June 2007

User Interfaces: Aero vs. Beryl

Submitted by Jon on Mon, 06/25/2007 - 12:45

I don't have all the bells and whistles that the guy in this movie has running, but maybe it's time to suck it up and upgrade to the newest version. Aero is Windows Vista's response to the popularity and ease of use of the Mac OSX interface, and Beryl/Compiz is the Linux answer. This video starts out with Aero, and then switches over to Beryl. I think it's pretty obvious which one is the winner, especially considering that Beryl is free, whereas running Aero requires Windows Vista, which is selling at Amazon.com for $150 for the lowest-end version of it.

A bit of privacy for your email!

Submitted by Jon on Thu, 06/21/2007 - 12:10

The AP reports that email may now enjoy 4th amendment rights:

Vatican vs Amnesty International

Submitted by Jon on Wed, 06/13/2007 - 19:29

The Vatican urges Catholics not to donate to Amnesty International (BBC):

The Vatican also said it was suspending all financial aid to Amnesty over what it said was the group's recent change of policy on the issue.

Amnesty said it was not promoting abortion as a universal right.

But the group said that women had a right to choose, particularly in cases of rape or incest.

OLPC History: Senegalese Failure in Implementation

Submitted by Jon on Fri, 06/08/2007 - 04:00

What does a Senegalese technology implementation project from 1982 have to do with One Laptop Per Child? Well, you might be surprised. At the same time that the French government was launching their successful (but quickly overshadowed by the Internet) Minitel project, they were also supporting a constructivist-based computer-learning project, using Apple II computers with the LOGO programming language/learning tool.