14 June 07 - 17:12Asus Eee excitement
Check out the
Asus Eee if you haven't.
If you're too lazy to read that link, let me just sum it up for you:
Seven-inch, $200USD x86 Linux laptop, 4GB internal flash HDD, WiFi.
Salivating yet? Well, geez, I don't see how you couldn't be. Stupid-cheap prices, an internal chipset at least capable of running
some 2D games, and a cheap Linux license designed around entertainment and portability? The only black mark on the whole package is the three-hour battery life. When this baby comes out
in August, you better believe I'll be one of the first in line to grab one.
Hell, you can even install XP on it if you're into that kind of thing. Since it's an Intel chipset with UMA, it'd probably be compatible with OSX86 as well if you were some sort of dirty filthy pirate ruining Apple's business.
It's obviously attacking the
OLPC, but to be honest, the Eee is completely and totally for North America (although I certainly would like a charging crank on it). It's the iPod of laptops -- a consumer accessory you can throw in your backpack on the cuff of the moment rather than worrying about cases and restraints inside your laptop bag. You must have one. No self-respecting geek can resist it. It will be hacked to hither and yon.
Asus announcement (with specs)
Doctor Ravuya - default -
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13 June 07 - 07:14The Indie Office
"Honey, I have to stay late at the office tonight. I need to finish this kick-ass piece of software. Don't wait up."
PoV is handing out
some irresistible ideas for indies. This has been really fascinating to watch on TIG as Southern Ontario indies begin to have lucid fantasies of coming in for a "day at the office" of writing kick-ass indie games.
Even the games media would love the idea of a game development co-op in the grand tradition of the 1960s farming commune.
Coworking is the next big thing among the Starbucks Freelance set, but I think it could totally work for game developers.
I say it's a great idea, and can't wait to see if they'll go forward with it. The quality of software produced from there is bound to be better just from having a whiteboard at hand to bounce ideas off onto another indie.
Doctor Ravuya - Game Programming, Software Engineering, Tools -
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11 June 07 - 21:30iPhone SDK
No doubt everyone who's read this blog will have heard by now the embarrassing slap in the face that Apple delivered to their developers today regarding the quality of development for the iPhone. I think it's probably best summed up in
John Gruber's post on the topic:
If all you have to offer is a shit sandwich, just say it. Don’t tell us how lucky we are and that it’s going to taste delicious.
Pretty much covers everything I thought about the project. An innovative device requires innovative solutions. Prettying up webpages with the Web 2.0 DHTML wank, which is usually the province of over-priced Internet fads and the 12-year-olds on Digg, runs in the absolute opposite direction. The Apple stock price tanking on this news isn't a coincidence; it's a direct consequence of execs not being able to justify this little bastard as a smartphone. Now we have a $600 smartphone whose competition to the utterly excellent Compact Framework is ... JavaScript. Holy hell, what are these people smoking?
(more)
Doctor Ravuya - Mono and .NET, Software Engineering, Tools -
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08 June 07 - 10:16Toot toot!
One of my favourite side topics these days is discussing the American auto industry. It's so chronically mismanaged, mismarketed, misjudged, misestimated and misplanned, it could be the software industry.
Today, Chrysler figured out that
what they are making is junk. They probably could have read
the reviews first.
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