Certain design bugs are so common that we have become too blind to spot them. An essay titled Ten Most Persistent Design Bugs makes some excellent observations.

• If the computer loses power for more than a few thousandths of a second, it throws everything away.
• Designers offer no way for users to discover why a given menu or option has been dimmed (grayed out), nor how to turn it back on.
• 15 Dec 2008 sorts as being before 2 Jan 1900

Web applications are a trend which perpetuates as Web technologies expand and standards are enforced. One particular problem with such technologies is that they rely on powerful browsers. It is only a matter of time until working natively equates to working on-line. The browser will then become a factor more substantial than the operating system. Make sure you follow the link for this point to be practically illustrated.

Will desktops ever become merely a gateway to applications which run on the browser?

Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

President of the Free Software Foundation, Richard Stallman, writes in CNET:

…Thanks to Mr. Gates, we now know that an open Internet with protocols anyone can implement is communism…
 
…Mr. Gates’ secret is out now–he too was a “communist;” he, too, recognized that software patents were harmful–until Microsoft became one of these giants…

Pictures are much stronger than words, so here is a presentation of the spherical Longhorn (the next release of Windows) interface versus a Linux equivalent. These desktop environments provide an illusion that the user is ‘surrounded’ by the workspace. Click the images to enlarge.

On the left: Screen-shot of Metisse for FVWM

On the right: Screen-shot from a Microsoft meeting/demo in Chicago

Albert Nurick from comp.sys.palmtops writes:

In an article with a slightly inaccurate headline, MSNBC carries the AP story about declining PDA sales.

Reading the story reveals some interesting details.

PalmOne’s shipments are down 9% to 3.7 million, from 4 million in 2003.

Sony’s dropped to 419,000 from 1.4 million. (Sony pulled out of the US market)

A very interesting note at the bottom:

“Shipments from other leading PDA makers, such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Medion AG, increased, but not enough to offset the overall market’s downward spiral.”

“Those three companies all make PDAs that run Microsoft operating systems.”

So it appears that PalmOS sales are down, and Pocket PC sales are up; that wouldn’t have been as good of a headline, though.

Read it all: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6906812/

Cited by: PalmAddict

Wal-Mart break a barrier by selling a Linux-based laptop for under $500. According to CNET:

The computer, dubbed Balance, comes loaded with the Linspire operating system and the OpenOffice.org office suite, the companies said.

The companies said Balance is the lowest-priced laptop currently available with an operating system and an office suite. It features a VIA C3 1-GHz processor, 128MB RAM, a 30GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive and a 14.1-inch liquid crystal display…

Plenty of free music is distributed over the Internet by artists who wish to promote themselves and share their work. UNIX/Linux users can use wget to mass-download that music without any manual intervention. This means that hundreds of songs can potentially be downloaded to your hard-drive automatically and on a daily basis. This method (which personally I consider unethical) is exposed in Jeff Veen’s item where you can pick up the simple instructions.

Sample files are located on this domain although they do not reflect on personal preference.

Also see the newer item which expands on this method and gives a clearer background.