Links May 2012Links May 2012
Vijay Kumar gave an interesting TED talk about autonomous UAVs [1]. His research is based on helicopters with 4 sets of blades and his group has developed software to allow[...]
Another USB Flash FailureAnother USB Flash Failure
I previously wrote about a failure of a USB flash device in my Internet gateway [1]. I have since had another failure in the same system, so both the original[...]
What I REALLY Want from the NBNWhat I REALLY Want from the NBN
Generally I haven’t had a positive attitude towards the NBN. It doesn’t seem likely to fulfill the claims of commercial success and would be a really bad thing to privatise[...]
A Quick Review of the Mac Mini with OS/X Lion compared to LinuxA Quick Review of the Mac Mini with OS/X Lion compared to Linux
A client just lent me a new Mac Mini with OS/X Lion to play with. I think it’s interesting to compare it with regular PCs running Linux. Hardware The Mac[...]
Liberty and Mobile PhonesLiberty and Mobile Phones
I own two mobile phones at the moment, I use a Samsung Galaxy S running Cyanogenmod [1] (Android 2.3.7) for most things, and I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10[...]
Acoustiblok/ThermablokAcoustiblok/Thermablok
Acoustiblok is an interesting product for blocking sound, it works by dissipating sound energy through friction within the sound barrier materiel [1]. They sell it in varieties that are designed[...]
The Royal Caribbean Official Android appThe Royal Caribbean Official Android app
I’ve just played with the official Android app [1] for the Royal Carribean cruise line [2]. The cruise line is apparently great (I’ve never been on one of their ships[...]
Nando’s Voucher InterpretationNando’s Voucher Interpretation
Every year my parents buy a book of vouchers for various businesses in Victoria. It’s one of those deals where businesses (mostly restaurants) pay for advertising space to have their[...]
BTRFS and ZFS as Layering ViolationsBTRFS and ZFS as Layering Violations
LWN has an interesting article comparing recent developments in the Linux world to the “Unix Wars” that essentially killed every proprietary Unix system [1]. The article is really interesting and[...]
Links April 2012Links April 2012
Karen Tse gave an interesting TED talk about how to stop police torture as an investigative tool [1]. Mostly it’s about training and empowering public defenders. Phil Plait gave an[...]