A few years ago, I took a biology course in college to fulfill a general requirement for a degree. I never expected that in just a few years I would see a key, seemingly clear, topic we studied in the middle of a major political debate that tried to misinform the public about science. If you think I am referring to the “intelligent design debate,” think again. I am referring to Missouri Amendment 2, the so-called “Life Saving Cures” amendment that focuses on protection of certain forms of embryonic stem cell research. It may be an election issue specific to Missouri, but its repercussions will likely play a role in future promotion of similar amendments elsewhere.
Those of us observing GNU/Linux over the past decade have spent so much time talking about how “next year is Linux’s year on the desktop” that it has become more of a humorous cliché than a useful statement. Nevertheless, while every year the Penguin has disappointed us in not quite readying itself to compete against Apple and Microsoft’s systems, at least in the small office and home office market, we can always cling to the eternal hope: next year. Or can we?
It sounds like some kind of New York Times Best Seller’s list political thriller – perhaps a massive conspiracy by former Soviet KGB officers backed by financiers and powerbrokers on the Trilateral Commission to create a new world government. But “A regime unknown to us,” in the language of John Polkinghorne, is not talking about a political intrigue, but something even more intriguing: the idea of an unknown (and, maybe, unknowable) realm of science: the science of God.
I tend to walk very slowly when I take a hike some place. Slow enough to test the patience of even a fairly relaxed fellow walker. Why? I'll admit it: I am a shutterbug. I take thousands of photographs, photographs that eventually end up in Apple's iPhoto. This is well and good, save that the quantity makes it sometimes hard to locate a photo later on. GPS is my solution to fix that, and if you create any kind of digital documents away from your desk, it should be on your list of solutions too.
In a surprising set of announcements Wednesday, Apple announced not only the BootCamp tool to aid users in installing Windows XP alongside Mac OS X on new Intel Mac systems, but also an optional updated firmware that adds BIOS support to the systems. The ramifications of this are not yet clear, but investors' enthusiasm led to a rally of the company's stock in the days since the announcement.
In a striking report on Thursday, the Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper reported Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer (AAPL), had some major differences in vision with Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs. According to the piece written by Peter Nowak, Wozniak asserted that Apple ought to spin off its iPod division and was hesitant in his support of the Cupertino-based company's switch to Intel processors.
Apple Computer's Steve Jobs announced the first Intel-based Macintosh computers today during his annual MacWorld San Francisco keynote. Contrary to previously published rumors that had spread across the web in recent days, Apple did not announce a Mac mini DVR or a plasma television.
Last month, Open for Business looked at one component of Adobe's Creative Suite 2 Premium: Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional. In that review, we found the product was certainly useful and worth its price tag, but it isn't exactly what one would call a “creative” product, in the typical sense. So, what puts the “creative” in Creative Suite? Today, we look at Adobe InDesign CS2, the package's professional grade desktop publishing program.
When you talk about graphics software, the components of Adobe Creative Suite 2 almost certainly are the first to come to mind. Being the longtime leader does not always mean a program is the best out there, of course, but it at least means the company is doing something right. To get to the bottom of whether Photoshop and its siblings are as good as their market numbers would indicate, OfB Labs took two moderately experienced graphics software users who had not used Adobe's products before, and tracked the experience of using the CS suite.
Visual effects, to varying degrees are often negated from being a key component of usability. I can, for the most part, concede that to be the case. While well-designed effects can improve productivity by providing visual cues to what is going on, many only provide minimal benefits. Icons are not such a case, and that's why I think the Tango Project is more important than it might first seem.