Afternoon Links

Thursday, January 17th, 2008
  • Congressional Dems are harassing Pfizer for a commercial in which Robert Jarvik endorses the drug Lipitor. The fuss is that Jarvik apparently isn’t licensed to practice medicine. Of course, he did invent the artificial heart. Which suggests that as far as experts go, he probably knows that he’s talking about. Really. There’s nothing else they could be working on?
  • Apple rocks.
  • Here’s a piece on the culinary delights of Bloomington, Indiana, your humble Agitator’s alma mater town. Bloomington is an odd little place–a cultural oasis in the middle of a backward (but beautiful) part of Indiana.
  • So we’re going on two weeks, now, and police in Lima, Ohio still haven’t explained why they killed a 26-year-old mother of six and wounded a one-year-old boy in a botched drug raid. No work on what motivated the officer to shoot the woman. Nothing on the quantity of drugs police claim to have found in the home. No word on any weapons found in the home.
  • While we’re on the topic of legislators needing something to do, Miami Beach has banned restaurants from setting up outdoor food displays to lure customers. It has nothing to do with public health. City officials were just worried that the displays “cheapened” the city’s image.
  • Very cool new project from the Library of Congress, which is posting public domain photos from its collection on Flickr, then allowing anyone and everyone to tag them.
  • Interesting map of the many languages spoken across Europe.
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15 Responses to “Afternoon Links”

  1. #1 |  John Jenkins | 

    Apple rocks for an underpowered, under-equipped, overpriced piece of hardware that isn’t even the segment leader in anything but price? (Toshiba makes a better unit)

    Apple makes some good stuff. The Macbook Air is not on the list.

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  2. #2 |  Benjamin | 

    Underpowered? Mac has made an operating system that doesn’t require space-aged technology to run it, therefore doesn’t need to sell computers that are on steroids.

    But if you want overpowered, check out the 8-core that they just put out.

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  3. #3 |  Mike Schneider | 

    Actually OSX is a bloated sow of an operating system that only looks fast when compared to Vista. Meanwhile, XPpro will run on a Pentium II.

    ==//==

    The map of Europe’s languages needs “Eurabian blight zones” of Arabic that, as you check back from time to time, slowly expand and spread out like growing lesions. Initially, Europe will look like it has chicken-pox; but in ten years it’ll look like a victim of mustard-gas.

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  4. #4 |  Tim | 

    Just an interesting trivia bit on the artificial heart: the first patented artificial heart was created by Paul Winchell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Winchell), the voice of Tigger and Gargamel of Smurf’s fame.

    The patent was assigned to the University of Utah, where Robert Jarvik improved upon the original design.

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  5. #5 |  Greg Newburn | 

    Bloomington? Do you listen to Chamberlain or Chevy Downs? If not, you should…

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  6. #6 |  Tino | 

    Apple rocks? Where can I get some?

    Sure, Windows rocks are cheaper, but then you’d expect that as they’re all full of sharp little chunks of flint.

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  7. #7 |  Jaisn | 

    Agreed John, the Air has cool features I want on my MBPro, but it’s only a secondary computer, not one’s main machine. And the DVD rentals, did they bother looking at what Netflix is doing? Why would I go back to paying $5 for a movie when I have Netflix and onDemand? Give me Netflix’s selection and price along w/ the downloading and I’m on board [since I can't watch streamed movies on my Mac from Netflix, yet].

    Obviously, I was a little disappointed with yesterday’s news.

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  8. #8 |  Phelps | 

    I like the new hardware (I’m not the buying segment) and love the new iPhone software. I’m less than pleased that Apple thought it was a wise business move to let Randy Newman propagandize against the administration at a public event at a time when the stock market is more worried about a Democratic administration than terrorism. It seems like silence would be a much better choice on that mark.

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  9. #9 |  Zeb | 

    “Space-aged technology”

    I think it is about time to stop using that term. Every computer smaller than a large building is space age technology.

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  10. #10 |  Todd Caraher | 

    “Police in Lima, Ohio still haven’t explained.”
    Reminds me of that bird, a yellow belly sapsucker.

    I am so tired of these black clothed turds in penis helmets.

    1). Only a coward would shoot an un-armed person period.

    2). Only a twisted turd in a skin sack would shoot a women holding a child.

    3). Only a scared little worm sack would not own up to a mistake in killing someone.

    4). A real Man or Women would admit and serve their time.

    A question to all Law Enforcement and former Police officers.
    Which one are you, 1, 2, 3 or 4?

    They (the Police) only care about their own safety and not yours. They have no obligation and or desire to protect anyone, except themselves and their kind.

    They (the police) are never put to trial. They seem to never serve jail time. If they are “Performing an official duty under orders”, they are almost immune from prosecution.

    I cannot wait for they day that a S.W.A.T team actually comes up against a real bad ass criminal. Or better yet, one of us who not only stands their ground, but knows how to react to a gun fight and finish one.

    -= I’ll make no apology for being radical, It’s my nature. I’m an AMERICAN! =-
    Todd “Poppy” Caraher 2007

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  11. #11 |  Mikestermike | 

    The new Apple looks sleek. I like that Intel is powering the sliver of machine.

    For what the Air is meant for (on-the-go yahoos who want to minimize weight) its perfect. Yes, machines like my 3 GHz Alienware lappy behemoth will run performance circles around it, but I need Mammoet to move it, Frigidaire to cool it, and I time battery life in minutes, not hours.

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  12. #12 |  Nick M. | 

    Oh c’mon, using the IUStar as a source about dining at IU? Bloomington is as backwards as the rest of southern Indiana.

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  13. #13 |  Kwix | 

    The Macbook Air is one slick looking piece of machinery. The biggest issue that I (and a great deal of the mac community) have with it is that like the Iphone, it is a sealed device. You cannot upgrade or replace the processor, memory, harddrive or even the battery without literally “cracking” into it. I’m sorry, but a laptop that by design only operates for five hours on a charge should allow you an easy way to swap an additional battery into it.

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  14. #14 |  Mike Schneider | 

    Exactly. If you can’t disassemble a laptop with a phillips screwdriver…or a dime fished out of your front pocket, be prepared to pay HUGE bucks if anything goes wrong with it.

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  15. #15 |  Jet Goodson | 

    Can you use it on your lap though? Or while travelling?

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