February 27, 2008
Earthquake!
It's just gone 1.00am, and the floor and walls have stopped shaking. Various birds outside have stopped squawking, I've just returned to bed, after running around to see whether an enormous tree had fallen on or near the house. All seems good. Kids are OK. Mrs Kittenhead is still asleep. Cats are a bit freaked out. Think we've just had an earthquake.
Nothing about it on the BBC news as yet. However, I note that the 1st and 3rd most read articles are http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6602677.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6940546.stm, both about earthquakes that occurred in Kent and Manchester in 2007, so it looks as other people have had a sudden spontaneous desire to read BBC articles about earthquakes. (So, the way to find out really breaking news appears to be to look at what other people have been searching for!)
I guess it was real. Let's see what the News says tomorrow.
Update : 1:18 - it's just been confirmed on the news; tremors have been felt in Darlington, London and Nottingham. This is my first earthquake. It rocked!
February 01, 2008
MacBook Air, Bob the Builder and the new Leica M8
A few days ago, a work colleague who will remain anonymous (partly due to my good manners, and partly due to his security-conscious/paranoid nature being a security architect and things, but you know who you are Chris) approached me over lunch and asked me whether I had put in my order for Apple's new MacBook Air. I responded in the negative, as (a) I didn't need a new laptop as my old iBook G4 is still going quite well, (b) if I was going to buy a new laptop, it would probably be something that could happily be trod on by small children, and (c) you can't replace the batteries on the MacBook Air. This got my anonymous friend on a roll, telling me that Apple's entire product strategy (and most other purveyors of consumer products) was based around built in obsolescence, i.e. when something goes wrong with your product, you'll probably bin it, and buy a new vastly improved one.*Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
I pointed out that the new MacBook Air was designed with recyclability in mind, using reclaimable materials, and no nasty stuff (e.g. no Mercury in the LCD panel). Once you are done with your machine, you can return it to Apple, and they will reclaim all of the materials, and make new stuff out of 'em. Greenpeace have applauded Apple's efforts. "Ahh", says my friend, "Recycling is the last resort. You should Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. In that order". And this is what he does : he adopts the old, and the unwanted. This isn't a money-saving venture - no, it is a principled effort to prevent stuff from being needlessly discarded. His recently acquired new PC is 5 years old. His old PC is 9 years old. His cellphone is at least 4 years old. So, I reckon that he'd like the new Leica M8. Not only does it look like something from the middle of last century, but it is designed to be upgradable - not just the software, but the hardware too. So, when Leica release a new shutter mechanism, you send your camera off to Germany, and they take your camera apart, pop the new shutter on, and send it back to you. Over time, you may find that none of your original Leica M8 remains - it has all been upgraded over time. But, here's the brilliant bit. As you live with your camera, organically modifying and improving it over time, accepting some modifications and rejecting others, your camera slowly becomes customised to be yours and yours alone. The small scuff on the shutter release button, the bit of paint that your toddler managed to get on the bottom of the case - all of these things make it unique and comfortable, like an old worn jumper. It may not be the latest groovy thing, but no-one else has one the same. Which means, you'll hold on to it, cherish it, live with it, and not feel obliged to throw it away. Plus, it is a bit of a looker.
* He's right of course, and most of us realise it. The worst culprit seems to be inkjet printers. They have a typical lifespan of a year or two. They are dirt cheap (often under £50), though a complete set of new ink catrtridges are typically 80% of the cost of an entire new printer. Therefore, at some stage, when your cartridges run out, you may end up thinking "say, I'll buy me a new printer, and get a new set of cartridges for free!", and then bin the old one (as it was probably on its last legs anyway).