2007 ιώσεις.

Το 2007 μου μπήκε περίεργα. Πρωτοχρονιά, όπως και χιλιάδες (;) άλλοι εκείνη τη περίοδο, αρρώστησα. Η πρώτη εβδομάδα έφυγε έτσι. Εγώ στο κρεβάτι, με σχετικά ανεκτό πυρετό (βλ. μέγιστο 38.5°C), απίστευτη δυσφορία, μπούκωμα+βράχνιασμα που με έκανε να μιλάω δύομιση οκτάβες κάτω και τρομερούς πονοκεφάλους. Και μετά; Τρείς ημέρες και κάτι πλήρους ανάρρωσης τις οποίες — […]

Almost 14!

The Apple Newton may have been canned by Steve Jobs as part of his efforts to get Apple out of the red in the late 90s, just when the most powerful and promising models were coming out. It might also have been criticised early on for its quirks. Many have openly stated that it was […]

[Apple is like] Moses showing the way to the promised land, but they don't actually go there.

Back in 2004, in a previous incarnation of this blog, I wrote a small piece on how I believed that Apple was gradually losing their newfound 'Open' policy and returned to their 'old' practice of total control, a closed platform and proprietary technology. Like many others, I always believed, and still do, that Apple's closed, monopolistic approach is one of the main reasons that caused their demise in the 1990s, and the reason why it may hinder the huge potential that its current hardware and software offerings have this decade. Tim O’Reilly puts it very succinctly in this late 2004 interview, when he describes how Apple promises computing 'nirvana' and lets economics and marketing screw it all.

OSS has better economics than proprietary software

...according to a recent EU study. And from its perspective, i.e. that of a multinational organisation aiming towards technological independence, low cost and high-quality software for specific tasks, I agree. Now, all that's left is for the Commission put its money where its mouth is and really sponsor (and promote) Open Source software. No, I mean really.

Um Filme Falado (2003)

Μόλις τελείωσε στο σινέ+ (ΕΡΤ Ψηφιακή). Μια εξαιρετική παρουσίαση του (δυτικού) πολιτισμού από τον 95χρονο (τότε) Πορτογάλο σκηνοθέτη Manoel de Oliveira μέσα από ένα ταξίδι με κρουαζιερόπλοιο με αφετηρία τη Λισσαβώνα και προορισμό τη Βομβάη. Βαθιές αποχρώσεις αυτού που αποκαλούμε Ευρώπη, λεπτές αντιθέσεις μεταξύ των λαών, μια αργή αλλά όχι βαρετή ταινία με τραγικό, απρόσμενο τέλος.

Brimming with potent anti-Americanism

Absolute BullIn a prime example of blather, the BBC (cf. some Murdoch-owned-fact-twisting medium) engaged in a smearing generalisation of the Hellenic population's sentiments on the U.S., by invoking parts of the history of the 20th century where U.S. policy harmed Hellas and its people. And while it is true that many Hellenes, like most of 'Old-Europeans' (and, indeed, many Britons) have strong feelings on many U.S. foreign policy and military actions ('insanity') witnessed in recent (and not so recent) times, that in itself in no way implies or signifies 'widespread anti-Americanism'. Furthermore, the implication of any association between the intent of a terrorist attack by a small extremist group of people with the generalised feelings of one nation towards another is, at least, unprofessional, if not sensationalistic and offensive. I'm inclined to think that Malcolm Brabant's writing is brimming with potent bull.