Why is it that people keep pointing to countries like India and China and arguing that the PC is dead and that we should be focusing on mobile phones as the new platform for computation and the new portal for accessing the Internet? Yes, I know that the data says that right now that people in those countries use mobile phones more than they use PCs. And yes, that does mean there is a compelling opportunity to create mobile internet experiences for them. But there’s a compelling opportunity to create mobile experiences worldwide, and it’s a bad assumption that just because many people use a mobile phone without a PC now that they will continue to use a mobile phone in isolation in the future. In other words, no, the mobile phone is not the new PC. It’s different than the PC. It’s useful in situations where desktops and laptops are not, and vice versa. It will complement the PC, not replace it.
To my mind, the parallel here is the bicycle. Bicycles are great machines for getting around; I use mine at least three days a week. But I use my bicycle to complement my car, not to replace it (although to be honest I’d prefer to be able to use my bicycle more and my car less). Bicycles are also popular as a means of transportation in countries like India and China; I still remember news articles from a few years back talking about how Beijing was so bicycle-friendly (something that most American cities alas are not). But bicycles were not used more than cars because people preferred bicycles to cars, but because cars were so expensive. As car prices drop and the standard of living in a country rises, car use increases and bicycle use decreases.
So as PC prices continue to drop and the global standard of living continues to rise (current malaise notwithstanding), do you really think that people are going to keep using their mobile phones in isolation and eschew buying PCs? Of course they’re not; they’re going to buy PCs and use them to complement their mobile phones, just like people do in the US and Europe (do you know anyone who’s gotten an iPhone or G1 who’s thrown away their PC?). So yes, I’m all for creating compelling new user experiences for mobile devices. But let’s not get too caught up with the assumption that we must design for mobile-only use.
Finally made it through Keir Thomas’ Ubuntu Kung Fu. I bought it because I happened to pick it up in a bookstore, leaf through it a bit, and in a few minutes already learned a few useful tips and tricks I hadn’t known before (for example, there’s a Workrave applet for Linux). Having now made my way all the way through it, I have to say that it was definitely worth the price of admission. I learned a number of handy tricks, and as a result I’m actually back to spending more time in Linux (although that’s helped by the fact that I’m also spending more time in meetings, and for my work laptop I only have a choice between Linux and Windows; OS X isn’t an option). Of course, my increased enjoyment of Linux isn’t helping my resistance to buying a Dell mini running Ubuntu….
Anna had the day off Monday, so we had a father-daughter day at the Oakland Zoo. I don’t know about you, but I never seem to actually see many animals when I visit zoos or aquariums with my daughter. Instead, we visit the attractions that entail climbing, jumping, and (at the aquarium) drawing. At least she didn’t fall in to the frog pond (which is more than I can say for some of the kids there).
It’s been 8 years since I’ve been optimistic and hopeful about our government; it seems like most of the time the best we could hope for was minimizing the damage as opposed to actually making progress. So it feels a little strange to once again be proud of our soon-to-be-leaders and be optimistic about where the country might be going. Here’s to America, our first African American president, and progress.
And a president comfortable with the English language.
Sorry, couldn’t resist that one. But seriously, can you imagine what that exact same speech would have sounded like with Bush reading it? Oy.
I must say, the process of upgrading my laptop to Intrepid went smoother than I expected (certainly smoother than the upgrade from Gutsy to Hardy; that one was pretty rocky). Aside from a few small quirks (e.g., text doesn’t show up in the Notes 8 workspace icons, having Blubuntu installed blocked the update to the new Human themes) the installation was straightforward. Although after 4 version upgrades I wonder exactly how much cruft my Ubuntu installation has accumulated; I finally got motivated enough to go in and wipe out at least 4 old kernels that were hanging around. Hopefully the System Cleaner / Cruft Removal project will start to get better traction and help resolve the issue.
Here’s how you run a meeting: have an agenda, and when the meeting starts start with the first item. Handle each item in turn, and when you reach the end of the list end the meeting.
Do not drag the meeting out to fill the allocated time just because you allocated more time than you’ve used; the people in the meeting are likely to be busy people with other things to do.
No wonder everyone brings laptops to meetings these days; people seem to have forgotten how to run meetings.
On the one hand, hooray! Vote and get free coffee from Starbucks and free ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s?
On the other hand, what does it say about our democracy that we have to bribe people to vote with $5 worth of free stuff?
So I caved over the weekend and upgraded my home PC to Intrepid (Ibex), the new version of Ubuntu. I’d intended to hold off, since when I upgraded from Gutsy to Hardy I accidentally disabled the IBM software I’d installed, making it impossible to connect to the VPN or run Notes until the folks running the IBM Ubuntu repository had a chance to update their library dependences. But I was curious about the new version and so figured I’d make the desktop (which I only occasionally use) a potential sacrifice to the Gods of Version Incompatabilities.
On the whole, things actually went pretty smoothly, and it looks like the IBM software stack still works smoothly. Of course, it turns out that the latest version of xserver included with Intrepid breaks older nvidia drivers, so I lost my Compiz support on that machine (apparently until nvidia fixes the driver). But that’s pretty much par for the course; I never expect upgrades to work perfectly smoothly. And I must confess that I like the new Dark Room theme (and the cave drawing Ibex background).
In a way, things went too smoothly; now I’m tempted to upgrade my work laptop as well. And by tempted, I mean I’m about to push the button to start the upgrade… now.
Wine is software that allows Windows applications to run on Mac OS X and Linux without launching a full virtual machine (the approach taken by Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion for the Mac) or rebooting into Windows (the BootCamp approach). Normally I wouldn’t bother with it (I use VMWare Fusion on my Mac and when I use my Linux laptop I have access to nearly all of the software I need), but back in July CodeWeavers (makers of a commercial implementation of Wine called CrossOver) issued their “Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge” where they promised to make their software available free if one of a given set of conditions were met. Well, it turns out that one condition was gas prices dropping below $2.79 in the Twin Cities. Well, thanks to our great financial meltdown they have, so it’s free software day today!
I grabbed a copy of CrossOver for Linux, since I’m fine with Fusion on my Mac. Installation was smooth, and I had no trouble setting up the Windows application I most wanted access to under Linux (Evernote, for the curious).
So the economy may be melting down and your financial future in tatters, but at least you can get free software (today only)!
Please, let’s just bump things up a week and hold the vote tomorrow. Two reasons:
1. Never underestimate the ability of the Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
2. I’m so tired of being called by the political campaigns. We need the equivalent of the do-not-call list for people who’ve already voted; once you vote they should automatically list your number(s) and then block any campaign from calling you any more.
jeff pierce 