Lunch today came from The Sentinel, and was described as "gratin of macaroni and andouille sausage, squash salad and butterscotch flan for dessert". While Mac and Cheese is one of my absolute favorites, I don't normally care for the fancy stuff. However, today's meal was really really good:
Mac and Cheese, Sentinel style
I would definitely get this again, if offered.
-Andy.
Qisda promises smartphone with 1280x1024 display: Can you image what it would be like if Apple made an iPhone with a 4", 1280x1024 screen? That's better than 720p resolution. Mind == blown.
This Car Runs on Code: Interesting look at how software lies at the heart of the modern automobile:
"Even low-end cars now have 30 to 50 ECUs embedded in the body, doors, dash, roof, trunk, seats and just about anywhere else the car’s designers can think to put them. That means that most new cars are executing tens of million of lines of software code, controlling everything from your brakes to the volume of your radio."
Also interesting that GM was the first manufacturer to add a CPU & software to a production car.Minimalist Star Wars posters: Fantastic posters, inspired by Star Wars, by Justin Van Genderen. (via GeekSugar)
Rhapsody and blues: Great article from 2008, by John Siracusa, which examines the Adobe/Apple rift. A rift which continues to this day, as evidenced by the lack of Flash on the iPhone and iPad.
Solar Panel Drops to $1 per Watt: Is this a Milestone or the Bottom for Silicon-Based Panels?: Interesting look at the current state of solar panels. There is some smart work, and some smart research going on. Clearly there is hope for the future.
Following the open trail: Adobe says that they can't open source the Flash player, due to their use of the h.264 codec (smells fishy to me). However, they claim that anyone is free to implement their own player:
"The Flash file format (SWF) specifications are open and unrestricted, so any company - even Apple - can build their own Flash Player if they want. Also freely available are related specifications for the Flash ecosystem: RTMP, FLV/F4V, AMF, and MCD."
Interesting possibility. But if Apple made their own Flash player, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of code once in Flash, run everywhere?
YouTube - GoogleNexusOne's Channel: Google has been posting some "behind the scenes" videos of the Nexus One. While I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff (and I wish that Apple would peel back the curtain a little bit more), I have found that these videos lacking of the "meat" — the actual thought, work, design choices, etc. that went into the creation of the Nexus One. Maybe the later videos will be better.
Happy camper: Here's one positive review of the Google Nexus One.
Rage Against The Machine top UK singles chart: Old news now, but amazing nonetheless. There is more on Wikipedia proper.
Apple Confidential: The Acquisition Of NEXT: Interesting article about Apple's acquisition of NeXT, including a rough sequence of events. It's amazing that the deal went from start to finish in a little under a month. Also interesting:
"Amelio now admits that Apple overpaid for NeXT, but it had little choice given the dire straits the company was in at the time."
I'd say, in hindsight, that Apple got a great deal on NeXT.
Fall Out Boy: Calling It Quits – for Now?: Patrick's new stuff sounds good. (via Kevin, BuzzSugar)
Needham: 2 million iPads in 2010, 6 million in 2011: 2 million might be about right — I don't think that iPad sales in 2010 will be higher than that.
Audio Processing Causing Heat and Performance Issues for Nehalem Mac Pros: I've been tracking this issue for awhile, and today it has gotten the attention of the Mac web as a whole. As someone who's pondering buying a Mac Pro, I sincerely hope that Apple takes heed of these reports, and fixes the underlying issue.
Free Publicity: Who do we help?: A longer list of the Obama administration's accomplishments in their first year.
The Days of Miracles and Wonder: Great thought experiment from Greg Knauss:
“Yes, I am. A lot of his supporters are disappointed.”
“With what? A liberal black guy got elected President!”
“And in his first year, he prevented a second Great Depression, has stopped torture as official policy, is winding down an unnecessary war, has dramatically opened up the transparency of government and has gone a good way towards restoring America’s place in the world.”
“And people are disappointed?”
“They want more.”
What do Indie Gaming's All-Stars think of Apple's iPad?: Great quote from Kyle Gray (Henry Hatsworth):
"It's a real testament to Apple's prowess that it can have such a strong pull on someone who's more into purses than processors."
My worst iPad fears: Fear of the one App Store is a pretty common thread in the argument against the iPad, and it's easy to get carried away with doomsday scenarios. I'm trying not to project too far into the future, and hope to just evaluate the iPad for what it is.
Mac Pro Update With 6-Core Xeon Gulftown Processors Due Soon?: My hope is that the new Mac Pro will be released next month, and that the base model won't go up in price. My fear is that it won't come out until June, and be more expensive. We'll see how it goes.
iPhone-to-iPad development: How's the timing going to work out?: Actually, Mark Pilgrim has the answer. I assume that Colbert's app is going to rock. (via Daring Fireball).
On iPads, Grandmas and Game-changing: I haven't made up my mind yet about the iPad, but articles like this are starting to make me think that it will be a hit. (via Daring Fireball)
The best way for Adobe to save Flash is by killing it: Best article I've read about flash all week. The punchline:
"they can do it for the web, and all the great Flash content out there can simply be rebuilt for HTML5. Publish settings: Flash binary? Uncheck. HTML5 target? Check."
I think that an advanced tool that kicks out modern, HTML5-based content, is a great idea.