Remember basic electricity concepts? You can dim a light bulb by adding some additional resistance. This is of course the worst way to dim a bulb because it doesn’t actually use any less energy. The power that would have gone to make the bulb bright is instead going to the resistance and being turned into heat. There’s a much better way.

Imagine that you could switch the bulb on and off very fast. If you turned it on for 1/100′th of a second and then back off for 1/100th of a second constantly then it would effectively be on half the time and off half the time. Therefore it would only receive half as much power and would be half as bright. If you turned it on for 1/100th of a second and off for 3/100th’s of a second it would only get 25% of the power and would be 1/4th as bright.

This is called pulse width modulation and is in fact how dimmers work (basically). This is also the proper way to slow down motors.

So this is my principle. If you work just 6 seconds out of every minute for 8 hours a day over the course of a 40 hour week you’ll work the equivalent of only 4 hours per week. (6 out of 60 seconds is 10% duty cycle and 10% of 40 hours is 4) Maybe you can get 10 jobs at once using this technique and retire in only 3.5 years.

I’ve not actually tried this yet, since I believe I should actually be working the full time I’m getting paid to work. Therefore I’m tossing this idea out into the public domain. Feel free to use it to get rich and famous.

For most users, an SSD is an extravagance. Until now. A typical consumer will be just fine with 30 – 60 GB of hard drive space. I base this on annecdotal evidence from those I know. A modern fresh computer installation takes about 5GB. A large photo collection adds 5 – 15 GB and a large music collection 10 – 20GB more. Documents, email and work often take under 1 GB but on a very busy person’s system make take as much as 5GB.

To put that into perspective, an iPad, which is a device targeted at media consumption such as graphics and video (the largest files a person will typically have on their computer) come in ranges of 16 – 64GB with 32GB likely being the sweet spot.

The exciting news is that now you can buy after market SSDs in the 30 – 60GB range for about $100. Alas, even though a budget computer for sale in retail could ship with a 60GB SSD, it would look paltry compared to a similar HDD based unit with a 250GB drive.

So the era is here, but it’s still primarily for the people who care enough about technology to upgrade their computer or those who are willing to spend the much larger sum for a high capacity model on a high-end computer.

But, as we’ve seen in many other areas, the adoption rate will grow now that we’ve hit this important price point.

It’s also important to realize that if a country consumes more media on the Internet than it produces, the electrons will get shifted from the creating country to the consuming country.

Because electrons have a negative charge this will leave the creating country with a positive charge and the consuming country with a negative charge. In effect, “polarizing the nations.” This was actually discussed in ancient biblical prophecy and is a sign that the battle of Armageddon and the end of the world is near.

It just so happens that a large percentage of the world’s data centers are in the US and many countries’ top talent publish their content to US based hosts. So they’re actually sending their data (in the form of electrons) to the US to reside on magnetic media. This causes quite a bit of conflict because now all these nations with a positive charge feel that they’re better than us (with our negative charge).

However, because we are oppositely charged they simply can’t help but be attracted to us. They continue to host their media here, consume our broadcast television, follow our politics, etc.

Furthermore, there are some people who consume more media than they produce. If you spend a lot of time reading wikipedia but never contribute back you’ll build up a negative charge. Same goes if your torrent share ratio is < 1 or if you lurk in IRC.

This is also why designers and artistic types are often so different from business and engineering types. Since they are creating more than they consume they have a positive charge. Others have a negative
charge.

This is why it’s very common to have an artistic, creative person with an engineering, analytical person. Their opposite charges cause them to be eerily attracted. Similarly, artists tend to work in isolation because their positive charges repel other artists. You’ll also notice commenters on slashdot and other tech sites tend to be so grumpy. Their negative charges repel each other.

This has happened before. World War 1 and 2 were both indirectly caused by a build-up of creative talent in certain western countries. And like a bolt of lightening, conflict broke out, tearing through Europe, in order to redistribute the positive and negative charges in a more equal fashion.

Originally posted to CIALUG mailing list.

On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 11:53 AM, David McLaughlin wrote:
> I’ve had much better luck with range by placing the router as high as
> possible within the house.

That’s because the newer wifi signals are actually slightly heavier than air so they fall down gradually after they’re broadcast. Kind of like the branches of a willow tree.

It works good for streaming video, which is download heavy, but if you’re actually sending a lot of packets you’ll want your router to be below the sending machine since it takes more strength to get the weighty packets up to the router at a reasonable rate.

