Posts by Maryland, USA

It seems everyone in movies uses a Mac

...even working-class stiffs who can't afford them. it makes the filmmakers look like idiots...just as it does when a starlet plays a working-class woman with perfect pearly-white teeth.

Fine, if "good enough" is good enough

When I took a master's level class in Technical Journalism, our professor began by teaching the five Ws (Who, When, Where, What, Why). Your first sentence, he added, must summarize what your story is about.

I asked, "If you were to survey Pulitzer Prize-winning science articles, how many would obey these rules?" Our prof smiled broadly. "You're right, Maryland, USA. These guidelines will help you create serviceable writing. They're not what you'd folllow to pen great writing."

reminds me of the Sarah Silverman shtick

American stand-up comic Sarah Silverman (I'm paraphrasing from memory): "Mexicans are upset that I said I thought they smell bad, So I gently explain to them, "You can't smell yourself."

"I can't define it, but I know it when I see it"

A few years ago, in Virginia (USA), the Washington Post revealed that a boys' baseball league refused to let parents read the game's rules. The league's director claimed, "If we let them see how we make our rulings, they'll quibble with our calls."

Kinky name, don'tcha think?

WebMatrix = WebMistress + dominatrix...

tongue twister

Did you know that "toy boat" is difficult to repeat several times quickly without mispronouncing? Try it! (It will amuse your cubicle neighbor.)

The umpire strikes back

In the 1980s, at an American baseball game, the organ player was thrown out of the game for playing "Three Blind Mice" to protest a call.

Beware the New Sovietsky

A colleague of mine commented:

'Actually, the original Heinlein multigenerational spaceship concept was found in "Orphans of the Sky" in 1941, but otherwise the article is right on target. "Time for the Stars" was published in 1956.

'Parenthetically, the Register's writer misses the biggest problem with an organization like the Long Range Foundation: how to keep it focused on technology advancement, instead of turning, over time, into a funding source for Marxist entities trying to create the New Soviet Man. The record of the Ford Foundation is illustrative in this regard.'

This isn't the first time she went after an unflattering newswriter

It's deja vu all over again. Check out the March 2009 Gawker.com post, Tesla Flack Bitches About 'Silicon Valley Gossip Blog'.

Too bad, 'cause she's kinda cute.

Samsung feels the love for Microsoft's search engine

Samsung, Samsung....isn't that the phone maker that loads it Google phone with a Microsoft search engine (Bing), locks down that search engine so the user can't replace it, and fails to forewarn them?

When those kids apply for college...

...the admissions officer will glance at the kid's address and think, "He's from that town of morons!"

But according to Jewish tradition, there were 12 splits

According to Jewish oral tradition (Midrash), the river split in 12 tunnels--one for each tribe. There were other features that the simulation would not account for. For details, Google ""further thoughts on beshalach".

The exploit preys on Androiders' dismal sex life

...since several articles last month reported (wrongly) that Android users get less "action." (Actually, they've had fewer partners.)

AIM isn't bad

When they go, I hope they don't kill AIM, their instant message program. It federates with iChat and Gmail Chat; and it now lets you chat with your FaceBook friends.

If I'm on a 5GB/month data plan...

...and Mozy's unpredictable ways bust the budget while I sleep, without prompting me to approve, will Mozy pay my overfee?

Mozy on over to Box.et

Recently, Box.net began to provide free synchronization for users with business accounts. In August, the company will let all paying customers synch. I love Box.net; it integrates with LinkedIn and many more sites. I can't wait for synching. With Box, I pay more, but I get more.

Even better than Open Office is the German-made...

SoftMaker Office 2010. Test after test finds it more compatible with MS Office. I find it the easiest to use. Ever since I switched to it, my blood pressure has gone down. At about $80 U.S. for 3 licenses, it's not free, but it's a terrific value.

I just installed it on my work PC...

Oops! No I didn't: I don't have admin rights. I can't even upgrade Flash.

Contrast Zappos's response with Chrysler's

in the 1980s, when minivans ruled, Chrysler was giving away a Dodge minivan to whoever bought a cereal box with the winning ticket inside. By mistake, 12 winning tickets found their way into cereal boxes. Chrysler refused to honor any claims but the first, missing a chance to gain favorable publicity.

ThinkPad vs. MacBook

I'm a ThinkPad fanboy; my 21-year-old daughter is strictly MacBook. Ironically (for her), at the medical school she hopes to attend, every student is issued (and must use) a ThinkPad. Guess which med school Dad is rooting for?

