Tumbled Logic

Something for the weekend

I’m going to do something a little different now. Here follows a list of the headlines on The Guardian’s Technology section, with my comments on each. Short, and to the point. Ish.

Lord Carter to leave job in the summer

Well, this one isn’t strictly news, more confirmation. But, in today’s stormy political climate, who knows what could happen? I will say this, though: if I got paid, and given a peerage, for sticking my name on a report written over the course of several months by a civil servant, I’d be laughing too.

No browser in EU version of Windows 7

This is really the story of the day, though a lot of outlets (and commenters) have missed the point. The fact that the tiny proportion of users (about one percent, I believe) who buy copies of Windows at retail will have to have a USB stick ready with a browser on it isn’t a huge deal. The killer here is that OEMs will be forced to pick a browser to install on machines they ship, and that browser may very well not be Internet Explorer. In the past, Microsoft has used dubious practices to ensure that OEMs specifically could not do this, as well as preventing the removal of Internet Explorer.

‘Robots are fine, if you want to see real life sci-fi horror’

I’m inclined to agree. I still want a Roomba, though.

How long can Phorm go on?

“Not long”, if investors have any sense. It’s interesting to see that they’ve gone back to their old ways, in the form of adware, albeit adware which is embedded on websites instead of as a separate program. What’s even more interesting is that its success entirely depends on people opting into a service that no ISP has firm plans to offer yet, and isn’t particularly attractive in the first place. I’m not entirely sure how anybody could possibly have believed there was a future in this.

Last.fm founders to leave company

Interesting, though possibly entirely coincidental timing. I guess we’ll never know. I’m eagerly awaiting the next Techcrunch exposé, though, and I’m leaving that deliberately open to interpretation.

Filesharing isn’t music’s biggest foe

Some interesting analysis from Charles Arthur, here, and it’s hard to argue with it on a meaningful level. This follows on nicely from Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column, wherein he debunks figures used to shape Government policy.

Intel drives into ARMy territory

It’s going to be interesting to see where Intel goes with Atom, especially given how Intel aggressively decimated AMD’s desktop and laptop market-share, after letting x86 languish for quite some time. Intel’s been doing some pretty interesting stuff in the Netbook and MID software space, too.

Walking down the red carpet of shame

I have to say, I’ve never been able to take the Webby Awards seriously. They remind me of people who put badges on their sites, proudly proclaiming them to be members of the HTML Writers Guild (sic).

Ask Jack: What’s the best way to share images?

Questions. Answers. Some of them technically incorrect, but I’ve long since given up writing letters to computer magazines pointing out the factual errors in their “Helpdesk” section answers.

US Officials sued over George Bush assassination videogame

I think a number of people would like to know, irrespective of the outcome of this case, when a properly-localised version for the UK is going to be released.

Twitter fights fakes with verified accounts

It’s good to know that they’re being proactive, but I always found it to be part of the charm that you didn’t know without spending five seconds looking on a celeb’s website whether the Twitter account you were examining was theirs or not. Plus, most people I know who use Twitter do it to talk to and make new friends—it’s not like you’re sending bank account details to these people, after all. I hope.

Rubenstein takes over at Palm

I hope Palm does lots of cool stuff that keeps Apple on their toes. Any company without effective competition gets lazy, and that’s bad for you and me.

Why buying secondhand should be part of the PC process

I don’t trust second-hand hard disks. When SSD rules the world, this may be less of an issue. Actually, hold on, I don’t trust new hard disks. Anyway, refurbished kit, with warranty, is the shiznit.

Palm, the iPhone and Fake Steve Jobs

Link included for completeness, but honestly, I haven’t listened to it.

Is Bing better than Google?

Why not try the blind taste test?

Antivirus companies find over charges

Good.

Web inventor takes data to Downing St

timbl’s old-school, and smart, so the biggest question is whether he’ll actually have enough clout within the public sector to make a difference. My concern is that his opinions will be dismissed as outdated or only of relevance to the nerds, despite a track record to the contrary.

US family’s web photo used in Czech ad

Remember kids: read the small print.

About that green Lamborghini …

And how many of these are there on the road, exactly? I sense a carbon-offsetting scheme on the horizon, somehow.

Nokia phone recharges without plugs

I dream of the day when my desk is just a giant recharging pad, with zero side-effects and yet sufficiently powerful enough to run my laptop. I’ll have a stick with that moon, please.

MPs demand proper scrutiny of government science policy

A good start would be forcing the Home Office to listen to its appointed independent experts instead of the editorial bent of a certain newspaper whose name rhymes with “fail”.

Facebook to offer everyone “vanity” URLs - but what will the effects be?

Apparently you can even get your own whole website with a vanity URL now. Wonders will never cease.

E3: Three hidden gems you didn’t hear enough about

I have only one thing to say regarding E3: “Gran Turismo for the PSP”. It may actually get released before the device is declared completely obsolete.

Natal launch as big as Xbox 360?

Microsoft’s Xbox division is either going to do something brilliant or something so bad that you’re forced to feel sorry for them.

Breakfast briefing: Windows without Explorer and games in recession

This entry is quite meta.