By Robert Ellison. Updated on Friday, February 24, 2017.
Shift Omnibus Edition (Wool, #6-8) by Hugh Howey
3/5
I read this straight after the Wool series. The Shift trilogy fills in the back story of how the silos were created and then starts to overlap with the events from Wool. Shift didn't have quite the same tension as Wool and I didn't care about the characters as much. Still hooked though and can't wait for Dust later this year...
Wool Omnibus (Wool, #1-5) by Hugh Howey
4/5
Collection of five novellas set in a mysterious silo. A little more is revealed with each chapter and the series gets more compelling and ambiguous as we learn more about what's really going on. Didn't know what to expect (got this as a Christmas Present) but very enjoyable and I've gone straight on to the next omnibus with a final tranche due later this year.
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2015.
I've supported the SHIELD Act before, which would force patent trolls to pay legal bills for unsuccessful shakedown attempts, but a TechCrunch article today made me think this through some more.
SHIELD would be a serious deterrent for trolls who have their eye on large companies with the means to defend themselves. But trolls eat startups first and a startup is often unable to fight through the courts and get to the point where SHIELD would help. If the troll is after something like $1,000 from every company using a scanner then not many businesses are going to risk going to court. And if the troll isn't interested in any reasonable settlement then the legal fees and management distraction can kill you.
SHIELD is well intentioned and would certainly help. But we need to stop examining patents before issuing them and do the job properly for the few that ever get used in anger.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Bringing a SHIELD to a conker fight #politics#patents#uspto#shield#trolls SHIELD might help patent reform but what we really need to do is stop examining patents altogether.)
Photo of red lanterns decorating Union Square in San Francisco to celebrate Chinese New Year.
The photograph, titled "Chinese New Year," captures a vivid scene bathed in vibrant red and framed against a brilliant blue sky. The focal point is a series of large, red lanterns hanging gracefully, each adorned with delicate patterns that catch the sunlight. Their vibrant hues contrast sharply with the clear azure above, creating an arresting visual harmony. Below them, a stone pillar rises, topped by a poised statue that seems to be gesturing upwards towards the sky. In the upper left, a skyscraper stretches into the sky, its concrete facade offering a modern counterpoint to the traditional elements of the scene.
The composition of this photograph is both dynamic and balanced, using a strong diagonal line formed by the row of lanterns. This diagonal draws the viewer’s gaze across the frame, inviting them to explore the contrasting elements within the shot. The use of complementary colors, especially the red against the blue sky, enhances the visual impact and creates a festive atmosphere in line with the theme. However, the presence of the skyscraper could be seen as a distraction from the traditional elements, pulling the viewer’s focus away from the lanterns and cultural symbolism. Despite this, the juxtaposition of old and new adds a narrative depth, suggesting a dialogue between tradition and modernity. This mix of elements provides both a strength and a potential imbalance within the photo.
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2015.
You'd think Facebook or Twitter could scrape together a semi-functional Android client but apparently not.
Twitter has some size limit for photo uploads. In a sane world the client would resize a photo that was too large and just get on with it. Table stakes would be an error message. But no, it pretends everything is just peachy and then fails to upload. To post a photo to Twitter I have to remember to go into the camera settings and ratchet down the megapixels which I remember to do about never.
Facebook used to work occasionally but now just dumps an ugly immobile progress bar that won't go away until I reboot the phone.
Google+ probably works fine technically but if a photo is uploaded to a forest and there is nobody there to see it is that still in any sense counted as success?
(Published to the Fediverse as:
I can't post a single photo #etc#facebook#twitter Twitter and Facebook both failing to upload photos on Android (probably fixed now but still...))
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Friday, February 24, 2017.
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
2/5
I always want to like Kim Stanley Robinson a lot more than I do. The setup here is an interesting mystery set in a fascinating fully populated Solar System and if 2312 delivered on this premise it could have been a great book. But it's bogged down with exposition and a lengthy middle section on randomly repopulating extinct mammals and ended up just being a slog for me.
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, February 12, 2022.
I came to Chrome OS by a circuitous route. Initially I though a browser in a box was a silly, under-powered toy. But then I needed a meeting machine for work.
To start with I decided to use an old Macbook. It was running OSX 10.5 (Leopard) which is a bit out of date so I thought I'd update it to the latest 10.8 (Mountain Lion) goodness. But this turned out to be impossible to do from my desk. Before I could go to 10.8 I'd have to get physical media for 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and patch it up to the point where it would accept an upgrade. This meant shipping a disc or visiting an Apple Store and getting smarmed at. Unacceptable.
So I decided to ditch OSX and install Windows 8. This was a cheap online purchase and a painless install... but Windows 8 is a disaster on a non-touch device. Everything takes an extra few clicks or a half-mile scroll to the right.
Live tiles seem like a good idea until you realize that you're not looking at the start screen often enough for them to be of any value. If Microsoft had introduced a permanent ticker at the bottom of the screen or a secondary tile screen on all Windows 8 certified devices life could have been more interesting.
Removing the start button so you have to go into touch and swipe mode to do anything is a pain. A boot to desktop mode would be great for older devices.
The deal breaker though is the increasingly assertive Windows Update. Twice in meetings it decided to reboot the computer. It used to be you could delay updates for hours but Windows 8 just knows that the latest patch is more important that whatever you happen to be working on and cheerfully pulls the plug.