This is also why it’s taken so long to get Internet access on airplanes. It takes an incredible amount of energy to get the packets up that high.

There’s also been evidence that some packets are heavier than others. For example, twitter and web comic packets seem to have better range than, for example, a web page from the Mayo Clinic or the Wall Street Journal.

Originally published to the CIALUG mailing list.

A wise person said back in the mid-90′s that people need to communicate and be entertained but they don’t need to compute. This is so true. A lot of people have a big fat computer in order to email their family, share pictures and chat with their friends on Facebook or twitter. Over the last three years we’ve started to be able to do this nearly as well, or in some ways even better, with a mobile phone. Some people will start to think that they don’t really need a PC at all.

My first prediction is that the mobile web will become increasingly important throughout this decade to the point that it is one of the primary focuses for web developers.

Currently there are three main web-browser rendering engines: Internet Explorer, Mozilla/Firefox and WebKit (Safari, Chrome), ranked in current market dominance. This is up from one 10 years ago. 1 year ago you might have thought that Firefox was on track to take the lead spot from IE but now, due to the dominance of WebKit in the mobile realm it will probably shift down to spot #3. However, the fact that there are three engines on the radar is quite telling and leads into the next point.

My second prediction is that the platforms for “software distribution” will become more diverse.

The implication here is that more applications will move to the web. Maybe they’ll be a purely web-browser based application like gmail, or maybe they’ll be a hybrid, “fat client” app such as Google Picasa or your twitter app. The key thing is that developers won’t have the luxury of focusing on a single platform (traditionally windows for PCs and more recently iPhone or blackberry for mobile apps). A couple years ago being a blackberry developer might have seemed a pretty elite title. Now the iPhone is the cool gadget. Soon Android will be too big to ignore. You’ll need a plan for supporting each of these and more. Some devices you target will get bigger, some will get smaller. A lot of your current assumptions won’t be valid.

This ties into the previous prediction because the one common thing all of your devices will have is the web.

My third prediction is that operating systems won’t matter nearly as much as they used to. An OS for consumer products will merely be a set of drivers needed to launch a web-browser. Some people, especially media creators (video, graphics, etc), software developers and people who do intense computations will still use a PC and care about an OS. Most consumers won’t care. They don’t care what OS is on their TiVo or their mobile phone. They may use their TV to browse Youtube, their smart phone for facebook and their Desktop PC for wikipedia. Each will have a different OS.

Moving on to prediction four, media distribution will change. Blu-ray discs cost twice as much as DVDs. You still have to go to the store to buy them or the video store to rent them. But more and more devices have Internet connections and people are starting to realize that they can watch videos streamed over the Internet with satisfactory quality. They can do it cheaper than Bluray and it’s more convenient because they don’t have to leave their house or wait.

Amazon now offers a service where you can buy a movie, get it in the mail on disk in a few days but watch it over the Internet immediately. This will help lead the transition and soon people will think of the disk as an inconvenience.

Final prediction: Two devices are better than three, and one is better yet. A tech-savy person may now have a PC, a netbook and a smart phone. Or maybe it’s a PC, an iPod and a cell phone. Or maybe it’s a gaming PC, a laptop and an iPhone. Maybe they have a digital camera to toss into the mix. They have numerous devices that contain data they want.

Currently there’s lots of talk about netbooks and tablets, but both of these are transitional technologies because they’re an extra device to tote around. People want to carry less.

When web-enabled smart phones with a speedy data connection where rare and flash data storage was small, it made sense to want a special computer for carrying around with you. If you loved music you probably wanted an iPod but you sure wished you could combine the iPod with your cell phone. You had a great digital camera but you often used your cell phone’s camera because you always had it with you.

The iPhone and its brothers are getting pretty good but sometimes you just can’t get done what you want to on a 3 inch screen. It makes sense that netbooks and soon tablets would be popular for a little while. But it’s another device to carry. You’ll stick your phone in your pocket but still have to tote around this other device if you want to use it.

In tomorrow’s connected world, the last thing you’ll want to leave is your phone. It’s your camera, your communication device, your map and in a pinch, allow you to look up information on the web or create content. You’ll yearn for a single device that can do all that you want. It’s camera won’t be as good as your DSLR, it’s screen won’t be as big as what’s on your desk at work. The input will be slower than a keyboard, but it’ll always be with you and you can get the job done wherever you are. And these things will improve, fuelled in large part to improvements in user interfaces.

The only platform that will matter by the end of the decade will be a mobile communication device. And all of these points back to the first prediction above.

