Basement.org has a refreshing “whoa nellie, this is kind of crap” article on the Web 2.0 hype permeating the Internet, the Valley and (to a lesser extent) Wall Street. Slate also has a “wtfbbq” piece on Web 2.0, which points out that the term is kind of a catch-all for a bunch of stuff, and more or less has little meaning.
At least according to the tea-leaf readers at Foreign Policy magazine. The same maneuvering and demagoguery we saw before the invasion of Iraq is popping up about Iran….though I have serious doubts the administration would try to invade another Middle Eastern country, given the bang-up job they’ve done so far in Iraq.
Not that they ever really went anywhere, since Half Life 2, Doom 3, Grand Theft Auto and countless others are popular titles. But with the mammoth popularity of World of Warcaft, the single player role playing game has gotten short shrift of late, a situation apparently corrected by the release of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. At least the NYT seems to think so.
Since I grew up in Edmonton, and now make my home in Vancouver, I say “feh” to all this Calgary adulation. It’s still a cold, boring Prairie town, no matter how much money is sloshing around. Not that Edmonton is any different, or that Vancouver is without its faults, but…ugh. Calgary is like Toronto Junior. All the snobbery, all the cold weather, none of the multiculturalism or attractions. Meh. MEH, I say! 🙂
Yup, I’m branching out. Now you can see Mac specific ranting on macsupport.ca, where I’m one of a team of Mac bloggers expostulating on our favorite talisman from Cupertino.
Steve Jobs is clearly the power behind Apple, and (even when gone) always has been the driving force that keeps the company innovative. But Steve Wozniak the genial engineer that lashed together the Apple I and II, has always been the soul of Apple, even though he hasn’t been there as an employee for years. I was the proud owner of an Apple IIgs emblazoned with Woz’s signature for years (ROM 03! Oh yeah!), and I’m always up for giving props to a geek elder statesman. Anyway, the merry pranskter and father of the personal computer expostulates on Apple and his own life in the San Jose Mercury News.
Now that Star Wars is finally finished, George Lucas has turned his flaming, lidless eye inward to streamlining operations between Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects behemoth that defined blockbusters for the past 30 years, and Lucasarts, the (sometimes) impressive game division of the company. The last couple of Star Wars movies used pre-visualization to plot out shots, and Lucas is looking at going beyond that to use the resources of both companies more effectively. Anyway, it’s an interesting article.
Or at least they’re calling it down for a pretty damned slow development cycle. No argument here, and of course I’ll be waiting for the next iteration of Apple products, where they really start to take advantage of the Intel chips and introduce new form factors.
But I have to give Microsoft credit where it’s due; I think the Xbox (and the 360) are decent products, with very well thought out interfaces and an excellent online presence. Sony, on the other hand, seems to be flailing and spouting nonsense to distract everyone that they don’t have a product yet.
…like that comes as a surprise to anyone. Apparently Bush and Blair even floated the idea of provoking Saddam with planes sporting UN insignia, just to get him to shoot first. Classy.
A little too “he’s a genius! who’da thunk it!” for my liking, but an interesting need nonetheless.