Admittedly you can figure out how to find the vestigial, non-Windows 8 config for Windows 8 and go to manual mode. And then figure out how to turn off the nagging for not having the recommended Windows Update setting. But but by this point you realize that you've got a operating system that is about updates first and getting work done second. And Windows 8 Windows Update doesn't even update Windows Store apps so you've got a live tile nagging for updates every five seconds as well.
On top on the Windows 8 horror the Macbook was old, heavy and had a puny battery. Also, after installing Windows 8 the only software I needed to install was Chrome and the office VPN client. Once this sunk in I ordered the new Samsung Chromebook.
Setup on the Chromebook is: 1. Login to your Google Account (with support for two-factor authentication), 2. Choose a wallpaper (optional).
I'm not likely to use a Chromebook as my primary machine any time soon. It is however a meeting powerhouse for email, IMs, calendar and note taking. I replaced Skype with imo.im (which I've used on Android for a while). Full Outlook web access took a bit of head scratching - see this post for details. Google Apps and Hangouts work seamlessly as you'd expect. It's light and the battery lasts all day.
The only niggle so far is that Chrome OS doesn't support the flavor of VPN that my company uses. It would be nice to get to the wiki, but it's not a deal breaker (If you have a Cisco VPN that insists on a group name go vote for this bug).
Microsoft and Apple should be really rather worried.
Updated 2013-07-17 13:54:
Two quick updates.
Providing a group name to use with Cisco VPN devices was added in Chrome 28. Unfortunately it still doesn't work for me. I've filed issue 261241 on the chromium bug tracker for this - you can star this issue if you have the same problem.
Skype has managed to block Imo.im so that no longer works for Skype on a Chromebook. I'm using IM+ for now, but it's not nearly as good - it doesn't remember passwords and it keeps silently losing connectivity so it's easy to miss chats.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Going Chrome #etc#chromebook#google#macos#apple#windows#microsoft Part one in my adventure in switching to a Chromebook, figuring out how to make it work for most of my tasks and then eventually returning to Windows.)
When trying to load the Outlook Web App on a Chromebook you'll find that you can only access the 'light' version. It's pretty easy to fix, you just need to spoof the user agent.
On a regular desktop computer launch Chrome and type chrome://version in the address bar. Find and copy the user agent string.
On your Chromebook install the User-Agent Switcher extension. After this installs click the icon and choose Settings. Enter a new customer user agent - name something like 'Chrome Desktop', the user agent string is the one you copied from a desktop PC above, group is Chrome, type is replace and enter a character or two for the indicator flag.
Next click the Permanent Spoof list tab (still in User-Agent Switcher) and enter the domain of your outlook site (i.e. outlook.mycorp.com) and choose the user agent we just created from the drop down list (i.e. 'Chrome Desktop').
Finally log out of Outlook Web Access. You should now be able to uncheck the 'light' experience and get the full version of the Outlook Web App.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Full Outlook Web Access on Chromebook #etc#chromebook#outlook How to spoof your user agent to get full Outlook web access working on Chromebook, including the browser extension and user agent.)
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, January 18, 2025.
Last light of 2012 (up Bernal Hill). Happy New Year!
The photograph titled "Last Light" captures a serene moment beneath a canopy of towering trees. The sky is painted with the gentle hues of twilight, as the fading sun casts a warm glow on the foliage. The trees dominate the frame, their leaves kissed by the last vestiges of sunlight, creating an interplay of light and shadow that feels both contemplative and nostalgic. The branches reach out delicately, backlit by the dimming light, while patches of sky peek through, hinting at the day's quiet surrender to night.
The composition of this photo embraces a naturalistic style, drawing attention to the juxtaposition of light and shadow. The use of backlighting is particularly effective, highlighting the texture of the leaves and adding depth to the scene. The framing of the trees creates a sense of enclosure, inviting the viewer to look upwards and feel enveloped by nature. One aspect I appreciate is the way the light accentuates the details of the foliage without overpowering the darker elements. However, I find the overall sharpness could enhance the image's clarity, allowing the intricate details of the tree branches and leaves to pop even more vividly. The balance between the illuminated and shadowed areas is commendable, though a slightly broader exposure might have revealed more of the ambient details.
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, January 18, 2025.
Depress Clutch
How I have to start my car.
The photograph titled "Clutch, you have no friends" presents an automotive dashboard display that solemnly states, "Depress clutch!" The text is centrally aligned on a dimly lit screen, evoking the sterile ambiance of a machine interface. The surrounding darkness adds an aura of solitude, juxtaposing the functionality of the alert with a touch of existential nuance. The screen is backlit with a faint, bluish hue, casting subtle reflections that mimic soft waves, as though the message itself is adrift in a sea of technology.
The composition here is minimalist, with the focus squarely on the textual element against the uncluttered background. This simplicity effectively draws the viewer’s eye directly to the message, making it both the visual and thematic centerpiece. The use of negative space emphasizes isolation, enhancing the emotional undercurrent suggested by the title. While this starkness is aesthetically compelling, lending a certain gravitas to the piece, it may also feel somewhat static, lacking in dynamic elements that could add further visual interest. Nonetheless, the photograph's introspective quality is intriguing, provoking contemplation on the relationship between human and machine.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Clutch, you have no friends... #photo#car Photo of the sign that my car uses to let me know the horrible truth about how I need to start it.)
