Insomnia's Friends
20 most recent entries

User:sbisson
Date:2009-07-13 22:14
Subject:What I did at the weekend
Security:Public
Mood: busy
Music:M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume (US) CD5 - Pump Up The Volume

Friday evening I got access to the Office 2010 Technical Preview release code, and fired up the FTP engines. Just under 2GB later it was sat on my hard disk, where I installed it on my main Windows 7 test machine. By the end of the evening we'd done one clean install, and one upgrade install (just to see if it worked).

Over the weekend I:

(a) baked a lemon/peach polenta cake with [info]marypcb.
(b) made a red chicken thai curry for friends whow were coming round for dinner (again with [info]marypcb).
(c) introduced those friends to The Middleman and Jennifer Crusie.
(d) reviewed Office 2010 and wrote two articles on it, for different audiences, coming in at around 5500 words - plus 22 different screenshots.

I think I got to bed at about 4 am this morning, before getting up to finish the screenshots and captions and take part in a call with a Microsoft spokesperson.

You can check out my words at ZDNet UK here

Microsoft, like Apple, has one customer. Apple's is Steve Jobs, while Microsoft's is the Microsoft Corporation — all 70,000 or so of it. Once you realise this, it explains much of the thinking behind Office 2010. It's a suite of tools that primarily addresses Microsoft's own organisational problems — and we're lucky that most of those problems are the same as for any other business, from the smallest to the largest.

Codenamed 'Office 14' (Microsoft skipped neatly over the unlucky number 13), Office 2010 has been some time in the making prior to this public Technical Preview. There have been some snippets of information over the last year or so (among them its final name) but Microsoft has managed to achieve almost Apple-like levels of secrecy. One fact that's been known for a while is that this is the first 64-bit version of Office, part of Microsoft's transition to the current generation of processor architectures.

Read more.

I also put together a hefty image gallery for the site, drilling down into many of the most interesting features.

The other piece was another first look piece, this time for IT Pro:

Microsoft is using its World Wide Partner Conference to finally publicly unveil Office 2010, in the shape of its first public technical preview.

We’ve been playing with it for a few days now, and it’s clear that, while there are plenty of excellent new features, this is an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, release.

The Office 2010 technical preview isn’t going to be widely distributed. If you weren’t at TechEd US or the World Wide Partner conference, you’re unlikely to get access – though there is a waiting list sign-up at Office2010themovie.com. You’ll need SharePoint 2010 to get the most from Office 2010, but it won’t be available until after October.

Read more

There's more to write on the subject - we've got commissions from magazines to fulfil too.

But now, I think, it's time for an earlier night.

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User:techdirt
Date:2009-07-13 13:42
Subject:AP Settles All Headline News Lawsuit; Forgets To Report On It?
Security:Public

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the AP's reliance on a rather ancient precedent that "hot news" can be protected, despite the fact that you can't copyright factual information, in its case against the site All Headline News. This has thrust the concept of "hot news" protection back into the spotlight after most people considered it a dead concept. Now, suddenly, newspapers all over are talking about trying to extend the "hot news" concept and even expanding copyright law to explicitly allow such hot news protectionism, despite the massive harm it would do. For that reason, the lawsuit between the AP and AHN was quite important... and yet, Will alerts us to the fact that the the AP and AHN quietly settled the lawsuit last month (warning: pdf). No details are provided in the settlement announcement, but the key thing for the AP is it lets it act as if "hot news" is definitely still allowed. A full lawsuit with AHN pushing back on the concept could have wiped out the concept of hot news, and clearly the AP didn't want that to happen just as it was about to start threatening and suing a bunch of aggregators. Perhaps that's why the Associated Press didn't even seem to report on its own "hot news."

