster ride in the tech world. Because the circumstances of the global economy are now so different, and so many unpredictable things before the economy tanked, I am not making any predictions for 2009. I think it’s all too tough to call.

Okay, okay, I will make one call for 2009. I hereby predict that all of the big-name “Web 2.0″ social media sites (such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Flickr, etc) will survive the global recession.

Lastly, 2008 saw the launch of this, the fourth incarnation of my personal website. I have been pleasanty surprised with the traffic it has received. While still modest, it’s more than I hoped for. So thank you to everyone who stops by to read this, I am grateful, and I hope you’ll stick with me as I find more to write about in the next 12 months.

Sincerely,
David.R.Gilson

Oct 25

These are my links for October 25th from 12:12 to 18:39:

  • http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/23/50-beautiful-blog-designs/ – There are things one can do a number of times without worrying about becoming boring. For instance, collecting and showcasing excellent blog designs. In this post we do it already the fifth time. Why? Web design lives in blogs; new developments appear there, that’s where the music plays. And that’s where you need to look for in order to keep up with current trends and developments.
  • 9 Must-Have OpenOffice Extensions – Like Firefox, OpenOffice also comes with extensions that you can use to improve its functionality. Here, we have tested all the extensions and sorted out those that are useful for everyday use. Some of them are for general use while some are only meant for Writer, Calc or Impress. (For those who haven’t heard about OpenOffice before, it’s a popular free alternative to Microsoft Office)
  • 4 Websites for Great Wordpress Themes -
  • Tips Sites For Finding Freelance Blogging Work (Part Two) – One of the wonderful qualities of the web is that anyone can put their content out there for everyone to see. This means YOU! Of course you probably already knew that. What you might be interested to know is that there are literally thousands of people out there willing to pay you to do it
  • Tips Sites For Finding Freelance Blogging Work (Part One) – Since replacing my part-time job with paid blogging, people frequently ask me “How do I get into blogging?” Well the answer is clearly a complicated one, but hopefully I can give you a few tips to get you going in the right direction.
  • How To: How to Use Dropbox as the Ultimate Password Syncer – Cross-platform application Dropbox may be great at syncing regular old files and folders over the internet and to the web, but with a little ingenuity, you can use this free software to ensure important application data stays in sync no matter what computer you#039;re using. With the right setup, you can sync your passwords over the internet so you#039;ve always got access to the latest versions of your secure passwords no matter where you are. Keep reading to find out how.
  • 3 Easy Tools to Record Streaming Music as MP3 Files – As a kid I spent hours recording tunes from the radio. I would even call to request songs and I hated DJ’s that chatted into the songs, making them worthless. My collection of music cassettes grew steadily. Growing up I started buying CD’s until I had internet access. From there on my need for hard drive space grew massively. Those were the days.Today, it doesn’t take a lot of time and effort to obtain legal MP3’s, but it does take some good tools. Here are three different programs to record streaming audio (i.e. from online radio).
  • Linux: Make Your Linux Desktop More Productive – Apple has convinced millions that they can make the switch from Windows to OS X, but those curious about Linux have to see for themselves if they can work or play on a free desktop. The short answer is that, for most halfway tech-savvy people who aren#039;t hardcore gamers, yes, you can. There are positively addictive productivity apps available for Linux, along with tools to make switching between Linux and other systems easy, or just running Windows programs themselves if you need to. Today we#039;re detailing a Linux desktop that helps you move quickly, work with Windows, and just get things done; read on for a few suggestions on setting it up.
  • Best of the forums this week: Steve Jobs to retire? – Crave at CNET.co.uk – ven Google didn#039;t escape the hate. David Gilson expressed his palpable fear of the Google ecosystem, claiming: quot;While I would bet my life that Google is a far more philanthropic organisation than Apple is, I kind of view their ecosystem with a similar eye. Whatever OS you#039;re using, you don#039;t have to use the Google ecosystem, although if you do, you#039;re totally dependant on them. This is why I actually avoid using Google services… so I#039;m definitely not going to jump at using a Google browser.quot;
  • Kohjinsha SX: Netbook in integrated DVD drive shocker – Last week, someone in the forums asked if anyone made a netbook with an integrated DVD drive. quot;No,quot; we replied, in a fit of ignorance, quot;that#039;s not possible.quot; But David Gilson, another forum user, proved us very wrong.
  • QA: Symbian’s switch to open source | News – Wireless – CNET News – Symbian, the U.K.-based maker of the world#039;s most popular smartphone operating system, is going through big changes.As well as being taken over by Nokia, the company is preparing to convert its closed code into open source.

    ZDNet.co.uk caught up with Symbian#039;s research chief, David Wood, at this week#039;s Symbian Smartphone Show at Earls Court in London, to discuss the complications of such a process, as well as what the next few years hold for smartphone technology.

  • 7digital to go completely DRM-free: MP3s from all major labels – Crave at CNET.co.uk – Crave confidently expects 7digital to announce next week that it has acquired the rights to sell Sony BMG#039;s catalogue of DRM-free music downloads, making it the first UK download store to offer MP3 downloads from every major record label.
  • Screenshot Tour: A First Look at OpenOffice.org 3.0 – Look at that screenshot on the right. Just look at that. That’s Karbon (the KDE vector drawing application) running on an N810.This beautiful person has built (and made a repository available) KOffice on Maemo devices (Nokia N810, etC)
  • KOffice running on Maemo (N810) – Look at that screenshot on the right. Just look at that. That’s Karbon (the KDE vector drawing application) running on an N810.This beautiful person has built (and made a repository available) KOffice on Maemo devices (Nokia N810, etC)
  • Linux: Why Lifehacker Readers Switched to Linux – We asked the devoted Linux users, the dual-Windows-and-Linux-booters, and the newer converts to the open-source operating system last week why they made the switch to Linux, and received over 330 responses as of this posting. The answers were sometimes level-headed, often passionate in their embrace of open-source culture, and occasionally induced a laugh (or a cringe) with tales of the last straw before switching. Read on for a look at why a good number of Lifehacker readers took the time to learn, customize, and adopt to Linux.
  • Shifting Mind » Postalicious – Postalicious is a WordPress plugin that automatically posts your delicious, ma.gnolia, Google Reader, Reddit, or Yahoo Pipes bookmarks to your blog. The exact details of how your bookmarks are posted is very customizable and is designed to meet your specific needs. Postalicious uses the psuedo-cron functionality introduced in WordPress 2.1 to schedule automatic hourly updates. If you do not have WordPress 2.1 or later installed, you will still be able to use Postalicious, but you will have to perform the updates manually.

Sep 24

According to an article on The Register, EA has climbed down significantly on it’s DRM stance with Spore.

However, take a look at this quote from a post on the Spore forums.

SecuROM as been discussed and discussed so much and it causes arguments in threads. If you want to talk about DRM SecuROM then please use another fansite forum. If there is any change you will be able to read it on the official Spore site.

Please do not continue to post theses thread or you account may be at risk of banning which in some cases would mean you would need to buy a new copy to play Spore.

They’re taking flak for a DRM scheme that effectively made people rent a game instead of owning it. They then threaten to take the game away from people who want to talk about how displeased they are about said DRM.

Yeah, really smart move. I am sure that move will generate all the good will they deserve.

Sep 22

I have just Dugg four stories related to the controversy over Spore’s DRM. I’m posting about this, as Spore was a game I was looking forwards to for much of it’s development time, as were thousands of others. Although, I knew there was a shadow on the horizon given that Electronic Arts were the publishers, given my past experience of the company.

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