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Jim Louderback has delved into and written a lot about Microsoft Vista. He could be considered an expert. Here's his conclusion:
The upshot is that even after nine months, Vista just ain't cutting it. I definitely gave Microsoft too much of a free pass on this operating system: I expected it to get the kinks worked out more quickly. Boy, was I fooled! If Microsoft can't get Vista working, I might just do the unthinkable: I might move to Linux.
Or a Mac.
Should we be worried about a bridge collapsing or a shark attack? Megan Daum runs the numbers:
Based on estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were about 3,500 automobile-related deaths during that monthlong period. U.S. cancer deaths hover around 42,000 a month. As for heart disease, the American Heart Assn. tells us that someone dies of cardiovascular disease every 36 seconds. And that's just in this country.
As staggering as these numbers are, they don't seem to scare or interest us nearly as much as things like plane crashes, mountain lion attacks, deadly roller coaster mishaps or avian flu. And because the news media is savvy about (and complicit in) our fears and fascinations, we are fed an endless supply of death news that has little to do with how most people actually die. Nonetheless, death by falling asteroid seems infinitely more real than death by cholesterol.
With my luck an asteroid would hit me while I was crossing one of those structurally deficient bridges.
Bob Cringley has some interesting things to say, in this week's column, about the Kurzweilian technological singularity. It's coming, he agrees, but it won't be the predicable utopia that some believe.
...I believe the Singularity WILL occur. Oh it's coming all right, despite the spectacular under-performance of artificial intelligence over the years. But like every other rite of passage, this one will be both more and less than we expect it to be. Our troubles won't go away, they'll just become different troubles.
The singularity, if you're not familiar with it, is a reasonable prediction that by a certain date, sometime in this century, exponential advances in computers, nanotechnology and medical science will allow for computers that are smarter than humans and for humans that will live indefinitely with a mastery of the physical world. (I'm assuming this will include flying cars.) The next step, late in the century, will be the merging of biological and technological into one.
Sounds great, right? But the optimists leave one thing out -us. Human culture is non-linear, unpredictable and very often self destructive. Cringley is right, being the masters of our fate will bring a whole new set of troubles and I think they're likely to be big ones. But it'll be interesting, for the next generation anyway, to see how it all works out.
Jamaica is preparing for a direct hit from Cat 4 hurricane Dean. It could grow to a cat 5 before then. From the Gleaner:
"All police, prison, fire officers and other members of the essential services who are on leave must now report to their respective organisations as part of the preparation to boost our security search and rescue capabilities if that becomes necessary," [Prime Minister] Simpson Miller said at a press conference called immediately following a meeting with the National Disaster Committee.
Next stop, Grand Cayman.
An experiment in news compilation...
Local
A fairly slow news day, a bit of an uproar in the Back Bay over proposed Storrow Drive construction, but that's about it.
Extra pay for extra responsibilities (#)
Fan Pier coming -no really
Joe Carter to head MA National Guard
Brady targeted for non-union work
Boston area prices stabilizing
Tree chaining threatened over Esplanade road work
Stay away from the seals unless you want to see a shark up-close
Kevin Cullen on Sox hopes and fears
Gelzinis on Minister Jeff Brown's work on violence
Howie on Mitt's money
Other
The market continues to be the big concern with all indications that there'll be more slippage today.
Overnight, Asian markets continue down
CARE turns down US food aid
High Schoolers forced to pick a major
Jitters over make or break Sept Iraq report
Loan approved? Look again
Thieves target appliances during construction
Dean heading towards Texas coast
300+ dead in Peru Earthquake
Army suicides top 26 year record
LAPD targets retail pot stores
Proposed law targets those selling celebrity mugshots
Legend
# Someone thought this was news, apparently
Ed Koch likes Mike Bloomgerg as a candidate. You will too, he says.
From my armchair, I've formed the view that Al Qaeda is a minor player in Iraq, and that most of the violence is between Sunni (exploiting Al Qaeda) and Shia, each vying for power. A civil war, in other words. Michael Yon, who is on the ground there, thinks otherwise.
Writing in the Herald, Jay Fitzgerald notes that Cape Wind opponents are touting the emergence of technology that would allow off-shore turbines to be placed further out in deep water as a reason not to build the Nantucket Sound wind farm. But that technology might be years off or may not even be feasible.
We could wait for cold-fusion to solve our energy problems, too, or we can do now what we can do now.
A new study says diversity is bad. I'm no academic, but I know what I like and I like Thai food and Indian food and Roti and pizza and udon noodles and corn beef and cabbage and paella and kimchi and chili rellenos and hamburgers and hummus and bouillabaisse and lasagna and even thousand year old eggs.
I'm not sure about cucumber ice cream, though.
In a South Shore version of Gawker Stalker, I submit the following observation: Steven Tyler driving by the Marshfield Fairgrounds in an antique racer, wearing a leather helmet and aviator goggles.
Too bad I didn't have a camera.
It's amazing that we never really worried about bridges before but we're sure worried about them now. Now we pray we get to the other side. We knew the Longfellow was getting a little long in the tooth, but looking at the rust on those skimpy supports holding it up, well, I'm not so sure I'd want to be riding the Red Line between Kendall and Charles every day. I suppose that the good news is that we tore down the Central Artery before it collapsed on our heads!
But what happened in Minneapolis was a fluke. It was a tragedy but it was also random. Every time we cross a bridge or step into an elevator or ride in a plane, train or automobile, we trust our lives to engineering. Mostly things work out OK. There are more than a half million highway bridges (of which, 75,871 are deemed structurally deficient) in the US. One fell down.
If there's a lesson in the bridge disaster it isn't that we should panic, it's that ongoing maintenance and an investment in infrastructure should be a nagging priority when drawing up budgets. Especially when the bridge panic of 07 fades from the collective memory.
A big round floating object towed by raft towards the bow of the Queen Mary. Not a very smart move.
NYPD moved in and shut the performance down. And the 'artist' who masterminded the whole thing went on camera beforehand with statements that he knew it would fuel terrorism fears. The Mooninite boys were geniuses compared to this guy.
