A bad workman blames his (open source) tools
A car mechanic, generally speaking, knows that Snap-on brand tools are some of the best in the industry and that it takes a proper monkey not to be able to use one of the company’s...
[14 Dec 2009]
Tuesday 15 December 2009, 5:11 PM
Satellites to the rescue
From Tech for Change | On The Road | Add a comment
Tech for Change By Einar Bjorgo Imagine a few years back – cell phones were reserved for a selected few, you could still keep up with your e-mail inbox and official correspondence would go via regular mail – or telefax for the technologically advanced. ... more
Tuesday 15 December 2009, 5:05 PM
Android passes 20,000 apps mark
From Communication Breakdown | News Blog | On The Road | Add a comment
David Meyer There are now more than 20,000 Android applications and games, according to statistics from a site that tracks the platform's marketplace. According to AndroLib, Google's open source mobile platform gained 3,544 new applications and games... more
Tuesday 15 December 2009, 3:57 PM
Steorn's perpetual motion machine. Battery included
From Mixed Signals | News Blog | Add a comment
Rupert Goodwins I didn't get an invite to the grand Steorn unveiling of its Orbo technology, but at the moment the doors were opened to the public in Dublin today, a ZDNet UK reader popped in and started relaying pictures and commentary back to base. Although... more
Tuesday 15 December 2009, 2:59 PM
Vodafone to sell Nokia N900 from January
From Communication Breakdown | On The Road | News Blog | Add a comment
David Meyer Vodafone will carry Nokia's N900 Maemo Linux smartphone from January, the operator announced on Monday. Potential customers can register their interest in the device, which marks a break for the Finnish handset-maker from its standard Symbian... more
Tuesday 15 December 2009, 12:41 PM
Acer TravelMate Timeline 1820p
From ZDNet UK First Take | On The Road | Reviews Blog | Add a comment
First Take I’ve spent a couple of days with a European generic sample of Acer’s upcoming TravelMate Timeline 1820p, and I have to say I’m quite keen to get my hands on a final UK build. The notebook sports an 11.6in. display and, unlike the versions... more
Tuesday 15 December 2009, 12:13 PM
Whither Novell?
From Back office | Add a comment
manek It's hard to avoid the conclusion that Novell still doesn't know what it's for. Recent news that the company has once again re-organised itself, following a fairly abysmal set of financial results, smacks slightly of desperation. Staff have... more
Monday 14 December 2009, 6:30 PM
Steorn sets up for second bite at perpetual cherry
From Mixed Signals | Rupert's Diary | 2 comments
Rupert Goodwins Perpetual motion - a technology so outside the laws of physics that even the patent office refuses to touch it - is back. Or it will be when Steorn, the Emerald Isle's leading proponents of the art, shows off working machines and opens the... more
Monday 14 December 2009, 2:39 PM
Is that a MiFi in your pocket?
From Marginalia | Reviews Blog | On The Road | Add a comment
Sandra Vogel The MiFi has been around for a few months now. It is 3’s answer to the dilemma of not being able to find a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot – you carry your own around with you. Essentially the MiFi is a wireless (Wi-Fi) device with a SIM inside it.... more
Monday 14 December 2009, 12:24 PM
Enjoy Windows 7 theme on Your Nokia Smart Phones
From Windows 7 Geek | Add a comment
gcullen83 Microsoft’s latest operating system – Windows 7 is the best companion for your PC. You are completely in love with this awe-inspiring OS. Every bit of windows 7 is tempting whether it’s theme of functions. True, there is no comparison of... more
Sunday 13 December 2009, 8:02 AM
Personal Financial Management Software for Linux - Continued
From Jamie's Random Musings | Reviews Blog | 3 comments
J.A. Watson During the past week I was able to look at a few more candidates in the Personal Financial Management area, and to gain some experience with the one that I have decided to use for now. Please keep in mind that what I am presenting here is intended... more
Sunday 13 December 2009, 6:24 AM
That Random Coin Toss?
From Daily Insights | 2 comments
timdaily One of my all-time favorite scenes in a play and movie, is the scene in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead where every coin toss comes up heads, leading to a bit of a philosophical discussion on probability. Of course, the randomness... more
Friday 11 December 2009, 7:56 PM
Crowdsourcing for emergency preparedness
From Tech for Change | On The Road | Add a comment
Tech for Change By Gabriele Sani Having multiple resilient and trustworthy communication networks is a key requirement to be able to assess and react to a crisis, and technological developments offer new exciting opportunities to improve situational... more
Friday 11 December 2009, 5:19 PM
Turning the Scrooge
From Moe's SOA & BPM Blog | Add a comment
john.moe@alphacourt.com With the festive season well underway and a distinct financial chill in the air, I thought that I would add to your seasonal cheer with some advice on buying on the cheap. Everyone seems to be looking for a bargain, either to meet their restricted... more
Friday 11 December 2009, 4:56 PM
P is for Politics
From Moe's SOA & BPM Blog | Add a comment
john.moe@alphacourt.com This week's article is brought to you by the letter P. This would usually mean me launching into my usual people and process rant, but today I would like to look at politics. No, don't click off! This is politics with a small "p", so no jokes... more
Friday 11 December 2009, 2:08 PM
The Future of Humanitarian Technologies
From Tech for Change | On The Road | Add a comment
Tech for Change By Patrick Meier I had the distinct pleasure of co-authoring this major new United Nations Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Technology Report with my distinguished colleague Diane Coyle. The report looks at innovation in the use of technology... more
Thursday 10 December 2009, 5:49 PM
Spin the colour wheel
From Web design & FOSS | 1 comment
Jake Rayson My latest project is tidying up a Joomla! CMS web site that was built using Artiseer. This is (proprietary) software designed to easily generate templates for Drupal and Joomla! amongst others. It looks interesting (apart from the sexist twaddle... more
Thursday 10 December 2009, 5:00 PM
McKinnon lawyers seek judicial review
From Security Bullet In | News Blog | Sentry Posts | 1 comment
Tom Espiner Lawyers seeking a judicial review for Nasa hacker Gary McKinnon lodged fresh evidence of his psychiatric state at the High Court on Thursday. Karen Todner, McKinnon's solicitor, said in a press statement that in addition to the medical reports,... more
Thursday 10 December 2009, 4:54 PM
On the Saving Edge: New Tech in Disaster Zones
From Tech for Change | On The Road | Add a comment
Tech for Change By Matthew Cordell A new report commissioned by the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation has found the intersection between two incredible trends -- the significant uptick in disasters worldwide, both man-made and natural, and the brilliance... more
Thursday 10 December 2009, 4:46 PM
UK internet hit by LINX router failure
From Mixed Signals | News Blog | 2 comments
Rupert Goodwins A switch failure in the London Internet Exchange (Linx) yesterday led to a cascading failure and temporary loss of throughput for a number of UK ISPs. Although Linx has a fully-redundant network with parallel topography from two different manufacturers,... more
Thursday 10 December 2009, 1:55 PM
Beware of keeping your head in the clouds
From Security Profession blog | Sentry Posts | Uptime | Small Business Blog | 1 comment
(ISC)2 Information security professionals can look forward to a deepening appreciation for their skills as security continues to be recognised as an essential element for doing business in 2010 and beyond. However, despite this new-found appreciation... more
