I just watched Steve Jobs’ Macworld keynote introducing the iPhone. Boy, he is a great speaker. His reality distortion field was in full force — an article in Palm Infocenter argues that iPhone’s phone features aren’t new (but they’re sure slick). In contrast, the CEO of Cingular was stiffly reading off of index cards for …
Author Archives: Jimmy Lin
Two days, two big product announcements
It’s a geek’s dream week: CES and Macworld. There have been two announcements that have caught my attention. The first is Microsoft’s Windows Home Server, which will be sold by HP and other vendors. It makes it easy to share files and stream video, music, and photos to PCs and Xbox 360s at home, access …
My favorite comics are disappearing…
First, Aaron McGruder ends The Boondocks. Then Lynn Johnston puts For Better or For Worse on hiatus. And now Bill Amend is converting FoxTrot to a Sunday-only strip. Argh!
A fun dream
Normally I don’t remember my dreams, but this one was intense. I got on a subway car with a few other friends, and the sign that had the route number also said “no conductor.” I wondered why. Then as the subway started, it suddenly plunged down a huge ramp and then did corkscrews. This part …
Balancing privacy concerns in my photos
I’ve struggled with finding the right balance of descriptiveness and privacy in my Flickr photos account. Up to now, I’ve almost completely avoided displaying people’s names, because I think it’s a little creepy to be able to go to someone’s photos, and search for someone else to see what they’ve been doing. On the other …
A random collection of videos
It’s amazing how much time you can sink watching videos online: Robot Chicken is a satirical stop-motion animation show on Cartoon Network. For example, take a look at how the Emperor reacts when he finds out the Death Star was destroyed. (Thanks to Brian.) Line Rider is a Flash-based game where a little guy goes …
2 out of 2 economists agree: voting Democratic will improve the economy
Today is Election Day in the U.S., and I’m reminded of a funny thing I saw on CNBC last Friday. Morning Call hosted two economists, one from the AFL-CIO labor union, and the other from the libertarian Cato Institute. Surprisingly, they both agreed that a Democratic majority in Congress would improve the economy. The AFL-CIO …
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’80s overdose
Maybe it’s because I’ve watched Time-Life’s Classic Soft Rock Collection infomercial one too many times, but when I was leaving for work today, Christopher Cross‘s “Ride Like the Wind” popped into my head, complete with backing vocals by Michael McDonald (“what a fool believes…“). So I got curious and did a Google search on “ride …
Are you white and nerdy?
Weird Al’s lyrics for “White and Nerdy” touches upon so many geeky characteristics, it’s uncanny. So I’ve created the White and Nerdy quiz so that you can see how you measure up. [ ] Went to MIT [ ] Played Dungeons and Dragons [ ] Likes Escher [ ] Drinks tea [ ] Does not …
Bizarre misuse of languages
You may have heard of Engrish.com, which showcases the bizarre ways English is often used to “look cool” in Japan and China. Well, two can play that game: Tian Tang was inspired by Engrish to set up Hanzi Smatter, which is dedicated to the bizarre ways Chinese characters are used to look cool in Western …