Fake Steve Jobs (http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/10/were-going-to-have-news-tomorrow.html) is calling a Mac announcement tomorrow with stuff even Gruber doesn't know about. Jon Gruber (http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/10/19/tomorrow) responds by repeating a bunch of previously rumored stuff and one new tidbit: a multi-touch touchpad for desktop Macs that is "mentioned nowhere else." I say: pfft. I've been waiting on those for two years (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/08/about-mac-tablet-speculation.html). [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Hate to say I told you so, but back in November 2007 (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-amazons-kindle-could-fail.html), I did...
[…when you buy a book for the Kindle, you’re actually buying the right to read that book. The data resides primarily on Amazon’s server and temporarily on the Kindle for access.]
[…Your rights to Kindle ebooks have an undetermined lifespan and are non-transferable. If Amazon loses the right to distribute a book, you could lose the right to read it, since the data resides primarily on their server.]
Yep. you don't own those ebooks and now it's been proven (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2009/07/17/just-because-you-bought-it-doesnt-mean-youll-always-have-it/). Don't say I didn't warn you. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
With the development of carbon nanotubes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube), we may be just years away from a new industrial revolution that replaces our reliance on chemistry with molecular manipulation. Instead of waiting on new chemical combinations for better batteries, we could rearrange nanostructures to hold more electrons. Rather than launch rockets into space using tanks of fuel, we could lift ships on space elevators (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator) built from strands of carbon nanofiber. Sounds like science fiction, but these things are already being planned.
But why stop there? If we can capture electrons in nano carbon buckyballs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerene) and extend tethers into orbit, what about a vast sphere of interwoven nano fibers that floats above the magnetosphere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere), catching electrons from the solar winds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_wind), funneling them down the tethers to supply us with more electricity than we could ever generate on Earth.
Sure, we'll have to wait for nanotech capacitors and space elevators to pan out first, but I don't think a planetary dome is a far-flung leap from there. Carbon nanofibers are individually stronger than diamond and can be woven together for greater strength. Forming rings, they can be linked together to create a geodesic dome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_dome), a structure that gets stronger as it gets larger. The rings would block far less than one percent of sunlight while harvesting mass quantities of electrons as they flow over the rings and bounce off the magnetosphere.
Hard to say when we'll be far along enough to see this being seriously planned. Would be nice to see it in my lifetime though. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
2009. The year we say good-bye to President Bush and hello to President Barack Obama. Despite the mess left by eight years of an administration with no accomplishments (or at least none they've mentioned in interviews), I am looking forward to what the new year will bring. Obviously it will take more than a year to see anything substantial, but we'll see a start. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
With Election Day just hours away, it's now or never for me to sneak in a prediction and analysis.
Well, doesn't take a brainiac to predict an Obama win. By every analysis of the polls, my man has the electoral votes covered even without winning any toss-up states, but judging from McCain's recent rallies, I'm willing to go a step further and predict a landslide. While Obama warns of complacency, McCain's supporters appear highly demoralized. I suspect the low turnout at his rallies will transfer to the polls.
As for how Obama ascended to victory, it comes down to nailing the interview. Experience is important but I liken it to a resume. A resume is critical for getting a good job, but it only gets one to the interview stage, and that's where one makes their case. Obama has made his case.
He's faced strong candidates backed by proven political machines and emerged on top. McCain might think Obama doesn't know the difference between strategy and tactics, yet Obama has shown a superior command of both, while McCain uses excessively hard tactics to prop up a very weak strategy. I believe how a candidate conducts their campaign is a strong indicator of how they'll operate their office. Organization, intelligence and focus. That's what his campaign has shown. That's what we need in the White House. That's why Obama will win and win big. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Or more accurately, it's what I blogged about (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/08/pandora-should-stop-whining-and-start.html). What is it? A little banner ad sitting over the album art in Pandora (http://www.pandora.com/), my most-used iPhone app!
Even better, they managed to overcome an obstacle I thought might be holding them back: the obtrusiveness of click-through. They managed to keep the click-through within the app, so the music keeps going while you browse their sponsor's site. Very well done.
First and so far only sponsor appears to be Best Buy Mobile. Excellent targeting, but it could go a step further and send me straight to iPhone accessories. An audience of Pandora-loving iPhone users is probably move interested in more stuff for their iPhones rather than new and likely Pandora-less phones.
