Linked List: December 30, 2009

Wednesday, 30 December 2009

Bruce Schneier on Aviation Security ★

Bruce Schneier:

Despite fearful rhetoric to the contrary, terrorism is not a transcendent threat. A terrorist attack cannot possibly destroy a country’s way of life; it’s only our reaction to that attack that can do that kind of damage. The more we undermine our own laws, the more we convert our buildings into fortresses, the more we reduce the freedoms and liberties at the foundation of our societies, the more we’re doing the terrorists’ job for them.

My thoughts exactly.

One Vaporware $100 Computer Per Child ★

Michael Gartenberg on One Laptop Per Child’s newly-stated plans to switch from a traditional clamshell laptop to a touchscreen tablet:

Like the mythical predecessors that came before it, the new device is said to have an 8.5 × 11 inch touch screen made by Pixel Qi with an indoor/outdoor display, use inductive charging (like the Palm Pre), will be waterproof and cost no more than $100. Of course, you can’t buy or order one as they’re targeting 2012 for the ship date. I’ve been asked by a few folks how the OLPC project could manage this with their current specifications and the answer is simple: they won’t be able to.

Gizmodo: Nexus One Will Sell for $530 Unlocked, $180 With T-Mobile Contract ★

Not ridiculous, but certainly not cheap, either. There’s still no Android equivalent of the $199 iPod Touch.

Java Programmer Rob Williams on Learning Cocoa Touch ★

Interesting perspective:

BTW, in the course of scoping this out, I got to mess around with CoreData a little. This is another classic example of Apple wares: looks like a tinkertoy at first blush, comes with a tinkertoy tool (the data modeler in Xcode), but in fact, it’s pretty awesome.

FreeHand vs. Illustrator ★

The only designers I know who preferred Illustrator were those who never really learned FreeHand. It says here that FreeHand is the greatest app that ever died.

Update: I’m getting an earful from those who prefer Illustrator, including this gem from a friend: “Never was there a happier moment in software than when FreeHand bought the farm. Fucking FreeHand. It can kiss my ass.” In a nut, I think it’s safe to say that Illustrator was aptly named, insofar as it seems to be preferred by those who draw. I was just a layout guy, hence, perhaps, my strong preference for FreeHand.