Summary of this week:

HP is only selling 9,000 of its tablets (Apple sells 45,000 iPad a day)
Microsoft sells a million Kinect sensors in ten days
Apple to sell four millions computers during the holidays
The Beatles' library is now on iTunes
The TSA's new security procedures continue to be blasted all over the Internet

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Monday November 15, 2010

HP exceeded expectations with its Slate table computer. It seems their expectations were quite low - 5,000 units. They have orders for 9,000 units. By the way, Apple is selling about 45,000 iPad a day.

Got internet on your television? If so, you need a tiny keyboard with a trackball. Well, maybe you don't need it, but why else would these guys make one?

Again, someone must need a pillow remote control for their television. Why else would these guys make it?

A California researcher has turned the Microsoft Kinect technology into a 3D capture device.

Google adds panoramic photos to Google maps.

Some thoughts on eBooks and how they are doing well in the marketplace.

Facebook is now more valuable than eBay. Only Amazon and Google are worth more (value of web sites).

The Chinese want to enter the market of building commercial transport planes. They have the cash on hand to spin up in this area. We shall see.

Microsoft has a powerful supercomputer running Microsoft software. A problem is that the computer runs faster when loaded with Linux. Hmmm.

The uproar against the TSA's new body scanners and pat downs is growing. THIS is a Tea Party movement. People say "no" to government intrusion in a peaceful and loud manner. I am glad that I have no plans to fly on the national opt-out day. Is anyone is Washington listening to the citizens?

Information overload. Reframe - how about a "surplus of free attention" instead?

Amazon adds a graphics processing unit online service. Rent some GPU time and run your applications on a "supercomputer."

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Tuesday November 16, 2010

In praise of the new Kindle 3.

420 million people in China have Internet access. It is a numbers game; China is a 5A high school and the U.S. is a 3A high school. We had better start acting much smarter than we have over the last 60 years.

Google is growing and wants to continue the trend. Hence, they have to hire lots of people every week. That isn't easy.

Some scientists are proposing one-way trips to Mars for people. If "the government" bought into this idea, thousands of qualified people would volunteer. I think it would be a good thing to do.

Take this Geek IQ test. I only got 8 of 20 correct, so maybe I'm not a Geek. Instead I am a sophistacated man of the world. Or maybe not.

Microsoft's Kinect has been hacked and guess what? There are lots of great applications coming. You see, the guys who invent something have applications in mind. When a million people see how it works, the have several million applications in mind. I don't know how many times we have to see this occur before companies just open everything to everyone. They will make much more money in the end.

Ah, look here. Much more information about applications with Kinect.

And Microsoft sold a million Kinect sensors in ten days.

Web crawling plus semantic analysis: Extractiv. This could be interesting.

And read this one - we ought to do our kids a service and revise the 18th century model of schools. Perhaps something will be done for my grandchildren.

Dell's Duo tablet thing that flips around - combination really small portable computer and tablet - should be on the market next week.

The HP Mini 1103 - a really small portable computer with a "business look."

This post title really got my attention - Jaz drives, SCSI! I used those. I also used a little magnetic tape backup in one of my computers. The post title also has "spiral notebooks." I have 25 years worth of those. The information stored in the spiral notebooks, unlike the mag tape, Jaz, and SCSI, is still readable.

It appears that Apple will sell 4 million computers this holiday season.

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Wednesday November 17, 2010

No viewing today as I am working strange hours this week.

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Thursday November 18, 2010

Microsoft replaces Office Communicator with Lync. I am not excited.

I can now edit my Google Docs from my iPad. At least that is the announcement. I have yet to try it. I could be quite excited about this one. Some more information on this. I will have to try this, when I have the time. Sigh.

Yes, Facebook friends can break up marriages. This is not a joke. If you are married, it is probably not a good idea to be Facebook friends with all your former girl(boy)friends.

Five years is a long time in some technical areas. Flat-screen TVs is one of those areas.

Advances in chips from Qualcomm.

AT&T has upgraded 80% of its network from HSPA to HSPA+.