I assumed it was something related to Hardy Heron and discussed the problems with a few people. It was really a head scratcher so someone suggested I test the mouse with a different computer so we could rule it out as the culprit. Remarkably, the problem followed the mouse to the other computer. I was stunned. I opened the mouse and looked inside to see if it was a worn button. Everything looked OK. I called Logitech and they gave me instructions to return the mouse and they would send me a new one. The new one was fine and I was happy and promptly forgot the problem.

It’s been about 6 months since that incident and I’ve recently upgraded to Intrepid Ibex Beta 4. You’ll never guess what happened… my mouse battery died. Amazing how long that single cell lasted! I replaced the battery and you won’t believe it, but I’m getting the sporadic extra click problem again. Two mice in a row! What are the odds? Could this be a problem with their firmware? I don’t know. I’m getting creative… I’ve pressed the “connect” button on the bottom. I’ve also pulled the battery a few times to “reboot” the mouse. So far no improvement. I’ve just now tried turning the mouse off and holding the connect button in for a while while I turn the mouse on again. Interestingly, this causes the mouse to not function until you pull the battery.

__Rent – a – mouse__
So this causes me to think… if you go and buy a mouse for $35, what are you certain to get? I think that you can reasonably expect to have a functioning mouse for as long as the warranty period of the mouse lasts. If it dies before the warranty period you will get a replacement, but if it dies after it’s gone. In a sense its like when you purchase “software support and maintenance” instead of purchasing a perpetual license (or use OSS). In these cases you can use the software for as long as you keep paying for it, but once you stop buying support you have to stop using the product.

In the case of a product with a one year warranty, you’re basically renting the product for a year but you _may_ be able to use it slightly longer. This is especially true today when hardware feels like it’s designed to be disposable and to have a limited life in order to ensure you keep upgrading.

The good news is, Logitech’s warranty on this mouse is 3 years. The bad news is, I don’t have the receipt (it was a gift), so lets hope the support dept will be helpful.

In Bill Gate’s book, “The Road Ahead” he makes the statement, “People need to communicate and be entertained, they don’t need to compute.” This quote has stuck with me for years because of its simplicity, because of its accuracy and because it goes against what many of us computer lovers feel.

Think about common computer tasks – communicate via email, look up maps or directions on the web, share photos and videos, buy stuff, get information, play games. Now which of these tasks are hard to do with an iPhone or other portable device? Typing out a long email or having a lengthy chat can be arduous on such a small device but its getting easier.

Now think about what device you’d rather have for doing the above kinds of things… a 6 – 9lb (2.5 – 4kg) notebook or would you rather having a 1lb or less device that you can slip into your pocket and also use as a cell phone? _(read more for some fascinating quotes)_

You’re probably thinking, “well, I’d like to have an iPhone (or whatever) that could do all of that, but I couldn’t imagine giving up my main PC.” You’re right, I couldn’t give up my PC either, but my wife would. My son could care less if it were a PC or a mobile device.

The [manufacturers of PCs realize this](http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/HONSHI/20080625/153861/?P=1) and are dumping tons of resources trying to be the leader in these new markets. From Eeepc like mini-pcs to Nokia N series/MID hybrid devices and iPhone/Instinct like mobile devices – the device we currently call the PC is getting smaller and every manufacturer knows it.

The mainstream “PC” of 2010 will be under 1Kg and the only place you won’t take it is the swimming pool.

From the above article there are a few grabbing quotes:

Toshiba Corp of Japan, in fourth place, has “…little interest in leading a price-cutting competition, but also little choice but to join it,” according to Shigeyoshi Shimotsuji

A high-level manager at one of these Taiwan outsourcers said: “We can’t afford to worry about how this might impact any existing notebook PC business. We’re committed, because this could well grow into an enormous market. And we can’t survive future competition unless we grab a piece of it now.

The “common sense” of the PC industry no longer applies, however, for two major reasons. The first reason is that computing performance, function and other characteristics need not be cutting-edge. Most consumers only need performance sufficient to provide access to Web-based content, services and other assets. This same point is suggested by the way that Windows Vista, released in 2007, totally failed to generate significant replacement demand.

(_emphasis added_)

Recognizing the potential size of the market, Microsoft has made the decision to continue offering Windows XP Home Edition to compact, lightweight PCs. The original strategy was to switch entirely over to Windows Vista. A high-level manager at one domestic PC manufacturer suspects the decision was made in an effort to prevent the spread of Linux machines.

