David Pogue on the Power of Simplicity Complete with musical opening.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Aug 30, 2007 - 51 comments

The John Markoff of the New York Times [registration required] reports that Google plans to roll-out a text and file search tool code-named Puffin for finding information stored on PCs. The move is seen as a defensive one; Microsoft plans to include PC searching in its new operating system, scheduled to be released in 2006 (at the earliest).
posted by tranquileye on May 19, 2004 - 7 comments

Ambient Information (NYT reg. required) Ambient information can be defined as material objects, such as computers, watches or furniture, which interact with digital information and react in certain ways such as sound, color, or light. Apple has filed an intriguing patent for a computer that could change color when you get an e-mail, for example. So, is this concept the next “new thing” or the next pet rock?
posted by jeremias on Jan 13, 2003 - 15 comments

On flight simulators, Tetris, and the CIA The Sunday Times Mag has a feature on Gilman Louie, popularizer of Tetris who was recruited by the CIA in 1998. " Louie's marching orders were to provide venture capital for data-mining technologies that would allow the C.I.A. to monitor and profile potential terrorists as closely and carefully as Amazon monitors and profiles potential customers."
posted by brookish on Apr 12, 2002 - 13 comments

Audio spotlight directs sound as precisely as, well, a spotlight What an amazing idea, although as the article says "Most of the uses of sound involve spreading it around."
posted by flimjam on May 17, 2001 - 5 comments

See-through electronics as prison-chic [NYTimes link] The see-through iMac and other transluscent and transparent appliances turn out to have a practical uses in at least one segment of the population.
posted by idiolect on May 14, 2001 - 4 comments

Every gadget seems to generate a hobbyist underground: CueCat, TiVo, Big Mouth Billy Bass, DVD encryption, DVD region codes, Web appliances, WebTV, and Palm. The main link is to the New York Times; registration required.
posted by tranquileye on May 3, 2001 - 7 comments

Alternative broadband delivery systems So now that all the DSL providers are going bankrupt, and the cable modem providers can't meet the demand, scheming entrepeneurs are looking for other ways to bring broadband to you. The guy with the plan for the hi-altitude airplanes sounds like he escaped from some lame-brained dot-com.
posted by briank on Mar 19, 2001 - 5 comments

John Draper says he's going straight for good and looking to "pay back society for [his] deeds in the past," by working with a software security outfit.
posted by idiolect on Jan 29, 2001 - 2 comments

the news versus e-mail news Is this link, an article about spreading news via e-mail and the net, an example of my present posting?
posted by Postroad on Jan 29, 2001 - 2 comments