All posts by James Moore

NetBooking

Gadgets, ,

HP2133

I have just started using a NetBook – the HP2133 to be exact (the cheap Linux version). The 2133 is a mix of contradictions; the keyboard is sleek and professional looking – reminiscent of something that Apple might produce – but the processor is underpowered, the NetBook has an integrated microphone and camera but no way of running Skype on the default version of Linux (SUSE), it is cheap but has a crisp screen and Express Card slot.

On the whole I like the device. For my use it is near perfect. Something I can easily carry with me on the train and to meetings. The installed version of Linux will disappear. Ubuntu 8.10 will take the place of SUSE. From what I have read Ubuntu will afford me a slightly snappier and more expandable OS. I hope the transition is relatively painless.

Reading: Maelstrom

Misc, ,

MaelstomI am part way through reading Maelstrom by Peter Watts. Imagine William Gibson spent studying the ecophysiology of marine mammals and then endured a rough bout of manic depression before putting pen to paper. That is the essence or Watts’ work – severely dystopic science fiction with a marine bent.I think I am enjoying the book. I keep on reading but I feel happy to be back in the normal world afterwards. Watts has done a very cool thing with the way he distributes his works. Everything is available to download (ebooks) and read for free from his website. That does not stop him from selling the books on Amazon though (Maelstrom – Rifters Trilogy).

Do you believe in Harvey Dent?

Chicago, Misc, , ,
Do you believe in Harvey Dent?

Do you believe in Harvey Dent?

Walking to work I noticed three ‘protesters’ with Harvey Dent placards. Being a comic book reader I knew this was a fictitious character from the Batman comics. So it looks like the producers of the new Batman movie are experimenting with marketing techniques. I must admit I get a kick out of this, but I do not know if many of the general public are really going to react to this campaign. Pedestrians in Chicago have a tendency to tune out street theatre.However, if anyone decides to Google “Harvey Dent” then they will come across elements of Warner Brother’s viral marketing and alternative reality gaming websites. I Believe In Harvey Dent is the website that corresponds to the “Dentmobile” campaign. On this site the producers are attempting to get potential moviegoers to upload their photos of Dentmobile and to voice their support for Harvey Dent. On a slightly less visible site (http://www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com) is the message “Page not found” – swiping the text on the page (or viewing the source code) demonstrates that the Joker is around…. I quickly checked on Google Trends to see if there was much of an uptick on searches for Harvey Dent but so far there seems to be little of real note.