For PC manufacturers hoping to slash parts cost, actions by Intel, Microsoft and other firms are not as important as the fact that there is less and less need to use their products. The goal, remember, is to provide performance sufficient for Internet access. For manufacturers, this objective means a wider range of component choices, possibly at lower cost. By utilizing less expensive components from vendors other than Intel and Microsoft, they increase the pressure on those firms to cut prices.

“If the operating system (OS) doesn’t need to emphasize business use, Linux is a good choice, because its graphical user interface (GUI) software is quite mature. Retailers and contract manufacturers in Taiwan say that novice PC users there, like students and housewives, tend to buy the Linux version of the Eee PC701, while geeks go for Windows XP. The Linux version comes with a launcher providing pre-installed applications, Web services and other features at a click. The design was probably adopted to make the system even easier to use.”

_(end quotes, sorry, apparently my site is butchering block quotes at the moment)_

The consumer looking for a PC in the near future will be asking themselves these questions:

* Can it access the websites and content I want?
* Is it portable (and connected) enough to go where I want to go?
* Does it look cool?

Buying a PC will be a lot like buying a mobile phone… actually, eventually, buying a PC will be _just like_ buying a phone because the device you buy will be both your PC and your phone.

Here are some things you should consider:

* Who considers the OS when buying a phone? (few people)
* How do your web pages and applications look and work on a mobile device?
* Who are your target users and do they want to use your product/content/website when they’re not sitting at their desk?
* Will people feel cool carrying this portable device?

Things are going to change, and they’re going to change faster than a lot of people think. Before you know it, nearly every phone will have a respectable web browser on it. People will just upload their photos and videos from their mobile device and they’ll begin asking themselves, “What is it I need a PC for?”

I asked David Mandala, who is the project manager of the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded team and a good old fashioned tinkerer, for a suggested platform. It was an IRC conversation so I can’t be certain of his attitude, but I’m pretty confident he was excited to tell me about the tool he likes to play with – the Tin Can Tools Hammer – an Arm9 based embedded Linux development board that is the same size as a 40 pin dip. Just drop it into your breadboard and away you go! Or better yet, pick up the Nail Board kit (see the same page linked above) which includes the hammer board and adds a built in jtag, usb ports and serial interface and only increases the board size and cost a little bit.

When plugged into your PC it will be detected as a USB ethernet card and you can ssh right into your new embedded linux computer. Because the nail board has onboard jtag you don’t have to worry about bricking your device (corrupting the firmware rendering the device unbootable until reflashed) so in theory you should have full reign to fiddle with the settings. It can be powered right from the USB port so no external power is needed! And my favourite part is that all of the connections are 0.1″ spaced headers so it will work on a breadboard and its no problem to solder on.

It’s still about twice the cost of the AVR32 based NGW100 which goes for $80 – $90. Like the hammer, the ngw100 allows you to solder on the board making it hacker friendly. It can also appear as a usb ethernet, mass storage or HID device. Unlike the hammer it has two ethernet ports, an SD card slot, an onboard serial connection but does not have a USB host port. It’s also quite a bit bigger (but still quite small).

The real problem with the ngw100 though is that it’s a new platform (AVR32). Arm9 is so popular and so mature, it’s hard to resist. Intel’s atom platform has a lot of muscle behind it so I have no doubt it will get a foothold in the market (and I’d love a $150 eval board!) but is there room for avr32? Jury is out. I’m going to save up my money for the hammer + nail board.

In case you’re not familiar with the Speak & Spell, the code feature is a simple, reversible encoding program where you enter a short phrase and it will encrypt it. If you encrypt it again you get the original phrase. It is *not* rot13 but it works similarly.

The Kindle is an expensive e-book reader that has an innovative screen and form factor. It also has a cellular data connection so that you can download books and apparently surf some websites. I did not realize that it is [based on Linux](http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/hacking-kindle-part-2-bootloader-and.html).

I’ve been playing with the Arduino board. I’m going to write an article for an electronics mag (already talked to the editor and he gave the go-ahead). No guarantees anything will get published of course. It’s a fun system, but I really wish I could get my hands on an embedded Linux system that was compact and had some free GPIO’s. The [NGW100](http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=4102) is nice and I’ll probably get one, but I could see wanting a USB host controller and/or the ability to use wifi.

If the kindle were truly hackable it’d be a pretty slick system. Except that it costs $399 of course. In the grand scheme of things, I’d probably wanna hack the iphone before the kindle I guess. (And before that an android phone).