The Tech of Mad Men

I was just talking earlier today about how much cooler technology looked when switches, knobs, and lights all looked like airplane components or parts of complicated radio equipment. I think you could make some money selling retro wood console cases for HDTVs. Speaking of: The Tech of Mad Men.

Tech Terms to Avoid

Tech Terms to Avoid

David Pogue on all the jargon he tries not to use when he writes about technology. I try to avoid “wi-fi” for “wireless” and “DRM” for “copy protection” especially. “Content” for “episode” or “song” bugs me, too.

Datamancer.net -- Custom Keyboards

Datamancer.net — Custom Keyboards

Super cool custom steampunk keyboards. Pricey, though.

A Variation on the DVR, Without Ad Skipping - New York Times

A Variation on the DVR, Without Ad Skipping - New York Times

Funny how they're trying to turn in the ability to fast forward, present in every VCR since the 70s, as a feature that you might want to pay for. This is typical of the big media approach to DRM, conflating it with actual features.

Slap in the Facebook: It's Time for Social Networks to Open Up

Slap in the Facebook: It’s Time for Social Networks to Open Up

It annoys me that I can't link to my Facebook profile without making people log in to see it. You should be able to expose simple biographical data at least.

A Cold Inclusive Primer « The Cold Inclusive

A Cold Inclusive Primer « The Cold Inclusive

"If you are interested in our series of investigative reports about the ways in which noted actress Jennifer Love Hewitt shaped the early days of the internet, and how she continues to influence its A-list movers and shakers, here’s what we’ve learned

Charlie's Diary: Unpacking the Zeitgeist

Charlie’s Diary: Unpacking the Zeitgeist

Great stuff. How would you explain gold farming spamming in World of Warcraft to someone thirty years ago? Really does sound like a lame science fiction novel.

Apple - iPhone - TV Ads

Apple - iPhone - TV Ads

Official: on sale June 29.

I Chat, Therefore I Am...

I Chat, Therefore I Am…

Two chatting bots having a conversation.

Bots on the Ground

Bots on The Ground

Neat article about how soldiers in the military are anthropomorphizing the robots in their squads.

iTunes-Like Video Services Have No Future: Study

iTunes-like video services have no future: study

I don’t buy the premise that iTunes directly competes with free, ad-supported TV. The market IMO for iTunes video is as a replacement for TV. The “free on NBC.com” style is much more for people who miss an occasional episode.

Official Google Reader Blog: Feed Your Television

Official Google Reader Blog: Feed Your Television

Official post about the Wii version of Google Reader.

Google Launches Google Reader for the Wii

Google launches Google Reader for the Wii

Has specific commands for the Wii Remote.

Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops

Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops

I’m not surprised. There’s no way the expense of a computer for every student adds its dollar value in education, especially if you consider how many teachers that could have paid instead.

Internet-Wide Feature Request: "Snooze"

Internet-wide feature request: “Snooze”

Google Personalized Homepage becomes "iGoogle"

Google Personalized Homepage becomes “iGoogle”

This makes me not want to use the service. It looks like a lame attempt at a “what if Apple and Google merged?” Photoshop contest.

Laptops vs. Learning

Laptops vs. Learning

Twitter (kottke.org)

Twitter (kottke.org)

“Maybe that’s when you know how you’ve got a winner: when people use it like mad but can’t fully explain the appeal of it to others.”

Themes for Google Personalized Homepage

Themes for Google Personalized Homepage

If you go to your personalized homepage for Google (click the link at the top of google.com once you’re logged in), you can now pick from a few nice little themes from a link on the right side.

Tumblr

Tumblr

Clever service. If use lots of different services, you can roll them all onto one page, somewhat like FeedBurner but for the web.