Archive for March, 2005

Star Wars Darth Vader Lawn Sprinkler

Thursday, March 10th, 2005

If you have ever wondered how far movie merchandizing could go (and you know you haven’t), look no further than the Star Wars Darth Vader Lawn Sprinkler. The product description really makes this a winner.

Let the Dark Side defend your lawn from the ravages of summer heat or cool you off on a hot [...]

Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb Confusion

Thursday, March 10th, 2005

I’ve been looking to outfit my new apartment with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, commonly referred to as CFLs, but my efforts have been unsuccessful. Like any technology, CFLs can range from anywhere from awful to excellent but my attempts to figure out which are which before purchase have been less than fruitful. What [...]

Tivo’s Death is Television’s Future

Wednesday, March 9th, 2005

I love my Tivo, but it’s doomed. It’s a box that’s ahead of it’s time but behind the eventual truth of what television will be: what you want, when you want it delivered over the Internet. When Tivo dies, we’ll know the future has arrived or that it’s at least a bit closer.
The [...]

The Worth of Accidental Data

Tuesday, March 8th, 2005

When I started blogging, I set out to comment on technology and information design. The last thing I thought I would add to the Internet was information on vacuum cleaners, old 1960s stoves, alternative colas and well designed umbrellas. But, somehow, I did and as a result a pretty large number of people [...]

Craigslist Endorses Firefox

Monday, March 7th, 2005

I’m sure it’s been there for some time, but I just noticed that craigslist is featuring links to Firefox on the left side of their front page and on the top of pretty much all their other pages. Great stuff.

Edward R. Tufte’s The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint

Monday, March 7th, 2005

The first year of my first real tech job, I gobbled up Tufte’s books like they were the greatest mind candy in existence. Years later, it turns out they were. I owe a great deal to my accidental stumbling upon this man’s work as early in my career as I did and a [...]

It’s Not a Tumor

Friday, March 4th, 2005

I saw a preview tonight for the movie The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel and it left me with only one thought: I can’t wait until Vin Diesel is the Governor of California and the budget crises is finally over.
And if he can’t do it, there’s always Governor The Rock.

Book Review: Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing

Thursday, March 3rd, 2005

Any book review’s worth to you should be regarded in the experience and viewpoint of the person who wrote the review. A reviewer simply saying that a book was helpful isn’t helpful at all. It’s a question of what the reviewer brings to the table and what they are hoping to gain from [...]

Exhibit 5a Redesigns and
Upgrades to Wordpress 1.5

Thursday, March 3rd, 2005

My friend Jon over at Exhibit 5a just launched a new design for his sight and I do not have to employ any exaggeration when I say it is gorgeous. Go check out the Exhibit 5a redesign for a piece of bloggy goodness.
I was fortunate enough to be able to help Jon with some [...]

Xbox 360 May Be an Instant DVR Success

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005

If the Xbox 360 aka the next Xbox ships this fall with reasonable DVR capabilities, it will almost instantly become the largest installed DVR hardware in the country leaving Tivo and various competitors far far behind. Microsoft may have one hell of a trojan horse coming up with their next videogame console and a [...]