Science Friction

Macintosh creator Jef Raskin dies at 61

The news is starting to trickle out that Jef Raskin, the man credited with being the Father of the Macintosh has passed away at the age of 61. We was suffering from pancreatic cancer. Raskin led the effort to design a computer for the man in the street based on user needs rather than technical specifications. Initially, Steve Jobs hated the idea but when he was removed from the Lisa project, he took over Raskin's role on the Mac project.

Joy of Tech, has a tribute to him.

Sony Kills the Clie: "

Gizmodo is reporting that as of July, Sony will discontinue the Clié. The company had already announced it was pulling the Clié out of non-Japanese markets. But this goes further. The author of the report continues:

It's bad if you like PalmOS PDAs, though. While there was little hope that Sony would return to Western markets with the PDAs, it was still a boon to PalmSource to have a licensee as big as Sony in the flock. The message, in general, remains clear: Palm-based PDAs are on the outs, and Palm-based smartphones may not be far behind.

I do hope he's wrong. I like my Palm and the fact that it works well with my Mac. It would be a very dull world if the only option for handhelds was PocketPC.

Sony to end Clie production in July [TechJapan]

"

(Via Gizmodo.)

New Scientist Breaking News - 'Pack ice' suggests frozen sea on Mars

New Scientist reports the latest findings from the Mars Express orbiter that there a a frozen sea just below the martian surface about 5° north of the Martian equator.

Images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Mars Express show raft-like ground structures - dubbed 'plates' - that look similar to ice formations near Earth's poles, according to an international team of scientists.

But the site of the plates, near the equator, means that sunlight should have melted any ice there. So the team suggests that a layer of volcanic ash, perhaps a few centimetres thick, may protect the structures.

The article goes on to note that observations by NASA's Odyssey spacecraft in 2002 hinted at ht epossiblity but that the evidence was inconclusive.

(Via New Scientist.)

Hunter S Thompson dead by his own hand

The BBC is reporting that Hunter S Thompson, the American counterculture writer, has committed suicide. Thompson was the inventor of Gonzo Journalism, a highly personalised style of reporting where often the writer is a part of the story. Thompson's books included the seminal Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which was turned into a film starring Johnny Depp and Toro del Benicio. He was also the inspiration for the character of Duke in Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury.

Odds and ends

It's been a tumultuous few weeks. Not only did I turn 45 but I had to contend with a dying iMac and a Worldcon planning meeting in Glasgow. The dying iMac posed less of a problem than it might have as I now have a PowerBook and I've been backing everything up. The main problem is that my Powerbook doesn't have the storage space to allow me to restore everything. However, I have managed to recover all of my important documents and e-mails.

I turned 45 but I wasn't in Dublin for the event. Instead I was in Glasgow attending a Worldcon staff meeting. The weekend was very constructive. I got a lot done and made contact with a lot of people.

An awful snob? No, a very good one, actually!

You speak eloquently and have seemingly read every
book ever published. You are a fountain of
endless (sometimes useless) knowledge, and
never fail to impress at a party.
What people love: You can answer almost any
question people ask, and have thus been
nicknamed Jeeves.
What people hate: You constantly correct their
grammar and insult their paperbacks.


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