Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 6th Jun 2012 19:24 UTC
One tiny thing I wanted to mention about Windows 8: ever noticed how context menus in Metro appear above the mouse cursor instead of underneath? I'm assuming this is done because of finger input (by opening above, your finger and hand doesn't cover the menu), but with a mouse, it's just plain weird. Fun little detail though - shows you how much thought has gone into the touch aspect of Windows 8.
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Member since:2010-01-21
we're really using computer mouses generally since the late '90s - our earlier computers were either mouse-less, or mouse didn't see that much use outside of North & South or Lemmings on the Amiga;
I spent much of the earlier half of the 90s on a black-and-white Mac SE with a lot of mouse-driven games.
And it's hard for a cable in IBM clit to wear out ;p
Point. Though they did used to make a niche product which put one on the end of a cable for presenters. I just wish I could find a store or eBay seller that still has one.
how do you "don't let a cat near anything" BTW? ;p )
Keep the computer in a room with a closed door and get good at scaring cats out from under the bed via precision kicking-off of sandals.
Member since:2005-07-06
Though they did used to make a niche product which put one on the end of a cable for presenters.
Was it a product (never seen those) or more a custom-made DIY "hand grip" featuring a trackpoint? (or even trackpoints; there were some such projects floating around)
edit: similar to many of those http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyer
Keep the computer in a room with a closed door
My cat can open door... (but yeah, I mostly keep it out of one room - by, more or less, disassembling the door knob, rearranging it to a non-standard orientation)
Edited 2012-06-07 20:52 UTC
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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2005-07-06
For what it's worth, with cables that's a bit less of a "personal anecdote" - few buddies of mine have similar observations
- tried several times; how do you "don't let a cat near anything" BTW? ;p )
(but, one possibly influencing factor: we're really using computer mouses generally since the late '90s - our earlier computers were either mouse-less, or mouse didn't see that much use outside of North & South or Lemmings on the Amiga; many quirks of internal components were probably worked out in the meantime)
And it's hard for a cable in IBM clit to wear out ;p
I didn't really count animals into this - the cable failures I have in mind are distinct, usually "hidden" and happening in / close to the point where the cable exits mouse; presumably where there are biggest localised movements of it, biggest strain in usage. And where it's hard to repair.
Animal-related stuff is easy, usually closer to the middle (like my rat did; or like the cat which I have now - make of it what you want