Gadget wars — new front opened

I had some time to kill before my meeting in London the other day, so I went to the new Apple Store in Regent Street (purely in the interests of scientific research, you understand). Amazing place. Should have a wealth warning prominently displayed on the door. Came away with this neat little speaker set for my iPod.

Volume and quality of sound astonishing, given its size. Wonder how JBL do it. What was also astonishing is the scale and ingenuity of the product ecosystem that has evolved around the iPod. It really is the Walkman de nos jours.

Spreading freedom

“Ukraine is the right way to spread freedom, Iraq the wrong way. Has this lesson come too late for Iran?”. Thoughtful piece by Timothy Garton Ash.

Objectivity and imperialism

The chaos in Iraq, together with the growth of Western impatience with so-called “failed states” and calls for a new kind of ‘benign imperialism’ (i.e. us telling them how to run their societies) has led to an interesting outbreak of collective amnesia in Britain about the whole imperial adventure. As an Irishman, I’ve never succumbed to the concept of the British Empire as one of nature’s Jolly Good Ideas, but feeble-minded folks in Britain — under the tutelage of right-wing media historians like Neil Ferguson and Thatcher-worshipper Andrew Roberts — seem to have donned rose-tinted spectacles when looking back at the imperial past. All of which makes this fierce polemic by Seamus Milne very timely and appropriate.

Wot — no pyjamas!

From BBC Online:

“A devout Baptist couple who bought a Doris Day DVD from a supermarket were shocked to find a sex film instead. Alan and Anne Leigh-Browne, from Wellington, Somerset, had been expecting to enjoy The Pajama Game. Instead they were confronted by Italian sex film – Tettone che Passione, which translates Breasts, What a Passion. ‘Some topless young women appeared and started talking in Italian… it’s not what you expect from a Doris Day film,’ Mr Leigh-Browne said.

Retired doctor Mr Leigh-Brown, 67, said he picked up the film, which was sealed in plastic wrapping, for £2.99 from the bargain bin of a Safeway supermarket in Taunton.”

Thanks to James M for the link.