Interesting Links for 25-10-2013

[andrewducker]

• MEPs vote to suspend data sharing with US
  (tags: politics uk europe surveillance privacy )
• What's really happening at Grangemouth and what it tells us
  (tags: politics scotland )
• The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones
  This is pretty much exactly how I feel. Why would I buy a new computer when the old one does everything I need?
  (tags:

Comments

[gonzo21]

Splendid, I hope the spying thing continues to roll. They're trying way too hard to sweep something critically important under the carpet.

And the Ineos thing is rather chilling, they reached right for the shotgun of closure, and instantly forced the Unions to give up, and got their way. It does smack of nothing other than feudal lord-ism.

[danieldwilliam]

Who do I have to not have sex with to get the pothole on Melville Drive fixed?

[ggreig]

I might still want a big box PC for some purposes, but I'm experimenting with switching to having my Surface Pro be my one device that does everything (in conjunction with a dual video dock). It's on a par with or more powerful than my 2008 vintage machine in every way except disk space, and portable enough as a tablet to carry everywhere. Docking or undocking requires two leads - USB3 to the dock on one side, power lead to the wall on the other

[andrewducker]

The Surface Pro is definitely more of a PC than a pure tablet - particularly as it's generally used with a keyboard. It's basically a small laptop with detachable keyboard.

[ggreig]

Yep. There are a few things about it that would be disappointing to an existing tablet user - it's a bit heavier, it runs hotter, you can't plug in a SIM card (yet) and battery life isn't as amazing (though the Surface Pro 2 is reportedly much better). But the PCness of it makes those trade-offs worthwhile - for me, anyway. These things are always subjective.

[nancylebov]

Quantified relationship search:

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_webb_how_i_hacked_online_dating.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF5VVrsnpzo

Both videos are by the same person, but include somewhat different information.

[apostle_of_eris]

MEPs vote to suspend data sharing with US
The thing I most don't get about all this preposterous shit is, here are Very Smart People, doing Important Things, taking Everything Into Consideration, and they never, never, never say, "What if the cat got out of the bag?" It's the same thing with Obama's Syria bullshit. "They better not cross this line!!!" A year later, the asshole crosses the line and it's all "OMG WTF What do I do?!" How about, you should have thought of that when you made the threat in the first place?
Grangemouth
More news I haven't gotten anywhere else . . .
The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones
First, the desktop market is "mature". There are no more empty desktops to put new computers on, so the market has crashed down to replacement.
Second, we now have second generation personal computers (generally called "smart phones" or "tablets"). So uses which weren't really best suited to desktops (including portables, which are the same thing with a different form factor) no longer have to

[andrewducker]

I agree that not everyone needs a PC - tablets work for many people. But I do think the Death of the PC is overrated.

And yes - some of the costumes are clearly "I want to dress up, and my kids can join in?" while others are "My kids are dressing up, how can I help out?"