Never Enough Convention Fun Department

I have spent this past weekend at Norwescon 32, one of the largest and oldest science fiction/fantasy conventions in the Pacific Northwest, and I must say I had a blast--far more fun than I was expecting. It probably helped that my dear friend Amber is running IT for the convention and needeed help. Anyone who has been with me at a SubGenius event knows how hard it is for me to relax--slack, for me, is quite Emergentile in nature and is best experienced in a blast of overthrusters and screams of "hiIwouldlovetotalkbutIgottarunseeyousoonbye!" Keeping occupied and feeling like a useful contributor helps that along.

It was also a chance to check out the Intergalactic Bank of Timbuktu and their slave auction at the convention. Amber was willing to lend me some Timbuks from her account to bid on... well, her, but we'll save that story for later. Even if I didn't find anyone to bid for, I loved the show. I didn't get to attend the Robert The Bruce Memorial Scotch-Off--it conflicted with the IBT auction--but I hear that was a roiling good time.

I will comment more later....

Never Enough Recording Industry Heat Department

Plaintiffs Sought Timeout After Turn in Napster Case

According to transcripts made public today, the judge in the case said on Jan. 16 that she intended to grant a request by Napster to explore whether the record companies might have colluded to prevent Napster and other online music competitors from licensing music to sell on the Internet. The judge, Marilyn Patel of the Federal District Court in Northern California, also said she would allow Napster to explore whether the record companies might not control all the copyrights they claimed to own.

...In other words, there's a big question about whether the record companies can even CLAIM exclusive copyright protection for Internet-distributed music, and their attempts to create alternate venues for online music may prove anti-competitive, thus turning the attention from Napster's "piracy" towards the record company's attempts to stifle competition and innovation. To try to avoid this, the big record companies put their lawsuit against Napster on hold. The joke is on them. HA.

Never Enough Monster Movie Economics Department

AOL in Negotiations to Acquire Red Hat (washingtonpost.com)

To counter Microsoft's desktop hegemony, New York-based AOL Time Warner could use the deal to couple its America Online software, the market leader with more than 33 million Internet subscribers, with Red Hat's operating-system technology, sources said.

The AOL online software, which consumers can install free from the Web or a compact disk, is now designed to run on Microsoft's Windows operating system. But the AOL software could be configured to override Windows and launch a version of Red Hat's Linux operating system, sources said.

...Launch it off what, the CD-ROM? If so... welcome to The Linux That Crawled.

Never Enough Anti-Mac Dumbasses Department

Today's New York Times features a Yale computer science professor, David Gelernter, who criticizes Apple for not being innovative enough, ignoring the general conservativism of PC manufacturers (is that a FLOPPY I see in that beige box? Aw, how quaint!) and giving charge simply because Steve Jobs is probably the only guy in the industry with the guts to break ranks with that conservativism. Therefore, if this guy's computer revolution doesn't happen, it's Steve's fault.

Gelernter has moxie--he advocates getting rid of the mouse but wants a place to hang up the keyboard when he's not using it. I question his hanging onto this particular technology for computer input. The keyboard layout most of us use today is over 100 years old and was designed to slow down fingers and thus avoid mechanical jams. The Dvorak keyboard is an improvement, yes, but I've always considered the keyboard to be the clumsiest part of a computer setup, even more so than the limited mouse. Even chording keyboards, with astonishing improvements in efficiency and a potentially small footprint, still has a footprint.

Which leads to the bigger problem: We inevitably dedicate a piece of furniture--several pieces in fact--to computers. True, like most desks it invites its own clutter, much of it frivolous, but not before large swaths of surface are claimed for monitors, keyboards, and media--and, unless it's on the ground, the CPU itself.

This is the ultimate problem with computers as they exist today: They occupy space that could be used in more effective ways. Computers are not furniture, Gelernter says, even as he insists on a place to hang his keyboard. I have learned how to navigate around my computer desk and chair at night, but why should I have to accommodate furniture in the first place?

What we want are talking computers that can understand when we're giving it an order and can execute it without much fumbling on the user's end. We want a data jukebox that can be kept out of sight, out of mind, with redundant copies made on the fly so backups aren't so pressing. (Let's face it, most of us take our cars in for a simple oil change, but we're expected to schedule in time to swap media back and forth for a few hours once a month or so.) Have the CPU blend in entirely with the furniture; waterproof it so you could put a planter on it. Make it ubiquitous and invisible, and failing that, at least camouflage it better. Network it with flat-panel screens in each room, so when it must use a monitor, it can simply cut in, display, and then return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

While technology advances have been made in many key areas, we're still a ways off from a computer that can interact meaningfully with a person without some training. That's the remaining barrier to this true computer revolution. Until then, all anyone seems able to suggest is, get a desk and pull a chair up.

Never Enough Queer Geeks Department

There's a thread on Geek Culture regarding gay/lesbian/bi/trans geeks. Well, OK, it's mainly about me, damn it, as one of the few who came out and the one who started the thread in the first place. But hopefully it will grow from there.

Never Enough Aggravation Department

For the past several days I have been dealing with a curious phenomenon. Namely, you change a version number and a couple of features of a software package, and once bold techs suddenly start escalating every case because it's "over their head". Even if only 30K of the code in a 5 Mb package is different, they refuse to even look at the case.

This new breed of tech annoys me to no end.

Whatever happened to curiosity, initiative, and critical thinking? Have we really devolved THAT far?

"God made Man, but the Monkey supplied the glue."

Oh well. Two more months of this, and then freedom.

Never Enough Baby Doll T-Shirts Department

A not-so-subtle Connieite reference on this t-shirt.... Ooh, I think I know what I'm buying as soon as I have money again.