Helvetica is—as every font geek who enjoys a repulsive turn of phrase must agree—one of the most iconic fonts of our time. Which is a pretty strange thing. Designed in 1957 by two not very famous type designers as a neutral typeface for the Haas foundry in Switzerland, Helvetica might almost have been drawn to… Continue reading Did you know? Some people like Helvetica
Category: Non-Work
What laptop, tablet, or smartphone to buy? It’s a complicated business
My Dad asked me recently what sort of computer he should buy to replace his ten-year-old HP laptop. And what sort of phone should he get to replace his old Nokia? And while I was at it, should he get one of those tablet things? There are a lot of possible options at the moment,… Continue reading What laptop, tablet, or smartphone to buy? It’s a complicated business
Linux
I write plenty of tedious posts about computers and technology, and I usually tag them according to what they're about. As I write this, the tag cloud for this blog looks like the picture on the left—Apple and Microsoft loom large, Nokia and Oracle get a look in, and there's no reference to Linux at… Continue reading Linux
Windows Phone: a bit like BeOS
Today's possibly stretching-a-point Technology Analogy In a previous article I compared the situation of Windows 8 on the desktop to that of OS/2 in the late 80s. Windows Phone 8 is in a different position. While Windows 8 gets its awkwardness from the need to provide compatibility with the dominant platform—which in this case means… Continue reading Windows Phone: a bit like BeOS
Can you develop research software on an iPad?
I've just written up a blog article for the Software Sustainability Institute about research software development in a "post-PC" world. (Also available on my project's own site.) Apart from using the terms "post-PC", "touch tablet", "app store", and "cloud" a disgracefully large number of times, this article sets out a problem that's been puzzling me… Continue reading Can you develop research software on an iPad?
I quite like the Surface RT. It must be doomed
The Surface RT is the device Microsoft must hope will cause their Windows 8 strategy to start making sense to the world at large. It's a tablet along the lines of the iPad, with an optional flappy felt keyboard cover and a cut-down version of Windows 8 on it. Microsoft Office is included, but it won't run any other software from… Continue reading I quite like the Surface RT. It must be doomed
The Breakfast Post 