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Week of 5 April 2010


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Monday, 5 April 2010
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11:15 - As of today, I go into crash priority mode working on the book. Unless something really interesting happens, don't expect much here for the duration.




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Tuesday, 6 April 2010
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08:10 - Wow. It appears that Apple's launch of the iPad was not just bad but disastrous. Even pro-Apple sites and bloggers are posting articles that compare the iPad to the ill-fated Newton, and mainstream news sites are pointing out that Apple inflated first-day sales figures by counting pre-orders and unsold units left in stock at Best Buy. I called Best Buy yesterday and was told that they had lots of units in stock.

So, how many iPads did Apple actually sell the first day? Who knows? The 300,000 figure is probably grossly exaggerated, but even if it were true it'd be pathetic. As recently as a week before launch, I'd read speculation that the iPad would sell a million units its first day, and most pundits were predicting at least half a million. Only Apple knows how many units it expected to sell, but I'd bet it was a lot more than actually sold.

Pournelle calls the iPad a "game changer", but I don't see it. From looking at the specs, "useless gadget" would be my description. No USB, no multi-tasking, and, worst of all, no Flash. Now, I'm no fan of Flash. Flash sucks, particularly on Linux. I can't wait for Flash to be replaced by a better technology. But to sell the iPad today with no Flash support is simply moronic.

And the price of the iPad is simply beyond belief. For $500 you can get not just a full netbook, but a very competent notebook system that blows away the iPad in every respect. Why would anyone pay $500 for what amounts to a toy?


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Wednesday, 7 April 2010
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09:29 - Fulton, Mississippi must be the most benighted town in these United States. You may remember that the town canceled the high school prom rather than allow Constance McMillan to attend it wearing a tuxedo and with a female companion.

But then decency appeared to prevail. The town announced that there would be a prom after all, and that Constance could attend it and bring her date. Ah, but that was merely the illusion of decency. The were actually two proms, you see. One, organized by the parents, was held at a secret location. Well, secret to Constance, her date, and a few other undesirables. The fake, city-sponsored prom was announced publicly. What they didn't announce was that that public prom was just for Constance and the other rejects. So she and her date showed up at that prom, along with five other kids, two of whom were disabled. The school principal even showed up to chaperon the fake prom. Meanwhile, the other students attended the real, private prom.

Everyone involved in this travesty, which is to say pretty much the entire town, is beneath contempt. The school employees involved, which is to say probably all of them, should be censored if not fired. As to the parents who organized the private prom, I think that's wonderful. The public school prom was canceled and they took matters into their own hands to make sure the kids weren't disappointed. But by concealing the existence of this private prom from Constance and the other six kids, they showed their true colors. They're simply nasty, bigoted, stupid excuses for human beings. And the other students? Well, obviously, they're children of their parents.

I find it incredible that they were able to keep this nasty little secret. All it would have taken was one decent human being to speak out. Apparently, with the exception of Constance and her few friends, there isn't even one decent human being in Fulton, Mississippi.


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Thursday, 8 April 2010
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07:56 - Writing is hard work at the best of times, but it's even harder when I'm not feeling well. Barbara has had some sort of respiratory infection for a week or more now, and I started coming down with it a couple of days ago. So far, it's a lot less severe for me than it has been for her. Still, it makes it difficult to concentrate on writing.


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Friday, 9 April 2010
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Saturday, 10 April 2010
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Sunday, 11 April 2010
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