jonathandonald.com

This NY Times article examines the effect of our ever-increasing hyper-connectivity and massive multitasking. It seems we cannot be plugged in all the time, or else we risk developing a form of ADD.

The Nokia N900: It runs Linux (Maemo) It’s not locked down by any carriers. It runs emacs(!!!!) N900: Because every cell phone should be capable of running X Windows, Apache, and MySql.

I hate to admit it, but I think I love Microsoft’s Consolas font. I have not seen such a beautiful mono-spaced font since Courier. It’s easy to read, yet stylish, in a way that doesn’t distract nor interfere with legibility. It reminds a little of one of my other favorite fonts, Gill Sans.

I hate cell phones. Well, sort of. I like the idea of the cell phone, it’s just that I hate the current state of the US cell phone industry – the user experience, and the choices we’re forced to make. Overall Quality of Phone Experience I use a wireless phone primarily for the ability to [...]

It’s also the eel’s ankle, the elephant’s instep, and the snake’s hip. Rockbox 3.0 is a must-have if you’re dissatisfied with your media player (and it’s worth a try even if you are content). It’s breathed new life into my Sansa e280 media player, whose firmware has always been just barely tolerable. Aside from the [...]

This morning I was listening to a piece of music that I’ve been looking forward to hearing with geat anticipation. It’s by an ensemble that plays a fairly accessible blend of jazz fusion/rock – exactly the sort of thing I love to listen to most, and what I aspire to play. I discovered them by [...]

I’ve been enjoying a great Google Tech Talk with Alex Wright, discussing The Web That Wasn’t – the various attempts at collecting knowledge that preceded what we now call the World Wide Web. Wright’s presentation offers an interesting perspective on our quest for knowledge preservation through information technology. He touches on philosophy, library science, theology, [...]

Caught in the act! Line 6 appears to have given in a little. Their new Spider Valve boasts a real tube power output section. I guess there are some things that digital simulation cannot simulate. In a way, I think it’s kind of neat that the technology has these limitations. Despite my thin wallet, I’ve [...]

CFL’s, or Compact Flourescent Lights, promise to save many megawatts of electric energy. However, there is a dark side which I was heretofor unaware – more energy and materials are required to manufacture them than incandescents, they aren’t always as efficient as claimed, and they contain mercury. Rod Elliot’s Should There be a Ban on [...]

Last week’s solar activity, described as a ‘solar tsunami,’ was a biggie. I wonder whether this had anything to do with (a) my computer no longer producing a video signal (hoping it’s just the video card) and/or (b) my Blackberry no longer working. Or maybe it’s just coincidence.