Oh, how you have fallen. You were the tablet that was going to challenge the 90%+ market share of the iPad. You were going to link from an existing Blackberry to create a secure, bigger kind of Blackberry. You were going to be the promise of accessing a bazillion applications from two different App Stores all running on your sleek, thin easy-to-multitask package. You the promise of so much, Playbook, what happened to you?
Horrible crimes are being committed with guns in what feels like increasing frequency. Parallel to this though, is a news story that a man has successfully created and fired a .22 pistol with a 3D Printer. The printer used was apparently created in the 1990’s, which is real test of enduring technology. Given that 3D printing is becoming cheaper and cheaper, and access to blueprints is apparently more readily available – it appears as though we’re on the cusp of a major technological shift.
Recently, I met a 70 year old former engineer, who by all accounts was in great shape for his age. I remember thinking I’d like to look that good at 70. He had been a mechanical engineer for more than forty years and recently left the industry he enjoyed to retire. These days, he tells me travel and leisure take up a good portion of his time.
“Today’s Windows is almost absurdly configurable” – with that phrase, the recent Microsoft Windows Engineering blog gave me the answer I was looking for. This was the reason for the new “Metro” style interface, the active square tiles and the removal of the “Start” button in Windows 8.
As you’ll see, the dangers of people that will sell and handle these sales unscrupulously are so very real. After this experience, I think I’ve learned that that buying a product that you can’t fully test (at the moment of purchase) is a dangerous undertaking.
This fundamental idea generally runs counter to the thought that, when you increase the efficiency of something by way of technological means, the consumption of that resource should go down. It is an idea that has often been overshadowed by more famous theories like “Moore’s Law”, but is no less fascinating when applying it to computing and IT infrastructure.
All I was looking for in this case was a 45W MagSafe power adapter (commonly used with Macbook Air computers). Join me as I order one off the Internet in an effort to save a little money.
iPad 1, iPad 2, iPad new? New (3), Used, refurbished? You want an iPad but want to get the best iPad for the best possible price right now. With the release of the third generation of iPad, you now have some interesting options if you aren’t beholden to a new device. This is mainly a story for local Toronto, ON buyers, but you should be able to apply most of this advice to other locales.
So, you’ve been blogging for a while on Google’s Blogger site and have become sophisticated enough to include the Google Analytics code required to gain a more enterprise-level look at your blog statistics. But, as your blog is being viewed, you notice that the stats that Blogger offers are distinctly different from what you see in Analytics. What gives?
You do, but you’re worried about the stories you’ve heard regarding fake electronics, bad buyers and shady people. In honor of the disclaimer craigslist attaches to every mail that comes in, I decided to create a more exhaustive list of rules to follow when buying and selling there. Using these rules as a guide, you’ll be more comfortable in the jungle that is Craigslist.