Ed Felten’s Twelve Predictions for 2005…

… are here.

What the well-dressed geek is wearing this winter

I only know this because of Ben hammersley’s piece in the Guardian. Embedded in the back of the bag are three light weight, waterproof solar panels, which generate up to 4 watts of power. Inside the bag is a Li Ion battery pack which stores the energy so it is available when you need it, not just when the sun is up. The makers claim the backpack is powerful enough to charge most portable electronics (other than laptops) including: cell phones, cameras, two way radios, GPS’s, PDA’s, even iPods.

Alternatively, the chic geek can have a Scottevest which, according to its manufacturer, “allows users to discretely carry multiple electronic devices in the concealed, ergonomically designed pocket system, as well as connect gadgets with the patented Personal Area Network (PAN) …   The PAN consists of hidden channels that allow users to connect devices without any visible wires.   Now, it’s easy to connect cell phones and music players to PDAs, power sources, and/or listening devices, such as earbuds and headphones. In addition to connectivity, special pockets are designed to accommodate digital cameras, portable keyboards, GPS devices, small laptop computers, two-way radios, bottled water, airplane tickets, magazines, wallets, keys, and much more. In cities and areas requiring hands-free devices while driving, the PAN is the ideal solution.”

The only problem, it seems to me, is how one would be able to stand up when fully loaded.

Billg at Comdex

If you want a REALLY good laugh to cheer you through these dark times, go to the transcript of Bill Gates’s appearance at Comdex. And put away that muesli. You may choke on it.

Primary colours

Yep. Red, green, blue.

Surrender yourself to amusement

Photographed yesterday at Cambridge’s latest temple to popular culture.

Tsunami tales

An email from one of my former Wolfson Press Fellows arrived this morning with this attachment and a very wide circulation list. The subject heading read simply: “Nobody knows who this boy belongs to!”

While I was contemplating it — and thinking about the tens of thousands of Thai, Sri Lankan and Indonesian children who are in the same situation but whose images are not circulating on the Web — my email system pinged and there was another message from my colleague saying “good news.just heard from singapore that they have found the next of kin of the child”.

So this particular story ends happily. But most of these stories won’t. And after tragedy, comes depravity. According to the BBC, “Swedish police are already in Thailand investigating reports that a 12-year-old Swedish survivor of the tsunami was kidnapped from a hospital in the chaotic aftermath”. And UNICEF is warning that child traffickers are also moving in on children orphaned by the disaster. Strange how these catastrophes bring out the best and the worst in humanity.

Interesting but Useless Information Dept.

On January 5, 1914, Henry Ford introduced a minimum wage in his factories of $5 a day. [Source.]

Supercharging Firefox

Useful set of hacks for making Firefox go faster over broadband links. Just follow the instructions and whoosh! What? — you’re not using Firefox??? Shame on you!

Chicken!

He’s called Basil and has a low opinion of photographers. Can’t entirely blame him.

Beached!

We went to Norfolk today, just to walk on a beach.

Strolling along in the wind, we talked about the tsunami disaster, and reckoned that one of the reasons why it touches such a chord is that we all have memories of holidaying on beaches and asssociating them with pleasure and safety. We wondered how we would fare if a tsunami suddenly appeared on the horizon. In Brancaster (where this picture was taken), one would have to run a couple of miles at least to reach a safe elevation. I’m sure nobody on this beach would have made it.