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story


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User:pecunium
Date:2009-07-13 17:03
Subject:R.I.P. Charlie Brown
Security:Public

Charles Brown, editor of Locus, b. 1937 d. 2009

He was a swell guy. Affable, generous. As with so many things he, and his magazine seemed part of the ever present landscape. I think, at some point or another, about 20 years ago, my face ended up in a photo or two. I may have taken a photo, or two; for a friend, with their camera, which made it into the magazine.

If I'd been living in the area, I'd have tried for one of the many internships ($6 an hour, in 1989, the last time I thought about it) I saw being advertised. It was a perrenial at the Hugos. As I recall, the category, "Semi-pro zine" was created (amidst some drama) because there wasn't, at the time, anyplace else to put it.

We'll miss you Charlie, the neighborhood isn't the same without you.

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User:gizmodo
Date:2009-07-13 16:40
Subject: The Palm Pre: It's Good For Your Cooter [Ads]
Security:Public

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User:gizmodo
Date:2009-07-13 16:20
Subject: TwitVid for iPhone 3GS: Guess What It Does? [IPhone Apps]
Security:Public

TwitVid's a free app that tweets videos you shoot with your iPhone 3GS. And that's pretty much the long and the short of it. (Mostly short.) [TwitVid, iTunes]




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User:gizmodo
Date:2009-07-13 16:18
Subject: Walt Mosspuppet, the Only Tech Journalist in the World [Media]
Security:Public

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User:warren_ellis
Date:2009-07-13 14:23
Subject:We Choose To
Security:Public

Matt Jones at Spreadshirt:

3718331130_bfd8065b05_o

(Automatically crossposted from warrenellis.com. Feel free to comment here or at my internet church at Whitechapel. If anything in this post looks weird, it's because LJ is run on steampipes and rubber bands -- please click through to the main site.)





User:alobar
Date:2009-07-13 16:04
Subject:Action Alert from Voters fro Peace
Security:Public
Music:Miasma - Serum Switch (Drone Zone: Atmospheric ambient space music. Serve Best Chilled. Safe with mo

        Below from Voters for Peace.  I sure would like a special federal prosecutor to investigate & prosecute US torture mongers, but I ain't holding my breath.  I do not believe Obama wants a special prosecutor and will fire the Attorney General to prevent justice from being served.   I do hope I am wrong on this one.

Addendum:
        Here is what I wrote to Obama when I sent the action alert to him:

        So far, I haven't had many good opinions about your administration. I think you want to protect the criminals in the last administration. I think you feel good abut torture.

        Prove me wrong, please.

        We need a special prosecutor with TEETH. Those in government who approve of torture need to all be spending many years in federal prison, or turned over to the World Court.

        President Obama, Do the Right thing.

=======================================================

Reports over the weekend indicate that Attorney General Holder is seriously considering the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate torture and other abuses that occurred during the Bush-Cheney administration.

This would be a major reversal and indicates that our efforts for torture accountability are paying off. We are close to success but pressure is mounting to prevent prosecution. Please act now to write the President and Attorney General to urge a criminal investigation. Click here to take action
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1312/t/9050/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27616&key=10637945
Already, there is a strong reaction trying to thwart the appointment
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ynXcx2naA%2BHL0ugrY2RhDZDaH84hk8Vt
from leading Republicans like Senator John McCain and Rep. Peter King. McCain warned such a prosecution would give terrorists "more tools." And King urged a "scorched earth policy" of non-cooperation by Republicans on all issues.


In the White House, political advisors David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel oppose a probe because of the impact it might have on the president's legislative agenda.

But, under the law, the Attorney General has no choice. The Convention Against Torture was signed by President Reagan and is now the law of the land. It requires an investigation and prosecution if torture has occurred. There are no excuses. To revive the credibility of the Department of Justice as a law enforcement agency instead of a White House political tool, Holder must uphold the law.

Read more... )

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User:warrenelliswire
Date:2009-07-13 20:37
Subject:If Derek Jarman Shot MAD MAX
Security:Public

Chad Michael Ward took Katie West out to The Salton Sea.