This guy is installing a camera in the back of his head. The camera will take one image per minute and the images will be on display. This could be a lot of fun or maybe just boring.

Intel is investigating the idea of putting processors inside football helmets. The tech would relay impact data to medical staff on the sidelines.

Nvidia is making some of its graphical processing units available to be installed in Apple's Mac Pro (the under the table model).

And the Beatles library is now available on iTunes.

The Chinese hijacked America's Internet traffic for 18 minutes (is that the same length of the gap in the Nixon tapes?), but has officially denied everything.

Maybe RIM will be the iPad competitor. To date, no one else has stepped up to the challenge.

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Friday November 19, 2010

My odd work schedule continues. No viewing today.

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Saturday November 20, 2010

Even a few Democrats in Congress don't like the TSA's latests screenings and pat downs.
Here is a list of U.S. airports that have the full-body scanners.

The future of cars - 1,000 pounds and efficient. I like that. Let's see what happens.

Porsche has been selling cars in America for 60 years now.

This is excellent - a solar-powered, water-proof light source. Great for developing countries where electricity is not available.

Photographing around corners.

I like this idea for traffic lights. They show how much time the light will be in its current state.

I like this cartoon about the concept and reality of Netflix movie rentals. When the map and the terrain disagree, go with the terrain, i.e., the reality.

A lot of truth in this little graph about gifts.

Enough of glamorous, perfect workspaces? Here is Steve Jobs' actual home workspace.

We are now in the "talent economy." This could be just another buzzword, but I see some of this in my recent experiences. We don't have time to invent a new technology at work to stay competitive. We need to know who knows what and go out and hire them (for a while).

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Sunday November 21, 2010

Sharing large files with others. Google's docs works as does DropBox.

There are many resources on the net that can us all do tasks. Here is one list of such resources.

There are lots of grants out there. A grant is a "gift" as there is no payback anticipated, i.e., a grant is not a loan. Here are some tips for applying for grants.

Some thoughts on decline, as in a company collapsing seemingly overnight.

Some thoughts on perception and problems. " "Problem” Defined:
The most useful definition I've ever encountered was Gerald Weinberg and Don Gauss’ definition of the term "problem" in their book Are Your Lights On? [1] "Problem: A difference between things as desired and things as perceived." "

This may be the single best item I have ever seen on Time Management: You can't manage time, you can manage yourself.

There is hope for America: the Chinese government is going to spend over $7Billion on cloud computing.

I really like this: a laptop computer designed so that you can dismantle it in 30 seconds. This allows the owner to replace parts as they become obsolete. The result is that you don't throw away the entire computer just to upgrade the GPU or the screen or the battery or...

More on the self-induced mess that is the TSA. Lots of links to horror stories I had not seen.

Ireland is thinking of raising corporate tax rates. Guess what? If they do, lots of hi-tech companies will leave Ireland and go somewhere else. These are not heavy metal factories. It is pretty easy to move a thousand programmers from Ireland to Singapore. These are not the good old days. I guess you could call these greedy corporations, but why would you stay in a place where the cost of business was higher?

And I like this one: Six family rituals that are priceless.

Writers - please read this post. Find the "real" verb in writing and eliminate the other words.

Looking at the big picture as a writer. It isn't easy. Sometimes money comes easy from a source that will disappear in a year. Do you go that way for short-term gain?

Can you cut the time required to write in half? Maybe. It all depends on how you write now. I like the tips in this post in that you have your ideas sitting ready and you let them sit in the back of your mind for a while. When it is time to put but in chair and hands on keyboard, the typing of the words will come much faster. That, at least, is my experience.

How much do writers earn? Here are some numbers. The ranges are very wide.

Neat photo of someone holding a frame around the moon. See for a good visual.

Seven ways to improve your writing. Nothing really new here, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded.

How long should a novel be? Here are some guidelines. My novel that I am drafting in National Novel Writing Month will be betweeen 55,000 and 60,000 words.

Tips on starting a blog.

On writing, fear, and courage.

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