Category Archives: nördig

Testing — please help

Posted on April 27, 2008 by acb

I have upgraded this to Movable Type 4.1; a lot may have gone wrong, and I am in any case taking off to Norfolk for the day. So will kind commentators please comment here and let me know if there … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Housekeeping, nördig | 10 Comments

Brief techie note

Posted on April 17, 2008 by acb

I have been playing with a 3G data modem, and I am completely converted. It’s often at least as fast as most communal wifi, and a great deal cheaper and more secure. I hate juggling with the the firewall every … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | 1 Comment

A distinctive programme

Posted on April 9, 2008 by acb

I maintain in my own usage a distinction between “program” and “programme”. This doesn’t depend on whether I am writing to Americans or not. The distinction is between two referents (I nearly wrote “things”, but neither are tangible). A program … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, nördig | 9 Comments

Instant bibliographies

Posted on March 31, 2008 by acb

I hate bibliographies, and I suspect that any tool I bought to handle them would consume immense quantities of otherwise productive slightly less unproductive time. On the other hand, I need to have reliable references and footnotes from time to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig, OOo | Comments Off on Instant bibliographies

on being phished update

Posted on March 28, 2008 by acb

I wrote a column last week for the Guardian tech section about the discovery that someone I do business with has had their servers cracked. I know this because I have started getting spam to the email address I use … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | Comments Off on on being phished update

The nerd is the enemy of civilisation

Posted on March 20, 2008 by acb

Inspired by Scott Rosenberg, I have started to read Joseph Weizenbaum’s book Computer Power and Human Reason. Weizenbaum, who died last month, was the inventor of ELIZA, the first chatbot; and he was so horrified by the enthusiastic reactions to … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Net stories, nördig, Science without worms | 6 Comments

Another approach to sanity on the net

Posted on January 30, 2008 by acb

I was told the other day about an interesting feature of some of the most widely used blog comment software in the newspaper business, Pluck Site Life, which is used by the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and others. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | 6 Comments

Nice Mac things

Posted on January 28, 2008 by acb

I had to help a friend buy a macbook the other day. My well-informed advice was pretty simple: “You don’t need that or that or even that. Buy the cheapest one in the shop, and, by the way, have you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | 7 Comments

I hate IBM/Lenovo, almost everyone this morning

Posted on January 18, 2008 by acb

Over at the Guardian there is a vigorous discussion of the new Apple Airmac, on which someone mentions that the IBM competitor, the Thinkpad X61, is on sale in the states for $1349 right now. Well, I love the X … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | 4 Comments

Productivity notes

Posted on January 10, 2008 by acb

Three nice bits of software to help me work this year: Launchy, which I have used before on the laptop, is primarily a way to avoid the Windows start menu: it works rather like Quicksilver for the Mac. Once it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in nördig | 2 Comments