] "On Nov. 21, U.S. Air Force officials got their hands on
] the ultimate global video game. Thanks to a system
] upgrade by defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT ),
] flyboys (and girls) could hop onto a special Air Force
] network from any PC equipped with a Web browser and
] special military encryption and authentication software.
] Once on this network, they could call for air strikes,
] direct reconaissance planes, or plot the movements of the
] most powerful flying force on Earth -- all from their
] laptop in a café (or, more likely, at a secured
] facility). "All you need is Internet Explorer...""

Ender's Game, anyone?

The Network Is the Battlefield

Decius wrote:
] Apple has just announced a number of new products, including
] 12 and 17 inch powerbooks (one too small, and the other too
] large?), updates for iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie which allow
] them to interoperate more easily, and a new web browser. The
] web browser, linked here, is the most important development
] IMHO, as the existing browsers all have various problems. Of
] course, I have yet to download it. I'll edit this comment when
] I've had a chance to try it out.

Wh00p! Hurray! I'd love a 17" powerbook. That's what I want out of a laptop: A portable desktop.

RE: Apple - Safari

] "One of the problems the tablet PC is supposed to solve
] is the barrier that's formed between you and another
] person when you use a conventional laptop. The screen is
] purportedly some kind of offensive shield that cuts
] people off from one another and erects an insulting wall
] between them."

There are some interesting observations in this article about the dissonance that laptops have had fitting into a world designed for paper. Laptops with big screens hide faces in meetings... PCs teetering on college lecture desks designed for taking hand written notes on a small notepad...

At Nanog, most of the people in the audience sit on their laptops during talks. People will often get up to speak and make the mistake of commenting on it critically. This is a great way to signal to the audience that "I've never been to nanog before and I'm a little clueless so you can kind of half listen to me." Many of the people in the audience sit on IRC during the talks. The channel is usually about 80% "passing notes in class" and 20% useful filler information and critical thoughts about the talk.

The question is, who will bend:

1. The culture.
2. The technology.
3. The environment (start designing desks for meeting rooms that have cavities for laptops).

The answer will be found by determining how these peices can work together in a way that does not eliminate any of the functionality that each provides.

Any ideas?

Laptops and social norms...

] At the annual Comdex trade show to be held in Las Vegas
] next week, Microsoft and computer display makers will
] show off so-called "smart displays."

Microsoft is going in the right direction here. I think that these will be popular WHEN the price goes down. Right now there is no sense in sending $1,200 on a portable dumb terminal when I can get a laptop for the same amount of money. When these things cost $500, they'll take off...

ABCNEWS.com : Portable Displays for Wireless PC Work

When Maine Gov. Angus King unveiled his plan to put a computer in the hands of every seventh-grader in the state, some thought the idea was as loony as trying to catch a laptop in a lobster trap.

Teachers in particular were concerned. After all, they would be expected to use the machines with their students -- many of whom knew more about computers than they did.

Teachers Mainely Happy With Tech

] "Apple Computer is expected to unveil cheaper, faster
] iBooks later this week, according to sources, in an
] effort to boost holiday sales of its portable laptop.
] The Mac maker plans to drop prices by $200 across the
] iBook line, bringing the price of the entry-level model
] under $1,000, sources said. The new iBooks are also
] expected to be 100MHz faster than previous machines,
] sources said. "

Cheaper, faster iBooks coming this week

"TCPA-compliant IBM Embedded Security Subsystem 2.0 (select models)"

IBM is now selling TCPA systems. Thats what all those security commercials are about. Big Brother inside.

I like my IBM laptop, but I'll never buy a TCPA compliant system.

IBM puts big brother in the box...

The major advance of the ER1 over previous consumer robot products is that it can do sophisticated analysis of visual information, said Jennifer McNally, senior director of marketing for Pasadena, Calif.-based Evolution. Show a CD cover to the ER1's camera, and it can recognize the disc and cue it up from a networked music appliance. Wave a beer bottle in front of it, and it knows what to look for on its trip to the kitchen.

Every day more consumer products become available that will make it easier for me to build my army of killer robots.

Kit morphs laptops into robots

Rock on. Build your own Macintosh. This is cool, but I really want a laptop.

MacOpz: Build Your Own G4

"The government of Greece is making heroic efforts to humiliate the nation in front of the entire world, by banning all electronic games. That's right; something as innocent as playing computer chess on your laptop in a hotel lobby is now a crime with penalties of up to three months in stir and a fine of 10,000 euros"

The Register