Laptops can be such an addictive machine. I remember when I had my first laptop — I just had to bring it with me wherever I went. Lugging around my computer made me feel so much more productive because I can squeeze in more work. Entertaining myself when I’m bored was also answered by having my laptop with me. With the advent of WiFi, bringing a laptop became so much more fun. You can now chat with friends, surf your favorite sites or even play online. Unfortunately, there are some areas where you can only wish that you can use the internet with your laptop. Long airplane trips are one of those situations where having an internet access would have made a great difference. Fortunately, American Airlines sees the world the same way I do.

The airline company has recently announced that it will begin tests for the deployment of inflight broadband internet access by 2008. The tests will initially be conducted on American Airlines’ transcontinental routes. The service is going to be fee based and will also block video conferencing and VOIP services so that these internet tasks will not disrupt ground to air communications. Also, this particular service will only be available in US flights because of the nature of the technology being used.

One thing that I really love about being a hard core music fan is that I can never talk or research about music without touching on technology. Music and technology go hand in hand not only in terms of the way songs are recorded and produced but also in the different media in which music is distributed. Of course, we also talk about technology in terms of re-encoding those grooves (if you’re into old school analog) or binary code (if CDs are used) into actual music.

The distribution of music has entered a new phase with the introduction of digital formats like MP3, AAC, and WMA. with digital music files now escaping the boundaries of the nerd and becoming a universally recognized format, it is only a matter of time before this is used imaginatively into introducing new formats. Take for example the increasingly popular idea of coming out with music in the thumb drive format. The White Stripes have recently done it with their new album Icky Thump. Now an independent record label recently released an announcement that they are now the world’s first record lable to use the USB flash drive format as its official format for releasing albums.

The label, called SUPERFROTHCO, will be releasing its first USB drive album on September. I for one am quite interested how this new format will develop. With flash drives becoming more and more inexpensive, this could actually be the wave of the future. The possibilities of this format are also endless because you can actually insert other types of files in the drive like videos, art works and even lyrics. The USB drive format is going to effectively cover artwork though. We’ll see what the future has in store.

Our first USB Flash Drive release will be the debut album from
painter/jazz musician Jeffrey Scott Holland’s JSH COMBO, a peculiar
combo that weds experimental modern jazz to dixieland, cabaret and
show tunes, and comes out in a whole new realm of sonic territory in
the process. The album will ship on September 1st, 2007 but we’re
already taking pre-orders and sending out review copies to the media.
This album will be available ONLY from Superfrothco and ONLY on the
MP3-player-friendly USB Flash Drive format!

All future Superfrothco releases, such as the long-awaited GRILLO THE
CLOWN album, will be released in this format. Back catalog items like
HASIL ADKINS’ final album “Night Life” will be reissued in this format
as well, with bonus material.

Practically every single one of the big name companies that manufacture either laptops or batteries for laptops (Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell, among others) have recalled batteries because of certain issues. Although I commend these companies for owning up to the defects or potential dangers that their products might possess and assuming the big financial burden that a recall entails, it should not mean that laptop users should become complacent if their laptops are not included in any kind of battery or product recall program. It is okay to think that your laptop is safe and functions well, but it does not mean that you should be too confident and not take the necessary precautions. I still have to warn laptop users to be extra mindful when using their portables especially during extended usage times. Heat is the biggest enemy of laptops and an overheated machine could actually cause the batteries in the laptop to explode with disastrous consequences.

To illustrate how potentially dangerous a laptop battery explosion is, just watch the video made by the team at PC Pitstop as they simulate a laptop battery fire. If that doesn’t make you more cautious, I don’t know what will.

Over the weekend I installed *Nix on the laptop of a friend. He had just bought a new laptop, complete with preinstalled Windows Vista Home Premium and wanted to try out what all the fuzz about was.
He asked me to install any distro for him, because he was scared to mess with his Vista install.

Where personally I’d prefer OpenSuse 10, for his limited usage Ubuntu is more than way too much already.

At first I was worried : another Dell, Wireless and and a series of multimedia buttons on the laptop casing. Hopefully it would all go right and I wouldn’t have to spend hours searching the web and compiling drivers for the Dell specific hardware.
I was impressed: Ubuntu was installed in less than half an hour and except for the wireless chip and graphics driver, every hardware was corrected recognized and had it’s own driver. Wifi worked and the maximum display settings were recognized properly too. Again less than 30 minutes later, all standard packages were updated and the notebook was ready for the road.

Highly impressed I must admit.
My friend, when he came to collect his notebook, a happy camper. A new laptop, dual boot Vista and Ubuntu and most of all, working hardware. He hit the road with the Ubuntu Dell. But not for long.
Within an hour someone called me. On my land line! This had to be serious, no one calls me on my land line.

It was him. He asked me about the wonderful cross-platform Synergy mouse and keyboard sharing software.
I briefly explained him that it was listed under the packages and how to install it. I made myself a Gin&Tonic, to enjoy my Saturday evening. Everything was set for a quiet evening, without any disturbances.

But plans got screwed up. Someone called me. Only 3 minutes after I had made my drink. It was him again.

Where do I find the shortcut to Synergy? How do I open it?

Sigh.
Tuxers, KISS if you’re really going to conquer the world.

Sorry for the anecdotal intermezzo. :)

I was browsing through reddit the other day searching for information on the current state of techie jobs and came upon a fascinating report about a minor trend among software developers. Apparently, there’s a growing crowd of computer science majors who are stepping up and filling the shortage in some “lost art” technical jobs .

The article suggests that while most computer and tech related job markets are bloated with supply, there are some unique outlets for technically minded people who also have a pension for hands-on physical work.   According to one individual quoted in the article, many techies have a desire to see “physical results instead of just virtual results” in their work.   Most of these emerging job opportunities are in “lost art” jobs which require high-precision technical skill and can’t be filled by off-the-street labor.

One of the careers at the center of this (let me emphasize) minor movement is mechanical watchmaking and design. As demand for luxury watches increases around the world (along with fast growing standards of living in many previously 3rd and 2nd world countries) the need for skilled watchmakers and engineers increases. But there’s a problem… the supply of professionals in this career is quite low, and unlike with most careers, colleges and universities don’t provide “minor league” training.

So, it seems that 1) the high demand for technically oriented people in unorthodox careers combined with 2) a glut of software developers and computer science majors has created a perfect storm for techies who want a more hands-on outlet for their technical skills and sensibilities.