3717218179_919aa3f8af

Did you order Katie’s book yet?

3715092826_71702eb8fc

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User:rezendi
Date:2009-07-13 16:54
Subject:Link salad
Security:Public

Highlights from my twitterings of late, for those of you who don't follow me there:



Oh,yeah, and the Nature Conservancy made this old Bay Trail shot of mine their Photo of the Day last week:
bay-postcard

Virtually all of the pictures I have ever taken which have been republished by someone else have been taken in mid-step, from the back of a bike, and/or while contorted into some awkward position. This one is no exception.

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User:boingboing_net
Date:2009-07-13 13:18
Subject:80 year old wind up bear polishes his spectacles, over and over and Over
Security:Public


Via Dinosaurs and Robots:

D+R reader Eric points us to a video of his father's wind-up bear that wanders around a little bit while polishing his glasses and periodically holding them up to check for spots.


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User:boingboing_net
Date:2009-07-13 13:24
Subject:Tuber head photoswap
Security:Public

200907131310 I posted this photo to Twitter, asking someone to swap the heads. Mr. Lee was the first!

UPDATE: Our own Rob Beschizza did it with color correction!

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User:boingboing_net
Date:2009-07-13 13:02
Subject:State of the Neuros Link open set-top box
Security:Public

Joe sez, "The Neuros LINK is a set-top box that takes a unique approach: unlike most closed set-top boxes, it's built from the ground up to be open. In fact, it started its 'gamma' phase of life as a stripped down PC, with the vision to become more 'electronics-like' using a remote, navigable from the couch etc. A recent release of its software shows how it's evolving on that path, with increasing functionality available without a mouse and keyboard, largely with the help of a lot of third party open source software, like XBMC, etc."

Screen Capture of Neuros LINK v 1.3 release "Handcock" (Thanks, Joe!)



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User:boingboing_net
Date:2009-07-13 13:03
Subject:Live feed of images being posted to Twitpic
Security:Public

Pingwire

Allan Grinshtein's PingWire is addictive.

PingWire is an (almost) live feed of images being posted to Twitpic. Clicking on a thumbnail will take you to the full sized photo.


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User:minsk_by (posted by [info]unicellular)
Date:2009-07-13 23:55
Subject:Концерт депешей в Вильнюсе
Security:Public

Так как концерта не будет уже, то вопрос к владельцам билетов. Сдавали уже билеты? Куда сдавали? Поделитесь инфой, пожалуйста.

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User:bbcnewsworld
Date:2009-07-13 20:13
Subject:Supreme Court nominee states case
Security:Public

Sonia Sotomayor states her case for a place on the US Supreme Court to the Senate, stressing "fidelity to the law".

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User:bbcnewsworld
Date:2009-07-13 18:37
Subject:Tevez set to seal Man City switch
Security:Public

Manchester City agree a deal to sign former West Ham and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez.

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User:theregister
Date:2009-07-13 20:53
Subject:Apollo 11 moon mission reincarnated as website
Security:Public

Retrace lunar steps in 'real-time'

Forty years after Neil Armstrong made his historic first steps on the moon, Apollo 11 is beginning the same trip to the lunar surface this week via the internet.…

Web threats: Why conventional protection doesn't work

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User:theregister
Date:2009-07-13 20:46
Subject:Microsoft and Citrix mix 'n' match fake desktops
Security:Public

But no Xen for PCs

Citrix Systems and Microsoft are co-mingling some of their virtual desktop technologies. But Redmond stopped short of endorsing the XenClient bare-metal PC hypervisor that chip maker Intel and Citrix are working on for delivery later this year.…

The power of collaboration within unified communications

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User:theregister
Date:2009-07-13 20:11
Subject:US State Dept. workers beg Clinton for Firefox
Security:Public

No IE if you buy less peanut butter

US State Department workers have begged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to let them use Firefox.…

Web threats: Why conventional protection doesn't work

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