We understand, Fujitsu

"Fujitsu asked for understanding as to why it did not reveal the full facts at the time. Nozoe has also been sacked as a senior adviser."

We understand that the next time your PR people issue a statement, it may not include the whole truth.

If you like Office 2007, you'll love Office 2010

Yawn. I paid $20 for a plugin that lets Office 2007 look and feel like Office 2003. Now I use SoftMaker Office 2010, a David to Redmond's Goliath. Bye-bye, MS Office.

Upward compatibility is overrated

I've been using an HTC 6800 for 2 years, running Windows Mobile 6.1 (originally 6.0). But I don't begrudge Microsoft for refusing to shackle progress to the ghosts of smartphones past. Nor do I begrudge them for failing to provide a clean upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. Nor did i begrudge Apple when the company broke clean from the Motorola CISC CPU to migrate to an IBM RISC CPU. Nor...

It's the only social media service I can use at work

Here in the offices of the U.S. Federal Gummint , Facebook is blocked. All chat programs are blocked. Twitter is blocked. But wonder of wonders, Buzz is not.

In Jewish tradition, the groom lifts the bride's veil...

...ever since Laban pulled a switcheroo on Jacob, substituting older-sister Leah for her sister Rachel.

It's about time

At work, I connect to the Web by tethering my PC to my smartphone. It's embarrassing to think you've sent the client a file, only to be asked, "Where's the attachment?" because my phone tether had disconnected. I'd rather Gmail had not sent the message at all than sent it without the attachment.

OctoTalk has been developing this for other platforms

OctroTalk 2.0 with Video Calling doesn't use Skype, but competing IM programs whose desktop versions support video. And it's not free.

http://www.octrotalk.com/

a "system failure"?

Excuse me: It was a a human failure of colossal proportions...attempts to depersonify it notwithstanding.

could be useful in the right external backup drive case

These might fit the external cases available from Other World Computing's (OWC's) Mercury On the Go portable backup drives; I know that these cases can hold 12.5mm disks; that's how they now are able to be sold with 750GB capcacity:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go

overpaid, clueless PR hacks

"...we are taking these necessary actions to realign our resources against our top priorities."

Do these Public Relations people have any idea how wording like this comes across as slick, evasive, and unsympathetic? Can they adduce a shred of evidence to demonstrate that such sterile wording, devoid of humanity, makes their company look better off, not worse off?

PS: When you realign something, you move it, or its parts; realigning is not about subtracting.

Reminds me of the U.S. school principal...

...who, after inserting his memory stick into a school PC, watched in horror as Google' Picasa swept the stick for images and thumbnailed naked babe after naked babe onto the auditorium screen as the entire school looked on. The principal explained that his son must have been using the memory stick.

Its precedessor used one more platter

This 2-platter drive replaces the 3-platter 500GB SpinPoint M6 released in 2008:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/samsung-intros-spinpoint-m6-500gb-standard-height-laptop-drive/

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/10/samsung-stops-teasing-brings-spinpoint-m6-500gb-stateside/

It was Hitachi that released a 2.5-inch 500GB hard drive that, at 12.5mm, was too tall to fit a standard laptop, no doubt making life miserable for its public relations folks:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/03/hitachis-5k500-e5k500-hit-the-mythical-500gb-mark-for-laptops/

Enough with the Snotty remarks...

May I remind you, dear readers, that it was the Reg who ridiculed DHS's LED Incapacitator (dubbing it the Puke Ray). That device went on to win one of Time Magazine's 35 Inventions of the Year, for its ability to spare lives.

Stupid PR-speak

"Sun continues to make important choices to streamline operations and align resources to best address market opportunity and position the company for improved financial performance and long term growth."

As a technical write who works among "writers" in pubic-relations--oops, I mean public affairs--I ask once again: Can anyone show me statistical or clinical evidence that this sort of unctuous PR writing (especially, "We are committed to...") actually works? That it persuades readers to nod their heads in agreement? That it changes hearts and minds? That the folks who write it are worth more than, say, double the minimum wage?

Yeah. I thought not.

Severence pay is a privilege, not a right.

I've been caught in the layoff net at least six times. The last time I received any severance pay was 1981.

But I'll tell you what's disturbing: As reported by the Washington Post, more and more U.S. companies that lay off staff are trying to get out of paying penalties into the state's unemployment fund, by claiming that the employee was fired for cause...even if the employee had recently received nice raises and kudos for a job well done.