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Links for July 2005
Here are last month's links which did not make it into my
clip blog
or my
del.icio.us account
- Dismayed at the various ills of my old Treo 270
I decided to upgrade to the Treo 650
David Pogue reviewed for his Circuits column
(New York Times, registration or payment required for archives), saying:
It turns out that Treo 650 succeeds because of something that doesn't, and can't, show up on any feature list: spit and polish. The thought and cleverness that have gone into this device's design put most other smart phones to shame.
I ordered it from CDW at something of a discount from the palmOne price, although I did have to wait a bit over two weeks to receive it on backorder.
It's too early for much of a review from me now, but it is nice to have something with a live battery so that I can count on a talk time of more than three minutes. The phone and MP3 player (SD card only) work fine, but I carry other devices daily which perform these functions better, so they aren't mission-critical to me. On the downside is the number of incompatible PalmOS 3 applications which didn't transfer over intact:- The built-in Blazer browser doesn't seem to connect to TMobile Internet the way it used to. I checked on the old Treo and verified that my account is still working, so I suppose it is something about GPRS or EDGE being absent from my coverage here (I have never seen the corresponding icon show up on my screen). Other than that, a SIM card transplant and resync brought all my old phone settings over without trouble.
- Graffiti has been nixed as a built-in, but can be restored using the third-party Graffiti Anywhere app. Oddly, the Graffiti Aid application sort of works intact (maybe 50% accuracy, though).
- Plucker, upgrade required, which seems to work for me now.
- Handy Shopper, which I used to use to keep my library book search list. Upgrade required.
- TealDoc. Upgrade required. The built in Documents utility seems to read only three of my old doc files.
- This performance piece looks like a scifaiku moment. Spencer Finch — Blue (one second brainwave transmitted to the star Rigel) (click on link #11)
- Although I'm far from being a rabid Beatles fan, I did appreciate the insights in this piece on “I Feel Fine”. Grabbed me a copy of the MP3 too.
- SFGate has this article of caution on the upcoming "Narnia" movie, echoing many of the thoughts which came to mind when I saw the trailer before one of the movies I saw recently. Incidentally, I wonder why it is that “Big Hollywood has yet to attempt to suck the enchanted joy” from The Phantom Tollbooth. What are they waiting for, anyway?
- Shortly after the 7/7 attack in London, I got around to putting together an emergency kit for our house, hoping we won't need to use it any time soon.
- On a similar note, here are two sites where one can order underwear featuring special safety enhancements.
- How's this for a new logo? I don't know, it just seems too cheery for me.
- A gallery of politically charged international flag interpretations
-
Haiga-like public service announcements in Japan:
Inhaled. Burned. Thrown away.
If it were anything but a cigarette,
it would surely be crying. - My, my. Assuming there's a 2005-2006 season, NHL hockey will look a bit more like Olympic hockey. Adieu to the neutral zone trap, eh?
- According to revisionist geographic thinking, I'm now over a thousand miles closer to a Continental Divide.
- I'm pleased that Le Cadavre/Exquise/Boira/Le Vin/Nouveau has been roused from a three-year long sleep, and looking forward to new Dadaesque visual stimulation from them.
- Via Accordion Guy...
- Roald Dahl meets Joseph Conrad via Hollywood: Chocolypse Now
- Via Making Light
- Famous Author C.J. Cherryh provides a Writer's Shortcut to Stronger Writing