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Falling Idol

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 20, 2008 at 5:26 AM

The problem with idols has always been that they have an importance assigned to them that simply cannot survive reality. The stone falls from the pedestal, the emperor’s clothing is finally critiqued. As it was, so it is these days as the politician who had built a nearly messianic aura around himself turns out not to be above the fray, contrary to his promises.

SUSE on Dell Latitude D505

By Ed Hurst | Mar 19, 2008 at 4:42 AM
The quest to get GNU/Linux to run well on a laptop has been a long running challenge. In this piece, Ed looks at his success with OpenSUSE on a Dell Latitude laptop.

Could the iPhone be the Portable Wii?

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 07, 2008 at 3:25 AM

Comparisons between iPhone and the Wii have already been fairly abundant simply because the two have arguably garnered the top spots in “electronic gadget mindshare” for at least a year each. But looking at the demos today, I think the iPhone could be on its way to being the Wii of portable devices – literally.

She Entices

By Ed Hurst | Mar 03, 2008 at 6:26 AM

She appears on the screen. The hormones take over, and you can't avert your gaze. You stare. Something you see feeds a hunger inside, and you devour this vision, even as you know you are making a fool of yourself. For hours, even days after, you can't shake the feeling. Then, some photographer catches her in real life, without the perfect lighting, without the make up and carefully set tresses, etc. Okay, she's still cute, but hardly the vision of loveliness you thought you first saw. You feel cheated, made a fool of, and you wonder how she managed to capture your attention in the first place.

Descending from the Liberal Arts

By Timothy R. Butler | Feb 22, 2008 at 7:05 AM

Paradoxes abound in life. According to Plato, the ideal ruler is one that does not want to rule. According to Jesus, the one who does not value his own life is the one who gets to keep it (Mt. 10:39). It is in a similar vein that if one wishes to know the particulars one must know general knowledge, and to know the general things, one must know the particulars of the “branches of knowledge.” This truth makes it disturbing that our society seems to be ever more hostile to the study of the liberal arts as it seeks after only “useful” knowledge.

The Grammar Curmudgeon

By Ed Hurst | Feb 10, 2008 at 5:00 AM

For professional writers (and those who aspire to be), their language of publication is their best tool. I'm not a Luddite when it comes the development of language. The point is, English is my very favorite ministry tool, and I am passionate about keeping it in usable shape. For example, we can accept the use of "twofer" as a rarely used colloquial term. Such playful terms do have a place along side the usual "Net-speak."

Open for Business Endorses Somebody, Nobody for President

By Staff Staff | Jan 29, 2008 at 12:53 AM

Perhaps Sen. John Edwards is right to claim there are two Americas – or maybe four or six would serve as a fairer assessment. As the final reckoning for many presidential hopefuls approaches – surely most of the contenders will be eliminated in the aftermath of Super Tuesday, early next month – we found no single candidate we could come to a consensus on to endorse. Some clearly are more aligned with the interests of the people and the nation than others, however, and it is these that we will highlight.

The Sorrows of Modern Education

By Ed Hurst | Jan 25, 2008 at 8:49 PM

In a recently published piece, Linda Taylor addresses a favorite hate of mine, group learning. First, let's establish that a great many things we learn can and should be done in a peer group setting. That is generally limited to non-intellectual learning, such as sports, vocational training, etc. It is the worst possible setting for individual advancement intellectually.

Not Buying It

By Timothy R. Butler | Jan 16, 2008 at 10:00 PM

The MacBook Air is, at first glance – or really any glance – one of the most impressive looking little laptops ever to appear. Anyone who hauls a laptop around a lot would be hard pressed not to be excited about the prospect of a good, lightweight laptop with a full sized keyboard. For me, the easy to carry PowerBook 12” has long served as my trusty mobile companion and I was excited about the idea of a lighter, newer model to follow in its path. Having seen the MacBook Air, it seems in many ways to be the true successor to my PowerBook – but if I were shopping today, a MacBook Pro would get my money.

Ask Not Just What is In the Air, But On It.

By Timothy R. Butler | Jan 15, 2008 at 1:38 AM

It’s that time of year again. If you are at all interested in the trends of technology in the next year, January is the time to learn what is coming up. And not at the CES mind you – these years, the future shows up at MacWorld. Last year it was the iPhone, which managed to shake an industry that had never faced Apple before and start a major shift in the way cell phone development is done. What will this year bring? Tim puts his money on more devices coming out of the Apple-AT&T partnership, for one thing.

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