Here’s a cautionary tale from Vmyths, the virus myths website, on how urban legends are born. Vmyths says that Reuters News Agency filed a report from Singapore last week quoting anti-virus manufacturer Trend Micro (makers of PC-cillin) as saying computer virus attacks cost global businesses an estimated $55 billion in damages in 2003. That’s a lot … Read more
I’m a fan of Edward Tufte, the guru of charts, but I’m still not sure about his view of PowerPoint. The New York Times Magazine has another article on his recent polemic against Microsoft’s presentation software. Tufte claimed, as the NYT piece says, that Microsoft’s ubiquitous software forces people to mutilate data beyond comprehension, infusing … Read more
Interesting piece from the New York Times about Wi-fi for truckers. Turns out they like Wi-fi because it’s spreading to truckstops and their “cabs are not only workplaces but often sleeping quarters as well”. Truck stops have offered various Internet options for years, but the connections have often been slow and expensive, and required drivers … Read more
Nice story by the New York Times’ Rob Walker on the history of the iPod, two years old this month. I have to say after initial skepticism I’m a convert, whisking it around with me on forays to the jogging track, the pool, and the car. There have, however, been rumblings of complaint about … Read more
I love this idea. The New York Times reports that James Patten, a graduate student in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, has come up with a digital tool that can scan the bar code printed on nearly any product, and indicate whether its corporate pedigree is blemished. The Corporate Fallout Detector “combines a … Read more